Here we go!

Let me preface this by saying; I have a very subversive sense of humor. I hope that this does not offend anyone (not that I care. HA!).

First off, join me on facespacetwitfeed if you want- here’s the url goodness…Redirecting...

Add me, I’ll add you, and we trade diabetic barbs, witty endocrinology related banter, or just pure laughs and tears.

I am a baby type 1. A1c is still battling with my pre-filled pens. Just look at my pic, I am new at this. I thought a tie would be a good substitute for past poor diet choices…Although some stupid autoimmune disorder is to blame for the ‘cash for clunkers pancreas’. Some days I’m cool, some days I hate this, but most of the time I just feel in between the two. I have (maybe the not so unique) disposition of not only a faulty pancreas; I have also been able to accomplish the rare trifecta of bad kidneys and damaged liver as well. The kidneys are probably a result of going into kidney failure twice as a little dude, and the liver is a result of high school + college!? (not really sure) When I was diagnosed, it was actually slightly scary. I won’t go into details, but I was assured that if I had gone another 24 hours to go to see a doctor, I would not be here. Talk about a wake up call! The food in the ICU sucked by the way…no Big Mac, Soft Taco, Thickburger, or sliders. Let’s not even get into the beer selection-very poor in my book! I miss beer. I think I have forgotten how it tastes. Somewhere there is a horse running through a mountain stream, shedding a tear-naying for my lack of consumption. One of my talents, besides destroying organs, is cooking. That particular skill set has eased the transition into a new diet very nicely. I would like to say that it’s “all good” (is that what the kids say now?). I would be remiss though, every day (for me at least) is a battle between what was, what is, and what could be. That my friends is the scary part…it’s not diabetes itself, but actually knowing the outcome if you’re not vigilant. That’s it for now I guess, hope you had fun with my meandering first post. Until next time, keep pricking, testing, and injecting!

p.s. (seriously) Is it cool for my hands and feet to feel numb/asleep half of the damn time? I swear, it feels like half my body falls asleep sometimes. To add to my dismay/confusion/paranoia, my joints just flat out burn!? I cannot sleep because of this, and it’s wreaking havoc on sleep cycles, injection, and life. I would like to not be the newbie worry wart, but I’ll be damned if it doesn’t chafe my hide!

It sounds familiar. I use to experience similar episodes more often when I did extreme sports, marathons and triathalons. Yes, the urge is to feed the low monster. The trick is to not over feed. I have lived alone for the past two years. I was fearful of the over-night lows. I set my alarm clock for 3:30 am. I put on the counter a six ounce cup for juice or soy milk and a granola bar before bed. I have experienced the lack of vision and the mental fogginess. It sucks not to feel in control. Be dilligent in your managment and keep asking questions.
Pat

Sounds like it is time to go to a neurologist and have some tests run to rule out neuropathy. Diabetics are also at risk for carpal tunnel syndrome which causes the hands to go numb and pain in the joints. We also are at risk for other autoimmune disorders that can cause joint pain (RA, lupus, myositis…). Rather than worry about everything it could be, let the docs figure it out for you. It’s better to know what is going on than worry IMHO.

I’m so proud of you!