My First Triathlon and Reflections

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 My First Triathlon Completed! 

If you do not know me a little intro:


I’m Eleonora, born in 1995 in the beautiful city of Turin, Italy. With a background in molecular biotechnology and a master’s in oncology from Vrije University of Amsterdam, I’ve dedicated my life to understanding and improving human wellbeing. I work as a consultant engineer in Pharma Amsterdam and I channel my passion for sports as a Swim Director for the Amsterdam Triathlon and Cycling Club. Living with type 1 diabetes since 1999, when I was three, and you know what, I've embraced it as a unique strength that fuels my dedication to triathlons and my quest for optimal health! My journey has led me to become a certified nutritionist and life coach, always striving to inspire and support others in their diabetes management and overall health journey.


My Mission

Diabetes is a full-time challenge, but with the right mindset and lifestyle, it can be managed effectively. My mission is to provide genuine insights and practical guidance to those living with diabetes, enhancing understanding and promoting a healthy lifestyle. By sharing my personal experiences, strategies, and the tools I've developed, I aim to inspire others to take control of their health. Combining cognitive behavioral therapies with medical treatments, my goal is to shift the focus from just insulin and glucose levels to a comprehensive approach that includes nutrition, exercise, and mental wellbeing. Together, we can create a supportive community where everyone can thrive despite the challenges of diabetes.

After crossing the finishing line, a couple of tears came down followed by a chain of thoughts...

 

All the doctors say you can have a normal life,

but nobody will tell you that during these years you will go through a thousand different feelings. “Why me?!” “Enough!”; “I am so happy I have diabetes because I get free chocolate when I am low.”

The truth of diabetes is that during every injection you have to face physical and psychological pain. Breathing deeply during the burning feeling inside the skin for some minutes. Probably, facing instant bleeding with long term black spots on legs and arms. "Is it painful?! " “No, it is ok”

Nobody will tell you that the more you eat, the more insulin you need and the more sense of hunger you will create.

Nobody will say that this disease has a psychological impact, much bigger than some others due to the inexistence of a cure. As well as in daily life, where injecting is not convenient, it is scary, painful and everyone looks at you. You will have to carry anywhere, literally anywhere a massive set of stuff, with changes for every pen, needle, scanner, sensors to be ready for any possible incident.

Nobody will tell you that to practice sport you have to plan hours in advance, work hard and double as much to reach the same result as your friends. Days, years of practice to perform two or three hours of sports with calculation of what you are going to eat, when and how.

Nobody will tell you that you won't sleep well and deep anymore, you will wake up many times to drink water, to eat sugar and to measure the glucose.

Nobody tells you that you will gain weight easier, more prone to muscle inflammation, slower muscle recovery, etc...

They tell you to live a normal life, luckily at THE END YOU WILL... without knowing the big sacrifice and commitment that you are going to put on it.

 Make from your weakness your strength!

After this chain on thought I would like to keep going raising awareness regarding life with diabetes and mention things a non-diabetic should know about diabetes!

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Thanks for reading my thoughts and if  you do not have diabetes and you know someone with it here there are 10 things you should know about us ;)

It is a bit more complicated than that just checking and injecting insulin when needed. Diabetes comes with some subtleties that a person without diabetes will hardly imagine, and rightly so. 

1- Yes I can Eat Sweet!

Imagine a birthday celebration, everyone is looking at the diabetic person thinking "why is she/he/it eating the cake?" Sometimes even asking directly to us, can you eat it? why are you eating it? Is it not too much?

With the right planning and the right about of insulin we can eat everything, we are not allergic to sugar. Although, we need to pay extra attention to the diet and most of the time have a low sugar amount in food is beneficial for our glucose management.

2- No, I cannot eat sweet "Now"

The planning is fundamental with Diabetes, sometimes might occur that is not the right moment for a cake, as Diabetic people might experience hyperglycemia events. Why this events happens is a long story, in short might be caused by stress, hormones, food, insulin amount, insulin timing...

3- I really need the toilet soon 

Hyperglycemia makes diabetic people need to pee more as in case of hyperglycemia we need to clear the sugar from the blood. 

4-I need to drink water, can we stop?

Hyperglycemia makes us feeling so thirsty! The brain send a signal to make us drink to dilute the sugar level into the blood.

5- I need to stop/have a break from exercising now, unfortunately.

Could happen that sometimes we need to stop exercising for 15-30 min in case of hypoglycemia event. The strategy to recover from an Hypo is the rule of 15. 15g of fast carbs and wait 15 min. If the hypo does not recover after 15 min we need to eat other 15g of cho and wait other 15 min.

6- No, It is not a nicotine plaster etc..

Most of the time we get stopped asking what is what we have on our arm. It is a glucose monitor! Believe it or not I had to deal with so many people asking me what was it and they came up with crazy stories: mosquito plaster? WIFI? headphone connection? are you and inflatable doll?

I am wondering why I have to deal with all of this on top of what i already have to face day by day.

7- I need to plan to be able to do everything!

Dealing with life, sport, friends and unpredictability is a difficult challenge. Planning carefully with allow us to join all the activities, so bare us and be patient if we are asking when and how, and we are less "loosie goosy".

8 - When blood glucose is unstable, focusing is hard.

I have experienced that the more blood glucose is unstable, the more ups and downs I have the harder it is to stay focused at work, studying or in any other situation even social gatherings. Of course, one can work on the stability of the blood glucose, but this is far from a trivial problem to solve in fact, most diabetics struggle with it. When an individual struggle to regulate their blood glucose, then the loss of focus can impact their performance and this can lead to frustration and even depression at times. If you live or work with a diabetic, it is worth considering this and maybe have a chat about it.

9- Diabetes can disrupt sleep

Sleep is the true pillar of human’s life. 

Good sleep = you’re more likely to have a good day, 

Bad sleep = things can get very difficult very quickly.

One bad night of sleep can occur to everybody, but a diabetic struggling with their glycaemic index will likely have many more sleepless nights: going low or high during the night will disrupt one’s sleeping patterns. This means waking up unrested, weak and dizzy, and that will carry all throughout the day. This has consequences: a sleepless person will have a harder time working efficiently, studying, being present and kind to others and being energetic, just to name the usual ones.

Once again, everyone can have a bad night of sleep. Just know that struggling with glycemic index can make it a much more regular occurrence.

10 - Eating and the “waiting time” 

Sometimes we eat with other people. A lunch with colleagues, with the family, friends, or whatever.

Sometimes a diabetic will have to sit and watch others eat.

High blood glucose levels require a waiting time from the moment of the insulin injection to the moment a person’s ready to eat. Insulin will first need to bring blood glucose down to a normal level, and only then eating can start safely. Skipping this crucial waiting time will lead to higher blood glucose levels after the meal, worsening the situation. 

For instance, imagine you go for work lunch. Your diabetic colleague has high blood glucose levels but feels the social pressure of eating, so (s)he eat to please others. This will causa a spike that could affect its brilliance and mental clarity that is so important to pitch your business to a new potential client in the afternoon.

This could be the reason why your diabetic friend or colleagues or family member is not eating with you. (S)he’s not being rude, it’s just that (s)he’s trying to get things under control. 

Take this into account!

Living with diabetes - now you know!

Unfortunately, performance at work performance or at school, dealing with others in social contexts, like a lunch or a work presentation, etcetera is impacted by Diabetes. 

As my friend blogger "The curios Diabetic" also mention, living with diabetes is not just about injecting something from time to time there is much more going on under the hood, and often diabetics do you not have the courage - or have a hard time - to explain it to others. 



To know more about my challenges and my day to day diabetes management 


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