Which is easier?

[Jelaca]

Obviously nobody will ever know, but which do you think is easier?

Being diagnosed young, or older?

In some ways I would say being younger because you get used to it more but for so many other reasons I would say being older, but theres pros and cons for both!

I was 10 when diagnosed and am now 19 (nearly haha)

 

[Jelaca]

Also, excuse my choice of words "easier", diabetes is not easy for anyone

 

[mrman]

In my mind given a choice older. (was diagnosed type 1 at 33). Just because more settled married with a little boy (9, not so little now) have alot more routine than I did when younger. Done all the partying (most of it) and all the growing/hormones done. Also in my teenage years wouldn't of probably checked/tested/injected properly. Then again if id grown up with it wouldn't of known any different and might not get so pxxxxxd of with it from time to time. Wil be interesting to read other peoples thoughts on it.

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[SpaceChick]

I'd agree with Brett.

Whilst the life changes may not be so drastic when you are younger, as you haven't established routines, I think the peer pressure must be dreadful. At 8 or 9 to have sweets and cakes at friends parties, at 12 or 13 picking up a can of pop and an ice cream whilst out with friends, and then the inevitable alcohol later.

At 39, I'm content with who I am, I'm in a happy marriage and I just do what I need to do. A few adjustments (God I miss a cup of tea, as I really can't drink tea without sugar!!) and my life carries on as normal.

 

[whompa73]

Being newly diagnosed I wold have to say older for several reasons. As an adult when you know something is going wrong (and are willing to acknowledge it lol) you are taken more seriously and to a sertain extent able to be more forcefull and have more resources at your disposal. We have also gone through the part of our life as a young adult with parties festivals and ofther hectic and unpredictable sojourns into the world that would have been made so much harder if not impossible or dangerous if you were diabetic at the time. Lets face it being diabetic not only has the possibility to make you verry ill (or even dead) but its also dambd inconvenient. And the least amount of time you have to be affectid with it yet still live a long a healthy life the better. You also have the fact that late onset tends to be type 2 and although I am not playing down type 2 it dose tend to be the norm that it is not treated with insulin and I realy really hate needles. I dont realy know enough about the differences between the two but the possibility of hypos seem greater in type 1s and as far as I have made out so far it is harder on a day to day basis to or even over a period of time to controll bg's .I may be wrong in some of my thinking but if I am I'm sure I will soon be better informed. With all this in mind I'd definitely say older.

 

[Jelaca]

Its really interesting seeing all the answers I'm going through that drinking stage now and realising maybe it would have been nicer to be diabetic after this stage haha, but there are so many life stages, I think if you could dely diabetes after a certain life event, we'd all pick death as that life event!

 

[noblehead]

Would have to say older as the least time you have it the better. I was diagnosed aged 18 but it must be awful for those who are diagnosed much younger

 

[paul-1976]

Definitely older,I feel so sorry for small children and their parents and I feel lucky that I had a needle free childhood.

 

[Dodo]

I agree with older. I was 12 when diagnosed and decided I wasn't going to let it affect me. Partied all night, drank as I wanted to, but I think I was lucky. Still here 47 years on, doing ok, have a 38 year old son, and diabetic care has certainly improved over the years.


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[Patch13]

Older. I was diagnosed at 13 and it was particularly hard during my later teens / early 20s, especially with the drinking and partying! i seem to control it better now I'm older and hopefully a little wiser (perhaps!?!)




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[John7956]

Just to buck the trend, younger. I was diagnosed at about 14. I think that being diagnosed earlier would integrate into my life a lot better as I would have "always" have had diabetes. The older you are the more already set routines etc you have. (Would have preferred never to be diagnosed though)


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[claymic]

I would definitely say older. I was diagnosed 10 years ago at 25. I wish I got it after I had kids rather than now my possibility to have any is practically none. Also 10 years ago I did not know of places like this one. Maybe with more guidance back then I would have done something about it. Now I feel it's all for nothing.

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[LemonTree]

Well now this is interesting!

I first thought 'older' but after reading claymic's response (because I'm planning a pregnancy) now I don't know. I was diagnosed at 18 when I'd just started Uni (almost 15 years ago). I'm glad I wasn't any younger because I think dealing with that at school would have been hard for me but then I was away from family so didn't have a lot of support so I guess I do wish I was older. Mainly I just wish I'd got the hang of it a lot sooner and not buried my head in the sand and hoped everything would be ok.

I wish someone had said to me at that time - "this is entirely in your own hands", it may have made me sit up and think.

