How did you find out you had diabetes?

[mav1989]

Well, it was the 4th of July, 2007, and we were having a pool party to celebrate Independence Day. So I was resting at the edge of the pool feeling awful and drinking soda:eek: At around 7pm, I told my parents how I was feeling and I was also vomiting; so we went to the ER and I told them what I was feeling and they were like: "those are the symptoms of diabetes." I was so confused and I felt so weird, its like my brain wasn't working. So, they test my BG and its 412!! Yeah, so they draw blood from my arm and while they're doing that I pass out. Next thing I know I'm in the ICU with tubes and machines everywhere!! I had so many things hooked up to me. This..that..monitor...blood pressure...I was like, what the ****! I can't even move! So I stayed up the entire night watching Saved by the Bell and The Cosby Show. They were testing my BG like every 15-20 minutes and my fingers hurt like ****!! Then in the morning at around 8am the nurse walks in...what a surprise, its Pat, that lives next door to me, I didn't even know she was a nurse!

Gosh, thinking back now, I was so dazed, I never asked any questions for like 3 days, I didn't even know why I was getting so many shots (insulin). Then I freaked out..."wait, you want me to give myself a shot!!??":eek:

Well in the end, I was there exactly 7 days.

It's funny, when I was in the waiting room I was drinking sugary mountain dew, what a killer!

Well anyway, feel free to share you story.

[mell1682]

I was 5 so a lot of this is fuzzy to me. I know, because my mother told me, that I had symptoms of diabetes for months leading to my dx. I was eating HUGE amounts of food and drinking like it was going out of style and my mom could not get the military doctors to take her seriously. She repeatedly bought me in and they turned her away and finally told her that if she kept taking me in for nothing they were going to call social services on her. One night, about a month after I turned 5 I drank an entire gallon of milk. I remember this clearly. Then I puked my guts out. My mom rushed me to the ER and screamed at them to help me. I was barely conscious and she says I asked her what color my eyes were a couple of times. They never told my mom what was going on. I had a blood sugar of 1810...I should've been dead. I was put in the ICU and my poor mom...either they never explained it to her right or didn't tell her at all but she was giving me Pepsi and they came and screamed at her and asked her if she wanted to kill me.

I must say, my daughter is almost 5 now and I'm so paranoid and watching for every little thing. Growth spurts are the worst for my diabetic imagination.

[SueM]

Diagnosed aged 4 1/2. My Mum who is a nurse realized straight away I had diabetes. She saw me reaching for the cold water tap and drinking water none stop. She took me down to the GP who told her not to be so silly etc. When Mum insisted he tested a urine sample, he then had to eat humble pie. He closed the surgey and drove Mum and I to the hospital. The rest is history. This happened back in 1965.

[shutterbug]

Not a big shocker to me. I was in denial for 2-3 years. So when I got diagnosed during my physical, it was not shocking but frustrating. I also have a strong family history of t2.

[steamfan261]

I was an airline pilot, fairly senior, holding Captain on the A-300 Airbus. Nice schedule, nice life, running about 15 miles/week. Six foot, 2 inches, weighed 185. Felt pretty good. Tired, thirsty a lot. I attributed the thirst to the dry air on the airplane (typical humidity in an airliner is about 15% or less).

Went in for my 6 month flight physical. Flight surgeon said, "Say there, Captain, did you know you're a diabetic?"

I responded, "Uh...no"

He said, "Well great, you're fired, and you need to see your family doctor."

Note that this was a physical repeated every six months. So on February 1, I wasn't a diabetic and on August 1 I was. There's no question whatsoever that I'm a Type II, as well.

:eek:

[Psycho Penguin]

I "knew" I had it for ages since I had all the symptoms (peeing a lot, thristy all the time, etc.) but I figured I did not have insurance and could not afford the tests, so I just gutted it out and hoped it'd go away like an idiot. Yep, that's genius me here.

