When i was diagnosed last month i took the fact i was a type 1 diabetic very well i was told. I didnt freek out or break down into tears. I now think that was becasue i was kind of in shock from being told i could of died if i hadent gotten rushed to the hospital when i did and the fact i was also diagnosed with Hashimotos(a thyroid condition. but unfortunetly its also an endo organ and has cause me to have to deal with more blood work to see if any of my other endo organs were affected by this seemigly chain reaction)
Well the past few days ive been realy stressed out for no apparent reason when suddenly yesterday i broke down to tears. I imidiatly texted my boyfriends dad so me and my boyfrind could text. He told me everything was going to be ok and that we would get through all this one step at a time. I dont know what i would do without him or his support. I dont normaly break down like i did yesterday and today ive fought back tears yet again a couple times but he waswith me both times and noticed imidiatly when i got quiet both times since both were during a conversation we were trying to have about my diabeties and us getting our own place.
The first few month's can be freaky. I think really when we are all first diagnosed, we go into shock and not really realize anything. I can still imagine my week long stay in the hospital. I was barely fazed and moved on with things. However, as time went on, I started to really think about what this meant for my future. The adjustment issue is fine, the tears and fears are fine. Being diagnosed with type one diabetes is a shock and is something that takes time getting used to. I was diagnosed at 14, and am now 28 years old. I have had my ups and downs, I have gotten used to things. I had my fears about living alone, but as things got more settled in my life, that fear was gone. You just need to give yourself time to adjust and things will begin to have a more positive outlook. Talk to your boyfriend about your fears, but also talk to your endo see if he/she can suggest any help maybe a support group. A hospital by me has a Diabetes Support group and I am told that they are more common than one would think. It gives you a chance to talk to people in person, and learn so much more from them. Best of luck to you though. Any questions always feel free to shoot them out to us here.
I hope this post finds you feeling better about things. It can all be very overwhelming, it still is for me sometimes and I've been T1 for 22 years. Hang in there, there's always going to be good days and bad days, with or without diabetes:)
After I was dx'd the year I turned 21, I slipped into a terrible depression that lasted for about a year. I'm convinced, now, when you think about how much glucose the brain needs to operate correctly and how the brain is also the center for our emotions, that the changes one undergoes in the body during those early days of diagnosis, trying to get the blood sugar under control after who knows how long it has been out of whack, probably does cause chemical changes within that may effect one's emotions as well. I'm a strong believer in the body-mind connection.
Getting diagnosed is often a scary and lonely time. I had a similar reaction - at first, I felt like, okay, so it's diabetes, what now? It didn't feel like that big of a deal. But falling into a year of depression.... that was really horrible. If you can find a support group in person, I think that'd be a wise thing to do. I've been thinking about it more now than I ever have before in my 15 years with type 1. But also, having this and other online support systems can be very very helpful. My life experience is that most people don't know much about diabetes, or what they do know is of type 2. So if you can stay connected to those of us who have it too, that can only be of benefit to you.
I think a lot of my depression, although it had a chemical component, was also impacted by not having anyone in my life who understood what I was going through with the type 1 diagnosis. Diabetes is a weird disease in that you "look" normal, and it is therefore very easy to blend in and look like everyone else, though you may be feeling like utter crap inside. I spent a lot of the last 15 years pretending I was just like everyone else, which can turn into a kind of denial and lack of compassion for what it really going on within. I have seen time and again that when I deny my own health needs, everyone else does too. I think that if I had found a support group earlier, I would have been in a better state of acceptance and possibly wouldn't still be struggling so hard with my self image now.
Fifteen years ago, the internet didn't exist like it is now, with lots of social networking capabilities. Use this to your advantage! Cultivate some online community for yourself, like you are, especially now when your life has to adapt to this new set of circumstances. It is so normal to have feelings of sadness right now. Please remember to always be kind to yourself.