Six Until Me: Your Story

Hello, My name is Denise and I was diagnosed with Type I diabetes October 11, 2006. I began just not feeling well, tired all the time and just feeling blah (the only way to describe it really).

One day a friend mentioned how skinny I was. I had been rather thin anyway and I'd always had a problem where if I was really stressed or busy with work I'd lose weight. I hadn't paid much attention to it until she said that and then I thought about how loose a lot of my clothes had been lately. I went and weighed myself and realized I had lost almost 20 pounds. Over the next two weeks things got worse, I was constantly hungry to the point where I'd eat and an hour later I'd feel sick as if I was starving to death. I never liked water before and suddenly it was the only thing I could drink that would quench the dreadful thirst. I was so exhausted that I'd come home and just go to bed which was not normal for me. One day I woke up in the middle of the night and was so sick, I got up took some flu medication thinking I was coming down with something and went back to bed. In the morning I literally couldn't get out of bed from being so weak. I still thought I had the flu and maybe had been coming down with this which would explain how I'd been feeling. As the next couple of hours passed I realized I was sicker than I thought. I tried to force myself from bed to go and eat something thinking that would help the weakness and after only a few steps my vision became so blurred that I thought I was going to faint. I then returned to my bed and called a friend to come and take me to the hospital.

Very quickly the doctor suspected diabetes and admitted me and we learned that my glucose levels were in the 800's (80-120 is normal "there are some slight variables to that"). I was placed on insulin to get my levels down and told that I had diabetes. They believed based it seems on my age (44) that I had type II which shocked me really because I had always been active, always been health conscience and had never been overweight. Based on things you read it seemed that to have type II you had to fit into a certain category and I didn't fit there. However I've since learned that this isn't necessarily true. After a few days my levels returned to a safer level and I was released and sent home with oral meds, diet, and exercise instructions. Very quickly (days) my health began declining again. At first I thought I was doing something wrong with my diet but I honestly knew better because I had stuck to the diet religiously. I ended up back at the hospital and was admitted again and by this time further test results had came back from my last stay and I learned I actually had Type I and not Type II. I was insulin dependent to the point that they said I was making little if any insulin on my own. This time after a stay in the hospital I was sent home with prescriptions for Humulin 70/30 insulin at night and Regular insulin for meals and scheduled for diabetic education classes and to see a dietitian. I was also referred to a endocrinologist.

My appt with the endo doc was over a week away and by the time I got there I was sick yet again and my glucose levels were so out of whack it was horrible. At that visit the endocrinologist was shocked at what insulin the hospital had placed me on. She confirmed my diagnosis and switched me to Lantus at night and Humulog for meals. I slowly began to reach a place where there was at least a glimmer of some control to the fluctuations of my blood sugar levels. However we soon learned that I was going to be someone who would have to learn how to closely count my carbohydrates in my diet and adjust my insulin accordingly and to even take extra shots daily in order to correct my glucose levels down when I experienced spikes. I went from 4 shots a day to having to take sometimes as many as 8 or 9. We are now working with my insurance in the attempt to get me an insulin pump which will make things somewhat simpler, at least as far as the shots go.

Type I diabetes was previously referred to as "Juvenile diabetes". Even with the change in the identification many still view Type I as being something you get when you are a child or a very young adult. It is fairly rare for someone my age (44 when diagnosed) to be diagnosed with that form of the disease but it does happen and I'm proof. I was misdiagnosed based solely on my age for a couple of days with type II before they realized I was not responding to oral treatments and they got all the test results. A friend was at the hospital visiting me the night that they changed my diagnosis to Type I and she made a gasp and said "oh no you have the serious kind you poor thing". First of all any type of diabetes is the "serious" kind. Second, I view myself very fortunate after reading from so many online who have had this since childhood. I was spared all the heartache of being a youth and growing up in this cruel world while battling this disease.

However getting diagnosed at this age has its own hurdles and social issues because when I share that I am newly diagnosed with type I often I get the look of disbelief. I've even had someone say to me that the doctors must be wrong because only children get that type. If I just share that I have type I then they usually ask how young was I when diagnosed and then comes the explanation and the look of confusion. Just as children are now being diagnosed with Type II there are adults who can and do get diagnosed with Type I. In my opinion there needs to be widespread efforts made to enhance public awareness of the new terms used for these forms of the disease as well as the changing data of those who are diagnosed. Technology has came a long way as far as media is concerned and we need to use it to our benefit so those children who are diagnosed with type II and those adults who get diagnosed with Type I don't have to suffer in the social realm from the old stereotypes.

Having diabetes changes the entire way you must live on a daily basis. Being Spontaneous is out of the question as each activity, each trip from home, each visit to a friend, each time you want to do anything you must think through how it will affect your diabetes. You must also remember to take all the necessary medication, supplies and items needed if an emergency arrives such as a low blood glucose level. You have to forget about carrying those cute little designer purses and change over to the big bulky ones. Actually those are in style right now and if designer is your thing there are great ones available to provide the adequate space you need to carry everything and still look stylish. Your day is pretty much guided by a schedule that in actuality your life depends on. It seems as if every time you turn around you must be either taking a shot, eating or testing your blood glucose and that is on a good day... on those bad days... well what I just mentioned is only the least you must do to attempt control of your diabetes. It is very important to maintain your day as close to the schedule that works for you and helps you maintain control. This is not as easy as it may sound because daily, things come up that try to wreak havoc with your schedule.

This last year has been an experience I wouldn't wish on anyone but I will say that I've learned a lot about myself, my body and have found my inner self to a point where I have reached a level of acceptance. This isn't to say that I don't plan on fighting for that cure nor does it mean that I will always be such a chipper gal. The bottom line is that I have to live with this disease and ignoring it or not doing what I need to do in order to control it is not the answer. I will have those days of frustration and perhaps even anger but I plan to use that to fuel my determination to fight harder to survive and cope with this than the disease can fight to take me away from my family and friends.

My life means that much to me.