I was diagnoses when I was six years old when my grade I teacher told my mom that I was always falling a sleep in class and my behaviour was very poor like acting out or not responding right away to questions. The teacher suggested for my mom to bring me to see a psychologist but luckily she brought me to our family doctor who sent me for blood tests. At that doctors appointment he gave ma thorough checkup like looking in my ears which made me think for years that was how he diagnosed me with Diabetes. :) When the tests came back (blood & urine) I was admitted to hospital right away and that is my first memory of my mom crying because of the illness I had been diagnosed with. Then I started to experience the harshness of being a diabetic but also how being diabetic at this time in history was a turning point of how it was managed.
I was in the hospital for a few weeks so that the doctors could get my sugars under control and when nurses and dietitians taught my mom and I how to keep my sugars under control by eating a balanced meal (called the diabetic diet), giving insulin shots, going for blood tests and how to incorporate a child's active lifestyle. I remember my mom & I practicing on a oranges by giving it a shot of fake insulin and then working up to giving the insulin to me by pinching up the skin and the showing us the different areas to give the shot (stomach, legs, arms and buttocks). At the end my mom had to give me all my shots because I refused to give myself any shots till I was about nine years old. We learned from the dietitian the most terrible thing for a child (NO SUGAR) which meant no candy and certain desserts and the diabetic diet which I always believed that everyone should follow. Basically picturing a medium plate split up in threes; half would be veggies, a little more than a quarter would be starch and a palms size portion of protein (a thumb size of cheese) and then to the side a small glass of milk and a small fruit. We also learned about what would happen if my sugar went to high or low (which happens to me mostly) and how to treat those time with a few units of insulin &/ exercise and for the lows: quick sugars (dextrose tabs/juice/pop) followed up with a starch and protein. I have been lucky over the years with only a handful of highs and lows that I've only went unconscious a few times but have some other drastic stuff happen which I'll mention later.
It was hard growing up with diabetes but found lots of support from my mom, and the Juvenile Diabetes Association (JDA) of Alberta. My mom was very good at keeping days like Halloween and Easter special for me and making me feel like I was not left out from my peer activities. I was allowed to go trick or treating with my friends by telling neighbours to give us things like raisins, nuts, dark chocolate, rice crispy squares, and healthier options. During Easter I was give a large solid rabbit which was divided into chunks and given to me weekly before I did something active and plus colouring eggs was a great opportunity for me to be included with my peers and family. I also attended a yearly diabetic camp where I finally gave myself a insulin shot with the encouragement of my camp peers and counselor. I remember how empowering it was to go in front of all my camp peers and receive a certificate and ribbon for giving my first insulin shot and I have ever since gave my shots.
During some of the JDA courses which I went to yearly I found some additional information which was hard of me psychologically but in other areas gave me hope to be insulin free. However I learned over the years to hold my breath on some of the things that were for seen for anyone who had Diabetes. First of all I'll start with some of the long term complications that I need to watch for with my Diabetes like; Heart and blood vessel disease, Nerve Damage (neuropathy), Kidney Damage (nephropathy), Eye Damage, Foot Damage, Skin & mouth conditions, Osteoporosis, Hearing Problem and Thyroid Disease. I am very lucky so far (cross my fingers - knock on wood) that I only had a few complications from Diabetes which is Hypothyroidism, Neuropathy, Gastroparesis and early signs of cataracts I like telling people that if I don't take care of my diabetes that I won't die from the disease itself but from the complications. I see a eye specialist every year who makes sure that my eyes are not being effected by the diabetes, where the blood vessels at the back of the eye can burst or get enlarged which can cause blindness. I don't hear of many people going blind anymore, if being followed by a Ophthalmologist, because if they see damage occurring then the can go laser surgery to fix any problems that arise. Currently the classes I go in British Columbia is usually a mixed class with type I and type II diabetes and I usually feel out numbered because its usually nine to one. :)
The improvements in Diabetes care I've seen over the years (my 37 year) has made controlling the outcome of this disease in remarkable but far from seeing a cure. I've seen the invention of the blood testing machine, which was originally the size of a shoe box and now being able to fit in half my hand and the time for the result of the test going from 10 minutes to 5 seconds. Before the blood testing machine, the only way of knowing you sugar levels was a urine test which was not even therapeutic or waiting for a three month A!C test, which shows your blood glucose range for three months. Another huge change was the type of insulin first discovered by Canadians, Bantum and Best, Beef & Park, which kept me alive and kicking but had many draw backs (I will explain in another post.) I managed my diabetes for 10 years till I was in my teens and was changed to a shorter and longer artificial acting Insulin's where I went from two shots to four shots a daily. Followed up with 4-7 blood testing times which consisted with three short acting Insulin shots before meals (15 min before) and one evening shot that would work for 24 hss. This was then change again for the better when I was in my mid thirties to Humulog (short acting 5 mins) before meals and Luntus (long acting 2-4 hrs for 24 hrs) with blood tests around meal and bed times. I still get my H1C every three month and has never been perfect but its been the best it has ever been. Also injecting insulin has improved with having to draw the it into a needle originally, which was usually uncomfortable to give myself. To a pen type insulin shot which you dial up the dosage and put on a very small needle tip on the tip and inject with a push at the end, which hardly hurts at all. Plus people around you don't usually notice when happening at a restaurant or when your out visiting places.
