# How did you get a diabetes diagnosis?



## Sheilagh1958 (Jan 23, 2011)

How did you get a diabetes diagnosis?

Mine was diagnosed because I kept in getting Thrush it would clear up for a few days and then be  back again with vengeance this went on for about a month so thought I had better get it checked out. I also  had suffered with a lot of sweating in on my neck and forehead area and thought it was just my age or a hot summer. Did a bit of investigate work on the internet and the dreaded word Diabetes kept popping up in the searches.  It was only then that I realised that I had been drinking more and going to the loo more so when I went to the doctors I told them I thought I had developed Diabetes. Doctor prescribed me medication for Thrush and then sent me to see the nurse for a blood test. She then did the BG test on me and it was 23.5. The rest is history.

On a positive note I am in a lot better place now health wise. Nearly 2 stone lighter and a dam site fitter. My BG is still to high first thing in morning normally between 7-8 but on the whole levels are in a lot better. Hubbie has been a star cooking me nice low fat/low carb meals and encouraging me along the way.


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## AnnW (Jan 23, 2011)

Very similar, I had the thrush and then a very painful night when I was going to the loo every 20 mins. and it was painful. Went to the doc who said it was a urinary infection and gave me a blood test for Diabetes. It was 22.5 and the rest is history as you say. 

My husband tries to support me and asks me what my reading is but  the step daughter (23 ) that I have to live with is not interested and in fact laughed at me when I mentioned it recently. But I survive.

I have now got my readings quite similar to you, about 6/7 in the morning and sometimes I manage 5 at night. Early days but getting there I hope !!


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## Dizzydi (Jan 23, 2011)

I went for a healthy heart check up and they took bloods. My bs was 23. Knew I wasn't very well but didn't imagine it would be diabetes. Only real symptoms was thirst and weeing for Britain.


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## alisonz (Jan 23, 2011)

I see a Rheumatologist at the hospital and they asked for a whole range of fasting blood tests, I was then asked to make an appointment with the doctor, she said and I quote "you're diabetic and need to take these and these for high cholesterol as you could have a stroke or heart attack" and the rest................


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## Sheilagh1958 (Jan 23, 2011)

Dizzydi said:


> I went for a healthy heart check up and they took bloods. My bs was 23. Knew I wasn't very well but didn't imagine it would be diabetes. Only real symptoms was thirst and weeing for Britain.



That must off come as a heck of a shock to you.


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## Dizzydi (Jan 23, 2011)

Sheilagh1958 said:


> That must off come as a heck of a shock to you.



It did. But when I look back now, I can see how ill I was. Since lost 3 stone and keep as fit as I can. Bs normally 5-6. This is down to the insulin. 

I'm 3rd generation, 1st born female to develop diabetes, so really shouldn't have been surprised x


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## macast (Jan 23, 2011)

I've only just been diagnosed..... I have M.E. and fibromyalgia so took no notice of the thirst as it is also a symptom of the M.E. and I just thought I was having a relapse... so tried to rest more.  then I needed to pee every 20 to 30 mins... still I didn't 'twig'.

I'd injured my big toe early last year and it had begun to hurt and I couldn't feel it very much.  so decided to see a doc.  he said that it could be nerve damage.... but if it got worse to come back as it may be diabetes

after a couple of days I looked up the symptoms on the internet and I realised that I had most of them..... and all my toes suddenly were painful and my fingers hurt to type and always felt cold.  so rang the surgery but couldn't get another appointment as it was christmas.  I mentioned that I thought I had symptoms of diabetes and suddenly there was an appointment later in the week (23rd Dec) with a nurse.  the nurse did the tests after me fasting on 24th.  then I went away on holiday.  came back late on the 4th to worried docs and nurses who had been trying to get in touch with me to come in to see the doc.  I had an appointment next morning..... saw doc and then dsn same morning 

so now I am telling all my friends what the symptoms are in the hope that no one else ignores them


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## lucy123 (Jan 23, 2011)

Mine came up on routine blood tests as was having to have liver monitored every 12 weeks. I wasn't expecting it, and cried with rage, but actually now in a very weird way am thinking it was the kick up the bum I need. My fasting test was 7.9 and when repeated 8.2. Mornings are now generally down in the 6's and have seen the occasional 7's but also the odd 5.


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## Pumper_Sue (Jan 23, 2011)

Mum took me to the family Dr and told him I was diabetic.
He disagreed, but said come back with a urine sample when passing, just to prove her wrong. He was handed a sample then and there. The rest is history.
That was in 1965.


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## Steff (Jan 23, 2011)

All started after a 5 day stint in hospital novermber 08, with a very sore absess under my armpit it had to be operated on, to cut a long story short after care from the nurses at the surgery i was then getting another absess so they said we need to test you for diabetes, they did and 4 days later when iw as in get the dressing changed i was told i was a diabetic the rest is history


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## alisonz (Jan 23, 2011)

Nice to see you Steffie how you doing hunnyxx


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## Steff (Jan 23, 2011)

alisonz said:


> Nice to see you Steffie how you doing hunnyxx



Just Pmmed you Alison, dnt wanna hijack thread x


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## Sheilagh1958 (Jan 23, 2011)

lucy123 said:


> Mine came up on routine blood tests as was having to have liver monitored every 12 weeks. I wasn't expecting it, and cried with rage, but actually now in a very weird way am thinking it was the kick up the bum I need. My fasting test was 7.9 and when repeated 8.2. Mornings are now generally down in the 6's and have seen the occasional 7's but also the odd 5.



Agree with you Lucy the kick up the pants I needed as well


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## shiv (Jan 23, 2011)

In 1991 I had a generic virus early in the year. In April I began having symptoms of type 1 - drinking loads, weeing loads, wetting the bed, mood swings. My mum being a nurse kept taking me back to the dr - the first couple tried to fob her off saying the virus was back and finally when she saw my GP he sent me straight to hospital.


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## cazscot (Jan 23, 2011)

I went to the doc in March/April 2009 with an absess on by b**b, it cleared up with a course of two different strong anti-biotics then reappeard in the September 09 got an appointment to see the nurse this time and she took one look at it and said "you are porbably diabetc" did the finger prick test there and then (it was 11) and did an HbA1c (7.1) and the rest is history...


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## Sheilagh1958 (Jan 23, 2011)

Its funny how for so many of us the diabetes was hidden behind other medical problems.

Shiv/Pumper Sue good job your mums realised there was a problem and more to it than the doctors first thought. 

Nice to see you back Steff hope you are feeling better.


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## macast (Jan 23, 2011)

lucy123 said:


> I wasn't expecting it, and cried with rage, but actually now in a very weird way am thinking it was the kick up the bum I need.



I feel the same.... it was a great wake-up call to me.  I couldn't go on eating stupidly and putting on weight


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## margie (Jan 23, 2011)

I broke and dislocated my little toe (right angles to my foot - ouch), after that I started losing weight. I initially thought that my metabolism had increased to fix the toe - but it carried on. I was drinking loads of milk and sleeping a lot. The milk because I was concerned about calcium loss due to the weight loss.

I had to change Drs as had not long got married and moved into a new area. I read an article and realised that I had classix symptoms. OH said I was a hypochondriac (great considering I hardly ever go to the Drs). The practice nurse initially put the weight loss down to being busy - but the urine test said otherwise. I haven't a clue what it was.  

The rest as they say is history


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## Ergates (Jan 23, 2011)

For me it was losing weight, weeing a lot and drinking loads of water/cooldrink.  My mum was a sister, so made me do a urine test then and there.  Back in 1996 now.


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## shiv (Jan 23, 2011)

^ Tom and Sam were diagnosed in 1996 as well!


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## Sheilagh1958 (Jan 23, 2011)

cazscot said:


> I went to the doc in March/April 2009 with an absess on by b**b, it cleared up with a course of two different strong anti-biotics then reappeard in the September 09 got an appointment to see the nurse this time and she took one look at it and said "you are porbably diabetc" did the finger prick test there and then (it was 11) and did an HbA1c (7.1) and the rest is history...



