Matheus is looking for other people with T1D in the Netherlands

My name is Matheus and I am Brazilian-Italian. When I was a university student at 21 years old, I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes after losing a lot of weight and experiencing frequent episodes of extreme thirst. As many of you already know, it wasn’t easy at first—I had to learn what it was like to live with diabetes.

I remember lying in the hospital, thinking to myself, “Come on, this must be something I just stressed my body with; I’ll be fine in a week or two.” Little did I know that I would be writing this post years later, still living with diabetes.

Shy and uncomfortable

Being diagnosed at that age had a huge impact on my social life. I was always surrounded by friends and gatherings, but after my diagnosis, I distanced myself from everything and everyone for about five to six years. I was shy and uncomfortable with the idea of exposing my condition to others—I thought they wouldn’t understand and might judge me.

Back then, I used insulin pens for my injections and always tried to hide them. I would take the opportunity to go to the bathroom before meals or inject under the table or my hoodie so that no one would notice.

Time for change

After doing this for a while and feeling a deep sense of loneliness, I decided it was time for a change. That’s when I met two people during an internship, one of whom had a sister with type 1 diabetes. With them, I finally felt comfortable showing my true self again, and that made me realize something important: yes, most people don’t understand what’s going on with your injections, but that doesn’t mean they will judge you—they simply don’t care, and that was exactly what I needed.

I overcame many of my insecurities during that period of my life, except for injecting in public. That took me an additional four to five years to become comfortable with (but now I don’t need to worry about it anymore, thanks to my insulin pump). Sometimes, your internal timeline is different from the external world’s pace, and that’s okay.

Find balance

If I were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes today, knowing what I do now, I wish I had learned sooner to accept that my life would indeed change—but that didn’t mean I couldn’t embrace the journey and find great moments along the way. No matter how difficult the start, there is always a way to find balance.

At first, my diagnosis overwhelmed and frustrated me, but over time, I made peace with it. To be honest, I’m now healthier—both mentally and physically—than I ever was before diabetes, and sometimes I wonder if I would have reached this point had I continued my old lifestyle. So, like everything in life, there are pros and cons.

A supportive community

I believe the type 1 diabetes community is incredibly supportive of one another. I’m part of social media groups here in the Netherlands where people exchange supplies when needed, but I feel like the support stops there. T1D can have a huge impact on mental health, and without a strong support system, it can be an isolating experience. Living in the Netherlands has been a bit lonely for me in that sense, as I don’t speak Dutch yet (I’m working on it—I even bought a lifetime subscription to a language-learning app!).

Because of that, it’s difficult to participate in local events held in Dutch. But I’m sure there are others like me who would love to connect, share experiences, and support each other. In my opinion, that’s really important. Things are so much better now than they were 10 years ago, and I want to share this excitement—and also the bad days—with people who understand what it’s like to live with T1D.

So, whether in Dutch or English, feel free to reach out if you relate to this. Keep your time in range as high as possible (without hypos), stay active to reduce insulin resistance, and let’s keep moving forward!

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺: @matheus_guide 💙