Being young-ish and dealing with the diagnosis.

[farfromhomedk]

i was diagnosed in august, a couple of months before turning 31, and it was, and still is, a very hard blow for me. i feel younger than 31. i am still a student (got accepted to my dream school at 28) and most of my friends and the people around me are younger than me. i feel this diabetes diagnosis as something that makes me older than i am. everyone in my family who has it (all the men over 50) was diagnosed much later in life and i am struggling with the fact that i am starting to feel like an old man. i feel my body fall apart, to put it bluntly. like my life is not what it should be at this point. having to be so prepared and careful on a daily basis, and plan out things like eating and meds makes things more difficult and less spontaneous.

i went out dancing the other night. got drunk, had the most fun i've had since my diagnosis, but since then i have been in a constant state of anxiety because i know the effect drinking can have on me, and i have been feeling worse physically since. i asked my doctor about drinking, and she said "well, it's sugar." the fun nights are over, i guess?

this isn't specifically a thread about drinking, but about the feelings and thoughts that come along with being diagnosed while you still feel like a young person. i would absolutely love to hear other people my age (or not) who has thoughts about this.

 

[Daibell]

Hi and welcome. Can you let us know a bit more about your diet, medication and weight? Drinking sensibly need not be a big problem. Not all alcoholic drinks have sugar in them. Some beers and cider do as there is sugar left after fermentation but other drinks such as wine and sprits can be quite low as the sugar in them has been converted to alcohol. Alcohol has calories but not carbs. Be sensible though as the liver can't help you recover from a hypo if it's busy getting rid of alcohol.

 

[tigerlily72]

I know what you mean about feeling older than you are. I'm almost 44 but feel much younger. However, due to other health issues as well as type 2 diabetes, I've never spent so much time at my doctors surgery!

It must be hard adjusting with diabetes and balancing student life (parties, drinking etc). I'm not sure how you get around it but there must be other students out there with disabilities and other health conditions.

You can still have an odd drink, but will need to be sensible what you drink and how much. I'm planning to have a few glasses of red wine over Xmas. Some spirits like vodka and gin I think are better than lager and other spirits and you could have these with diet tonic and mixers.

Xmas can be a difficult time with having diabetes but it needn't be if you're sensible and have the odd "treat".

 

[Mep]

hi, I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes an polycystic ovarian syndrome on the same day when I was aged 25. I too found it hard to deal with at first because when I was diagnosed it was referred to as "mature onset diabetes" and I didn't fit that. I didn't know anyone my age with it either. I had no support network back then. I'm 42 now and can say it has been quite a journey, so I'm sure you will get through it. These days a lot of young people are being diagnosed with it too and it isn't called mature onset anymore. I know what you mean about feeling old though. I've often felt like I'm dealing with more than my fair share of health stuff and people I know older than me take less medications, etc. I wish you the best.