Didn't realise abscesses  was a symptom but that's both you and Steff.


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## Tezzz (Jan 23, 2011)

I went to the hospital for a pre operation assessment.

Blood sugar in urine was too high so got stabbed in the finger and told that was too high.

I got referred back to my GP who did blood tests and a week later the nurse said "Congratulations, you're diabetic!"

I miss my daily pint of fresh orange juice....


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## bigpurpleduck (Jan 23, 2011)

I had just turned 3 and had a virus, which the doc kept giving me antibiotics for. My mum & dad suspected diabetes so took a urine test to the doc. He held it up to the light, looked at it, threw it straight in the bin and said "It's fine".

A few days later I was a lot worse. Mum phoned the surgery and demanded an appointment with another doc. He listened to the symptoms, took one look at me & told mum to get me to hospital ASAP. This doc is still my GP & I love him!

Mum took the first doc to court


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## Sheilagh1958 (Jan 23, 2011)

brightontez said:


> I went to the hospital for a pre operation assessment.
> 
> Blood sugar in urine was too high so got stabbed in the finger and told that was too high.
> 
> ...



I haven't drank fresh orange since diagnosis. I bet a pint was hard to give up


One thing definitely show in this thread that Mums know more than the doctors


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## MargB (Jan 23, 2011)

I have regular blood tests which had got down to being annual.  A test a few years' back came back with high sugar readings but the retest was OK.  However, last year the sugars were up again and after two more fasting bloods I was diagnosed as diabetic.  It runs in my mum's family and possibly my dad's side too but they don't tend to live long enough for Type 2 to develop!!

The diagnosis was a kick up the backside to get some of the extra weight off and I have been doing that steadily so now feel and look much healthier than I did this time last year.


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## rachelha (Jan 23, 2011)

Mine was recurrent thrush too, along with thirst, tiredness, weightless and bizarrely sugar cravings.  I remember stuffing myself with cake and still losing weight.


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## Monica (Jan 23, 2011)

Carol told me one day (a tuesday) that she had refilled her 500ml water bottle 3 times at school. That got me worried, thinking Diabetes, googled diabetes (nowhere did it say go to hospital urgently if that's what you suspect), googled how much a child should drink a day. She stopped eating her sandwiches, only ate the yoghurt and pudding. 2 days later she said her favourite school trousers were suddenly baggy. To cut a long story short, on Saturday she came home feeling tired and groggy, rang NHS direct at 14.30, asked about diabetes. Were told that a nurse would ring back. The nurse phoned at 12.30am. Had a chat about diabetes. Nurse says yes could be - give her lots to drink on Sunday and take her to the GP on Monday. Not knowing any better we did so. Unfortunately, the appointment wasn't till 5pm, so Carol went to school. Anyway, Doc sent us straight to hospital, where we stayed for 4 days. Luckily, we caught it "early", Carol didn't feel poorly(so she said) and didn't need IV insulin.

When we told our DSN about NHS Direct she was absolutely fuming. They should have sent us straight to the hospital!!!


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## Sheilagh1958 (Jan 23, 2011)

MargB said:


> I have regular blood tests which had got down to being annual.  A test a few years' back came back with high sugar readings but the retest was OK.  However, last year the sugars were up again and after two more fasting bloods I was diagnosed as diabetic.  It runs in my mum's family and possibly my dad's side too but they don't tend to live long enough for Type 2 to develop!!
> 
> The diagnosis was a kick up the backside to get some of the extra weight off and I have been doing that steadily so now feel and look much healthier than I did this time last year.



My dad died of a heart attack when i was only 10 but I think he probably would of  carried the gene.


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## Sheilagh1958 (Jan 23, 2011)

I have  great admiration for people who have had Diabetes from a being a child and for there parents it must of been so hard.


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## newbs (Jan 23, 2011)

I didn't have the classic symptoms, just kept feeling dizzy and a little shaky then one day I almost passed out at work and was sent to gp.  GP tested urine and there was sugar in there so I had a finger prick test done as GP suspected diabetes as my brother is type 1 too and my level came back at 12.8.  Not majorly high but high all the same.  Diagnosed with diabetes but nobody could decide which type, as was on tablets before insulin.  MODY tests negative so assumed Type 1 with a long honeymoon period (that has now definitely ended 10 years on).


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## Cate (Jan 23, 2011)

I had a virus in autumn 1983, and never really got over it very well.  Lost weight, started drinking pints and pints of anything I could get hold of.  Looked really skinny and had a yellowy skin tone too.  Repeated UTIs.  At my birthday party I didn't want to eat anything, felt really unwell and cried because one of the kids there kept trying to make me eat some birthday cake, which I didn't want.

Mum took me to the GP the next day, who took one look at me and sent us direct to the local hospital half an hour away.  By the time we got there he'd phoned them as well to warn them we were coming in - they were surprised I wasn't worse, he'd put the fear into them and they had drips etc all ready to go, luckily I didn't need them.

It was my birthday last week, and it will be 27 years since diagnosis on Wednesday


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## Robster65 (Jan 23, 2011)

When I was about 12, I started to get a little bit chubby. When I was 13, I had chicken pox (I think) and sometime after that, I started to lose weight and get aching joints, which was put down to growing pains. I was also really thirsty and would drink anything in front of me. This obviously meant I was up in the night and running to the loo every 5 minutes.
My mum started getting worried and took me to the Drs with a urine sample, which he dipped and confirmed diabetes. We were sent home, told not to eat and to get to the hospital ASAP. When I was there, they hooked me up to drips, took blood samples, etc and told me I needed to give up sugar in my tea, which I accepted.
After a couple of days, a nurse thought it a good idea to tell me I'd need injections for the rest of my life. Up until then, no-one had thought to tell me what it was all about. After a week of inecting, urine testing and a compulsory induced hypo, I was sent home with all my bits and pieces plus a grapefruit to practice injecting and the rest is history.

Rob


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## Sheilagh1958 (Jan 23, 2011)

Cate said:


> I had a virus in autumn 1983, and never really got over it very well.  Lost weight, started drinking pints and pints of anything I could get hold of.  Looked really skinny and had a yellowy skin tone too.  Repeated UTIs.  At my birthday party I didn't want to eat anything, felt really unwell and cried because one of the kids there kept trying to make me eat some birthday cake, which I didn't want.
> 
> Mum took me to the GP the next day, who took one look at me and sent us direct to the local hospital half an hour away.  By the time we got there he'd phoned them as well to warn them we were coming in - they were surprised I wasn't worse, he'd put the fear into them and they had drips etc all ready to go, luckily I didn't need them.
> 
> It was my birthday last week, and it will be 27 years since diagnosis on Wednesday



Happy belated birthday wishes.........and happy anniversary


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## shirl (Jan 23, 2011)

My dx came as the result of my sight, sudenly over 1 weekend going very very blurry, which was kind of scary, made emergency app. at opticians for the Monday, once he did a quick check he wrote out a letter to my GP and told me to take it straight away . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . and the rest as they say is history 

take care,

Shirl


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## Sheilagh1958 (Jan 23, 2011)

Robster65 said:


> When I was about 12, I started to get a little bit chubby. When I was 13, I had chicken pox (I think) and sometime after that, I started to lose weight and get aching joints, which was put down to growing pains. I was also really thirsty and would drink anything in front of me. This obviously meant I was up in the night and running to the loo every 5 minutes.
> My mum started getting worried and took me to the Drs with a urine sample, which he dipped and confirmed diabetes. We were sent home, told not to eat and to get to the hospital ASAP. When I was there, they hooked me up to drips, took blood samples, etc and told me I needed to give up sugar in my tea, which I accepted.
> After a couple of days, a nurse thought it a good idea to tell me I'd need injections for the rest of my life. Up until then, no-one had thought to tell me what it was all about. After a week of inecting, urine testing and a compulsory induced hypo, I was sent home with all my bits and pieces plus a grapefruit to practice injecting and the rest is history.
> Rob



Must of been tough for a 13 year old boy to cope with.......and now look at you Hero of the month


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## Cate (Jan 23, 2011)

Thanks Shelaigh!  Obviously I'm not going to mention my age... 3*cough*6 lol


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## Robster65 (Jan 23, 2011)

stop it, you'll make blush ! 

