Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Today marks 15 years since my Type 1 Diabetes diagnosis
Pretty sure that if I hadn't changed my mind when calling the NHS helpline and dialled 999 instead I would probably have fallen into a coma within an hour or so and no-one would have found me
Fortunately I did, the ambulance arrived within minutes and I'm still here to tell the tale
Turned out I had DKA (Diabetic Ketoacidosis), a life-threatening condition where the body cannot process glucose for energy so burns protein instead, which unfortunately has the side-effect of turning your blood acidic
I spent 8 days in hospital, largely due to the fact that they thought I'd had a heart attack (it turned out to be myocarditis). Sadly, that meant I was unable to run in the Stockholm Marathon that week as planned
I recall friends visiting me in hospital and telling me that they had planned to go to Stockholm and surprise me on the run! They went, of course!
After leaving hospital I took out every book I could find about diabetes from the library, and also did an Open University short course on Diabetes, because I am obsessive and need to know EVERYTHING
Four months after diagnosis I ran the Great South Run and shortly afterwards joined this newly-formed Diabetes UK support Forum - I ended up running it for 10 years and met so many wonderful people, and witnessed lives being transformed on a daily basis
I regard that as my greatest contribution in life
Diabetes is an awful condition, but it is something that is manageable, to a greater or lesser degree. The frustration for me, and many others is that the advice and support offered, particularly for Type 2, is often inadequate or just plain wrong
The support from forum members goes some way to correcting that for tens of thousands of people, so many thanks to EVERYONE who has contributed over the years (even some of the spammers, whose attempts to flog us stuff was often quite funny - I still remember the great UGG boot onslaught of 2010! 😱 
)
I spent 8 days in hospital, largely due to the fact that they thought I'd had a heart attack (it turned out to be myocarditis). Sadly, that meant I was unable to run in the Stockholm Marathon that week as planned
After leaving hospital I took out every book I could find about diabetes from the library, and also did an Open University short course on Diabetes, because I am obsessive and need to know EVERYTHING
Diabetes is an awful condition, but it is something that is manageable, to a greater or lesser degree. The frustration for me, and many others is that the advice and support offered, particularly for Type 2, is often inadequate or just plain wrong
)
