Recent Type 1 Diagnosis

[Z1997]

Hi all,

I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 24 years old a few weeks after my second covid jab at the end of last year. No one in my family have diabetes, so for me this was a bit of a shock.

Would be great to connect with anyone who is in the same boat 🙂.

 

[Lily123]

Welcome to the forum @Z1997

 

[Pumper_Sue]

Hello and welcome to the forum 🙂

 

[Elenka_HM]

Hello! I am another newbie, to the forum and to type 1. I am 25 and it was a shock for me as well. I do have a few diabetics in the family but they are type 2 and I assumed I would be as well, because I used to believe that type 1 only appears in children. How are you coping with the diagnosis?
Hope you are doing well, I find this forum very helpful 🙂

 

[rayray119]

Hi all,

I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 24 years old a few weeks after my second covid jab at the end of last year. No one in my family have diabetes, so for me this was a bit of a shock.

Would be great to connect with anyone who is in the same boat 🙂.

Welcome I'm fairly new to it myself and this forum and Facebook groups I'm on have helped me feel less alone

 

[SB2015]

Welcome to the forum @Z1997 from some one who started with T1 a lot later (aged 53) with no cases anywhere in the family as far as I knew. I think the current figures are that 30% of those diagnosed with T1 are over the age of 30.

If you want to let us know what insulins you are using that will help us in our responses To any questions that you have. There is a lot to learn very quickly at the start but it does get easier and becomes part of your new normal life.

One thing to remember is that you can never get perfect levels. We can do quite a good job taking over from our pancreas but as we can’t drip the insulin directly in when it is needed, and there are a lot of factors that impact on our glucose levels and absorption of insulin we can’t get it perfect.

There is plenty of experience to tap into on here. Just ask any questions that arise. Nothing is considered silly.

 

[francescakate]

Hello and welcome 🙂 I'm 28 and have just been diagnosed with T1 in the last month or so, my inbox is open if you ever want to chat.

 

[trophywench]

It's a shock even if it is in the family, and there are far less people with a family history than there are without, if you ask me - and you HAVE to give yourself time to get over that shock - it's almost the emotional equivalent to a death in the family, apparently. Yeah - THAT bad.

At the same time, you still have to start assimilating the necessary knowledge, to manage your own life for the rest of it - as well as any other responsibilities you happen to have - so ask, ask, ASK and get registered for the 'Learning Zone' and get working through the different modules on that.

 

[richardmillar11]

It's a shock even if it is in the family, and there are far less people with a family history than there are without, if you ask me - and you HAVE to give yourself time to get over that shock - it's almost the emotional equivalent to a death in the family, apparently. Yeah - THAT bad.

At the same time, you still have to start assimilating the necessary knowledge, to manage your own life for the rest of it - as well as any other responsibilities you happen to have - so ask, ask, ASK and get registered for the 'Learning Zone' and get working through the different modules on that.

I am glad to read your reply. When I was diagnosed I had this overwhelming sense of grief which I hadn't felt for 19 years since my Dad passed away. He was type 1 so it was there in my family but I was still so shocked that it came on at 41 years of age. 6 weeks on its getting easier but if I could get a definite diagnosis as to which type it is that might help.

 

[trophywench]

If it is of any help which I don't suppose for one minute, being realistic, that it will be there was a study some years ago about the chances of a Type 1 parent having a T1 child and it was found much more likely to happen when it's your dad, than your mum with T1 originally.

I also seem to recall there was quite a discussion about it on here at the time, when @Northerner was Admin.

 

[richardmillar11]

If it is of any help which I don't suppose for one minute, being realistic, that it will be there was a study some years ago about the chances of a Type 1 parent having a T1 child and it was found much more likely to happen when it's your dad, than your mum with T1 originally.

I also seem to recall there was quite a discussion about it on here at the time, when @Northerner was Admin.

There you go. I was always told it was more likely if it was the mother but you know its something that had went completely out of my head. When they told me I was in the pre diabetic range it didn't really bother cause I just thought o well type 2 diet exercise and thats it sorted but not so.

 

[Northerner]

I am glad to read your reply. When I was diagnosed I had this overwhelming sense of grief which I hadn't felt for 19 years since my Dad passed away. He was type 1 so it was there in my family but I was still so shocked that it came on at 41 years of age. 6 weeks on its getting easier but if I could get a definite diagnosis as to which type it is that might help.