February 12, 2008. I have VERY hard time breathing. I almost die, and since I have no phone I cannot get to a hospital. Thankfully, my stepdad came home and he RUSHED me to the ER, where my blood sugar was 700 something and I was in diabetic ketoacidosis.

I was diagnosed that night and have been almost fine ever since.

[art]

Laying flat on my back in the hospital.
Blocked prostate in total kidney failure and the Doc telling my wife I was 50/50 to make the night.
They had pumped 8 liters of urine out of me.
"Oh bye the way you're diabetic" Your Blood sugar is 550 and your A1C is 15.5.

Didn't seem so bad at the time.

Art

[davef]

I was DX'ed at the end of November last year. I did have an inkling that it was coming but it was still a shock.

It started with the thrist/frequent urination, then I noticed that my eyesight was getting worse, then I got the mother and father of UTI's. So when I went to locum doctor for UTI he put me in antibiotic and told me to see my own doctor for diabetes tests the following week, then I went to optician and she said, go see your doctor immediately. So went to my Doctor, he listened, did a finger prick test (342) drew blood but said that there was little doubt and I was to see him two days later (with my wife), he called me that evening at home and said he wanted to see me the following day as he had just got blood results from lab and my FBG had come back as 378.

[yannah]

I am not sure, i was talking to my docotr about toenail fungus.
I mentioned I took the drug Zyprexa. he asked about signs of diabetes. I said I had none but I had trouble with diarreah.
he did a BG test and it was 330.

[notme]

Was sick for about two weeks with what I thought was some kind of flu. I had lost about 30 pounds in a month and my eyes were blurry. I went to a opthamologist who knew there was something wrong.

I made an appointment with my doctor because after another week, I still had flu like symptoms. Was peeing tons and drinking tons. I was so weak, I could barely walk into the doctors office. They tested my blood sugar and it wouldn't register on their meter. The stupid doctor said I had diabetes and sent me home with glucophage and told me to take the first one the next morning. I did and felt just as bad. I went two more days and still felt terrible so called the doctor again on Thursday. My doctor (thank God) was on vacation and I saw his replacement. He tried to do a blood test and my veins had collapsed. Finger stick still read HI. He sent me to the hospital.

After arriving at the hospital it was a whirlwind and I really don't remember much for about three days. Finally, I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and they taught me how to take shots.

I was in the hospital for seven days and came home with a blood sugar in the 200's. That is where I usually stayed or higher for 10 years until they came out with fast acting insulin and told me about carb counting. My life became mine again when I was put on Lantus and humalog and discovered how to count carbs and adjust.

With a pump, I felt freedom for the first time in 16 years. I am on year 22 now. I was diagnosed in Oct.

[GretchO]

I was working for a biotech company...there were tons of them in the area and often employees volunteered for clinical trials being run at other companies. I signed up to volunteer for a Phase I trial...almost all Phase I trials exclude diabetics, so a fasting blood sugar is one of the first tests they run. Mine came out in the 160s...the nurse told me I probably had diabetes but would check again for me the next morning. That time it was in the 140s and she told me to see a doc ASAP.

But because I couldn't believe that it was possible...I was 30, very active and in good shape...I of course didn't see a doctor right away. A couple of months of peeing every 5 minutes, drinking gallons of water and diet soda (thank God I was at least drinking diet at that point) and losing 20 pounds I finally saw a doctor and was initially diagnosed as Type 2. Did the low carb, exercise, and oral meds (gliburide) thing but after about two weeks and no improvement in my BSs I started insulin and was rediagnosed as Type 1. No idea what my initial A1C was...

But what a difference when I started on insulin. I felt like a human being again...as many here have said you don't realize exactly how krappy you'd been feeling until you feel normal again.

