Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by SandyG on June 10, 2012 at 7:38am

Hi Jessica, I was 39 when I was diagnosed with T1. It was a total shock to me, I really knew nothing about the disease. I educated myself and took some diabetes education classes. That was 13 years ago. I am a very strong willed person, and once the shock of this thing wore off I decided that it was going to be a part of my life, but not something that would control me, I would control it. I guess for me it was more of a mental mindset that I adopted and that works.

That is not to say that there aren't times where I am totally frustrated and annoyed with diabetes, but those feelings won't make it go away. You are not alone, there are so many of us out there. You have found this place, and it's a great place to vent.

Personally I am glad I waited so long to develop this disease, I had all those years prior not having to deal with it. I feel badly for children with T1.

I hope this helps a little, your feelings are very natural and you are not alone. Stay strong....

Sandy

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by jessica on June 12, 2012 at 9:23pm

ty for ur reply it def helped!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by still_young_at_heart on June 10, 2012 at 8:31am

Hi,

From my perspective, you were diagnosed as a youngster! I was hit by Type 1 at 57 just about 5 years ago. It is very hard for people whose body works well to understand the effort in managing blood sugar. I don't let it worry me anymore but then I was always something of a loner and I have a very understanding spouse.

Poeple on TuD have been great and being able to discuss the minutia without having to worry about eyes glazing over is very freeing.

Take care,

Maurie

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Zoe on June 10, 2012 at 8:38am

Maurie and I are almost diabetes twins. I was diagnosed at age 58; it will be five years on 7/8. However, due solely to my age, I was misdiagnosed as Type 2 and because I have LADA, (slow onset) I was able to manage for 15 months on oral meds. Lots of adults are misdiagnosed and I can only hope that's gotten better.

For me, I too am glad I got diagnosed later in life, if nothing else because I was one month from retirement and I've had the time and lack of stress to focus on getting my correct dosage, starting on insulin and managing the whole mess!

I wasn't shocked at all with my original diagnosis as I recognized the symptoms. My "second" diagnosis, oddly enough, was a relief as it explained a lot and I knew what I had to deal with.

I have nothing but extreme respect and admiration for those of you diagnosed in childhood or young adulthood. because you have so many other things to deal with at the same time.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Melitta on June 10, 2012 at 4:44pm

Maurie: I love your line, "being able to discuss the minutia without having to worry about eyes glazing over is very freeing." So true!!! Thanks always for your words of wisdom.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by still_young_at_heart on June 10, 2012 at 5:11pm

Why thank you Melitta. A compliment from you means a lot - I consider your posts "must read". I had missed the "top ten tips" when they first came out as I was buried by work at the time. I'm glad you linked to them below so I was able to get a second chance.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by jessica on June 12, 2012 at 9:24pm

wow i nvr heard of anyone older then me getting diagnosed with it. a supportive spouse is so important

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Sue59 on July 6, 2012 at 5:41pm

Hey Maurie,

Apparently we are the same age! But I was diagnosed at age 38, 24 years ago.

And I agree, people on TuD are great!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by still_young_at_heart on July 7, 2012 at 6:42pm

Hi Sue,

Twenty four years ago you had a huge life change and in a way I did too. I had just left the restaurant business as a chef/owner and started the transition to working as an accountant.

Maurie

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Terry on June 10, 2012 at 8:55am

Hi Jessica - While a T1D diagnosis is most likely to occur between the ages of 10 and 14, there are plenty of people like you. I was diagnosed at the age of 30. I was diagnosed in January, way back when, and I remember losing weight through the Christmas holidays while still enjoying all the holiday food treats. It was my eyesight going blurry that sent me to the doctor. Before that I had the classic frequent urination and a thirst that wouldn't stop.

I've also found diabetes socially isolating. If you don't have it, it's hard to "get it" and really understand what we are up against. I've made peace with that idea. Nobody can really know what's going on in another person's spirit. Just as I can not, for instance, identify with what someone is going through that just received an Alzheimer's diagnosis.

But I have found a few non-diabetic people with abundant empathy that seem to glimpse the difficulties that we T1's face every day, every meal. That, combined with trying to connect with other T1's, has helped me to positively shape my perspective.

Attitude is important but for me, but the persistent quest for knowledge about T1 diabetes research and treatments is the thing that keeps me going. The old adage, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer," applies well to my relationship with T1D. Diabetes is my mortal enemy and I want to know everything possible about ways to tame it. It's a wild thing that will never be dominated until and if there's a cure.

Good luck to you!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Melitta on June 10, 2012 at 4:43pm

Actually, it is a myth that most Type 1 diabetes is diagnosed in childhood, and a dangerous myth indeed because then so many adults with Type 1 are misdiagnosed as having Type 2. It has been documented for at least 70 years that new-onset Type 1 diabetes is more commonly seen in adults, not children. In 1934 Dr. Elliot Joslin noted that the incidence of diabetes in lean individuals was relatively constant in each decade of life, but that diabetes in the obese was related to older age. A book published in 1958 (“How to Live With Diabetes” by Henry Dolger, M.D. and Bernard Seeman) that states that “[Type 1] diabetes is almost three times more frequent among young adults than among youngsters.” Today, with antibody testing (glutamic acid decarboxylase antibodies (GADA), islet cell antibodies (ICA), insulinoma-associated (IA-2) autoantibodies, and/or zinc transporter), the same statement is proven true. A 2008 book, “Type 1 Diabetes in Adults: Principles and Practice” (Informa Healthcare, 2008) says that adult-onset autoimmune diabetes is two to three times more common than classic childhood onset autoimmune diabetes (p. 27). So Type 1 in adults is not rare, but unfortunately has been ignored by the United States medical community, whose focus has been children with diabetes.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Terry on June 11, 2012 at 9:27am

I actually didn't say that "most Type 1 diabetes is diagnosed in childhood." I said that the most likely age of diagnosis is 10-14. These are two different things.

Your response sent me back to research info on this topic. I found that T1D diagnosis in the under 20 population is at about 19 per 100,000 per year. Unfortunately, I could not find the same data regarding adult populations.

It makes sense that T1D diagnosis in adults outnumbers childhood diagnosis since the number of adults is much greater than the number of children.

I don't believe my comment contributed to a "dangerous myth." In fact the gist of my comment was that I, like many of the responses in this thread, were diagnosed as an adult.

I understand your sensitivity toward medical reluctance to diagnose an adult as a T1 simply because they are not children. I was lucky enough in my diagnosis at age 30 to not be treated this way. Perhaps I was lucky because I was not overweight. I was immediately given the correct T1 diagnosis and put on insulin.

I share with you the the outrage at T1's misdiagnosis and subsequent mistreatment due to this medical community bias.

• ▶ Reply

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• …
• 10
• Next ›
• Page