Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Shadow on September 6, 2010 at 12:43pm

Hi Amy!
I would love to help out...if I have any good information.
Michelle

Permalink Reply by amy mercer on September 6, 2010 at 2:32pm

Great, thank you! I'm sure you do have good info...we all do :) If you are interested in being interviewed, you can answer these questions and send them to my email at amy.mercer@comcast.net or I can call....just let me know what you prefer!
Thanks.

Permalink Reply by ClumsyChemist on September 6, 2010 at 2:34pm

I'd be interested in helping...I was diagnosed young (age 6) but only recently (I'm 25 now) did I really accept my fate and take control of D. Would it be ok to answer some of those questions as a born again diabetic rather than newly diagnosed?

Permalink Reply by amy mercer on September 6, 2010 at 2:38pm

Absolutely! I can't tell you how many women I've interviewed already (myself included) that share your same experience....and I'll have different questions for each chapter, this diagnosis chapter is for anyone looking back and sharing their diagnosis story, a place to start.

Permalink Reply by aa on September 6, 2010 at 7:27pm

i would be happy to help but i was diagnosed at 19, so i don't have a lot of experience with the adolescence side..

Permalink Reply by amy mercer on September 7, 2010 at 7:05am

Are there particular issues you'd be interested in? Such as: Dating, Eating, Body Image/Sexuality, Travel, Work, Marriage, Parenting, Aging Gracefully......if you're interested in talking about any of those issues let me know!
Thanks,
Amy

Permalink Reply by amy mercer on September 7, 2010 at 7:03am

Jacki,
Thanks for your interest. I have a contract (and editor, thanks anyway) with Demos Health. The chapters will be organized into different topics with quotes from my interviews relating to that topic. The names of women I interview will be included, so if anyone is concerned about privacy, this might not be the book for them....I can probably use a first name only, I'll have to talk with my editor about that. If you are still interested let me know, I'd love to include your stories!
Thanks,
Amy

Permalink Reply by MaiaJane on September 7, 2010 at 12:33pm

Hi Amy! I was diagnosed at 17...about a year and a half ago...I am more than willing to help! Ask me anything, I will answer! Let me know what parts of my story you want to hear...

Permalink Reply by amy mercer on September 7, 2010 at 1:26pm

Maia,
Great, thank you! I am in need of more teenagers :) Here is my list of questions, email them back to me at amy.mercer@comcast.net or let me know if you'd rather talk on the phone.

Chapter 2-Managing Adolescence
• (Social) How did you handle social situations? Were you concerned about being different? Did you try to keep your diabetes a secret or did everyone know?
• (Period)What do you remember about getting your period? Was your cycle regular? Did you notice blood sugar fluctuations when you got your period?
• (Driving)What do you remember about getting your license? Were your parents or doctors concerned, did you have to prove to the DMV that you were in good control? What steps did your parents take to make sure you were safe and were other parents or friends concerned about driving with you?
• (Drinking) Do you have any stories about drinking and diabetes? Did you ever get low or high from drinking alcohol? Were you told you couldn’t drink? Did that make you want to drink more or did it make you want to stay away from alcohol? If you drank at parties as a teenager, did you feel out of control and was that a good or bad thing?
• (Dating/sex) When did you decide to tell a date that you had diabetes? How did you tell them? Did wearing a pump or carrying syringes make you self-conscious? Did you feel attractive, sexy, beautiful as a young woman with diabetes? What do you remember about dating as a teenager with diabetes, were you at all concerned that guys would see you differently? Did having diabetes affect the choices you made about your sexuality, do you feel like you engaged in more or less sexually risky behaviors as a result of being a teen with diabetes?
• (Independence) How did having diabetes effect your independence from your parents? Did you feel like they kept a tighter reign on you, give you less freedom than your peers? Did you feel older than your peers, more responsible? Did you feel like you were still able to take the same risks as your peers? If so, give me an example.
• (Eating) Did you feel excluded or frustrated about having to eat differently than your friends? (If you struggle with or struggled with an eating disorder, save those stories for the next chapter…) Do you remember specific events where you felt restricted/different in your eating, what did you do? How did you manage? What were the biggest frustrations with food/eating/diet when you were a teenager? Were your friends dieting and skipping meals while you ate balanced meals?
• (Emotions) What were your biggest frustrations as a teenager with diabetes? Did you ever feel depressed and what did you do, who did you talk to?

Permalink Reply by melindalaw on October 30, 2010 at 5:47pm

Amy
Would love to add my two cents to your book. I have had Type One Diabetes since 1960, so it is a 50 year perspective. Your questions go to the heart of a lot of issues I had to deal with, and always thought there was a book in it somewhere. Never thought of it as a woman's perspective. But of course it is .
Melinda

Permalink Reply by amy mercer on October 31, 2010 at 5:15am

melinda,
Thanks for contacting me, I would love to get your perspective! I am emailing questions out on a chapter by chapter basis. Maybe you could tell me which topics you'd be interested in answering? So far I've covered: Diagnosis, Managing Adolescence, Eating/eating disorder issues, Exercise, and Depression....next up is: Dating/Marriage/Sexuality, Travel, Work, Pregnancy, Motherhood, and Aging Gracefully. If there are specific issues you're interested in just let me know, otherwise I'll add you to the general list and send out questions with every chapter.

Permalink Reply by melindalaw on October 31, 2010 at 5:36am

If you 'd like, I could give a perspective on all of the above. I guess my question is, have those chapters been finished?
I am interested in how diabetes affects the individual emotionally, because it has such a great impact on my self esteem, and how I relate to others. It impacted me relative to diagnosis, childhood, teen years, exercise, dating marriage, sexuality, pregnancy, motherhood, and aging
gracefully (I don't know if I am doing that but we shall see.)
Anyway, I look forward to hearing from you.
Melinda

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