That would be nice to know as well. I know I had the chicken pox and that lasted a bit over a week, then the diabetes symptoms began, and then, boom, diagnosis. It was all so rapid for me. I didn’t start to lose weight until after my diagnosis, I think. During my honeymoon period I lost a lot of weight, then about a year later I began to gain weight and frickin’ never stopped!!! Gah! LOL
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Same here–never got my number. In my case my wife (yes, I was married in college) happened to mention the symptoms to her mom, an occ. therapist who had medical training, who said “Get that boy to a doctor, sounds like diabetes!” otherwise I wouldn’t have had a clue until too late. I never got my numbers, just the Doc coming in and saying, “Well you’re the proud owner of juvenile diabetes” and telling my wife “Probably tomorrow or the next day you wouldn’t have been able to wake him up in the morning.” But I want my number! Well, actually I don’t really care, but I am curious. I do remember seeing 300-400 numbers over the next couple of weeks as they tried to get me stabilized. I also don’t really care about the exact date–I only ever encountered the idea of observing it somehow here on TUD, though I gather it’s a thing. All part of being part of The Club No One Wants To Belong To I guess. The idea of it makes me kind of queasy, but if people find it helps them to keep on keeping on, more power to 'em.
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[quote]I never got my numbers, just the Doc coming in and saying, “Well you’re
the proud owner of juvenile diabetes” and telling my wife “Probably
tomorrow or the next day you wouldn’t have been able to wake him up in
the morning.” But I want my number! Well, actually I don’t really care, but I am curious. I do remember seeing 300-400 numbers over the next couple of weeks as they tried to get me stabilized.[/quote]
It sounds like you’re lucky you weren’t one of the people who get misdiagnosed! Also, part of the reason I wonder what my number at diagnosis was is that the numbers in my logbook are largely in the 20s and 30s (350-600) for the first few weeks, which makes me curious how much worse my blood sugar was prior to insulin and four days of hospitalization…
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Never seemed like it was a question at all though. I was in my 20s, had all the standard symptoms, and it had all come on suddenly, so I think it was a pretty simple dx from the md’s perspective. I remember him telling me it wasn’t that unusual to get it in your 20s–since this was a university med center they probably saw other cases.
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I have noticed that most type 1’s know when or about when they were diagnosed. I think it is quite different for many T2’s like myself. My diagnosis was not the life changing experience that most T1’s describe. I was given a few pills to take and a better diet to follow.
For this reason I do not know my diagnosis date, heck I don’t even know the year. I wish I knew but I don’t, all I know is that it was in the early to mid 1990’s. The only firm date I remember is the day I started pumping Dec 19 2012. I could if pushed find the day I started insulin, it was the day I joined this community.
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Were you admitted to a hospital when diagnosed? When I was diagnosed the local newspaper ran most hospital admittance/discharge names in the newspaper believe it or not. (Wow, a long time before HIPAA privacy rules!) and lots of newspapers are easily researched online now.
I know my fifteenth birthday was in the hospital, and that was a week and a half after being admitted/diagnosed (long DKA recovery), so that helps me pin down the date pretty well (plus/minus a day) then look it up in local newspaper archives.
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For me, no, there was no hospital/ER time. My symptoms were caught early and I was simply taken to my father’s endocrinologist (it must have been a next day appointment kind of thing). I never went into DKA, and although I do not know what my BG was at the time it must not have been too terribly high if the doc didn’t admit me to the hospital. He just sent me home in the care of my type 1 father, who, I’m sure, the doc knew knew how to take care of me.
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I didn’t know the first thing about diabetes when it abruptly became obvious that I had it. All I knew is that I had been extraordinarily thirsty. I had mentioned it to my mom, a doctor… She told me to get my fasting bg checked by the job-site medical personnel the next morning “just to make sure it’s not diabetes… If it’s diabetes causing extreme thirst it’d be real high… Like 250 or higher” was the extent of my diabetes education at hat point.
Got my first bg test the next morning. It was 400.
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I don’t know mine either. I’m always sort of curious but I don’t have it. I went back to the original eye doc I’d seen then and they still had me in their computer, at my parents’ address from back in 1984, but didn’t have any other records.
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I was diagnosed as a Type 1 in 1958 at the age of six years, and I do not know the exact date. I chose my birthday as the date 'cause it is in the middle of the year. However, looking at my grade school report card, I note a long string of absences in the Autumn of that year. I’ve thought about contacting the hospital where I was admitted so I could get proof for my Joslin Medal, but decided I would only pack the medal away with all the other atoms I have collected.
