The topic: Why do I feel the DOC is important, especially to me personally? My answer: TuDiabetes and the network of D-blogs have given me an education that recently became an unexpected lifeline in my family.
I've read with interest about all types of Diabetes since I was misdiagnosed as a Type2 in November, 1993, changing to diagnosis of Type1 later (I call LADA/Type1). I had been having strange symptoms for many months. That November I was in the hospital for an operation and hooked up to a glucose IV in the Recovery Room. When the IV caused my blood sugar to shoot up, the nurse said, "Oops, you've got Diabetes", and gave me my first insulin shot. I was given Metformin and other pills, none of which helped. Finally about a year after that first shot, I was prescribed life-saving insulin. In time I got the C-Peptide and the other tests to show I was Type1, and acquired my first pump. While I had a good medical team, I needed to learn about my Diabetes on a daily basis. That's when, new pump pumping away, I discovered the DOC. It offered up a continuing education, right there at my fingertips! I loved it and lurked for years; then I joined TuDiabetes; and then...
One day for the fun of it, I talked my husband into testing his blood glucose. Oops! It was high! He tested again before and after meals; post pandrialy his results were always high. However, his fasting BGs were normal. My husband has always been thin and active and has no autoimmune conditions or insulin resistance. We decided he has a condition that we are calling "Type Geriatric". We went off to his doctor, who gave C-Peptide and other appropriate tests, and agreed that he has "Type Geriatric". My knowledge from the DOC, and especially TuDiabetes, has been a lifeline for both of us, and in the interest of full disclosure, he's a biological scientist and comes into the situation with some knowledge of his own!
I would like to see discussions on the glucose-impaired condition we're calling "Type Geriatric". I'd like a recognition that people should be regularly tested for Diabetes as they grow older, but that fasting blood glucose should not be relied upon for the diagnosis. It seems to me that there is a great potential for older people to be misdiagnosed, or not diagnosed at all for Beta Cell loss. The DOC is doing a great job in educating all of us.