You Put That Needle Where?! Diabetes, an Insiders POV

Diabetes Mellitus, type one.

That's what I am. Diagnosed on October 15th 1985 (same year as Transformers made its debute btw...) I was a scrawny 65 lb. ten year old child who had been sleeping too much, drinking too much water and losing weight by the pound for three months before my mother noticed anything. She wasn't a bad mother by any stretch of the imagination, but the thought of diabetes hadn't really crossed her mind.

I remember that day, it was kind of a strange day cause I got to skip school. That for me was awesome! I mean really what fifth grader doesn't dream of getting to skip school? I had to fast the night before and I recall mom promising me that we'd get McDonalds after we were done! Woot!

All tests done, my doc told me I was diabetic and in that typical way you speak to a kid who obviously wouldn't get huge words that doctors are always so eager to use, explained that my pancreas pretty much gave me the finger and told me that it quit, it was taking a flight to Tahiti and going to sip margaritas next to some hot chick in a thong named Rosa.

Okay not really.

Either way he told me I had to take shots. I at the time thought that was kinda cool; how many kids get to say they can inject themselves legally with something every day? (I admit, I thought this was put me up on the popularity charts at school. Sadly it did the exact opposite.) So off mom and I toddled to the local hospital where we were met by a wonderful lady who to this very day I still maintain contact with, even after twenty some odd years. She educated me, taught me how to take insulin. It was fun at the time stabbing oranges with needles and injecting them with water.  Getting the nifty Diabetes books with the pink panther on them was even more cool cause I thought it was awesome a cartoon character understood. I could relate to cartoons far better than real people back then.

Some twenty odd years later a lot has changed. They've made many medical advances in diabetes and its treatment, just google it and you can see so many comparisons. They've gone from boiling needles and injecting pig hormones to synthetic insulins of varying types. Humalog, Nova log, Lantus, all sorts of types and brands out there to appease any persons type 1 needs.

I personally use the mini-med pump. It's convenient and it's a lot less hassle than taking insulin with me everywhere I go. It's a simple device that allows me to inject myself without hauling out a vial of insulin and a needle at the dinner table. It also monitors how much insulin I'm taking in a day, thusly giving me the chance to decide how much I want to eat and when. The freedom of the pump is amazing in comparison to having to cart around equipment. There are cons to having a pump though and a lot of it boils down to cost. The cost of the pump alone is around three to five thousand US dollars. Most insurances aren't willing to shell out that kind of cash for an individual, but I got lucky; I use a well established insurance company who cares more about long term preventative care than quick short term fixes. They payed for the pump and its supplies up front and I have had so far no out of pocket expenses.

The pump for me is something that has really turned my life around. Before, I was a horrible diabetic. I mean awful. When I had to do shots I would look at the needle sitting next to my insulin and just shrug, after all it was just another shot if I wanted to eat a cookie or have a slice of pie, I could always take it later right? My blood glucose would be dangerously high continuously; in the 400-600 ranges a lot of the time. Normal ranges should always be between 80-120. I was killing myself and didn't care. It got worse after having kids, I didn't have time to prep good hearty meals with low carbs and nutritious things, I was busy changing diapers, chasing around a toddler. My youngest son was born with a blood glucose of 20, dangerously low for a newborn infant and because of that, my son spent the first few weeks of his life in ICU. He's good now, a well adjusted and healthy boy, but I look back and think of all the bad things that could have happened.

Now though things are better and I hope that those who read this and are diabetic (or even those who aren't!) learned a few things. I included some links to various sites that would help further educate those who may be intersted in learning; you never know when a loved one or co-worker, or even that guy you share a seat on the bus with, might pull out a insulin needle or glucometer.

Juvenile Diabetese Research Foundation

http://www.jdrf.org/index.cfm?page_id=103431

Diabetese Doodle.com. Origonally found here: http://tudiabetes.com/profiles/blog/show?id=583967%3ABlogPost%3A279315

Link to diabetese doodle.com

http://www.diabetesdoodle.com/" target="_blank

Mini-meds site for those diabetics curious about the pump.

http://www.minimed.com/