I took it in my stride because I was very compliant. I wish I could have been a bit more rebellious but my parents were scared and felt guilty, so tended to protect and smother me a bit. Don't blame them but it didn't really help me to embrace it so to  speak.

They're still much the same now but it's all so different now they don't know all the ins and outs of MDI. 

I woudl urge any parent of a diabetic child to encourage them to be as independant as possible and trust them to explore a bit. Hard though it must be.

Rob


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## KateR (Jan 23, 2011)

I had to have regular blood checks for kidney damage as I was taking meds for high BP (since 1994) and in 2001 the doc must have requested a BS test which came in at 14. I didn't feel anything was wrong so was very shocked.


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## caffeine_demon (Jan 24, 2011)

Just before christmas I noticed my wee wee was rather sticky (I can sometimes spray a bit and noticed when cleaning up..), Mum suggested that it may be diabetes, and waddya know - my BS was 17!


from rob:
"I was sent home with all my bits and pieces plus a grapefruit to practice injecting and the rest is history"

It took me a couple of re-reads to realise that the grapefruit was for injecting INTO and not using for injections!!


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## Carina1962 (Jan 24, 2011)

mine was due to me feeling dizzy and light headed so the GP decided to give me a full MOT blood test and that is when my fasting glucose was picked up at 7.8 - it was a shock and i cried and as i have a family history of diabetes i think i knew deep down that i would get it but i thought it would be in much later life (I am 48) but i now am trying to adopt a better and healthier lifestyle because of it.


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## Liz! (Jan 24, 2011)

I always feel very upset readng others' diagnoses... 

I started to get very thirsty and tired. I used to drink though the smallest tubing I could find, so that drinks lasted longer. I craved stuff like Thompson's Grapes.. very tiny they were then and sharp tasting. A teacher told me after she knew something was wrong as i could never keep up with the rest of the class when they walked across the playground! I was 12.

My mum took me to the Dr who was very old and about to retire. He said i was diabetic and gave me a diet sheet, which was calorie based and not carbohydrate, which meant I was never getting enough carbs. I was never sent to hospital and had a nurse come round to give me my frist injection, and i was on my own then. I had no support whatsoever - until I was hospitalised after a very bad hypo 2 years later, and they realised i had no information. I was then given a Consultant who... well i can't say here but...

I still get so angry when I think about it all, 40+ years later. i had many a consultant after who simply did not realise i WAs trying my best (like Robster, very compliant) but i had brilttle diabetes. in fact one time I was in hospital after being unconscious they discharged me as they said i wasn't complying with the diet as my sugars were so erratic! 

What it has left me with is a deep distrust of all medical professinals until they prove them selves worthy of regard.


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## teapot8910 (Jan 24, 2011)

I started losing a lot of weight from June onwards and my symptoms became worse when I went on holiday to Florida in July. I was tired 24/7, going to the loo a lot and drank excessively (I went through 6 bottles of diluted Robinson's squash in under 2 weeks by myself). I didn't think much of it as was exercising more and the weather was pretty hot. Symptoms continued when we got back from holiday which was when my parents noticed and decided to take me to the doctors.

First finger prick test with the nurse was 24 and I also had a high amount of ketones in my system (++++). I saw a doctor straight away, told I had diabetes and was given a note admitting me to the hospital immediately. Spent the rest of the night in hospital on a drip then insulin to bring my sugars down with finger prick tests every 2 hours. The following afternoon I'd learnt how to inject myself, was given a meter and my pens and sent home.

The rest as they say....


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## Royston46 (Jan 24, 2011)

My diagnosis was really strange I only went to the doctors because I had a bad back and I needed a letter from him for my private physio through Bupa and while I was there he took my blood pressure which was sky high 182/110. One thing led to another blood test etc as my BP didn't come down and finally after the GT test this confirmed it.

I slipped on the ice at Xmas and twisted my ankle badly but thought I would not bother the doctor this time as who knows what this could lead to !!!!!

On the positive note since last November I took on board all that the doctor told me and had appointment last Friday and my HbA1c was 6.5 compared to 9.7 in November by BP was 138/80 and my healthy eating and fitness regime has got me fitter and I have shed 2 and a half stone (trouble is I had to go shopping Saturday to by new clothes which cost me a fortune !!!!!


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## hotchop (Jan 24, 2011)

I knew noticed that I had lost a bit of weight but I wasnt really concerned, I was going to the loo an awful lot but then I hurt my back and I couldnt move. I dont remember banging or knocking it. There was about 5 weeks between noticing the weight and pee issues and hurting my back but I was ignorant to anything other than getting into a size 8 eekkkk

My mum had a kidney transplant a couple of years beforeand I remember that her symptoms were very similar so I went along to the docs thinking that I had a kidney complaint.

And here I am!


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## Robster65 (Jan 24, 2011)

caffeine_demon said:


> from rob:
> "I was sent home with all my bits and pieces plus a grapefruit to practice injecting and the rest is history"
> 
> It took me a couple of re-reads to realise that the grapefruit was for injecting INTO and not using for injections!!



They believed that a grapefruit was the best way of mimicking injecting into oneself. Obviously, texture-wise, it wasn't too different but sadly, the grapefruit forgot to mention that there was some pain involved !! 

Rob


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## Robster65 (Jan 24, 2011)

Liz! said:


> I always feel very upset readng others' diagnoses...
> 
> I started to get very thirsty and tired. I used to drink though the smallest tubing I could find, so that drinks lasted longer. I craved stuff like Thompson's Grapes.. very tiny they were then and sharp tasting. A teacher told me after she knew something was wrong as i could never keep up with the rest of the class when they walked across the playground! I was 12.
> 
> ...



That's a terrible catalogue of incompetence and lack of care. 

My first consultant was very pompous and was always right (he thought). When my health visitor saw the 2 insulins I was mixing, she told us they were not meant to be used together and told us what I should be on. 
I had a new consultant after that. 

Rob


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## Andy HB (Jan 24, 2011)

Sheilagh1958 said:


> Didn't realise abscesses  was a symptom but that's both you and Steff.



I believe it is just an indicator that the body's natural defences have been clobbered. Infections tend to get a grip more easily. That's why I think I was diabetic probably for 10+ years. I'd had a leg ulcer (just  a diddy one, nothing dramatic!) which refused to heal, raging athlete's foot which refused to clear along with loads of other little things.

Anyway, the final straw came when I had a really bad night with leg cramps (yep I had those before diagnosis too!). The next day I was shattered, but was going to meet up with my Dad and sister in London. I got as far as Paddington, but felt like death warmed up. I ended up having to ask the person sitting next to me on the concourse for help because I was going to pass out! Medical guy arrived, blood test done, taken into hospital there and then!

Best thing that could have happened to me. I feel so much better now (even with my occasional lower leg cramps and mild neuropathy).


