127 Comments
Do you know the day and year that you received your T1D diagnosis? If you're comfortable, share about your diagnosis in the comments!
You must be logged in to post a comment.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Please check your inbox and verify your email in the next 24 hours.
Please select all that apply.
I have type 1 diabetes
I'm a parent/guardian of a person with type 1 diabetes
I'm interested in the diabetes community or industry
We will customize your stories feed based on what you select here.
2019 Publications
0 Stories Related2020 ADA
10 Stories Related2020 ADCES
0 Stories Related2020 ATTD
0 Stories Related2020 EASD
0 Stories Related2020 ISPAD
8 Stories Related2020 Learning Session
0 Stories Related2020 Publications
14 Stories Related2021 ADA
12 Stories Related2021 ADCES
0 Stories Related2021 ATTD
4 Stories Related2021 ISPAD
9 Stories Related2021 Learning Session
1 Stories Related2021 Publications
23 Stories Related2022 ADA
18 Stories Related2022 ADCES
4 Stories Related2022 ATTD
10 Stories Related2022 ISPAD
3 Stories Related2022 Learning Session
1 Stories Related2022 Publications
30 Stories Related2023 ADA
13 Stories Related2023 ADCES
2 Stories Related2023 ATTD
6 Stories Related2023 Learning Session
1 Stories Related2023 Publications
50 Stories Related2024 ADA
11 Stories Related2024 ADCES
1 Stories Related2024 ATTD
2 Stories Related2024 Learning Session
0 Stories Related2024 Publications
37 Stories RelatedADA
13 Stories RelatedADCES
2 Stories RelatedAdvocacy
24 Stories RelatedATTD
12 Stories RelatedBlood Sugar
4 Stories RelatedConditions
8 Stories RelatedCOVID-19
6 Stories RelatedEASD
0 Stories RelatedGeneral Publications
18 Stories RelatedGet Involved
11 Stories RelatedInsulin & Meds
17 Stories RelatedISPAD
1 Stories RelatedJournal of Diabetes
0 Stories RelatedLearning Session
3 Stories RelatedLifestyle
27 Stories RelatedLifestyles
1 Stories RelatedMeet the Expert
36 Stories RelatedMental Health
13 Stories RelatedNews
41 Stories RelatedOur team
25 Stories RelatedPartner Content
8 Stories RelatedPress Release
8 Stories RelatedQuestion of the Day
37 Stories RelatedResearch
90 Stories RelatedStories
22 Stories RelatedT2D
5 Stories RelatedTechnology
30 Stories RelatedUncategorized
5 Stories RelatedThis will only take a second...
Search and filter
February 3, 2006
End of May/beginning of June 1974. For some reason I have always said June 1. Maybe that is the day but those medical records have long since been destroyed.
1980
Christmas morning, 2021 my doctor emailed with with the results of the blood-work which corroborated what I was already being treated for. A week earlier I had started taking insulin, based on symptoms. The actual diagnosis was perverse Christmas present.
ouch!
Jamesmpii — The perverse Christmas gift that keeps on giving . . .
April 1981
I was diagnosed almost a year after giving birth to my twins April 12, 2000. Easter that year sucked cause I missed my babies first Easter cause I was stuck in the hospital.
September, 1954. Not only my link with becoming a teenager, but a double whammy! A little much at one time. Happily, I’ve learned all sorts of things, and one year short of a seventy year anniversary with the BigD, I am so accustomed to a life with diabetes, I come up at a loss when wondering how I would ever manage a cure (I mean, a life without it). I mean that seriously. If you do something long enough, it really can start to feel as if there’s hardly any effort.
I am still committed to promoting a cure for all who don’t have diabetes baked into their bones. It truly is a time consuming endeavor, one that requires constant vigilance and understanding, and a lot of gritting of teeth. I wonder sometimes, what else I might have been able to accomplish were it not for that part of my brain being used to manage the disease.
I try really hard not to let it get in my way, short of doing the things required to stay healthy. My kids are all nearing their 60’s. That, for me, is the real prize!