[techgirl12]

My first systems were the thirsty cravings and sweet cravings.

previously I would be drinking 1 water bottle A DAY at school. I was just never a big water drinker.
so then I started refilling the bottles, drinking 2-3 a day. Finally I bought a hard plastic water bottle, twice the size, and I was drinking 7 or 8 within 7 hours. It was insane. I was also drinking cranberry juice at home (3 bottles a week). I wanted fruit (mom thought that was odd haha) and I was eating lollipops, smarties, and popsicles. Plus I was going to the bathroom sooo much! I try to avoid the school bathrooms, but I couldn't now.
I started questioning what was wrong with me when I would be at work (i worked 4.5 hour shifts) and I had to use the bathroom. Usually I could just use the bathroom before and then wait until after. But now I was so thirsty I had to drink 2-3 bottles of water and ask someone to cover my shift while I used the restroom.

My mom finally noticed that I was drinking non-stop and asked if there was anything else that I had noticed. I didn't mention anything. I asked why and she said because drinking a lot and using the bathroom a lot are signs of diabetes. I was like oh... and we continued with our lives. I started researching diabetes on webmd.com, as did my mom, and we started "noticing" other systems. I had lost 8 lbs my vision was so blurry that I could hardly drive or see the board at school. But we figured now we were just being paranoid.

I had a scheduled doctor appointment about a week in a half later. (i was diagnosed as anemic in feb. and this was my 3 month followup). We brought up the systems to my doctor. He looked concerned and sent me to the lab for bloodwork. He told me to drink water (i was like pshh not difficult) and to avoid sweets (SO DIFFICULT).
I went to school the next day, and I was called to the office. It was a message to call my mom... so I did. She told me I had to go home because I would be going to the doctor in the afternoon. I asked why and that was when I found out for sure about my diabetes. I started crying went home and the next 5 days were class and after class of information overload!

today... its been exactly 5 months.

[mav1989]

Yeah, now thinking back I remember I would drink water all day, along with all the juice in the house. It's kinda like a weird cycle; high bg, drink a gallon of juice which = an even higher bg, and you keep going and going.

[Cormac_Doyle]

I was diagnosed as a routine part of a Job medical pre-screening ... but I had been aware that "something" was wrong prior to that ... I was working as a security guard while I studied for my finals, and would drink 2 or 3 2-litre bottles of what my kids call "real" coke every shift (and an almost continuous supply of tea or fruitjuice when I was at home).

Also had continuous, agonizing headaches, and spent more time in the loo than I did at my desk ...

Should have gotten it checked out sooner ... but it seems that the one thing we are all good at is provarication!

[poodlebone]

I was 19, going to school full time and working whenever I wasn't in school. In March 1987 I was feeling a little tired but otherwise felt fine. I dropped my hardest class to give myself a break. Continued to feel run down but otherwise I was functioning okay. By early April I was drinking & peeing more but didn't really think much of it. I kept forcing myself to keep up with my daily routine but by the middle of April I knew something was wrong, and I ignored it (no insurance). I stopped going to work and had a lot of trouble with school. Had to leave during every class to pee and spent a lot of time at the water fountain. I eventually stopped going to school and all I could do was lay down, drink & pee. It go so bad I was sleeping on the bathroom floor because I wasn't able to keep walking back & forth from my bedroom. On a Friday my mother insisted I make a doctor's appointment, which I got for the following Monday. That weekend was **** and I was hoping I would just die already.

My father took me to my appointment and I could barely make it to and from the car. The doctor asked me why I was there, I told him how I had been feeling, he asked me to pee in a cup. He then came back in the room and told me I had diabetes, that I had to go to the ER right away without stopping anywhere for anything. We did stop by my mom's job, though. I was admitted, hooked up to all sorts of IVs and monitors and spent 8 days in the hospital.

I had no clue what was going on and what it meant. I had heard of diabetes but didn't really know what it was, other than you can't eat sugar. No history at all in my family.

