Hi. Here to share my experience so far.
I was diagnosed at age 8, and am now 29yrs old. Parents worried that I had it when they noticed that I was quickly losing weight (I was chubby as a child), and had fruity breath.
Since then, have gone through several kinds of insulin.
Have experienced 3 almost-blackouts but thankfully my mom was there to "force-wake" me and have me drink something sweet.
Being a diabetic is... depressing. And more so because when people watch you, or when you tell them you are a diabetic, the first and only thing that comes to their minds is that I can't have sugar, period.
They do not realize that everything changes after the diagnosis. Your food, your lifestyle, routines ruling each day, injections everyday (4x a day), glucose metering everyday (mine's actually every meal time, +1/2 if needed), scratching your head at sudden influxes and being frustrated over the feeling that you realize that you don't have control over everything, but why do I not have control even over my own body?"
And adding to all that, the medication, strips, the meter, the checkups, etc... all add up and are - pardon my french - expensive as f*ck. Here in the Philippines, diabetes is considered a rich man's disease. I don't know if it's also considered that way in other countries.
And then, it is also scary to think that having diabetes brings with a much higher risk of complications.
I read before - although I think this is not as true anymore in the present day, or maybe is not true at all - that once you're diagnosed, your life expectancy expected to be 27 years less. I have made 27 my favorite number.
Again (as I mentioned in my introduction at another forum), having diabetes is like being given a life sentence.