1977, my wife then was an RN, but not a very good rn as she never recognized the symtoms!!
I mark July 4th, 1966 as when I was diagnosed at age 7 years old. I remember seeing the fireworks from the Yale New Haven hospital.
August 16, 1970
I know it was 1982. No online portal’s, in fact the doctor is no longer practicing. I was in school so after September? Best guess.
Don’t recall the exact date, but it was a Wednesday in Dec 1995 – right before my first quarter college finals. I wasn’t spilling ketones, so my MD let me wait until the weekend to be admitted to the hospital. They must have put me in the peds ward because Santa came by to visit. Then a priest and I was like uh oh, how serious is this? Haha
Being diagnosed in an era where cave man paintings on a wall were about the best historical communications possible, it is little wonder that people hadn’t even started counting years, much less BC and AD.
Then the English language was invented. They started keeping records. But those were usually chucked after about three years.
Truncheons and nunchucks were the weapons of the day. Sigh! 😌
September 1964
2/22/2022
July 15,1973
I remember it was June 2001 on a Tuesday. I went to the doctor after getting back from vacation. My family had been at Kings Dominion and I showed symptoms.
1977. No finger sticks in this era, and we took pork and beef insulin. Times have changed, but A1Cs have not gotten any better. I had an A1C of 6.0 in the 70s without the aid of a CGM or fingerstick tester.
March 3, 1980. I was ten.
I know that I started insulin in Dec 2003 (age 43) about 10 days before Christmas. Asked my endo if he could find the exact date and he did – Dec 12! Don’t celebrate it but I like knowing.
Rehashed the diagnosis experience and I told him that I knew I was in trouble because they had 4 medical professionals in the room and I was the only appointment all morning!
01/13/2003- I was 10
July 1, 1974, two weeks after my 19th birthday. I spent the 4th of July holiday in the hospital.
Mine was July 2, 1981…2 days after my 11th birthday and also spent the 4th of July in the hospital.
February 1977
April 3, 2008. Eight days before my 24th birthday.
I was diagnosed after a bike accident when diabetes symptoms appeared followed a hard bump on the helmet-less head in 1995 (I was 25). I went to ER to check on stitches and blood sugar was around 250. “How long have you been diabetic?” the doc asked. “I’m not,” I said
“Yes you are.” Game over, new reality. Never a clear explanation why.
The doctor whom my son saw was sure what was wrong with my son whose primary complaints were a headache and stomachache. He suggested doing blood work which was did. The results were known the following day but no one called us due to staffing issues. We received a call two days later on a Sunday telling us it wasn’t an emergency but that we needed to take him to the childrens hospital emergency room in a city 1 1/2 hours south of us. In those three days his blood sugars rose from just over 400 to 695. He was in DKA. After that I found him another GP.
*wasn’t sure
July 2, 1981
Mine was July 2, 1981…2 days after my 11th birthday and also spent the 4th of July in the hospital.
1 May 1990. Just under two weeks before my Senior Recital at Conservatory. Still played the recital, only had to take one incomplete for another class (sent the paper by mid-June) and technically graduated on time. 😉
05082023
I went to the ER with Blood Glucose of 650
But the Hospital said “We don’t treat Diabetes, gave me a very low Prescription of Metformin, and sent me home. Telling me you need to Contact a Physician who treats Diabetes.
six months post partum, blood sugar and BP fine (had toxemia during 2nd pregnancy) but maybe 4 – 5 months later had T1D.
1978
July, 1977. Don’t remember the exact day. Started on pills for several days. They did not work. Then, went straight to Regular and NPH insulin, (Beef and Pork possibly?)
2-28-2002
11/25/1969
I was 13 months old.
February 4, 1976. It was a long weekend at the college I was attending. I saw the campus nurse on Tuesday and a doctor in town on Wednesday who gave me the official diagnosis. That weekend, when serious symptoms started, I told my friends that I thought I had diabetes. The doctor only confirmed what I suspected.
1999
I was diagnosed in Sept., 1945, a few days after my 6’th birthday. My birthday is 9/10. I am using 9/15/1945 as my diagnosis date.
