Life with Type 2 stories
2018-12-17
There’s A Life Outside of Being Limited By Diabetes
After a diagnosis with type 2 diabetes, Ti strives to find a balance between being safe and living her life the way she wants.MORE
Serena’s Story: 5-Year Misdiagnosis + Living With Diabetic Retinopathy
After being misdiagnosed with type 1, Serena went blind with diabetic retinopathy. Read her inspiring story!MORE
How Insulin Makes Life with T2D Easier
Heather Olson shares why she chose to start taking insulin to manage type 2 diabetes and how it's made life with diabetes easier. MORE
Seeing a Positive Impact After Starting Insulin
Kelly Casperson speaks with Beyond Type 2 about recently starting insulin and the immediate positive impact it had on her life. MORE
Diagnosed with Type 2 Without Experiencing the Typical Symptoms
Antionette Blake is a multi-award winning blogger from Delaware and the owner of ABlake Enterprises, a social media management & consulting company. Antionette was recently diagnosed with Type 2 d...MORE
My Rejection for Life Insurance Revealed My Type 2 Diagnosis
Jeannette Alligood is a health coach who has been living with Type 2 diabetes since 2016. Her diagnosis was revealed after being rejected by life insurance. MORE
How I’ve Dealt with My “Freshman” Year of Type 2 Diabetes
Bill Santos was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2018. He likens adjusting to diabetes to living in a new country and reflects on the changes he made in his first "freshman" year of having ...MORE
Life with Diabetes Complications: I Wish I’d Known This Would Happen
For years, Fabian didn’t have the resources or tools to manage his type 2 diabetes. Now, he’s navigating life with complications.MORE
Similar Signs, Different Diabetes: When Type 2 is Actually Type 1
Dex Gerald was misdiagnosed with type 2 diabetes when he actually had type 1 diabetes. This is how his self-advocacy changed his diabetes story (for the better)!MORE
Hiking The Appalachian Trail with Type 2 Diabetes
Nalini started hiking, backpacking, and adventuring with type 2 diabetes. Her blog, Hiking Misadventures was born. MORE
Putting Inhaled Insulin to the Test
I'm using Afrezza's inhaled insulin to manage my type 1 diabetes. Here's how it's going...MORE
Insulin Improved My Quality of Life
Alex Charnin shares how she switched doctors to be put on insulin after her endo focused too much on her weight and not her glucose levels.MORE
Stop the Stigma: Using Insulin is Not a Failure
Insulin is a life-saving drug, yet many people with type 2 diabetes are shamed for using it. The stigma needs to stop.MORE
Transgender with Diabetes: Fighting for Gender-Affirming Healthcare
“I'd like my pronouns listed before the little letter indicating what genitals I have. I want person-first language.”MORE
Conquering Type 2 Diabetes While Training For a Triathlon
At 31 years old and living in Bangalore, India, Aditya is conquering type 2 diabetes and triathlons. MORE
How This Foodie Changed Her Diet After Being Diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes
Chanel loves trying new foods and celebrating the classics. Here’s how she changed her diet to help manage her type 2 diabetes.MORE
Weight Lifting For The Win with Freestyle Libre
Dave found his strength in weight lifting, running, and walking after his type 2 diagnosis.MORE
Switching to an Insulin Patch After 50 Years of Injections
A 66-year-old woman who's been living with diabetes for over 50 years shares her experience using the CeQur Simplicity insulin patch.MORE
T2D As A Catalyst For Change: How Jamie Focused On Poetry + Community
Jamie used his type 2 diagnosis as a catalyst for change in his life. MORE
How Therapy Helped Me After My Diabetes Misdiagnosis
For T’ara Smith, the tools she learned in therapy to manage negative thoughts helped her weather big life transitions—and a misdiagnosis of type 2 diabetes.MORE
Getting Therapy as a Man with Diabetes: “Our pride gets the best of us.”
