I am sorry to hear about your diagnosis.
My daughter spent her Spring Break last summer in the hospital 2008. When she was diagnosed her blookd sugar was over 600. A year later, she is on the pump and while it doesnt go away, its much better. There are going to be alot of ups and downs especially the first year. Do you have AOL IM? or Facebook? VictoriaPressley on AOL IM or look me up on facebook Victoria Motto Pressley and we can chat.
Victoria (Mom)
Shannon,
My daughter Samantha said she would talk to you about what is going on also if you would like? Facebook - Samantha Pressley in Concord or Charlotte NC.
Thanks for your concern and really.. it truly helps. All the people I've talked to (family,friends,etc.) are really kinda bored with what I say most of the time. So I just put a "strong" face for people. But every now-and-then it gets extremely hard and over my head. Ive been under so much stress for the past year it's not even funny. I just moved back to Ohio from Texas this past year before I was diagnosed. And ever since Ive been up here nothing but medical problems have been going on for me. I am severely allergic to my grandma's Irish setter which tends to make my lungs close up. So Ive been sent to the ER quite a few times.. like 5 or 6.. I had an inhaler type thing before I was diagnosed but the last time I checked with the doctors they said the steroids or whatever in the inhaler will affect my blood sugars. So idk what to do these days with that.. Plus I lived in texas for the past 10 years so I practically grew up there. So I miss my friends like crazy.. but like I said before I was diagnosed in march 09 and it's been so tough. More like exhausting..draining. For a 16 year old I feel like Ive been through so much. =/ if only life was more simple.
Anyways. Now I am in Cosmetology at my school so I guess some good has come since Ive been up here.. I'm trying to look towards the bright side but more and more just brings me down these days. I have college stuff to worry about now and state boards next year.SATs ACT's and whatnot..
CANNOT wait for high school to be over
=/
Anyways.. sorry to bore you with my life long details.. much I left out haha..
Feel free to comment if you want..
~Shannon <3
Anything I can do to help you... Allergies are part of autoimmune, which is part of Diabetes. My daughter has had ashtma and allergies since she was 19 months old. My faughter was 9 when she was dianosed. It is hard. I know there are days you wish you just didnt have it, just like she does. As a mother I am not tired of hearing how she feels about it. Sometimes, I myself wish I could go a day without thinking about it. I am not even the one going the one with it.
Just like I tell her, even when you dont want to, you MUST take care of yourself!! Love yourself and know that what you have is nothing you could have prevented. Look at it like you are only 16 and really, really do have a lifetime in front of you. One thing you can do for yourself is make a difference and love your life even when it isnt fun. Sometimes you will be sad, mad, lonely, happy, funny, smart and clueless, but be a good person and respect yourself and you will never fail.
These are things I tell my daughter too. Take control! You are truly in charge of yourself. You will not be able to control anyone elses action your whole life except your own. Make it a great one. Email me or Samantha anytime.
ALSO...YOU ARE NOT BORING ME!! You dont have to leave anything out. I am geniunely interested in how you feel, even if you think it is nothing. It helps me to understand my daughter more to hear what you have to say. Please feel free, nothing is off limits!!
Hey my name is Amy I'm 26 years old and I was diagnosed on August 26, 2009. My sugar was over 600 and I ended up in the ICU. I was in the hosptial for 3 days and then I was able to go home. I would have to say that I was a little shocked to find out that I had diabetes. My mother and grandfather have diabetes and my father had diabetes while he was alive but I was still a bit surprised to find out that I had diabetes. Luckily for me my husband also has diabetes and he was the one who figured out what was wrong with me and rushed me to the hospital. The doctors said that I would've been in much worse shape if he hadn't brought me in when he did. Right now I am on the insulin pen injections and I'm just trying to get used to everything that I need to do. It can be a bit overwhelming and I have had a few break downs already; however, my husband has been a huge support system for me. I don't know what I would've done without him. Right now I have an appointment to go see my new endocrinologist on October 1st. Are there any questions or issues that I should bring up at this appointment? I really want to talk to him about going on the pump because my husband is on the pump and it has helped him greatly. Any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Amy,
Welcome! I can relate to what you're going through, I was diagnosed at age 33 on Aug 11th, 2008. Glad to hear you came out of the ICU okay, that must have been scary. My blood glucose was not that high when I finally went in, so I was sent home the same day after being hooked up to an IV for the morning.
