How many of you 'fell off the wagon' when you were a teen?

[DeusXM]

Just reading through some of the threads in the young adults section and to be honest I'm a little stunned by the number of people who've said things along the lines of they rebelled quite seriously against treating themselves when they were in their teens. The reason I'm asking is because I'm getting the impression I was a rather boring kid and worried I've missed out on something that might give me a little more empathy with everyone - simply put, the idea of not treating my diabetes properly didn't occur to me. Perhaps being dxed at 14 helped a little since I was a little bit older.

Anyway, since I'm obviously quite dull, it'd be interesting to find out how many of us did throw in the towel for a bit, and why, and then more importantly, how we got back on the wagon. Might be helpful for other teens visiting here to know they're not alone and what they can do to help themselves.

[Gordonm]

I can't say I fell off the wagon, I was never really on it. Back in the mid 70s there was not a lot of testing available and the meal plans were horrible. Did I take care of myself, not really but I did the best I could with what I had. I was in my mid to late 20s before the testing supplies became much better and my wife started me on the road to testing and self control. Ultimatly it is up to the individual. I have been deligent about it for the last 20 years and it has paid off with good health so far. I cringe at the care I had and what my BS was the 1st 10 years I had diabetes.

[Tattoo azz]

Yes i fell off and i'm still fighting to get back on. The bad habits i picked up when i was a teen have stayed with me, affecting my control. But hey life's about expeiences and bad ones are just as important as good ones. :D

[Funnygrl]

I was diagnosed as a teen and did ok taking care of myself then. Few rough spots in college, mainly when on vacation from school- off my normal schedule seemed to make testing harder to fit into my day.

[Mich]

I agree with Gordon,

In the 60s and 70s, there was no wagon. We were guessing. Urine tests were worthless, getting a blood sugar back from the hospital took 1-2 weeks. All we really had to go on was how we felt. We did our best, but really, with suggestions like "since you can't have sugar, eat snacks like potato chips" were not good advice. (I got this from doctors and dieticians!)

It was a confusing time. Had I been able to use a meter, I would have done things differently. I may have been more relaxed as a teen, but I'd have kept to the correct path.

Mich

[RWright]

I was diagnosed at 16. I was a junior in high school. I did really well while I was living at home. My mom fixed healthy meals and measured everything. She was awesome! Then...I headed off to college at 17. It was 5 hours away, so I lived on campus. I definitely fell off of the wagon. I forgot to take some shots, would eat anything. I did not want any of my friends to know. Crazy huh?! It landed me in the ER at least 3 times...then they all knew anyway! I met my husband there and we married after graduation. I never had health insurance growing up...but when we got married we both got really good jobs and great insurance! I started going to the doctor regularly.

[fairyblood]

Falling off the wagon is an understatement. I don't have time right now for a longer post but I just want to say that I am happy and grateful to be healthy and alive right now. My teenage years where a nightmare.

[xMenace]

I can't say I fell off the wagon, I was never really on it. Back in the mid 70s there was not a lot of testing available and the meal plans were horrible.

Ditto. And insulin was not as flexible. I was on one shot of Lente a day. Yes, I said one! I played football, hockey, baseball, and golf. Amazingly I never got into serious trouble; though I came close a few times.

[poodlebone]

I was diagnosed at the very end of my teens (19) so neither choice applies to me. I was diagnosed in 1987 so there was home testing. I immediately went into denial after getting out of the hospital. I tested for a brief time but it was very expensive. Taking inflation into account, test strips were way more expensive then, and the meters were slow and horrible. Basically I took my two injections a day (NPH+R mixed in the morning, NPH only at night) and then pretended I didn't have diabetes. Ate whatever I wanted and however much. I often missed shots because I'd go out with friends and end up staying over somewhere. So, no nighttime NPH shot and often no NPH/R in the morning if I went directly to school or work the next day.
I felt horrible all the time but you get used to it and it feels normal.

When I finally got insurance 10 years later I had to wait a year due to the pre-existing condition clause. When I finally was able to see a doctor my A1c was over 15 and I'm sure it had been like that for the entire first 11 years.