Asking for help is never easy—especially for a man in today’s world where mental health is often overlooked. Here, Keith shares why asking for help was worth it.MORE
LeAnne’s Type 2 Diagnosis + Connecting With Others On Social Media
From crash dieting to a type 2 diabetes diagnosis, LeAnne shares her story. MORE
Finding Adventure in Life with Type 2 + FreeStyle Libre
"I think the fact that I went on a cruise the day after getting diagnosed is very telling of how living with diabetes would go for me. I never let diabetes hold me back from adventure."MORE
HCP’s Perspective on Diabetes Success: Learn to Celebrate the Small Wins
Quisha Umemba RN, CDCES, CHWI shares thoughts on how success w/ type 2 diabetes is more than about A1C and how to celebrate the small wins. MORE
(Un)doing Diabetes Stigmas and Changing Public Perception
Here, we take a look at the public perception of diabetes and the way people with diabetes treat each other.MORE
Transforming Tobi: A Story About Fitness + Mental Health
Tobi learned to prioritize both fitness and mental health after being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.MORE
A Different Kind of Happiness: Defining My Own Success with Type 2 Diabetes
Living a happy life with type 2 diabetes, beyond A1C, looks different for everyone. Bill Santos shares what successful management looks like for him. MORE
Losing Weight with Type 2 Diabetes: “You cannot hate yourself to wellness.”
Mary Van Doorn shares her weight loss journey over 20+ years with type 2 diabetes while facing the biggest obstacle—her emotional wellness.MORE
Forgetting to Take Insulin, Until I Started Wearing a Pump
Katrin was juggling family, work, and T2D - but forgetting to take her insulin. Read how Omnipod changed that.MORE
How Starting a GLP-1 Helped This Chef Address Diet Culture
Chef and nurse, Travis Cleaves, shares how starting a GLP-1 to manage Type 2 diabetes helped him view diet culture in a new light. MORE
Former Chef with Type 2 Diabetes Proves Great Food Can Be Healthy + Tasty
Former Chef, Carlos Gonzalez, learned how to make healthy food choices without sacrificing flavor after he was diagnosed with T2D. MORE
Making Small Changes + Incorporating Time In Range With Freestyle Libre
Liz Davis shares how her Freestyle Libre and time-in-range feature has helped strengthen her diabetes management regimen.MORE
Here’s How 27 People with Type 2 Diabetes Manage Low Blood Sugars
Gummy bears, milk or juice, rest. What do you do when your blood sugar drops low? We asked our community and collected their responses. MORE
I Accidentally Took 18 Units of the Wrong Insulin
Jean Flunker shares how she accidentally took the wrong insulin and her thoughts on insulin stigma in Type 2 diabetes. MORE
A Game Plan to Remember to Take Insulin
Vickie Nell shares her story, the impact of missing insulin dosages, and how she remembers to take insulin. MORE
I Wish People with T1D Understood THIS About Type 2 Diabetes
Let's fight the stigma around Type 2 diabetes and advocate for all people living with the chronic illness. MORE
Using a CGM for My Type 2 Diabetes
Three people with Type 2 diabetes share how using a CGM has changed the way they manage their blood sugars—and how much safer they feel, too.MORE
After Years of Denial, This Man Manages His Diabetes with Insulin
When Arvind Ramaswamy was diagnosed with MODY 1 diabetes at 25 years old in 1995, he was convinced the doctors had made a mistake.MORE
“My doctor refused to put me on insulin for Type 2 diabetes, so I got a new doctor.”