Regarding your meeting with the endo, there are so many questions and so many topics to discuss with her/him, I imagine it will be an ongoing process of mutual learning about your body and how to best manage it. So I think perhaps most important might be just to get a sense of whether you are comfortable working with this endo, whether you think they are open to listening to you and helping to guide your decisions about managing your diabetes. Every endo and CDE (certified diabetes educator) that I have met has a slightly different philosophy regarding how to manage type I diabetes. Some like to manage more aggressively than others. Some simply repeat the American Diabetes Association recommendations. Opinions about diet and nutrition seem to vary widely. I read a lot of books and did a lot of research myself to educate myself as best I could, and this allowed me to better evaluate the knowledge and approach of the endos and CDEs that I came into contact with.
One thing I would strongly suggest, regardless, is looking into enrolling in a clinical trial. Most trials for Type I diabetes that I have seen have a short eligibility window of around 6 weeks from date of diagnosis. This is because they are focused on preserving what pancreatic insulin production you have left, and therefore want to enroll patients asap before that disappears. I've posted about this before so you can search on my name, but there are a couple sites you can review for more info:
JDRF - http://www.jdrf.org/index.cfm?page_id=101984
Immune Tolerance Network - http://www.immunetolerance.org/public
TrialNet - http://www.diabetestrialnet.org/index.htm
I enrolled in a JDRF/NIH/ITN study right after diagnosis, and I believe that the treatment is helping my body. That of course is no guarantee with a clinical trial (you might be in a control group), but I think everyone who participates in a trial contributes to better care for those generations that follow.
I'm more than willing to chat with you more about my experience in a clinical trial, and anything else, if you want to send me a message.
Good luck with everything!
Bryan
Hey Shannon, My son was just diagnosed too and I can relate to how you are feeling. It does totally suck - as if being a teenager isn't hard enough. Just hang in there and take it day by day. Do the best you can for yourself.
You are not alone - there are so many people that are willing to be a buddy, or just someone to vent to. Keep up the posting - reach out to others who can relate. You'll feel not so alone.
Amy
Hey thanks for the little advice.. its soo hard.. expecially this first year..
My sugars have been all over the place. it was like 328 a few days ago and my nurse didnt know what to do so she ended up calling my doctor.. which was kinda scary. Im also in cosmetology and its so hard to juggle all my school work plus a job and still have to deal with this stupid "disease". and i technicall dont really have an endrocologist i was just sent to a follow up doctor after i was out of the hospital. so im not sure if i need to get one or not. Also i just feel so bummed out lately.. really homesick and its been a year and a couple months since i moved back up here.. im just under soooo much stress i cant handle it..
thanks again.
~Shannon
Shannon, I hear that you are really having a very hard time here... you are probably not feeling all the way better yet (you will when the diabetes is finally under control), you seems to really not like the place you live, you have school and work pressures....etc...
You have so much to deal with. You need to make sure that your nurse is hearing all this too. Depression might be a possibility here?? Talk to your nurse and make sure she hears how you are doing - not just the numbers and the physical symptoms. There is help out there.You do not need to feel like "you can't handle it".
you're in my thoughts.
Amy
Victoria....
It is great to see another mom on the site. My daughter was diagnosed on 09/09/09. Easy to remember, huh? Her name is Rebecca (Becky) and she is 8 years old. She and I are handling this like it is just another walk in the park. She and I had one crying jag and then moved on. I guess I feel really guilty about not feeling as much as other parents that I have read about or talked to. Becky is very independent and very matter of fact about things. Both of us rarely get over emotional about things. Our motto has become: God doesn't give us stuff we cannot handle.
