I was diagnosed with Diabetes Tipe 1 at the fragile age of 14. I can remember losing a lot of weight despite having a very healthy appetite. I wore winter clothing in the middle of summer (our summers averaged around 45-55 degrees Celsius), I had to urinate about every 30min, I was always tired, my eyesight started to weaken.

Being a rebellious teenager I just kept convincing my parents that I was fine and there was nothing to worry about. This continued for a couple of weeks when my mother just decided that I will now visit our doctor. He took one look a me, did a blood and urine test, put me on a mobile drip and sent me off to hospital. My sugar levels were so high that none of the machines used to do the tests could give a reading as they did not read that high.

I was in hospital for 2 weeks while they got me back to normal levels and teaching me how to use insulin, the correct way to inject myself, what to eat, what not to eat etc.

I hated every second of this as my lifestyle had to change, I could no longer eat and drink the same things my friends could. I felt weak and like a drug user having to inject myself everyday.

Every emotion I experience, to this day has an effect on my sugar levels. I get excited - my sugar levels drop. I get stressed - my sugar levels rise. Having something as stupid as the common cold makes my sugar levels rise to dangerous levels.

My eyesight gets worse every couple of months. My teeth for some reason is extremely brittle and breaks chewing on soft foods. I still never really have any energy and really have to put my mind to every physical activity I do, to convince myself beforehand that it is good for me, it is going to be fun - which it always turns out being, but to get my mind and body to agree takes some time. I am very prone to bladder infections as my kidneys took some damage. Walking even a couple of hundred meters makes my hands and feet swell up. I also have Dupuytren's contracture in my right hand, this causes pain sometimes and my hand can not fully open or lay flat on a surface, this condition mostly effects older men, but my doctor said due to the Diabetes this is now affecting me. My pregnancies was extremely difficult as my hormones was all over the place (as with every other pregnancy out there), but this caused my sugar levels to fluctuate to dangerous levels, so I had to be very careful as to not harm the babies and myself.

I have been hospitalised a couple of times where I was very close to death, my body just did not accept the insulin I was feeding it.

Earlier this year I was also diagnosed with Diabetes tipe 2. Meaning the insulin that I inject does not get absorbed by my cells so I keep feeling ill. They changed my meds and I now need to take pills with my insulin to ensure that my body gets what it needs.

Food is always a struggle, as in South Africa (don't know about the rest of the world), the healthier the food, the more it cost. So living on a single income and having to look after a child I can not afford to live off the food that I need, meaning pastas, bread, meats, pap is our main source of food.

Looking at me, you would think that I am a healthy slightly overweight woman. But if you had the chance to look at my insides, you will see a completely different story. This is but a drop of information in a very big bucket. Thank you to Yoors for giving the opportunity to talk about this. #autoimmunedisease