Hi everyone ,john green here ,i have just joined the groupand look forward to being part of it. I am type 1 and am 58 yrs old , i went into hospital on 27th april 2011 with blood sugar level of 49 not knowing what i was in for and not knowing i even had diabetes, i found out that type 1 is not normal for someone my age and doctors at hospital were dumb founded for while i am home now and inject myself on average 7 times a day , ( finding it hard to handle to ) i am getting levels down slowly and my eyes are getting better (not so blury ) If anyone wants to chat to me and can tell me how to make it seam easier please do so thankyou
Welcome, John. Glad you found us.
I was diagnosed T1 at 53 & understand what you’re going through. So much to learn, so many changes. It’s overwhelming. Take it slow. What helped me was learning as much as I could. Made me feel less vulnerable & less scared. Jenny’s site is wonderful & helped me a lot www.bloodsugar101.com
Hi Gerri, ty for your reply, i tool alook at that site just now and it looks really good so have bookmarked it for further reading . again thankyou for your reply and support
Don’t hesitate to ask anything. There’s also a wealth of info here. You can search just about any topic.
Hi John and welcome. I was diagnosed Type 1 at…age 58! Yep, we are diabetes twins! (Except my diagnosis was almost 4 years ago). I am LADA which is a Type 1 which has slower onset and so is often misdiagnosed as Type 2 for awhile. Your doctors are wrong, wrong, wrong. Type 1 is not uncommon in adults, as a matter of fact between regular sudden onset Type 1’s and LADA Type 1’s there are more of us than people diagnosed in childhood! Many doctors just can’t get past the former name of “Juvenile Diabetes”.
Yes, I second Gerri’s vote for bloodsugar101 and then Using Insulin by John Walsh. Together those books will help you know more about this condition you find yourself with. For me, in time I became glad I was diagnosed when I was because I got to enjoy my youth without the D. Also I was one month from retirement when I was diagnosed and managing D while retired is a lot easier. Don’t hesitate to ask questions here on the forum, or send me a private message if you want to chat more.
Zoe
Hi John,
I am afraid there are more of us than one would think. I was diagnosed at age 56, almost 7 years ago. Now I use an Omnipod pump and the Dexcom continuous glucose monitoring system. Us seniors are a hardy breed and you will make it through this. This will be a slow journey - you won’t learn it all in one day or week. And you keep on learning. Getting to the online message boards was a big help for me in the beginning. I didn’t even write anything for a while. Just read what others asked and posted. Believe me, there is someone else going through a problem you will have. Just read, take it all in, and use what works for you. Everybody is different, what works for some may not work for you and vice versa. But ask any questions that you have. There is always someone there to help.
Linda
Not that this is a competition - but exactly one year ago this week, I was diagnosed T1 at age 62!!! So I guess I have you all beat. But seriously, I was on a total roller coaster and feeling horrid for 10 months, but since going on the pump 2 months ago, things are quite a bit better. Read everything you can John and visit this forum and others that are similar very often. Knowing there are others that share your experience is a great comfort.
Beverly
Welcome! I was dx type 1 six months ago at age 39. So you guys have me beat… but we’re in the “weirdo adult-onset type 1” category together!
It sucks, but it does get easier. And my vision is fine now. I didn’t even realize how blurry it was – I actually thought I was just going to have to give up contact lenses after having worn them for 25 years.
Read the boards, read the books they recommend (Think Like a Pancreas, etc). See your endo, and think about the pump.
Nice to meet you! When I was dx’ed, I was having blurry vision but was so used to wearing glasses, I didn’t realize that my eyes had gotten “better”, in that when my body ate itself, it ate enough vitreous fluid (or whatever it’s called…) that my eyes changed shape so I could see without my glasses but didn’t realize it. I enjoyed about a week of glasses-free living before things returned to normal. I also took my drivers test at that time and it was about 20 years before the DMV caught up and again noted that I needed glasses to drive.
Hi John, welcome to the TuD family. I’m sure you’re feeling very overwhelmed right now - if you weren’t something would be wrong LOL You have a lot of experimenting and tweaking ahead of you, but the end result will be better control and learning a LOT about how your body responds to various foods, exercise, etc.
Do see an endocrinologist if you haven’t. It’s a learning process, a path… take your time, you’ll look back in a year and be amazed at how far you’ve come.
Hi johnno- I was dx’ ed 12 years ago w/T-1 at age 55, The docs thought it was strange too. Don’t dwell on how or why you got D, just learn all you can about the disease and how you can live a successful and healthy life with it. That’s what we are doing here. You have gotten some good advice so far from the responses. Just take it a day at a time and try not to get frustrated when you think you are doing everything right and your BS number go crazy.
Just remember, we are here to help !!!
It is more common than many realize. I was misdiagnosed as at Type 2 at age 45 only to be properly diagnosed at age 47 as Type 1 (LADA). Be thankful that they tested you for Type 1 right away. You will miss that second bout of inexplicable high glucose that the initially misdiagnosed go through. The injections get easier. After you have mastered some control, you might consider switching to a pump. I find it a lot easier than multiple daily injections (MDI). But some people prefer injections. You just have to find what suits you best. Lots of people here will help you as you get used to all of this. I’m glad you found us.
I was diagnosed last October a week before my 56th birthday (no cake last year). The last nine months have been nothing short of an adventure. I can honestly say that this community is the single best thing to happen as a result of my Dx. As you will find, there are few if any simple one size fits all answers for this condition. The knowledge I have gained from other’s experiences here has definitely shortened my learning curve.
The main goal is to “control” you blood sugar. Blood Sugar 101 is an excellent place to start. I found it very easy to follow and very informative. Once I had a grasp on that I began to explore my food and diet options. I have decided to go with a very low carb diet (around 100 per day). I am usually able to get through the day with one or two injections of 2 to 3 units. With only minor exercise (mowing the lawn, walking) I can often go an entire day with only my basal insulin. I am still experimenting with what, when and how I eat but am very happy with my numbers at this point.
It IS overwhelming to say the least, but it will slowly make more sense and you will feel better too. Hang in there, keep learning and find the things that work for you.
Welcome!
I was diagnosed at the age of 57 a few years ago. The first few months are pretty tough but little by little it gets easier. I never really got comfortable with shots; going on a pump made a great difference in the quality of my life.
While diagnosis in your 50s is by no means common, there are a lot of us late bloomers on Tudiabetes.
Maurie
Welcome John,
I am 58 and was diagnosed Type 1 about nine months ago. It was overwhelming to me at first but has gotten easier (most days) little by little. I am feeling so much better now that my BS is lower. I found lots of answers by reading several books. One of my favorites is “Think Like A Pancreas” by Gary Scheiner. I have learned so much from this forum, too. You are not alone, we’ll get through this together.