[CookD]

I was feeling run down, then I was feeling worse. I got several infections and knew I should go to the doctor but just didn't have the energy. Thirst was unbearable. When I was sleeping for 20 hours a day and couldn't move off the couch I knew I would die if I didn't go to the doctor that day: May 1, 2007. Finger stick at the office was 405 and knowing what I know now am surprised that he didn't send me to the hospital.

[sable_032592]

well, back in 1992, march 23rd (monday), my oldest sister had just left to return to germany (where she lived with her husband at the time, military)... i was supposed to be in school, i was 15 years old, and for the 2 months she (my sister) was visiting us with her 3 month old daughter and i was constantly skipping school, my parents and my other sister thought i just didn't like school and i was lazy, i was always sleeping and drink and peeing...

anyway, my parents were out all day monday so they didn't know that i skipped school, i did the same on tuesday (24th), and my parents were out again that day, i was home again when the school called to ask what was going on, but since we had an answering machine, i just deleted the message and never said a thing to my family...

up until then, i never even thought i was diabetic... i had a massive rash between my legs, in a feminine area :o i even had burn marks on my inner thighs from the acetone i was having in my urine... i had thought that i had a yeast infection, which one of my sisters told me was caused by not being clean, so i didn't tell anyone what i had...

diabetes to me, at that point, was what my father's mother had (she's 92 now, T2), and that's all i knew about diabetes, but at that time, the word never entered my mind...

i skipped school again on the 25th of march, and i thought my parents would be out all day again, but they came home around 11am, i was on the couch in the living room with my bottle of coke ( :eek: ) and laying down because i was so tired... my mother came in and said "what are you doing home?" so i said "i can't walk, it hurts between my legs." so she lifted my pjs (nightshirt) and she saw all this yuk stuff (i won't go into detail, it's kinda gross), she told my dad to come and see and they said "we're going to the clinic" (we have an er in there)...

i waited about an hour to see a doctor, i already had a gp and an endo because i have hypothyroidism, so i had a medical file there... the er doc took a look at my rash/infection and he said it's probably a yeast infection, then he left to check my file... he came back and said it could also be diabetes... he asked how i was feeling, other symptoms, etc... then he asked why my sugar levels were so high (in my file) and nothing was ever done about it...

i had no idea it was something serious because my endo said high bs is normal for someone who is overweight and told me not to worry...

at this point, the er doc told me to wait in the waiting room and he called my gp out (they work in the same building, local clinic)... the er doc chewed my gp out right in front of other patients, wanting to know why he never did anything about this... it was my gp's fault since he wasn't the one ordering the blood tests, but if he had looked over my file when i went to see him for regular stuff, he might have noticed...

i was sent to the hospital the same day and was in there for 10 days... i started on humulin r 16 @ 9am & 16 @ 9pm, humulin n 20 @ 9am @ 9pm... which i was later told was not right but that's not important right now...

i was so scared by what my sister said about yeast infections that when i found out it could be that or diabetes, i was thinking in my head that i hope it's diabetes... i was so traumatized by what my sister had told me, which i now know was not true, that i actually wanted it to be diabetes and not a simple yeast infection...

while i was at the hospital, alone in my bed, i was thinking that i had caused this by what i was thinking earlier that day... (i'm all powerful, i can control the world... boy was i full of it LOL)...

all i had on my at the time of my admission into the hospital was my walkman (man i feel old), so i listened to an elton john marathon a radio station was doing for his 45th birthday (which was march 25th, 1992 - the day i was diagnosed)...

well, that's it for me, i had no problems adjusting to injecting myself, but i was angry at the world for having diabetes...

forgot to add my bs level at admission - 42mmol/L / 756mg/dL

[SuzySushi]

I don't have diabetes -- my 12 y.o. daughter does. I should add that my late husband had Type 1 diabetes, so we were already very familiar with the symptoms. Funny thing is, DD was genetically tested when she was 2, and the tests didn't show any markers...

Just before she turned 9 years old, I was driving her to school one morning... she'd eaten her usual breakfast (Cheerios, banana & a glass of milk)... when she opened and started drinking a bottle of water as soon as she got into the car.

