Six Until Me: Your Story

Dave and Smokey's Story. 

I thought I would share my story along with my cat Smokey's story as we are both diabetic.

Smokey is about 12 years old about 5 years ago he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Many people have asked me how I knew or how I was able to tell he was diabetic. At first I was clueless, I really didn't know anything about diabetes and the fact that my cat was diabetic was a very new and foreign concept. The main symptom was drinking copious amounts of water. The water bowl holds around a quart of water after I would fill it up and come home from work it would be empty and licked clean. The flip side was that the litter box was a lake of urine that the clumping litter could not contain. After a couple days of this I made an appointment for him at the vet. Smokey was very sick and had to spend several days at the vet to get his blood glucose under control. After he recovered I had to learn to give injections, he currently gets two shot a day to keep his blood glucose under control. Many people think I am crazy to give my cat injections but I am a true believer that when you get a pet you agree to take care of them and that is what I am doing for Smokey.
           
Here is my story. I was going into see my doctor for a pre-op physical. About 2 weeks before the appointment I began drinking a lot of water but the weird part was that I had made a conscious effort to drink more water anyway. I had been doing a lot of rock climbing and biking so I was trying to be good and keep well hydrated. At the same time I developed thrush in my mouth, this is yet another symptom of diabetes. I thought that it was being caused by the fact that I breathe a lot through my mouth because I have deviated septum and my nasal passages are blocked. Then the most crazy thing happened to me my vision improved. Why is this crazy because?  I have been wearing contacts or glasses for 20 years. My head was spinning and I felt like I was losing my mind, I guess this is what happens when your vision is over corrected for a long period of time.
           
I went to the doctor and showed here my symptoms and told her everything that was going on. The water consumption, thrush, and vision all signs of diabetes. I was in total denial, because I did not have any family history of diabetes. I was 32 years young and had an athletic build. There was no way I had diabetes, or so I thought!! My doctor proceeded to give me a blood test and a urine test. I went back to see her several days later and received the worst news I could have possibly received. She told me I was diabetic, and that my blood glucose was 453. My triglycerides were over a 1000 and my A1c was 12. At the time I had no idea what the significance of these numbers were. I was prescribed Lantus and had to start giving myself injections at the same time I was in total disbelief. Shortly after taking insulin I stopped consuming so much water, with antibiotics the thrush in my mouth went away. I went to my eye doctor and she said everything was fine even though my eyes were 20/20. There was the proof after diagnosis and treatment I was getting better physically which was great but certainly not mentally.

Fast Forward……………………1 year later

I was finally starting to come around with the acceptance of having diabetes. My first endocrinologist that I saw after being diagnosed by my primary care physician was horrible, then I went to see a nutritionist. She probably had an eating disorder because in her mind fat was bad (she was as thin as a rail) and people with diabetes shouldn’t have too much. That went over like load of bricks with me because I had gone to the Culinary Institute of America after receiving my under graduate degree and I had been working with food for 13 years. Basically, butter makes it better!!!
           
Finally I found a wonderful endocrinologist in the Northern Virginia area. She has her own practice and is an Assistant Professor at George Town University.  I finally found out that I am a Type 1.5 diabetic, currently working towards a full Type 1!!!! I still produce some insulin basically. My first appointment with here was on a Saturday and it was an hour long. She actually spends the whole hour with you which I found very surprising. Along with the regular blood tests she also checked my thyroid function and several other things, too many to remember. The one thing she mentioned to me that was the greatest help to date was that I might want to consider using an insulin pump.
           
I took her idea and ran with it. My insulin pump coupled with my great endocrinologist and time has changed my mind set. Now that I don’t have to stick myself with needles everyday 6-8 times and as long as I count my carbs I feel as though I am not a diabetic. I can eat almost anything I want, within reason of course. Fats and sugar are not as much of a concern anymore and my BG is under control like never before. For those of you who may be considering an insulin pump—go for it!! I use a Minimed 522 which I love. If you want to get one make sure your endocrinologist is on board and call Medtronic. They will do everything for you and even set up a payment plan if your insurance does not cover the entire cost of the pump.
           
That is my story in a nut shell. If there is anyone who has questions or wants some advice I would be more than happy to help. I also would like to thank Kerri for her awesome blog.

Dave

Simons's Story. 

It was five minutes to three in the afternoon on Friday the first of June, 1979, and I had no cash. I did, however, have £8-50 in the bank and a hot date! So I wandered in to the bank, wrote out a cheque, and waited. Whilst I waited, three other gentlemen came into the bank to withdraw some money. Their cheque book was slightly unusual; it bore more than passing resemblance to a sawn-off shotgun! To cut a long story short, the trigger got pulled and a large part of my right calf got turned into mince. Just between you and me, dear reader, getting shot is NOT fun! One hot date straight out the window! I spent three months in hospital, whilst the doctors did skin grafts and such like.

