In these surreal times of dealing with a global pandemic, people with diabetes are veneer heightened doubt and anxiety — from concerns about catching the coronavirus, to worries about accessing constituent supplies, to what kind of diabetes care they might require if hospitalized… IT's very much.

Here are some stories from around the diabetes community, about how people are header with around of these issues.

For Justin Wilhite in the San Francisco Bay Area, the fact that He's been living with type 1 diabetes for more than a decade was reason out enough to constitute concerned almost potential exposure to COVID-19.

A homebody dad, the 39-year-old in Oakland, California, decided to somebody-set apart as much as possible in proterozoic Butt against, when he first far-famed that "something was off." There were times when he'd give himself insulin, but information technology was as if he hadn't dosed anything. His blood sugars continued to run high, not dented at all by whatever of the Humalog (speedy-acting) or Lantus (lifelong-acting) insulin he had taken.

Justin Wilhite

"It was baffling because I matt-up dead exquisitely," he recalls immediately, about those rude days at the start of Butt against. "It started fashioning me doubt my sanity. I would swing wildly but would more often than not be high during the day and crash about 1 to 2 a.m. Very out of the norm for ME."

Past, the symptoms started. Though mild at premier, he describes a "strange headache" mimicking a migraine and later that cookie-cutter day atomic number 2 could feel his lungs were tight.

Because atomic number 2 lives with the "underlying health condition" of type 1 diabetes, Wilhite says his medical handle squad was afraid some his torso's ability to fight off slay the virus. But since his live signs were great, they were fairly confident he could keep unpeaceful slay the unwellness without anything scary happening.

A week later, he went to the ER after nearing passing out for no reason. It hurt to breathe, Wilhite recalls. The infirmary determined it was the flu, gave him meds and sent him home. Just he returned within days, A the chest pain worse, IT got tougher to breathe, and walking to the bathroom was like a marathon.

Helium was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Marchland 16, mostly through a process of elimination that his medical examination team misused in determining it wasn't other type of flu or else illness. They consulted with CDC and infectious disease experts at the hospital, and since Wilhite wasn't "dying or dire" they determined an actual COVID-19 essa wasn't necessary.

Like so many who have fallen ill, Wilhite says he doesn't live how He was initially exposed, because he hadn't traveled or been around anyone familiar to have been exposed.

After being sent home from the clinic and transaction with extraordinary severe flu-like symptoms and breathing difficulties brought on by this respiratory virus, Wilhite says he's now doing practically break and believes he is on the mend.

He is also grateful his sept hasn't been hit unmerciful by this. Both his 9-year-old and 17-year-old kids had a twenty-four hours-and-a-half cold while in isolation, only that passed and they'ray doing OK now piece remaining apart at home.

To a greater extent than anything, Wilhite wants the Diabetes Profession (and the rest of society) to not panic. Take the necessary precautions, take information technology all seriously, and if exposed and mannered health-wise, do what's needed to bide separate and manage one's health safely, he says.

"While not out of the woods yet, I experience like a human today," Wilhite told DiabetesMine on March 23. "There's anecdotes of people with COVID-19 having the 'trine roller coaster' of good-bad, good-bad, good-bad in front you're on the road to recovery, symptom-rid of. The insidious thing with this virus is you rear be almost a calendar month infected before symptoms turn up, while being contagious — nearly 30 days with virus symptoms, and 30 years contagious WITHOUT symptoms. Totally crazy!"

To a greater extent of these real-life stories of PWDs (people with diabetes) exposed to the coronavirus are pop up online, including this Diary of a Dad by 52-class-old Andrew O'Dwyer, who believes he contracted COVID-19 spell traveling in Italy. He chronicled his undergo March 1 to 13, from feeling nothing but vex to experiencing pretty dangerous respiratory symptoms, to working his agency back to health.

O'Dwyer's message to the great unwashe who suppose they may have COVID-19 and are self-analytic: "You need your friends to help you get through this. I've been serendipitous because my neighbours and friends have fetched groceries and my medication for Pine Tree State. I would bear been snookered without that."

And his final word mirrors Wilhite's sentiments: "Don't panic. Information technology's not a pleasurable illness but it's non the Judgment Day if you answer get it. In near cases information technology's a flu-like sickness that's quite debilitating for a while that you will recover from. It's teasing and it takes a bit of time to get better, but for the majority of people it passes."

While that's consolatory, those with "biogenic" jobs requiring them to still show up up at work cause an additional set of worries.

A newly created group on Facebook is working to connect healthcare workers, emergency personnel office, and initiatory responders who inhabit with type 1 diabetes themselves and are in the trenches dealing with this pandemic. American Samoa of this week, there are more than than three dozen members, discussing their personal struggles and techniques they are victimization for keeping unadventurous in the work.

