The truth about diabetes is that it's difficult to deal with. The truth about diabetes is that everyone who has it sometimes wishes it could just go away. The truth about diabetes is that it doesn't work that way. The truth about diabetes is that hardly anyone other than the people, like me, who live with it everyday truly understand it. The truth about diabetes is that it requires maintenance 24/7.
The truth about diabetes is that I've made several friends because of it. The truth about diabetes is that sometimes candy is medicine. The truth about diabetes is that I've met celebrities and other amazing people because of it. The truth about diabetes is that no one who has it is alone.
I was diagnosed on June 19, 2009, a Friday, my 8 3/4 birthday. I had felt sick the whole week: I'd had a cold that just wouldn't go away; my vision had gotten blurry, even though I had just gotten my first pair of glasses earlier that year; I couldn't stop drinking water, juice, milk, or anything else I found; I lost almost ten pounds, just that week. My mom had a degree in nutrition, so, knowing something was wrong, she searched online for information about diabetes. She told my dad about her concern, but he somewhat-angrily dismissed her, saying, that's just for old, fat people, she doesn't have that. I could have gone to the doctor, the hospital, two days sooner, but it wasn't until Friday, when I was so sick that I threw up my entire (Friendly's, ironically) lunch. My mom brought me to my pediatrician's office as soon as she could get home from work, where they quickly tested my keytones, a compound, toxic in large amounts, that's produced when the body converts fat to energy, and my blood sugar, or glucose. Sure enough, my keytones were very high, and my blood sugar was 500 mg/dL (a normal level is around 100).
Needless to say, I spent the night at the hospital. The two things I remember most was that a nurse had brought me a green, sugar-free popsicle that didn't even begin to melt until midnight, six hours later and also that between the IV that dripped water, electrolytes, and insulin into my arm, the blood pressure monitor around my leg, and the pulse-ox monitor on my pinky, it was very hard to get up to go to the bathroom. The next morning, I was allowed to get up, out of bed, and into a wheelchair. By then, my blood sugar was already down to 93. This number was not low, but because my body was used to high blood sugar, I felt low for the first time. The symptoms of low blood sugar are different for everyone, but the main symptom I get is shakiness. The best way I can describe this feeling is the shaky feeling you may sometimes get from eating/drinking more caffeine than your body is used to, except, instead of feeling alert, hyper, or even anxious along with it, you feel groggy, slow, and like you can't think straight.
At that time, I used insulin pens to give myself shots of insulin every time I ate or my blood sugar got too high. Now, I use an insulin pump to do this. I also have a continuous glucose monitor, or CGM, that tests my blood sugar every five minutes. That's the relatively small sensor I wear on my arm. No, it's not any sort of cancer medicine. This technology helps, but within a few years, there should be an artificial pancreas on the market, which is a combination of both of these technologies, in which they work together as a closed-loop system, the goal of which is to allow the user to almost entirely stop thinking about diabetes. However, no one is much closer to a full, permanent cure than they were when I was diagnosed 8 years ago. That may always be another "5 years" away.
The truth about diabetes is that being diagnosed with it has changed my life forever.
The truth about diabetes is that I've made several friends because of it. The truth about diabetes is that sometimes candy is medicine. The truth about diabetes is that I've met celebrities and other amazing people because of it. The truth about diabetes is that no one who has it is alone.
I was diagnosed on June 19, 2009, a Friday, my 8 3/4 birthday. I had felt sick the whole week: I'd had a cold that just wouldn't go away; my vision had gotten blurry, even though I had just gotten my first pair of glasses earlier that year; I couldn't stop drinking water, juice, milk, or anything else I found; I lost almost ten pounds, just that week. My mom had a degree in nutrition, so, knowing something was wrong, she searched online for information about diabetes. She told my dad about her concern, but he somewhat-angrily dismissed her, saying, that's just for old, fat people, she doesn't have that. I could have gone to the doctor, the hospital, two days sooner, but it wasn't until Friday, when I was so sick that I threw up my entire (Friendly's, ironically) lunch. My mom brought me to my pediatrician's office as soon as she could get home from work, where they quickly tested my keytones, a compound, toxic in large amounts, that's produced when the body converts fat to energy, and my blood sugar, or glucose. Sure enough, my keytones were very high, and my blood sugar was 500 mg/dL (a normal level is around 100).
Needless to say, I spent the night at the hospital. The two things I remember most was that a nurse had brought me a green, sugar-free popsicle that didn't even begin to melt until midnight, six hours later and also that between the IV that dripped water, electrolytes, and insulin into my arm, the blood pressure monitor around my leg, and the pulse-ox monitor on my pinky, it was very hard to get up to go to the bathroom. The next morning, I was allowed to get up, out of bed, and into a wheelchair. By then, my blood sugar was already down to 93. This number was not low, but because my body was used to high blood sugar, I felt low for the first time. The symptoms of low blood sugar are different for everyone, but the main symptom I get is shakiness. The best way I can describe this feeling is the shaky feeling you may sometimes get from eating/drinking more caffeine than your body is used to, except, instead of feeling alert, hyper, or even anxious along with it, you feel groggy, slow, and like you can't think straight.
At that time, I used insulin pens to give myself shots of insulin every time I ate or my blood sugar got too high. Now, I use an insulin pump to do this. I also have a continuous glucose monitor, or CGM, that tests my blood sugar every five minutes. That's the relatively small sensor I wear on my arm. No, it's not any sort of cancer medicine. This technology helps, but within a few years, there should be an artificial pancreas on the market, which is a combination of both of these technologies, in which they work together as a closed-loop system, the goal of which is to allow the user to almost entirely stop thinking about diabetes. However, no one is much closer to a full, permanent cure than they were when I was diagnosed 8 years ago. That may always be another "5 years" away.
The truth about diabetes is that being diagnosed with it has changed my life forever.
My father had diabetes as well. It is true that nobody knows exactly what a person goes through that has diabetes. All we do is observe the process. Candy is definitely medicine. My dad was a pastor and I remember him preaching up on the pulpit and he would get light headed and sweaty and my mom would have chocolate in her purse ready to give him on the Sundays he didn't have time to eat breakfast. He had to use insulin as well and had to constantly keep track of his blood pressure and sugar. He had his own personal electronic blood pressure cuff. I think a lot of people think diabetes isn't as serious as it is but it is definitely serious.
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother had Diabetes but I agree there is a misconception that only "old and fat people" have it.
ReplyDelete