When I left hospital I was told that I would spend the rest of my life on crutches or sticks. “NOT SO!” says I. I worked on my disability, determined that it would not hamper me and I succeeded. Ultimately, the only thing I had to give up was rock-climbing, which put just a bit too much strain on my leg. Other than that, you’d hardly know it was there.

The point was that I fought it. I fought like hell, and I won! Going through that process changed my life. I found inner strength. I felt empowered. I found I could go into a bank again without a cold sweat and abject terror. I got self-respect, something I’d never had. I got respect from other people too, which was something I wasn’t used to. Just so you know, I had a rotten childhood for the most part.

Seven years later, in 1986, I went for a job interview. Part of that interview was a medical, complete with a dipstick in a urine sample. Brown. The damn thing changed colour and turned brown! (Uristix turn brown in the presence of glucose.) Lo and behold, I’m a diabetic, or pre-diabetic to be precise.

I was devastated. I’d put all that effort into fighting for my health and along came diabetes, sneaking up behind me and whispering “Got you!” I was 30 at the time… less than half way through my life - and stuffed, at least that was how I saw it. I think I pretty much gave up. Like building your dream home and then they decide to build a highway, right through the middle of it and knock the place down. How big a kick in the teeth can you get?

My diabetes slowly developed from there. But I refused to believe that I had diabetes, life couldn’t do that to me. I stuck my head in the sand. I was NOT going to let it be there! It was irrelevant. Forget it, it doesn’t matter, just continue life and die early. I decided I’d rather have a short life with a good quality, than a long and boring one. I didn’t expect to see sixty.

Eventually I ended up on insulin, as is to be expected. STILL I didn’t really want to know. I injected when I could be bothered to. I tested occasionally, getting double figures for most of the time. My A1c was in double figures too. Although I didn’t realise it, I was on a slippery slope to a VERY unpleasant end.

Just over a year ago, my life changed significantly. I realised I was in love, truly in love! I had a reason to live and be well. I borrowed a phrase from the film “As Good as it Gets”; Jack Nicholson had the line “You make we want to be a better man” and I had a reason too. I found my inner strength again. I found my self-respect. I had cause to make an effort and I made that effort!

My A1c in 2000 was in double figures, in October 2005 it was 9.7. It’s now consistently in the sixes. My cholesterol levels are improving and I’m a lot healthier than I was two years ago. Yes, I do have some problems; a little neuropathy in the feet and my eyesight could be better. I have a blockage in my iliac artery that needs an operation to fix, but I’ll survive it. The point is that I’m doing my best to make sure those problems don’t get any worse.

My reason for writing this is for all the diabetics out there who have the same attitude I did – “I don’t have diabetes” or “If I ignore it, it will go away” or “It’s only diabetes, it doesn’t matter”. Well, it doesn’t work that way, not in the end. All you end up doing is making a total mess of your body and you WILL go through hell before you die. You will hurt the people you love and who love you but, most of all, you will hurt yourself! You HAVE got diabetes. It will NOT go away. Deal with it and deal with it now. Learn everything you can about it. (Teach your family and friends about it, the view that “Diabetics mustn’t eat sugar” is all to common. Diabetics know that glucose is the fuel our bodies run on and if, we run out of it, we die! It’d be a good thing if everyone else knew that!) Modify your life to accommodate it, which can be done; I’m living proof of it! Call it a marriage if you will. You are married to your diabetes and there ain’t no divorce! Look after your diabetes and life can be good. But, whatever else you do, don’t deny it, ‘cos it ain’t going away!

The “how” is quite simple. It’s your diabetes and you own it, rather than the diabetes owning you. You have to manage it. Adjust your diet. Keep a close eye on your BG levels (and test regularly!). If they are too high, get them lower, by diet or meds or whatever works for you. Learn about DM. Learn about your meds. Monitor what effect they have. Talk to others with DM and learn from them. Get a GOOD endocrinologist on your side. Your doctors and nurses are part of your team and if they aren’t good, change them, or educate them so that they can not only help you, but be a real help to others. One important point to remember, going from poorly managed diabetes to well managed doesn’t happen overnight. It does take time and you will have times when things go pear-shaped. Don’t despair, work through them and they will come right soon enough.

Oh and, I still love her deeply. The Lady in question (and Lady she most certainly is) has shown me care, respect and warmth and helped me greatly. Thank you, Lady.

Visit Simon's blog, if you want to learn more about his diabetes life!

Posted by Kerri. at 03:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Susan's Story 

The year of 2005 I was diagnosed with diabetes….. 

