This post is inspired by Rebecca, who posted her survey results here.
1. How old were you when you were diagnosed? And/or how old is your diabetes now?
I was diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes (now Type 1) in April 1981 at age 7. I've had it for just over 30 years.
2. What was your first reaction to your diagnosis?
I was really too young to know what it was about; I don't even remember being diagnosed. However, my mother had been a health-nut anyway, so I was kind of used to restrictive diets. I just remember being at a flea market with my mom, constantly needing to drink something and to use the bathroom. She was getting really frustrated with me interrupting her shopping, and eventually decided to take me to the doctor (though I thought I just was thirsty and therefore had to pee a lot!). I suppose the diagnosis happened at the pediatrician's office.
3. Have you ever been to diabetes camp/events? Have you made any friends that way?
I went to Camp Nejeda in New Jersey twice. Once right after diagnosis, and once about six years later. I didn't care for it much the first time, to be honest, but I think I was the type to cling to my mom and didn't handle the separation very well (the fact that other campers threw rocks at a beehive, and then *I* got stung multiple times in the back of my head while running away didn't help much!). Second time I went because some schoolmates had gotten D and convinced me to go. It was better then, but not good enough to make me want to go back. But I was much more introverted at the time; I think I'd love some sort of D-centric social gathering now.
4. Do you know any other diabetics? (both online and IRL)
My father-in-law is Type 2, but no T1's that I know of encounter regularly. A former boss of mine, "J", was T1, and didn't take very good care of himself. He tended to hide the fact that he had it, and if he had to work through lunch, he suffered the consequences later. Once, another coworker came to me and asked if J was diabetic, because he wasn't too responsive and seemed to be in a bit of a haze. I obviously knew what to do, and the hardest thing for me was to convince him - almost force him - to let me check his blood sugar with my meter. It's an awkward situation when you want to make your boss bleed.
Online is a different story. There's everybody here. But we mostly go by shortened names or pseudonyms, so while the "reality" of a DOC is helpful, it's still not all that real.
5. Pump, shots, or something else? Why? What meter/pump do you use?
Medtronic Revel 523. It's my second pump after the 515. After years of resistance, when I learned I was about to become a dad, I decided to give it a try. I wanted to stay healthy and be around for a long time for my son. My meter du'jour is the OneTouch Ultralink.
6. Do you advertise it or try to hide it? Any reason why?
Neither. I talk about it when it comes up without reservations (sometimes bringing it up myself) and will test my sugar in public, but I still keep my pump somewhat discretely in a cell-phone case on my belt. I don't really hide it, but I'm not a flamboyant diabetic either.
7. What’s your favorite diabetic book/movie?
Honestly, never read one -- never saw one. Are there really diabetic movies out there? (Other than the educational videos shown to kids)
8. Did you have to make any major lifestyle changes when you were diagnosed?
Probably. But I don't remember life before it too well. I remember going to the school nurse every morning at 10am for a snack, and every day before lunch for a urine sugar test. It was awkward when there was a substitute nurse there. I thought Clinitest was the coolest thing ever; I felt like a mad scientist! And I was excited for my first blood glucose test at home, after we "graduated" to that technology. (Only the first one, though)
9. Have you ever traveled far away with it? What was that like?
I took a European vacation - Switzerland, Germany, Italy. The most anxiety was in the preparation. No problems or issues whatsoever during the trip. My meter died during hour #3 of a cruise once, but fortunately I brought a backup.
10. What was your scariest diabetes moment?
Big overnight hypo when I was living by myself. I remember going to the kitchen to get apple juice from the fridge, and, I guess while drinking from the bottle, falling and spilling it all over the place. I somehow came out of it OK, and decided to go to work the next day (it was a Saturday, but there was some unusual field work we had scheduled for that day near railroad tracks because it couldn't be done during the week when trains were running.) Cost the company a lot of money to get the work coordinated for a Saturday, so I had to get it done. I remember driving out there, feeling like crap but determined to do my work, and then walking away towards some trees and vomiting. One of the other guys said I should go home, so reluctantly I called it off and went back to my apartment. Then I called my parents (generally overprotective, and whom I didn't want to worry), who called an ambulance that arrived to bring me to the hospital. I had obviously come out of the hypoglycemic shock by then.
11. What’s your record for highs/lows?
I think my lowest is in the teens. High is well over 400. Tighter control and the pump has helped me to avoid those swings lately, though.
12. How’s your relationship with your endocrinologist?
OK, I guess. I'm a relatively new patient of his, and I respect him a lot. I think he's one of the best endos specializing in T1 in the state, if not the country. I woudn't say that we have much of a "relationship" though. At least not yet.
13. What’s your favorite diabetes joke?
I remember marching across the fields of Camp Nejeda with other campers chanting "We've got diabetes ... and we're not sharing!". Not a joke, but it's the closest thing to one I can come up with.
14. Have you ever gotten in trouble for doing something diabetes-related that someone didn’t think was allowed? (Bolusing in class, blood sugar test in a meeting, eating at work, etc)
Not that I can recall. But you know how sometimes you test your blood sugar and get one of those "squirters" where the blood squirts halfway across the room? I've often been afraid that I'd test on a crowded NYC subway one day and strike some other poor passenger (I commuted into the city for nearly 4 years at one point).
15. What’s your favorite oh-gosh-my-diabetes-hate-me-for-eating-this food?
Pizza. Probably not the worst D-food, but it's the worst to predict and recover from; at least for me. Fortunately, I don't like pizza all that much, but it is often the meal of choice for large gatherings or business meetings.
16. Do you own/use any diabetic cookbooks?
I think I have one somewhere. Probably haven't unpacked it since I last moved.
17. Has being diabetic gotten you any privileges? (scholarships, special treatment, etc)
It got the Army recruiters to stop calling me when I was in high school!
18. What advice would you give a newly-diagnosed diabetic?
It's like driving on an icy road. If you're in a skid, it's tough to gain control and straighten out -- sometimes you just resign to the fact that you're going to wreck. But once you're on a straight path and everything is under control, it gets a lot easier. Routine, almost. Second-nature.
19. What’s your best diabetes moment?
Hard to think of one. Moments are temporary. But Dr. Faustman gives me hope, and I'm hoping that my best (and last) diabetes moment will be thanks to her research and pervasiveness.
20. Give a diabetic shoutout!
I mentioned in question 3 that some classmates had convinced me to go to diabetes camp. Through the magic of Facebook, I learned that one of those classmates, Rob R (last name withheld to protect privacy) passed away due to complications of diabetes. I don't know when or what the details are; I hadn't seen him since High School graduation. So if you're logging in from heaven, Rob, know that we haven't forgotten about you.