servewithmintsauce
New Member
Hi all,
I'm 17 and my mum has had Type 2 Diabetes for 20-something years now, after gestational diabetes with my elder sister. T2 runs down my mum's side of the family (yay genes..) and I have grown up with it in my life; I have memories from my childhood of sitting on the bed with my mum, sorting her multitudinous tablets into one of those weekly pill boxes. I can accurately predict my own BG most of the time (I could bet hard cash that it's 5.8 mmol/L right now, or 6.3 mmol/L if I've just had a meal), know the 'prick, lick, and stick' trick on reflex (prick your finger, lick it, and stick your thumb or other available finger on it to stop the bleeding), and know that my mum gets really stroppy when she's low!
Now she has been insulin-dependant for some years; this wasn't her fault, as she really worked hard with glycaemic control..but it just didn't work out for her, so now she uses Levemir (short-acting) and Humalog (long-acting) pens. These are a source of *ahem* 'debate' in our household, as my mum refers to the Humalog as 'the red pen' and Levemir as 'the green pen' but we all know Humalog is grey and Levemir is blue, really!
She loves art and photography, but she also has a job which works her very hard in the afternoons and evenings, and she suffers with Fibromyalgia (FM) which is difficult to see, as it causes her to be extremely fatigued and in pain a lot.
I have Brittle Asthma, and am on Atrovent 20mcg, Ventolin 100mcg, Seretide 250/25mcg, Montelukast 10mg, and have just finished my 3rd week of Prednisolone 40mg (8 x 5mg tablets) after spending nearly 2 weeks in the hospital at the beginning of December. We are just starting to taper it off (decrease by 5mg every 3 days) but the test is to see if I can get off it fully..if I can't taper all the way off this time, that may well mean long-term pred, which on its own can cause diabetes. I am also Atopic (a triad of asthma, eczema, and allergies) so I have mild eczema, and a Type 1 Latex Allergy (similar to peanut allergy) and 'hayfever'. I suffer from chronic migraines and cluster migraines, but these are controlled with daily Pizotifen, and Naratriptan and Aspirin to treat attacks. My mum also has Eosinophilic Bronchitis (without asthma) which is a rare condition which caused her to cough all. the. time. for about 3 or 4 years until they diagnosed her..but now she is well-treated with Flixotide inhalers, and prednisolone occasionally for flares.
But I also play ice hockey and am very musical, playing the cello (grade 8 soon), piano (grade 5 soon), and singing (I'm in an internationally-acclaimed youth choir, and received a good distinction in grade 8 last Christmas). Ice hockey is currently on hold, and has been rather on-and-off all year due to the refractory course my asthma has been taking, but I keep coming back and coming back like my boxers are caught in the locker room doors haha I have been on the ice since before I could walk so that and my singing are two things I will not give up on, ever. Even if I go blind, I will skate. If I lose my legs, I can sled skate. If I lose my limbs and my senses…I will still find some way to get on that ice. It's simple to me..but I'm sure my doctors think I'm off my rocker!!!
I also love panettone, Ritz crackers, smoked haddock pilaf (did I mention, my parents are excellent cooks?), Quorn--everything more or less, science, languages, sleep, Swedish and French hip-hop, Christian rock (the good stuff, not the Camembert-level cheese), neo-classical music, 20th century music, Early music, reading, writing songs, writing poems, sketching, dogs, and a lot of other stuff XD
So..that's me, and that's how I fit into the world of Diabetes.
-- Matt
I'm 17 and my mum has had Type 2 Diabetes for 20-something years now, after gestational diabetes with my elder sister. T2 runs down my mum's side of the family (yay genes..) and I have grown up with it in my life; I have memories from my childhood of sitting on the bed with my mum, sorting her multitudinous tablets into one of those weekly pill boxes. I can accurately predict my own BG most of the time (I could bet hard cash that it's 5.8 mmol/L right now, or 6.3 mmol/L if I've just had a meal), know the 'prick, lick, and stick' trick on reflex (prick your finger, lick it, and stick your thumb or other available finger on it to stop the bleeding), and know that my mum gets really stroppy when she's low!
Now she has been insulin-dependant for some years; this wasn't her fault, as she really worked hard with glycaemic control..but it just didn't work out for her, so now she uses Levemir (short-acting) and Humalog (long-acting) pens. These are a source of *ahem* 'debate' in our household, as my mum refers to the Humalog as 'the red pen' and Levemir as 'the green pen' but we all know Humalog is grey and Levemir is blue, really!
She loves art and photography, but she also has a job which works her very hard in the afternoons and evenings, and she suffers with Fibromyalgia (FM) which is difficult to see, as it causes her to be extremely fatigued and in pain a lot.
I have Brittle Asthma, and am on Atrovent 20mcg, Ventolin 100mcg, Seretide 250/25mcg, Montelukast 10mg, and have just finished my 3rd week of Prednisolone 40mg (8 x 5mg tablets) after spending nearly 2 weeks in the hospital at the beginning of December. We are just starting to taper it off (decrease by 5mg every 3 days) but the test is to see if I can get off it fully..if I can't taper all the way off this time, that may well mean long-term pred, which on its own can cause diabetes. I am also Atopic (a triad of asthma, eczema, and allergies) so I have mild eczema, and a Type 1 Latex Allergy (similar to peanut allergy) and 'hayfever'. I suffer from chronic migraines and cluster migraines, but these are controlled with daily Pizotifen, and Naratriptan and Aspirin to treat attacks. My mum also has Eosinophilic Bronchitis (without asthma) which is a rare condition which caused her to cough all. the. time. for about 3 or 4 years until they diagnosed her..but now she is well-treated with Flixotide inhalers, and prednisolone occasionally for flares.
But I also play ice hockey and am very musical, playing the cello (grade 8 soon), piano (grade 5 soon), and singing (I'm in an internationally-acclaimed youth choir, and received a good distinction in grade 8 last Christmas). Ice hockey is currently on hold, and has been rather on-and-off all year due to the refractory course my asthma has been taking, but I keep coming back and coming back like my boxers are caught in the locker room doors haha I have been on the ice since before I could walk so that and my singing are two things I will not give up on, ever. Even if I go blind, I will skate. If I lose my legs, I can sled skate. If I lose my limbs and my senses…I will still find some way to get on that ice. It's simple to me..but I'm sure my doctors think I'm off my rocker!!!
I also love panettone, Ritz crackers, smoked haddock pilaf (did I mention, my parents are excellent cooks?), Quorn--everything more or less, science, languages, sleep, Swedish and French hip-hop, Christian rock (the good stuff, not the Camembert-level cheese), neo-classical music, 20th century music, Early music, reading, writing songs, writing poems, sketching, dogs, and a lot of other stuff XD
So..that's me, and that's how I fit into the world of Diabetes.
-- Matt