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## chrismbee (Jan 24, 2011)

Shortly after my 18th, I started drinking loads and going to the loo more and more frequently (every hour, prior to diagnosis) and each visit was like the emptying of a large reservoir.  Over the following 5 weeks the drinking got to the stage where I could down a litre carton of juice in one go - and then feel the need to have more.  I had to have 2 or 3 pints of water with each meal, because my mouth was so dry I had difficulty swallowing food.  I was totally worn out, not helped by lack of sleep due to frequent visits to the little boys' room.
I went to the drs because I had started getting sudden, disabling cramps in my calf muscles to the extent that, one day, I had to sit down half way up the stairs at home because my legs had locked.
My GP listened to the catalogue of symptoms, then did a urine test and announced that I was diabetic.  That was Monday 1st Nov 1982.  I was admitted to hospital on Friday 5th (coincidentally the anniversary of my father's demise, 6 years earlier) for a week of stabilisation and tuition on carb counting and general dietry stuff, injecting (glass syringe with a hideously big stst needle - ouch!).
My consultant, Dr. McKiddie, was a short, scottish woman with a very blunt approach, linked to a wicked sense of humour and she always appeared to be genuinely knowledgeable about all things diabetic (she retired about 10-12 years after my diagnosis and has been superceded by a succession of docs, none of whom has managed to gain my trust or admiration).
Interestingly, although I was officially resident at hospital, Dr. McKiddie encouraged me to lead a normal life and go out and do normal 18 yr old things during the day, just making sure that I was at the hospital for meals and any other teaching sessions.  My mates at the pub thought I was pulling their legs when I told them that I was currently residing at the hospital - had to show them my admission wrist band as proof!  I drank only sparkling water that evening....
A few days into my stay, I was getting increasingly hungry. I managed to persuade the nurse on the night shift to let me have a cheese sandwich because "if he made it with wholemeal bread" it wouldn't count towards my daily carb count
The following day, Dr. McKiddie agreed that I should be on 28g carbs a day, not the 20 that they had started me off on.
For me, diabetes was just something that I had to get on with and I took to it quite easily (the defiance and poor control didn't happen until a decade later), although my mum was totally distraught by it all.

PS. Thurs 4th Nov 1982 was my last day before being "officially" diabetic and I celebrated with a Mars, Marathon (aka. Snickers to you whipper-snappers) AND a double decker!  Certainly didn't help my cause but, boy, did I enjoy them


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## ukjohn (Jan 24, 2011)

I went to my doctor complaining of an ulcerated tongue, she gave me antibotics, took some blood and asked me to come back in 3 days for results, I went back had 2 doctors checking on me and pricking my fingers every couple of minutes then they told me that they had an ambulance on the way to take me to hospital, by the time we got there I was in a coma. I remember the nurse waking me to check my blood sugar which they were doing every hour, they had operated to put a line in through my neck, I also had a line into each arm. I was in hospital for 12 days. That was my introduction to diabetes.

John.


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## SilentAssassin1642 (Jan 24, 2011)

It was 14th Feb 1996...

and I was at school watching Oliver Twist...

next thing I know, I had projectile vomited all over my class 

Nan rushed me to the doctors, having been bugging my mum for ages to say she thought I was Type 1, but Mum hadn't listened. Lovely doctor took one look at me and said I needed hospital because I was in DKA.

I don't remember much else, other than I really wanted chicken soup in the emergency room. They put a drip in and told me it was chicken soup. lol


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## Andy HB (Jan 24, 2011)

chrismbee said:


> My consultant, Dr. McKiddie, was a short, scottish woman with a very blunt approach, linked to a wicked sense of humour and she always appeared to be genuinely knowledgeable about all things diabetic



We need more Dr. McKiddies!


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## Andy HB (Jan 24, 2011)

SilentAssassin1642 said:


> I don't remember much else, other than I really wanted chicken soup in the emergency room. They put a drip in and told me it was chicken soup. lol



Consomme, surely?


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## AlisonM (Jan 24, 2011)

I was only diagnosed after being carted off to hospital in a very confused state, I actually passed out for a short while, and BGs through the roof. I owe my life to my landlord who got worried when I didn't show up for a meeting we'd arranged, he got the police to break in to the flat and they found me. Looking back, I had been ill for a very long time but because of my other health issues which produce similar symptoms, no-one thought of diabetes as a possibility. I should say, I had very few of the classic symptoms anyway, no raging thirst and constant trips to the loo, no ketones either.


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## twinnie (Jan 24, 2011)

well as most of you know i was diagnosis after having a operation on my pancreas drs told me that after my op i had a very good chance of having d but was still  shocked


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## xxlou_lxx (Jan 24, 2011)

I was diagnosed in april 1989 when I was 5, was down at a relatives house in lancaster with my dear old nana (god rest her soul) apparently I was in a bad way although couldnt rememember now... another 2 weeks would of been too late so you can imagine! I feel really bad tho for my mum as the july of 1989 my brother was born with a congenital heart disorder and had a hole in his heart so needed open heart surgery a few weeks after birth   so from that year onward it would be safe to say that my mum and dad were regulars to going to hospital 

They did an awesome job controllin my blood sugars I remember getting certificates through the post after my hba1cs were checked always 6% range! So they did good considering  

makes me laugh though as The day I was diagnosed I stole my wee cousins bottle from him lol i was THAT thirsty hehe The doctor who sent me to hospital was type 1 himself so it was pretty straight forward in regard to figuring out was was wrong with me (so im told) xx


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## Cate (Jan 24, 2011)

Robster - I got given an orange to practise on  and yes, nobody tells you it hurts when you do it on yourself... The nurses in hospital were bewildered by the fact that I'd happily inject the orange but flatly refused to have anything to do with injecting myself!

I actually stamped on a nurses foot, ran away and locked myself in the toilet at hospital for ages (well, prob about 10 minutes...) when she tried to give me an injection.  She was the dragonwitch nurse though, and deserved it 

I also had a medically induced hypo - I pretended to have the symptoms cos I was starving by about 11.30 and nobody would let me have any food till I'd gone hypo.  Good job I'd read all the stupid books they forced on me...so I knew what to say... Barbaric treatment, really.


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## Robster65 (Jan 24, 2011)

Cate said:


> Robster - I got given an orange to practise on  and yes, nobody tells you it hurts when you do it on yourself... The nurses in hospital were bewildered by the fact that I'd happily inject the orange but flatly refused to have anything to do with injecting myself!
> 
> I actually stamped on a nurses foot, ran away and locked myself in the toilet at hospital for ages (well, prob about 10 minutes...) when she tried to give me an injection.  She was the dragonwitch nurse though, and deserved it
> 
> I also had a medically induced hypo - I pretended to have the symptoms cos I was starving by about 11.30 and nobody would let me have any food till I'd gone hypo.  Good job I'd read all the stupid books they forced on me...so I knew what to say... Barbaric treatment, really.



Thankfully, the system seems to have improved even if the knowledge of some of the doctors hasn't.

I must say, of all the stories, type 2s seem to suffer more (in general) before diagnosis. I feel I was lucky in having a fairly early diagnosis. This is a really interesting thread and an eye-opener.

Rob


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## bigpurpleduck (Jan 24, 2011)

Cate said:


> I actually stamped on a nurses foot, ran away and locked myself in the toilet at hospital for ages (well, prob about 10 minutes...) when she tried to give me an injection.  She was the dragonwitch nurse though, and deserved it
> 
> I also had a medically induced hypo - I pretended to have the symptoms cos I was starving by about 11.30 and nobody would let me have any food till I'd gone hypo.  Good job I'd read all the stupid books they forced on me...so I knew what to say... Barbaric treatment, really.



I had the medically-induced hypo, too. But I had to have it twice - once so my parents could learn how to deal with it, & once for my grandparents who cared for me a lot when I was young. Barbaric is the word!

When I was first admitted to hospital (at 3 years old!), it took 3 nurses & 2 doctors to pin me down to get a drip into me


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## chrismbee (Jan 24, 2011)

I read the various comments about induced hypo's with absolute horror and incredulity

Thankfully I was never subjected to this!

Perhaps the recent research on the link between brain function and hypo's will alter medical thinking on this practice?


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## novorapidboi26 (Jan 24, 2011)

I was 15 and was playing football on my summer holidays at the local astro turf when I was called in from my dad.......i was taken to the hospital, ran a few tests and thats was me in for a week.......never actually told to my face, you have diabetes............my younger brother was diagnosed when he was 2 so my parents knew all the signs, I was unaware........

