VicMar
New Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Hi All,
I've only just joined the forum, so I haven't read every thread, nor all the messages on this thread, so excuse me if I tread on anyone's toes.
I was diagnosed IDDM ( Insulin Dependant Diabetes Militus - that's what Type 1 used to be called) when I was 9 years old. I'm now approaching 71 so I reckon I might have something to contribute to the forums. I don't claim to know much about diabetes in other people, but I reckon I'm pretty expert about my own.
Back then (1955) Diabetes treatment was a bit primitive. There were no finger-prick BM tests, you had to test your urine with a special kit. I remember the reagent tablet (which identified the sugar content) got very hot when added to the urine so if you didn't remember to put the test tube back into it's holder quick enough you got burnt fingers.
Insulin needed to be loaded into glass syringes, which in turn had to be boiled. Those burnt fingers were back again.
If I had to go into hospital, which was a fairly common happening whilst they tried to get a growing lad's insulin doses correct, the IV stuff was in glass bottles too. The needles which went into your arm were metal, so you couldn't bend your arm - it was taped to a solid wooden board to stop that.
Between the ages of 9 and 15 (when I started work), I probably spent about 25% of my life in the children's hospital. That % may not be entirely true but my memory sometimes plays tricks since my stroke (@ age 53).
I've read several posts here where Type 1's have expressed non-diabetic's knowledge of diabetes to be very inaccurate and I can vouch for the truth in that statement. The boring part is having to explain what diabetes really means to those who 'knowledgeably' say " You just mustn't eat sugar". Oh, if only eh?
Some messages have said that diabetes makes other illnesses worse. That was certainly true when I caught Chicken Pox. I was covered everywhere with blisters - and I mean everywhere. Even my private little places weren't spared. Consequently I have scars all over the place. They are about the size of drops of water and when asked what they were if I had my shirt off I have been known to say I'd been peppered with a shotgun. Of course that then had to be followed by the real reason which was usually met with "I've never seen that many Chicken Pox scars before".
Up to the age of 15 I went either hypo or hyper so badly that I was away from school and in Hospital several times every year. I missed taking the eleven plus exam and was put into the lowest class when I went to senior school. It didn't take long to get me moved from the 'F' stream up to 'B'. I never went anywhere without my Skells tin full of Dextrose Tablets. I still carry a packet of Dextrose tablets today when I leave the house.
Being diabetic didn't stop me getting the same discipline as the other lads in my class, but somehow I used to get a 'bad enough to send me home' hypo just before woodwork for a few weeks just after I was strapped for cutting myself on a chisel. I thought first aid should have come before discipline. Can stress cause a hypo? You bet!
My last year at school was uneventful except for being kept in hospital for 3 weeks when my appendix burst and as soon as I went back to school, riding my bike into a roadworks ditch and breaking my arm.
Starting work in 1961 when there was virtually full employment meant I could move from job to job pretty much as I felt like. I remember one time when I left a job in the morning and found myself another job before I got home that evening. Choosing whether to tell my employers about my diabetes depended on the job.
Building labourer - Don't tell them 'cos they won't employ you. Office and shop work - tell 'em and so on. Bus Conductor - No, Bus Driver (different firm) - Yes otherwise insurance complications.
Health wise I wasn't too bad until I contracted Driver's disease (Pilonidal Sinus) in 1973. The last thing a driver needs is an abscess at the base of the spine. I needed Laser treatment for Retinopathy in 1974 and then I developed Hydradenitis and over the next 10 years had multiple surgeries trying to eradicate it. Unfortunately it still flares up periodically to this today.
Things really took a downward trend when in 1988 Peripheral Neuropathy struck. I had to stop Karate because without the control of the muscles in my feet and lower legs my balance disappeared. I spent more time on the dojo floor than standing up. I couldn't continue to play Guitar because my hands wouldn't do what my brain told them to do. By the end of 1989 it was so bad I was medically retired from my HEO post at BT.
Once I stopped keeping as fit as I had until then, my health really suffered. I developed COPD, had my Gall Bladder removed and topped all that by having a brain-stem stroke in 1999 followed very soon by Autonomic Neuropathy.
Some more Laser treatment and a Colostomy followed in 2000. With Autonomic Neuropathy all control of my digestive tract disappeared. It's quite embarrassing to be in a Supermarket or Bank queue when the final part of your digestive tract functions of it's own accord. I'll leave the details to your imagination.
In 2001 My Doctor said it wasn't surprising that I was clinically depressed.
2007 Found me with an ulcerated stomach and 2009 saw my bones start to lose their strength. I forgot to mention the unsuccessful operation on my spine for my Sciatica.
2012 I developed Glaucoma in both eyes and finally just to top it all in 2015 I was diagnosed with CML (a form of Leukaemia). I asked my Doctor if it was fatal and he replied, "You won't live long enough for that to kill you". Kiwi Doctors do have a strange sense of humour.
I've left out some of the more boring stuff, but I hope none of you readers feel like topping yourselves after this lot.
There are 2 things which I consider most important for diabetes sufferers:
1. Don't be a Diabetic, be a person who has diabetes. You control it, not it you.
2. Make sure your sense of humour remains intact. Without it diabetes is a rotten companion.
Cheers,
Vic
I've only just joined the forum, so I haven't read every thread, nor all the messages on this thread, so excuse me if I tread on anyone's toes.