A founding member is Jolynn O'Shaughnessy from horse opera Wisconsin, who full treatmen as a registered suck in a neurosurgery/neurosciences unit specializing in ill health brain injuries, strokes, and surgeries. Her infirmary is designated American Samoa a COVID-19 unit, so they get all those patients when they start up arriving at the hospital.

"Personally, I'm terrified," she shared online. "I've been feeling off the last copulate of days with my blood glucose a good deal higher and I'm exactly exhausted. I'm praying it's just another cold, which would be my fourth one this season. I'm just gladsome I'm not the only one in the situation."

All of us percentage the mental wellness burdens of all this, from being sheltered at home and possibly even locked into individual-isolation, to the continual stream of terrifying newsworthiness updates we'ray being intense with.

North of Houston, Texas, Kathy Tipton says the anxiety is what's hitting her life with diabetes the hardest. Life in hurricane country, she says she is always stocked up and refills her prescriptions early. This sentence, she was able to top forth her diabetes supplies and medications at the end of February, thus she counts herself serendipitous connected that front.

When the Centers for Disease Ascendance and Bar (CDC) and Terra firma Diabetes Association (Adenosine deaminase) changed the guidance in early Go on what PWDs should do in idle of this pandemic, her endo recommended she try to work from home. She works in the corporate health department of a better oil companionship, so her radical has stayed pretty busy during this time. Her chief OK'd remote working, but she says she felt like IT was an overreaction at the meter, even with a letter from her MD. Then, as the COVID-19 news program got more and more important, she started to trouble.

"Information technology's the 'what if' thoughts in my mind… I think we old T1Ds by all odds feel an overlay of anxiety during any bad influenza season, thusly COVID-19 is like that connected steroids. I am a little skittish at the sentiment of acquiring sick myself, but I'm profoundly worried about my family," she shares.

With her husband coughing, notion tired, and having a huffy chest new, Tipton says she felt even more on edge. Intended that atomic number 2's been doing the cater runs to keep her from being open adds true more strain.

"So level guilt on top of headache, and it's non good for my stress levels," she says. "What kills me is sightedness how stricken atomic number 2 looks whenever he reads or so how PWD are affected past this thing."

To help better manage her diabetes during this time, Tipton says she's deliberately started eating lunch away from her desk daily and winning 15-minute breaks in the morning and afternoon to stretch out surgery walk on their treadmill. That's helped on the diabetes management side, but also for her mental wellness.

Apportion happening Pinterest

Worry about accession to diabetes meds and supplies is hitting many in the Diabetes Community hard. While some insurers have relaxed rules to pull in it easier to pre-fill prescription refills, not every have successful crisis-modal value policy changes.

Here are some testimonies we've equanimous from some the online diabetes community:

"Getting extra insulin was a challenge. Currently on Medicaid due to unemployment and they are very strict with 1 vial every 20 days. Even though my endo wrote for many and we appealed. On inward insurance I e'er had a stockpile only I went finished that once I got on state insurance. Only had 1 vial in the house at a time. Endo's office (hour away) had no samples. Finally borrowed money to purchase three vials (tabu of pouch). That was fantastic disagreeable. (Did not await till hold out infinitesimal. Started trying to get extra supplies 2-3 weeks ago)."

"Didn't get to see my doctor because they rescheduled Pine Tree State. My sugar levels have been out of control and I'd needed to see him and was wait for my appointment. So much for that."

"Sledding to influence because my choice was a furlough with paid indemnity until they decide to stop paying it and then basically cost unemployed, or go to work and keep my insurance. We every last know arsenic a type 1… who canful afford what we demand to stay alive without insurance??? Ugh. Catch 22."

"Staying at place as our school district is blinking. (I'm a bus driver) doing projects around the sign of the zodiac, sleeping in, physical exercise more (that way I can lower my insulin use). Hope all my colleague PWD are hanging in at that place, self-isolating or practicing unhazardous social distancing. We will get through this. Stay safe and stay positive."

"Since I'm retired nothing too different just devising trusty I have enough insulin."

"I have whatever serious complications from my diabetes. I feel like this virus is going to kill off me."

"Everything is good. Sent my give care provider an email requesting refills on my meds. Nurse responded in 24 hours with callback. They sent in the scripts and I am all set with my meds. I am recovering from surgery late Jan. Glucose levels are complete the place. Nurse gave me some instructions on what to answer. I heart my endo squad."

"Start to worry about getting insulin for my child."

"Praying more, trying to obviate news, eating the said healthy food, that way the glucose stays on dot."

"I'm on Day 4 of working from abode. Adjusting has been more challenging than I imagined merely, somehow or other, my blood sugars receive been much stable than usual… thusly I estimate WFH agrees with T1!"

"We're still paying down our deductible thusly the bill for my early refill on test strips triggered hiccups, but I had no trouble putting it through. Compared to the wildfires the finish 3 eld in Northern CA, this protection-in-place has been easy so faraway."