Maya was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of 12 years old. Now at 40, Maya was feeling helpless with managing her diabetes—until she started the Cecelia Health virtual diabetes program. She shared early on that “nothing seems to work, no matter how much insulin I use.” She feared for her long-term health as she had already been diagnosed with Stage 3 kidney disease, hypertension, and obesity. She expressed deep anxiety about her risk for needing dialysis.
Maya was using insulin multiple times per day, but her blood glucose was not improving despite her and her doctor’s effort to change the dosage. While working with her Cecelia Health clinician on a video call, they were quick to realize that Maya was not rotating insulin injection sites. This led to a condition called lipohypertrophy, which meant Maya had an excess of fat cells built up in one area of her body she was using for an injection site. This prevented her insulin from reaching her cells properly and working appropriately to lower her glucose.
It was this quick revelation that made all the difference for Maya! Her Cecelia Health clinician stepped in to teach her about rotating injection sites for her daily insulin injections. Immediately, Maya saw improvements in her response to insulin injections and her blood glucose began to improve. Maya’s A1c improved from 11.5% to 8.3% after only five months of work.
Maya’s never-give-up attitude is what helped her thrive despite feelings of defeat in her prior attempts to improve her condition. No matter how long you’ve had diabetes and how hard you think you’ve tried, a fresh perspective and a hunger to learn is key to life-changing success.