Welcome, introduce yourself here!

Thanks MM2. Anything is a win for me at the moment, so fingers crossed the sensors work for me.

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You will certainly find people who can help you optimize those settings! Donā€™t be shy in starting new threads.

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Most, if not all, of us experience this.

I found helpful info in the book (and website) Sugar Surfing, which explains how to use the cgm info and trends to make treatment decisions.

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Hello! My name is Evangeline I am 24, will be 25 in July! I currently live in New Orleans! I have been a type one diabetic since I was 2! I got on a Medtronic pump when I was 8 and then taken off when I was 14 and was also diagnosed with diabulimia. Going into high school my A1c was around a 10, I was back on shots every day. I didnā€™t take care of myself at all, I would lie about my blood sugars to go places, I would not do insulin to lose weight, I was always in the ER close to going into DKA. I just wanted my diabetes to go away. Once I graduated high school I moved to New Orleans for college (only an hour from my parents in BR) I got to college and really stopped taking care of myself, I would go weeks without checking my blood sugar, would go days without insulin, or if I was doing insulin it was 10 units like once a day. I was hospitalized twice in a span of three months, then I was put on Lantis at night and Novolog during the day and that helped some, until I would either forget to do my Lantis or I would be too drunk to do it so I was then again hospitalized. I wasnā€™t sure how to get back on to a path of taking good care of myself since I hadnā€™t been taking any kind of care for myself at all basically my whole life. I failed out of college because I was sleeping through my classes, not actually retaining information, and super forgetful (since my numbers had to have been in the 400s consistently), I was down to about 115 in weight ( I normally run 140), I finally started to get a grasp of myself but my A1C was now at a 14. I started working at Cats Meow on Bourbon street as an MC and thatā€™s when things started to change. I went from not really being an active person to running back n forth on stage for 5-7 hours straight. At the time my Lantis was at 50 units a night and I wasnt really doing my nolovog. Once I started checking my finger and doing my Novolog my numbers started to get lower and lower and lower. I remember the first time my lows started to happen, I woke up and couldnā€™t move, I couldnā€™t move my legs, my arms, my head, the only thing I could do was cry and yell and scream in a pain kind of way. Thankfully my boyfriend at the time was there and gave me juice and helped me get back to life. This happened very often for the next couple of months. I would miss work because I slept in because my numbers were so low, I woke up on multiple occasions with juice in my mouth from my roommates or my boyfriend giving it to me. It was almost like I was having seizures, I would curse out people who were trying to help, just not making any sense at all. completely out of it. One morning I was sleeping at my boyfriends house after a long shift and my mom tried to call me and she couldnā€™t get in touch with me so she asked my boyfriends roommate to check on me and he said I was unresponsive so she called 911, the ambulance came and they gave me fluids, asked me the normal questions like who are you, where are you, what year is it the whole thing. They said my number was in the 30s. I changed my Lantis bolus to 40 and it was good for a few months until the same thing happened again except in my own home. I felt very defeated, I felt like I was failing and my body was giving up and I was the most depressed I have ever been. I was working another job at the time with a girl who was also a diabetic and the same age as me and she had the Omnipod. I had pushed off getting the Omnipod for so long because I was worried about how people would look at me, like I was embarrassed of this illness that I have had my whole life. She really encouraged me to try and get the Omnipod since it helped her a lot. So I did! My doctor was on board and to be honest I pushed it off for what reason Iā€™m not sure, I think maybe part of me didnā€™t want to believe I could be better and didnā€™t want to feel so defeated again but once I finally used it it completely changed my life. I started the Omnipod in December 2019 and then the Dexcom last year. My A1c is an 8 now and I am working on getting it lower.

I still have complications with things, since my numbers were so high for so long my body thought that was normal, so once I started to become actually normal my body hated me. I have diabetic retinopathy, so I get shots, sometimes lasers, in my eyes once a month (for the past two years) , I was diagnosed with carpel tunnel, my teeth have also been affected from the uncontrolledness as well.

BUT

I feel better, I feel more here. I am present for things that I didnā€™t feel like I was present for before. I have more energy to do things.
For the longest time I felt like I wasnā€™t going to make it to 25. I finally feel like I could live to be old now, I feel like I will be able to have kids and raise a family. I know this is a lot to just put into this new group I just got accepted into but I realized that there are people who are going through the something and need to hear it gets better.

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Welcome to FUD @EvangelineKay, you have had a tough go of it. As many of us parents know, mental health is probably more important than carb counting in being successful. Congrats on getting down to an A1c of 8, that is fantastic and I know you can do even better in the future. We are a friendly bunch and you have a great amount of knowledge to impart. I am so glad you chose to become an active member.

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@EvangelineKay, as a parent of a now 7 year old T1D, who was also diagnosed at 2, I was so sad for you as I read the first part of your intro. As I write this response now, Iā€™m actually tearing up as i think how rough you have had it over the years with a disease that you didnā€™t ask for, didnā€™t bring in to yourself and probably wish you didnā€™t have.

I am so glad though that youā€™re sad story turned into a happy one and that you have hope, have found a path to success and are now living a good life with good control.

Can you tell me a bit about your control as a child? Weā€™re your parents active in ensuring you had the right tech off the times, an understanding of diabetes, etc?

