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Permalink Reply by smileandnod on June 5, 2012 at 2:26pm

After 25 years, so far only slight retinopathy that I had lasered about 20 years ago with no active signs since.

I try not to focus on the fear because if I do, it will overwhelm me.... fear of losing my eyesight and the ability to drive and work at a computer; fear of amputations; fear of kidney damage and dialysis but most importantly fear of not being here to hold any grandchildren that my daughter may have in the future.

I also fear heart attack or stroke and this fear grabs hold of me most often because with menopausal symptoms came heart palpitations.

So instead of letting the fear dominate me, I remind myself that all I can do is to take the best care of myself that I can, one day at a time. I also remind myself that any person, regardless of their health, isn't guaranteed tomorrow so make the best of every day! :)

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Permalink Reply by brokenpole on June 5, 2012 at 2:32pm

Diagnosed in 1988, so that would be......damn......damn...24 years??

I now am in end stage renal disease and go to dialysis. I guess that qualifies as a complication. Then again...the nurses.

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Permalink Reply by E. Louise on June 7, 2012 at 5:39pm

What about the nurses?

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Permalink Reply by Gerri on June 5, 2012 at 3:17pm

Great topic.

Mine is gastroparesis & how I hate it. I'm eternally grateful that it's not as severe with the pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea many have. Doing everything I can to hopefully prevent it from worsening. Every day is a new adventure in BG control when digestion is seriously compromised. Never know when food will digest. I often bolus 2 hours after meals.

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Permalink Reply by Trudy on June 5, 2012 at 4:22pm

Complicated indeed! Two of my autoimmune diseases, Diabetes and Pernicious Anemia, have worked in concert to give me complications. For instance, I got PA early in life, which (along with red blood cell anemia) started my 1)digestion problems, 2)a lack of coordination and 3)numbness/loss of feeling in my feet. Then 19 years ago I developed Diabetes, which made those three complications even worse. One aspect of PA's destroying my stomach HCl and enzymes is slow digestion, mild Gastroparesis, which gives blood glucose problems. Still, if I don't get any more complications, I'll count myself lucky.

Additionally, I deal with arthritis (started by Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis) and hypothyroidism. Unfortunately, the symptoms of Celiac and some food allergies surfaced at exactly the same time that I got the D. In fact, I totally blame the autoimmune gene(s) for all those conditions and the resulting complications rather than Diabetes!

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Permalink Reply by Sam Iam on June 6, 2012 at 1:55pm

T1 25 years. No major complications. I've had a couple problems with infected root canals, shingles once and, chronic insomnia. Maybe a little memory loss / brain damage from many times in insulin shock. Also had some strange stomach problems or food allergies on and off. None of these things have been officially diagnosed. Once I got my BG under control, my eyesight improved, and I some back pain disappeared very quickly, leading me to believe they were D related. Pretty lucky, so far, I guess.

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Permalink Reply by hfw on June 6, 2012 at 8:33pm

Dx T2 in 2001 (fat, fair, 40+), on metformin 10yrs. Hospitalized a year ago with a cervical epidural abscess. Emergency surgery, problems with blood pressure in surgery as I'd not been off various daily meds beforehand. Renal failure, with creatinine >9, so several rounds of dialysis. Almost a month in hospital, bigtime sepsis. On insulin in hospital and chose to stay on at home, so also decided to see an endo. He listened to my history, said he thought I must be T1 (not sure why), but tested positive for GAD antibodies. My fears? Just read about a connection between D and dementia. My mom had Alzheimer's with hypoglycemia. The other stuff is scary, but that scares me most.

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Permalink Reply by Anthony Holko on June 6, 2012 at 9:39pm

Extreme fatigue. always has been so but now way worst. Using Victoza and insulin.

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Permalink Reply by breaddrink on June 7, 2012 at 12:27am

Diagnosed in 85. No major complications so far, though my control could honestly be a lot better.

My largest fear would be loss of eyesight. I really cannot imagine how I'd get by.

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Permalink Reply by nat on June 7, 2012 at 4:46am

Hey there, Im only 19 and havent had any complications although im type 1 . The only thing that bothers me all the time is my feelings and emotions. Cant get rid of being upset, and down all the time .. :/

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Permalink Reply by breaddrink on June 7, 2012 at 5:45pm

Hey Nat. I suffer/ed from depression that manifested very intensely around that age.
I can't really pinpoint it to being diabetes based exactly, but I'm sure it can't have helped.
I feel I wasted a considerable amount of my life this way and so dearly wish I'd come to these conclusions earlier in life.

While not wanting to sound patronizing, I'm 37 now. I've got two kids of my own and I'm so much happier. The trivial matters in life gradually evaporated and the important condensed to leave me where I am now.
My children created perspective for me, leaving me astounded in the knowledge of how much wasted emotion I'd thrown at trivial matters.
Most things we worry about do not matter at all.

Diabetes for me has always about finding a balance between health and not letting it rule over me so much that I can use it as an excuse. My control isn't as tight as some, but perhaps I've swapped over some normal lifestyle for that, as opposed to being absolutely obsessed with the perfect numbers and to hell with all other aspects of my life.

In short, life gets easier and considerably simpler and enjoyable. I would not have ever said this at age 19. I was too busy considering if I should be alive at all.

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Permalink Reply by Sam Iam on June 9, 2012 at 11:11am

Well said.

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