HI everyone. I’m new on here. I came on here looking to meet some new friends and be able to talk to people who can relate to me. I live in California, I was diagnosed with type 1 when I was 8 years old (25 years ago) and I’ve been on a pump 18 of those years. I haven’t had very good control of my diabetes for the last couple years because I have had some things in life happen that just made it that much harder to take care of. I’m currently trying to get my a1c back down and get some control over it. Anyone interested in a buddy??
Welcome. We’re about the same age… I’ve only had t1 for about 5 years though. I’m in Alaska but have spent a lot of time all up and down the west coast. Lived in Northern California and Oregon for lots of years too.
Glad to have you here and looking forward to chatting with you.
Great to have you here @Steph19! I was dx’d 32 years ago, always amazes me how far behind the curve I was treatment-wise. I only started on a pump about 3 years ago; 10 yrs on MDI before that, and 20 on N/PH (ugh) before that. Part of it was isolation–I don’t think I ever even met another person with T1 for the first twenty years or so. One of the huge differences now is sites like this, full of people who know what you’re going through and who have experience-tested advice on how to manage things better. This is a very active and helpful community. Glad you introduced yourself!
Hi Steph, I grew up in CA and now in live in Anchorage (hey @Sam19 we are representing AK!) and getting up there in age close to 50 but have found age is no barrier when it comes to D-buddies
Hi Steph,
I am new here too. Been a T1 for 33 years, since I was 8 yrs. old. Been on a pump for 18 years, and living the dream :)…Biggest issue for me has been my climbing weight (Despite being a Dietitian and Diabetes Educator)…Have gained 50 lb with 4 pregnancies…(my children range in age from 7-20) Recently started on metformin; HA1C went from 8.0 to 6.8 but no weight loss (sigh) I too need a buddy to help encourage me… I have NEVER been on a blog of any type but definitely need support, so I can continue to offer support to my patients. Hope that I can be of help.
Welcome to the site. I’m in Canada, but we’re around the same age and were also diagnosed at around the same age (I was diagnosed at age 9, have had diabetes almost 25 years now, and have been pumping for just over 9 years).
Hello, @Steph19. This is an active and helpful community. I’m sure you’ll find a buddy to help you but I encourage you to participate with the larger community, too.
I’ve been dealing with T1D for 32 years, spent 29 of those years on a pump but recently returned to basal/bolus MDI with Tresiba and I’m enjoying the change. I just moved to Oregon from California.
Participating here has given me some great and useful advice, things I continue to employ that contribute to my quality of life. I like making suggestions to other members as I’ve lived with this beast for a long time. But I continue to learn here also. Welcome!
Welcome to you too Essie! I’ve had T1 for 32 years but have only been using a pump for the last three. As a DBE as well as a PWD I guess you know as well as anyone that taking insulin makes losing weight difficult but for some reason I didn’t really experience that until going on the pump. Some people say they indulged more in “eating whatever I wanted” after the switch but my eating habits really didn’t change at all, yet I put on about 20 pounds I’ve been struggling to get off ever since. I sometimes think in my case it’s related to having a constant trickle of short acting insulin as basal, since I’m actually using less insulin both for basal and TDD than when I was on Lantus. …Not especially relevant to your situation, admittedly, but supportive of your efforts to get the weight off while dealing with the challenges of T1 (not to mention kids!). Glad to have you here!
Hi, Thanks for you reply. I to have had an issue with my climbing weight. After 2 kids, a divorce, and my mom passing away suddenly over the past 2 years I have gained a lot of weight and cant seem to get it off. Maybe we can encourage each other in many ways.
When you say larger community, what/where do you mean? When I was young my mom had me participate in everything diabetes related. Camps, walks, groups, everything, but since becoming an adult I haven’t participated in anything expect for the walk a few times and I have no idea where to even start.
Hi and welcome. You have found a community of very helpful people. I have learned so much from those on this site. I am an old dog learning new tricks in a way as I have only been dealing with the big D, t1 for almost 3 years. I was 57 when diagnosed, have 2 brothers who are t1. Since I was the oldest, I thought I had dodged that bullet, but DKA with BG of 1141 sent me into reality. I am thankful for God’s blessing in keeping alive throughout the whole ER, ICU experience and for those who are willing to share what they know. I have been on a pump for almost 2 years, but there are still many things I don’t have figured out. I recently went lower carb, not exactly low carb, but lower, about 70 carbs a day. I do see a difference in my bg so for me it seems to be worthwhile. The older I get, the more I realize that friends come in all ages and I am grateful for each. Hello new friend.
Your original post mentioned that you wanted to connect with a compatible “buddy.” While I may not fit the demographic your prefer, It’d be nice if you continued to participate on the various threads in addition to communicating with your new buddy. So, wider community = non-buddy people like me here at TuD.
Hi @Steph19 I’ve been diagnosed T1 for less than a week so I, too, am new to the community and looking for guidance and support. I’m 35 and am taking Lantus and Novolog. I’m still in the “honeymoon” phase so I still have a long way to go and a lot to learn.
Best of luck with your a1c. Last week mine was well over 10 so I’m working hard to get it to something more manageable.
Big Welcome to all the new members! To get an idea of what’s we’re talking about here, click on the Hamburger (yes, it’s called that), which is those 3 stacked bars in the upper right of your screen here. You can click on the “latest” topics, or maybe just look at a specific category, for example, the “New to Type1” category
you also got an automatic welcome message in your personal message box explaining how things work around here - if you see a green circle with a number in it next to the hamburger, that means you have a private message. click on that to read your messages.
we encourage all members to join any discussions that interest them. Use the magnifying glass icon up there in the right corner to search for things, or start a new topic. I myself have been type1 a long time, but I’ve learned a LOT from many type2s here, as well as type1s. We’re all helping each other here.
Thx for your response…Other than the increased weight how are you liking pumping? Two of my four are PWD T1 too…My daughter has had a pump since 4 yrs of age, and my son since he was 12…We beep alot in our family
Hi Steph…good to hear from you…climbing weight, good way to put it. Sorry about your divorce and the passing of your mom that is beyond tough…stress added in to any weight loss challenges…really difficult. Personally have fallen off the exercise wagon with so much going on…myself…trying to force myself into a program…I have exercised on and off for years…very challenging. How do you do with the exercise piece?
I have also fallen off the exercise wagon. I use to exercise a lot but over the years it just got less and less and now not at all. I don’t even know where to start. I feel lost with exercise now. So 2 of your kids also have t1?
I’ve fallen off the wagon too. I was a competitive athlete in my youth and now the only thing I can do is force myself to do cardio exercises like jogging and biking… That’s still s lot better than nothing though I think. I just have this fear of how overwhelmingly frustrated I’d be at this point to actually try to hit the weigh-room seriously, or try to wrestle in an adult league (my one true love with sport) it just seems like I’d be starting at zero after once having been at a high level… It’s almost an overwhelming challenge. So I just jog and bike nowadays… I still hope that I can get back into the athletic pursuits that defined so much of my youth someday…
that is beyond tough…stress added in to any weight loss challenges…really difficult. Personally have fallen off the exercise wagon with so much going on…myself…trying to force myself into a program…I have exercised on and off for years…very challenging. How do you do with the exercise piece?