I've debated starting a blog since my diagnosis, so here we go....
The end of 2010, beginning of 2011 was a crazy time for me.
I lost one grandma in August 2010, somewhat expected, but that doesn't make it any easier.
Then I lost my other grandma, my only remaining grandparent, suddenly in December 2010. My heart was broken. And to top it off I missed her wake due to a nasty 12 hour stomach bug. Really a low point in my life.
Then 2011 rolls around, and my boyfriend J of, eh, 2.5ish years proposed in January and the insanity of being engaged set in.
Mid-April/early May 2011: I just wasn't feeling RIGHT. I was tired all the time. I was never one to feel well rested, but this was almost extreme. I was also getting feelings of heart palpitations, shortness of breath from time to time and overall didn't feel well. One blood pressure check at work read high and a nurse suggested I go to a doctor because my symptoms could indicate a blood clot, especially since I was on birth control pills.
So I made an appointment ASAP. I hadn't really been to a doctor in a few years, other than a gyno, because I was rarely sick, and I didn't have a primary care physician. Luckily, I was able to make an appointment with a MD, Dr. M, who happened to be a distant family friend. She took my BP, which was fine, but suggested I track it for a month, since high BP runs in my family. She suggested fasting blood work since I hadn't had it done since maybe 2006.
Blood work was done and I got a letter in the mail stating that everything was fine, besides being slightly vitamin D deficient. I was sure I was anemic, which would explain my fatigue. Or that I had hypothyroidism, which would explain why I was working out and my weight wasn't budging. But nothing came up. I did have a follow up appointment in a month to report my BP readings.
I returned with my poorly tracked BP log, but it was all within normal range anyways. While at the Dr's office, she reviewed my blood work and realized that my fasting blood glucose was 153- not normal. So she did a finger stick in the office, 4 hours after I ate, 223. Also not normal. She told me these numbers indicated diabetes. So she gave me a glucose monitor and had me monitor my blood sugar for about a month and a half, and scheduled a return appointment for repeated blood work. She also set me up with a diabetic educator. I remember heading the the gym afterwards and calling J, and crying when I said the D word. He assured me we'd figure this out and get through it together.
So I didn't tell anyone except J, my co-workers, and some family. I logged my blood sugars, which definitely weren't running normal. I went back to Dr. M in August for repeated fasting blood work, an A1C (6.9 at diagnosis), Islet cell antibody test (20) and a C-peptide test (.8). Of course these numbers meant nothing to be, but it confirmed what Dr. M suspected: type 1 diabetes.
I wasn't sure what to think. As a health care professional, I was familiar with type 2 diabetes, and the complications that went along with poor management. But type 1? Why is this coming on now?
I was set up with an endocrinologist, Dr. D, Monday August 29th, and she started me on Humalog for my fast acting insulin, and Lantus for my slow acting, both in the epi-pen versions. Dr. D is FANTASTIC. She spent so much time with J and I at my first appointment explaining stuff and answering questions. It was once thought that type 1 diabetes (juvenile diabetes) was something found only in children and had primarily a genetic component. Now the thinking is that type 1 diabetes also has a viral component: I had some virus at some point, causing my immune system to go crazy, and attack my islet cells. I hadn't really heard this before, but a friend of J's who was diagnosed in his mid-20s was told the same thing. So basically anyone at anytime can be diagnosed a type 1 diabetic. Only 5% of diagnosed diabetics have type 1.
My pancreas is working a little bit, but probably won't work for long. Maybe it's unfair to call it lazy, but I like it. So that's pretty much my diagnosis. And it sucks. But it's manageable. And I'm not "fighting" for my life per say. But I am dependent on insulin to keep me alive, and that's a hard pill to swallow (or injection to take, ha!) More on that in future posts.
XOXO,
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