The Super Fun Diabetes Thread

[5pints]

Going through a bit of a scare at the moment and thinking it could be diabetes. 

Anyone on here a diabetic? When did you first find out, what were the symptoms and how is it impacting your daily life?

[Slapnut]

I’ve been type 1 diabetic for just over six years, so I’m an open book for any questions you may have.

I was diagnosed at 21 and showed all the common symptoms for a few months, but stupidly I ignored them as my sister was diagnosed just a few months prior and thought it was just my mind playing tricks on me. The symptoms included insane thirst and weight loss mainly - I weighed 7 stone 13 when I was diagnosed - but also less common ones like thrush.

Managing it is part of my day to day life and, fortunately, I got used to it fairly quickly. I won’t pretend it doesn’t affect my day to day life, because of course it does, but it’s completely second nature at this stage. I wouldn’t say it’s perfectly managed, and you’ll be hard pressed to find anybody whose diabetes is perfect, but generally I’m in pretty good health.

I carbohydrate count, which means I inject insulin based on how many carbs I eat in any given meal. This is by far the best way of controlling it as far as I’m concerned because it means you can pretty much eat anything you want and you don’t necessarily have to avoid certain foods. Of course, that’s not to say you can binge on full fat Coke without consequences, but you won’t have to worry about having the odd dessert as long as you factor it into your insulin dose.

If you don’t mind me asking, what symptoms are you showing, and how long have they been showing for? Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions or don’t feel comfortable going into detail here.

Above all else, if you do have it, keep in mind that it’s manageable. It’s a shock to the system initially, but diabetes management has come along leaps and bounds in the past x amount of years, and as long as you’re being careful and managing it well, you can live a perfectly normal life.

Get yourself to the doctors regardless. Always best to be certain either way!

Edited August 4, 2019 by Slapnut

[5pints]

Thanks for that, it was helpful. 

Over the last week or so my need to urinate has increased meaning I'm getting up at least a couple of times a night. I'm constantly tired and lethargic. I've had blood tests a couple of months and have been told I have low Folic Acid levels. I'm on tablets for that but not sure if the two are connected.