Hi
@BrignanoJ, I am very glad you survived such a touch and go situation 7 years ago! Your life has changed forever.
Yes, you have been given that chance to live - as daunting that is!
By comparison I developed my diabetes over a week or two and was mildly ketotic when admitted at age 13, 51 years ago.
So yes, a long and fruitful life is possible. And without the dreaded complications, beyond cataract treatment at the 46 year mark on insulin (for which I blame not only diabetes but also the Aussie sun) and pesky things like carpal tunnel troubles.
Diabetes has not stopped me indulging in sport, past-times, a career in medicine (retired 4 years ago), marriage and children. (albeit as a male I cannot compare myself to you but I do know of a number of female T1Ds who live well and productive lives, including all the female diabetics on this site - and no they did not bribe me to say so, but I would have suffered scorn for failing to do so)!
Back to your current dilemma, the first while after diagnosis and recovery is a shock like none other.
You may have had aspirations for your life and now wonder what the future holds.
You may have thought of many names to call this condition (and not all of them printable)!.
Each day is another one to get through, trying to deny that this is all real.
And feeling unwell if the blood sugars get too high or low is like a punishment.
For all our intelligence, us humans can be a stubborn lot. And we grieve what we have lost, we deny it; bargain for a miracle, for deliverance; we rage against the unfairness of it all. Am I being tested or challenged? What did I do to deserve this?
Grief cannot be hurried but staying well helps, as difficult as that is. You may still be grieving in a way.
By joining this forum and site you have made an important step - writing about your experience and how it is affecting you - sharing the worry - we have all been there at some point and we have survived. So can you.
Step at a time. Keep It (non-Sweet) and Simple
This forum/site provides fair dinkum (= Aussie for true) diabetics with experience +++, supporters, 'cheer squads' etc.
Your GP is also an important person to cultivate as you will be seeing him or her for your general health as well.
In the past 7 years you will have had the challenge of going through adolescence - a time of growth spurts, social changes, hormone surges, insulin doses up and down like the ocean swell. Whilst there is an expectation from your health provides to have 'good BSLs', but do they know how difficult that is when you are going through the second most intense growth time of your life?
Who would not feel fed up, tired, lacking in the joys of life with this by age of 19?
Just as a contrast, and not for any pity, I had to traverse this tumultuous teenage time before glucose meters, fancy insulins, pens, pumps etc were available. For me regular exercise helped to keep me feeling well and trying to learn the growth spurt pattern, when to up the insulin and when to reduce it back down.
Being stubborn and a tad obsessive I did my best to keep the boat steady. It was never easy but it was endured.
How? Each person will have things that work or not.
Exercise, hobbies, self humour and reflection all helped.
Exercise: Swimming regularly, walking, a challenge in balancing in insulin, food had the added bonus of being a stress reliever.
Interest in canoeing, sports and scouts etc. Later in kite flying (see avatar)
Humour and Self Humour: Injecting insulin to the tune of an old, old pop-tune "Needles and Pins", an injection was a chance to perfect javelin throwing. I carried a bottle of glucose dissolved in water for use during school sports ( my baby bottle as I called it) and with rough and tumble sports like football, I would carry soft lollies in his pad pockets, less bruises that way !!
Reflection: You may have noticed over time that certain habits develop to a point where they become automatic. As long as we have nothing reminding us too much we tend to forget whether our automatic habits are actually achieve what they were originally for. So when blood glucose meters came along, in place of urine testing, I had a rude awakening.
These 'awakenings' and constant reminders ( e.g. a needle or 4 a day) wears us down. Testing before and after meals ? every day ? ? rotate through different times on different days, what to eat and not to eat (Ain't that the question)?.
It is easy to fall off the diabetes wagon. Hands up who has not at some point? Sometimes a kind word from a nurse, doctor or other HP or a friend helps or a distraction, some achievement, some victory gets us back on board (or perhaps skating behind holding a rope attached to the wagon)!
And I recall a cartoon where a guy is sitting in a chair being interviewed for a job. The plaque on the wall reads "Training Agency". Interviewer: "Mr Jones, what makes you think you are the best candidate for this position"?
Mr Jones: "Well I believe that you learn from your mistakes. And I make enough mistakes to train everybody here".
We diabetics all make mistakes. We try to learn from them. But without some errors, without something that makes us work at getting things better we cease to learn. Sure, sometimes things do not work out right no matter how much we try but other times we do not know why something works out. We learn to accept the victories whether they are accidental or 'on purpose', just as we accept that to err is human, for things to go awry is sometimes avoidable but not always.
At some level we learn to accept ourselves, love ourselves which includes looking after ourselves the best way we can.
A bird does not sing because she can (perfectly or not), she sings because she has a song.
Please keep posting fellow warrior!!
