I need stories about when you were first diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes?

Hi,

My teacher gave me an assignment to do; find stories of when people were first diagnosed w/juvenile diabetes. She wants do know how you found out, where you found out, what the symptoms were (how often were you going to the bathroom, etc) , how you reacted, how nurses/ doctors treated you, and anything and everything else you can think of. Please dont be afraid of writing whatever you want to, right about what happened minute by minute. Include small details, and make it as long as you need to.

My symptoms actually started about a month or two before I found out. One of the first few signs (which I didn't even know about at the time) was thirst. I would drink about 10 cups of water of juice a day (which was a lot more than regular). The following weeks I began having frequent urination (which I thought was from all the water I was drinking, but noo, haha.), as well as blurred vision. I actually went to the optometrist (SP?) to get glasses, because I thought my eyesight was going. When they checked my blood pressure, I noticed it was higher than normal, but I didn't pay much attention to it. The following couple of weeks, I began feeling sick as if I had a cold or fever, having a pale face, etc. On the day that I was my sickest, I went to school having a craving for an Ice-Orange Shake from Starbucks, so I woke up my dad to drive me before school. That morning I couldn't even chew a sandwich, and I was shivering really bad. During the middle of the school day, I began to become severely pale. And was insisted to go home. I waited in the nurses office for almost an hour before my ride came. When I went home, I immediately began puking all over the carpet. I eventually had even more CRAVINGS, but this time for strawberries. My parents knew nothing of diabetes at the time, so they kept feeding me porridge (which made my blood sugar even higher!). I eventually limped all across the house.. and become unconscious. I cannot remember if this was the next day, or the same day, but all I remember was being dragged by a 911 ambulance. They did all bunch of testing (which I can't remember, cause of the whole unconscious/barely conscious/sleepy/faint situation, haha.). All I remember was I was dropped off at some small clinic, tested, and sitting on a portable bedpan waiting for hours for something. After that situation, I was transported to UC Davis Hospital. In the car, I was EXTREMELY thirsty. And I would constantly tell the transporting doctors(?) that I was thirsty.. over and over again. Haha. When I arrived at the hospital. I was transported to the emergency care section for children (I believe, haha.). There were all sorts of tubes, and IVS stuck in my arms and hands. They would not allow me to eat or drink for the next day and a half. I did not know what was going on at the time (but during the clinic/ambulance day, even faint/unconscious, I somehow heard, 'Oh, he has diabetes'). But it didn't hit me at that time. If you would like to know more, haha. (considering this is already a long answer as it is), please email me at j.mths@yahoo.com for the rest of my story(:

If you would send me a message on IM with your email i can give you a much longer detailed story than what i can post on here.

i found out that i was a type one diabetes when i was 7. my dad is also a type one diabetic so my parents noticed that i was always thirsty and i slept a lot and went to the restroom every we minutes. my mom used My dad urine tester and it showed that my blood sugar was very high. we went to my family doctor and my mom told the doctor what she thought and he did blood work and confirmed what my parents already knew. he put me in the hospital for a week to teach me how to take insulin shots but i surprise everyone when i did it and never blinked an eye. i told them that i had watched my dad do it all my life so it was no bid deal.the Doctor and nurses where great, they made me learn about all the stuff i could at the age. i was lucky that i was not really a big sugar eater because we all ate the same diet my dad was on so i did not have to change too much because i was already use to eating that way.my parents took great care of me, they would go talk to all my teachers and explain what i had and what to do if i had any problems. my nurse at school was very sweet when i would go to hr and i felt sick. i do not have any bad memories about it because i was prepared for the answer about it i was or was not a diabetic. i am it was me that got it my sister or brother would not have handled it like i did.e mail me if you need anymore information. good luck with your paper.

Juvenile Diabetes per se does not exist anymore. Wait...let me explain...

I don't mean that it doesn't exist but what I do mean that it is no longer called juvenile diabetes. It is now called type 1 diabetes.

I have type 1.

Type 1, in most cases, occurs in the childhhod or teen years...hence the original name of juvenile diabetes. However, people who are in their 20s and sometimes 30s can develop it as well (that's what happened to me...I was in my mid 20s and I'm now in my late 30s... I have always been insulin dependent). It's not very common but it does happen. JD is now called type 1.

If you want details of my diabetes, feel free to email me. If I were to post it here, it would be a very long-winded post.

EMT
Type 1, insulin pump user

I was diagnosed at age 15. My symtoms started probably in september of that year and I was admitted to the hospital in January. I had dropped 4 pant sizes and had gotten to the point I couldn't stay awake for more than a couple hours. I was thirsty all the time, I nearly always had something with me to drink and making frequent trips to the bathroom. Water no longer quenched my thirst and I often drank milk (which I can't stand). By the time I was diagnosed I was vomiting up water about 2 times a day.
No one in my family has diabetes (type 1 or 2). So my diagnosis was a shock not only to me but them as well. The doctor's could find no real "reason" why I had developed diabetes except that it could have possibly been triggered by a virus. I was scared but so lethargic and sick at the time that a lot of it is a haze. My initial blood sugar reading was at about 900 which is extremely high.
The strange thing about my diagnosis was that it was a few days before my 15th birthday and several other people on the floor had also been recently diagnosed and also had a birthday in the up coming week. Out of the 7, 3 of them were girls named Megan. Creepy. I didn't realize then how much of a change my life would go through after my diagnosis.


My first memory of once I was out of the hospital was that following weekend (being my birthday) my mom decided to have dinner and birthday cake. With the insulin I was taking I could only eat at certain times and she had planned everything at a time at which I couldn't eat. I got upset and felt alienated and depressed, my mom told me to stop being a baby. So I sat there and watched everyone eat my birthday cake.....I had to wait another hour and a half before I could have any.