Nick Jonas Opens Up About Diabetes: I Thought I Was Going to Die

Nick Jonas found out he had type 1 diabetes when he was just 13 years old.

Now the 22-year-old artist is opening up to ETonline about just how fearful he felt when he first learned about the disease and how he changed that feeling into something positive.

"When I was first diagnosed, I didn't really know a lot about the disease," he admits. "So I was actually thinking I was going to die."

At the time, the Jonas Brothers were on the verge of a massive music career, and "to have this thing interrupt it was heartbreaking," Nick explains.

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But Nick learned how to "deal with it all" and calls managing his health "a day to day learning experience."

In fact, he credits having the right tools and people in his life for helping him. He uses Dexcom CGM, a glucose monitor, that gives him a reading every five minutes. "[It] feels like you have a friend looking out for you," he shares. 

And you could say he doesn't feel like he's in "Chains" because of the disease. "I'm in the best health I've been in, and I'm feeling really good about, not only my own life with Diabetes and having tools I can manage it with, but also about the message that I have, which is to try to be an encouragement."

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For others who are dealing with challenges, Nick has words of hope. "Look, we all have moments that are tough, and there's support there," he says.

ETonline reporting by Denny Directo.

Check out the video above to see how Nick did not let his diagnosis stand in the way of his dreams.