Nick Jonas has sung about the Year 3000, catching the Lovebug, feeling Jealous and hitting up the Waffle House with his brothers. But the 2008 hit “A Little Bit Longer,” written about his experience being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2005, still stands out as one of his most impactful songs. The ballad became an anthem that connected him with others living with the disease. Nearly 20 years since the life-altering hospital visit he sang about, Jonas says that the connection he’s cultivated with the diabetes community is “the most rewarding thing in my life.”
“I think I kind of jumped in blindly,” he tells Yahoo Life of speaking about the disease shortly after his diagnosis. “Feeling like I’m keeping something so personal from my fans and from the world while trying to live with it and manage it was too much. So the simpler thing was just to say, let me be open, be honest about this. When there are days that are hard, say there are days that are hard. It doesn’t all have to be OK all the time. And, hopefully, that makes another person going through a journey with diabetes feel a little less alone.“
His openness has ensured that he has a community not only to inspire him, but also to be inspired by. Here he shares what he’s learned about managing his physical and mental health during his nearly two decades living with the disease.
Diagnosis can be scary
The moment Jonas was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes — a chronic condition that prevents the pancreas from producing enough insulin, or any at all — is one that he still remembers. His first question to the doctor was “Am I going to die?”
“I think there were a lot of unknowns. The name itself is kind of daunting,” he says. “We didn’t have as much [access to] information as we have now in the public for us to actually say, ‘OK, you’re not going to die from this disease,’ or to know how to manage it.” As he told Rolling Stone, there wasn’t any public figure that he knew of living openly with diabetes for him to look up to at the time.
The Jonas Brothers were already up and coming at the time, which added stress to the situation. “I was really overwhelmed thinking this is going to stop me from being able to tour and perform,” he says. “My sort of whole idea of what my life was going to be vanished for a period of time.”
Life goes on with the support of family, friends…and Jonas Brothers fans
Jonas recalls getting right back into performing after receiving his diagnosis, despite the concerns he had about resuming life as he knew it. Luckily, working alongside family helped.
“I really felt rallied around and like everyone understood that it would be a journey. There would be tough moments, but they would be there for me and we’d get through it together,” he says. “That made a world of difference.”
Fans also mobilized to support him. Many participated in a trend of wearing dog tags that mimicked the medical ID tag that Jonas wore himself.
“There’s something really special about the Jonas family and our connection with our fans. I think they really feel like a part of our family,” says Jonas. “I felt like people were personally invested in my life with this disease and incredibly supportive.”
That’s not to say that being a public figure creating awareness has been easy. “The responsibility was a little overwhelming at times,” he says. However, it’s been worth it, especially since he’s seen the impact it’s had on fans living with the disease. “They’re able to look up and say, ‘OK if he can do what he’s doing while living with this, then I can too.’ … I know that sounds like a cheesy bumper sticker slogan, but it is just true. It’s a real thing, and I’ve seen over the years in meeting people living with diabetes, a range of all different ages, just how connected this community really is now.”
Modern medical tools have changed his life…
“I think back to the early days of doing finger sticks and just how many times a day I had to do that, and I still didn’t get even a fraction of the amount of numbers I get now,” says Jonas, reflecting on how managing his disease has changed with the use of the Dexcom G7 — a continuous glucose monitor that delivers real-time data about his blood sugar levels to his phone.
He’s even able to give others access to that information. “Having the ability to share my numbers with my security person who’s trained to handle a situation should there be one, being able to share with my wife while I’m away from her out on the road for her comfort’s sake,” he says. “That’s certainly made my life easier.”
…but managing diabetes is never easy
Jonas is proud to say that his A1C levels have decreased, indicating well-controlled blood sugar levels. His approach to managing diabetes, though, remains fluid. “It’s a moving target,” he says.
“When I was 13 and newly diagnosed, I was completely overwhelmed with all of the information that I now had to take into consideration every sort of second of every day, whether it was about how many carbohydrates I was eating — even just learning to count carbohydrates — and figuring out how my body reacted to certain dosages of insulin. And then just consistency and testing and seeing where my glucose was at. So, it was a lot all at once,” he continues. “Then as time went on and I got a better grip on that in those early teen years, there was a lot happening separate to diabetes, just with my development as a person. And at different points throughout my life, I’ve had to evolve and take some pressure off myself when I think I’ve got a grasp on my diabetes journey, and there’s an unpredictable day where things just don’t go my way.”
Today, after just finishing a grueling 18-month world tour with his brothers and preparing to head back to Broadway in The Last Five Years, he has a routine that works for him.
“I learned very quickly once we started rehearsing ‘The Tour’ show that I would need to basically approach this tour as if I was an athlete. It’s like three hours long, nonstop 60-something songs,” he says, noting that the same is true for the upcoming Broadway run. “The most important thing for me is just taking some time for myself each day to have a little quiet time. As fast as life moves when you’re on the road like that, it’s OK to just separate for a second and take a deep breath. So that was one thing, and then also just planning meals. I had to be really laser-focused around when I would eat and what I would eat. Even halfway through the show, doing something where I could have a quick bite to eat or a juice if I needed.”
The golf course is his happy place
Jonas’s diabetes management includes self-care, which golf has become an essential part of. “Something that’s been really healing for me in a lot of ways, both personally and emotionally, but also physically, is golf. I love to play golf, and it’s a sport that I know I’ll never master or even be very good at, which is kind of why I love it so much,” he says. “It really is a fun way to connect and meet new people too. And there are very few environments where that’s doable for me. So it’s a great game that I suggest everyone give a try, because it’s done a lot of good things for me.”
