Health Fields

Just finishing up a PhD in Biomedical Science and moving onto medical school in the fall.

Hey that sounds like a great idea!! I mean a lot of my EMS calls are diabetes related surprizing enough. I think there is so much A diabetic can do to help themselves and prevent a call to us. I love the streets it is wear I belong but eventully I am going to want to settle down and maybe just maybe work in a hospital ER but it will have to be a level 1 trauma center so I can still get in on the action lol.

Currently getting my CNA this Summer and will be in Nursing school next!

Hi I’m in my final year of med school, problem I’m facing is how to juggle my study time + five days a week exercise + eating healthy and not junk food because I packed alot of pounds last 2 years. Any suggestions?

This is what I want to be also! :slight_smile:

veterinarian. 1st year.

Thinking about Biomedical Engineering, but not absolutely sure.

I'm in my last year of veterinary school... and was just diagnosed about a week ago with type 1. I'm anxious about what this will mean for my career, but I think I can manage it and still be successful.

I've always intended to be a large animal veterinarian, primarily working with horses and small ruminants like sheep and goats. We'll see how it goes.. but I don't want to tell any potential employers that I have diabetes until a contract is signed. Is that the right attitude to have? I'm just afraid of losing an opportunity because of this..

And I'm not going to lie, I bought an endocrinology book on type 1 diabetes because I'm frustrated with the general information I find on the internet.. lol.

I've never told any employers or professors that I have type one diabetes. Some of them have found out because they noticed me checking my blood sugar during breaks and honestly feel like they had a deeper respect for me after they learned I had it. I think it's all about how you deal with it. I feel like some people use diabetes or any disease in general as a crutch....taking sick days and such because of their diabetes. Unacceptable in my opinion.

You must be totally overwhelmed getting diagnosed during vet school. I can't imagine. You'll be fine. It's scary when you first get it but it's amazing how fast you learn to tune in to your body.

I agree that it isn't right to use it as a crutch. I just wish I could get used to having a 'normal' blood glucose now.. because half the time when it drops to a normal range, I feel very irritable and somewhat dizzy. I know it will take a while.

Since I was just diagnosed, our dean of students wants me to tell my professors in case something happens. He has been great about it, honestly. He told me that if I have any problems at all, then I could talk to him and he would try to sort things out.

I did take one week off of clinics to deal with a lot of the changes, and I'm glad I did. I did not realize how crappy I've been feeling- I always blamed being tired and such on the fact it's my fourth year (you'll see why soon enough! :/ ) I've only told my closest friends otherwise, and hesitate to tell anyone else in the class. As I'm sure you know, when you tell one person that isn't in your close knit group of friends, then everyone else will know in no time.

Do your classmates know? Do you wear a medical ID tag?

I totally understand. I feel like everyone has their own comfort range. I've heard of some people that keep their glucose at 70 and feel fine....I don't. I more focus on getting a plateau than the "perfect" blood sugar. Having the ups and downs really makes you feel like crap.... as you know.

I was at a totally different stage in life when I was diagnosed, so the adjustments that I had to go through were very minimal compared to what you had/have to go through.

I used to wear a medical tag, but stopped. I didn't like the attention that it caused. If I was newly diagnosed, I think I'd feel differently about it. There's only a handful of students that know I have it. Maybe 10 students. Probably not the safest situation but I've never felt comfortable advertising that I have it.

Do they have you on shots or an insulin pump? I'm not sure if you've heard about the 24 hr glucose sensors,but I found them really helpful when I was having problems controlling my glucose.

All the 4th year students look so miserable.Can't wait till I'm at that point.....

I don't feel comfortable talking about it either.

I'm just on the insulin pens (Humalog and Lantus Solostar) right now. I was only diagnosed on February 10th, and not sure how I feel about a pump yet or CGM though I have read how useful they can be. Having a CGM for at least a little while would probably abate some of my fears of having a low at night with no one around. And I guess it would be nice to know what my sugar is doing throughout the day.

At this point, us fourth years are just biding our time until we get to leave the... um... really fun university setting ;)

I saw on your profile that you have been T1 for a long time. Do you ever eat anything like pancakes that a non diabetic person would eat? I'm afraid I'm going to miss those an awful lot. :(

Pump takes some getting used to, but in the long run I think it has improved my overall health...especially because my daily life varies so much. The CGM is especially nice because it wakes you up at night. I've heard of some people sleeping through it, but honestly I don't know how anyone could sleep through the buzzing and beeping.

I'm not the ideal diabetic because I don't follow a diet plan. If I want a pancake or slice of pizza, I eat it. The pump allows for some of that flexibility too. I was on a more strict diet when I was on shots. Now I eat everything a normal person does, just in moderation. I stay away from fast food altogether but I never ate that kind of food to start with, so I don't miss it.

I have cut and copied one of my earlier posts from this group. The big thing to remember is D is not a math formula. It is not something you can treat like a calculus problem. There is no right answer each and every time. You can eat the same meat three days in a row and have three different responses depending on variables you cannot quantify.

Pumps, CGMs, meters and the like are just tools to help you from becoming too sweet or not sweet enough. <<>>

Pearl ONE: Always do a fingerstick before dosing insulin. You may be hypo or hyper and need to make an adjustment. This applies even if you get a CGM. Do the stick, enter it as a calibration, then shoot yourself.

Pearl TWO: My cut and paste.
As a retired college professor, a point of law is shared with all college professors in the USA, whether they remember it or not. The USA - Americans with Disabilities Act educational component says students must declare their disability to the school's disability support services or not be eligible for accommodation. For example, if a college has a rule about "no eating in a classroom" and a diabetic starts hypo in the middle of a quiz and needs to eat, if they are not on the school's disability list, then they must leave the quiz to treat their "undeclared" hypo. If they have declared to the school's disability office, then they can eat at their seat and continue on the quiz. This is NOT FAIR in my eyes but it is the way many schools look at disabilities - declared = real, undeclared = does not exist.

So, my two cents worth is - if you are a student, declare your diabetes to your disability office and review the accommodations your are seeking like: eat in class when no eating rules apply, testing BG during class - step into hall or perform at seat, have pump that beeps and not be "penalized" for not silencing a communications device, and similar events.

Bottom line, always discuss so you have as much protection to defend from college faculty who may be so far into their subject matter they forget how to be human and compassionate.

I'm Studying Nutrition and food science at Chico State!

I’m starting med school in September. Just got the good news and cannot wait to start as a first year ms in ksu.

I’d like to know if any of you shared your condition with classmates? Professors? My school policy has no specific rule regarding medical conditions. Any pointers?

Hi guys,plan on interventional radiology after my intership is up .Godd luck to all of ya :).