Age 37, ruled the world, then BOOM! All the symptoms hit me over a six week period. My GP diagnosed me in 5 minutes. We tried oral Type 2 meds with no success. Within 10 days I’m using long and short duration insulin. With no family history of diabetes and no co-morbidities, my doctor concluded that it was an acute onset likely caused by a virus or other infection. After I became accustomed to injections, he sent me to a three day diabetes education course, for which I remain grateful decades later.
After six years of needles, I wanted to have tighter control and management. My GP referred me to an endocronologist who introduced me to a Medtronic pump. This device dramatically improved my wellbeing, as reflected in a greatly improved A1C. 20 years later, I integrated a closed system glucose sensor with the Medtronic 780G.
After retiring 5 years ago, the biggest challenge is keeping my A1C under 7. With a more sedentary lifestyle, good glucose management requires more effort. I’m moderately active, but I don’t exercise enough - I’ve put on about 10 extra pounds. I can shed it with a little work, but it tends to come back. We spend about 6 weeks each year in Europe, and I slim back down to that 34 inch waistline. Wonder why? If I could emulate the Mediterranean diet combined with walking everywhere upon returning home, problem solved. Alas, it’s not that easy.
Move the clock forward…now dealing with arthritis, joint replacement and chronic kidney disease. The plot thickens.
I also usually lose weight on vacation even though it’s not weight I want to lose. I’ve always associated the weight loss with being more conservative with my diet since my carb counts are mostly pure guesses if I’m not at home. I guess being a bit more active might also be a factor.
I think the AID system helps me a lot. My A1C management needs improvement. I am terrified of lows, so I tend to under-bolus. The programmed basal rates work well between meals.
Re. Exercise, I find that, for me, I am able to exercise in good weather but that I gain weight in rainy, cold weather. Still looking for a good way to deal with it indoors at home (no time for gym, and dislike having to drive downtown anyway).
Very similar to my (not-)LADA story. 1983, I was 27, had a nasty cold in late-September that hung on into October. Finally got over it, but after only a week or so feeling ok it started feeling like I was coming down with something again. Thought WTF, this isn’t fair, I just got over something! Kinda vague at first, like a mild hangover. Headache, fatigue. Kept getting worse. Nausea started being a factor and I was like, ok, stomach bug, but those usually come on fast and clear out in 24-48hrs. Plus I wasn’t vomiting, just that feeling when you know it’s gonna happen and wish it would just get over with. Plus this whole other thing, some kind of bladder condition? Peeing all the time, thirsty AF. Started in mid-October, birthday in November (the 14th, ironically enough) where I probably went ahead and had cake and ice cream and god knows what. By early December my wife could tell something was wrong, and I agreed, but it all seemed so amorphous. I was in college, returning adult student, in a special program where I was taking grad courses as an undergrad, first term doing that, and I figured it was just stress, what else could it be. Early December, wife talking to her mom on the phone, mentioned all this stuff (“How’s Bill doing?”). Mom’s an OT, said “that’s diabetes, get him to a doctor NOW.” Told the doc the whole story, he did a BG test, and “Said, well, you’re the proud owner of Juvenile Diabetes,” adding “You’re lucky you’r wife brought you in, she probably wouldn’t have been able to wake you up tomorrow morning.” He explained they hadn’t changed the terminology yet, but were in the process of renaming the two kinds “Type 1” and “Type 2,” because they’d finally figured out “juvenile” just wasn’t statistically accurate, but meanwhile I was stuck with “juvenile.” Started me on R/NPH that day. Took about a week to stabilize. The whole progression from zero to acute-symptomatic was about 6-8 weeks, not counting the original viral cold that probably triggered the auto-immune response.
They didn’t have C-Peptide or antibody tests back then, but there was no ambiguity about it. I didn’t know about adults getting mis-dx’d until 20 years or more after I got it. When I first heard about people going for months or years trying to make pills-n-exercise work I was gobsmacked. I woulda been dead! Seems gradual onset is more typical, though I have heard of other people like us where it just kinda blew up out of nowhere in a couple of weeks.
I got a Sunny mini “under desk” bike for work, but my knees kept hitting my desk haha. But it works amazing from the couch! Now I can exercise while watching movies with my husband, reading, etc. Great for my after-dinner BG too.
A very strong story you can see how much you’ve been through and how well you’ve adapted to the changes. I respect your discipline and openness to new solutions, especially with the pump and control of A1C. I wish you a stable well-being and that your health allows you to live as comfortably as possible
If I could emulate the Mediterranean diet combined with walking everywhere upon returning home, problem solved. Alas, it’s not that easy.