As diabetes month kicked off on November 1, singer Nick Jonas opened up about having Type 1 diabetes.
The 27-year-old Jonas Brothers member and solo artist shared a candid Instagram post on the same day to discuss how getting diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes around 14 years back has impacted his life.
“This experience has shaped how I approach my health — working out, eating well, and always thinking about my blood sugar and insulin needs,” he wrote in the post, which included a selfie of himself wearing a hat with the Beyond Type 1 logo.
“You can’t always see what goes into managing an invisible illness, and Type 1 diabetes can feel lonely and isolating,” he continued. “That’s why I cofounded @BeyondType1 in 2015, to make sure no one feels alone with this diagnosis and to share how you can thrive with Type 1 diabetes.”
The singer’s diagnoses came when he was 13 years old after one of his older brothers noticed his symptoms, which included an unquenchable thirst for sugary sodas paired with some drastic weight loss.
He said last month that he was “like a day away” from going into a coma if he hadn’t been taken to the hospital for doctors to catch the illness, reported People magazine.
Those with Type 1 diabetes create very little or no insulin and require medication. Jonas now uses an insulin pump, and previously said that when he was first diagnosed, he was fearful of not being able to continue life as he had been living it.
“I kept asking my parents — am I going to be okay?” he said. “I was just so concerned that it was going to limit my ability to do all the things I wanted to do. I was very scared — it’s a big life change.”
