Diabetes timeline

yes we were dx’ed months apart which was lucky for her my symptoms went on for over a month before I was dx’ed which is why mine was so high when we caught it. we knew the symptoms so seeing it in my sis was a lot easier. hey when they say twins do everything together they weren’t kidding in our case lol

It is grand to read about the " old folks " and the "new folks " time lines …we are all in this together , learn ,share, learn , share and learn …thanks to all and DANNY !

Not only will we meet in the old folks’ home, remember we’ll be wearing our Joslin 50-year medals as we race down the corridors! And I’ve heard that Joslin is trying to figure out if they can make medals from Titanium because they’ll obviously need some distinction beyond 50, 75 years for us :wink:

I hope TuDiabetes has new awards categories this year. I’m nominating you for Best Non-Credentialed Mental Health Therapist! Seriously, there’s a master’s thesis of diabetes psychology to be gleaned from the information in this discussion.

I’'ll vote :slight_smile: and keep on pumping into the HOME …

So true nel it seems that even though we come from all different backgrounds and walks of life but yet we share in the wins and losses of our diabetes. really shows that diabetes does not descriminate based on anything it is a equal oppertunity disease so to speak. Thanks danny you always have come up with some great disscussions and posts.

I adding something new to my timeline today…August 31, 2010…Went to the Dr. today. Been on the pump since April 2010…First time in my Diabetes life time all 38 years my A1C was 6.5 today. Hard work and learning everything possible sure does help.

CONGRATS!!!

Way to go, Dargirl!!!

I don’t think I paid $500 for my first meter in 84 - I had to pay for everything up front & send the bills to the insurance. I know I wouldn’t have paid that! But my doctor had to fight with my insurance company for me to have one.

Mothers know everything Danny! You were right though that the meter was more expensive than the strips!

Wow Danny. So many memories. I actually feel as though I can say “Been there, Done that”.

I’m pretty late on this thread, but I find it intriguing and I think I kinda wanna do this =)



Feb 2005 - feeling exhausted, even tho sleeping much more than usual.

Mar 2005 - craving sugary foods, indulging in them, not gaining weight. feling even more tired & blah. able to finish a bottle of mtn dew or dr pepper whereas before i’d get maybe 1/2way thru one and the rest would go to waste. looked up diabetes symptoms and thought, “nope, i’m not old or overweight.” not much info online for t1 except that only kids get it. couldn’t be that either as i was 26 yrs old.

Apr 2005 - road trip to orlando fl (with my mother) for a corporate convention. dropped mom at brother’s house nearby and went to royal palms resort at universal for convention. had to stop and pee every couple of hours on the drive down (from ny) and had 2 grocery bags full of munchies in the cab of the truck with us, which i was continually eating. during convention, constantly drinking water & soda, and having to sneak out of meetings to use the bathroom. very tired and couldn’t focus during roundtables & exercises. colleagues kept asking if i was ok…sure! just tired from the drive! same thing on the way home, and mom asked if i thought maybe it was diabetes. we discussed and decided no, it couldn’t be because i’m not old or overweight. got back to ny, made appt with gp, canceled it.

May 2005 - feeling very lethargic and eating & drinking my family out of house & home. made another appt with gp, canceled again. too afraid to hear what he would say. Mid-May, had stomach flu type symptoms. Made another appt with gp for next day. ate an entire package of double stuff oreos and drank a gallon of milk. had dropped nearly 20 lbs by then (was underweight to begin with). fell asleep on the couch with the empty milk jug and oreo packaging falling to the floor next to me. hubby woke me up next morning so i could get ready for my doc appt. had a difficult time waking me up. was starving, but no time to eat, so jumped in shower, threw some clothes on, loaded up my son, and drove over to gp’s office. had blood drawn, then went in room and nurse poked my finger & left the room. came back in, said “the good news is, i’m the diabetes nurse educator here…the bad news is, you have diabetes.” she asked how i was feeling & i said other than being really tired and really thirsty & really hungry and having the flu, generally pretty good lol she said she didn’t understand how i was walking around - i should be dead. wtf??? “or at least in a coma.” bad bedside manner, this woman…oy! said if had canceled again and gone to bed that night, i would not have woken up the next morning. told me they were calling an ambulance to take me to the hospital…fought with her about that as i had my son with me - ended up getting a shot of quick acting, a bunch of rx’s to get filled, and ordered to come back the next day. next day, came back, same nurse trying to show me how to inject but i have trypanophobia (irrational fear of injections - not just the needles) so i was freaking out & unable…she grabbed my hand that had syringe in it and made me jab myself in thigh. i punched her in face while syringe was sticking out of my leg. pulled it out & threw it at her & demanded to see doc, who was much nicer and set me up with endo for july.

Jul 2005 - went 2 more months w/o insulin due to not being able to pick up a syringe (thank god for starvation diet, exercise & honeymoon phase). finally saw endo who gave me pens so i could aim, close my eyes, jab & push button. still difficult for me, but manageable occasionally - more so than syringes so at least was getting insulin intermittently.

Sep/Oct 2005 - a1c was down to 7.2 from 14+ at dx. doc sent me for lung test to try me on exubera. passed with flying colors, but exubera got pulled. oh well. talked pumps, doc only worked with mini-med…i wanted animas.

2006/2007 - still seeing endo, a1c creeping back up as honeymoon ends and my injections are still sporadic. doc reminds me that i need to take control of my diabetes…carb counting, correction ratios, basal testing, etc. tells me to make adjustments as needed. very awesome doc except for that darn minimed crap. a1c stays in 8’s.

2008 - switch to endo who deals with all pump companies…really didn’t want to leave my endo but really wanted animas pump. new endo a nightmare. left in tears every time i went - told me i couldn’t get a pump til my a1c was under 7%…told him if i could get it there with shots, i wouldn’t need a g.d. pump! Oct 08 involved in bad car accident…at hospital, refused to give me insulin for a 592 bs because it was just adrenaline from the accident. my pens had gone flying out into the road out of my purse so i didn’t have my own. 4 hours later with a bs of 596, i insist on speaking to an actual doc and demand he order 6 units of humalog for me (i’m pretty sensitive).

2009 - same old same old - start looking for other endos…cousin who’s lil son is t1 recommends joslin in syracuse. 2 hr drive but eff it…anything to get away from this a-hole. gp sets up referral, i meet with new endo at joslin & tell her i want a pump (by that point had researched and decided on omnipod) & she says ok. tries to make me jump thru hoops for it (all kinds of classes & what not) & i refuse. i call my gp & ask him if he’ll just sign the papers if i go thru insulet directly. he says ok and in august, i’m podding! Dec 09 i have spinal surgery - doc is awesome about leaving my pod on and doing my own diabetes care during my stay. i find out fentanyl is freaking AWESOME. :wink:

2010 - a1c drops from high 9’s to low 8’s but still stuck there as i fear lows and run myself slightly high to avoid them. start looking into cgms. really want nav…they end up having issues, so decide on dex. hesitant to ask endo about it, fearing the whole jump thru hoops thing again.

2011 - last a1c 8.2%…ask endo about dex, she makes me wear ipro for 5 days, have a few lows while wearing it, one overnite that i’m unaware of and a couple in the 30’s - she says no prob getting the dex…wants me to meet with cde (who i adore cuz she gives me suggestions in the “you could try this because of this & that” manner instead of “you need to do this.” & she’s very cool with letting me do things my way til i come around to her way lol) so i say get started on the dex paperwork now, and i’ll meet with her. doc says deal, and now i wait. should prolly make that appt w/ the cde so doc doesn’t get mad :wink: