Greetings and Salutations

[scratch101]

Ya know, for being a younger guy who's been on forums for everything from Video Games, to Outdoors/Hiking, to Car repair, I have NO idea why I've never signed on to a Diabetes forum! About time I did, since 'the sugar' has been my one constant for the last 20-odd years!

Ok so what to say, I'm a Type 1, completely insulin depandant, currently on Humalog through a Paradigm 522 pump and trying to use the CGM system (oh I could write a long mad post about this).

Way back when I was a kid just starting high school I got a bit ill, and seemed to stay ill for a few months. Didn't think much of it, but I just got so tired easily, and started to really have to go pretty frequently. Told my father about this and he took me to a walk-in clinic where they said I have Mono and sent me home (my father is a doctor BTW). So a week later I go visit my mother, and that night I could barely keep anything down, not even water. I didn't wake up the next morning, later on I recalled hallucinating, and was told that my mother came in and saw me in bed with my shirt off, and freaked. I was a strapping young guy, 6' 175lbs and was down to 120lbs, I was told I looked like a skeleton and was unresponsive. Woke up in the hospital, was told later my sugar peaked at 998 (couldn't break 1k!!), and oh by the way you are Diabetic! Yay! I also was now pretty blind. The excessive sugar in my body messed up my eyes pretty badly, almost blind in one eye but the other one is still decent.

Ever since I've been just chuggin along trying to abide.

Boy I have a LOT of stuff to post about... must do a good deal of reading old posts on here!

[Olidus]

Scratch101 - Welcome.
You are in the right place now not only to read about other peopels stories but to share your own.

How well has your control been as of late?
What are you A1Cs like?

Good to have you on the DF!
Cheers~

[scratch101]

Let's see, my A1Cs have been slowly getting higher... prior to using this pump I was on Humalog and PM Lantus, causing more hypo's in a day than I'd want BUT my A1Cs were low, 5.4 at the lowest. After getting the pump my A1Cs went up from 5.6 to 6.7 at my next 3mo visit, but my hypo's were decreased as well. Problem being, my hyper's were up.

Just feels like the bolus and basal can't keep up with my metabolism. Trying to get my doctor to adjust things, but it's more of a let's change this and wait 6 months.

So like everything else, it's a struggle.

Fun things I learned after my initial Dx, the doctors theorized that I am one of the cases where I caught a Flu virus that had a protien signature close to my beta cells and that triggered the auto-immune attack. No way to know, but hey, guess I'm just lucky! :)

[morrisma]

Scratch,
Welcome. That flu thing was how I 'caught' my version of diabetes. Would have likely ended up with a story closer to yours except for an old doc I was seeing to get an allergy shot. He asked if I had any issues and I mentioned peeing - a lot. One dipstick and one blood test later and it was all signed & sealed.

Love my pump BTW. What seems to be the prob with the cgms?
Mike

[Gordonm]

Welcome. I am on the 522 pump also. One thing that you said that bothers me is you said "Trying to get my doctor to adjust things, but it's more of a let's change this and wait 6 months". If you are waiting for your Dr. to make changes you will never get this under control. I change my settings quite often for different seasons and different activities and so on. The DR. sees you for a few minutes and goes over your results. How can he know everything that is going on. You have to take control of this. Do it under the Dr. supervision, but I see to many people not adjusting their own insulin. You have to be your own Dr. sometimes and learn all you can and what affects you in different ways. Adjust accordingly. I have ranged from a 5.6 to a 6.4 for the last 10 years on MDI and for the last 15 months on the pump. It is a challenge and a daily one at that. Keep at it and be very deligent about it.

[tanyatype1]

Welcome to DF Scratch!

[scratch101]

What seems to be the prob with the cgms?

So far it's been every problem... I've just had a new transmitter sent out to me, it seems like it is working better. This morning for example I've had low isig's near 5, and now down to 1.3 with the Bad Sensor, Cal Error, and Sensor Error trifecta. I also seem to bleed alot with the sensor, pulling out the needle always seems like I'm tapping an oil reserve, my wife tends to get white when she sees this.

I'm waiting for a new batch of sensors that are hopefully from a new lot to try out.

Beyond that, my skin reacts badly to having anything taped over the transmitter/sensor, after 3-6 days the area is very red and has at times bled when pulling off the occlusive dressing. I've tried band-aids, medical tapes, nothing seems to work to well.

...not sure about others but MAN these sensors itch! I can almost feel that little copper strip inside moving around.

[mike-munich]

Yo Scratch, welcome to DF ! You'll like this place.:cool:

I'm a 38 year T1 vet (man, that sounds old), so if you have any questions, shoot them ! I'm sure that you'll get some useful info from the folks here.

Out,
Mike

[kgm0612]

Hi Scratch & Welcome to the forum. Glad you found us and decided to join!

Karen

[gettingby]

Hi Scratch and Welcome. T1 here for 23 years and a Cozmo pumper since Oct. 2007. At first, I was like you, waiting for my endo to help me make adjustments. I got tired of the lows, highs, and the feelings of c r a p. Now, with the help of my friends here, I am making changes on my own. You'll get there. :)
My story is similar to yours except that I had been diagnosed a T1 and put on pills (family GP). Went for a whole year out of control. Went from 104 lbs to 89 lbs. Ended up in DKA and coma but things are so much better now.
Hang in there and we will all help where we can. :)