To be fair, this is something of a loaded question: "would I give up diabetes if I could?" because although the disease has shaped those of us who have it -- for many of us, we really have no frame of reference of life before diabetes (being diagnosed as small children gives me only my very early years as non-diabetic (most of which we cannot even remember, including the years of learning to walk, talk, potty training, etc.)
But, you're also surmising that not having diabetes would impose a fear of gaining weight if you didn't have a built-in reason to watch what you eat and exercise the way you do -- maybe, or maybe not, you cannot realistically make that conclusion. Even if you believe that you can, you might instead have "normal" people's worries, and what would that be like?
And let me remind you that even ideal glycemic control provides no guarantee that you'll avoid so-called complications, no study has EVER been able to eliminate 100% of complications with glycemic control. The National Institutes of Health indicates that having diabetes means you effectively forfeit at least 10 years of your life -- even with ideal control because you automatically have the same risk for cardiovascular disease as someone who has already had a heart attack (oh, and other news, researchers at UC Davis have demonstrated that in type 1, cardiovascular disease has an autoimmune basis, adding more confusion to this picture).
I think that taking all of this into context, the answer doesn't look quite as simple and clear-cut as you are suggesting. Its not about resolving ourselves to living life a certain way, its about what life could have been if we did not have this baggage. It is hypothetical situation about what life would be like without diabetes, and I believe some people might like to know what life would be without it -- what could have been instead?
For example, I might have been able to take more risks in life (for good or bad) rather than becoming a Type A personality and driving myself to distraction over minutiae. Maybe I would be able to work as an independent contractor without having to worry about having a "safe" job that provides medical coverage. Or maybe I could have joined the Peace Corps. and learned a new language without having to worry about whether there is a place to keep my lifeline - insulin - refrigerated. The key, however, is that no one can conclude these things because so many things which shape who we are as people, but shouldn't we be entitled to try?
Commenting by HaloScan
