49 years ago today diabetes came into and changed my life and my family’s lives. Almost dying due to DKA is pretty life changing for an eight year old but finding out I had to take a shot everyday was way too much.
But happy to say, that is no longer an issue😊 And I will do anything to never feel that bad again. Will take lowsover highs any day!
So, one injection a day of Lente. Urine testing kit with test tube, eye dropper and tablets that caused the liquid to bubble and burn if you touched it.
That changed into regular being added to the mix but still urine testing.
Than came blood testing strips that were read visually. And so very expensive. So expensive that we would cut them in half to get more test per bottle.
Was very happy to have meter but the cost was still staggering for my family because you couldn’t cut them.
My teenage nightmare was the A1C. There was no hiding the results and I remember my first one was in the 11.0 range. Ouch!
Finally moved out to San Diego and things really started moving fast. Took intensive insulin classes, started carb counting, started learning about prebolus. All of this info was coming out from early results from the DCCT and my clinic was talking these points early on even thought the trial was still going on. The results were pretty amazing.
Then when baby hopes came up, that was when pumping came into my life. It was the only way to get those overnights nailed down.
CGM was the biggest and best change in all my years. Knowledge is power. I can now see in real time what is happening to my blood sugars. What stress, exercise or food is doing. And realizing that stress today might be different from the stress yesterday. I could make mini adjustments in insulin doses or food. Who knew that .3 units could make a difference or just 4 carbs is all it takes.
And a CGM that controls my insulin rates in my pump has been life changing. I don’t think about my diabetes like I use to. Life is so much easier now.
And lastly, all my friends on the DOC have made this disease so much easier to handle. You guys all get it and understand in the ins and outs to this. So thanks for being there for me and a huge to my Mom and Dad as they watch me from heaven. They made me who I am today. Love you!
Great post Sally. My story is very similar to yours. Reading your post brought back many memories, even the urine ketostix which I might add, I now use to find out if there is any sugar/carbs in vitamin powders I buy as they dont have anything written on the labels. All the changes, in the space of only 50 years. (I.dont know.how I deleted this, but here it is again)
Sally - Congrats on making it to 49 years! While you were diagnosed at a much younger age than me, my time with diabetes overlaps your last 36 years. I didn’t have any experience with the “chemistry set” urine test tubes but I do remember cutting my BG Chemstrips length-wise in half to make the economics better.
You’ve adjusted your therapy as the times changed and that meant staying informed about these changes. When did you start using online forums to interact with others with diabetes? I remember getting my first personal computer, an IBM “clone,” back in 1986 and within a few years I subscribed to Prodigy, an online service that pre-dated the the world wide web’s emergence in the mid '90s. I know other early adopters used “bulletin boards” to interact on a wide variety of topics, including diabetes.
Connecting with other people with diabetes like you has made my diabetes journey better. I wish you continued success with your diabetes life! I also want to congratulate you for your altruistic commitment to participate in so many diabetes research studies. Well done!
Happy D-Day @Sally7 
I remember those early days almost like they were yesterday. You forgot to mention sterilizing the glass syringes and honking big stainless steel needle each morning in the double boiler 
, or how the Clinitest was usually 4+ orange 
. Good times.
I agree with you - if I had to pick which technical advance has had the biggest impact on my diabetes control, it would have to be CGMs 
. The pump is a close 2nd.
Just imagine what’s in store for us in the next 49 years 