I have to disagree with you on the “nothing to be sad about” part. You may not be able to blame anyone but you can certainly be sad for the loss of carefree being. We don’t have the freedom of eating a slice of pizza on the fly or walking out the door hands free, with no thoughts of when I’m going to eat next or thinking/feeling (even if it isn’t true) that you will live “forever”. That is a huge change and it is perfectly normal to be sad.
I can understand too your hesitancy with telling folks. I come from a family with lots of T2s and have watched many family members not take care of themselves and die. So, as a small child, I said “that will never be me”. Well, I have been eating my words for the last 17 years (dx’d at 17). Even after all this time, I still have a hard time telling new friends. But ultimately, it is never as hard as it seems and mostly, they don’t know what to say or do so it blows over their heads.
Just say it. You’re gonna be twice the man you used to be. Wear it proud. Not everybody can do what we do.
You’re gonna dig the fact that you can now run wearing T-Shirt that declares "I Run On Insulin"
Take a while, work out the kinks, then get those shoes back on and hit the road. You are now eligible to be one of the few, one of the elite, one of us breaking new ground in endurance sports as T1’s. The challenges will be great, but the rewards will tenfold what they used to be.
There is EVERY reason to be mad and sad. This is a MAJOR life-changing event, and will affect every aspect of your life. Maybe you are feeling numb right now, which is normal, but it is also normal to have strong feelings, which may come out later. I spent hours crying after my diagnosis, and still, after 20 years, have feelings of sadness and rebellion.
The only advice I can give you is, first, do tell your family, because they need to know. And second, start reading, so you can find out more about it. You are probably in your honeymoon period right now, when control is easy, but it doesn’t stay that way, and you need to get ready for when it gets harder. And your family needs to be able to support you, which they can’t do if they don’t know.
And there ARE answers, but you need to educate yourself to find them. I’m sure other people will come up with names of books – DO read them.
I found out last week and I feel the same way. It has strained my relationship with my boyfriend so much. I feel guilty feeling sorry for myself but I can’t help it. It’s like life revolves around diabetes and blood glucose numbers now instead of you. I just turned 20 and I feel like everything I had plans for I now have to put on hold. Hopefully it gets easier.
I felt as you do when I was dx. Denial for months, though I was compliant with meds. I realized I had accepted it when I dove into research almost full-time.
Not much to add to previous comments.
Continue physical activity, it has a very positive impact on your health; the more intense the better.
As you most certainly have heard by this time, Type 1 Diabetes is a very simple condition to deal with, but only as long as you’re willing to put in the effort. You can lower your A1C and BG very quickly and keep them that way, it’s all a matter of attitude.
I hear you on this one my friend…I am now about 59 days in this prison of a diabetic life. I am 45 and had no clue until I had that wonderful 30lb weight loss and ended up in DKA…I on the other hand have taken this condition to teach. Everyone seems to think it’s that diabetes where you take a pill…LOL!!! I guess I figure the more people I tell, the more people will be aware of their own health as well as mine (in case I go hypoglycemic) … I also have written numerous correspondences to the first lady since she has a platform for better eating habits for children. ( Look at what’s out there for adults–UGH even worse) I travel for a living so this has been a huge shock to my career. Again, don’t be afraid to tell anyone—the more support you have, the easier it may be. Also, it’s ok to be mad —mad that you have to completely change your life as you knew it and it’s ok to be sad—sad that life as you knew it is gone…BUT be happy–happy the the good lord gave you the chance to wake up today and lead a better,healthier and yes challenging life. I think he chose all of us T1’s because he knew we would be strong enough to handle this and be role models for others in our life…When people uderstand what you go through in a day just to keep sugars in a safe zone, they will admire your perseverence and COOLNESS!!!
Wow that was a good way to express yourself it was kinda of poetic. u have found the right site for support and to get more insight on your condition. Enjoy the site they are very friendly and helpful...
I feel your pain. Four days ago I was diagnosed and my head is still spinning. I feel so fragile now. I am afraid to do anything, go anywhere, or even be around anyone. Anyway, I am glad to be on this forum. Your message helped me a lot.
wow you are 38 and just diagnose with type 1. Whats going on in this world. i hear more cases of older people getting type 1. This illness is growing exponentially i am, afraid.
Alessio, I was diagnosed at age 58. It isn't so much that there are more cases of older people, it is that people are beginning to correctly diagnose us.
you are right :) . And i also feel that there is a big crowd out there who is still misdiagnosed or not even diagnose yet. :( . In the past month i heard 2 more cases of acquaintances with T1DM
My new T1Brotha, It has been one year since I was diagnosed at the age of 44..I am a pumper and it made my life so much easier.. I just started training for a 5K..I am not sure when I will be ready but I just stay in trainig and it seems to help (I have never ran before in my life, except to catch a plane) As for the confusion, it really never goes away but I try to keep putting acceptance in it's place and pray that the "One" above continues to give me the patience I need.. I just entered by first chili cook off--yes, I never have done that either and I won 3rd out of 25!! Since I now try to cook very diabetically,(LOL) I thought what the heck!! So, just keep in mind, we can really do anything now because we live with this day to day craziness and still keep a smile on our face..Love, peace and Broccoli--Jujube
Sorry you have to go through this, but welcome to the group; keep reading all you can on the boards, they contain a wealth of information. I have kept my disease pretty much to myself; other than medical professionals, I've told one sister and one friend. No one at work knows except the PA in Occ Health. My CDE strongly encouraged me to fill her in. Like you, I was a decent runner (not elite), completed over 30 marathons, have always eaten well, so I choose not to try and explain this T1 mess to folks who don't have a clue. I was diagnosed 3 1/2 years ago at the age of 59, and it took me a little over a year to begin to accept what had happened to me. Hopefully, you will get there quicker than I did.
I'm not sure if it's misdiagnosis or something entirely else. I mean Diabetes doesn't run in my family (on either side)and I've never had any issues with my blood glucose levels ever being abnormal in any of my lab tests. I even went back and double, strike that, triple checked and NADA. In my situation I'm convinced that it was a quality of life issue and specifically stress that caught up with me. Stress can be every bit as dangerous as a real disease. Especially in the way tjhat one's body reacts to stress. But I hear you Zoe. Whatever it is more attention needs to be paid to it becuase it's becoming more and more common.
In the case of T1, there are OFTEN no other cases in the family. And it can hit very quickly. Blood tests can be entirely normal a couple of months before it hits, and then BOOM! That's just the way it is, so now's the time to work on it, and learn all you can, and get on with your life. Good luck, brotha! :-)
Oh, I was actually talking about the adult Type 1's who have slow onset (LADA) and are misdiagnosed as Type 2's. However it got here (I'm sure you're right about how it happened for you), you do sound like a clear type 1 and you have a good quality of acceptance about that out-of-the-blue shock in your other post.
