AnchorFaced
Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Hi all,
Have been meaning to introduce myself for a while and think now is as good a time as any.
I was diagnosed back in March 2021 after ignoring/not realising symptoms over the preceding 6 months. Having not put all the pieces together I just thought it was stress and would resolve after sorting out a challenging period at work. Nope.
I've always been able to put away food without putting on the pounds (Lucky me) however it became obvious that I was really eating a lot. Large bowls of Pasta, plenty of Mash, thanks, and generally a good diet but then I really started craving sweet stuff. A few more KitKats and Twirls in the fridge to raid on. All washed down with nice cold water...lots of water... and peeing. Curiously Breakfast was never my bag, I'd just load up on Coffee and have a snack around 10ish. I'm now eating large bowls of Granola everyday. Looking back I'm rightly mortified now knowing what was happening to my body. Did not have a clue. Eating what I wanted and losing weight (now down 10kgs at this point), sounds like a win.
Then I noticed the nervous shaky feeling dialled up a notch, always feeling stressed. I couldn't concentrate at work at all and tired most of the time. I do enjoy a cheeky nap on a Friday afternoon, always have done but this was up to every other day. Also I started feeling the cold and not the Bed warming champion of the previous years straight. My lower legs were cold, feet were blocks of ice, but it's winter and I live in a Barn. Still didn't really click and neither did my wife.
So by now I'm not coping at work. Falling behind in time sensitive assignments and not really performing to any great standard but at this point I also stopped caring, I just wanted to see the day out and have a nap. Stressed much? Possibly, because I've now a mountain of work I'm behind on. Fortunately my team are professionals and crack on, they know what needs doing and I've my No2 to supervise and manage them, which he does marvellously.
Google "Thirsty all the time and peeing lots" Click.
Well that sounds like me, yup I check all those and the dodgy eyesight. But am I? Really? How has that happened? Environment, Stress, Virus apparently. I don't know and neither does the scientific community. Better ask a Doctor because they know stuff and I feel like a Zombie with a sweet tooth.
I fire off an eConsult with my symptoms. Peeing lots, thirsty, will turn tricks for a Caramel. Click. Ring 999. Oh come on, I'm not that bad and love watching Channel 5 ER fly on the wall, so that's my benchmark for needing the Blues and Twos. I'll just ring for an appointment and so I get one for a week later. Sorted.
GP rings me on the weekend at about 0930 and asks if I can come in. I rock up and they measure my BG after I reel off my aliments. I'd not had brekkie that morning so my fasting BG tested 15 mmol (just a number isn't it). It wasn't long before lunch I was in Treliske to be seen by the Acute Diabetic team. I really hate (strong word I know) but I hate my blood being drawn. Can't help it. I tense up, breathing goes rapid and mouth goes dry whilst simultaneously receiving a Bafta and 2 Golden Globes for drama. And that is the life for this newly minted T1D.
Fast forward to nearly a year later and the HbA1c has dropped from an initial 114, then to 55 and now to 44 in November. My wife and I have grasped the basics, still reading and adapting to the fickle Honeymoon period which started around July with constant lows and coincided with being eligible for the Libre. My first meal taking no Bolus was emotional to the point of making a grown man cry.
Now we're both in a good routine, looking at the trends with my 1 unit of Basel onboard and roughly 1:10 Bolus for meals.
The NHS support has been amazing and my DSN has been on the ball with spot on advice and experience. Quite how she manages it with the workload and replies to my emails well out of hours. I feel fortunate for that, and the massive advances in medical devices where we are now.
My TiR is consistently over 90%, not worrying about the occasional high which always comes down with my last Beta cells squeezing a drip out conveniently to allow a cheeky snack before bed time.
It won't last and at some point in the unknown future I'll take on the full role. In the mean time I have my Libre to entertain, alerting us with false lows and random numbers but generally doing a decent job on the whole. I've learnt to spot carbs at 50 yards and can confidently enjoy a few miles walking without dipping and more importantly being able to do something about it if it does. Snacks, sweets strategically staged in the car, pockets, bags, bedside and the portable stab station everywhere I go. It's easy but constant work. I get good days where my range doesn't shift and I almost feel I'm not T1 but after a few emotional trips at the start, I'm not so easily fooled. T1 has me, not the other way round.
I've missed out loads but just an introduction right? Oh, I'm now 47, so a bit late to the party. Never know what you'll get and this spin of the wheel has kept life spicy.
