How being a diabetic changes: 62 years with type 1.

speedmaster

Member
Messages
6
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Things have changed a lot with diabeties.
My mum told me lots of stories about her when I was growing up.
Mum was diagnosed with Type 1 diabeties after she fell off a ladder (although the gene runs in our family, the trauma might have set it off).
Dad thought she was going to die and proposed to her in hospital. I always thought it was romantic (the ward cheered when he did it). She said yes (otherwise I wouldn't be here or writing this).

Her hair went from blond to dark brown and was sticky. She was ill for a while until it was diagnosed. This was in the early 1960s. Mum was about 16. She's now 78 and has lived with it for 62 years.
Initially she was told she can never eat sweet things, must NEVER touch pineapple and probably wouldn't live that long. I remeber Mum doing her two injections a day with a glass needle and all the litttle glass bottles in the fridge. Then there was a panic if we went. out to dinner and they took too long to serve after Mum had disappeared to the loo to do her injection. But that was the old Bovine insulin. Doctors in hospitals seemed a lot sterner then (especially matrons).

Growing up, Mum rarely gave me dessert as she was worried it might make me diabetic, although we chugged bucket loads of colourful Corona! Did anyone drink water in the 1970s? But I managed to avoid being type 1 or 2.

Mum (and Dad) would often say in the 70s and 80s that there was a cure for it but companies made too much money out of the disease to bring it to market. But without the internet these opinions weren't amplified like they are today. But somehow a chance meeting with someone seemed to make whatever they said like it was dictated by the words wisest sage back then.

Mum would carry orange glucose tablets in her bag in case of a hypo. There were many of those. Sometimes at night our dog would whine if mum had a hypo. It was strange but I'm sure both our dogs saved Mums life more than once. I remember sitting in Boots by the brightly coloured strangely shaped glass jars with Mum waiting for her to pick up her latest batch of glass vials and syringes. She'd be flicking the syringes for ages trying to get the air bubbles out. Sometimes I'd help, trying to avoid the quirt of insulin as it rose into the air.

The glucose tablets changed to jelly babies (she was told they were better by the diabetic specialist). Then Dates were added to the mix, then orange juice. Tests seemed to be more comprehensive these days and the understanding of diabeties is far better than it ever has been.

Later Mum moved to porcine insulin. She was adamant that Humulin wasn't for her (she tried it once and had an adverse reaction to it, but I think the levels weren't right). But her blood sugars were all over the place. When Dad passed away a few years ago Mum's eating became erratic, she had deep depression and ended up with delirium. She forgot to do her injection. Her blood sugars would drop to 1.7 or leap to HI on the accucheck, which only goes up to 33.

It was scary.
After a spell in hospital shes now on Humulin and despite her erratic eating, her bloods are far more consistent. The district nurses come in and look after her and they are fantastic.

Growing up you never heard of anyone who had it. It was something you didn't talk about. Now the taboo has gone, thankfully. Sports people, olympic champions and even Prime Ministers have disclosed that they have diabeties.

After Dad passed away in 2021, Mum would often say she should have gone first, that she was told that she wouldn't live that long. It was difficult to deal with. This got repeated more and more and Mums depression deepened and her memory got worse.

She's now using disposable needles (the glass ones are long gone) but she never transitioned to pumps or other fancy diabeties tech. But it's interesting how much things have changed over the years.

What are your stories?
What's the longest anyone has lived with type 1 diabeties?
 

sgm14

Well-Known Member
Messages
273
> What are your stories?

Nothing so detailed. I'm not even 10 years a diabetic, but my sister has lived with it for nearly 50. I remember the old huge syringes which made me sick to even think about or look at. Still feel guilty about how much I tried to ignore her condition.

> What's the longest anyone has lived with type 1 diabeties?

The HG Wells medal can be awarded to those who have lived with it for 80 years (see https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-34997099)
 

Nicola M

Moderator
Staff Member
Moderator
Messages
882
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
I don’t remember most of my time growing up with diabetes as I was diagnosed when I was 1 (coming up to 27 years since diagnosis soon) although I do remember a time before the “fancy” insulin pens we get in the UK now that tells you your last dosage and how long ago you took it and there were no such thing as CGMS until I was late into my teenage years, insulin pumps had definitely never been heard of before either!

Whilst I don’t have a story as detailed as your mums it’s amazing how much treatment has changed over the years even in such a short space of time as mine. In the grand scheme of things 27 years isn’t long but treatment options have come a long way in that time.
 

Jaylee

Oracle
Retired Moderator
Messages
18,505
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi,

I was diagnosed in 1976.
Remember clinitest tablet wee tests, glass syringes & surgical spirit.
Had my first pen in 1989? Along with a BG meter.
Oddly, I nurse told my mother at the time it could have been triggered when I took a fall down some stairs?
I don’t believe that. It was more likely an autoimmune response to ENT infection/s I was prone to at the time…

It’s come along way from random chemistry set wee tests to CGM sensors.. :)
 

Tony337

Well-Known Member
Messages
828
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Not being on holiday....
Hi

Even though your story is tinged with sadness i enjoyed reading it and thanks for sharing.