Before Kate Cornell was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2005 at 50 years old, she had no idea anything was wrong. Today, she uses both metformin and insulin to manage her blood sugars.MORE
“I stopped taking insulin in January 2021,” says Prince Blue
With an A1c of 17.6 percent at his diagnosis, Prince looks back and realizes he should’ve started insulin right away. But today, he’s no longer taking insulin and thriving.MORE
From Syringes to Insulin Pens: Making Type 2 Diabetes Life Easier
Katie Saucedo shares her T2D story, switching from syringes to pens, and discusses T2D stigma and insulin. MORE
A New Way to Deliver the Insulin I Need
Luis Doriocourt shares his experiences switching insulin delivery methods - from syringes and vials to insulin pens to manage T2D. MORE
Lessons Learned from My First CGM Experience
U.K.-based Type 2 advocate, Ken Tait, shares his experience with the Freestyle Libre 2 and why people with T2D should use a CGM. MORE
Being My Own T2D Success Story with Omnipod
Prince Blue joins Beyond Type 2 to discuss updates to his journey with type 2 diabetes, including finding weight loss success with Omnipod. MORE
With an Insulin Pump, Type 2 Diabetes Requires Less Effort
Russ Bell shares his T2D diabetes story, being encouraged to try Omnipod by his T1D granddaughter, and why T2D requires less effort to manage because of Omnipod. MORE
Saying Goodbye to GERTI
UK Type 2 advocate, Ken Tait, talks about his brief use of the Freestyle Libre 2 and why T2Ds need better access to CGM.MORE
My First Freestyle Libre: Making Adjustments to Type 2 Diabetes Care
John Ramos shares how he obtained his first Freestyle Libre on Medicare and made changes to his T2D, such as learning how to calculate carb ratios.MORE
Better Decisions, Better Data: My FSL Story
Matilde Gómez-Revilla Rosas was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2016. She shares her experiences with Freestyle Libre and how it helped her make better decisions about her diabetes. MORE
Laurie Hernandez: Type 2 Diabetes is a Team Sport
U.S. Gold Medalist, Laurie Hernandez chats with Beyond Type 2 about supporting her father's journey with type 2 diabetes and why T2D is a team sport.MORE
T1D + T2D Perspectives on Hypoglycemia w/ Ginger + Taylor
Beyond Type 1 staff member, Ginger Vieira, and Type 2 Podcast Host and Advocate, Taylor Daniele, joined Beyond Type 2 to discuss their experiences with hypoglycemia from a type 1 and type 2 perspectiv...MORE
Fitness + Hypoglycemia with Liz Cambron, Ph.D.
Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) can occur during or after a workout and to learn how people with Type 2 diabetes address it in their lives, we reached out to one of our community members, Liz Cambron, ...MORE
Overcoming Denial: This Chef Lowered Her A1c from 9.5 to 5.9 Percent
Within 95 days, Genny lowered her A1c from 9.5 to 5.9 percent while still enjoying a diet full of real food and flavor.MORE
Diabetes Difference Makers Spotlight: Hiking My Feelings
Syndey Williams shares how hiking has helped her navigate her diagnosis with Type 2 diabetes and her hopes for the Take a Hike Diabetes campaign.MORE
Trusting Myself with Insulin
Former pro wrestler, Dan Denton, shares when he first started taking insulin and how he's learned to trust himself with it to manage T2D.MORE
No Shame in Using Insulin
Insulin stigma in T2D care is real and causes people with type 2 to feel like they're failing at managing it. Joseph Martin shares why that doesn't have to be the case. MORE
Like Having a Life Coach on My Arm
Rob Taub shares his story about why wearing the Freestyle Libre is like having a life coach on his arm and what he's learned about diabetes.MORE
Staying Ready with Nasal Glucagon
T2D Mark Hanlon discussed his experiences with hypoglycemia and how he is staying ready with Baqsimi to prepare for future emergencies. MORE
What My First Month with Freestyle Libre Taught Me about My Diabetes
Venice Furio shares her experiences about her first month with the Freestyle Libre and the challenges of accessing CGM and making healthy food in the Phillippines.MORE
Nasal Glucagon Gives Me Peace of Mind
For a person relatively newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, Alicia Meader talks about the importance of diabetes education, patient advocacy, as well as her life with diabetes, as if she’d bee...MORE
Life is Easier with Omnipod
