My Diagnosis Story

My Diagnosis Story

So being diagnosed with diabetes, any form of it, is not an easy thing.

I was 8 years old, I enjoyed spending my time between school, the park, and the library. As any kid, I enjoyed the occasional candy, cake, and chocolate, by occasional I mean on a semi-daily basis. I mean who can say no to a fruit roll-up at lunch time in the school cafeteria when everyone around you is eating some candy concoction. Growing up in the 90's, many of us were not health conscious. Sure we moved around a lot and played outdoors but we also ate tons of processed stuff in the form of happy meals, candy, sugar-laced juices, and soda.

I was aware of diabetes because my father is a type 2 diabetic so I knew what it was about to a vague degree, but as any child I was oblivious to everything that didn't directly affect me. Little did I know, my life was about to be flipped upside down. I started having really bizarre symptoms; I would have to urinate quite frequently and I started having this itching sensation in the no-no place. A few days of dealing with this on my own, I finally told my mom, who than immediately told my dad. You're probably thinking that its weird for dad to be involved in a situation regarding the no-no place given that it was the 90's, but my dad loved to be involved in all aspects of our lives. There was nothing too personal or off limits when he spoke to us, which we did find kind of alarming but also kind of cool.

Back to the point, so dad decided to check my blood sugar, which was not new to me because he would do it once a year anyway. Turns out my blood sugar was 497 and panic ensued. At first we all thought the machine was faulty, than I had to repeatedly wash my hands with lots of soap in case I had something sweet on my hands. Finally after a few more tests with similar results, we decided to go to the doctor. I was officially diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and on an insulin regimen by the end of that week. 
When ever I talk to other diabetic, their stories usually start with them being diagnosed in the ER and than having to stay at the hospital for a few days to get the sugars under control before being allowed home. Compared to that my story seems quite anti-climactic but I consider myself fortunate in not having the hospital experience and also that my parents were exposed to diabetes so they kind of knew what to do. However, I do regret not having the most ideal healthcare because my parents didn't take me to a proper hospital that specializes in T1 diabetes where I would have been exposed with many coping techniques and new innovative technology to control my blood sugars. I probably would have better control over my blood sugars, but that's neither here nor there so no point in dwelling on it. 

So there goes the days where I would be allowed to munch on a chocolate bar or have a handful of gummy bears. I mean I was and probably still am the worst diabetic on the planet as I did get to eat most things that were seemingly off limits to diabetics. But certain things were off limits or allowed at a rare event. Luckily for me there was diet soda so I didn't have to give that up, and there were additions of sugar free cookies and assorted candy at the supermarket so I was never completely deprived but it didn't feel or taste right, especially as an 8 year old. 

On the other hand, having to explain to other 8 year old kids that I was not like them. Than having to reassure them that candy didn't cause my diabetes and that I was not contagious got real tiring. Also having to prove that I was a cool kid even with diabetes became a thing, I remember having to take someone with me to go to the nurse for my before lunch testing and injection. They would often watch me test my sugar and like an idiot I would increase the dial on the lancet device to "prove" how tough I was. In hindsight it was unnecessary and I could have saved myself a years worth of pinprick marks on my fingers and boy did they hurt. I think I reveled in their comments of how brave I was and how they could never do something like this on a daily basis, but at the end of the day I was still by myself and none of it made any difference to my diabetes. This caused lots of issues on a mental, personal, and self-worth level, but that's for another day. 

Disclaimer: This is not medical advice, if you think you may have a health issues please go to a doctor. These are just my experiences with being diagnosed.