How Long is My Life Expectancy with Diabetes

Those who have just been diagnosed with the condition will usually be anxious to ask the following question, "how long is my life expectancy with diabetes?" While there is no real cure (at least not yet anyway) for diabetes it is still possible to manage the condition and life a full and happy life. It is true that having a condition like diabetes does lower your life expectancy but these figures are just based on averages and don't give the full story. So in regards to the question of, "how long is my life expectancy with diabetes?" the answer will usually be determined by how well the condition is controlled.

So how long is My Life Expectancy with Diabetes?

There are some people that claim that a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes could knock about a decade off your life expectancy, but what does this mean? Well, what it doesn't mean is that that you are going to die ten years before you should. When people ask, "how long is my life expectancy with diabetes?" they are just asking for a rough estimate. A lot will depend on your health as a whole. For instance if you have already developed problems due to uncontrolled diabetes then this could take years off your life expectancy. On the other hand, if your diabetes is fairly well controlled then your life expectancy will be more.

The problem with life expectancy forecasts is that they are very limited in their usefulness. They only examine a few factors and fail to take in the whole picture. Most of us will live way beyond our life expectancy and some will die before it. Everyone has a life expectancy and you can't sue if you don't reach the forecast age. This is why it is so important to realise what you are asking when you say, "How long is my life expectancy with diabetes?" You are not asking how long you will live and this will not be what you are going to be told. Nobody can tell you how long you will live; all people can do is make a few guesses.

Determining how long is My Life Expectancy with Diabetes

The good news is that there is usually a lot we can do to increase our own life expectancy. We can follow our medical instructions carefully by sticking to the medication and diet guidelines. We can avoid any other harmful behaviour that could be damaging to our health. We can become informed about our condition by finding out as much as we can about it and keeping up with all the latest research. We don't have to do this because we want to second guess the doctor but because we want to be autonomous and play a part in our own care – it is our body after all. There are also patient groups that we can join. There is a lot we can do to influence the answer of, "how long is my life expectancy with diabetes?'