T2D patient Kathleen Weaver tells her story about wearing insulin pumps for 20 years and why life is easier with Omnipod DASH. MORE
Being Prepared for Hypoglycemia to Stay on Top of My Diabetes Game
Professional sports photojournalist, Keith Crear, shares his experiences with hypoglycemia and how staying prepared keeps him on top of his game against Type 2 diabetes.MORE
Freestyle Libre’s Positive Impact on my Culinary Career
Chef Robert Lewis shares his story on why starting the Freestyle Libre was "love at first swipe" and how the device positively impacted his culinary career. MORE
Feeling Like a New Person with the Omnipod System
John Hale is a Former Drill Sergeant who was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 1999. After being diagnosed with prostate cancer, he had trouble bring his glucose down due to his medication. As a resul...MORE
Building an Army Against Type 2 Diabetes
Former Canadian Wrestler, Dan Denton, talks about his website and podcast Diabetes Army and how he advocates for health and wellness for people with Type 2 diabetes. MORE
Using Small Changes to Overcome Prediabetes
Karen Morrow was told she had prediabetes in 2017. After her diagnosis, she made small changes to her diet and exercise regimen to help her overcome prediabetes.MORE
A Type 2 Makeover by the Freestyle Libre 14 Day System
Allan Avendaño, 43, is a makeup artist from the Los Angeles area who uses the Freestyle Libre 14 day system to manage Type 2 diabetes. Allan tells Beyond Type 2 how the CGM device gave him a Type 2 m...MORE
Seeking the Right Kind of Help: My Prediabetes Story
Juan Carlos shared the story of his prediabetes with us. For personal reasons, he preferred to remain anonymous. If you want to read more about pre-diabetes visit our resource page. MORE
A Movement, Not a Moment: About the POC Living with Diabetes Virtual Summit
People of color within the diabetes community have been calling for more representation and have their voices heard from other community members and organizations, alike. Noticing the gap in awareness...MORE
My First Time Prescribing A FreeStyle Libre
Anna Simos is a diabetes clinical research coordinator and diabetes care and education specialist (DCES) at Stanford University. Anna chats with Beyond Type 2 about the first time she prescribed a Fre...MORE
How Omnipod Simplifies Life with Type 2 Diabetes: A Chat with Insulet CCO Bret Christensen
Bret Christensen is the Chief Commercial Officer at Insulet, maker of the Omnipod Insulin Management System. He recently spoke with Beyond Type 2 to discuss his role at the company, how Insulet is ove...MORE
How can we be better allies?
How can white people with diabetes use our experiences with advocacy to be better advocates for black people in the United States?MORE
Experiencing A Telehealth Appointment
Planning on using Libreview to go over your FreeStyle Libre 14 day system data in your telehealth appointment? Diabetes care and education specialist, Julia Blanchette, and Beyond Type 2 Project Manag...MORE
Shortages and Disparities: Mexico vs. COVID-19
The number of worldwide infections is in the hundreds of thousands and hospital beds are few compared to those infected, and given this scenario it’s no wonder there’s a shortage of medical suppli...MORE
My First Time Wearing the FreeStyle Libre
Liz started wearing a CGM for the first time in late 2019. Read why she answered "one thousand times yes" when asked if the FreeStyle Libre improved her life.MORE
Omnipod Helped Me Reduce My A1C by Nearly 10 Percent
After experiencing diabetic comas, neuropathy, and an A1C of over 17 percent, Prince was able to turn things around with the Omnipod insulin management system to reduce his A1C by nearly 10 percent.MORE
How Hypoglycemia Disrupts My Life
Think hypoglycemia isn't a big deal for people with Type 2? Shanerica's story on how it disrupts her life will convince you otheriwse.MORE
Improving Cultural Competency Among HCPs
Dr. Lisa Sumlin, PhD, APRN, ACNS-BC, chats about how healthcare professionals can improve their cultural competency skills to help their POC patients. MORE
Diabetes Inspired Me to be a Health Coach
Liz Cambron is a Beachbody coach and a Ph.D. candidate for cellular biology. Read how diabetes helped her heal her relationship with food and help others.MORE
I Learned to Prevent Hypoglycemia
