When I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 22 years old, I was in college and lived alone.  This posed all kinds of concerns: What if I crashed during the night, during my sleep, and no one was around to help me?  I could literally die if I was unable to help myself.

In fact, for the first few nights after I was released from the hospital, my parents (who still lived nearby) had me stay with them, so that they could keep an eye on me in those early days when there was still some question as to whether my insulin doses were correct.

I lived alone for a long time after that without any problems, as many diabetics do, but there was always a small concern there of what could happen while I was alone.  Medical conditions such as diabetes can always make living alone something of a hazard.

For instance, if you live alone — or even if you only sleep alone — you might suffer from sleep apnea and never know it.  Sleep apnea is where you stop breathing temporarily at night.  Usually it’s  only for a very short period of time, but it still disrupts your sleep and can cause extreme tiredness.  Many people with this condition use a sleep apnea machine, also known as a CPAP machine, to help keep their airways open and prevent obstructions while they sleep — but of course you have to know about it in order to take this step, and who knows what they do when they’re asleep?

I’m not advocating that people give up their independence and move in with someone just so that they are not living alone anymore, but in my opinion living alone does require a little bit more awareness on your part.  Just like a woman living alone might need to be a little more careful about opening the door to strangers or making sure no one follows her home, someone who lives alone needs to be more proactive about monitoring their health.

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