Yesterday I Was Told That I’m a Type 1 Diabetic
The blood glucose meter in the ER read HIGH. Apparently that is what it is supposed to say when your blood sugar is over 500mg/dL.
Mine was 537mg/dL, I’m an overachiever.
I’m not one to scare easily, but yesterday… well, I was scared. As the doctor explained that I had Type 1 Diabetes, I didn’t believe it was real. Surely the meter wasn’t calibrated correctly, right? This must be a dream, a misdiagnosis, something? Anything other than what the doctor had just told me.
Looking back on the days leading up to this hospital visit, I was drinking nearly 2 gallons of water per day, and I wasn’t sure why, I was just unquenchably thirsty. And I just couldn’t get enough. Each day became increasingly worse and I vividly remember waking up in the middle of one of those nights thinking about how wonderful it sounded to just go outside in the pouring rain and drink deeply the drops falling from the sky.
Something was wrong.
I’ve had my fair share of ER visits in the past, but none like this. When I was too young to remember I was diagnosed with something called Osteogenesis Imperfecta — a disorder which causes one’s bones to be weaker than normal and allows them to break easily. Being a typical and adventurous kid, over the years I ended up with tens of rushed trips to the ER, totaling 13 broken bones. Luckily, this was something I grew out of.
What was different about this ER visit though, was that I just was not expecting or prepared for what the doctor had to say. The strangest thing about this visit and the part that’s toughest for me to understand at the moment is that this diagnosis is life-long. It’s not something that’s going to disappear in a week or a few months like my body is trying to lead me to believe.
I’ve been home for 48 hours now and things aren’t too bad, really. I’m starting to get the hang of what, I’m a diabetic, really means to me. I’m learning what a high blood sugar feels like, and just as imporant, what a low blood sugar feels like. I know when to check the level, when to take my insulin, and am starting to better understand the low-carb diet that will be right for me.
I’m finding out diabetes is all one big balancing act, and not a perfect science. The numbers aren’t going to be what I’m expecting for a little while to come, and learning how to correct those numbers will come with time and experience. It’s kind of like a daily experiment. How close can I get the numbers to their normal levels? Bad day today? I’ll try again tomorrow. That’s what I’m telling myself.
I’m still in a little bit of shock and disbelief (it has only been a couple of days), but after each prick, each needle and each meal goes by, I’m feeling more and more confident about how I can take on this disease head-on.
The future is going to be full of both ups and downs, I’m sure, but I am thankful for family and friends who have stood close by and have shown their support. This will be nothing short of an adventure to come.