20 not out.

[urbanracer]

Today marks the twentieth anniversary of my type one diabetes diagnosis.

 

[Acheron05]

Awesome post and as a recently diagnosed T1, reading this totally gives me hope for the future!

Cheers

 

[jackthejoker]

Congrats Mel on your 20 year anniversary... My little girl was diagnosed just 15 months ago and she's 9 now...I sometimes get overwhelmed with fear for her future but reading your post has cheered me up no end...she has your positive attitude and even calls herself the chosen child..... I find it a very lonely road too as a parent....people just dont understand....but maybe someday........???

 

[Alison54321]

Well done. Not going to say congratulations, because that makes it sound really difficult to survive 20 years of type 1 diabetes, oh ok.........congratulations.

It's always difficult because it's a hidden disability, and I have often found myself in the weird position of seeing a consultant who issues dire warnings about the terrible things that might happen, and then finding myself explaining I have it to someone else, and them just thinking it's nothing much at all.

I actually found things got easier as I got older. I had more knowledge, more experience, and found it easier to identify my needs correctly, and implement them.

So the next 20 years should be even better.

 

[Robinredbreast]

Congrats Mel on your 20 year anniversary... My little girl was diagnosed just 15 months ago and she's 9 now...I sometimes get overwhelmed with fear for her future but reading your post has cheered me up no end...she has your positive attitude and even calls herself the chosen child..... I find it a very lonely road too as a parent....people just dont understand....but maybe someday........???

Mu granddaughter is 9 and she was diagnosed aged 2 1/2 years, I was heartbroken, she was extremely ill in hospital on HDU. Children are tough little cookies they tend to get on with it and have a full and a happy life
Take care

 

[Rachox]

Congrats Mel on your 20 year anniversary... My little girl was diagnosed just 15 months ago and she's 9 now...I sometimes get overwhelmed with fear for her future but reading your post has cheered me up no end...she has your positive attitude and even calls herself the chosen child..... I find it a very lonely road too as a parent....people just dont understand....but maybe someday........???

There’s a sub forum just for parents on this site. I’m sure you’ll find the support you crave there x
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/category/parents.16/

 

[NewTD2]

Congratulations!!!

 

[Grant_Vicat]

View attachment 26562

DIET BASE
A BED SITE (in a Knightsbridge accent)
SEA BIDET !!

 

[urbanracer]

DIET BASE
A BED SITE (in a Knightsbridge accent)
SEA BIDET !!

I think you're the first to realise, definitely the first to comment.

 

[Grant_Vicat]

I think you're the first to realise, definitely the first to comment.

I've been nuts on Spoonerisms and anagrams for as long as I can remember. Maybe I'm just nuts!

 

[Rachox]

DIET BASE
A BED SITE (in a Knightsbridge accent)
SEA BIDET !!

I think you're the first to realise, definitely the first to comment.

I have beady eyes, some might say the ‘beadiest’ (!), I see what you did there!

 

[urbanracer]

I've been nuts on Spoonerisms and anagrams for as long as I can remember. Maybe I'm just nuts!

I hope you don't pissmonunciate your worms very often.

DIET BASE
A BED SITE (in a Knightsbridge accent)
SEA BIDET !!

I have beady eyes, some might say the ‘beadiest’ (!), I see what you did there!

I just realised you can get Betas die out of it. How strange.

 

[.gurley]

Today marks the twentieth anniversary of my type one diabetes diagnosis. A funny thing to celebrate, but I kind of am. I’m not thrilled about having T1, but I’m not dead. Had I not been lucky enough to be born when and where I was, it would have killed me very quickly and unpleasantly - as we all know, insulin was only discovered less than a century ago, and in many countries is prohibitively expensive. Hell, I’ve even been seeing crowdfunders from American diabetics trying to raise money for insulin. In 2018.

It’s almost killed me twice and landed me in intensive care with DKA. But thanks to medical science and our wonderful NHS, I’m still alive. And that’s what I’m celebrating. With (keto) cake and everything.

View attachment 26557​

But while a diabetes diagnosis used to be a death sentence, it is still a life sentence. It’s psychologically incredibly draining, every single day you are making life or death clinical dosing decisions with a drug that can kill you. Every day. Even doctors get a day off every now and then from that shi... stuff. In my twenty years I think I’ve probably taken over 40,000 injections of insulin.

But I’m still here, and I’m mostly pleased about that - I’m not ashamed to admit it’s driven me to the brink of suicide more than once. My life fell to pieces at the time, I was only 24. My emerging, very bright and promising science career was wrecked because my twice a day fixed mixed dose regime meant I couldn’t work the long and erratic hours my research needed, stopping for food was just not possible with some of the stuff I was doing. Since then, I’ve found new things to challenge and stimulate my mind, and now I have my own business silversmithing. I’m currently working on a range of alternative medic alert jewellery made from reclaimed silver and gold - on top of my usual (low carb ) bread and butter work. I managed a successful T1 pregnancy, and my rudely healthy son was born at a not-too-massive 7lb 4oz, he’s almost 15 now. I’ve travelled, climbed (small) mountains, ridden my motorbike around Europe, and apart from not being able to fly a jet or drive an HGV, I don’t think it’s stopped me from living a fulfilling life. I’ve had ups and downs with it, haven’t we all? I don’t think it’s made me a better person, like some do - I’m quite bitter about it all to be honest, it’s a lonely road even when you have supportive family, as I do. But it is what it is, so thank you to the folk here on the forum for all the support and advice I’ve had in the few short months since I joined. It’s amazed me just how much it’s helped me get on top of the accursed thing. Peer support is so underrated.