Over the past couple of weeks, she'd also had several bedwetting incidents which I (putting the cart before the horse) had ascribed to her having too much to drink before going to bed.

But when she started to drink the bottle of water in the car, all my antennae went up. "Are you still thirsty after your milk at breakfast?" I asked.

Yes.

"Are you always thirsty?"

Yes.

"Are you thirsty even after having something to drink?"

Yes.

I immediately turned the car around, drove home, and got my husband to test her blood sugar with his meter. (She fainted, out of fear.) High 200's.

I called our doctor at Kaiser, who said to bring her in immediately. They ran a drawn blood test and confirmed our diagnosis. They called the hospital and told us to drive her over there immediately -- no stopping back home for pajamas or anything.

She was hospitalized for 2 days, during which they ran a full battery of tests (yes, it's Type 1), taught her how to test her blood sugar, and taught me how to give her insulin injections.

[UpNorth]

Started noticing some of the classical symtoms a few weeks before i was diagnosed. Thought it would go away but it didn't, it just got worse and worse, i was drinking as if i had been out in the middle of nowhere for weeks without water, and peeing as if my bladder was directly connected to the water tap. Then on october 14th 2004 i went to see a doctor about it, i knew i was probably diabetic. And sure enough, i had a fasting blood sugar in the 20's mmol/l. Had my first insulin injection minutes later, there was never really any doubt which type of diabetes i had gotten since it all came so fast, but bloodwork sent to the lab also confirmed T1.

Tomorrow i'm going to have cake:T

[Eviltwinkristy]

At a cheerleading competition in January of 2000. I was 17. We were all out to dinner and my mom noticed I was drinking A LOT. She recognized the symptoms because her Uncle had Type 1 and her mother used to keep an eye out for the symptoms and test them. So when we got home I was in my High school cheerleading uniform and was diagnosed by my general practitioner with a BS of 620. It is a day you will never forget. I realized then that was why I was craving juice all the time and I was always hungry. I couldn't see the chalkboard at school but thought it was from the antibiotics that I was on. I have a fraternal twin sister that isn't diabetic either.

I think I was diabetic for about 6-9 months prior to that. I was just so active that it sort of kept me feeling "ok". I would go running at 4:30am before high school and the days that I didn't, I felt horrible.

Right after I started taking insulin I gained 30 pounds in 2 weeks, then I really felt horrible.
Did anyone else gain a bunch of weight when diagnosed?

[EeyoreButterfly]

I put the whole story in a thread on the prediabetes forum, but essentially, I went to see a doctor for sudden episodes of hypos. They did a finger stick (three hours after eating) which was 152. I was given a meter that day and told to test four times a day, I also had all the blood work done, and then the next week I met with the GP and the dietician. I was told it is officially prediabetes, although I am a bit concerned because this past week I have had a few readings at or over 200. I was diagnosed in September. The hypos have been going for over a year and I had previously sought help for it but the doc at our university's health center really belittled me, didn't do a single test, and said don't eat sugar.

My mom wants me to see a family friend who is an endo in my hometown. I tried calling to see if I could get an appointment but the rather snarky receptionist said they only take doctor's referrals. If I continue to have post meal reading over 200 I am going to call my family doctor and suck it up and make the two hour drive to my hometown. We'll ask her then to refer me to our friend if there are still issues. I'm hoping it doesn't come to that but I'm starting to lose confidence.

