My Diagnosis

 

2nd of August, 2016

That, is the day my life changed forever. I had just turned 13 and was enjoying my summer holidays before moving into year 9 of high school. 

I'm going to walk you through the day I had, with as much information that i can remember, due to it being 6 years ago! 

That day to me felt like any other day during that beginning period of the summer holidays. It was a relativity warm day outside, but this particular day I was sat inside playing in the Xbox, I remember the game i was playing too. Rainbow 6 Siege. That day, I think a new character was coming out to play as, so I was excited. To me, this seems important to talk about as it just goes to show how your life can change in an instant, for better or worse and that is what life really is in the end. Pot luck. I remember going downstairs to take an empty plate back into the kitchen, when my dad told me he wanted to check my blood. I do recall crying but if it was before or after he pricked my finger. This seems to be a good point in this story to tell you about my dad and then before going back onto the day I was diagnosed, my symptoms and how my parents noticed something was off.

My Dad

My Dad is basically how I will look when I reach my fifties. It wouldn't be wrong to say that I am a carbon copy of my Dad. Whatever he has, I have. We both wear glasses, we both have Type 1 Diabetes, we both have Coeliac Disease and we are both stupid in equal measure! My Dad is called Dave. Everyone loves him and my mates always try get me to ask my Dad to come out and join us at the pub or going into town. Anyways,  as I've said in my brief description of him, my Dad has Type 1 Diabetes. He has had it for over 30 years and is still controlling Diabetes, not letting Diabetes control him. 

My Symptoms

Before the day I finally got my diagnosis,  there was many signs and symptoms that I had Diabetes. I have two stories about experiencing a Hypo, before i knew what they were and how you would manage them.

The first time I had a Hypo, I was at rugby training and we just started the actual session. Because beforehand me and the rest of the team would just mess around and boot the ball around or play a game between us as we waited for the coaches to shout us over. I was just running around the pitch doing a full lap. Well, I didn't manage to do the full lap as pretty quickly I started to feel very dizzy and I became very hot and sweaty. This was in late June and it was a very warm day, which also played a factor in my blood glucose levels dropping. Now, I remember breathing heavy and going over to my Dad saying I did not feel great and that I was feeling very, very dizzy. I only had water on me at the time and I did drink it, thinking it could be because I was dehydrated. It obviously was not working. I'm not sure how I came around that day, but it was because of a sugary drink. To me in my head I can only assume it was one of my friends drinks that they brought for themselves. The fact that I came back around after the drink, was a huge red flag and a major warning sign that something was not quite right. This 100% got my parents thinking that I could potentially have it but they wanted to see more signs and symptoms. Because everyone can have low blood glucose levels when exercising and/or being in the hot weather. 

The second story happened around 2 weeks later, on my Mum's birthday. Her birthday is the 9th of July and mine is on the 11th. So, we often have joint parties as it saves money and it means we can have one bigger celebration so in my eyes its pretty good. Not sure how my Mum feels about it though! 

For my side of the joint party we had that year, I was allowed to have some of my friends stay over, but we would be sleeping in a tent outside. That day was yet another warm one. Mix that with me running around my garden with my mates and playing football in the street or hide and seek. Skipping ahead to when my second Hypo happened, me and my mates just got into our tent for the night and it was around 10.P.M with some sunlight still not fully gone. My mates and I were just chatting away when I suddenly started sweating, like fully sweating buckets. My side of the tent was soaked! I also started breathing heavier and was shaking really badly too. One of my best mates, Olly, spotted I wasn't right first and I gotta hand it to him for getting me out of the tent and alerting my parents. I will never forget that. With all the commotion going on my parents came to the garden and got me sat in the living room but this time, I didn't get water I was handed a bottle of Lucozade. And guess what? I came around again after a short while. So, this was the day I feel that my parents realized something was up. 3 weeks later I get my diagnosis from the hospital!

Looking at the symptoms of low and high blood glucose levels, back then I had the majority of them. I remember some days I would drink a ridiculous amount of water a day. I remember many days and nights of constant toilet visits. The two Hypos that I had and all the symptoms that come with low blood glucose levels. Mood swings is another sign I had it. 

Symptoms of Type 1 Diabetes

• Mood swings 
•  Feeling thirsty constantly
• Unexplained weight loss
• Blurred vision
• Peeing more than usual 
• Cuts and bruises that won't heal as quick as somebody who does not have the Disease. 
• Tiredness  

2nd August, 2016

Going back to the day I was diagnosed. Once my blood was checked in my Dad's glucose meter, it took a tad longer than usual to give the result, which it tends to do when my Dad had high sugar levels. But it did not even give a reading. That is how high my blood sugar levels was. It just said "HIGH" and that is it. 

I at the time did not really give it much thought and I remember my Dad telling me even that i can go back to my room to play my game. However, about an hour later my Dad said that we were going to the doctors to get my blood checked again. Again, I thought nothing of it, I even left my phone at home because I assumed I would be back home in like 30 minutes! At the doctors, I had to wee on a weird little stick that turns purple depending on how much glucose is in urine. Guess what? The stick turned purple. This is when things got very serious for me and my family. The doctors said that we should go to the hospital right away and urgently. Off me and my Dad went to the hospital, with my Mum on the way to meet us at the hospital. My memory of getting to the hospital and what we did first has pretty much gone. The next thing I DO remember is having some blood tests done and that i went all dizzy from the blood taking, I am not a fan of blood and hate looking at it, mainly other peoples but watching my own blood leave my body freaked me out then and it still does to this day. I'm getting freaked out even typing this up now! Anyways, once I had all my tests, the next thing to do was wait and see what the results were. Me, my Mum and Dad were taken to a private room and were alone while we waited for the results. Time was 100% moving slower in that room I swear to god. I remember laying against my Mum crying because I just wanted to go home and  I was scared. Then, 2 or 3 doctors came in to give us the news we waited for. They confirmed that I developed Type 1 Diabetes. From this point on I'm pretty sure we all sobbed and sobbed and sobbed. In my head I asked myself "why me?" I'm still asking myself that question. But after that, I was wheeled to the ward I would call my home for the next 6 days as I was tested with insulin that reacted best to my body and kept my blood sugars stable. I was taught what Hypos and Hypers were. How to carb count. How to check my own blood. How to inject myself. How Long acting insulin worked. I mean, for the majority if not all of you reading this know exactly what I am talking about with ALL of this. 

On another blog I will go in-depth about those 6 days I had in hospital and talk about how I was feeling. Looking back at how I felt, being sad for a while and questioning everything. That is totally OK! A young kid who just wants to play with his mates being told he has a life long health condition that if not looked after, can have serious consequences, that is a lot to go through at such a young age. Luckily, My parents caught it early and no damage was done. But not everyone is so lucky. That is why just sharing how I myself was diagnosed with Diabetes and how I felt and still feel today, it will hopefully help you reading this or somebody you know who has Diabetes and is a young person, realize that THEY/YOU ARE NOT ALONE. 

Questions

Comments are turned on for this blog, for you to ask any questions related to my diagnosing or something else related to Diabetes.

I cannot obviously give you advice on how to manage your Diabetes but I can share what I would do in any situation, should you ask questions like that. Thank you for taking the time to read this blog.