It can happen at any age - I was diagnosed aged 49, the week I was due to run a marathon, so you can probably imagine my shock 😱 I went from feeling ready to run 26 miles to feeling everything was falling apart Thankfully, I was able to teach myself how to manage it well and nearly 14 years later I am doing well 🙂 It hasn't impacted my general health greatly, except probably for the better, as I have been much more aware of my health and looking after myself than I might otherwise have been - so there are some positives! 🙂 I was probably in a similar position to you, in that I had symptoms for months prior to my official diagnosis, but I put them down to other things. Everything came to a head when I caught a virus and it simply overwhelmed my body's ability to cope any longer and I ended up in hospital. From reading others' experiences over the years it does often appear to be a much slower and more gradual onset the older you are, which can make it difficult to get a definite diagnosis sometimes, although there are tests that they can do.

Wishing you well, let us know if you have any questions along your journey 🙂

 

[richardmillar11]

It can happen at any age - I was diagnosed aged 49, the week I was due to run a marathon, so you can probably imagine my shock 😱 I went from feeling ready to run 26 miles to feeling everything was falling apart Thankfully, I was able to teach myself how to manage it well and nearly 14 years later I am doing well 🙂 It hasn't impacted my general health greatly, except probably for the better, as I have been much more aware of my health and looking after myself than I might otherwise have been - so there are some positives! 🙂 I was probably in a similar position to you, in that I had symptoms for months prior to my official diagnosis, but I put them down to other things. Everything came to a head when I caught a virus and it simply overwhelmed my body's ability to cope any longer and I ended up in hospital. From reading others' experiences over the years it does often appear to be a much slower and more gradual onset the older you are, which can make it difficult to get a definite diagnosis sometimes, although there are tests that they can do.

Wishing you well, let us know if you have any questions along your journey 🙂

Thanks for the comment. Yes I can imagine how you felt. And yes today I can agree with you that there a lot of positives that have come out of this but some days I just can't see it like that. I think at the min its the not knowing. Just got blood results this morning everything is fine although the Hba1c hasn't budged and I was hoping it would be down a bit more but the positive is that it hasn't went up. I am sure I will have lots of questions along the way and thanks for your interest in my journey. The forum has really helped although I am finding that from time to time I need Diabetic free days! as there are days it consumes my every thought.

 

[Northerner]

Thanks for the comment. Yes I can imagine how you felt. And yes today I can agree with you that there a lot of positives that have come out of this but some days I just can't see it like that. I think at the min its the not knowing. Just got blood results this morning everything is fine although the Hba1c hasn't budged and I was hoping it would be down a bit more but the positive is that it hasn't went up. I am sure I will have lots of questions along the way and thanks for your interest in my journey. The forum has really helped although I am finding that from time to time I need Diabetic free days! as there are days it consumes my every thought.

It's only natural for it to be on your mind a lot of the time, and a very good idea to take some time just to do the basics and get on with other things 🙂 Very early days for you as yet - it does become easier, and things have improved considerably even in the relatively short time since I was diagnosed - the tech is much better, as is the knowledge available, particularly here on the forum when people can share all manner of experiences - if you need to know something or something is worrying or confusing you, someone is bound to be able (and willing!) to help 🙂 It's a very well run and well-moderated forum (I know because I ran it for 10 years 😱 ) It was in its infancy when I was diagnosed but took off quickly because there was a real need for it. There are other forums, but I think this is one of the safest, friendliest and most reliable - obviously I'm biased! 🙂

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @Z1997

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. I think probably the majority of T1s on the forum have no known other cases in the family - though there does seem to be an increased risk if you have a close family relative who has it.

It comes out of the blue for most of us I think, and develops over several months as gradually the immune system kills off beta cells in the pancreas, until eventually there aren’t enough to balance the body’s blood glucose levels and you begin to exhibit symptoms (the 4Ts of tired, thirsty, toilet, thinner). I suspect the proximity to your covid jab is a bit of a red herring and only a coincidence, personally. Though there are some reports of a slight increased risk if you have had actual covid.

How are you finding things?

Which insulin(s) are you using?

 

[rayray119]

I was also diagnosed a week a bit after having covid vaccine but I suspect it was coming on before that.

 

[Bloden]

Welcome newbies. 🙂 I was dx at 41 with no family history - sorry to hear about your diagnoses, but well done for finding this forum. I’ve learned so much here. I hope you find it helpful too.