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I was diagnosed in December of 1984. Ironically, earlier this year I was in the process of gathering my medical records and discovered the hospital(s) destroyed their records after 30 years. LOL, I was 1 year too late. I have my parent’s recollection of my “story” and my vague memories. But, I was really hoping to read about my clinical diagnosis and to fill in the blanks I have. Sigh
Since there’s nothing I can do about it, I’ll just hang on to my story.
Sarah 
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I sort of feel like I want it, but I also feel like Mark said here
I happen to have marked the date on my calendar/diary that year, so that’s how I remember it. I marked the “diaversary” with a meltdown every single year until a few years ago here a kind friend helped me see I didn’t have to do that just because I “always” did. I’ll always be grateful for that help.
I neglected to get my parents to sign anything about their memories of my dx before they died, and to be perfectly honest, I asked them both about what they remember about it, and neither one had anything much to say. my brother and sister don’t remember anything either.
In a few weeks, it will be exactly 48 years.
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@MarieB, I, too, like @Mark46, see the various medals as something I would just pack away. It would prompt decisions (and burden) later to me or my heirs, “What should we do with this?” I limit my possessions more than the average person. Almost everything I own is contained within my 33-foot sailboat/home. I’m a firm believer that less is more.
Perhaps Joslin and other organizations would allow membership in this group without awarding the actual medal. I know from @Richard157’s posts that Joslin conducts research on this group to help determine what common attributes contribute to their longevity with diabetes.
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I was eligible for the 50 year Joslin medal in 1995, but did not know there was a medalist program until 2006. I looked at the application form online and realized I would have to “prove” I had been T1 for 50 years. My parents and all but two of my uncles and aunts were deceased. Two living aunts (sisters) do not remember anything about my diabetes. They have a hard time even remembering who I am. The hospital has no records either. Finally, a medalist told me she had a sister-in-law and a childhood friend write letters telling what they remembered about the year she was diagnosed. The letters were accepted, and she has the medal. My oldest cousin is one year younger than me, and my sister is three years younger. When I applied for the medal in 2009, they sent me letters telling what they remembered several years after my diagnosis. That was appropriate because I was applying 14 years after my eligibility year (1995). They only had to remember 50 years prior to 2009, and that was easy. I included their letters with my application and received the medal in August, 2009. Then I drove to Boston and participated in the Joslin Medalist Study in December, 2009. People with the medal can attend medalist meetings in Boston in odd numbered years. It is wonderful to talk with other medalists face to face. There is also a secret medalist group on Facebook, and it is a very active. I love reading and posting there!
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@Tamra11, I don’t know my exact date of diagnosis either. My mother did not make a note about the date, but we remembered that it was a few days after my birthday in 1945. My birthday is Sept 10, so I picked Sept 15 as my diaversary. Every year I recognize that date as my diaversary.
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I don’t need a medal or a pat on the back. All I want is to live as long as possible. 
(and as healthy as possible)
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I was diagnosed in 1984, so a few years ago I contacted the hospital to see if they had any documentation I could send to Joslin. They said anything more than 20 years ago was archived in a warehouse somewhere and I would need pretty much a warrant or other legal order to have them dig it up. Thankfully I remembered the name of the diagnosing endocrinologist, and amazingly he is still in practice. He couldn’t remember me specifically of course, but he figured I must be legit and sent me a letter of verification. Have you tried calling the school to see if they can look at your records? I would imagine in those days that someone kept a record of your medical excuse.
Honestly, I’ll bet most of us “old timers” estimate our dx date. I only remember because it was exactly 2 weeks after I finished up a high school play, during which I was sick as a dog and peeing every 5 minutes. If you still can’t find anything, maybe pick something other than your birthday so you have another thing to celebrate!
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Surprisingly I didn’t miss any school, but I’m sure my parents did inform the school of my new diagnosis. Perhaps I’ll contact the school and see if they still have my records.
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I was in the hospital for surgery. After the surgery, the nurse hooked me up to a glucose IV machine. She came back later to check my BG with a gigantic poker–just protocol, she said. She read the number and said to me, “You have Diabetes!”. And so on 11/22/93, I was diagnosed by the hospital nurse. Type 2, they said (after all, I was 63 y.o.). I blundered around for a few months on pills that made me sick, but then came the insulin–Regular and NPH in those days. When I got a pump some years later, they began to write Type 1 on my forms, and my diagnosis was complete.
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