I was actually taking part in a diabetic study where a group of high risk family members of someone with type 1 were asked to take several different pills, half real, half placebo.........the pills I had were so obviously placebo and I didnt really take them all the time, even participating in this study didnt make me anymore aware of what was happening......


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## glitteryredshoes (Jan 24, 2011)

I was diagnosed last year in July. It happened really quickly with the symptoms starting within the week. I hadn't been very well for a few days and by the weekend I felt awful. On the tuesday my mom knew there was something wrong and tried getting a doctor out but couldnt as I wasn't house bound. My breathing was lapsed and drifting in and out of sleep. She finally got through to a doctor and he said she had left it too late. . I was admitted to hospital after going into Ketoacidosis and was really ill, I cant really remember much about it now but thankfully I got diagnosed at the right time.
 As noone in the family has Diabetes it did come as a complete shock to all of us, but I have now figured out how to control it and gotten my HB down to 6.2%. 
It still shocks me how different everyones stories are and its nice to know Im not alone.


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## katie (Jan 24, 2011)

The most extreme thirst (couldn't speak once, my mouth got so dry), needed the toilet all the time especially at night, VERY tired all the time and I would nod off in classes. Hunger. I didn't notice the weight loss but did lose weight.

I pretty much knew it was Diabetes when I went to the docs and said "I think I might have Diabetes"


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## Jennywren (Jan 24, 2011)

I was diagonised in 1980 when i was 10 years old i was loosing weight and drinking loads ,and dad was a diabetic type 1 so went to docs who sent me to hospital where my bs was in the 30s


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## Klocky (Jan 24, 2011)

Just been reading this very interesting thread and have realised I might have been undiagnosed for quite a time (approx 3 years I think).  Like Steffie and various others, I had ulceration in my armpit - didnt require hospital treatment but did take ages to clear up.  Did have a fasting blood test at the time but was told the result was normal. 
Then I developed another ulcer on my boob, which also took ages to clear up.  They did give me another fasting test which also came back normal.

Then about a year ago I started to develop styes on my eyes, top and bottom lids, at least once a month.  Had 3 courses of antiobiotics and on going back to the surgery co-incidentally had an appointment with the GP who has an interest in diabetes - he organised a fasting glucose test which resulted in the diagnosis.  After finding this site and buying my testing kit, I discovered that the food that gives me most problems is bread - I used to eat 2 slices of toast for breakfast, a cob for lunch and usually a slice of bread with my evening meal so can only assume that mostly its the bread that causes me to spike - I have cut it out totally.  However, if I hadnt seen the GP with the interest, I'd probably just be carrying on as normal.  

I didnt have any other syptom of diabetes, i.e. I was weeing as normal and I didnt feel thirsty.


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## Northerner (Jan 24, 2011)

Cate said:


> Robster - I got given an orange to practise on  and yes, nobody tells you it hurts when you do it on yourself... The nurses in hospital were bewildered by the fact that I'd happily inject the orange but flatly refused to have anything to do with injecting myself!...



From my blog a while ago:

The Prayer of the Frightened Orange

I?ve recently been reading anecdotes about how people were taught to do their insulin injections, and it appears that a popular method in former years was to get the patient, or patient?s carer, to practice by injecting into an orange. Thankfully, it appears that this barbaric practise has all but disappeared from civilised society, and oranges assigned to hospitals no longer need fear this painful, protracted and humiliating fate at the hands of diabetic neophytes.

Recently, during a clear out of  old fruit bowl cupboards at a disused hospital, a remarkable document has come to light, which gives a fascinating insight into the lonely life of a terrified orange destined for the diabetic ward. Most oranges would hope to live out their ripening days adorning colourful baskets alongside fruits of all varieties and nations, valued and admired by staff and patients alike. For those unfortunates selected for injection training however, the outlook was grim, and a dusty, juice-stained piece of old peel found in a dark corner was found to contain this poignant supplication to a higher power?

Oh Orange Father, hear my prayer,
And save me from my fate,
Deliver me from this frightening place,
Before it is too late!

For I have heard an awful word,
The humans call ?inject?,
And terror grips my shaking pips,
If they should me select!

Oh Orange Spirit, show you care!
Don?t let them pierce me so!
For such a death I cannot bear,
(I?m sensitive, you know!)

They?re coming, Spirit, for me now,
So this must be goodbye,
Perhaps I?ll join you very soon,
In the Juicer in the Sky!


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## randomange (Jan 24, 2011)

I was diagnosed in September 1988.  I'd been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis about a year before, which had taken months of tests, so my mum was quite used to dealing with doctors!  She says I was very lethargic, lost loads of weight (one woman asked my my mum if I was anorexic - I was four years old! ) and drinking and peeing lots.  My mum said she knew something was wrong, so took me to the GP who dismissed her as a paranoid mother, said I "just had a virus" and sent me away!  My mum took me back a couple of days later to a different GP, who smelled my breath as soon as I walked in, told my mum I was diabetic and that I was in DKA, and then turned around and called an ambulance!

I remember hearing about people being forced to have a hypo, but it never happened to me.  I do remember practicing my injection technique on some poor oranges though - I had way too much fun sucking the juice out of the orange with the syringe!


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## AnnW (Jan 24, 2011)

Aw,Northerner, brought a tear to my eye


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## williammcd (Jan 24, 2011)

the way i found out i was diabetic scared the life out of me,

i worked as a sand moulder in a brass foundry ,

i was walking along with about a ton of molten bronze in a giant pot hanging from an overhead crane ,so as i walked along i started to feel dog tired really really sleepy,so i kept shaking my head from side to side as i thought i was about to fall asleep while walking ,
well i got to were i was going with the very large pot of molten bronze and i passed out for a slit second and woke with a start ,it scared the life out of me, as soon as i had poured the metal into my mould i phoned my wife asking her to get me an emergency appointment at my doc ,that afternoon he sat me down done a blood test and told me the bad news ,though i have to say Ive spent my whole life awaiting that moment as my mother was a life long diabetic so was my grand father and i had a problem with sugar all my life, at first they said i was allergic to the stuff then i was cant remember the very long word they used ,anyway my doc looked at me and said i thought you would be devastated ,after i had told him my family history he understood ,as young children our family doc told us we would be susceptible to diabetes at a later age,

from that day on every thing changed


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## Sheilagh1958 (Jan 24, 2011)

williammcd said:


> the way i found out i was diabetic scared the life out of me,
> 
> i worked as a sand moulder in a brass foundry ,
> 
> ...



Gosh William you were very lucky.

Thank you everyone for replying to this thread I think it has been really interesting finding out how each of us was diagnosed. Hope others found it intersting as well


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## diabeticjudoka (Jan 25, 2011)

I was diagnosed with type 1 late onset after just a few hours of symptoms. My friend had got married and had a huge chocolate cake made, of which I made a hefty dent in! Top that off with champagne, a few rums and a night of disturbed sleep due to toilet visits.
I had same trouble 2 days later after drinking a fanta and at the back of my mind suspected diabetes, but thought I must have a water infection. I attended GP appointment at 11am, was referred to diabetes centre immediately, diagnosed at 2pm and did my first injection at 5pm. It was OH birthday too....
That was 5 years ago, and to be honest I'm probably now fitter and healthier than I have ever been!


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## Nicky1970 (Jan 25, 2011)

In February of last year I found I was becoming increasingly myopic. I went to the optician, who prescribed glasses. 
At about the same time I got the first of a series of thrush infections. 
In October I realised I was drinking loads of sugary drinks (getting through a big bottle of Ribena a day), weeing for England and craving sweets (where previously I'd always been a crisps and cheese fiend). 
I'd also been suffering from mood swings and was being treated for depression, so when I went to go back more meds I simply asked for a diabetes test. 
Didn't get an appointment with the nurse until the beginning of November, got results back day later of FBG of 16.7. Had repeat test three weeks later, the second result read 18.9.
Like many others here, dx was the kick up the backside I desperately need!