Luis had a hypoglycemia episode so severe he's not even sure how he survived. This experience led him to educate himself on hypoglycemia and how to prevent it. Read our interview with him below t...MORE
Diabetes Diagnosis and Diabulimia
Eating disorders aren't discussed much in the diabetes world. Qiana shares her story about diabulimia to normalize the discussion about eating disorders. MORE
Living in the Philippines with Diabetes
Sofia Evangelista has been living with diabetes in the Philippines since 2003. Even though she's experienced eye complications from diabetes, she's kept her goal of living healthy in sight.MORE
Type 2 Isn’t a “Good” Form of Diabetes
Jenita has had to deal with hearing she has the "good" diabetes since she was diagnosed in '95. She discusses why there's no such thing.MORE
A Type 2 Titan
Ross Cooper has been living with Type 2 diabetes since 1996. Since he's been diagnosed, he's been a beast in the gym. Read how why he's a Type 2 Titan.MORE
FreeStyle Libre Improved My Diabetes Management
DiabeticFoodie's Shelby Kinnaird chats with Beyond Type 2 on how the FreeStyle Libre 14 day system made life with diabetes easier.MORE
Hiking My Feelings to Manage Diabetes
Sydney Williams has been living with Type 2 diabetes for over two years. Her love for hiking forced her to confront some deep feelings...MORE
Diabetes Education Helped This Marine Vet Reach His Type 2 Goals
Former Marine Vet Garrett Reynolds was in disbelief about his type 2 diabetes diagnosis. Through education, he achieved his diabetes goals.MORE
Getting Bizzy in the Kitchen with Type 2 Diabetes
Diabetes didn't stop this blogger from creating mouthwatering recipes. In fact, her FreeStyle Libre made her life and staying Bizzy in the kitchen easier.MORE
Mexican Diabetes Federation CEO Gisela Ayala Talks Diabetes in Mexico
Mexican Diabetes Federation CEO Gisela Ayala shares her diabetes story and the prevelance of diabetes in Mexico and meeting its challenges. MORE
One on One with ADA CEO Tracey Brown
Tracey D. Brown is the CEO of the American Diabetes Association. BT2 had a candid conversation with Brown about community needs + what's ahead for the ADA.MORE
I Had to Learn About Severe Hypoglycemia on My Own
Ceci Garcia was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes on her 23rd birthday. Since then, she's dealt with frequent hypoglycemia episodes and learned about Glucagon and severe hypoglycemia on her own. MORE
Overcoming Hypoglycemia to Own My Diabetes
Cindy Lou has been living with Type 2 diabetes for nearly 5 years. With no knowledge of hypoglycemia, her first experience with it was clinically defined as severe hypoglycemia. Over the years she...MORE
Taking the Blame and Shame Out of Complications
Noted T1D blogger Renza Scibilia and Twitter's Chris Aldred ("The Grumpy Pumper") talk about blaming and shaming when it comes to complications.MORE
Motivated to Lose Weight After a Back Injury
Adrián Márquez heard his vertebrae crack while doing menial chores. A visit to the doctor motivated him to lose weight to heal his injury. Read more here.MORE
I Didn’t Know Glucagon was an Option
Jenita Stubblefield has been living with Type 2 diabetes since 1995. She recalls her episodes and just recently learned that Glucagon is an option to treat hypoglycemia. Read her story here. MORE
Finding Our Inner Foodie with Shelby Kinnaird
Shelby Kinnaird has been living with Type 2 diabetes for 20 years. Since her diagnosis, she's started her website, The Diabetic Foodie, to show people with diabetes can eat well without sacrifici...MORE
Remaining Fierce in the Face of Type 2 Diabetes
Tiff McFierce is a DJ and Music Director for the NY Liberty Basketball Team. Diagnosed w/ Type 2 diabetes in 2017, she's remaining fierce in the face of it.MORE
Mil Familias: Diabetes in Latino Families
Beyond Type 2 talked to Namino Glantz, Associate Director of Mil Familias Programs, to get details on what makes the program so important.MORE
Diabetes Support Helped Me Confront Trauma
Shanerica Churchill has had Type 2 diabetes since August 2018. Receiving support from her husband helped her confront trauma and thrive with diabetes. Read her story here and how having a supportive p...MORE
Beyond the Stigma: Diabetes and Body Image
Bianca Grima is a 17-year-old from New Zealand living with Type 2 diabetes. She advocates living beyond the stigma of negative body image in diabetes. Read her story on how she maintains and promotes ...MORE
