anybody here have diabetes?

I've had type 1 diabetes for 16 years.

It affects what I eat, and it means I have to carry an injection around if I'm planning on having anything to eat, and glucose tablets in case I have low sugar levels. It means I'm excluded from certain jobs (pilot, air traffic controller, emergency services to some degree) and I only get a 3-year driving licence, which can be renewed if I don't develop any complications.

I also have background retinopathy, which means that small haemmorages have started to develop on my retina. This is normal for people who have had diabetes for 10-15+ years, and doesn't affect my vision yet, but it could do if it continues to develop.

Speirs said:
Are those self test diabetes kits from the chemist any good?
The ones where you stick the strip into your urine and watch if the colour changes?
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Presumably they detect a large amount of sugar, which won't be caused by much except diabetes, so I'd say they're pretty reliable.

Tefal said:
To all the diabetics, do you ever have the urge to stab the needle into noisy chavs on the bus? :p
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The needles are tiny these days, they probably wouldn't notice :p
 
Tefal said:
But hopefully sticking a load of insulin into someone will have some entertaining effects? :p
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Well I guess it depends on the type of insulin... but a large enough injection of rapid acting would certainly induce coma and maybe death pretty quickly in most diabetics and non-diabetics.. after all your liver has only a certain amount of reserve glucose that it can release to keep you alive..
 
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The urine test is likely just a normal ketone test. Small amounts of them can be fairly normal. They are a by product of fat being used as fuel. Anything in the mid / higher ranges would suggest diabetes and then doctors could do glucose tolerance testing / blood tests.
 
I'm type 2 and found out during a routine eye test about 3 years ago. I wasn't overweight (if anything underweight) - I always drank a lot + attributed the tiredness down to working long hours all the time. I'm at the crossover age (late 30's) where it could be type 1 or type 2. I had to have laser treatment on my eye's as I had fluid buildup - but I'm now finished with that and have the all clear which is good (untreated I would have gone blind eventually).

I just radically altered my diet (stupid things like baked beans are laced with sugar) - eat plenty of veg - chicken n stuff. I have a naughty meal twice a week (maybe chips or something) and combined with my tablets I'm doing fine now. As they will tell you it's not just about oh noes stop all sugar it's about exercise, better diet (fat, chlosterol (sp))

You can still have sugar (you just have to control it) - I got sugar lows (as my mum does - she is type 2) and it's not pleasant but they are rare tbh - stick to a regime and it's all good. I'd much rather do that than go blind etc

Our doctors has a diabetic nurse who advises you, regular blood tests and you generally get yourself a self tester kit to monitor your levels regularlly to see if your doing okay.
 
Type 2 here (and a porker too as trollgosixteen so eloquently put it) managed with metformin and working hard on diet. My diagnosis a couple of months ago kinda answered so many questions I had about why I have felt like crap for the last 6-8 months.

It's a horrible condition with some very nasty side effects and consequences that really shouldn't be taken lightly. Sadly because many of them hit in later life it is hard to convince yourself you need to do something about it now (a bit like putting off starting a pension I guess...) but it killed my dad and I am really keen to try and stop it doing the same thing to me too soon. Many on here may just say it is scare mongering but it's serious and should be tackled as being so.
 
My wife has type 1 and she can eat quite normally but has to be careful with the amount and be aware to adjust the injections accordingly. Apart from that she is OK with the occasional hypo/hyper.

One thing I have learned.

People react differently when then go low on sugar levels. I once had a mate at work who had one (he is built like a brick craphouse) he collapsed, couple of seconds later woke up didn't know where he was, started getting aggressive and had to be manhandled out of the office until he regained his senses.

My wife tends to get angry and confused when she is low, I have learnt not to listen to her or take any notice of her when she is like that as she gets more and more angry and confused which in turn makes it more difficult for her sugar levels to raise.

Stuff like that can be hard to deal with as I don't always know if she is angry cos she is angry or angry cos she is having a hypo!

Apart from that she is as normal as a female can be :p
 
T'other half is type 1. She just has to keep a tally of what she's eaten so she knows how much to inject and keeps jelly beans on her so she can top up with sugar if necessary.

I can smell the low sugar on her breath if she goes low, but I can't describe the smell. She's never gone unconscious or anything, but I have had to rescue her with a sugary drinks delivery once when she was walking home :D
 
My little sister was diagnosed when she was three, and she's dealt with it really well though she's 11 now, I've never heard her complain about it.
I have a few friends who have it as well, they seem to be doing fine, still doing the stuff they enjoy
 
Speirs said:
Are those self test diabetes kits from the chemist any good?
The ones where you stick the strip into your urine and watch if the colour changes?
Click to expand...

haha, i loved mine when it was done, for those in the know, mine was black :D

type 1 since april 06, diagnosed in geneva, was a fun extra week there :rolleyes:
 
dazzerd said:
My wife tends to get angry and confused when she is low, I have learnt not to listen to her or take any notice of her when she is like that as she gets more and more angry and confused which in turn makes it more difficult for her sugar levels to raise.
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It has this effect on me too, the smallest of tasks become difficult and confusing, and it often ends in my gf getting an earfull :o
 
Type 2 Dec 09 on lots of drugs including injections soon. changed me allot. They believe I was undiagnosed for a while and as such it has done allot of damage to my kidneys found out few months ago. Will need a transplant and dialysis within 6-8 years. Not good to know and it takes allot of positive thinking to get threw each day.
 
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