1969. Mom died Aug 1. The ER docs thought I was psychotic with grief. Had me on a couple of antidepressants. Went into a coma Oct. 31. Diagnosed 2 days later.
Was diagnosed in August 2004 with LADA. Graduated from nursing school (at 54 years young) got a new pcp and my fasting BS was 139. He ordered metformin and told me I was type 2. No metabolic syndrome and weighed about 120 lbs at 5’7”. Was pretty sure he was wrong. Took doctor 2 years for correct diagnosis. I really diagnosed self after reading everything i could on the subject.
I remember it clearly: May 15, 1991. It was almost 1 year after my mother died of pancreatitis/pneumonia. I went to the GP’s office with what felt like a bad hangover after not drinking. I had all the symptoms. I had a pretty good idea. They did a finger stick, and it peged the meter at 600+. The GP was shocked I was still standing. Told me to go to the hospital right away. I went home called my wife at work and told her, got some cloths and travel bag and THEN went to the hospital.
I was Sequested for 5 days. They started me on regular and NPH insulin injections based on my weight and showed me how to do injections. They gradually increased the levels until my BG dropped. This started the 10 year roler coaster that was my life untill was able to go on the pump in 2001.
This was before laptops, and cell phones. I read everything I could find in the hospital on T1d. Asked every nurse what they knew about T1d. My wife brought a medical book with info and a health magazine to read.
My GP worked with me after my release. He didn’t beleve it was “juvenile diabetes” until he did a C peptide test that showed my islet cells were gone.
We have certanly come a long way. I am surprised I survived.
(Sorry for the long post but it just all poured out.)
I was first diagnosed Labor Day Weekend, 1995.
I was 4, barely. So, year yes. But day, no way. I can narrow to a 2 month range, that’s it.
April-May 1988
I took my son to the pediatrician because I knew he was clinically depressed and needed help. She noted his 20 lb weight loss in 6 mo so did a bunch of blood work…the rest is T1D history
1984. Not the day, but we (my family) have always joked that it was my 5th birthday present. So it was probably a month or so before.
I will never forget the date- April 1st, 1997. I was diagnosed on April Fool’s Day. 🙁
I, too, was a ten year old when diagnosed. I was sitting in the hospital learning about finger sticks, taking injections, and the like while my class mates were taking their field trip! My class mates did stop in to see me because their field trip was to the same town I was hospitalized in, that was special! I still remember that sinking feeling I got when I realized that this was for life, not something I was going to get over; in a little girls mind, you went to the hospital when you were sick and stayed there until you were well again. I count myself blessed, tho, because of the pediatric endo team I was assigned; they were very, very good! It was hard to adjust to adult care because by the time I was to that stage they were more than doctors and CDE’s, they were friends.
Lost a lot of weight in a short time, was thirsty all the time and urinating constantly. Classic symptoms
Yes, November 1983, I was an adult, just returned from taking student to Germany, suddenly couldn’t see the students in the back of the classroom. A week later lost much weight, and was so thirsty I would drink from the shower while I showered. Saw a Hopkins doctor at night at his private practice. He took blood, called me the next day and gave me insulin and an orange to practice on. I felt he saved my life. The insulin felt so good!
I was two so only know story from parents as well as pedestrian. I do have copy of Dr notes from time frame including initial insulin dose (62 years ago 11 days ago)
4/3/1990
1957
May 12, 1953
The diagnosis was a process, not a single event, back in 1962. I was 10. My mother, an RN, recognized the symptoms. The GP was a guy who went “by the numbers,” and insisted that the numbers say that kids simply do not get diabetes. Through much negotiation, the GP agreed to run a urine test (if my mom agreed to accept psycho drugs and counseling for her morbid imagination).
At the time, I had never heard of diabetes. However, I knew that my poor tired body was very very sick, and I assumed that I was dying.
A follow-up: when was I first taking short-acting insulin ahead of mealtimes, I began to notice shakiness and light-headed-mess right before the meal. The GP immediately prescribed a destaive since he was certain that I was having a psychosomatic reaction to injections. I soon learned about the symptoms of dropping blood sugar levels…….