[bella1974uk]

I was diagnosed in 1984...when I was 10.
I started to lose a lot of weight and stopped eating. Because of this AND my constant thirst my mum immediately suspected diabetes (as both my grandmothers had it). I remember us driving to the local hospital, me begging my mum to stop the car so that I could drink out of the windscreen squirters....which of course she didn't!:D
Got to the hospital and the doctor took a test and ordered us to immediately go to the larger city hospital as it was definately diabetes...
Once I arrived (after yet more tests!), they put me on an insulin drip and presented me with a huge plate of spaghetti bolognese- I then fainted with hunger!
I stayed at the hospital for 4 weeks- learned how to inject myself (practised on an orange and my teddy bear first!;) )
I have great memories of my stay in hospital- there were a couple of kids my age there who had also just been diagnosed and we had great fun staging wheelchair rallys in the corridors!
Me and a boy used to sneak out of bed at night and raid the kitchen for ryvitas...ha ha ha....

[BigcityRich]

It was my first visit to a new doctor for an issue with tendonitus in my arm and wrist.

She was looking at some mild discoloration on my neck and told me I was diabetic. She was positive, but sent me to the lab to be sure. This skin condition "Acanthosis Nigricans" is common in diabetics.

I should have seen the signs. I had increased thirst, running to bathroom alot, lack of energy, afternoon candy bars, soda all the time. I was beginning to be teased about having the bladder of an old man!

Just a few weeks before being diagnosed, I got so sick after eating 2 Dove Ice cream bars. I am sure my BG was soaring that day. I did not think anything of it.

When I went to the Pharm to pick up my meds and meter, the tech showed me how to check my BG and I remember it being 432 :eek:

Within two weeks, I was a new man. I did and even now feel better than ever.
:)

[IrishJoe]

I was getting cramps in my right (strongest) leg for a while.
drinking and weeing a lot.
then loosing weight, feeling tired.

eventually i was in hospital with DKA.

[w5wjp]

About a year after I retired from the Army I went to the doc for a sprained thumb. Left the office with high blood pressure and diabetes. Told the PA there that that was the last time I going to see her. lol

[drummingfool]

I was 13 and a sophmore in high school. I dropped from 260 lbs to 190 lbs in the span of about 4 months. I was also urinating about every 10 seconds and thirsty all the time (I quenched it with mountain dew... about 4 liters a day... no joke!). I was also unable to get any sleep at all because of frequent urination and terrible leg cramps... when I went to the hospital they pumped 4 bags of potassium and 2 bags of saline in me!

[Olidus]

My Story,

I was a 29 year old Canadian who started to experience the classic signs of diabetes for about 4-5 months. The water drinking, running to the bathroom, weight loss - approx 30 lbs in 2-3 weeks, down to 155lbs at 6'2 was not much to lose in the 1st place.
I finally made an appointment to see my doctor June 21, '07. From then on will be my D-Day :)
She tested my blood, sat me down and told me that I have diabetes and was to go to the hospital immediately, testing at 22mmol/L. I asked her if she was sure - and that I ate come candies on the way over. She assured me that she could eat a bag of suggar and not get her BGs up to where mine was at that moment.

I was kinda rushed though the entire process with only staying in the hospital for 1 night, I was in a wedding for a good friend of mine and did not want to let him and his wife to be down. (Also the TUX was already paid for). I asked my doctor if she would not give me a day pass to let me know so that I could at least wear the TUX aroudn the hospital.
A1Cs came back at 12.8 This was good news for me. Yes I realize that that is extremely high, but on the other hand it answered so many questions as to why I have been feeling the way I have for the last 3-4 months. Running that high made me feel like a zombie, was not as sharp as I was at work, and feeling a lot of stress at work as well, I was feeling dpression as well, never felt those feelings before for that amount of time It was a terrible feeling and I would not want to wish that on anyone.

Since that day - I have to say that this site has helped me more then any doctor or any education center could have ever helped me.

To be able to log on and read what others are going though, went though and compare stories such as this IMO is truly a gift.

[GeishaGirl]

Mine was a shock -- and yet it wasn't. Once the symptoms started in earnest, I knew what was going on. Last summer, I went on a horrible carb-binge. Carbs were all I wanted, especially bread and sugar. Unfortunately, that's nothing new. Then, over the course of a week, there suddenly wasn't enough water in the world for my thirst. I was getting up to pee 3-5 times a night, and I usually sleep like a dead woman. When I started craving grape juice, despite my absolute LOATHING of ALL forms of juice, I knew I had to see a doctor.

