Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Chauncey on September 10, 2010 at 12:13pm

Hey. I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes about a year and a half ago at the ripe old age of 32. At this point, I still feel like I am relearning how to eat & exercise. It can be very frustrating at times, especially when for the past 20 or so years, you were able to eat whatever you wanted to. I don't have any advice to give b/c I still consider myself newly diagnosed, but all I can say is take it day by day. I still have days when I have melt downs (had one last night :-)), but I try to regroup, and keep on going. Good luck to you. Good luck to us all newly diagnosed diabetics.

Permalink Reply by amy mercer on September 11, 2010 at 5:14am

Day by day is great advice! I was actually diagnosed at 14 but am trying to gather info for the newly diagnosed for a chapter of my book so thank you, this is great!

Permalink Reply by Kristy on September 10, 2010 at 3:31pm

Hi Amy,
I was also diagnosed at 32 Chauncey, 18 months ago! I feel very lucky that I have gotten it so late, and am grateful to have had my children before I was diagnosed.
I have found one of my biggest problems has been to relax. Having kids and a family is huge incentive to look after yourself and I think as an adult (especially with kids) you realize you are not invincible, so I have tended to be over careful. After a year of being TOO good, I am now trying to find the balance between enjoying myself and looking after my health, which is not always easy. I had always been pretty healthy but it is definitely frustrating to have to change how you do everything and obviously, as we all know, the constant monitoring.
Advice to a women newly diagnosed...........be inspiring, but don't be a hero. Allow yourself to feel all the emotions without dwelling on what cannot be changed and find a source of support from those who truly understand....like on here!! :)

Permalink Reply by amy mercer on September 11, 2010 at 5:12am

Thanks Kristy, this is great! I'm writing a book about diabetes and women and would love to use this as a quote in my book (and ask you more questions if you are interested).....what do you think?

Permalink Reply by amy mercer on September 11, 2010 at 4:50pm

Carol,
I am looking for more women over 50 to interview for my book about women with diabetes. If you are interested in sharing some of your stories I would love to talk with you, please let me know! Thanks.

Permalink Reply by nopucksnosticks on September 12, 2010 at 10:01am

Love to....it's NFL fantasy league season now so I might be a little slow in responding on Sunday's! Let me know what type of info you are interested in....

Permalink Reply by amy on January 26, 2012 at 3:57pm

not quite 50 yet, im 48. I was diagnosed 9/2008. My diabetes is still not controlled. Maybe its me. I do try I just never really reach the mark.
Amy L

Permalink Reply by nopucksnosticks on September 11, 2010 at 3:14pm

Diagnosed T1 at age 45 after hospitalization for DKA. I'd had a high fasting BS reading a year an a half before in a routine screen, my GP assumed it was T2 and advised I loose weight - which I did after enrolling in a portion control weight loss program. As I had already been weighing and calculating food exchanges and I have a personal family history with vegan diets (Seventh-day adventist upbringing) the connection to insulin dosing was an easy next step for me. I also tend to ignore weird food advice in connection with diabeties diets - thats the kind of advice I find frustrating. Food, or the lack of certain foods will not cure my diabeties. Before I was discharged from the hospital, I did undergo about 12 hours of diabeties education and all of that information was both timely and invaluble. Recently I found the info exhanged in the TAG group in this site to be very powerful. For the newly diagnosed, my advice would be to come to terms with BS testing. It will always be necessary for control and it's your most powerful personal tool. Also, don't assume that diabeties is the cause of other physical symptoms - I've since been diagnosed with another autoimmune disease and have worked through two bouts of adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder) and these events are more likely to occur in diabetic women than in the general population. Finally, umm, other people get sick too with all kinds of stuff. Don't center your life around diabeties.