I know enough about my diagnosis date to know it was the Monday after Labor Day, September, 1991, but I don’t remember the exact day in September.
At diagnosis, my BG was too high for the Hospital lab to get an accurate reading, and my Blood Acetone was nearly 3%, which caused the Doctors to say that I should have been going to the morgue instead of the Hospital because all their document sources told them that a Blood Acetone level of 2.5% was listed as being “100% fatal with survival highly unlikely to impossible.” Yet I never lost consciousness and thought it was funny when they’d come to get a blood sample and say they were refinishing furniture in the employee break room and needed to borrow more of my paint stripper.
So… September 9, 1991 🙂
05/05/2017 one month after my GP told me I had Type 2 diabetes. 2 days later I fell and got a concussion, so my blurry vision and every other sign I had for having type 1 was blamed on the concussion. I lost 30 pounds in one month and the Dr. told me I was lying to him about an eating problem. Big sis told me to go to an Endo, He listened to me , I told him about my brother and nephew with type1 and all the auto-immune diseases I had and the weight I lost and how I felt I was going blind. I thank God my sister told me to go to the endo.
July 12, 1946, my 40th birthday.
Sept 10, 2021. Was going to Sloan Kettering for a procedure before major lung surgery and was sick as a dog – thirst beyond thirst, fatigue beyond fatigue. Husband finally got me to Sloan and I threw up in a garbage can in the lobby! Turns out immunotherapy I’d had for lung cancer caused my pancreas to shut down. I had no idea – I thought it was just the treatment making me feel so awful. Don’t know what my BS was, but definitely over 500! Was there for 6 days. Rolling along now with a pump and a CGM and grateful! (Did go back a month later for procedure and surgery after that.)
12/28/1966
December 1951. It has been quite a ride!
08/13/1978
I remembered only the month and year, then years later my Father told me the date, because I was curious. Never forgot
I was diagnosed in 1991, my first year in my first job teaching molecular endocrinology in a medical school. I was trained as a biochemist and understood insulin structure and function in detail, but it took a diabetic colleague to recognize my blurry vision and weight loss as symptoms of diabetes. I co-taught the course with the physician who ran the endo clinic that took care of me. In subsequent years, I believe my teaching was enriched by being able to provide my students with a patient’s perspective.
Was dramatic misdiagnosed with type 2 ended up almost dying in icu for 4 days with dka
Lol boy do I ever. It was my 17th birthday. Happy Birthday buddy.
D-Day 01/15
I had a grandson with T1 so bought myself a glucose meter so I could understand a little of what he was dealing with. Then my blood sugar starting going up at each dr’s appt. Then I noticed I had lost weight and my blood sugar was in the 300-400s (after received a 5 day dose of steroids for poison ivy). The blood sugar never went down. Made an appt with an endocrinologist and told her I had T1. She ran the tests and confirmed. So fortunate that I was on top of the diagnosis and never was hospitalized. T1 became my 4th autoimmune disease in 2017 at age 66. Autoimmune diseases…the gift that keeps on giving.
I was incorrectly diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes at the age of 39 on 10/25/1995. After dropping a tremendous amount of weight over the next 10 months with continued high blood sugars, I was finally diagnosed with T1D. What is surprising is that this still happens frequently today to adults when a simple antibody test can circumvent what seems to be the use trial and error by the medical community. More education is needed for sure.
Diagnosed in November 1961 at age 6. Sixty two years ago.
1981
November 26, 2013. It was the day before Hanukkah/Thanksgiving. I had SO much cooking to do with family arriving the next day! We had moved to our current home just six months before when my husband had retired. So many new things in my life! For two weeks, I had been experiencing blurry long-distance vision and drinking ice water a lot and I felt terrible. My hubby had pre-diabetes at one point so he had a meter . He tested me and it was in the 400’s. He tested again. Well, off to my doc (no DKA) then ER. The hospitalist didn’t know what to do with my extreme reaction to the IV insulin. I knew I had T1D and NOT T2D . I went home, next morning off to diabetes educator and some basal insulin. And lots of crying with my sons over the diagnosis. Also, my doc was on call over the holiday, she got me through the first couple of days. I honeymooned for several months with just the basal then went to fast acting as well when my low carb-ish diet couldn’t handle it. I hate this disease so much, but I’m grateful for my family and friends who are good to me and the devices such as Dexcom and InPen. And a Diabuddy just down the street to rant to about our LADA!!!
