Having this discussion with some1 lately and would love to hear some other D's opinions.
Is it better to get diagnosed so young that you don't know any different?
Or is it better to get diagnosed at 13, 20, 30, 40 ect so you got to live that many days without sticking a needle in yourself several times a day and counting every carb you eat but where the learning curve is greater.
Obvs its not gr8 having it either way but just wondered what you thought is better/worse?
The latest human possible is the ideal. The less time you have it, the better period.
Thats what I think 2
I do not think it matters, each age presents unique issues. I know when I was diagnosed at age 17, I started on a path that led into a deep depression that lasted well over 20 years. I know children who were diagnosed at a very early age and they have not experienced that part of diabetes.
Yet those same children felt they missed out on some things. Yet as a young adult I experienced those things they said they missed out on and I do not remember a thing about them. Remember I was diagnosed in 1974 it was a very different world in those days. (Please do not responded that your children have no restrictions) I understand that today there are no restrictions on children with diabetes. I am talking about the 60's and 70's not today.
So which is better? neither. They both have downsides. There are no upsides to the time of diagnosis.
rick
By the way this is a great discussion and blog topic.
Thanks Rick. Went for my Retina screen last week and was having this discussion in the waiting room so thought I'd like to see what a bigger audience had to say
I say its better to have loved and lost then to never have loved at all. I'm glad my mother and father didn't have to go through, from what I read on this site, many parents of T1D children have to go through. This dx's is a start to a whole new life and I have no parent to guide me and pave my way however I do have parents that guided me already and raised me to be strong, strong enough to handle what ever life throws my way.
I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 35. I am grateful that I did not have to go through childhood, especially the teenage years, having Type 1. I also traveled the world, to lots of Third World countries, prior to diagnosis--traveling is much more difficult now, so I am grateful I went to India, Nepal, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia prior to Type 1. I was also able to start my career without some of the difficulties that Type 1 can bring. The hard part about being diagnosed as an adult is that you know what life is like WITHOUT diabetes, and life is certainly more difficult with Type 1.
having had t1 since i was not yet 3 i think being taken care of properly right away helped me be healthy all my life until now
of course i wished i could do things like other children & also wished i did not have so many restrictions....but after 78 years i am so used to it
the feeling of not fitting in or not being understood happens to all of us, regardless of when we were diagnosed
so let's just enjoy life !
nice car rick but i miss your face
I was diagnosed at 8 months and I think without D I wouldnt be the person I am today. I am strong and independent I know my own mind I'm responsible, hard working planned and organised (when you cant leave the house without glucose these things happen) For this I am glad I was always diabetic. But I still wonder what it would have been like to not think about it for a day a week or even an hour or a minute. Holding out for the cure that day may yet come :)
I was diagnosed at nine years old, and at the time the nurses said I was at the perfect age for diagnosis. Old enough to know what was going on and deal with it without the tantrums a toddler might have, and young enough to actually listen to the doctors and my parents without teenage rebellion. They were right, so I guess it was a good age.
had discussions about this with quite a lot of diabetics. everyone thinks his diagnosis age was the best. so do it. dxd at 8 and i dont know anything else
I dont think mine was gr8 to be honest I wouldnt have minded being a little older. I was doing my own shots by 7. I dont think a 7 year old should have to do that in hindsight. Not that I had to I wanted to but u no what i mean
I was dx at 16, and I'm glad I had time to enjoy bingeing on Halloween candy, exercising without worry, not having to deal with needles, not dreading what the future holds, and just being a normal kid. Ideally I would have liked to be diagnosed after college, because I would have had more maturity and stability to deal with it and would have been in less denial. But of course we can't choose this stuff, we just have to move forward as best we can. I have been hearing that "a cure is right around the corner" since I was dx in 1984, but alas, here I am! I am thankful for my pump and other tools that make it more manageable than the "old days", but those tools are not a cure!
I was diagnosed at age 9. The funny thing about it is that even though I have memories of my childhood....I cannot remember a time when I didn't prick my finger or take an injection. So, fast forward to current day, I am 40 years old and I agree with Fiona. I would not be the person I am without all of the struggles, pain and awesome accomplishments that diabetes has forced me to deal with.
I was diagnosed at 20, my mom was diagnosed as an infant. I agree with Rick that all ages have there own unique challenges that come with diabetes. However I disagree that there are no upsides to the time of diagnosis. A teenager has many more peer related challenges than an adult, the teenage years are the time for developing self, adding diabetes to that equation could may have a stronger impact on peer relations. I view my age of diagnosis as a blessing, after having diabetes free teenage hood I believe I was able to manage diagnosis much better than I would have if I was a teenager. My mom says that she doesn't know life without diabetes but that doesn't make management any easier. I have a few diabetic friends that think they would have had less challenges if they were diagnosed at an age that they could understand the condition. True or not, age does make a difference, positive or negative is perception.
I am non-D. Our child diagnosed at 8 years. I am grateful for every year she did not have it. Diagnosis in babies and toddlers is very difficult and a nightmare to control. At eight years, she adapted to the diagnosis and the restrictions became a routine part of her life. But every year damage is done to her body. From a physical standpoint, the later the better. From a mental standpoint, I would say if you contract Type 1 as an adult, you will have avoided the teen years, where managing Type 1 is difficult physically and mentally. Also as a young adult, on your own, a diagnosis of Type 1 would be extremely challenging. If only one could delay this diagnosis until the mid-thirties when one is more mature and settled.... But, unfortunately, most people are diagnosed before the age of 26. So the later the better...
i was diagnosed t1 at 36. i am so glad i was able to enjoy new york pizza and all of my other favourite and now hard to eat foods for those 36 years. i am also glad i got to do all the physical exercise as a child without worrying or thinking about it and as mentioned above, that my parents didnt have to go thru the constant worry and fear for me. it must be the hardest job taking care of an active diabetic child, thinking youre not doing enough/everything right. my teenage years were spent experimenting like any other teen, with just the cursory repurcussions-hangovers, in trouble with parents, while my cousin, dx with t1 at age 7, spent a couple of times in hospital because she had a couple of wine coolers or got drunk at a wedding. getting t1 as an adult does suck because it takes some getting accustomed to, but for me im thankful that i got it as an adult. no child should have this. i mean adults shouldnt either, but a kid having it, thats just so wrong!
I was one of those active children. Played football, comogie, basketball and athletics. I can never look at weetabix the same way my mom used to force feed 2 of them to me b4 games. 1 day i was so full by it i felt them on the pitch after me. Being dxd young makes it really hard for parents let go. Im 23 now and lived away 4m home for 5 years for college. Never died then and my mom is still sometimes like how much are u taking now is that 2 much. I no its only concern but all the same