My Story: Aisha

This is a story about how I have lived through the ups and downs of my life—as a female with both type 1 diabetes (t1d) and hypothyroidism—while trying to find the purpose of all of it. I have been living with both diseases for about 30 years now! I was diagnosed with t1d at the tender age of 4 and hypothyroidism around that time as well (they are both autoimmune diseases, but only hypothyroidism runs in my family).

Growing up, I never wanted to let my illnesses hold me back from anything, and I tried to be a person that could inspire others to do the same. I thought becoming a physician could help me to do that because I could help people manage their diseases while showing them that anything is possible. I always pushed myself in school, even back in elementary, thinking about how my efforts even then would help me to fulfill this dream (I was a precocious child in this way).

~2003, Halloween night, dressed as a physician.

​​​​​​While in middle school, I realized I also had a talent for running. I became well-known for this at my school and maybe even more broadly in the suburban town that I lived in as well. In fact, in high school, I was even featured in an article in the San Diego Union-Tribune about my running and my diabetes. Most people at school didn't even realize that I had any illnesses; they only knew me as "that fast girl." I was never embarrassed about people knowing this—I felt proud to be thriving with these diseases. I was just extremely reserved and didn't talk much in general (I've opened up a lot since then).

~2006, Sophomore year of high school.

However, I think that being diagnosed with both of these diseases as a female and before puberty was an enormous challenge. Please don't get me wrong. I know that having any illness, no matter your biological sex or age, is always a challenge. Yet, I think there is something to be said about my situation.

I was a late bloomer, which is not uncommon for females with t1d and hypothyroidism (more information here). Around the time of my peak running performance in high school (10th grade), I still had not had a period yet, and I started having worsening symptoms of my diseases because of my body trying to finish puberty. Normally, the body has mechanisms in place to remain in homeostasis during puberty. Because of my diseases, puberty was a force that pushed my body out of homeostasis like a pendulum, and my diseases meant there were not enough forces going the opposite direction to bring the pendulum back to the middle and stabilized. I began to experience extreme fatigue, weight and blood glucose management issues, and a very depressed mood that lasted over a year.

These challenges began to affect me in school and running as well. I felt empty, lost, and like I did not know who I was or where I belonged anymore. And I would not describe my home life as being easy either, which did not help things for me. 

2009, posing for my high school graduation photo.

After finally getting the medical help that I needed (it took time to find a more helpful endocrinologist than the one I had), I was feeling better physically, and my spirits were lifting as well. When it came time for me to leave home and go to college, ecstatic was an understatement for how I felt. I did not know who I was, but I knew that it did not matter; I could be whoever I wanted to be in this new place—a lovely, quirky, town called Santa Cruz, CA! And ​I was still holding onto my dream of becoming a physician. I attended UCSC as the first person in my family to attend a 4-year university and double majored in Human Biology and Psychology. I always loved learning about the human body and health, and my illnesses were a big part of that.

College was not easy for me though—I struggled a lot. I had terrible study skills. This was also around the time when tech savviness and access to technology really started to be a necessity in school. I was neither tech savvy, nor did I have particularly deep pockets (even though I held different jobs while taking classes) to keep up with the constant tech needs. However, I also did not ask for help enough, and maybe if I had, I could have overcame those challenges sooner. I was immature and also a bit distracted at the time with trying to figure out who I was or who I could be. 

Despite everything, I still managed to graduate from UCSC with a B.S. in Human Biology and a B.A. in Psychology. I then went on to obtain a 2-year post-baccalaureate certificate from Cal State University, East Bay and a Master of Science in Medical Health Sciences (MSMHS) from Touro University California (and finally learned better study skills).

After working different jobs in healthcare while obtaining a higher education, I realized that I have a passion for women's health, but I am not cut out for being a healthcare worker, let alone a physician. I now work as a medical copywriter and get to flex my creativity while writing about medical topics. In my free time, I work on this website to provide content that can hopefully help females out there living with chronic illnesses!

It is my hope that the lessons learned here will help shift the way female bodies are viewed and treated in the medical field and beyond. As various chronic illnesses are impacted by the menstrual cycle and ovarian hormones, “women are not small men,” (coined by Dr. Staci Sims, PhD), and we must Heed Her Health.​