The beginning

Aged 12yrs old 14 days till my 13th birthday looking forward to becoming a teenager and all the drama that comes with it. However at the beginning of January I had lost quite a bit of weight my family and I just thought it was down to pubity. But I had also had this incredible black hole for thirst I had managed to drink 12 bottles of 2lt fizzy pop in the space of a week. My eyes also began to blur and found myself constantly on the toilet (the never ending pee) so off to the doctors me and my mum went. After taking a blood test ( blood sugar was 22.0mmol average blood sugar for a non diabetic was between 4-7) and urine sample (ketotic) the results were in I was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes and booked into the hospital the next day where my life would change forever. I wasent scarred I think when your a child nothing can bring you down you think your invincible to everything I had heard of diabetes as both my Nan's were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes later on in life and yes there's 2 types.

* Type 1 is often referred to as juvenile diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is a form of diabetes mellitus that is most common in children but can be diagnosed at any age. The cause of type 1 diabetes are different than those for type 2 diabetes though the mechanism for development of both diseases are unknown. Theories include the possibility that a virus may stimulate the auto immune response. As more insulin producing cells in the pancreas are killed off, the body can no longer control it's blood glucose levels and the symptoms of diabetes begin to appear. Type 1 inability to produce insulin.

* Type 2 diabetes is a globally common metabolic disorder affecting over 2 million people in the UK alone. Type 2 is normally diagnosed in adults however the ever growing of obese children is can now also be diagnosed in children too. Type 2 resistance to insulin

And for goodness sake get them right unless you want to make make us type 1s angry!

And back to the hospital I had to watch a video (yes I know an actual VIDEO) explaining this to me (it didn't make sense) information over load. I did my first injection myself  it didn't hurt but the pen was actually quite heavy to hold and the insulin smelt revolting back then it was pig insulin it was really cloudy (I remember thinking hope I don't turn in to a pig.) I always had to take it half an hour before a meal I was on a small fixed dose then (as they call this the honeymoon period as your pancreas is still producing insulin if that's the honeymoon period I now want a d'ivorce) I had to dial it up myself and I only had to have 2 injections a day can still remember the name mixitard 30. At the beginning the only thing I really hated was checking my blood glucose pricking my fingers hurts a lot. and still does to this day I would much rather have an injection rather than do this 4-6 times a day. Like today I can prick my finger and blood would come out of a totally different hole I some times feel like a professional pin cushion. I had to grow up faster than other children my age as this illness was a huge responsibility I knew there was no cure just management but I was a child the constant questions of why me, why now I didn't know anyone else who had it and who was my age I was the only child in secondary school who had it. Unfortunately my grandad was diagnosed with liver cancer the same day and passed away just under a month later it was quite a hard time for us all but I managed to get my blood sugars under control and went back to school on the Monday and that's when it all began I'm different.