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## suziepoo (Jan 25, 2011)

I'd lost about 2 stone in weight but just put that down to having started running.  Then driving home on the motorway one night I realised the roadsign was blurred. I went to an opticians, told them what happened and they said I needed glasses. When I queried why my eyesight would change so much since three months ago - she told me to make an appointment at my docs.
After some blood tests, he diagnosed me as diabetic and gave me some tablets. Went back for more blood tests 3 months later and he told me they weren't working and I needed to go on insulin! I knew from the moment he said I was diabetic that would be the outcome!
Got referred to the MRI and had a very nasty consultant (who basically said go away until yr injecting) and a horrid DSN (who told me the day before a trip to Florida with my friends and their kids - hope you have good travel insurance!). Had a good holiday despite worrying that the kids would come in and find me dead in bed!
I now have a new GP (who is excellent!!), a new DSN (who is brill) and a new consultant (aka John Cleese but who seems to know what he's doing!!). I've also been seeing a psychologist to overcome my needle phobia. I'm now managing to do most of my injections! But am seeing another DSN on Friday to discuss going on the pump - apparentlly she has one so I can see what it's actually like.
It's only in the last 5 months that I feel like I've started to make some headway in dealing with the Big D!


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## Liz! (Jan 25, 2011)

Ooh, wonderful pictures fill my head of your consultant ding a silly walk into the consulting room, answering your question before last, and smacking his own bottom...


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## sofaraway (Jan 25, 2011)

end of 1999 I started feeling more thirsty and passing more urine I checked my urine for glucose (my mum has diabetes and had some urine sticks) came back positive a few times before i told my mum. I was then taken to the doctors who said it was hormones and I didn't have diabetes. After going back a few times and my mum doing a couple of blood tests on me and a couple of fasting blood tests coming back normal. My mum kept on at the Doctor who agreed to refer me to the peads ward where they did a glucose tolerence test. This was end of December 1999. At 2 hours my blood glucose was 17mmol and It wouldn't come down for several hours, they were supposed to keep me until it returned to normal, but sent me home before that as it probably wasn't going to happen. They then made me an appointment at the diabetes clinic in the Febuary and only then was I told that I had diabetes. I went about 6 weeks not knowing if I even had diabetes, and I had myself convinced that I didn't have it. 

So the GP was wrong I clearly had diabetes. I wonder how they feel when they realise that they have been wrong. Funny thing was I saw this same GP several years later and she was fantastic, I saw her a lot because of my mental health. She was also the GP that got me referred to start insulin when I was really unwell with awful blood sugars.


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## D_G (Jan 25, 2011)

My diagnosis was rather dramatic.....

February 2010

Was feeling a bit run down during the week...really tired and had no energy, drinking tons and going to the loo alot! i lost about stone and a bit (didnt notice as i was detoxing and just thought it was working!) then i was sick one night and my breathing got really rapid so i went to A and E to check it out and got diagnosed with severe indigestion (gastro reflux something...) and was prescribed gaviscon.....

Ended up back in A and E the next night as i could barely stand and do anything for myself, even had to be dragged to the car to get there...waited in A and E to be seen and when it was my turn i collapsed at the end of the corridoor and the next thing i remember is my friend helping me into a hospital gown, then i woke up with various drips in parts of me, including a catheter and being told i was diabetic.....i had no idea what this meant at the time but i had a blood sugar of 24

I didnt know how bad i was but my dad told me basically all my organs were failing and i was nearly in a diabetic coma...

Lucky to be here really


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## shirleywhirley (Jan 25, 2011)

Hi my diagnosis was half done were i work !!

I'd been thirsty and weeing lots for ages and also was drinking loads of energy drinks as i was soo tired, tho they didnt work cos i could fall sleep after them lol.

Anyway one of the nurses were i work thought i could have a water infection and gave me a test stick, which was clear for water infection, proteins etc and +++ for glucose. She then asked me if she could test my blood sugar the next day and it was 22. 
The nurse advised me to go doctors asap but irony was that it was a saturday and i still ended up working the whole day in a state of shock and then rang in sick the next day as was too worried too work!! Really i should have gone home on the saturday but i felt ok !
Went the doctors on the Monday, done blood sugar again and it was 19 so got definate diagnosis and straight onto metformin.

If the nurse had not suggested me to test my wee then i doubt i would have found out for a good while as i just put my symptoms down to working long shifts.

Shirl


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## Fandange (Jan 25, 2011)

Bede was dxd in Oct '09 (aged 9). He had a flu, same as his sister, nothing to worry about. Then he didn't get better when she did. He was always really strong and healthy. Took him to the GP and explained the weight loss, sweet smell, thirst, lethargy.....and was told that children don't lose weight that quickly? Come back if he gets any worse. Took him home, helped him into the bath and then weighed him over the next two days. He lost 5 kgs!!! It was when he vomited that I decided enough was enough and carried him to the GP (a different one) who took a urine sample and called an ambulance. He was DKA, on oxygen in the ambulance with the blue lights flashing.....saline drips and the whole bit in the A &E. He spent a night in Paediatric ICU, then onto the ward for a couple of days and was injecting within 24 hours of admission.....
I almost kissed the doc when he told me it was diabetes......I had a horrible idea that it was something terminal and far more sinister....


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## Fandange (Jan 25, 2011)

But with Byron it was different......He had tonsillitis (aged 14) in late September '10. He just never really got better and then the extreme thirst and urgent urination started so I took him to the (same)GP with a sample in hand, thinking he had a UTI. No, it was T1. He wasn't really unwell, but the diagnosis was somehow more difficult to swallow. He had one night in hospital, showed the ward nurses how to put the cartridge in his pen, and just got on with the rest of it because he had a year of helping his little brother under his belt.....


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## Sheilagh1958 (Jan 25, 2011)

diabeticjudoka said:


> I was diagnosed with type 1 late onset after just a few hours of symptoms. My friend had got married and had a huge chocolate cake made, of which I made a hefty dent in! Top that off with champagne, a few rums and a night of disturbed sleep due to toilet visits.
> I had same trouble 2 days later after drinking a fanta and at the back of my mind suspected diabetes, but thought I must have a water infection. I attended GP appointment at 11am, was referred to diabetes centre immediately, diagnosed at 2pm and did my first injection at 5pm. It was OH birthday too....
> That was 5 years ago, and to be honest I'm probably now fitter and healthier than I have ever been!



I am also fitter and healthier than I have ever been as well


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## aymes (Jan 25, 2011)

I was 21, living in America studying for the third year if my degree. Over the couple of months before I came home I lost a lot of weight and was drinking silly amounts of water (kept a 2l bottle by my bed and would fill it at least three times overnight. I was thrilled, eating big American portions and wearing size 0 jeans! I just put the drinking down to the hot climate.
When I got home my friends and family were shocked by my skinniness and eventually persuaded me to go to the pharmacist for a diabetes test. This came up as 'hi' on the meter, the staff hadn't seen that before and weren't sure what it meant. They gave me a note with the results to take to my GP, this was a temporary GP near my mums as it was still the uni holidays. He called me straight in but because I only had trace ketones he assumed type 2 and put me on metformin. I went back once a week for the rest of the holidays showing no improvement, still losing weight etc. When I went back to uni and saw my GP she was shocked, sent me home so she could speak to the temp GP. The next thing I know the doctors secretary calls me to say I have to go straight to the diabetes centre at the hospital. By then my bg was through the roof and I had plenty of ketones, if it has been a few days later I doubt I'd have been walking in. As it was though I stayed there all day seeing different doctors and nurses, taught to inject and sent home in time for tea!


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## Ergates (Jan 25, 2011)

Sheilagh1958 said:


> I am also fitter and healthier than I have ever been as well



Same here!!


