I just joined this group - started to respond to Paul's post, and then changed my mind to just start here.
I'm 38 (in a few weeks), I was diagnosed almost 5 years ago, just during/after my pregnancy. I was "misdiagnosed" with gestational diabetes and told I could stop checking my sugar and throw out my insulin when I delivered. The truth is that I had always known that this wasn't typical gestational diabetes - I ate well, exercised, didn't gain much weight with pregnancy, etc.. Anyway, after my daughter was born, at my six week follow-up, my sugars were still high. After pushing for a referral to a specialists, they ran the immune panel and diagnosed me as Type 1. I did my best with injections for just over 2 years, and I've been pumping for just over 2 years now.
It's hard for me to read Laura and Paul's posts. I'm so afraid that my daughter will end up with Type 1 also. I have her enrolled in a study that checks annually for antibodies so they can determine if she's "heading down that road". If antibodies do crop up, they would enroll her in one of three different intervention treatment regiments. I'm thankful that we are on the edge of being able to do something, but fear treatments that significantly alter the immune system.
Anyway - that's all for another post. I just wanted to say hello, and that I'm glad this group exists. I look forward to connecting and staying in touch with others with Type 1, this disease is rare enough that I'm the only one I know... it's nice to be around people that get-it.
Hi Rachel, my name is Lavonda I was just diagnosed 6 weeks ago with type 1, it is nice to meet you. I am so glad everyone is here too, it helps to have someone to talk to. I feel so alone with this sometimes. Nobody really understands but those of us who have this. My mother has type2 and controls it with diet and exercise but it is so much more difficult being type 1, she can't understand either, she tries to though. My dad passed away 6 years ago he had diabetes, the sad thing is that I am not sure if he had type 1 or type 2, I was so out of touch with diabetes then and I had no clue either, he was immediately put on insulin when he found out and with me having type 1 I am thinking that he must have had type 1 also, I had no idea what he was going through, but now I do and I regret that I didn't try to understand more when he was diagnosed for his sake and now for my own.
I worry about my grown kids and grandchildren getting type 1 and I keep trying to get them to get checked but right now they are not listening to me, they are at the "It won't happen to me" stage in life.
I am am taking injections at the moment, hoping for the pump when the finances are right.
I'm Michelle. I've been a type I diabetic for 14 years now. I was diagnosed at 11 years old. (Giving you a second to add that up.) Yeah, I'm 25. I've really struggled with diabetes most of my life. After I came out of the honeymoon phase controlling my diabetes was a constant battle with my family.
I'm now trying to really get serious about my health, so I figured this would be a good support system to help me do that.
I totally know what Rachel and Lavanda were talking about- how it seems like no one understands. I was at my boyfriend's family's house the other month and his mother has type 2 diabetes and she was talking about how she likes holistic medicine better and doesn't believe in getting a flu shot and I just was so angry because she can come off the pill that she takes with diet and exercise. No matter how much we do those things, (until they come up with a cure) we will always have to take shots.
Like others have said, it's great to connect with people who "get it." :)