Friday, March 13, 2009

My Diagnosis

OK, then, what better way to start off a new diabetic blog than with the story (however simplistic it may be) of my diagnosis? Yes? Good? Who cares what you think, I'm doing it anyway.

My story IS very simplistic. I had all the classic symptoms. I was dying of thirst, could NOT keep liquid in me, and started getting blurred vision and losing a little weight. People started wondering if I had an eating disorder (they told me this after the fact). The vision was the most annoying, the thirst was the scariest.

Unfortunately, the last doctor I had gone to was a complete MORON, so I didn't really have a PCP that I liked. So what do I do, but pull up my insurance plan, pick a name, and call. Because, really, have you ever Googled "frequent thirst" and come up with anything that does NOT include diabetes? There's just nothing there. It's pretty basic.

I go in, pee in a cup, and the doc walks in with, and I quote "You're diabetic, by the way. Type I. No question." (Apparently they checked my ketones, and they weren't good.) Oooh, way to put it gently, doc. He then starts listing "leading cause of blindness...blah blah blah" while I'm just staring at him. He stops mid-rant -- "Are you OK? I just kind of threw that at you." Um, yeah. You did. And am I OK? I have no idea. The world just tilted a little. I'm not surprised, per se, I was pretty sure I did have it, after all, but thinking you have a non-curable, life-threatening illness and being told you have one are two completely different things.

Then he tells me I have to get into an endocrinologist that day or else he will check me into the hospital. Ohh, boy. The hospital. His nurse starts calling around to various endocrinologists asking if they can take "a new Type I diabetic." Oh, sure - in a few months. I stopped her. "Listen, I don't mean to be rude, but the way you're phrasing it sounds like you have a Type I patient who's been managing this for months or years and just moved here or something. You need to tell them - 'You need to see her or she goes into the hospital. Use that term - hospitalized.'"

So she did, and calls back the one who my PCP originally wanted, and they said OK - two weeks, but wants to see lab work, stat. So the next day, I get a bunch of blood work done in the morning, and by that afternoon, I am checked into the hospital, there to be tortured by a roommate who loved her TV and a student nurse who couldn't put an IV in to save my life. But that's another post.

Blood sugar on admittance: 355 - A1C-12.2

11 comments:

  1. Wiz, I just wanted you to know that I think you're awesome. And you're not a loser, even if you are technologically challenged (that's why I married a computer guy, personally, so I wouldn't have to put up with the crap.)

    Also, even though I don't have diabetes, I totally hear you on the world-tiltingness of it all - happened to me last month. It's crazy.

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  2. As a former student nurse, I assure you that it's torture for us, too.

    I've known many type 1 diabetics, and once you get the hang of things, it starts to feel more like an annoying routine than a disease. You'll be okay.

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  3. I probably shouldn't say this but I said a Really Bad word when I saw what your blood sugar was on admittance. Sorry, but I was a little bit shocked. My only experience w/ it was my gestational diabetes. I'm sorry that you are in this boat as it were.

    Does it make you feel any better to know that I am completely technologically challenged, I encouraged my Hubby to go to school & get not just his BA but his Masters in computer information & I still have no help on the computer? So no feeling like a loser now.

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  4. Clicked over from MMW - you can make this as private as you like, in the settings of the blog. :-) Good luck! (Unsearchable, or members only...I'd go with unsearchable, and "no anonymous comments")

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  5. I'm looking forward to following this blog. Even though I don't have Diabetes, my son was diagnosed almost 4 months ago. I know what you mean by the tilting of the world-just on a different level. Good Luck!

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  6. We don't know each other, but I hope you don't mind I tuned in - someone I know had a link to your Mormon Mommy Wars blog, I saw diabetes and clicked. I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when I was 26. I am now 45. I have been able to be complication free so far (knock on wood), but it was not easy at first. Allow yourself to be in denial for awhile, because that is just how it is at first. You will get the hang of it soon enough and be on your way to tight control. I'm assuming you were diagnosed recently, so if not, I'm sorry for giving lame advice.

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  7. Diagnosed at the end of January. So not lame advice at all. :)

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  8. I think it's great that you are keeping a diabetes blog.

    I've mentioned at MMW that our second son was diagnosed in May 2005 with Type 1. At that point his blood sugar was over 600 and his A1C was 15.3 - see, there is always something worse if you look far enough! (The son of my sister's friend was over 800 when he was diagnosed, so that principle works for us, too.)

    Now our son is consistently in his range of 70-120 with A1C numbers around 5-6. His CNP says based on his numbers alone, nobody would know he has diabetes - his A1C is better than hers and she's not diabetic!

    I share that to show that even though your world tilted, it will tilt back - albeit to a new degree of normalcy.

    (Michelle AM)

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  9. My hubby was diagnosed with Type I at age 11. His doctor didn't expect him to live 20 years. Treating diabetes is a lot better now (food exchanges? please.)my hubby is 39. He's costly to keep maintained, but what can I say, I love the guy.

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  10. Told ya it would help. Rock on, sister.

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  11. So glad you started this blog. I have been thinking of starting one myself...my son was diagnosed with type 1, two weeks after his 2nd birthday. His BG was 775 and he was hospitalized for a week. He is now 6 and doing great.

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