I am new to diabetes and also just recently joined TuD. I am 24 and started developing the classic symptoms of diabetes in about July last year, excessive thirst, running to the bathroom every 10 minutes, extreme fatigue etc. I am a student at a university in a town on the other side of the country from my hometown and my family and I mentioned the symptoms to my mom over the phone one day and she urged me to go see a doctor. I didn’t listen, I always tend to put off a visit to the doctor until I feel as if I’m about to die.
In September I went home for the university’s short spring break and my mom then noticed that I really wasn’t kidding about the thirst and the running to the bathroom thing. She got really mad and told me to go to the doctor the next day…which I did. I was rushed to hospital with a bloodsugar that wouldn’t even register on the meter they had at the doctor’s surgery (it just beeped frantically and sent everyone around me into a frenzy, which I didn’t understand at the time) and I was kept there for a week. I was kept at home for a further two weeks after that so that the doctor who had treated me could monitor me before I was allowed to fly back to the other side of the country to university.
I was initially diagnosed as T2 but after some antibody tests with a new doctor earlier this year I was told that I am in fact T1.
We have no family history of T1 or T2 so it all came as a huge shock. I am taking it very hard and am on antidepressants and in therapy. I have always been very afraid of needles and although I’ve been giving myself shots for months now, it’s still frightening every time. Having blood drawn for my A1C every 3 months is a nightmare and has me shaking in terror everytime . My family isn’t closeby to support me and my friends at university don’t understand at all, most of them don’t even know what diabetes is and think it’s something that can be cured and will go away in time, and that I should just get over it. I have lost some friends since the diagnosis due to their lack of understanding, my depression and my general withdrawal from people.
In the first couple of months I was in perfect control of my bloodsugar and ate the right stuff and exercised regularly, my A1C went from 10.9 in September last year to 5.6 in February this year. Lately I only take my medication when I feel like it (which is almost never) and I eat whatever I want and ignore exercising because it hardly seems to affect my bloodsugar levels negatively at all. I know it only works this way now because I am in my honeymoon period but I still can’t help hoping that maybe it was all just a big mistake on the doctor’s part. I’ve been ignoring the problem and hoping it will just go away if I ignore it long enough.
I need to talk to some people who also have diabetes, who know what it’s like and who know the challenges of everyday life with it. Help?
You came to the right place annona! I hope that you will find lots of support in this community.
You are right that the only reason that things are OK now is that you are in the honeymoon. If you take care of yourself, your honeymoon can last longer. Later on (after the honeymoon), not taking insulin injections will be even more dangerous.
I think that one of the things to remind yourself of is that you can still be yourself with diabetes! Look around this site and see all the people living full and healthy (and long!) lives with type 1 diabetes. The most important thing is that you decide to take care of yourself-- that will enable you to fulfill the rest of your dreams! Start just one step at a time. You’ll get into a rountine and find a normal life with diabetes.
Perhaps the first step should be to be sure to give your insulin injections everyday. How often are you supposed to give insulin?
Please keep us posted on how you are doing! We are here for you and can understand what you are going through!!!
we get alot of “noobs” search through the message boards and you’'ll find lots of advice. I’ve found that no matter what you need to set a schedule and you have to self motivate yourself. Also it helps to talk to the wonderful people of tudiabetes.
Am supposed to give injections before every meal or snack that needs it (my dietitian only recently explained the concept of carb counting to me, before that I was on 3 sets of 5 units Apidra per day) and 1 Lantus injection before bed. So…supposed to be anything between 4 and 6 injections per day.
annona-You don’t find out who your real friends are until you go through something like this. If they left you it is their issue. I have many good friends, but my best friends are the ones who will watch me take a shot, remind me to take a shot, watch me take my sugar and ask if I will do theirs ( just to get my reaction). Real friends want you to take care of yourself, because they want to enjoy your company for the years to come.
Life is too short to let diabetes or anything else get in your way. You feel better when you take care of yourself. It isn’t always fun and everyone here knows that. I would bet we all have been in denial at some point. You can do this. Live your life and enjoy it.
annona, please take something to heart, skiping insulin and not testing doesn’t make diabetes go away. It does make eyesight go away, it makes kidney function go away, it makes feeling in your feet go away, and it takes your family away, along with all your hopes and dreams and everything you ever wanted out of life. I know people who have died of complications and none of them, not one, was happy they decided to not take care of their diabetes. They were all sorry at the end but admitted they were scared, and sadly their only wish at the end was a little more time.
STAY in therapy and talk about it. Talk about your fears here as much as you can. Things will change in your head in time. If I died when I WANTED TO in 1977 I would have missed a lot of life, and I am not special, so you can do it too.
Your are lucky that you caught your diabetes inthe beggining. that good care of your diabetes it is a life long friend. If you let you pancreas died completely the disease will become your worst nightmare.
I was diagnosed my first semester of my freshman year of college. So I was in something of the same boat as you. As others have said, setting a good routine early will make it easier to maintain in the future, and make adjustments as your lifestyles change. Above all, I would start a solid routine of checking your blood sugar at regular times. There is a lot to take in and adjust to early on and it is certainly overwhelming, but the cliched ‘one day at a time’ mantra is really the best course of action.
Finally, don’t be afraid to ask questions, in my short time being a member of the Diabetes Online Community, I have found more answers in 6 months than I found in my first 6 years virtually by myself with this thing. Good luck. You have the strength to do this. We all do.
Hi Noob:
I am thinking you are in the UK ?
Have you thought about going on the pump? It is so much EASIER than injections. Also, I really think it is the best thing for a Type 1, working on the principal that it infuses you with micro small amounts of insulin ALL the time. Then you give yourself a bolus when you eat. You can program it to suit your individual needs. Research has shown that a pancreas will give out insulin at different times…not just when you eat. I have been there, where you are…and there was nothing to help me…accept the knowledge and help that is available to you…you CAN live a LONG and free life with D. I am 55 years with Type 1 and am still “kicking” !!!
No, I’m in South Africa My doc did mention and show me the pump on my last visit there but at the same time said that he thought I’d have better control on shots. He was just showing it to me so that I could be aware of different options available to me.
My dietican showed me her pump last week (she’s also a T1) and explained a bit more about it…she seems to think that would be better for me. So…I don’t know…I don’t think I really like the idea of being attached to something like that…how are you finding it?
Annona-The pump gives you more flexibility. It is easier to have a snack that you should take a shot for. Instead you push a few buttons and it gives you the insulin. Beyond that the concepts aren’t that much different from shot therapy. It isn’t that bad being attached, I have had a pump for about 6 years. You take it off for bathing, swimming, etc… If you are having any trouble figuring everything out, hold off on the pump. Be careful to not take on too much early on. If your doc says you would have better control with shots, next time I would ask him why.