Becky is taking shots and with syringes not the pen. She didn't like the pen at all. She says that the shots don't hurt. The only thing she is mad about is the kids who stare at her during her "afternoon snack". She is avoiding a low and they think she is "special".
She had her first visit to the Endocrinology Clinic today with her Dad and the nurse said everything looks great and that we seem to be handling it very well. She is still in the honeymoon phase and therefore there are some times when her numbers look off, but overall she is pretty consistent. There are two others in her school with D and her school principal's son has Type 1. We have lots of support at the school. Also her religion teacher has Type 2 and has to give herself shots. So Becky has a great support system around her.
Is it strange to not feel angry, upset, or scared?
Tanya
WOW!!! You sound exactly like us!! Im not kidding even a little. (You will never forget the date she was diagnosed) My daughter, Samantha was 9 (04/08/08) when diagnosed and it seemed everything was just moving along at first, i mean she didnt like it, but i told her basically the same thing, "God only gives the hardest things to the strongest people". Samantha is very independent and matter of fact also.
I guess about 6 months in she went through a real depression, that lasted for about 6 months. The best way I can explain is like the five stages of death,
Denial — "I feel fine."; "This can't be happening, not to me."
Anger — "Why me? It's not fair!"; "How can this happen to me?"; "Who is to blame?"
Bargaining — "Just let me live to see my children graduate."; "I'll do anything for a few more years."; "I will give my life savings if..."
Depression — "I'm so sad, why bother with anything?"; "I'm going to die . . . What's the point?"; "I miss my loved one, why go on?"
Acceptance — "It's going to be okay."; "I can't fight it, I may as well prepare for it."
I was a nursing student before I went into IT so it seemed very familiar to me when I saw it. (Without the death part of course) Although, it is a type of mourning for you and her. Neither of your lives will ever be the same. I cried alot in the beginning (alone), I still cry randomly un-provoked. How far we have come though, you will notice a change in her whole deminor. She will have good days and bad and so will you. Then it does becoome part of your everyday. She has started doing her own shot and taking blood sugar one week to the day of being diagnosed. Kind of a control freak to I might add
About a month ago i was putting her insulin back in the fridge and thought to myself how nice it would be to not have to think about Diabetes just one day! Then I felt guilty ALL week about it. I spoke with a friend who has a diabetic daughter as well and she said if we didnt care about children it wouldnt feel guilty, in other words not to be so hard on myself.
Samantha went through not wanting anyone to know, even her closest friends and she still get aggivated sometimes when people look at her pump and why does she get to have a cell phone. We did learn after a maybe 6 months that she doesnt have to eat all the time, as long as she checks her blood sugar. Like she has never been one to eat first thing when she gets up, but I thought it was so important for her to check her blood sugar and then take insulin and eat something. She eats if she wants to. She eats if she feels a low coming on. Becky will learn the way she feel and tell the difference between them. I know when Samantha has high bs because she talks really fast and alot. When it is low her lips get really pale all of a sudden. She keeps a tube a frosting in her purse just in case something happens, her teachers all know and of course the school nurse. Sometimes she eats a snack in the afternoon at school sometimes she will wait till she gets home.
Samantha is on the pump now, and it is the next best thing to the real, let me tell ya. She has become a JDRF Ambassador that talks to other kids when they are diagnosed, seems to help her, she like to explain things to other children. Well other children that are diabetic, other kids she basically tells them to mind their business. I try to give her as much control over herself and her diabetes as I can since she has no control over the fact she has it.
Well, I have to get back to work now, i promise it will get easier but never be out of your head. I felt and still feel all the things you said. Its kind of like a club you dont want to belong to, but once you are a memeber people come out of the woodwork. Im on Facebook, too if you ever want to chat. I dont usually have my chat on so shoot me an email and i will turn it on if you need to talk. Look me up Victoria Pressley, Concord, NC or Victoriapressley@aol.com anytime.
