Harsh Reality…
I’m 20 years old and have been living with type 1 diabetes for only 3 months now . Before being diagnosed I lived a rather carefree and reckless lifesyle which consisted of far too much alcohol, drugs and cigarettes. I barely ate and my weight was 56 kilos which for someone who is 183cms tall wasn’t so healthy . My diet pretty much consisted of cigarettes, redbull and the occasional binge of takeaway food.
About 3 1/2 months ago I started too feel a bit sick, ,tired, nauseaous, dehydrated, blurred vision . I brushed it off and put it down to too much partying. Unfortunately as the days went on my symptoms worsened and it got to a point where my vision was so blurred that Ii could barely even see my reflection in the mirror…. .I made an appointment to see a doctor that Ii don’t usually go to. Some tests were done and it was put down to a virus .
Ii proceeded to go to the optometrist who told me that I needed glasses and sent me on my way, but that night at 3 am when I was sitting on my kitchen floor trying desperately to quench my unquenchable thirst with any form of liquid I could find – I knew that there was a lot more going on.
In the next few days my weight started to plummet and I eventually got down to a skeletal 46 kilos. I could barely stand up and ended up being asked to leave work and just get some help. In those few days I couldn’t even think straight. I was disoriented, scared ,alone and felt like I was going crazy. I went home and slept for what felt like eternity and when I woke I felt a lot better. Foolishly I went out clubbing that weekend. I actually looked like a drugged out skeleton and I could barely walk. I called my mother from the club and brokedown on the phone to her. She came and got me and took me to her place. She burst out in tears just at the sight of me as she hadn’t seen me in a couple of weeks
The next day she promptly took me to my regular GP demandng answer. A quick BGL test showed my blood glucose was 58 mmol which was even too high to show up on the machine! .I was taken to the emergency room immediately and within hours I was told I had type 1 diabetes .
When I heard it at first I guess I just felt relieved that there was actually a reason for feeling so sick for so long but as I had more time to process it I had so many different feelings .Ii was scared – scared about my future, scared about the unknown I guess.
After a week in hospital I was sent home and had to move back with my mother. After a few weeks my eyes started to go back to normal, my weight started to go back to normal and I started to feel like me again. .For a little while the injections were tough and mixed with withdrawals from cigarettes, alcohol and sugar, I wasn’t a happy camper, ,but through everything my family and friends were there suppoting me and showing me how much they cared .
Three months on things are great – I’m back to work as normal , back to living alone, my blood glucose levels are around 5.0 – 7.0 mmol and I’m very rarely having hypos .
The future seems bright at the moment but I know things can go horribly wrong if I don’t look after myself. I don’t know where I’ll be in 10 years but diabetes will definately not hold me back from reaching my goals and dreams .
In a wierd sort of way diabetes actually saved me .