I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when I was just 3½. Ten years later and here I am, struggling but pushing through.
The first years
I can't remember much of my first injections because I was so young, but I know that it was very hard-hitting for my family: they describe feeling like they were hit by a ton of bricks. I only remember having the symptoms like drinking a lot and going to the toilet a lot too. That was horrible.
Over the first 7–8 years my control was very good and my parents were always admired by the doctors for keeping such a good eye on me.
High school
When I started high school everything started to go downhill. I was at that age (13) where I wanted to go out with my friends and not worry about anything – but with diabetes that is impossible.
But at school it was the worst: I started missing injections especially my lunchtime ones because I didn't want to have to pull my skirt and tights down to do my injections in front of everyone. So, I just thought I'd skip dinner to make sure my blood sugars go down. That is not the solution because if you miss a meal your body uses extra fat which contains extra sugar so your blood gluocose goes up even more.
My control
My control is not the best... my last couple of HbA1c's have been 10.2 or 9.8 – pretty high. So then I thought okay, I'll just lie about my blood sugars so my parents don't get annoyed with me – so if I was 16.7 I would say to my parents I was 7.6! And I got away with it until I got to the hospital and they checked my tester. They found out everything.
Now
The past is the past and now I'm trying to focus on getting my control right. But what I have learned from my experiencces is to never lie about your diabetes because one way or another someone WILL find out the truth. Also, if you are in the same position at lunchtime ask your doctor if you could maybe take your lunchtime injections in your stomach, it has helped me so much.
Thank you for your time, and remember: diabetes doesn't own you. Live your life normally!
Love,
Caitlyn
Your comments
Hi Lizzie, yeah thats how my mum found out, at the clinic! But now things are alot better! It took me a while to come out of the habit but now telling the truth has helped me gain my trust back and uncover why my blood sugars were being high! Thanks for reading my story x
– Caitlyn
Hi Caitlyn, I know the feeling exactly! I used to lie to my parents about my bloods, but my mum found out at clinic the other day, and she was really worried as my control isn't brillian these days. Seeing her worried made me guilty so I'm trying to get out of the habit. – Lizzie