I am 26 years old and have had type 1 diabetes for 6 years. I was diagnosed after I lost 35 pounds (from 140 to 105) and couldn’t even make it up my apartment stairs without being so exhausted that I had to take a nap when I got to the top. I had lost all my energy, my weight, and I was eating more than I had ever eaten before! When my parents finally convinced me to see the doctor, they ran several tests before figuring out that I had an under active thyroid and type 1 diabetes.
I was 20 years old, living with a roommate, going to college full time, and working 35 hours a week when my whole world was flipped upside down. I remember sitting in my room on my bed freaking out that I could never have anything sweet again. My boyfriend of the past 3 years was there with me, and all I could think was that there was no way he’d want to stay with a type 1 diabetic. This was a life long disease and we were young. He could be with a healthy person and not have to deal with the medical bills, the possible complications, and the daily struggles that come along with diabetes. I was wrong, he is still with me. We are approaching our 10 year dating anniversary and have been married for over 3 years. He has stood by me through everything and continues to help in any and every way he can. He is my rock.
My doctor was not helpful at all when she found out I had diabetes. She told me it was a life threatening disease and she couldn’t help me, and referred me to a specialist. I was scared to death. The specialist was in Salem at The Firehouse. They taught me how to take my insulin, count my carbs, and adjust for lows and highs. I was there daily for a week. Being scared to death of needles, taking shots was very hard for me. Luckily they were the smallest needles in the world, 31 or 33 gauge. I’ll never forget taking my first shot on my own. I had dinner with my boyfriend at his work while he was on his break. I brought subway in, figured out how many carbs was in it and how much insulin I would need for it, drew the insulin into the syringe, and went into the bathroom to inject it. I sat in the bathroom with the syringe for a long time, trying to build up the strength to poke myself. I finally grabbed some skin and gave myself the shot. Surprisingly, I barely felt it at all! “Oh good” I thought, “I can do this”.
About a year before our wedding date, I thought I should try out one of these insulin pumps I’d heard so much good stuff about. I was taking between 5 – 6 shots a day, and I did have some issues with highs and lows…..lows being over corrected and becoming highs. And who wants to take a shot for just one or 2 units to bring you blood sugar back down to normal range? Not me! I took enough shots! The pump was supposed to help get rid of the up and down spikes and help keep your sugars at a more even control. I figured I should have the best control I could have once we were married and started having sex, just in case we had an unplanned pregnancy.
So I ordered the MiniMed Paradigm 715 insulin pump. Back to The Firehouse for training! I got the hang of the pump quickly. I had a hard time adjusting to having something connected to me all the time, but the health benefits made it worth it.
I recently upgraded from the 715 to the 722 because the 722 is compatible with the new Continuous Blood Glucose Monitor that I am working on getting. Currently insurance is not covering it and the monthly supplies are to expensive for me to afford. My doctor is writing a letter for me to appeal my insurances decision, but I haven’t heard a response on that yet.
So, thats how I got to where I am!
My husband and I decided we wanted to start a family a couple years ago. First we wanted to get into a financially stable situation, since I want to be a stay at home mom. It took us until April 2008 to get all the debt paid off that we wanted to.
We have been TTC #1 for what feels like an eternity, partially due to the fact that we’ve been PLANNING it for so long, even though we have only been technically trying since April. It is a hard process. Being diabetic makes it even harder! I just want my sugars perfect ALL the time in case I’m ovulating and can conceive, or did conceive, or am pg and just don’t know it yet!
We recently found out that DH has a low sperm count, making our already hard process, even harder. We are meeting with a urologist in December to go over our options and find out more! We can use all the baby dust we can get!