Believe it or not I was still very shocked to hear the doctor tell me that I did have diabetes. Those were words I did not want to hear even though I suspected it. I had gestational diabetes through all of 3 pregnancies but after I gave birth to healthy baby boys, the doctor told me “You do not have gestational diabetes anymore”. He went on to say that I am at greater risk of developing diabetes since I had gestational diabetes. All I heard was that I did not have it anymore and did not need to think about it any further. I was of course – w-r-o-n-g!  

I remember I was extremely thirsty all of the time (but I live in Texas).

I just attributed it to the hot weather. And of course, I was running to the restroom all the time but I thought it was because I was drinking so much. I was tired all of the time but I was working and running after 3 boys all day and add to that the fact that I am overweight! I had reasons for everything. I’m a mom, and we typically have answers for everything. Then one day, I had gotten a spider bite on my hip and it went from the size of a quarter to the diameter of a baseball. It lingered around longer than usual. At that point I decided to go to the doctor. 

My lab test results came back at 330 fasting! It was so surreal to hear the doctor tell me what I feared.  My doctor put me on Metformin which I was to take twice a day.  I was sort of stunned. I turned inward at that point. I started doing everything I was supposed to. I was following the diet from the nutritionist and I was working out at the gym but my mind was always consumed with this “thing”-my diabetes. I was living life but I was always consumed by my thoughts. I would see people drinking regular sodas or eating cake and I would think “they are lucky they do not have Diabetes”. Of course I did not know whether they did or not. I checked out every book that the local library had on the subject and it did not help.  I even found a support group at the hospital but when I went it was full of old people. It just was not a place where I felt I could connect or get any kind of support.

After a little while, I got my blood sugars in good control. I was feeling better and losing weight. But then I got fed up and tired of it. It took a while for me to realize it (like a whole year) but I had slowly stopped doing what was necessary to take care of me. I knew that I needed to do something. I was doing what I call the “bare minimum” which is not doing anything else except taking the medicine that I was prescribed. I told myself that I was still “taking care of it” because I still popped the Metformin in my mouth twice a day. I stopped taking my blood sugar readings because I did not want to “deal with it” at that time. My family was getting on my case, giving me lectures or articles that they clipped for me to read. The one thing that always “got through to me” was being reminded that I have to do this and I do not have a choice. And that I should do it for me and if I could not do it for myself then I had to do it for my three boys that I love with every part of my being.  

But still, it is hard. I was afraid to confront my numbers again. I went to the dLife website which I love because there is so much information. This is where I found some articles written by Kerri. Then I found her website. It was so nice to read how other people deal with their diabetes. It is comforting to know that you are not the only one in the world going through the struggles. I must be from the dark ages but I never knew these blogs existed. I started looking at other blogs as well. These finally gave me the “umph” I needed to get off my butt and go to the doctor and get control over my health. I went to the doctor and now I am on Byetta along with the Metformin. It was scary having to give myself a shot but I’m used to it now. My numbers are getting better day by day and I have been sleeping phenomenally! I have also been swimming as my daily exercise. I know the struggle is not over. I know I will have to rely on family & friends but the one thing about reading the blogs is that you are reading about people just like you; People that are going through the same things. I am doing so well right now. I will continue. I must. I will succeed.

 –Susan L from Texas

Posted by Kerri. at 03:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Stef's Story. 

I have been T1 diabetic for 24 years (diagnosed when I was 15).  I have the same struggles as any other mother who works part-time, is President of the PTA , has 4 boys and suffers from "bi-polar" diabetes.  I realize the part that separates me from the other "soccer moms" is the 4 boys (OK, it is really the diabetes).  I know what it is like to live with diabetes; my goal is for my children not to have to "live" with my diabetes. 

Diabetes is obviously a major "topic" (for lack of a better word) in our house, but I feel the need to shelter the boys sometimes not to scare them.  Being asked by your 5 year old son at the dinner table if Mommy is going to die in her sleep from low blood sugar, now that's a reality check!!!  No five year old should be worried or thinking about that.  He should be worried if SpongeBob is going to be on TV that night!  I try not to have them "live" with the disease but obviously at times they have to.  My children know what diabetes is, the difference between my moods with highs and lows, and that diabetes at times really frustrates me, but how do you explain living with diabetes to a child???

Of course I have a ton of stories about living with diabetes.  Like where is the funniest place you have found a test strip (STUCK TO THE BUTT OF MY CAT)?  Or dancing at a formal dinner and having your pump slip all the way down your dress and looking like you just gave birth to an insulin pump!  Or coming back from a low and needing to get your children dinner before karate, baseball, play dates etc. and driving to a fast food place (after my BS was above 100) and forgetting to place your order and just driving right on up to the pick-up window.  Then listening to your children explain to their friends "their mom's diabetes"!  That is the hard part!

-- Stef

Editor's Note:  Stef is known at Six Until Me as the "Diabetes Fairy."  :)

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