Does anyone know how soon/long after diagnosis of Type 1 can complications develop? Also, are there certain complications that usually develop first or is it kind of like anything goes?
I've had Type 1 for 6 and a half years. Throughout that time I've had moderate control with A1C's in the 7% range. I've been having a rough time lately with my last two A1Cs at over 8% and most recently 10.3%.
I've been trying to get back in control, but I've started having chest pain that's been progressively getting worse. I've had chest pain in the past and has always turned out to be nothing, but with how I've been treating myself, this time it scares me.
If you keep your blood sugar levels in "healthy" ranges (between high 4's and low 7's)complications should not arise. Complications only develop (statistically) if you are constantly running high blood sugars (and not getting them down). One of my relatives (my aunt) is Diabetic and hasn't had any complications related to The Betes (she's in her 70's. The only thing that diminished is her vision, but that can be old age). And she lived in the diabetes dark ages. With that said you may want to get an MRI to address those chest pains.
Your cardiovascular system is the most vulnerable given all the sugar in your blood stream. Definitely find out what is going on ASAP.
*hugs*
Just like we all have individualized amounts of insulin that our body needs to use, each person is different when it comes to complications. One person may develop complications earlier than others because of genetic factors that may predispose them to a particular type of complication, other T1s don't develop complications until years and years later - or none at all.
Even though it was nothing in the past, I'd encourage you to call your doctor (whether you call your PCP or your endo is up to you) and talk with a medical staff member about your concern. They can give you advice and ask the important questions that can help set your mind at ease.
As someone who just celebrated 30 years of T1, I'm living proof that a few rough A1Cs won't ruin you forever. Every day is a new opportunity to do the best we can. Keep your chin up.
Well, that's the million dollar question..ha! there's no set time. I've only had type 1 for a little over 2 years, after DKA and diagnosis I've never had an A1C above 6.5%. I was recently Dx with neuropathy (legs and hands) and CTS via neurologist and nerve/muscle stimulation test and am now having bowel problems, seeing GI doc on Friday. I'm devastated because I try so hard and I already have complications, which can be very painful. However, I had a slow onset of the beta cell destruction. I noticed a few years prior to Dx that something has changing - happening I just didn't know what it was...so damage probably was already starting, that's what my Endo and Neurologist think. IDK.
If you're having chest pain, just have it checked out, to ease your mind, ya know.
I've had T1 since 1984 and so far don't have any serious complications. I do notice stuff like slow wound healing and the hair on my legs is slowly falling out. My A1Cs are usually ok, other than a brief rough patch a few years ago and there's nothing in my eyes.
Just Saturday I ran the Hollywood 1/2 Marathon and finished, but ran and walked through really bad cramps in my calf for the last 4 miles, and ran the last mile hard just because. Since then, my leg has swollen to about 1.5x its normal size which prompted me to go to convenient care. They did an ultrasound and noted a hematoma under the skin, I didn't have them charted out but my calf still hurts. Monday night, after the doc, I noticed brusing on my ankle, with no pain, just some tenderness from the swelling so I guess the blood is running down the inside of my leg to my ankle? It was bigger yesterday and then again today so I don't know what to make of that. It's sort of alarming because I'm not even 100% sure what sort of doc to go to, GP, Endo, Sports medicine (usually an orthopedic doctor...) or some sort of specialist? I scheduled a follow-up today because I don't want to take any chances of it heading south but I can't help but wonder if there's some sort of diabetes tie-in to the whole mess.
It is healthy to have a certain amount of fear. Your chest pain is likely nothing, perhaps stress over everything that is happening in your life. Perhaps you do have pneumonia or something. It is unlikely that you have any serious complications. But it is a sign and you now look on it with very different eyes.
When we are young we feel immortal, but we certainly are not. I think this is a good sign. Often when we reach our 20s we really finally become adults. We get much better judgment and we make better decisions. And it is time to rethink where you are. An A1c of 10.3% is an average blood sugar of 250 mg/dl. You know you can do better. You know that you can do much better. It is good to be scared, it can drive you to do the right thing. But don't let it rule your life. Go through you life telling yourself that you are a hero because you have stood up to really scary stuff and succeeded.
