Hi Everyone,
It’s taken me a long time to get here. I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in May of 2008. It was a pretty big shock because it all happened out of the blue. I had been experiencing (what I now know to be) the symptoms of diabetes for almost 2 years, but because I worked crazy hours on film sets I just blamed it on that. I was controlled by food and spent a lot of time sleeping or in a sugar coma (I imagine). I was supposed to work on a film the night that I found out, but decided I had better go into the doctor’s office to see why they wanted me there in person. This was following an exam for what I thought was a urinary tract infection. That day, my whole life changed. It was before the long weekend and my doctor instructed me to go to the hospital for my diabetic training, so that they could get me on insulin right away. My response was, “right, I’m working tonight, can I just go on Monday?” Clearly I was not grasping the severity of the situation. In any case, a few minutes later when it had set in, I called my boyfriend who came down to the hospital to meet me. Then I called my boss to tell him that I wouldn’t be able to make it to work that night, at which point I started hysterically crying and he told me not to worry about it, and to contact my family.
Later, at the hospital I was set up with a hospital dress and a room, and seemed to be awaiting something to happen. Well at this point I was pretty hungry so I sent my boyfriend out to get me a sub and a bottle of Nestea. As I was enjoying my last taste of Nestea, the doctor came in and proceeded to yell at me for drinking a sugary beverage, and didn’t I know that I couldn’t do that anymore. (Thinking about it again is pretty upsetting, it all feels like yesterday.)
Anyhow, I was then sent to the diabetic clinic which would show me the glucose tester and needles and insulin and then say here ya go, have a great long weekend! Being deathly afraid of needles was my first problem. I thought, what’s the worst disease to get if you fear needles? Luckily since then, I have realized diabetes is much more manageable than many other diseases and I should count myself lucky that I have one that can be controlled.
At the time that I was diagnosed I had just moved in with my boyfriend of 1 year, 2 months earlier, and this was certainly the test for how we would fair in such a “crisis”.
Things haven’t always been the easiest, especially following the turmoil of this disease. Since moving in together, we have encountered the diabetes, his change of career, my decision to go back to school and my subsequent depression based on a number of factors, mainly the diabetes.
Just curious how everyone else out there is dealing with their diabetes and relationships? Has anyone had a similar experience?
Thanks,
Robyn