Personal achievement 60 years Type 1

[fiveamp]

This is a personal glimpse into how things have changed for type 1's and the life you can lead.
I was diagnosed at 3 years old as type 1. I ran in front of a lorry but didn't get hurt but the shock must have caused some sort of trauma to the system.
Back then you had to test your glucose level via urine sample in a test tube. ooh happy days but had a near normal child hood diabetes was a thing you had to put up with but it didn't impinge on your life at all. My local GP told my father that I may live until my early 40's. How things have changed. Mainly in the last 5 years for me.

I now have the Freestle libre2 and Omnopod pump 2 I wish I could have had that 30 years ago. I had a rough patch for about 10 years in my thirties with lots of Hypo's trying to do too much when your body is getting older was my downfall as a self employed electrician. An office job would have saved a lot of problems.

I have not been able to find ANY info about getting old with type one what you may expect or what can happen its as though its been kept under wrap's. I would say work to your own limitations as you see fit keep things as much as poss under control would be my advise. To all those new diabetics with type 1 its a change of life style but after 60 years I have all my fingers and toes nothing has fallen off and got a bit a neuropathy in fingers which happened over night and I have to wear glasses - which I put down to getting older aged.

So you lot look after yourself cos no body is going to do it for you are wods I was told when I started my apprenticeship, and they are so very true.

So take care, keep fit (if poss) and use your best judgement and research all subjects don't take any body's word for it even if they are so called professionals I know I would be dead by now if I had

 

[Ushthetaff]

Congrats on your big 6. 0 40 years for me and I remember like you the urine tests etc, I was never given a life expectancy figure but if I had am sure had I would have done my upmost to pass it. I like you and probably every long term diabetic has had good days and bad ! But hey after all that’s life, unlike you I have lost five toes and half a leg but that was totally my own fault. I will say to newly diagnosed diabetics is don’t give in , you’re going to have bad days but technology these days will help you to live a long and healthy life, if people with 60 and 40 years diagnosis are still alive and kicking with the relatively primitive treatment who knows how long diabetics will be living in the future, I firmly believe 60 years could be the total norm.
The most important thing you can do as a diabetic is test your blood sugar , otherwise it’s just a bit of Russian roulette “ point and shoot, also when you feeling down come on here and talk about it I’ve found this forum a great place for help and advice cos you can guarantee someone here has probably been or had the same situation as you

 

[Juicyj]

Congratulations on your 60 years.

It's wonderful to hear your story, lots of youngsters need to hear this, just goes to prove that a good long life is possible, sadly I hear many tales of denial and neglect which prompt the issues we all fear, but hearing stories like yours gives hope and the realisation that doing the little things every day can contribute to a long, healthy life and hopefully many more too.

Please keep telling your story, we need to hear it

 

[EllieM]

have not been able to find ANY info about getting old with type one what you may expect or what can happen its as though its been kept under wrap's. I would say work to your own limitations as you see fit keep things as much as poss under control would be my advise.

I'm 59 with 51 years T1 and minimal complications (on again off again retinopathy,oretty), but my T1 mum died at 78 in 2012 (pre cgms). But I'm pretty sure it wasn't her T1 that killed her but the fact she smoked for 50 years, only giving up a year before she had a heart bypass at 70 (they would have preferred to do a quadruple bypass but her lungs weren't up to it.)

My main fear as I get older is that I don't trust a hospital to look after my T1 if I'm not able to control it myself (my mum had a very bad experience), so I know that if I ever start to get dementia I won't last long (possibly a good thing?) My husband is under instructions to watch the hospital like a hawk if I ever get admtted in a non compos mentis state.

But my consultant has promised me that I'm not going to lose limbs, eyesight or kidneys so I just keep going on. I am lucky to be able to afford to self fund a dexcom which makes a massive difference to my control and my ability to cope with hypos (I have a history of hypo awareness loss if I have too many hypos)

But honestly, given the recent improvements in T1 care (pumps and cgms) the prospects for older T1s just get better and better. Just watch out for hypos.

 

[Fairygodmother]

Congratulations @fiveamp! 60 years is brilliant! I expect that back when you were diagnosed there was a really low life expectancy for T1s, I know there was when I was diagnosed aged 20, in 1969, just a bit over 51 years ago. It used to give me the hebijebies, and so I lived to the full, and probably T1 daft, in the early days. With just the pee test to go by, I had no idea how far I pushed my endocrine system.
Weren’t those early syringes and needles rough compared to what we have now.
Like you, and @EllieM, I’ve no complications, yet. However, my energy levels aren’t what they used to be, but maybe it’s a combination of being an oldie and lockdownitis.

 

[videoman]

I too have reached the 60 years of being a type 1 as I was diagnosed the age of 14 in 1961 and have managed to get to this year getting my gold medal at 50 years in 2001

 

[Jaylee]

This is a personal glimpse into how things have changed for type 1's and the life you can lead.
I was diagnosed at 3 years old as type 1. I ran in front of a lorry but didn't get hurt but the shock must have caused some sort of trauma to the system.
Back then you had to test your glucose level via urine sample in a test tube. ooh happy days but had a near normal child hood diabetes was a thing you had to put up with but it didn't impinge on your life at all. My local GP told my father that I may live until my early 40's. How things have changed. Mainly in the last 5 years for me.

I now have the Freestle libre2 and Omnopod pump 2 I wish I could have had that 30 years ago. I had a rough patch for about 10 years in my thirties with lots of Hypo's trying to do too much when your body is getting older was my downfall as a self employed electrician. An office job would have saved a lot of problems.

I have not been able to find ANY info about getting old with type one what you may expect or what can happen its as though its been kept under wrap's. I would say work to your own limitations as you see fit keep things as much as poss under control would be my advise. To all those new diabetics with type 1 its a change of life style but after 60 years I have all my fingers and toes nothing has fallen off and got a bit a neuropathy in fingers which happened over night and I have to wear glasses - which I put down to getting older aged.

So you lot look after yourself cos no body is going to do it for you are wods I was told when I started my apprenticeship, and they are so very true.

So take care, keep fit (if poss) and use your best judgement and research all subjects don't take any body's word for it even if they are so called professionals I know I would be dead by now if I had

Hi,

The big six oh.. Wow I'm 4 months off 45 years. So it alway great to hear from a fellow D with some years racked up.

Interesting what you said about the lorry trauma..
My mum when asking what causes T1 was told something simalar by a nurse. I had indeed took a masive fall down a flight of stairs as a youngling. & it was always assosiated with that?
Personally, I was never convinced..
Lol, I was always catching some viral infection or another when I was at school too.