Have been meaning to introduce myself for a while and think now is as good a time as any.
I was diagnosed back in March 2021 after ignoring/not realising symptoms over the preceding 6 months. Having not put all the pieces together I just thought it was stress and would resolve after sorting out a challenging period at work. Nope.
I've always been able to put away food without putting on the pounds (Lucky me) however it became obvious that I was really eating a lot. Large bowls of Pasta, plenty of Mash, thanks, and generally a good diet but then I really started craving sweet stuff. A few more KitKats and Twirls in the fridge to raid on. All washed down with nice cold water...lots of water... and peeing. Curiously Breakfast was never my bag, I'd just load up on Coffee and have a snack around 10ish. I'm now eating large bowls of Granola everyday. Looking back I'm rightly mortified now knowing what was happening to my body. Did not have a clue. Eating what I wanted and losing weight (now down 10kgs at this point), sounds like a win.
Then I noticed the nervous shaky feeling dialled up a notch, always feeling stressed. I couldn't concentrate at work at all and tired most of the time. I do enjoy a cheeky nap on a Friday afternoon, always have done but this was up to every other day. Also I started feeling the cold and not the Bed warming champion of the previous years straight. My lower legs were cold, feet were blocks of ice, but it's winter and I live in a Barn. Still didn't really click and neither did my wife.
So by now I'm not coping at work. Falling behind in time sensitive assignments and not really performing to any great standard but at this point I also stopped caring, I just wanted to see the day out and have a nap. Stressed much? Possibly, because I've now a mountain of work I'm behind on. Fortunately my team are professionals and crack on, they know what needs doing and I've my No2 to supervise and manage them, which he does marvellously.
Google "Thirsty all the time and peeing lots" Click.
Well that sounds like me, yup I check all those and the dodgy eyesight. But am I? Really? How has that happened? Environment, Stress, Virus apparently. I don't know and neither does the scientific community. Better ask a Doctor because they know stuff and I feel like a Zombie with a sweet tooth.
I fire off an eConsult with my symptoms. Peeing lots, thirsty, will turn tricks for a Caramel. Click. Ring 999. Oh come on, I'm not that bad and love watching Channel 5 ER fly on the wall, so that's my benchmark for needing the Blues and Twos. I'll just ring for an appointment and so I get one for a week later. Sorted.
GP rings me on the weekend at about 0930 and asks if I can come in. I rock up and they measure my BG after I reel off my aliments. I'd not had brekkie that morning so my fasting BG tested 15 mmol (just a number isn't it). It wasn't long before lunch I was in Treliske to be seen by the Acute Diabetic team. I really hate (strong word I know) but I hate my blood being drawn. Can't help it. I tense up, breathing goes rapid and mouth goes dry whilst simultaneously receiving a Bafta and 2 Golden Globes for drama. And that is the life for this newly minted T1D.
Fast forward to nearly a year later and the HbA1c has dropped from an initial 114, then to 55 and now to 44 in November. My wife and I have grasped the basics, still reading and adapting to the fickle Honeymoon period which started around July with constant lows and coincided with being eligible for the Libre. My first meal taking no Bolus was emotional to the point of making a grown man cry.
Now we're both in a good routine, looking at the trends with my 1 unit of Basel onboard and roughly 1:10 Bolus for meals.
The NHS support has been amazing and my DSN has been on the ball with spot on advice and experience. Quite how she manages it with the workload and replies to my emails well out of hours. I feel fortunate for that, and the massive advances in medical devices where we are now.
My TiR is consistently over 90%, not worrying about the occasional high which always comes down with my last Beta cells squeezing a drip out conveniently to allow a cheeky snack before bed time.
It won't last and at some point in the unknown future I'll take on the full role. In the mean time I have my Libre to entertain, alerting us with false lows and random numbers but generally doing a decent job on the whole. I've learnt to spot carbs at 50 yards and can confidently enjoy a few miles walking without dipping and more importantly being able to do something about it if it does. Snacks, sweets strategically staged in the car, pockets, bags, bedside and the portable stab station everywhere I go. It's easy but constant work. I get good days where my range doesn't shift and I almost feel I'm not T1 but after a few emotional trips at the start, I'm not so easily fooled. T1 has me, not the other way round.
I've missed out loads but just an introduction right? Oh, I'm now 47, so a bit late to the party. Never know what you'll get and this spin of the wheel has kept life spicy.