My mom was a T1 (she had a pancreas transplant a few years ago, so she isn't anymore :)) so I ran over there to use her meter. HI. Yeah. My parents both flipped out, started dragging me around by the bleeding hand to use the spare meter, thinking the first one made a mistake. Nope, second meter read 485.

That was a Sunday. By Tuesday, I was at the doctor. By next Tuesday, I was at an endo's. Misdiagnosed as a T2, but you've all heard that story :)

[Cassini]

I have been thirsty for years from taking all sorts of different meds for my OCD, Agoraphobia, Anxiety etc. every day and also take Lasix (water pills) so I was not even thinking that it could possibly be anything else but these things, so no thoughts or ideas at all.

I had some chest pains one afternoon and by the time supper making time rolled around they were getting more intense, arm numb etc. Knowing this was not a good thing I had my son drive me to hospital where they immediately checked EKG, EEG, chest x-ray, blood work etc. I did find out it was not my heart at all, for which I Thank God daily.

About a week after this event in the hosp (which was Aug 13th) my GP calls me to come in. Apparently my A1C was 9.9 so he ordered another one, this took time and by the time all was said and done it was official on Sept 17th of this year.

In the meantime I found this site, started asking questions and started lowcarbing right away. My second A1C was also 9.9 so I am determined to have the one last week lower, so have been doing all the hard work everyone does here to work towards that.

I was/am 46, living sedentary (agoraphobia and HATE of exercise) and binge eating carbs like there were no tomorrow. Well, tomorrow has come and I have started swimming, walking (a bit) and making plenty of other changes as well.

Cass:T

[genie86333]

I was peeing all the time, but hadn't thought anything of it because I'd been doing that since my youngest child was born (almost 13 years ago) and had been tested for diabetes in the meantime. I hadn't been abnormally thirsty, but then again, I've always carried around a water bottle or bottle of soda everywhere I go.

Then, New Years Day this year I woke up & started to get up out of bed & almost fell over because I was *so* dizzy. Since I hadn't had anything to drink on New Year's Eve, I knew it wasn't that. :)

I laid there for a few minutes and felt better, then tried to get up agan & the same thing happened. I immediately got my best friend's fiance to go get him because I thought I needed to go to the hospital. Being a former EMT, I knew dizziness was a sign of diabetes. I mentioned this to my best friend whe he got back home & he went next door to his step-mom & borrowed a meter (hehe...most people borrow a cup of sugar from the neighbor, but why be normal?) & we tested my sugar...over 400.

A trip to the ER confirmed it (over 450 by then!)...although, ironically, the dizziness was from fluid in my ears from allergies - not diabetes related at all.

[drummingfool]

I also didnt mention my stats...

When I was admitted, my level was 750... they said if I had waited much longer, I would've been in a coma.

When I was transferred from my local hospital to the children's hospital, the ladies in the ambulance were IDIOTS. They kept checking my blood sugar (2.5 hour ambulance ride). It started at 250, and they were saying, "Oh, its high! He needs juice!" and me, being newly diagnosed knew nothing about blood sugar, so I went along with it. One ambulance ride and 8 Oranje Juices later, I arrived at the childrens hospital at 600.

D'oh!