Apologies for the self indulgent ramble, I may have had more than one glass of rum this evening. But to make up for it, have this:

Cake recipe, modified slightly from this one, partly because I have no idea what a Meyer lemon is but mostly because I hate recipes in cups.

90g finely ground almonds
1tsp baking powder
Zest of a lemon
Pinch salt
2tsp erythritol (an artificial sweetener without a nasty aftertaste), I have to get mine online because I can’t find it in shops.
Juice of the lemon
25g melted butter
1 beaten egg

In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients together and add the wet stuff. Spoon into a cake tin of your preference and bake at 180C until cooked and golden brown on top. These wee bugs took 20 minutes, a bigger cake would take a bit longer. You can also split the mix into two, and microwave in mugs for 1 minute 20 seconds. One little bug (1/8mof the mix) has just 3g carbs

I know the feeling I got type 1 at 22 years old pain in the bum!!! Playing Soccer, courting, Job what a time to get it!!! I even started with the old glass syringe and believe me they were ****. Slowly over the years things improved, plastic syringes, Novo pens etc. Having said that my only two major Hypos when they first came out as insulin was extra quick! Survived though, but my daughter finding me naked and bleeding from my mouth was a bit of trauma for her she was very young but I remember her saying it's okay Dad you will be alright, which is true I was. I continued to play soccer, ran marathons, attained a high earning job, travelled the world. Have two daughters and a long marriage with an understanding wife, partners have to be, we sometimes forget we can be a pain in the bum and moody when our levels drop! I have travelled all over the world and apart from some plain daft security at airports coped well, even worked in three different countries including Cyprus where I live now. All the time with the life sentence of T1 which sounds like a new train line. I am still working and still serving my sentence so I guess my take on this is we are not alone and all in grumpy land with the condition which there is no cure for but maybe we are better people for having to deal with it and of course grateful to be around to complain. I am now on an insulin pump so I call it my new marriage as its 24/7 strapped to me so a whole new bunch of things to complain about. It even has an alarm when your levels drop too low but being woken up in the middle of the night is also a pain in the bum as well as sometimes its not showing a correct reading,. One day this will all be put right, maybe. On a final note its my birthday next week and I will be 63, so I am hoping for a lot more things to moan about with T! just to remind me I am here!!!! and able to moan. Oh and well done keep going the whole human race is headed in one direction we just approach it in a different way.

Editedby moderator for language

 

[lindijanice]

HEY @Mel dCP congratulations on your journey - you really are inspirational You and the Hubby really have a lot to deal with but it is wonderful to see a couple band together as a team and get the most they can out of life and together. So Kudos to you both. You are really creative and hope your medic-venture works out! Will wait to hear and see more Take care and enjoy those creative bugs!! I'm probably late on that one as you are ahead of me in time Blessings/L

 

[.gurley]

I know the feeling I got type 1 at 22 years old pain in the bum!!! Playing Soccer, courting, Job what a time to get it!!! I even started with the old glass syringe and believe me they were ****. Slowly over the years things improved, plastic syringes, Novo pens etc. Having said that my only two major Hypos when they first came out as insulin was extra quick! Survived though, but my daughter finding me naked and bleeding from my mouth was a bit of trauma for her she was very young but I remember her saying it's okay Dad you will be alright, which is true I was. I continued to play soccer, ran marathons, attained a high earning job, travelled the world. Have two daughters and a long marriage with an understanding wife, partners have to be, we sometimes forget we can be a pain in the bum and moody when our levels drop! I have travelled all over the world and apart from some plain daft security at airports coped well, even worked in three different countries including Cyprus where I live now. All the time with the life sentence of T1 which sounds like a new train line. I am still working and still serving my sentence so I guess my take on this is we are not alone and all in grumpy land with the condition which there is no cure for but maybe we are better people for having to deal with it and of course grateful to be around to complain. I am now on an insulin pump so I call it my new marriage as its 24/7 strapped to me so a whole new bunch of things to complain about. It even has an alarm when your levels drop too low but being woken up in the middle of the night is also a pain in the bum as well as sometimes its not showing a correct reading,. One day this will all be put right, maybe. On a final note its my birthday next week and I will be 63, so I am hoping for a lot more things to moan about with T! just to remind me I am here!!!! and able to moan. Oh and well done keep going the whole human race is headed in one direction we just approach it in a different way.

Editedby moderator for language

I used another word to describe backside and its edited???????????????????????????? A...e unbelievable.