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How long have you been a diagnosed type 1?

How long have you been a diagnosed type 1?

  • Total voters
    50

tim2000s

Expert
Retired Moderator
Messages
8,936
Location
London
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Other
As a diabetic of 26 years, and so far with no complications (thankfully), and having had a search on the forum and not found a similar topic, I thought it would be interesting to see how long the type ones had been diagnosed and what the split was. Statistical nosiness if you like. So how long have you been a diagnosed type 1?
 
Type 1 over 50 years and only a couple of minor complications and still going strong.
 
32 years, no complications at all.
 
49 years 7 months 3 day and 6 hours
No complications either.
 
Feel a bit of a youngster here now. A mere 31 years 10 months with just a bit of background retinopathy to show for it.
 
25 years now, and a few hairy moments over the past couple of years, but still going strong

Give up, give in or give everything

RRB
 
It's good to hear really positive updates.

Did you all get it right to start with. How long would you say before you really knew what you were doing. Do you adjust doses daily depending on what you eat etc. or do you stick to fairly the same ratio / regimes?
 

I started off as a kid with my parents weighing food and making sure I ate what I was allowed. I used to cheat with cake decorating ingredients and spoons of sugar, but my BS used to cope. Those were the protophane days. Once I was obviously post honeymoon, I was put on the precursor to Novorapid (I forget what it is called) and haven't really looked back.

I got the benefit of an approach that was carb counting before DAFNE appeared and it stood me in good stead as it has always helped me identify the potion on a plate based on size (things like potatoes don't suddenly become more carb dense).

Even when I went through the "can't be ***** testing" phase, my hba1c was coming back in acceptable levels because of this, so I was quite lucky.

Generally I eat what I like and insulate accordingly, although more recently due to low carbing, I've been more regimented than I have for years.

It does amaze me about some of the schemes that the NHS came up with for blood sugar control in the nineties, and I felt very sorry for my cousin, who was diagnosed during that period, as most of what he had to deal with really was rubbish.
 
39 years and no complications, not always plain sailing - mum's had it 54 years and has unfortunately had/has eye issues but otherwise ok.
 
My Mum was taught to carb count my food from day 1 in 1965. I was supposed to have a set amount of carbs for each meal plus a set amount of insulin in 2 jabs a day. Isophane hadn't been invented until I was about 8 years old so just had 2 injections of soluble/neutral insulin a day which obviously only covered about 16 hours a day if I was lucky. Once the basal insulin's came along and I wasn't allergic to them then Mum worked out that if I had a x number of carbs with x amount of insulin then it was obvious to her that my dose could be altered as could my food amount.
It was obviously very hit and miss in those days as no home blood testing was available But I survived
 
33 years here, developed Diabetic Retinopathy at one point due to poor bg control in my early days, however I've been all clear for the last 9 years and have no other complications.
 


No I didn't get it from the start, I never ever missed injections but my bg control was up & down due to lack of understanding about the condition in general, plus having no access to bg meters and having to rely on using the Clinitest Kit didn't help matters.

I'm on basal/bolus and adjust my insulin to the food I eat, ratio's do change from time-to-time but my TDD averages between 32-36 units, I follow a moderate approach to eating carbs and eat on average around 180g a day.
 
I remember in my first few years very few people had home bg monitors because they were incredibly expensive. Think paying £500 or so in eighties money. I used to use the BM visual strips where it was colour that you had to match with the colours on the carton.
 

And you could cut the strips up into three if you were careful, made a tub of 50 go a long way
 
Have we all been diabetic angels? Aswe all seem to have survived longer than expected without too many diabetic complications.....

I haven't been an angel, my diabetic halo slipped downward for about 2 years.. Didn't completely end up smashed on a floor but was definitely listing for about two years. Don't know why, or what got me back on track really.. Know I was fed up at being different to everybody else around me though....

So good to read so many people surviving 25+ years!!

Long may we continue!
 
20 years.
No I didn't get it right from the start. Like Noblehead I took the insulin I was advised to take but I had very little useful education from hospitals and doctors. My readings were pretty awful but I had little idea of what to do.
It was probably 7 or 8 years before I really started to work at it. Frankly it was seeing the problems my sister had (she was 9 years older than me) which gave me the kick up the backside that I needed. By then the internet had got going & I found some wonderful information & later on, forums like this. I also did the online BDEC carb counting course which was invaluable. (http://www.bdec-e-learning.com/)
Still a lot to learn though.
 
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