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.

Hospital protocol

It's been a while since I was an inpatient at the hospital (obviously doing something right) but a fellow diabetic mentioned her latest visit and found it quite shocking that things haven't changed. Baring in mind we don't live any where near each other and that the protocol at both hospitals are exactly the same bad! Most diabetic type 1s have at least suffered once with DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis) it is a potentially life threatening complication in diabetic patience mainly type 1s. I have had this quite serious 3 times always ending in intensive care ( yes exactly) while I've been in ICU I was monitored really well going straight into a sliding scale (don't be lazy look it up) blood sugars taken every hour changing dosage ect the last 2 times I was admitted i was on the insulin pump and was always told to disconnect that was fine. However once I'm moved to a normal ward I become the rare breed diabetic (ooh you have an insulin pump how does that work) so I explain (I think they understood? wrong!) the nurse asks more than once how many units do you have per meal my reply it depends what I eat? She doesn't understand. It appears that no ward nurse has heard of Dafne (again look it up I had too) and they also don't understand how a pump works I don't blame the nurses times change and medical equipment and understanding changes but for saying how many diabetics there are theres still not enough support in hospitals or understanding of the methods used.

Insulin pump facts

Whenever a new patient wants to go on an insulin pump there always told to go and speak to someone who is already on one and have had it a while. The first few things I say are crucial not because I want to put them off but because they need to be prepared for all those awkward embarrassing moments. So this is what I tell them for the first few weeks at least and probably for the rest of there lives you will do all of these.

1. Watch for door handles they are lethal there great for grabbing you at every oppotunity
2. If your pump is attached to your trousers when you go to the toilet never just drop your trousers it will do the lethat and painful bungee cord affect (and it hurts)
3. Never put your ear phones and pump in the same pocket unless you want spaghetti junction
4. Night times are always good fun mine loves getting ravelled up sometimes it even ties me up, it likes to dig into every bone possible just to let you know there still there
4. Awkward timing you can always predict it going off in the quietest of moments like meetings or in a queue ect but just don't giggle when it vibrates specially if  it's in the same place of mine ssh!!
5. They are very demanding drama queens the battery will always need changing in the middle of the night, your reservoir will never need changing the same time your cannula is due and if you end up ripping it out in the middle of the night (like me) then there's nothing worse then having to puncture another needle into you specially at 3am
6. Bedtime antics (wink,wink) you can find that one out for yourself.......