I don’t have much to write about this month when it comes to Medicare. I am signed up for Medicare Part A and Part B. I have enrolled in a Supplemental Plan offered by BCBS of MN. I have selected an AARP Walgreen’s Part D drug plan. For better or worse I am ready to tackle Medicare on April 1.

Turning 65 years old and going on Medicare is a milestone in the progression of growing old. It is impossible for me to make this transition without thinking about growing old with Type 1 diabetes. Below you’ll find some of my thoughts.

The idea of “phases of aging” makes sense to me and I am moving into the “young-old” subgroup described in a Lumen Learning sociology course:

The United States’ older adult population can be divided into three life-stage subgroups: the young-old (approximately 65–74), the middle-old (ages 75–84), and the old-old (over age 85). Today’s young-old age group is generally happier, healthier, and financially better off than the young-old of previous generations.

As a young-old person who has lived with Type 1 diabetes for over 40 years, I am the most confident and empowered in relation to my diabetes than I have ever been. That is not going to change on April 1.

When I was diagnosed in 1976, I knew nothing about diabetes and had access to only a few books and magazines. Today the Internet has opened doors to scientific knowledge, professional recommendations, advocacy issues, and the cumulative knowledge of the Diabetes Online Community (DOC). Although I don’t blindly follow online diabetes advice and have never consumed okra water, I strongly believe that my fellow people with diabetes (PWD) have taught me almost everything I know about Type 1 and have motivated and empowered me to succeed. Continued learning about diabetes won’t go away just because I get a Medicare card.

I have lived a privileged diabetes life and have never worried about access to care. I understand that I will have a huge learning curve when it comes to getting supplies and medications under Medicare. I am not yet losing sleep over potential roadblocks although I know that it is naive to think that there won’t be any.

There is no doubt that improvements in both insulin formulations and technology have allowed me to reach age 65 in reasonably good health. I can’t envision what my health status would be (or if I would even still be alive) had I continued on my 1976 insulin regimen of one injection a day and no home BG monitoring. Insulin pumps and CGMs have exponentially increased the quality of my life. I can’t even begin to hypothesize on how and if Medicare will cover future diabetes tech such as artificial pancreas systems.

In some ways I am living with a different diabetes than at other stages of my life. Although hormones never completely disappear, they don’t rage as much for me anymore and are usually more predictable than when I was younger. In Figure 5-2 of Think Like a Pancreas, Gary Scheiner shows graphs of “typical basal insulin levels by age group.”

The thick line is for ages 60 and older and shows a decrease in total basal insulin along with a sharper rise in insulin needs in the early morning hours. I am experiencing both of those changes and they didn’t make sense to me until I saw Gary’s chart. Most of my bolus ratios have remained the same so far.

Hypoglycemia unawareness is a mixed gift bag as I move into my senior years. On one hand, I feel better because I don’t get the sweats, shakiness, blurry vision, and insatiable hunger of my younger years. I also don’t tend to over-treat lows and multiple bowls of Frosted Flakes at 3:00am are a distant memory. At the same time I know that hypoglycemia is a huge problem for seniors with diabetes and my risks for falls, hospitalization, and permanent disability resulting from severe lows will increase. Knowing that Medicare will soon be covering CGMs for seniors is a huge relief, but I won’t consider it a done deal until I am approved under the not-yet-established CMS guidelines.

When I look at my diabetes, I am comfortable believing that I will be in control of my diabetes throughout my “young-old” years and hopefully well into my “middle-old” years. It is likely that I may require help with care at some point in my “old-old” years…. That terrifies me because I don’t trust anyone else to take care of my diabetes and my biggest fear of aging is losing independence.

Aging is a process. My life isn’t going to be much different on April 1 than it was on March 31. I’ll still have type 1 diabetes and will continue to test my blood and take insulin. I’ll still have arthritis and sometimes I worry more about that than diabetes. But one change that will happen is that I will finally start using the red, white, and blue Medicare card stashed in my wallet. Wish me luck.