 

[-beckyb93-]

Hey people - I've just been reading people's messages and I would definitely have to say older!!
I met two type 1diabetics one being 24 and one being 21 who were diagnosed here years ago!

I would definitely wish to have diabetes older rather than younger! I was 7 when I was diagnosed and only a few short days before Christmas! Diabetes turned my life upside down - because of it I was seen as weird I wasn't invited to birthday parties at friends houses or parties - I was bullied all the way through primary and secondary school and even y first 3 years of college! It is hard to see your friends eating chocolate and sweets and cake when they please and your not!

If i could and be able decode either to. Had diabetes younger or older i definitely would have chose older! Life's been a struggle and Even now when it is a lot more common I still get bullied and called and had horrid remarks made because of something so common!

So yes definitely older in my opinion

 

[faeoj]

I think younger! I was diagnosed at 7 and my parents supported me with everything! im now nearly 21 and pretty much everything that could have gone wrong has so I know how to deal with it! I think when you are younger you have routine drilled into you all the time and get used to fitting diabetes into it!! Sometimes I do think though what the last 14 years would have been like if I wasn't diabetic!

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[imalittlefishy]

I was diagnosed aged 11 (now 22) and, as times to be diagnosed with diabetes go, I've always thought it was quite a "good" age. It was the summer between primary and secondary school so I was going through a lot of changes anyway, so diabetes was just another thing to add to the list, and I was old enough to understand it and take responsibility myself whilst young enough to go with the flow. Although there were times in my teenage years I wish I had been diagnosed later, in retrospect I think I would have found it more difficult to deal with if I had been in my late teens what with peer pressure etc. By the time I got to the age to be drinking, I understood my diabetes well and I have never had a problem with hypos/hypers and alcohol because I've never dealt with alcohol without it. I've also always been grateful that I had a mostly carefree childhood and the burden never fell on my parents to cope with it because I was too young to myself. I suppose it's like that age old question - which is more painful: childbirth, or being kicked in a certain sensitive part of the male anatomy :lol:

 

[-beckyb93-]

I'm response to imalittlefishy's post - you do make very valid points! Thankfully, I took on the responsibility if my diabetes at an early age - I was diagnosed at Christmas and by the Christmas I was 'managing' my diabetes and injecting myself
I am really grateful to my mum because she always helped me when she could during my child and teenage years and my diabetes - my dad wasn't so good at the diabetes side! I'm just glad i have some true friends - who always know about diabetes and what to do if my sugars are high or low - in some cases they notice it before I do and my closest friends and my boyfriend all know how to get me out of a hypo without an ambulance and also how to do my injections I'm really grateful I have them now!
In one retrospect I'm glad I developed diabetes when I did because now I should be at uni but woh my diabetes I knew I wouldn't have been able to cope too well but it's given me time to think and live more and understand myself and my diabetes better

 

[elaine77]

As an adult and an individual I would have been inclined to say younger - because then you don't know what you're missing with regards to foods as you would have just never got used to having them in the first place and the pricking and the injecting would be second nature to you, the norm.

But then as a mother, and when I look at my two kids aged 3 and 6, I think I would give anything for them to have a normal childhood before having to deal with ANY of this stuff! I would want them to go to parties, eat what they want, fit in and not worry, not be ill or have to prick and inject themselves multiple times a day.

So on that note I say older. Older because, although it might be harder to break long held habits, you can deal with hard things better as an adult and no child should have to feel different or left out or restricted compared to others.


Diagnosed with GD in 2010, Completely disappeared postpartum. Re-diagnosed December 2012 with type 1.5 diabetes, age 26, BMI 23 currently controlled by only Metformin, 500mg twice a day.

 

[LittleWolf]

I'm 20, struggling to get the GP to help as I'm the only one taking it seriously. I don't party, never been drunk, never been to a festival.

I do feel sort of left out at times. At my boyfriend's house his parents are always pouring wine with meals and I always end up in the teens later in the evening if I have some.

I do pole dancing, horse riding and alot of other active sports, and my BG can go higher afterwards making me feel ******.

Sometimes I just want to eat carby student junk food, drink sugary cider etc but can't and get absolutely no medical support from anyone. If I was older at the onset of these symptoms (say near 40) then I'd have comparatively no trouble being taken seriously and think I'd be able to cope just fine with medication (obviously being as skinny and active as I am isn't doing the trick)

Im terrified of weight gain from insulin resistance but think I could cope better if I was already older and looks we're fading.

I'd definitely prefer to deal with this later in life rather than at my age.


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