Even though it has been almost 26 years since my diagnosis, there are certain things that remind me of when I was first diagnosed with Diabetes. No matter the years that pass, I’m always brought back to the first few months of my diagnosis with the below items…
1. Oranges, a lot of us here had to practice injections on them before leaving the hospital
2. Raisins, I used to treat my low blood sugars with them when I was a young lad.
3. Baskin-Robbins and Denny’s- I ate my “Diabetic last supper” at these places
4. Stationary bike, I would have to ride 20 minutes after every meal I ate
5. Food scale, my mom would weigh my food, so this brings me back
What are yours? I would love to hear what your flashback items etc… are.
Grape juce. I was downing quart after quart before diagnosis believing my thirst was due to the flu. When DKA set in full force, the grape juice made a return appearance–not pretty. Feel ill now when I see grape juice. Forunately, I didn’t develop an aversion to wine from this experience:)
Potatoes. Feeling queasy & losing weight, I ate a lot of mashed potatoes. I don’t even like potatoes & was forcing myself. Great plan for a diabetic, huh?
Oranges of course
Smarties is how we used to treat a low.
Calculator, Before we were math pros we had to calculate all my doses
Ice, my mom would use it to numb the area where she was going to give me the shot( this was before I got used to it and it didn’t phase me anymore )
Rufus the bear he was given to me at the hospital when I was dx’ed.
My D bag Mom had a really cool colorful bag with all my needed items for the D it went everywhere I did and after it was just too worn out we had to let it go… now it is all pump stuff and goes in my purse or whatever I am carrying.
- Cranberry juice. I had so many infections, well… I was downing tons of cranberry juice… Which I’m sure wasn’t helping.
- Subway. I had my last meal pre diagnosis there… without ever having to think about carbs.
- Planned Parenthood. It’s where I was diagnosed.
- Waking up early early in the morning. I would always wake up really early, terrified, to test, and have breakfast.
- Birthdays. I was diagnosed 6 days after my birthday.
I was dx with 809 BG. No suprise, huh?
Pasta. Because right before my diagnosis I had been eating pasta often and then feeling tired and ill. So much so that we were on vacation and all I wanted to do was to lie on the couch and sleep.
Not a big fan of pasta anymore which is just as well.
I would have loved to have gotten Rufus at 53.
I was 12 so a bear rally?? lol I still have him I will have to take a pic of him and post it. he was the coolest. but mine did not have pump accesories like the ones now can get. none the less I keep him around for old times sake.
My last meal diabetes free was pasta!! I had no clue of the underlying diabetes humm oh well it was yummy anyway and so worth it!
heck yeah!
twizzlers! i had it the night before i found out when i slept over my friends house… i hate them! lol
thanks danny lol maybe the day you were pose to get one Rufus was dealing high blood sugar or maybe a low. 
A BIG chocolate muffin. That’s what I had before I was diagnosed. Not to say I’d mind having another one at all if it didn’t mean I would then have to call an ambulance.
Rufus, the bear with diabetes, is a special friend for children with diabetes. Rufus is the creation of Carol Cramer, whose son Brian was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in November 1994 at the age of three.
Rufus has patches on his arms, legs, tummy and bottom to help children learn about site rotation. You can even give Rufus a pretend injection. Rufus also has red patches on both sides of his paws so that a child can pretend to test his blood sugar. And, of course, Rufus always wears a Medic Alert bracelet.
Rufus can offer a child with diabetes a symbol of comfort and security, and comes as either a boy bear or a girl bear. Highly recommended, especially for very young children.
this is how he came about and now he has a traveling story. if you have one there is a site to post his location to show he goes all over the world. the JDRF is the partners to pass him out now for no charge to a diabetic child with what is called the “bag of hope”
Man you are lucky I would have loved that!! I remember trying to bribe my roommate in the hospital for her cookie at lunch one time but I got caught. 
Birthdays for me, too. I was also diagnosed right after my b-day (5 days). I remember crying cause I thought I would never get a bday cake again. Now I have a d-day cake instead.
-my birthday: (aforementioned) diagnosed 5 days after my 10th b-day
-strawberry milkshakes: what I got (a big one) after getting my blood drawn for being so good for the stick. we had no clue that d was a possible diagnosis until they called us that night.
- yoo hoo and little debbie snack cakes: pre-diagnosis i refused to eat anything except sweets, mainly star crunches and zebra cakes. drank a case of yoo hoo a day (as well as a gallon of milk and anything else I could get my hands on), so that my granny had to start hiding them from me.
-green eggs and ham: I dreaded waking up before my sisters to check and dose, so my granny would use food color to make my breakfast more special, and my sisters never knew. green eggs and ham were my favorite.
I’ve never even heard of Rufus. That’s awesome!
That would make a funny story if only people understood the deprivation, lol!
Chocolates, chocolates and more chocolates.received at Christmas 1982 …and darn, I lost weight : " had my meal plan under control " I said …Jan. 1983 the diagnosis . Today, almost 28 years later , I have NO problem managing chocolates , ha, ha , but I do think back .
First Lab test to identify diabetes : my rain coat sleeve soaked with blood by the time I got home . Never had that problem again …put the pressure on !!
Old school diabetes memories: The SMELL of NPH… Loud and overpowering, the wintergreen color of the dripping test tape, ( yes, that IS Gross). My dietician said that I could have “more” of the tiny oyster crackers as a bread exchange… so I ate the Whole box !!! No wonder the test tape was green, but this was pre-glucometer days…
God Bless,
Brunetta