Hi all,
I am glad to have found a site to connect to with other insulin-dependent diabetics. It turned my world around, flipped it, and titled it off its axis, but I survived. I was diagnosed in August '09, so I haven't been type I very long. It all began late this summer, after my trip to Melbourne and Sydney, Australia -- a great vacation, but a not so fun conclusion to it. I was visiting my brother and best friend studying abroad, around the time of the Southern hemisphere's peak flu season. After a night of partying at the bar, we came back home and my friend was sicker than a dog the next day; apparently, there was a 90% chance she had contract swine flu (according to the health clinic she went to). Well, don't I come down with something similar to what she had the next week. We aren't sure if it was related, but who knows. On my last day in Sydney, I find my legs and whole body vibrate with aches and the common flu symptoms. I dread the airport and flying the next day-24 hours of fever, flu, and feeling like my bed was never going to find me. Anyways, it was all down hill from there. I was sick for 1 1/2 weeks with the worst flu I've had in years. I went on vacation (again -- tough life, I know) in late July, after recovering and felt fine, well, until I noticed I was beginning to get more thirsty more often. I attributed it to the heat and being at the beach, but then I noticed I was running to the bathroom more often. Well, by the end of August, I had lost 20 pounds -- starting at 137 and dropping to 117 at my lowest, which prompted many friends and family to want to feed me MORE -- ice cream, etc --which we all know made the issue worse. I did my own research, and voila; it looked like diabetes. I was confused, scared, and when I told family what I believed it was, I wasn't taken too seriously because the excuse: diabetes doesn't run in the family proved that this could not possibly be the dx. I was beginning to think: cancer, some other deadly illness, and my nerves were shot with exhaustion over the issue. But, the worst part: the DRY mouth. My mouth became so dry that I would wake up at night and be so parched it would physically irritate me. The dx came at no surprise when they FINALLY did a blood glucose test; a blood sugar around 400 -- which came at no surprise to me. I knew it was off, and I just needed to confirm it with the DOC. office.
Anyways, it has been a long journey so far, but an interesting and challenging one. I started with the insulin shots up until late January, and have been on the Omnipod pump since (the best thing since sliced bread) - it has made my life that much better with diabetes in regards to flexibility when eating, etc -- no more running to the car or bathroom for shots.
The challenges are still here: I have trouble controlling high's when I get nervous before presentations (fight-or-flight response), and during high stress situations, when my heart gets going, but I am working on it. I like my numbers to be between 70-110, ideally.
Anyways, I look forward to more posting!
Ryan
23, senior in college