Recently, @Eric focused a thread on questioning why pediatricians don’t test kids’ BG more often, resulting in delayed diagnoses.
This story is even more shocking. It took Jay Cutler 6 months to get diagnosed with typical diabetes symptoms while in the NFL:
https://www.diabetesdaily.com/blog/2015/01/jay-cutler-living-with-diabetes/
“I was diagnosed as an adult, and it’s clear there is an overall lack of awareness of the signs and symptoms of type 1, whether you’re talking about kids or adults. I was sick the entire 2007 season, lost 35 pounds, felt fatigued—all the classic symptoms. I thought I was dying, but I wasn’t diagnosed for six months.”
@Michel I think that this is pretty typical of being diagnosed after adolescence. My guess is that at a later age you can deal with higher Bg better, even though not feeling 100%. A child or infant will go downhill much more rapidly.
That’s the way it was with my diagnosis. I wasn’t feeling real great but still functioning very well. I knew what was happening so when I made an appointment with the doctor I told them it was for a diagnosis of diabetes. My Bg came back at over 500, but there was no drama and it certainly did not seem like an emergency. I just got some insulin and syringes and pee sticks and went on my way.
It’s gotta be much much more traumatic to be diagnosed as a young child.
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Were you already in a medical profession at the time? Is that why you were able to self-diagnose? I know I beat myself up for not diagnosing my son earlier.
Actually, not yet. I was always interested in biomedical science and just happened to know what the symptoms were. It was pretty unmistakable.
Also, don’t beat yourself up about it. Not much info about diabetes is in an engineering curriculum.
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