Again, my heart goes out to you and the struggles you have endured and i canā€™t help but fearfully read this through the eyes of my own son at this age. The ending is working out for you but the lead up to it was very painful for me to read as i think about my own son in 20 years.

Is there anything you can teach me to guide my own son to a happier and more peaceful acknowledgement and acceptance of his T1D so that he doesnā€™t become frustrated and give up? Or is this a phase that may be unavoidable? Did you have good control in your teen years?

Much respect.

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Hi all! Shannon here, age 33 going on 34 in August. Recently diagnosed T1/LADA after 3 years of assuming I was T2 and doing everything wrong lol. :sweat_smile: Itā€™s been a bit of a battle between me and my body, but now that Iā€™ve been properly diagnosed Iā€™m ready to start taking all of the steps to be the healthiest I can be. Itā€™s nice to be able to join communities like this and feel less alone. Diabetes can be emotionally crippling at times, so I look forward to not only receiving but giving support as well! :slight_smile:

I didnā€™t show symptoms of diabetes until I lost a whopping 65-70 lbs as I was overweight most of my life. In total I went from 245lbs down to 145, at my highest hba1c I was a weak 123 lbs (as I am 5ā€™5" and thatā€™s underweight) My bones were visible, my face was very gaunt. Everyone was telling me I looked good but I felt like crap. I am now considered ā€œoverweightā€ as I am a steady 161lbs. I like it better than being too skinny and feeling like I was going to break all of the time. My sister and others were constantly putting down my weightloss after my diagnosisā€¦ insisting the diabetes was the reason I had lost all of the weight and not my frequent trips to the gym for 45-90 days straight and the fact that I had been watching what I ate before my body attempted to warn me about my sugar. I had 3-4 back to back yeast infections and a bad case of oral thrush which lead me to googling. Upon reading about the ties between women with diabetes and yeast infections, I grabbed my fatherā€™s BGM. I almost cried when I saw the reading: 4 hours post-prandial with a reading of 436 mg/dl. It has been an uphill climb since then.

I was initially just diagnosed as T1, but upon discussing my journey with my Endo (Began with Metformin treatment, hba1c was good and then at 12.7. Added Glimepiride to my regimen, hba1c was back at 7 and then shot up to 14.3. Added Lantus Solostar and began at a steady 18u a day with an hba1c of 7.0 which a year later shot up to 9.5 so I began injecting 24u a day. To now: where I am on a strict low-carb, no sugar diet and my hba1c is resting at a lovely 6.5) he agreed that I fit the criteria for LADA. Add to the medication fluctuations and additions, Iā€™ve had multiple infections involving yeast over the past 3 years Iā€™ve fought up against the glucose in my body.

It has been a silent struggle for me, but I am so happy to have good doctors involved in my treatment that have my well-being at the forefront of all my care and it is a pleasure for me to join a community of people who understand how I feel most of the time!

Looking forward to sharing and caring here. :slight_smile: :hugs:

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Welcome @Necroplasm to FUD! You will find tons of information in the archives and lots of engaged members who are always up for a lively discussion.

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Welcome @Necroplasm, @elver is correct there is a ton of information here, it may feel overwhelming at times, so feel free to ask any questions you may have, and the older members can always point you towards the content as well. Look forward to learning more about you on the boards.

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Welcome, @Necroplasm! You are at the right place! Very nice to have to join us.

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@Chris I love the sound of that, I will be sure to ask any question that comes to mind! Iā€™m an overthinker, so any information I can get sooner on here than later from my drs would take the stress load off and keep the cortisol low. :laughing:

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@ClaudnDaye ty ty! You all seem so kind, Iā€™m happy to be here!

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Welcome to the group! My story is similar, except Iā€™m twice your age and minus the yeast infections! I was T2 fir eight years, progressing from Metformin to increased dose to adding glyburide to glymeperide (Medicare req) when meds stopped completely!

Good folks here to advise and help, so ask or comment away! We can encourage, commiserate, or just listen.
Tom

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I was maxed out on glimepiride before they checked my c-peptide, which was super low. One less set of pills for me to worry about, my Endo took me off of it as soon as he saw my labs.

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I understand that Type 2 is more common than Type 1, but they really do like their Type 2 medications. Pills seem to be so much easier for them to prescribe than injectables.

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I feel thatā€™s because in their heart of hearts, they know it wonā€™t be covered and it will discourage continued treatment/therapy. Insurance companies are taxing on diabetics, they wanna see you exhaust every effort until they cover hundreds of dollars and even thenā€¦ Thereā€™s generic preferred, PAs, and appeals smh.

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Welcome to this beautiful community. I too was diagnosed with LADA 4 years ago at age 56, (thought I was struggling with menopause) As you already know itā€™s quite the journey but this place helps me to feel not so alone.
Cheers
Suzanne

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It really helps to not be alone in this terrible disease. Iā€™m hoping Iā€™m on the road to better things, I hate how much it has taken over the last 3 almost 4 years alone. Trying to take the control back. Itā€™s a battle for sure! Need all the soldiers I can find.

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Hi, I am Ely.
I have had type 1 diabetes since 1996 at the age of 9.
I hope by joining this community I can learn more and share.
I run the website Diabetic & Me where I help others learn more about diabetes and I also share stories of diabetics their lives.

Hope to meet new people and enjoy my time here.

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Welcome @Ely, I guarantee you will meet new people. Some are a little crazy, but that is how life goes. I look forward to your contributions on our site.

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