It was Friday, March 6, 1985. I was 18. It was my dad’s birthday. He was a doctor and had made the diagnosis. I had been very thirsty for about a month. I was working at his clinic and he had me get a blood test mid-afternoon. After celebrating his birthday with my grandma and her fiance he stopped by the office to pick up the results. My BG was ~450. He gave me oral medications which helped for about six months. Then I was taught to give myself insulin injections in the hospital in Paris, France.
I’m very grateful for the 38+ years I’ve had with this disease. I hope for many more.
December 29, 1986. I went to the doctor because I thought I was having a nervous breakdown. I soon found out I had diabetes. Before the A1c afterwards, I remember eating the last piece of fruitcake because I was sure I would not be able to ever eat sugar again! I was diagnosed as Type II because I was 45 years old. It took a long while of going through honeymoon period, then meds not working. Why didn’t someone just do a C- peptide test right away!
It was a few days before my 25th birthday
Tuesday, February 7, 1967. 7 th grade and only my 2,nd day out of school. I was going in and out of consciousness but heard out family doctor say diabetes. We had recently learned about it in Home Ec. Of course that accounted for about 0.001% of everything we needed to know about living with type 1 diabetes! They were scary times, but here I am almost 57 years since diagnosis and I’m doing fairly well… STILL learning.
April 7 or 8, 1955. It was the second day of Passover and I was 8 years old. I had missed a lot of 3rd grade because in a three month period I caught whatever virus was circulating in my grade school (chickenpox, rubella, bronchitis, and measles). My mom didn’t want me to miss any extra school days so waited until school closed for Easter/Passover before taking me to the pediatrician. Very fortunately, my pediatrician knew my maternal grandfather and was aware that he had been dx with diabetes and used insulin. He tested my urine and told my mom to take me directly to the hospital. I was there a full month. During that month the doctors would only talk to my parents, so I was discharged without any knowledge about life with diabetes.
It was May of 1973. I was 9 years old. I was in school and must have really felt sick as I went to the office and they called my parents. They took me to an ER where I waited for some time before being seen. I lapsed into a coma and woke up in a hospital room (probably ICU) I believe to be the next day. A few days later I was moved to a regular room. I was in the hospital a week before coming home.
Late January, 1966. I was 7 years old and in the 1st grade.
I know my diagnosis was in December of 1966, and from the calendar, I believe it was Dec 19.
I was 45 years old, that was 8 years ago. I told them they had the wrong person. I’ve always been active, never a junk food or soda guy. As a matter of fact I eat “better” than most folks I know. This hit me like a ton of bricks. Been managing it w low carb. But the last 6 months experimenting w celebrating foods and my numbers have gone for the worse. I’ll either figure it out or clamp down on celebration.
Of course with T1, contracting it had nothing to do with your diet–it’s an auto-immune condition–and ultimately diet can’t control it. Even if you eat low-carb, your liver is designed to put out a flow of glucose into your bloodstream 24/7 for your body to run on, and without insulin you can’t metabolize. it. . The LADA variant creeps up slowly but basically your pancreas is crapping out and you have to deal with that or deal with the consequences, up to and including DKA. Just is what it is
A few days after my 22nd birthday in 2010.
I know mine, 01-05-1982 because we had gone out of state to an Aunt’s house for Christmas & New Years. My parents discussing if they should take me to a hospital there, stop at University Hospital on the way home and what happened waiting until we got home and calling our family doctor once they opened back up on Monday. Longest. Drive. Home. EVER. From Central Kansas to St. Louis, MO. Every rest stop and many gas stations later, we made it home.