I too have experienced whacking great changes from growing up in the 70s and 80s being type 1 and i am in my 50th year of it.

I have embraced all the changes and now have a libre which has had the biggest and best impact on my life as well as the 4mm needles.
I confess to getting a bit niggled when people criticise the new tech today when you consider all i had, like your mum, to check my levels was a urine testing kit which involved weeing in a potty then 5 drops of urine into a test tube then 10 drops of water then in you popped a clinitest tablet which fizzed then you compared the colour to a chart!!!! that was it!.

My last hba1c was 39 or 5.7 and i'm proud of that.....

Good luck

Tony
 

Sallyw

Active Member
Messages
32
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I've been Type 1 for 68 years since I was 2! I really admire my Mum who dealt with my diabetes all though she did say that she never had another baby in case it was diabetic! Shows how much of a strain it must have been. My Dad also gave up his career in the Army because of the potential problems for me caused by overseas postings!

I have never let diabetes stop me doing anything! I insisted on being prescribed the contraceptive pill although the medical professionals were very reluctant at the time, in the 70s. No problems!

I lived in the Middle East for many years, had 2 babies, having been prescribed blood testing apparatus for the first time in my life. In those days I had to stab my fingers with the lancets; no machine to do it! I remember being in Ashford Hospital with my gynacologist on one side and my diabetic consultant on the other, arguing whether I should be induced early! During labour the nurses had no idea how to connect the glucose and insulin drops in my cannula! It didn't inspire confidence!I

I've not had many severe hypos and have been on a Libre sensor for about a year which really helps.

An eventful life.
 

Ushthetaff

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,050
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Mountain out of mole hill makers ,queues , crowds , shopping on a Saturday hmm just shopping I guess no matter what day it is
Will be 45 years in September this year a month before my 18 th birthday .last thing I wanted at that age . Was taken into hospital for 2 weeks to be “ stabilised “ whatever that meant . The day after I went to hospital a nurse came along with a disposable syringe with insulin in it and said put that in your leg that was my training lol
i too remember the clinitest “ chemistry” set and the glass and metal syringes with the needles the sized of dart points . And being told when they are blunt to my when do i change the needles question.started on the pen about the same time as I came off pork insulin. ido remember that when I went to see consultant got told off cos blood test were poor resulting in me not going, after years of smoking drinking and generally abusing myself the complications set in I lost my leg in 2013 and have recently started dialysis but I’m fine with it . I’m always upbeat and never feel sorry for myself . I’m still here and living every day . Technologyand attitudes of professionals has changed vastly over the years but diabetes has always been and will always be about finding out how your body reacts with the food you eat it and the insulin you take sounds simple but it takes a lot of time and experimentation ,I’m sure what Ive written could be expanded to a short novel as could everybodies experiences I guess it’s all part of living with diabetes
 

himtoo

Well-Known Member
Retired Moderator
Messages
4,820
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
mean people , gardening , dishonest people , and war.
why can't everyone get on........
i was diagnosed at age 14 back in August 1972......I distinctly remember being told that if i did everything i was told and looked after myself i might make it to 55 years old...happy to say i am 66 and still here.....it was 1 injection a day for me by mixing 2 insulins together and my routine was ultra strict 7 days a week .......i moved to 2 injections a day in 1984 and on to pens and MDI in 1997 ..... biggest change for me was getting libre ( self funded in June 2014 ) and that has been such a game changer seeing blood sugars in real time ............. i had so many years not being able to eat desserts ( or puddings ) that even with the new insulins and being on a pump that these days i never choose to indulge
 
Last edited:

CheeseSeaker

Well-Known Member
Messages
206
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
People arguing over silly stuff
I was diagnosed in '73 at 4 years old (yes...I'm a child of the sixties (7 months old when it ended)) and like @himtoo did all that stuff as well.

Started self funding Libre 7 or 8 years ago after being on a pump for 6 years and thought it'd be a good idea to connect a watch to my Libre and have it alarm at night.

That started my DIY path, my thinking was "logically if I have a pump and a CGM, I should be able to link the 2 together"

After 6 years DIY'ing I now FCL and mostly don't think about the food I eat - just avoid really heavy carb-loads without doing something up front - After 50+ years of this horrible condition, I'm pretty much as good as I can be till the next innovation comes along.

Many years of resisting change - now I'm happy to flip to the next great development once I've worked out how to use it.

