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I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to you. If you are reading this column, you are as interested about your diabetes care as I am. Recently, I “celebrated” my 47 year anniversary since being diagnosed as a diabetic. At that time I was 14 years old and had no idea because of my youth what changes in my life were about to begin. Having virtually no idea what it meant to be a diabetic, I put my care in the hands of my physician and was hospitalized two days later. Why wait two days? This was decided because of many factors.
The physician who diagnosed me was also treating my father with his first heart attack. My father being only 47 years old (how coincidental is the number 47!). Being this was the day before Thanksgiving, the doctor had a sensitivity to what was to take place and decided to allow me to have the holiday dinner with my friends and family. However, it was truly unfortunate that my father was not at our table. We were cautioned to not let him know my current condition since it could conflict with his care following his heart attack.
I had planned to be out of town with an organization for the weekend and, therefore, my father automatically assumed I had joined them and would be back in town on Sunday. On Monday morning I begged the doctor to let me visit my father since he was only one floor away from where I was being hospitalized. Honestly, from my observation, my father miraculously handled this much better than my mother had. While we were at the doctor’s office and the diagnosis was presented, my mother became very tearful. I had no idea why she was crying since this was totally foreign to me, and at the same time did not know how life altering this journey of my life was about to become.
I totally consumed all information that was presented to me. As you can imagine, 47 years ago the means of control was primitive. I was instructed via the use of an orange how to inject the insulin. That poor piece of fruit…it had no chance of ever being diabetic! Sometime later came the testing of urine. No, at home blood sugar testing was not available. As a matter of fact it was not until many years later that we had the knowledge and privilege of managing our own illness via the many tools now on the market.
The means of testing was by urinating into a cup, followed by a test tube into which drips of urine mixed with water were placed. Then came the magic pill. I would drop in a pill that would fizzle and when finished shake and bake! The colors would range from blue to yellow. Blue was the bonus color meaning there was no glucose present, and then the dreaded yellow with shade of orange in between. What would happen next you might be wondering. At your next appointment you would discuss the few and far between results. Who knew what to do with any of this since your care was totally in the hands of your physician.
My next article will give you the wonders of the Joslin Clinic, a teaching facility, both in and outpatient. It was truly mind opening what the people involved at the Clinic shared with us, the people coping with the daily routines to try to find ways to control our disease. Coping may be too harsh a word because they presented information that was technical, while at the same time eye opening.
DID YOU SEE IT?
Last week, on November 12, the cover story in USA Today was “Diabetes ‘revolution’ is cutting both ways”. To summarize the article, it indicated that there are more people with diabetes these days than ever before, including those who have no idea they are truly diabetic. That is the bad news, and the good news is that the complications from being diabetic have become much more minimal than ever before. Doctors who once had a waiting room filled with the obvious victims of the complications from diabetes, now they open their doors, and are pleasantly surprised. In the past, you would observe patients with poor eyesight, limbs missing, and those about to go on dialysis due to their kidneys failing.
While we have all the tools available to us to monitor and control our condition, there are unfortunately still those who fail to take advantage of what has opened the doors to much better control. There is the blood sugar monitoring devices, many different types of insulin, syringes and needles which are smaller than we could have imagined years ago. Additionally, there is an array of other means of control, such as the insulin pump. I began pump therapy approximately 18 years ago, and I must admit I was very skeptical back then. My first pump malfunctioned while I was on vacation, which was not the way I expected to spend during a time which should have been filled with relaxation and adventures. Fortunately, the pump manufacturer flew in a replacement pump, but in the meantime, I was in a difficult position. Yes, I survived the ordeal, but decided to go off that pump until I felt more confident. The pumps today are amazing with features that do the calculating for you.
I hope, if you have not already done so, you will read the USA Today article and see for yourself how the management of diabetes has progressed. Good luck!
Step 1
When I think back to my life 47 years ago and the challenges of living with diabetes, I had no idea how almost uncivilized those times were. The comparisons to today are monumental.
Try to imagine the only way of gauging your blood sugar level was by testing the urine. You would “pee” in a cup. Then put a few drops of the urine into a test tube followed by dropping a tablet into the tube. Then you watched the two combine while watching the combination begin to sizzle. After the scientist — that would be me – would observe the bubbles calming down, there would be the high technology of shaking the two together.
The secret was in the wrist and the observer’s getting the visual color exactly right which would range from a blue to a yellow. WOW, when you saw that blue, you could breathe easier now knowing that this scientific wonder, made you feel comfortable knowing that what was in your urine showed a negative sugar level! Let’s go all the way down the scale to the yellow color – uh oh, are you in trouble! So, what do you do now with these results, probably not one thing until your next doctor’s appointment!
Wait til my next “tell all” about the non-existence of at home self care, or rather the trial and error which consisted of crossing your fingers and believing you were actually on target, with what was available, for you the diabetic to monitor yourself.
So many thoughts and ideas continuously rush through me that I want to share with you, the reader. As fellow diabetics, and/or family of, I am certain every day can be a challenge. I know with me, it is the carb/insulin ratios. Until now this was such a challenging ordeal to visualize and calculate the amounts. Now, with my new pump, my life has been simplified. In my next article, I will share with you what has transpired through the years with the advancements that are truly amazing. You will not believe how it used to be, and when you read some of the amazing improvements over the way it used to be!
I am that teenager who was diagnosed with diabetes and had no idea what to expect. Did my life change – you bet it did – but now that I look back, it pretty much remained the same. Join me as I let you in on some of my life experiences for almost 50 years! I plan to make it worth the ride.
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