Aim: To describe adolescents’ experience of living with type 1 diabetes.

Method: Six girls and two boys aged between 14 and 18 years were interviewed. The interview started with an open-ended qualitative question. A phenomenological approach inspired by Giorgi was used in the analysis.

Findings: The results show that the life experience of these adolescents can be described as a pendulum swinging between being normal and being different. Five further themes emerged from the data reflecting the content of life experiences: to be different, to be treated differently, to live a regular life, to know one’s body and to take care of oneself.

Conclusions: It is important to adolescents with type 1 diabetes to be like their friends. To achieve that, they use different coping strategies and they need support. Support from their families and the diabetes team is of great importance, but above all, they need support and understanding from friends of their own age.