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## Sheilagh1958 (Jan 25, 2011)

Gosh you were lucky Aymes. Been some scary things happening to people before diagnosis.


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## squidge63 (Jan 27, 2011)

I went into A&E with chest pain, they were sending me off for an echocardiogram and I was sitting waiting with my notes, so being me I had a nose through them and saw my glucose level was up and though hmmm I don't like the look of that.. spent 2 weeks in hospital and then went for a GTT, had the first set of bloods done and handed in my urine specimen. while waiting for the next part of the test the dr came out to me and said, we don't need to carry on with the GTT you are diabetic, when we tested your urine it was very high in sugar and said something about my bloods as well.

Thing is, looking back before I was diagnosed I was drinking loads, going to the toilet loads especially during the night, was desperately trying not to fall asleep at work and I had lost about 3.5 stone (over a year)..


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## lizabetic (Jan 27, 2011)

It was during my GCSE's! I was tired all the time, thirsty a lot, hyper on too much coke and peeing every 15 minutes. 
Went to the doctor, got a blood test, went back to the doctor for him to say i'm diabetic now, got put straight on insulin by surgery doctor, wasn't in hospital either which I wish I was as it could of sorted things asap !


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## novorapidboi26 (Jan 27, 2011)

lizdiz247 said:


> It was during my GCSE's! I was tired all the time, thirsty a lot, hyper on too much coke and peeing every 15 minutes.
> Went to the doctor, got a blood test, went back to the doctor for him to say i'm diabetic now, got put straight on insulin by surgery doctor, wasn't in hospital either which I wish I was as it could of sorted things asap !



WOW, I was in for a whole week, I was 15, so 12 years ago now......how long ago were you diagnosed......?


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## lizabetic (Jan 27, 2011)

novorapidboi26 said:


> WOW, I was in for a whole week, I was 15, so 12 years ago now......how long ago were you diagnosed......?



Two years ago and about 6 months. I have no idea why I never went in to be honest =/


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## thenat (Jan 27, 2011)

I was diagnosed on christmas eve and had to stay in hospital for 4 nights ... the hospital christmas dinner wasn't the best i've ever had!


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## Northerner (Jan 27, 2011)

thenat said:


> I was diagnosed on christmas eve and had to stay in hospital for 4 nights ... the hospital christmas dinner wasn't the best i've ever had!



What a rotten Christmas present!


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## D_G (Jan 27, 2011)

lizdiz247 said:


> Two years ago and about 6 months. I have no idea why I never went in to be honest =/



I was in for a week too - 3 of which in intensive care....sucked


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## Pigeon (Jan 27, 2011)

I was on holiday in Edinburgh and I remember getting up every night to pee several times and drinking loads. I was so tired too. Sadly my Grandma passed away that week and I remember getting through loads of orange juice at her wake, but putting it down to stress and grief. When things got back to normal after the funeral I got used to the dry mouth and strange taste, and I found "explanations" for the thirst, always thinking it was because I'd been exercising, or I was just being healthy drinking lots of water. So I forgot what it was like to be normal, and I had an exam coming up so I put a lot of symptoms down to stress.

Diabetes had crossed my mind, but I thought you only got T1 as a child or T2 when you were old, so at 26 I didn't fit into either category.

Eventually I went to the GP after 6 months of consistent weight loss (except I didn't admit I'd left it 6 months) and didn't mention the other symptoms, so he assumed it was a thyroid problem and ordered a blood test. Thankfully they checked BG too. The blood test was the Thursday before Easter, and I went away Thursday night until Monday  to my boyfriend's family and we ate loads of chocolate all weekend. I felt terrible on the train journey home (Easter Monday) and drank loads of lemonade... then got in to an answer phone message AND letter from the GP saying I had diabetes and I should avoid all sugary food and drink and go to see him immediately. So I had a mad panic that I was going to die and had caused diabetes by eating so badly.

Went to see the GP  on the Tuesday who sent me straight to the diabetes clinic, I cried on the consultant, DSN and dietician, who were all fab, then got sent home with pens, needles, meter and insulin. And thus started my new life... took about 6 months to sink in and get my head around it though.

Really enjoyed reading everyone's stories.


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## Catareta (Mar 16, 2011)

Found this thread 

I was diagnosed 10 years ago - was about to join the army and after the second medical was dx with diabetes :-( 
To think about it had many of the symptoms; as a medical assistant etc.. but was gutted that had to leave. 

First diagnosed as Type 2 despite being average weight.. as didnt have ketones... then put on Novomix 30; then additional Lantus and now completely diff regime..

Had some scares along the way 

and now 10 years down the line have adequate care and sorta getting on with it.. taking nearly 6 years to get to grips with it


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## grahams mum (Mar 16, 2011)

Pumper_Sue said:


> Mum took me to the family Dr and told him I was diabetic.
> He disagreed, but said come back with a urine sample when passing, just to prove her wrong. He was handed a sample then and there. The rest is history.
> That was in 1965.



it did not changed a lot from 65 to 2007 parents are always wright


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## grahams mum (Mar 16, 2011)

SilentAssassin1642 said:


> It was 14th Feb 1996...
> 
> and I was at school watching Oliver Twist...
> 
> ...



the vomit sounds like graham but he did it on our carpet and wee on the childminder carpet


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## TheSugarLump (Mar 16, 2011)

I was a new patient (moved areas) and having routine mini medical, discovered high blood pressure and then had to have blood tests. first fasting only 7.1, second 8.5. 
I had been feeling unwell - really tired, light headed, lots of headaches - thought it was stress of moving house, new business, long hours etc. 
Mum was type 2 so it was always in back of my mind that I too could develop it one day, but still came as a big shock.
It is the kick I need though, don't have a very healthy lifestyle, always got an excuse for not eating properly or doing exercise and need to loose about 3 or 4 stones!


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## DaisyDuke (Mar 16, 2011)

I was diagnosed at 15 weeks pregnant with my 2nd child with pregnancy diabetes and naughty me never went back for the six week check up after my baby's birth.I was told that I probably stayed diabetic afterwards.

When my son was about three I found my old blood testing machine and did a fasting blood test which said 15mmol.

I went to the doctors and the rest is history.I had no symptoms of high blood sugar at all.


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## Sheilagh1958 (Mar 16, 2011)

TheSugarLump said:


> It is the kick I need though, don't have a very healthy lifestyle, always got an excuse for not eating properly or doing exercise and need to loose about 3 or 4 stones!



That sounds very similar to me Sugarlump I was diagnosed in September and have managed to loose the first 2 stone.......only another 2.5 to go. I feel so much better now fitter and healthier  Good luck


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## Catwoman76 (Mar 16, 2011)

Hi It was August 1989, for months I had been losing weight, I was only about 8 1/2 stone anyway, feeling very tired, incredible itching in the nether regions and incredible thirst ( I was drinking out of running taps, gulping it down) I went up to my sisters, in Cleveland by coach  told her and her husband of symptoms, he said when you get back home go and see your doctor.  The next night they had a small dinner party, I was drinking cream Soda like it was going out of fashion, got very upset and I think a bit garbled.  My sister called for a Doctor he said he could smell pear drops on my breath, rang for an Ambulance, the Ambulance took me and the husbands aunt Dorothy because they could drop her off on the way, believe me it is true.  Ended up in North Tees General Hospital with bs of over 30, very scared and frightened, in a strange hospital with not many visitors as my sister didn't drive then.
I was told I had to inject myself, my hands were sweating, but injected in my leg then there was blood trickling down from the site.  Stayed in hospital for one week and then an extra week at my sisters because i wasn't allowed to travel home on my own.  So that's it! and here I am 21 yrs later.  Sheena x


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## Sheilagh1958 (Mar 16, 2011)

Catwoman76 said:


> Hi It was August 1989, for months I had been losing weight, I was only about 8 1/2 stone anyway, feeling very tired, incredible itching in the nether regions and incredible thirst ( I was drinking out of running taps, gulping it down) I went up to my sisters, in Cleveland by coach  told her and her husband of symptoms, he said when you get back home go and see your doctor.  The next night they had a small dinner party, I was drinking cream Soda like it was going out of fashion, got very upset and I think a bit garbled.  My sister called for a Doctor he said he could smell pear drops on my breath, rang for an Ambulance, the Ambulance took me and the husbands aunt Dorothy because they could drop her off on the way, believe me it is true.  Ended up in North Tees General Hospital with bs of over 30, very scared and frightened, in a strange hospital with not many visitors as my sister didn't drive then.
> I was told I had to inject myself, my hands were sweating, but injected in my leg then there was blood trickling down from the site.  Stayed in hospital for one week and then an extra week at my sisters because i wasn't allowed to travel home on my own.  So that's it! and here I am 21 yrs later.  Sheena x



Hi Sheena that hospital is only about 7 miles from where I live


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## FM001 (Mar 16, 2011)

Constant thirst and peeing for England were my warning signs that something was wrong, the thirst was terrible and I could have attached myself to the end of a tap, as soon as I explained this to the doctor he did a urine sample and confirmed diabetes.


