I thought I’d post my diagnosis story, I should have done it in my first blog post.
When I was diagnosed I was very lucky on 3 counts; first I was only 3 when so I was spared the bad memories that new diabetics carry; second my father is a doctor; third my mother was a nurse.
In the beginning, they were concerned because instead of running around and getting into mischief, I was laying around taking naps. When father checked me over he knew something was wrong but he didn’t have the equipment at home to properly evaluate me. So they took me to the hospital where they did the tests and that’s when I started my big adventure in the diabetes world. They said I was in the hospital for 2 days while they stabilized my BG, and my mother was there all the time with me. They said that when I was stable, they gave me a shot of NPH insulin and I was released. My mother was an RN and was still working at the time so she took her vacation to take care of me. She later quit nursing so she could take care of me full time. The ped endocrinologist at the hospital had designed a treatment plan for me that included R and NPH insulin plus carb control. It was soon changed to R and UL insulin. Because of constant care from my mother and father I did well and was in good control right from the start. My first memories of diabetes was screaming when my mother gave me my shots. I was 6 when I first gave myself my shot. It was hard because I had to mix the R and UL insulin in the same syringe. The UL insulin had to be agitated in the vial by rolling the vile between my hands. I would always draw up the R first to the right line on the syringe then draw up the UL to the right line on the syringe. I had to shake the syringe back and forth to make sure the UL was still in suspension. If I didn’t do it right the needle would clog and I had to start over. That sucked because I had to inject a second time. My mother would watch me and always check every step because it was hard to get the doses of the 2 insulins right.
Later I was changed to Novolog and Lantus and then to Novolog and Levemir. When I’m doing MDI I still use Novolog and Levemir. I am on the OnmiPump but I still like to go on MDI almost half the time. I’ve had my lowest A1c on MDI, 5.5 was my best and under 6 for over 2 years. Today with my part time pumping and part time MDI my A1c is between 6.1 and 6.3.
Great story… reminds me of what I can remember of mine
Thanks for posting your story. I was diagnosed T1 as an adult & am in awe of those who had the responsibilty of their own injections as young children, especially with the old insulins.
It was a lot harder with the old insulins. I changed to Novolog and Laantus when I was 7. I was so happy, diabetes was so much easier. No more mixing insulin, no more agitating the insulin, no more clogged needles and above all almost no more hypos.
I can only imagine! Thankfully, you didn’t have to deal with the mixing, agitating or awful NPH for long.
Those old insulins contained protamine.I only used them for 4 years but evidently that was enough sensitize me to it. When I had an operation last year I had a protamine reaction when they gave it to me for heparin reversal. I overheard my dad tell my mom that I almost died because of that.
I’ve heard of protamine reactions, but never knew anyone before who had this happen. How awful! Really is frightening.
Dr. B recommends that you avoid protamine based insulins (NPH). His argument is that during certain procedures like coronary angiography, you will be injected with protamine after the angiography to turn off the heparin. People that have used NPH for a long time can have an allergic reaction to the protamine and it can be very serious. I worry about this issue. I’ve been unable to get insulin prescribed and unfortunately, the only long insulins available over the counter in the US is NPH. I’m glad you are ok.
Humulin R is available without an Rx.
i’m on the minimed right now but soon will be changing to the omnipod…how do you like the omnipod???