This I believe

June 15, 2010 is a day I will never forget. It was the day I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Four months ago, if you would’ve asked me what a keytone was, I would’ve said “something on a piano”. Like most, I thought diabetes was something that only affected children or overweight people. I was completely oblivious to what this disease was, or what it was like to live with it.

The symptoms were subtle. It’s amazing how easily you adapt to them. I honestly didn’t think drinking 12-14 bottles of water a day was odd. I lost 18 pounds in about a month, nothing wrong with that during bikini season. Waking up several times in the middle of the night to use the bathroom became routine. Being exhausted all the time to me just seemed like a symptom of too much work and school. It wasn’t until a routine trip to the gynecologist, that I discovered that I was a cupcake away from going into a diabetic coma.

After the shock wore off, I went back and forth from being angry to in denial. I kept wondering, “why me?” Confused, brokenhearted, and depressed, I had no choice but to accept the awful truth. With the help of my friends, family and the educators at the diabetic care center, I began to feel hope. Instead of asking, “why me?” I started asking, “why not me?”

I became veracious for information. I read blogs, visited websites, bought books, and spoke with other people living with diabetes. I learned how to count carbs, fancy diabetic terms like DKA, A1C, and LADA. I discovered new and delicious foods low in sugar and carbohydrates. I can’t say it wasn’t difficult at first. Having to completely restructure how you look at food and inject insulin 8 times a day is easier said than done. However, armed with information and medicine, I battled this disease and won! With the help of my doctor and pump therapy I was able to get my glucose levels under control.

I’ve come a long way, but this is just the beginning. I hope to share my story with others who were recently diagnosed. Becoming a diabetic later in life can be harder than having it since adolescence. If I can help bring hope and information to just one other person in my situation, then I have done my job, because I believe that I can make a difference. I believe that there will someday be a cure, and most of all I believe that I can live a normal life with diabetes.

Thanks for saying you believe there will be a cure. I’m tired of reading the posts from people who are negative on that topic. Thank you for being positive!!

Great post,you give hope to everyone with diabetes .

Good for you! Your reaction to your symptoms and your reactions to the diagnosis are pretty typical! I had all the symptoms for 10 years before I was diagnosed! My reaction was “Oh xxxx!” and the doctor asked why I had said that. I am a needle phobic! Of course, now I know, that a) diagnosis does not necessarily mean needles, and b) if it does, I went on them after 4 months of tablets and not much help. Actually, the diagnosis came as a relief as there were so many problems I was having finally had a reason!

I do feel a lot better than I did 6 years ago when I was diagnosed. It is a bit of a bind sometimes, but most of the time I just get on with it and treat highs and lows as I find them. In the UK, there are many advantages to being diabetic - fast track appointments for footcare, dentistry, etc. Free prescriptions (whether you are a millionaire or a pauper!) and free opitcal checks …

Disadvantages are that the place where I live has a crappy diabetes centre, not sympathetic to those of us who want to use pork insulin instead of the “human” types which cause me a whole host of hassles, but have now found one about 35 miles away and though it is a long day when I have to go there by bus, it is well worth the effort.