[alicat61]

:) Hi
I had been in denial for a while was drinking heaps but deluded myself that I was living in a warmer climate than used to and as I sweated a lot it was OK to drink more pee more etc
I walked everywhere so that helped keep things progressing to fast.
I went for a medical so I could appy to do my general nursing certificte. My BP was up so GP sent me for blood tests. Then sent to and Endo. Saw her 1st June 1982 (never forget that day) Was supposed to start work at 2.30 appointment was at 1pm. Had to call in sick went to hospital for 9 days instead:D
Was taught how to inject,(never had to use oranges just myself) test urine (meters just being invented then) Taught about diet 3 servings of carbs for breakfast, Lunch and tea one serving for morning /afternoon tea and supper. White breads and plain biscuits. NO SUGAR
I felt OK so was bored stupid lucky I new a lot of the nurses on the ward I was on so helped them make beds etc (In my dressing gown:D )
The worst thing i remember was in middle of night been woken by an intern sticking a needle in my arm. (they forgot to tell me they would be doing that in the night) I remember crying after that not because it hurt but the diabetes thing was not fun.
I must have shown i was unimpressed as the next time they gave me plenty of warning:D

[pandeia]

I had every symptom in the book for about 2 months prior to being diagnosed... I'm talking nose bleeds, blurred vision, fruity taste, extreme hunger, weight lost, CONSTANT annoying thirst, and frequent urination... But I was ignorant and thought I was going through some kind of weird teenage stage.

But after a few months, in February, I got so thirsty and my mouth craved to be filled with a cold drink... i drank 2 big milkshakes and threw it all up within the hour.... the whole week I couldn't even eat or drink otherwise I'd puke... and I couldn't get a doctor's office until the end of the week.

When I finally DID go to the doctor I couldn't stop puking, he gave me a blood test and I went home. He called an hour later and told me he saved me a spot in the ICU and to go immediately... I had a BS reading of around 650, I'd lost 53 pounds in 2 months, and couldn't walk because I was so weak. My parents drove me to the hospital, I blacked out, woke up a few hours later with IV's, machines, and doctors everywhere around me, was told I had type 1 diabetes, got out 1 1/2 weeks later, and the rest is history.

****. it doesn't even seem like I was never a diabetic before... I feel like I've had it forever... weird how our lives changed so quickly, huh?

[sable_032592]

forgot one thing, again LOL... from january 92 until i was in the hospital (march 25, '92), i lost around 40 pounds... i was thrilled really... but turns out it wasn't good... (darn! :mad: )

[Psycho Penguin]

It may sound mean but I truly don't mean it in that way. It is good to see I am not the only one who thought the diabetes was something else and would "go away" and was in denial for the longest time. I thought it was just me and still feel like an idiot to this day over it. :(

[amccrazgrl]

I knew something was wrong because I would sleep all the time at home/school/everywhere. I also went from like 115lbs to 80lbs. They checked me for everything in the book but diabetes.
So I come home from school after having my dr apt and my mom was like I have to tell you something...Your diabetic. There was crying and we went to the hospital. Then they had me go to the childs floor on the hospital and I stayed a week. I honestly had a blast on the childersn floor being 12 turning 13. I felt bad for the other kids that more serious issues. My roomate had cystic fibrosis which my twin sister might of had but my twin died at 10 days so we don't know.

[maya0606]

I was 10 when i found out I had it! i remember it like it was yesterday!

I remember once we had dinner with family and we had a huge dinner, when i say HUGe it was food and food!! the table was full hahaha!! i ate so much and i was than FULL an hour later i was still hungry drinking soda drinks PURE SUGAR and went to teh fridge and i found a huge tablet of chocolate i ate it all my mom started getting worried, cause i was peeing a lot it was just crazy i lost sooo much weight too.... so my parents thought i was maybe growing that's why i am getting thinner but than one day my twin brother got sick so my mom said sense we are going to the doctor might as well go see whats wrong with you, and of course 2 days after the doctor told my mom i was diabetic she needs to go to the ER ASAP her sugar is VERY VERY HIGH I don't know the actual number but it was high enough!, i had to stay in hospital for 7 days I DID NOT ENJOY THE HOSPITAL if anything i hated it soo much that when i go to a hospital it reminds me of those times being sick grrrr.... my mom was crying in the car and me so young thought i had some type of disease that's going to kill me

but yeah...
I've been diabetic since Febuary 1996 Type 1 :-)

p.s i would sleep in class too