Hello folks! My name's Alex and I'm 26. I was recently diagnosed with T1 Diabetes and beginning to get to grips with it all.
I'd like to say that my diagnosis comes as a bit of a shock, but it really isn't. I'd been feeling run-down for a while: I was feeling tired all the time, I couldn't focus, I was irritable and lacked motivation do any of the things I usually enjoy doing. I've also been an active person - not too much into intense exercise more doing lots of walking - and haven't had issues with weight in years (I was a chubby teenager). But when my weight started dropping I knew deep down there was something wrong but put it to the back of my mind.
Whilst my family have no histoy of diabetes - either type 1 or 2 - I'm not ignorant of the symptoms. I imagine most people like to assume that diabetes is something that only affects people who're overweight and sedentary but I did know better and should've gone to see a Dr. much sooner.
Going back to my diagnosis, in a nutshell I was called into my GP surgery after they'd recieved the results of a blood test showing elevated blood glucose. They did the pick-prick test for BG and Ketones; I was then told I'd need to head to hospital - I was at serious risk of going into DKA. Stayed in hospital on an IV for about 3 days - from Friday afternoon until Monday morning - then a day where I was taught how to inject and prick myself.
I'm now seeing the Diabetes team on a weekly basis, got carb counting classes starting in July and am getting better at injecting myself. It is difficult to start with - lots of anxiety around were I'm injecting, whether I'm doing it properly, etc - but it gets better with time I'm sure, and I barely feel the needle; which is bonus when I first was told I had T1 my biggest fear was the injections hurting.
It's going to be a bumpy ride: I've seen my BG fluctuate massively, sometimes seemingly independent of whether I've eaten or taken insulin recently. I've had some bad news on Wednesday, I might have some Diabetic Retinopathy. Naturally I felt ****** for a large part of the day but I try and take a positive out of it by telling myself: 'this is why I need to control this'.
I also try and take some positives by exploring all the 'low-carb' recipies that you can find online. I liked doing a bit of baking before, but it's a fresh challenge utilising new ingredients like almond flour over wheat. I've already found I prefer almond pancakes to regular, remind me a bit of those Mr Kipling's Almond Slices.
Rather than focusing on all the things I can't have without potentially spiking my sugars, I like to think of the foods I can eat and enjoy. Meats, cheese, egg muffins, hummus, yum yum. Bulking out my meals with lots of veg too; which is something I never used to do. My plates have gone from being very beige to having a lot more colour now.
It's a pain in the ****, having to now do consciously something my body used to do unconsciously but now I'm recieving insulin I feel much better. If I have to put in a lot more effort than I used to in-order to keep feeling this way than I'm happy to put that effort in. Diabetes is a challenge, but that is life, so let's do this!
(Small edit by mod for language)
I'd like to say that my diagnosis comes as a bit of a shock, but it really isn't. I'd been feeling run-down for a while: I was feeling tired all the time, I couldn't focus, I was irritable and lacked motivation do any of the things I usually enjoy doing. I've also been an active person - not too much into intense exercise more doing lots of walking - and haven't had issues with weight in years (I was a chubby teenager). But when my weight started dropping I knew deep down there was something wrong but put it to the back of my mind.
Whilst my family have no histoy of diabetes - either type 1 or 2 - I'm not ignorant of the symptoms. I imagine most people like to assume that diabetes is something that only affects people who're overweight and sedentary but I did know better and should've gone to see a Dr. much sooner.
Going back to my diagnosis, in a nutshell I was called into my GP surgery after they'd recieved the results of a blood test showing elevated blood glucose. They did the pick-prick test for BG and Ketones; I was then told I'd need to head to hospital - I was at serious risk of going into DKA. Stayed in hospital on an IV for about 3 days - from Friday afternoon until Monday morning - then a day where I was taught how to inject and prick myself.
I'm now seeing the Diabetes team on a weekly basis, got carb counting classes starting in July and am getting better at injecting myself. It is difficult to start with - lots of anxiety around were I'm injecting, whether I'm doing it properly, etc - but it gets better with time I'm sure, and I barely feel the needle; which is bonus when I first was told I had T1 my biggest fear was the injections hurting.
It's going to be a bumpy ride: I've seen my BG fluctuate massively, sometimes seemingly independent of whether I've eaten or taken insulin recently. I've had some bad news on Wednesday, I might have some Diabetic Retinopathy. Naturally I felt ****** for a large part of the day but I try and take a positive out of it by telling myself: 'this is why I need to control this'.
I also try and take some positives by exploring all the 'low-carb' recipies that you can find online. I liked doing a bit of baking before, but it's a fresh challenge utilising new ingredients like almond flour over wheat. I've already found I prefer almond pancakes to regular, remind me a bit of those Mr Kipling's Almond Slices.
Rather than focusing on all the things I can't have without potentially spiking my sugars, I like to think of the foods I can eat and enjoy. Meats, cheese, egg muffins, hummus, yum yum. Bulking out my meals with lots of veg too; which is something I never used to do. My plates have gone from being very beige to having a lot more colour now.
It's a pain in the ****, having to now do consciously something my body used to do unconsciously but now I'm recieving insulin I feel much better. If I have to put in a lot more effort than I used to in-order to keep feeling this way than I'm happy to put that effort in. Diabetes is a challenge, but that is life, so let's do this!
(Small edit by mod for language)
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