I was diagnosed IDDM ( Insulin Dependant Diabetes Militus - that's what Type 1 used to be called) when I was 9 years old. I'm now approaching 71 so I reckon I might have something to contribute to the forums. I don't claim to know much about diabetes in other people, but I reckon I'm pretty expert about my own.
Back then (1955) Diabetes treatment was a bit primitive. There were no finger-prick BM tests, you had to test your urine with a special kit. I remember the reagent tablet (which identified the sugar content) got very hot when added to the urine so if you didn't remember to put the test tube back into it's holder quick enough you got burnt fingers.
Insulin needed to be loaded into glass syringes, which in turn had to be boiled. Those burnt fingers were back again.
If I had to go into hospital, which was a fairly common happening whilst they tried to get a growing lad's insulin doses correct, the IV stuff was in glass bottles too. The needles which went into your arm were metal, so you couldn't bend your arm - it was taped to a solid wooden board to stop that.
Between the ages of 9 and 15 (when I started work), I probably spent about 25% of my life in the children's hospital. That % may not be entirely true but my memory sometimes plays tricks since my stroke (@ age 53).
I've read several posts here where Type 1's have expressed non-diabetic's knowledge of diabetes to be very inaccurate and I can vouch for the truth in that statement. The boring part is having to explain what diabetes really means to those who 'knowledgeably' say " You just mustn't eat sugar". Oh, if only eh?
Some messages have said that diabetes makes other illnesses worse. That was certainly true when I caught Chicken Pox. I was covered everywhere with blisters - and I mean everywhere. Even my private little places weren't spared. Consequently I have scars all over the place. They are about the size of drops of water and when asked what they were if I had my shirt off I have been known to say I'd been peppered with a shotgun. Of course that then had to be followed by the real reason which was usually met with "I've never seen that many Chicken Pox scars before".
Up to the age of 15 I went either hypo or hyper so badly that I was away from school and in Hospital several times every year. I missed taking the eleven plus exam and was put into the lowest class when I went to senior school. It didn't take long to get me moved from the 'F' stream up to 'B'. I never went anywhere without my Skells tin full of Dextrose Tablets. I still carry a packet of Dextrose tablets today when I leave the house.
Being diabetic didn't stop me getting the same discipline as the other lads in my class, but somehow I used to get a 'bad enough to send me home' hypo just before woodwork for a few weeks just after I was strapped for cutting myself on a chisel. I thought first aid should have come before discipline. Can stress cause a hypo? You bet!
My last year at school was uneventful except for being kept in hospital for 3 weeks when my appendix burst and as soon as I went back to school, riding my bike into a roadworks ditch and breaking my arm.
Starting work in 1961 when there was virtually full employment meant I could move from job to job pretty much as I felt like. I remember one time when I left a job in the morning and found myself another job before I got home that evening. Choosing whether to tell my employers about my diabetes depended on the job.
Building labourer - Don't tell them 'cos they won't employ you. Office and shop work - tell 'em and so on. Bus Conductor - No, Bus Driver (different firm) - Yes otherwise insurance complications.
Health wise I wasn't too bad until I contracted Driver's disease (Pilonidal Sinus) in 1973. The last thing a driver needs is an abscess at the base of the spine. I needed Laser treatment for Retinopathy in 1974 and then I developed Hydradenitis and over the next 10 years had multiple surgeries trying to eradicate it. Unfortunately it still flares up periodically to this today.
Things really took a downward trend when in 1988 Peripheral Neuropathy struck. I had to stop Karate because without the control of the muscles in my feet and lower legs my balance disappeared. I spent more time on the dojo floor than standing up. I couldn't continue to play Guitar because my hands wouldn't do what my brain told them to do. By the end of 1989 it was so bad I was medically retired from my HEO post at BT.
Once I stopped keeping as fit as I had until then, my health really suffered. I developed COPD, had my Gall Bladder removed and topped all that by having a brain-stem stroke in 1999 followed very soon by Autonomic Neuropathy.
Some more Laser treatment and a Colostomy followed in 2000. With Autonomic Neuropathy all control of my digestive tract disappeared. It's quite embarrassing to be in a Supermarket or Bank queue when the final part of your digestive tract functions of it's own accord. I'll leave the details to your imagination.
In 2001 My Doctor said it wasn't surprising that I was clinically depressed.
2007 Found me with an ulcerated stomach and 2009 saw my bones start to lose their strength. I forgot to mention the unsuccessful operation on my spine for my Sciatica.
2012 I developed Glaucoma in both eyes and finally just to top it all in 2015 I was diagnosed with CML (a form of Leukaemia). I asked my Doctor if it was fatal and he replied, "You won't live long enough for that to kill you". Kiwi Doctors do have a strange sense of humour.
I've left out some of the more boring stuff, but I hope none of you readers feel like topping yourselves after this lot.
There are 2 things which I consider most important for diabetes sufferers:
1. Don't be a Diabetic, be a person who has diabetes. You control it, not it you.
2. Make sure your sense of humour remains intact. Without it diabetes is a rotten companion.
Cheers,
Vic
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