I have never taken care of my diabetes perfectly till taking it more seriously for the last years, because I know if I don't, I will shorten my life span and/ make my life more difficult to live. Previously, I could not get myself to get into long term habits of; eating at scheduled times & amounts, blood tests before & two hrs after meals and at bed, using a sliding scale for my insulin and exercise. I still have not incorporated exercise into my routine, but still working on getting the others into a 10 week and beyond habits forming a routine. I have not seen my Endrocrinologist and gone to a Diabetic Class for a few years now and will make appointments and a referral from my family doctor. To do so, I am going to write affirmations around my diabetes and making me a healthier-stronger person.
There is one big change that I have seen in managing Diabetes is the Insulin Pump, where it is important to count calories, do many many blood tests and a scheduled exercise plan. I feel that I'm working towards that slowly and would love to be in better control with this electronic artificial pancreas, but this might be five years down the road. I'll talk about more of the advances and disadvantages of new things that are being implemented and offered in diabetes control.
One are area of Diabetes that really makes me mad and find it with the other chronic illness ; are any advances in science, medications, and other alternative therapy, are the round the corner cures for the diseases. Since I first was diagnosed with diabetes I would always hear about the upcoming cures: pancreas and islet of langerhans transplants (only a few had them with not much control), a vaccine for diabetes and all the new developing techniques. I wish that it was not emphasized so much to the media, because many of these claims have been talked about for over 30 years. I know there will be a day when there will be a cure or a way of better controlling the disease because I've seen some. I still hold my breath, when something comes on the news saying that they are getting close to a cure for diabetes. However the next milestone I'm hoping will come about in my lifetime is an artificial pancreas which is the insulin pump but doing more than giving insulin in small doses through out the day & a larger amount during meal times and you have to do your own blood test. The Artificial Pancreas would send a sign to the machine to test blood sugar levels, you need to put the calories (starch & fiber intake) & projected exercise routine, and then it would give the appropriate insulin amount.
I do not feel sorry for myself for having Diabetes because it is one of the contributing factors of who I am and how I have become a stronger and wiser person. It also has given me the opportunity to be apathetic to others who have a chronic illnesses and in showing me how they could mentor me into becoming a stronger person and face all the challenges that I'm faced with daily. I feel that I'm healthier now in watching what I eat and soon to be experimenting with different exercise routines. I have learned much over the years through the many many diabetic classes and books I've read in improving my lifestyle and how it has helped others in the process. Diabetes is only a part of me and is not the Growing Person that I have become for it has give me the strength to shake things off and start again with controlling the ups and downs of my sugars. :)
Last year, I met a woman who is in her sixties and has type I diabetes and had it longer that I have who has made me look at the future with a ease of accepting the disease as a valley to cross and not a dead end street. Yes there will be struggles and even more complications but it will be hills to climb over and quicken my steps across the valley because it will help me learn how to be that stronger person and not a hermit hiding away from the world.
.jpg)
.jpg)