Permalink Reply by JudyAnn on September 19, 2010 at 4:48am

I was diagnosed 16 years ago at the age of 34. I was put on insulin but nobody told me about how diabetes worked. The class that I attended then was mainly about the feet. That is all I can remember. I was in denial for almost all of those years. I just recently decided to get my act together and start taking care of myself. The advice that I would give to those just being diagnosed is this: 1)Take it a day at a time, 2) It is real and 3) Don't deny it but learn all you can about it. It is your life and you can take care of it! THE COMPLICATIONS ARE REAL!! I know because I have just about everyone of them! And another thing: Test, Don't Guess at what your numbers are and take your meds if you have any!!
JudyAnn

Permalink Reply by LaurainFL on September 19, 2010 at 7:05am

Hi all,

I was diagnosed w/ T1 at age 24 while I was in college (I'm 35 now) and I found quite a few things frustrating about being that age and re-learning how to eat and plan your days. First of all, I had no insurance, which was terrible because I was on my own and paying my own way through college. Diabetes is very expensive when you have no insurance! Also, being a young adult I really had no help or support from family like you might get when you are younger...so I felt very isolated. And It was hard being on a college schedule and trying to learn how to check my sugars during class, leave class, give myself a shot if needed..etc.

With that being said, I am also thankful I was diagnosed at a later age because I was able to enjoy my childhood without the burden of this disease.

Best advice given was that diabetes doesn't mean your life has to be a prison sentence. You can manage the disease and still enjoy your life and be a free spirit!!

Take care :0)

Permalink Reply by sunflwr508 on September 22, 2010 at 6:00pm

I was diagnosed T1 14 years ago at age 21. Although I had the symptoms and blood test (BS 600) to confirm, my primary care doctor had me wait for treatment until the following week at an Endo office. My mom ended up rushing me to the ER when I couldn't breathe and was so miserable I just wanted help! I was hospitalized with a glucose of almost 1000(!) and was told that a few minutes longer and I probably would have died! My whole body chemistries were completely out of whack! Scary to say the least.
It was a huge adjustment to make. I was in college and had a rough time. I had gained 20 lbs in the first month once my body's chemistry was corrected being on the insulin. That was really hard to wrap my head around! I was underweight already but gaining that much weight to my 21 year old brain was tough. I was told everything I couldn't do, on top of everything else, I really struggled. I did have a doctor that sat on my hosp bed and told me not to think of it as a disease, but as a condition. That made a huge impact on me and I haven't forgotten it! Remember that you can still do everything you have always done, just in a healthier way. I did become much healthier with my diagnosis. As an elementary school teacher who sees diabetic children not able to celebrate with sweet treats and get pulled out for bs testing, I am grateful that I didn't have to go through this as a child. Best wishes to you! One day at a time!

Permalink Reply by IWantToBelieve on September 26, 2010 at 5:29pm

Diagnosed T2 at 29. Even though I had a family history of it I was still in denial for 6 months and refused to take medication, or change my lifestyle. I was angry, and very sad. I think I thought the diagnosis meant I couldn't be healthy enough to have healthy children. And having children was so important to me. I hated my body for being "weak". After the 6-month long self-pity party, I realized that being told I had a chronic disease actually saved my life. It forced me to really take a look at my life, and change my most unhealthy habits (I held on to a couple of not-so-healthy ones for a while longer). I changed my mental picture of someone with diabetes and redeveloped a fighter mentality. My so-called "weak" body has since given birth to two happy, healthy children, in spite of my attitude and negative thoughts about it. I LOVE my body, even if has diabetes! It is frustrating sometimes when I do everything right and still have high blood glucose, but I have to remind myself that I have to help my body deal with it, not be angry about it. What's point in fighting what you can't change? I don't get upset about my daily blood glucose numbers anymore, just try to understand why they are what they are. It really helps to keep a log about your emotions, stress levels, physical state and activity, mental state, anger level, sleep length and quality, in addition to a food log---all of this affects your blood glucose. Meditation is very effective for us.

I accepted that I had diabetes but still refused to call myself diabetic. And yes ladies, there IS a difference. Others with a chronic disease say: I have cancer, I have lupus, I have fibromyalgia, etc. Not: I'm cancerous, lupusous (sp?), fibromyalgic, etc. What you think of yourself will absolutely impact how you feel, and how you treat yourself. We have so much going against us, let's not go against ourselves.

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