My brother was diagnosed in November 1972 at 7 months old. Was ‘sick’ from brith and thought to be a failure to thrive baby. Our parents made many trips to specialist that our Family Doctor sent them to, to try and find out what was wrong.
Being one of the two most significant events of my life, I certainly know the month, day and year – and probably the hour.
I know the month and year, but not the day.
1956 –> I was 18 months old. My eldest son was Dx’ed at 8 months old in 1987.
February 10, 1970. I was 12 years old and was very thin. My teacher at school and my parents noticed that I didn’t seem to have much energy and was always thirsty. I stayed out of school that day and mom took me to our pediatrician. He came back into the room after doing bloodwork and told mom that I had diabetes. He wanted me to go straight to the hospital. I spent seven days in the hospital where I was taught how to give myself injections by practicing with saline and an orange! I went home with insulin and syringes, and a cute little plastic case that held a test tube, a dropper, and a place to put testing tablets that were used to test urine sugar. I gained 12 pounds in those seven days.
August 1963
11/5/1966 is date I checked into the hospital to begin treatment.
Year and month but not day. March 1984
I will come back to answer! The typing is too much for today and I want to honor everyone’s stories by reading each but I can’t do that today. Thank you all in advance for sharing your stories!
Diagnosed Tu 1975, day after blood test at Hall Health college clinic. Sister in law worked in medical records & said symptoms were to similar to diabetic medical records
I was diagnosed with T2 on February 12th, 1998 and put on Glucophage. I was 42. I went on insulin four years later (the pills weren’t keeping my bs low enough). Two years later and a new endocrinologist and I finally asked was I T1 or T2 and he told me I had always been T1.
Yes. I was told on my 10th birthday, 08/21/1962.
January 17, 1980. 6 days before my 12th birthday. Happy Birthday to Me!
August 1961
I know that my incorrect T2 diagnosis was changed to T1 and I went to the hospital to start insulin therapy Dec 22, 2001.
I wouldn’t have remembered the day/year besides having a holiday and photos to remind me as I have memory problems due to seizures.
My son was diagnosed at 18 mos of age on November 2,2013.
August 1977. I was in the hospital for 10 days (outlasted several roommates) and got out about 1 week before I started my senior year at college. I’ll always remember one of my hospital roommates telling me that Elvis Presley had died.
December 2, 1989! I was a junior in college and it was the week before finals. Between the student health center and my boyfriend’s family doctor, no one thought to do a blood test as I got weaker and sicker each day. Finally went to the ER and within a very short time they tested my blood and told me I had Type 1 Diabetes. I had lost about 15 lbs. Spent a few days in the hospital then when discharged I was signed up to go to a class at our local Diabetes Center. That was the lifesaver that put me on the right track for managing my diabetes. About to celebrate 34 years.
It was April 1979….I’m thinking maybe the 14th?
June 4, 1992
Last week of July 2014
I know the MONTH and YEAR but not the exact day. December 1983. Tried to find out a million years later when I heard of that whole “diaversery” thing. Doctor’s office was still there but they’d destroyed those old records. Had to have been just before Christmas break bc I was in grad school and I remember thinking the weird symptoms and awful feeling were end-of-term anxiety related. And I had to put in for an extension on a big seminar paper. So a couple weeks out from the term break–probably the first week of December. Funny thing is I have no memory of what that first T1 Christmas was like.
It was February 1969. I was 11. I had lost a lot of weight and was drinking a lot of water. When to the doctor and wound up in the hospital for a week. At the hospital they showed me how to give myself injections. Also showed my mom how to clean glass needle.
Rx 1966
I was not so lucky 13 years of age and I received the diagnosis on the 13th of December 1973. It’s the Christmas gift before Christmas that keeps on giving. I’ve got to admit though I can’t say that it truly bothers me that much plus I joined my older brother on the T1D train.
I was diagnosed in July of 1964, sometime in the 20’s I think. I don’t know the exact day though.
