I'M SO SCARED - Diabetes Message Board

luver · 04-19-2002, 06:41 PM

Hey all
i just found out 2 days ago that i am diabetic and i am ssooo scared. how can i get over my fear? any tips? p.s i'm only 14

luv
luver

MikelBear · 04-22-2002, 08:09 AM

Luver--I looked at some of your other posts in this site, and noted your on-going battles with depression and eating disorders. Diabetes isn't like that at all--it's not a thing in your head, or that you can ignore, or make it go away. If you are now seriously going to have any life at all, you need to put all this other crazy stuff regarding "food and mood" behind you, or diabetes will make you so sick you won't last till you're 25. I got it when I was 12, so believe me, I know where it's at. Now I've had it 37 years, so you can also believe me when I tell you that you CAN live a long and healthy (and happy, btw) life with it. BUT--it's not easy. It's not anything like a picnic in the park--your life just became a walk thru minefields. Low blood sugars, high blood sugas, hypoglycemia, shots, blood tests, kidney disease, nerve damage, blindness, loss of feet or legs--theystuff you can get from this is endless and horrid. SO--you have to totally follow the program 100%, ask questions and learn everything about the disease, work hard to control it as much as you can, have a positive outlook and good attitude about yourself and your ability to beat this thing. Then you will do ok. It takes an incredible abount of just "doing it"--being diabetic--it's gotta become a big part of who you are. And if you've already had "food issues", then it'll be even harder for you, cuz having diabetes is a whole food issue in itself--what you can eat, what you can't, when you HAVE TO eat, how much you must eat, counting all the carbohydrates going in to your mouth and figuring out the insulin and blood sugar that matches... It's the math of it, the record-keeping, the complusiveness of it. It'll wear you down some times, but don't let it beat you. Be honest with yourself about everything. Ask your doctors and parents for help and support. Join a peer support group. Educate yourself about the disease. Bother to spend the time and energy needed to control it. Oh, and have fun, do remember to be a kid and live your life. When I got it in 1965, they were like, yeah, maybe you'll make it to age 30 if you're lucky. Well, I'm gonna be 50 in 2 months, and my attitude is, "HA!! I showed them!" And I'm going another 30 years if I have anything to say about it. 40,000 shots down the road, I'm feeling fine, and so can you.

Good luck, Luver, you WILL need it,
Michael

julio · 04-22-2002, 09:08 AM

My husband is 51 years old and was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 3. He has lived with this disease for many years and suffers quite a few of the symptoms you see in a long term diabetic. For the past two years he has been using an INSULIN PUMP. It is now a different world for him. He can eat what he wants when he wants, sleep late, etc. The pump has allowed him so much more control over this disease. I highly recommend you talking to your doctor about the pump and see if it is right for you. A 12 year old boy on my son's Little League team has been using one for about 6 months. I spoke with his father, who is a doctor and he told me he had a hard time getting a doctor to prescribe the pump because his son is so young. He finally told the doc he would write the prescription himself if he had to. The doc finally consented. Using the pump takes dedication and you have to really want to take care of yourself. Some doctors feel that a 12 year old is too young to be able to do this. I disagree. Please know that constant monitoring of your blood sugar levels and keeping them in line is what will prevent your problems in the long run. This is so much easier to do with an insulin pump.
Good luck to you and TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF!

mlgable · 04-24-2002, 08:24 AM

Take time to do some research via the web regarding juvenille Diabetes and learn as much as you can about it. You are older and will be able to learn what works and what doesn't work for you. Be sure to eat your 3 main meals every day with a snack in between and a bedtime snack. Carry some form or sugar with you or glucose tablets and consider getting a medic alert device to help anyone who sees you having problems know what might be wrong if they see the medic alert device (bracelet/dog tags). Check out support groups for teen diabetics in your area and on the web. Also remember that there are many diabetics at your school and you may not even be aware that someone you are friends with might already be in the same boat you are. Your best defense against diabetes is to test your BS as often as the doc recommends and keep you BS levels as close to normal as you can. You may think that this is the worst thing that could happen to you but always remember there is someone else out there who is in worse shape than you are. Think of all the young children with cancer who will never live long enough to even graduate from high school or learn to drive a car. Know that you know what you have you have to take control and make your life work.

SamQKitty · 04-24-2002, 04:13 PM

Luver -
Your fears are perfectly understandable. Diabetes can be a very scary disease, but the good news is that recent studies have shown that better blood glucose control dramatically decreases the odds of getting complications.

If you're suffering from depression and food issues, you really need help getting that under control. You may want to see a psychopharmacologist or a psychiatrist to find out if you need medication for depression, and there are also pschological counselors who specialize in working with people who have eating disorders. Also, be sure to let the doctor who is treating you for diabetes know that you have an eating disorder, as they can work with that as long as they know about it.

Do you know if you have Type I or Type II diabetes? If you have Type II, you might be able to control it with diet and exercise along with some oral medication. If you need to be on insulin, a pump is a great idea because it gives you far greater flexibility than shots.

It's quite a shock to be diagnosed with a serious illness, but I speak from experience with several serious illnesses when I say that the more you know, the more empowered you will feel. You're not too young to have a say in how you're treated medically, so do the research, learn as much as you can, and then tell your doctors and your parents what sounds like it would work best for you.

A great site for info on diabetes is the American Diabetes Association's website at [url="http://www.diabetes.org."]www.diabetes.org.[/url] They also publish some excellent books, and they put out a monthly magazine.

And, don't feel bad if you can't absorb all the info at once...there is so much to learn, you can't expect to learn it all overnight. If you have specific questions, post on the board and we'll all try to give you help by either answering your questions or finding out where to get the answers. You are definitely not alone with this!