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A Diabetic Centenarian?

02-13-2008 4:39 PM EST by Michelle Kowalski
Categories: Type 1 Type 2 Insulin & Pumps Complications In the News Real Life
Tags: Aging complications
Views: 1868

For me, the desire to live to 100 is all about quality of life. Frankly, living to any age is about quality of life.

I don't know that I considered my mortality much until I was diagnosed with diabetes. I was 30 when I was diagnosed. Which means that at the traditional retirement age, I will have lived with diabetes for 35 years. That's a pretty long time. Live 20 years past retirement, and diabetes will have been part of my life for more than half a century.

One of the toughest parts of living with diabetes for me are the intangibles--I feel fine now, but that doesn't mean that my internal organs or my eyes aren't feeling the strain of high blood sugars and extended periods of time living with a chronic disease.

So, since being diagnosed, I have thought considerably about my life and my death. How long do I want to live is often a question I ask myself. Retirement--age 65--is awful young. What age is "old enough" to have lived a full life? At what point in my life will diabetes really be in control? How long can I control my blood sugar so that potential complications stay away?

A story on CNN today discusses "surprising new research" that even people who develop heart disease or diabetes late in life can live to 100. Conventional wisdom until now said that folks with chronic illnesses didn't live so long.

This is great news. Who doesn't want to live a long life? Until I read this story, I sort of thought I was doomed to die at what would be considered a young age simply because I had diabetes. I think I thought that no matter how good my control is, the simple fact of having diabetes pre-disposes me to a shorter life than the average Jane. This gives me hope (and a little inspiration to get out and restart my walking routine!).

(This may be the cynic in me, but I have to mention that I know longevity is key and that dying young is not what anyone wants, but, really, is 100 where we want to be? I mean, even one of the people who was interviewed for this story was described as being "strikingly lucid" at age 104.)

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Comments (6)

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On February 13th, 2008 at 6:51 EST spanky56 said:

My mother will soon be 98 years old. She puts her makeup on every day and refreshes it numerous times a day. She walks with a walker and other than some mild high blood pressure and some small strokes that she has had she is in far better health than I am. She is in a nursing home, does not like it and dislikes most everyone she comes in contact with. She has no quality of life and mostly she chooses to be that way. Yes, she is on an antidepressant and without it she would be unbearable. I know I don't want to live that long.

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On February 14th, 2008 at 1:05 EST spinnell1 said:

Some of us are gonna have to be killed by something because we're too awnry to die of natural causes. I know I am. I'm too old to die young and too obstinate to die of disease so I guess I'll just have to live forever. No biggy.

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On February 17th, 2008 at 3:13 EST lmunos said:

This posting hit home for me as it's the very thing I've been contimplating. While I was only diagnosed with Type 1 9mths ago and I'm 42yrs old, it sort of weights heavy on the back of my mind that this is an disease that doesn't get better and no matter how well you manage it, in the best of situations, complications can arise. I feel like I'm too young to have this disease and it scares me because I can't seem to get it under control. As soon as things in my life change, work, exercise, stress levels, my bs change as well. It's like trying to shoot at a constant moving target with a blind fold on. While death has never scared me in the past, it's whole different perspective now that I have diebetes. It's just a little more comforting to know others are out there seemingly having success.

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On February 22nd, 2008 at 12:53 EST grte_n_08 said:

i feel where your coming from im scared really

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On February 22nd, 2008 at 4:50 EST radhunt said:

Very depressing story as well as comments
Quality of life is important, but then life is important.We all have a hard time controlling
blood sugars highs ,lows and everything in between.Do the best you can and enjoy enjoy life the best you can
Count carbs
al(55yrs andcounting)25yrs. to 100

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On March 6th, 2008 at 11:38 EST 61life said:

At 64 yrs., diagnosed with Diabetes for only ten years, I think of this often. I have already had eye surgery twice, a heart attack, stent placement, a couple of life threatening lows. How long do you struggle, fight. You have to WANT to or nothing is going to help. I count carbs., take two insulins & GD knows how many other meds. Now it is worth it, later I don't know. By the way I am type II.

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