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## Barb (Mar 17, 2011)

Love the orange poem but hope you're not just taking the pith 




Northerner said:


> From my blog a while ago:
> 
> The Prayer of the Frightened Orange
> 
> ...


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## donnarob (Mar 17, 2011)

Really interesting thread. 

I think reading everyone's posts that the symptoms were there but can be so vague.  I didn't have the thirst or peeing a lot but had been sleeping an awful lot. Couldn't understand why I was so tired all the time. 

I went to my new doctor for a smear test which I'd been putting off and she took routine bloods.  I got a call a week later to come in as my blood glucose was to high at 16.  My Hba1c was 10.5% and she told me she was pretty sure that I had diabetes.  When I looked back over my family history, my first cousin on my father's side is type 1 and her dad also had diabetes, so it runs in the family. 

I am overweight but have since lost about 1 stone, still need to lose several more but this has given me more of an incentive to get a lot fitter.  Like you Sheilagh, I put a lot of symptoms down to the perimenopause.  I was dripping sweat on my forehead and just put it down to hot flushes.  However, I'm still not convinced that there's isn't a connection to hormone inbalance and high readings of blood glucose. 

My fasting blood glucose this morning was 6.2 so I'm happy with that. 

I get really angry at the complacence shown towards to diabetics (especially Type 2's) as if they were responsible for bringing this on by their unhealthy lifestyle. I know an awful lot of people who have a much unhealthier diet than me but they can't contain their smugness at to not having this. To quote one of my family "oh every second person gets diabetes, it's nothing!"

Donna


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## Alan S (Mar 17, 2011)

I actually wrote this back in 2004, when I was asked the same question on alt.support.diabetes. It is a day I never forgot.

It's gone and past now, and I started by commenting that it was black humour at the time. The sequence was that the CLL diagnosis came first and after all the blood testing, CAT scan and bone-marrow biopsy I found that there appeared to be nothing at all I could do about it. So I was fairly depressed - "why me". At least it was the "slow" version.

Then two months later the doctor's receptionist rang on a Saturday after the doc had left and said that the doctor wanted to talk to me "about my diabetes" next Tuesday. The problem was that I didn't know until that moment that I had diabetes. So I spent that weekend with the same shock of diagnosis that everyone has, compounded by no doctor's visit or advice and a prior CLL diagnosis. We were also looking after my f-i-l, and that was when it occurred to me that at least I would be unlikely to get old enough to get dementia or Alzheimer's - thankful for small mercies 

The sequel is more positive. First the doctor cheered me up by stating that if I didn't lose weight and sort out the diabetes, then I wouldn't live long enough for the cancer to become a problem.  But the big difference was that I found there were things I could do for the diabetes, unlike the CLL.

So I designed a diet, started losing weight, "discovered" m.h.d and Jennifer's advice, and here I am. That's why I am such a staunch supporter of the "test, test, test" advice - because it works. 

And the serendipitous bit is that since gaining control of the T2 BGs, the CLL has gone into remission. No-one knows why, but I'm not complaining.

Sorry for such a long answer to such short queston


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## AlisonM (Mar 17, 2011)

Got carted off to hospital* in a dwam with sky-high BGs and tossed out again a few hours later after having had a cup of tea with the instruction to go and see my doctor. Which I did, tests in the surgery suggested I wasn't diabetic (no ketones), but more detailed blood testing showed I was. Initial Dx was Type 2, but I didn't fit the profile so further testing confirmed I'm a 1.5 about six months later.

* Stay away from St George's Tooting! The ambulance folk who took me in were great, but St G's kept me hanging about for more than 6 hours before sending me home on the bus, still very confused, having done absolutely nothing to help me. I found out later that, had they been more on the ball, I could have been receiving much needed treatment more than two weeks earlier and might even have been corrrectly diagnosed from the beginning.


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## Cate (Mar 17, 2011)

Alison I go to St Georges for my eye care! Fortunately it's an outpost of Moorfields, they're really good - I've got a vitrectomy there next Friday.  The fetal medicine unit there is also fab, but I've never seen the a&e or diabetes team there so can't comment on that bit!


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## Emma Jane (Mar 17, 2011)

hi
how did i get diagnosed? via this mornings dr chris on tv. 
from around christmas i had been losing weight, eating more, drinking more, goin the loo more, waking in the night needing the loo an having leg cramps an falling asleep when i got home from school. oh, and i got thrush in my mouth for no apparent reason. i wasnt sure what was going on but i knew it was weird. on the thursday of our half term i went out with a research group from my school. it was great exept for the fact i was drinking soooo much and going the toilet a lot. we went to frankie & bennies, bowling and the cinema to see gnomeo & juliet. by the end of the night everyone was commenting on how much i was drinking. i said i would ask my mum for a doctors appointment when she picked me up. when i did she said shed been thinking about that. she had seen this morning and dr chris had been talking about diabetes. he had listed all of my symptoms and said if you have one or more of them then go an get checked. mum took me to the pharmacy in asda the following day because they do free fasting blood glucose checks. i was 13.9 and they said go straight to your gp. the gp then did a urine ketone test and it came up +++ so they said go straight to alder hey because you are type 1 diabetic and they had booked me a bed because the next step was a coma. i felt fine but shocked to hear this. my mum took me, eventhoug it was her wedding anniversary, and no one knew who we were or who the doctor was who the gp had spoken to. eventually we got sorted out but i had to stay in over the weekend as the diabetic team only worked 9 - 5 monday to friday and not at all at weekends and by this time it was about 7pm. i got a head start though because the doctor on call was part of the diabetic team so got my injections sorted on the night i arrived. i got out of hospital on the tuesday feeling like id just stepped out of a tornado and hadnt got my bearings yet. still felling like that though but i was back in school the following friday afternoon. the nurses have been great and i am feeling much better now phisically but am still a mess mentally. 
sorry about the length x


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## Lauren (Mar 17, 2011)

I was 6 years old and in June I had had chicken pox. By August I weighed two and a half stone, looked like I had rickets and was tired all the time. I remember being soooo thirsty all the time. Just before I was diagnosed I was waiting in the car on a hot day, and I was so thirsty that I drank an entire 2 litre bottle of lemonade in under 5 minutes.

My mum realised how ill I was when she made me try on some leggings and saw how skinny I had become - before then I liked to wear baggy tracksuits so she hadn't noticed! We went straight to the GP. He said he would call an ambulance but it would work out quicker if we drove staright to the hospital. I remember the nurses in the hospital had to hold me down to get my IV in,and they kept taking blood from the top of my hand which freaked me out. I was in hospital for three weeks. I didn't have a 'honeymoon period' because I was diagnosed so late.

It turned out that when I had chicken pox, my immune system got a bit over-enthusiastic and killed off my islet cells


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