I am just in my 40's and found my most difficult time of being a diabetic was through these years. At 14 your body is changing, school exams, people who do not know about diabetes can leave you feeling isolated and peer pressure, this goes on as your life changes i.e getting a job, uni, alcohol. sex. relationships and then every thing that comes with diabetes. These are just a few examples at my diabetes centre your are 18 when you go to the adult diabetic clinic, there are some great doctors out there but why is there know doctor who could take you through theses years? I went through these years when the information on diabetes was not around like it is today. Where i live most people know about my life story and i regular get parents and teenagers coming to ask advice, i am not a doctor but i lives through all of this and now there are drugs and legal highs to cope with. My thoughts are why can we not get 20 people who wants to ask questions about what they should do with a doctor, nurses and 2 diabetics who can help answer their questions. Yes you would have to have a doctor and nurses there for medical issues but also to learn we all need help and you cannot find it in a book, when i was at comp i was the only diabetic in over 12000 students and was a talented footballer but would only be given 20 mins a game because i was a diabetic. This came to a head we were playing in a big game and one of the lads had a cold so i was asked to play, it was the best half of football i ever played i won us a pen and conrolled the game we were winning 1-0 at half time and all of a sudden i was took off. we drew the game and the teacher of the other school came in and named me man of the match. We had to play them the next week, i was named to start but told the teacher i would not be playing for the football team no more after everyone left he asked why i told that. Yes i was a diabetic but i was good enough for the cricket and the sprints for the school but now i felt like he had socially exclude me on a illness he new nothing about and that a letter of complain not only by my parents but my diabetic doctor would be on its way. The school got the letter and the teacher said sorry, i never played for the school again even though i cried and told the doctor how i felt but their were DNS so i got on with it which a lot of diabetics do in other parts of their lives.