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Hi there everyone.

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stephenms47

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hello there everyone.

I am Stephen.I am 47 years and about one month ago I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.For someone who has had another member of his family be told they have diabetes(my sister has had type 2 diabetes for over 20 years)only To be told yourself you have type 1 diabetes is truly devastating.It is a challenge every day and I know that type 1 diabetes is a dangerous disease but every day I get a bit stronger and I get a bit more confident in myself...after all if I have to live with diabetes than diabetes has to live with me.
 
Welcome @stephenms47 it is definitely a shock to get a diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes and be told you will be injecting every day for the rest of your life (unless you count the cure which has always been 10 years away).

Thankfully, the first thing my DSN told me when she confirmed my diagnosis was "Diabetes should not stop you doing what you want."Eighteen years later, I continue to live by that. I eat what I want, exercise as I want, travel where I want (apart from during a pandemic), continue to enjoy a stressful job, have a great social life, ... and am fitter than most people of my age with no complications from diabetes.

OK so injecting and testing is a huge pest and things go wrong (Type 1 diabetes is worse if you are a perfectionist - perfection is not possible) but an attitude like yours of "if I have to live with diabetes than diabetes has to live with me" is the way to go.

Feel free to ask questions, rant, laugh (diabetes does not kill our sense of humour) and ask for support when you need it.
 
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Welcome to the forum @stephenms47 from another late starter with T1 (aged 53 at diagnosis)

There is a lot to learn very quickly at the start but it does then become just part of our ‘new normal’ life.
I think of my diabetes as an irritating friend who won’t go away, but copes with being ignored now and then. As @helli says perfection is never going to be possible, so no point in aiming for that. Just do the best that you can and enjoy what you do.

keep in touch and fire away with any questions that you have. There is loads of experience to tap into on here, and great supportive group.
 
Hear hear Stephen! - yes I had to learn how to live with T1, but my T1 had to learn how to live with me, too, cos it wouldn't have liked it much had I not obeyed it's rules and I'm bloomin sure it'd have played its face had I not! We've mucked along together pretty well so far anyway - so I wish you the same.

And to reiterate what @helli said - I've always reckoned a good sense of humour is essential !
 
stephenms47 said:
Hello there everyone.

I am Stephen.I am 47 years and about one month ago I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.For someone who has had another member of his family be told they have diabetes(my sister has had type 2 diabetes for over 20 years)only To be told yourself you have type 1 diabetes is truly devastating.It is a challenge every day and I know that type 1 diabetes is a dangerous disease but every day I get a bit stronger and I get a bit more confident in myself...after all if I have to live with diabetes than diabetes has to live with me.
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That sounds tough. From what I’ve heard about T1 it’s lifelong. Is that correct? So adults diagnosed with T1 have had it for years without knowing it?
 
AnnSebastian said:
That sounds tough. From what I’ve heard about T1 it’s lifelong. Is that correct? So adults diagnosed with T1 have had it for years without knowing it?
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No, that isn't true. Adults develop Type 1 as adults.
Unfortunately many people including health care professionals don't realize that you can develop Type 1 diabetes at any age. It does often have a slower onset in adults than children but I think it is likely to get picked up sooner in most cases than Type 2 which can linger undiagnosed for many years and I believe there will be far more undiagnosed Type 2 diabetics wandering around in the general population than Type 1s, who often suffer sudden onset symptoms and weight loss rather than very slow insidious weight gain and slowly progressing background symptoms which can be easy to pass off as part of the "aging process" (ie needing the loo through the night, sweating, falling asleep after a meal, pins and needles and cold feet) rather than seek help for those symptoms.
 
Aha. I didn’t know that about Type 1. But on the issue of going ‘undiagnosed’ - that certainly seemed to happen to me.
 
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