I have had Type 1 Diabetes since 1987. I was 23. There was no diabetes in my family history at all. I did, however, have a very nasty car accident where, among other injuries, my spleen was taken out. The theory is that the accident contributed to the diabetes but we will never really know. For the first 3 years I didn’t take my insulin regularly and when I did check my sugar (which wasn’t very often) it was usually between 400 -500. I had no one to encourage or help me. I was married but my husband didn’t know any more about diabetes than I did. By 1990 I was super skinny and sometimes too sick to get out of bed. On one particularly bad day, my husband picked me up and took me to the emergency room. That was the start of my journey back from the dead. I was put on a pump right away and I remember that I said to my husband “I feel really good”. Is this the way that normal people feel?". Since then I have stayed on a pump, eat healthy and exercise. In the beginning I didn’t have good health insurance and it really wasn’t impressed upon me why I should change the needle every 2-3 days so oftentimes I kept it in for weeks (thus creating scar tissue). Now, 30 years later, I have a hard time finding a “good spot” to put the needle. So many areas don’t work anymore. A number of years ago my doctor didn’t believe me so he sent me to a nurse to get some advice. I walked in and stripped down. She said I didn’t need to do that but I said I did because I want her to find a place for the needle. She didn’t have any good suggestions. I have also talked to someone (phone call) from Joslin who didn’t have any suggestions either. So I just limp along and do the best I can. I eat really healthy and exercise a lot so I think that keeps my sugars down, even when my needles aren’t working all that well.