June 9, 1980 at age 30. I’d been thirsty for about 6 months and thought that was “weird”. When a friend saw that I was drinking the whole glass pitcher of water at Durgin Park in Boston, she suggested I have my blood tested. I called my doctor for a physical and was told they were scheduling physicals for September (it was May) so I said I’d experienced an unexplained weight loss (I still thought being thirsty was weird) and they said “we’ll see you tomorrow”. It was an easy diagnosis for my GP since my BG was 450, though he was surprised that I got it at age 30. As he left the exam room, he turned to me and asked me if I had been thirsty! That’s when I learned about 3 key symptoms: excessive thirst, excessive urination, and unexplained weight loss. He sent me to the hospital lab for a glucose tolerance test the next day but when they tested my blood sugar, they told me the test would make me sick and that the doctor had enough for the diagnosis. It was a shocker for me since there was no diabetes in my family on either parent’s side and I knew no one who had diabetes. I have to say it’s reassuring to be able to communicate with other folks with diabetes. It was fascinating to read what people’s diagnosis was like.
I was tested in December 1969 at the University Health Center, but did not get the result until I returned from Christmas break 2-3 weeks later, January 1970. It was my senior year at college.
Actually, it was in the summer of 1959 when I was diagnosed with T1D.
Somewhere around 24 Nov, 1971. (I used to think that was the precise day, but I’m not 100% anymore. I just know I was in the hospital for a month and was paroled on 24 Dec 1971.)
I had just turned 5 and had all the symptoms. My Mom took me to a doctor who said I was faking being sick, that I was worried and just seeking attention.
My Mom took me home, but had me sleep in her bed (Dad was away for military reasons) because I was breathing funny and she was worried I would die on her.
She took me back to a doctor the next day (it was a military “we’ll give you who is next up” sort of deal) and he said the same thing. So, being that my Dad was an officer, she then took me to the flight surgeon. He was supposed to be a better doctor. He said I was lying and that it was all in my head.
My Mom then took me back to the other doctor. He sent me for a chest XRay. A very kind orderly saw me trying to walk down the longest hallway on earth and went to get me a wheelchair. This orderly saw that something was dreadfully wrong, but the doctors didn’t. The test came back as a possible heart murmur, but the doc didn’t see anything else.
After again calling me a liar, he said to my Mom, “no wonder she’s faking it as she has a hypochondriac for a mother.” My Mom then yelled at him that I WAS sick and that she wasn’t going to move until they figured out what was wrong with me. (While this is a fantastic, life-saving power-Mom move, at 5, it scared the bleep outta me.)
So, then a senior doctor was called into the fray and he said, “get this girl to a hospital now!” (Well, he probably said “stat”… that’s more doctorly. ;p )
So, off I went to the hospital which was an hour and 15 or 30 minutes from home.
I remember the ambulance ride and being very annoyed with my Mom who was trying to keep me awake the whole way to the hospital. (The medical peeps had told her to do that.) I just wanted to sleep SO BAD.
I was basically on my own in the hospital at 5. My Mom DID come to see me, but they didn’t let parents stay back then.
A ladies group “gave” me a box of presents that I was allowed to open one each day. Then, they were taken away when I was released and I was told I couldn’t take them with me. I was allowed to choose one to take, but it was stolen by one of the other kids.
Ah, fun times! *shakes head
I feel like there are more details which will probably show up later on… but, that is the gist of my diagnosis experience.
(Oh… I just now remembered the donuts… ok, there’s a bit about losing weight, not eating well, and two donuts… but, I’ll leave that for if there’s a question about eating donuts pre-diagnosis! ;p ;p jk)
October, 1984
Early December 1987 when our 5th child was about 6 weeks old. I was incorrectly diagnosed with gestational diabetes, correctly diagnosed when I went back to my OB/GYN MD who sent me immediately to an endocrinologist. That MD said I did not have gestational diabetes and had T1D.
Somewhere around the first week of December 1966, but not sure of the exact date. I was very young and only remember getting out of the hospital a few days before Christmas. Mom was so relieved it was T1D and not leukemia.
December 6, 1996
April 1965 at 13 yrs
December 27 1983. I had just turned 12.
April 18, 2003
December 28, 1983…University of Virginia Medical Center
June 6, 1970