Amazing stuff this future thing :)
 

Gemma2

Well-Known Member
Messages
189
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Things have changed a lot with diabeties.
My mum told me lots of stories about her when I was growing up.
Mum was diagnosed with Type 1 diabeties after she fell off a ladder (although the gene runs in our family, the trauma might have set it off).
Dad thought she was going to die and proposed to her in hospital. I always thought it was romantic (the ward cheered when he did it). She said yes (otherwise I wouldn't be here or writing this).

Her hair went from blond to dark brown and was sticky. She was ill for a while until it was diagnosed. This was in the early 1960s. Mum was about 16. She's now 78 and has lived with it for 62 years.
Initially she was told she can never eat sweet things, must NEVER touch pineapple and probably wouldn't live that long. I remeber Mum doing her two injections a day with a glass needle and all the litttle glass bottles in the fridge. Then there was a panic if we went. out to dinner and they took too long to serve after Mum had disappeared to the loo to do her injection. But that was the old Bovine insulin. Doctors in hospitals seemed a lot sterner then (especially matrons).

Growing up, Mum rarely gave me dessert as she was worried it might make me diabetic, although we chugged bucket loads of colourful Corona! Did anyone drink water in the 1970s? But I managed to avoid being type 1 or 2.

Mum (and Dad) would often say in the 70s and 80s that there was a cure for it but companies made too much money out of the disease to bring it to market. But without the internet these opinions weren't amplified like they are today. But somehow a chance meeting with someone seemed to make whatever they said like it was dictated by the words wisest sage back then.

Mum would carry orange glucose tablets in her bag in case of a hypo. There were many of those. Sometimes at night our dog would whine if mum had a hypo. It was strange but I'm sure both our dogs saved Mums life more than once. I remember sitting in Boots by the brightly coloured strangely shaped glass jars with Mum waiting for her to pick up her latest batch of glass vials and syringes. She'd be flicking the syringes for ages trying to get the air bubbles out. Sometimes I'd help, trying to avoid the quirt of insulin as it rose into the air.

The glucose tablets changed to jelly babies (she was told they were better by the diabetic specialist). Then Dates were added to the mix, then orange juice. Tests seemed to be more comprehensive these days and the understanding of diabeties is far better than it ever has been.

Later Mum moved to porcine insulin. She was adamant that Humulin wasn't for her (she tried it once and had an adverse reaction to it, but I think the levels weren't right). But her blood sugars were all over the place. When Dad passed away a few years ago Mum's eating became erratic, she had deep depression and ended up with delirium. She forgot to do her injection. Her blood sugars would drop to 1.7 or leap to HI on the accucheck, which only goes up to 33.

It was scary.
After a spell in hospital shes now on Humulin and despite her erratic eating, her bloods are far more consistent. The district nurses come in and look after her and they are fantastic.

Growing up you never heard of anyone who had it. It was something you didn't talk about. Now the taboo has gone, thankfully. Sports people, olympic champions and even Prime Ministers have disclosed that they have diabeties.

After Dad passed away in 2021, Mum would often say she should have gone first, that she was told that she wouldn't live that long. It was difficult to deal with. This got repeated more and more and Mums depression deepened and her memory got worse.

She's now using disposable needles (the glass ones are long gone) but she never transitioned to pumps or other fancy diabeties tech. But it's interesting how much things have changed over the years.

What are your stories?
What's the longest anyone has lived with type 1 diabeties?

Catching you up. 61years T1d. The changes over the years have been enormous. For me personally - having a Pump.
 

M80

Well-Known Member
Messages
89
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Thankyou for sharing this! I was diagnosed age 9 in 1990. So not as long as everyone here but feels like a very long time.
Now at the point where I am explaining to my daughter who is 12 about how it was for my mum to have a daughter with this, it was not easy, I am very grateful for all my parents did, but especially my mum who is no longer here. A part of your story and support being a child diagnosed with diabetes changes so much when you loose the person who was there for you most and understood the weight of it. Sounds like you were a great support to your mum !
 

Tony337

Well-Known Member
Messages
828
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Not being on holiday....
Yes i have and if you scroll back up to my post in this thread on the 16th january....

Tony
 

Tony337

Well-Known Member
Messages
828
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Not being on holiday....
Oh ok.....sorry
Hi
No need to apologise....its all good.
IIRC if they went orange you were above 2% and if blue you were negative.

Primitive but thats all we had.

When i see people today critisizing all the wonderful tech available today it makes me smile as clinitest tablets were not the good old days.

Tony
 

CheeseSeaker

Well-Known Member
Messages
206
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
People arguing over silly stuff
When i see people today critisizing all the wonderful tech available today it makes me smile as clinitest tablets were not the good old days.
Very true - its annoying when it doesn't work (as we become reliant on it) but its a million miles away from peeing in a tube to see if we're in range and boiling a 70's horror B movie glass syringe :)
 

Tony337

Well-Known Member
Messages
828
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Not being on holiday....
I can better that
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