This really doesn't sound good. I really would not trust an urgent care center to do a proper diagnosis. I hate to say this, but I would consider contacting my medical team and going to the ER. If you are worried about insurance, get preapproved. Tell them your leg is swollen to the size of an elephant leg and that you already went to urgent care, but they were clueless. And ask the agent's name telling her that in case something goes really, really wrong you want to know who advised you that you shouldn't do anything (this always works). Then go to the ER. I'm serious.
Thanks for the tips Brian! I'm taking it seriously and have an appointment to follow up tomorrow! The urgent care people are actually pretty decent but I like my PCP a lot as he will be more familiar w/ my hx of goofy running complaints and all of that. The ER will probably be worse as I've found the local hospital to be over the top at overtesting and overbilling issues that I have run into at work. If I need to go there, they'll do a good job but the amount of extras will be mind boggling or I will have to argue with them about what is and isn't necessary. In many situations, the ER would just refer me to someone else anyway and my GP seems to have a good feel for my needs. The nurse said that I can call today to see if they can squeeze me in and I will do that when they open.
The pain level is down a hair as it's no longer actively cramping at random moments. Eerily, the black and blue is still crawling up my leg. I should have measured the swelling to see if it's getting bigger but it's definitely still there. The other advantage of the PCP is that his office is in the satellite building near my house which also has a full lab and imaging available, which is probably where I'd end up doing tests as, in my experience, it takes longer to get into the main hospital as their facilities are backed up doing unnecessary tests on their patients.
I have had Type 1 since the early 1960s. Only real complication I have had is retinopathy which began 32 years after diagnosis, which has been aggressively treated and is no problem. There are some other minor things, but none to worry about.
Thank you everyone for your responses. I'm still feeling the pain today, but I definitely am going through a lot right now, so it may very well be stress related. Going through a rough patch with diabetes, battling depression and diabulimia and not to mention, getting married in 16 days!
Brian, I really like the words of your last sentence. I'm trying to focus on the positive and tell myself what you said everyday. Thank you! :)
The standard word back when I was diagnosed (early 80's) was that "nearly all T1 diabetics have retinopathy within 10 years of diagnosis".
Obviously the standards of care have improved greatly since then (we have the development of home bg monitoring, and the DCCT), and with good control the rate of complications is far far lower.
Thursday was an interesting day. I was able to get in to a different GP, he looked at the (obvious...) swelling, noted "it's hot, it might be compartment syndrome...let's get xrays and you need to see an orthopedic doc..." so I went to xrays and googled "compartment syndrome" (which I've "run into" at work...") and found, at the top of the wikipedia page, a ghastly pic of someone's leg laid open by it. Eek!! I blew off the xrays there due to a p/w debacle and went to the McOrtho place, since I suspected, correctly, I could get in immediately, they dx'ed strain sprain, take it easy for 3-4 weeks and come see us again which, if it's better, I will blow off. I had zero asks about my A1C or any d stuff, although I mentioned to all the people that I was concerned after seeing the blood pooling up in my ankle, from the calf injury. Unfortunatly, I can't seem to make pics work or I'd show you the pic! hee hee...
Sarah, I'm T2 and have never had very high blood sugar (going on 6 years now, never over 5.5) but I've had all sorts of problems with neuropathy: peripheral, autonomic and amyotrophic. I've decided that either some of us are just more inclined to have particular problems, or these things are related to some other autoimmune response. In my case, I KNOW it's not because of lack of diligence or effort, and I'm sure there are others who experience this. I get frustrated because I don't have access to an endo or neurologist at Kaiser because my A1Cs are too low. Anyway, I know several older T1s (some with questionable control) who have never had complications as severe as mine, so it's not all related to blood sugar levels. I'm sure lower is better, though, if I've lost toes at 5.2, I'd probably lose a whole leg at 6.0.
hope you’ll get better soon!