30th April 2007, 1am. I’m hyperventilating like crazy. I’ve been drinking litres of all sorts of liquids - water, milk, iced tea, soda, juice for a few weeks. And going to the loo like nobody’s business. I’m really tired all of the time and I’ve got no idea how on earth i actually managed to sit for my exams which are just over.
I really can’t breathe and barely drag myself to tell my parents. They decide its time to go to the emergency room. By the time I’m dressed and in the car, I believe I’m semi-conscious by the time i arrive at emergency, which is a 10 minute drive from my house.
They test my blood sugar, and its off the metre. My blood pressure’s way higher than it should be for a 20-year-old young woman and they find ketones in my urine. The emergency room doctor tells me I have diabetes.
The next thing I know, I’ve just woken up from surgery to remove gangrenous tissues from my groin. I’m in a daze and I keep murmuring that I have diabetes. I ask the nurse when I can go home and she keeps saying “You’re very sick darling, You’re going to stay here for a while”. The doctor comes back and says they’re going to get me a bed in ICU. I’m sedated and hooked up to all sorts of drips which are still helping to stabilise my insane sugars, hydrate me, and get my electrolytes back into balance.
Three weeks later, I’m discharged. I’ve learned the basics of diabetes - how to take my insulin jabs, how to count carbs, what to do when I’m hypo, how to exercise, how to eat right. I’m still freaked out at this stage but ready to get on with what I’ve gotta do.
Because of all the complications that my little drama involved - very severe DKA, and and infection, my pancreas shut itself down completely and the doctor’s not sure if it might start working a little. So at the moment I am being treated as a type 1 but there’s a chance I could be a type 2 (which would make me a rarity in the world being 20). I’ve not taken a blood test yet, but soon it will be done and soon I will find out the confirmed diagnosis and begin to take more measures to look after myself.
Wow! Seems you had one heck of an intro to diabetes. Thanks for sharing.
What a crazy thing to go through… I am happy you are here.
How are your values these days?
my values are doing just great now! i haven’t had my A1C test yet, it’s a little too early. but my blood sugars have been fantastic, between 4-7mmol most times. i’ve only had a couple of lows so far and they’ve all been post-exercise and very mild and so easy to rescue with an extra serving of fruit.
DKA is horrid. Glad you got through it okay! Trust me when I say it gets easier in time… the first few months are really hard, but it can be a cakewalk once you get into the groove of things.
Wow crazy! I was really lucky and didn’t even have to go to hospital. I was treated as an out patient. What an amazing story! At least you can keep shocking people with it for some time! nice one! 
gabe, thanks for the advice! i’m sure things will get better and my body will be able to sense things more accurately!
linda, yea my friends were dead shocked to find out i was in ICU. they found out through my parents. i already shock people enough when they find out i have diabetes. when i say i give myself insulin shots, some look like they’re gonna faint.
holy moly!!! you and I both sista!! I"m 21 just diagnosed. because of my age my Dr doesnt think its T2 but still possible and likely because I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant. I am soooo sorry you had to go through that ordeal.