My daughter was diagnosed a year and a half ago at the age of 4. I am happy to say that she deals with it pretty well but my question is.....do you think it is "easier" to be diagnosed when you are young or maybe as a teenager, or late teens/college years? I sometimes wish my daughter would of had a few more years of "normal" life but I am glad that she will have lots of years of practice before she leaves the nest.
Hi Kathie,
My 5 year old son was diagnosed on 7/22/09. So it's very recent for us. I'm happy to say he's handling this better than anyone else in the family. To him it's just something he has and that's it. Nothing to it. I too wish he would have a few more years of "normal" life too, but I was told by a young lady who has had diabetes since she was 10 (she must be in her late 20s), that he will not remember life without diabetes. So this will be his "normal" life. It's easier for them because they do not have huge bad habits to break, so it's not that hard. It becomes really difficult when you have to control a teenager who's used to eating anything and everything whenever they want. So in a nut shell...yes it's easier for them because they are younger.
I've been told knowledge is the key, so just keep teaching your daughter and praying they find a cure soon.
madelin
Hi Kathie, my son was diagnosed on 2-09-09, he was 10 at the time. I was told by my sons endro. doctor that the puberty years is the hardest time to have diabetes because of all the changing hormones involved with that and then you add diabetes on top of it all! Hopefully by the time your daughter is in puberty she will be a pro at figuring it all out!! It is a hard disease to live with at any age! I just keep praying that they find a cure very soon!
Good luck with everything! If you ever want to talk, Im here!
Sonya
I am not by any means an expert, but a woman in my diabetes support group was diagnosed at age 3, and she says that she knows no other way of life since it has always been a part of her life. I would say as an adult we are all way more set in our ways and may not adjust as well. She also says that she doesn't remeber being depressed or angry, but here being diagnosed at a young age is probably harder on parent and the people around the child, because the mother of this young girl was the one who went through the anger and depression and not knowing what her daughter was going through, and I could imagine that my mother would have been a mess also if this had happened to me when I was very young. However, I was diagnosed at age 26, and I was completely blind sided by it. I thought my life was set, and this has been a huge adjustment, and I have had short bouts of depressions and anger. Also, I feel that no matter what age things happen that make your blood sugar out of control, periods, sickness, stress, which nobody can really control.
G'day all,
I am 28yrs old and was diagnosed at the beginning of July this year.
Had the massive rapid weight loss, infection, cramps, excessive thirst...etc. My wife forced me to the docs, I had just thought the weight loss was due to me being up at all hours with our new baby and the huge stress from work. Glad I listened to her! I too have found the adjustment massive but I am lucky to have my wife and new little bub to cheer me up.
It is interesting learning about the disease and at times frustrating but at the end of the day I figure you just have to get on with things. Has made a couple of business meetings and bus trips interesting. I hope to be able to get involved and help 'our' cause as much as possible and to help educate people about the difference between Type 1 and Type 2.
I am interested in hearing people’s thoughts/experiences with the pump as it is something I am considering but not entirely convinced about being attached to something 24/7.
Anyway, this is a good site and I am happy to share my thoughts.
Regards,
Austen
Austen,
My daughter got her pump in August and I am totally amazed with it! She loves it! She plays soccer and softball and swims. It doesn't hold her back at all. She gets to eat more often and has much better control. It has made her life a little more "normal" I recommend the pump for everyone. There are several different options out there to fit your lifestyle.
Ok just a quick question in general.. I'm sick and my dad went and bought me some cough drops but there isnt an area on there that has the carbs? so i havent been taking them as bad as my throat and cough is. I dont really know what to do.. so if anyone knows let me know!
kthanks.
Hey Shannon,
I was recently sick with a sore throat too. I asked my endo and she told me to get the sugar free cough lollies or sugar free gargle. I think the sweeteners may have some carbs but the sugar free versions are definitely a better option. I got the gargle, tasted bloody awful! My levels were a bit off but that was from being sick too.
Best bet is to ask your Endo.
Austen.