Well, today is the anniversary of being diagnosed. This time 15 years ago I was in the hospital, still not really sure what diabetes was. But I knew I had been feeling bad, and hooked up to an IV, I was on my way to feeling better, gaining weight (I weighed 45lbs when I checked into the hospital at age 8) and learning how my life was forever changed.
I remember alot from that day. I remember going to a family doctor, who didn’t want to diagnose me so he wasn’t going to, and my fasting blood sugar being 240 or something like that. I remember my parents taking me out to eat and not feeling like I could eat, so I didn’t. Then I remember going to another doctor who specialized in children with diabetes and being diagnosed then. When they checked my BS at that doctors office it was over 400. The very first time they checked my BS at the original family doctor, their glucose monitor didn’t even go up to that number (the highest it would go was 500). I don’t really remember being very tired before I was diagnosed, I just remember being very, very, very thirsty. And wetting the bed ALOT. I remember thinking that I wasn’t supposed to be that skinny, but didn’t know what to do about it. So I just hid it from my parents.
There was another girl in the hospital with me who was diagnosed 3 days or so before me. We became fast friends. She was a year younger than I was. I remember trying to sleep in the hospital but not really being able to because there was a kid a few doors down that had fallen out of a tree and broken his leg. He liked to scream and moan most of the night. Always fine during the day, mind you, but LOVED to scream all night long (the girl next door and I didn’t care for him much. he was kind of a jerk).
I’ve never missed a shot on purpose. Sure, I’ve had days where I don’t want to give the shots, but I do it anyway. Because I remember how badly I felt before the shots and I don’t like feeling like that. I really wish that someone would come out with a cure because it really is starting to get on my nerves more and more each year. I’m lucky though, and I know it. I’m very insulin sensitive and I’m extremely thankful for that. Still in 15 years my insulin intake hasn’t had to increase much. I’ve only changed insulins once and now I’m really thinking about getting a pump. I haven’t had a good endo in years and so it scares me trying to find a new one. I went to one a little over a year ago and hated him. He wouldn’t listen to me and then decided to put me on a pre-mixed insulin. These don’t work for me. They never have and they never will, but he wouldn’t listen. He put me on it anyway and I took it for about 2 weeks and then went back to using the insulin I liked. Hours after meals my BS would be well over 300, with no way of bringing it down, and then low-and-behold about 4 hours after I would bottom out and couldn’t bring my BS back up because the insulin was still working. So now I’m in the Plano area and really don’t know which endo to go and see. If anybody out there knows of a good one for a 24 year female in the Dallas area, I would love to know about them. I don’t mind having to drive very far, but I don’t really like going to Ft. Worth.
I guess that’s all I have for now. I will try and post more later this week.