I'm not sure what I would do if I was diagnosed now. I'd like to think I'd take better care of myself. The tools we have are far better now, not to mention forums like this one which didn't exist in 1987.

[Supermario]

I wasn't good to myself by any standard as a teen. Although I was very active in a lot of sports I also smoked about a pack a day, binge drank, smoked big joints and then quelled the dry mouth with slurpees!

It was pretty common for me to have a blood sugar in the twenties and unfortunately, there was no fast acting insulin to bring me in line. The quickest I had was Toronto, and that took a couple hours to reach its peak. When my BS would shoot through the roof, I used to chug gallons of water to flush out the sugar and do an intense exercise of some kind. What a rollercoaster that was. It took a while, but I finally realized I wasn't an invincible teenager and the complications of Diabetes are very real and I was headed for a pile of those troubles if I didn't straighten out.

I can't complain too much about the available treatments though... I can't imagine what you Elder Statemen (and women) went through with testing urine strips and running at about a minimum BS of 15 all the time. Props to the old school!

[spring]

You're not alone in the boring! I was diagnosed a week shy of my 11th birthday and never felt any need to seriously rebel. I suppose I committed the odd diabetic indiscretion - adding needless heaping-spoonfuls of brown sugar to 'healthy' cereal or ferreting off a few too many cookies at christmas - but it was never the dramatic 'I quit insulin/let's pretend I'm not diabetic' style revolt. Perhaps at most I gradually relaxed my expectations of what a 'good blood sugar' was. Maybe 8 was normal, maybe 9 or 10 wasn't ideal but not too high, only the high teens were a legitimate reason to correct, etc. At other times I would 'put off' taking my shot so that I ended up correcting a bloodsugar of 13 after eating rather than bolusing before I ate.

I was never in the hospital, and I never skipped shots or quit testing. Some time near the end of high school/beginning of university I re-evaluated whether I was really doing the best job I could. Perhaps I took not being one of the horror-story-rebels as license to slack off, and while I still have a lot of room for improvement (recent A1C was 7.4), in the past four years I've become more engaged with managing my diabetes. I may never have rebelled, but I did slide into a bit of an auto-pilot approach to things.

[lark 27]

I selected the fell off the wagon thing, but honestly I never quite got onto the wagon fully till after college. Knowledge is power and that hold's so true with dabetes care. When I was diagnosed it was about 1990 so there was info out there and there was testing etc., but my family didn't have insurance and I didn't for a while out of college and that is my excuse for never really getting a handle on things. I couldn't afford many test strips so I never was able to really figure out trends. I should have spent more time just reading, but I didn't. I'd do a dr. appt. (walk in clinic) roughly every year just so I could get scripts, but I think when I was out of college I went 3 years without an appointment because I had a surplus of syringes and R insulin didn't require a prescription. So my advice for the youngsters out there is educate yourself as much as possible and hopefully you have insurance.

[agnesh]

I was diagnosed when I was 13 the summer of 1966. I did not have my first bg meter until I was in my middle 20's. When I was in my teens I ate just about anything I wanted when I was with my friends. I wonder how I am still alive and have no serious complications. I am now 56 and have been on a pump for about 18 months.

[lorilei]

how bout in ur thirties? btw..who put 126 gm cho in thai drunken noodles????

[Stumpkins]

Yes i fell off and i'm still fighting to get back on. The bad habits i picked up when i was a teen have stayed with me, affecting my control. But hey life's about expeiences and bad ones are just as important as good ones. :D

RIGHT ON!! Nicely put! :T

[CarlyD]

I'm so glad to hear so many people had similar experiences! I never felt "on" the wagon either, and I'm still trying to get on. I was diagnosed when I was 6, so it should have all been second nature. But when my parents started asking me to take control of my own diabetes I decided anything I could do myself didn't need to be done. I gave up testing at lunch starting in elementry school, and decided not to do shots unless someone would remind me specifically about them. I was REALLY bad - like testing once a day for 5-6 years.

Then I went on the CGM/turned 21, and everything just "clicked." I now test 8-15 times a day and have lowered my A1C down to 7.5 from 11. I still have a long ways to go, but reading people's experiences in this forum have started contradicting some belief I picked up that having your diabetes under control means you can't live a normal life.