Ever since becoming diabetic, despite my instincts to the contrary, every odd symptom I have ever had was initially written off a “Diabetes”.  Lumped into a category without much further investigation.  Most of the time it didn’t feel like diabetes to me, but I went through the motions, rode it out and just kept plugging along.  Same goes for risks and prevention.  I had a few lab results that combined with my T1D, put me at higher risk for heart disease.  For years I have battled with my providers about taking statins (cholesterol lowering drugs) because one test was too high.  For several years I took the meds, but then had weird joint and muscle pain.  After researching the risk of ALL my cholesterol readings in conjunction, I came to the decision that the risk of the drugs was worse than the risk of a cardiac event.  I signed the papers and refused the statins.  Today I was vindicated!  I have a provider who took a few extra steps and today I can tell you that I have no plaque in my carotid arteries and a “0” coronary calcium score (no plaque in my coronary arteries).  For a few hundred dollars out of pocket (far less than the costs of those statins for several years), I have quantified what I always felt to be true.  Obviously this is an individual decision and not one for every person, but when your gut is telling you something.  Listen.  Listen closely.