Hello there, everybody. Today, I talk about the fast fortnight and how it has turned my life upside-down forever… but how I am glad still to be alive.
On the Sunday when I last posted (the 22nd of October), I had developed an infection that gave me ridiculous amounts of pain, so the following Wednesday, we saw the doctor over it and I was prescribed antibiotics. Nothing wrong there, right?
Then I started to get sick. Really sick. I ended up throwing up on Monday - we thought it was the antibiotics, so we called the doctor and were told to stop as I had already taken four days' worth of them (I was only prescribed 7.)
Mum worried I was developing diabetes (as our family has a history of it), which elicited my usual response ("no, I don't have diabetes.") I went into school on Halloween, and the general consensus was that I was really out of it.
That Friday, though I had already had a fasting bloods test booked for Monday, I threw up again, so Mum took me to the GP and managed to get an appointment. We were seen by the doctor at about 4.30 and she took a reading of my blood sugar levels - the normal level is between 4 and 7 millimoles of sugar per litre of blood.
Mine came back at 25.
I was in a state known as diabetic ketoacidosis (often shortened to DKA.)
Had I not been tested, I would have died by today.
We were driven to the hospital in the ambulance, with the lights and siren blaring. (At the time, we thought I might also have appendicitis. Thankfully, I didn't.) I was rushed into A&E and put on a drip due to being dehydrated.
And that's the story of how we found out I have type 1 diabetes.
We were in the hospital (which I ended up nicknaming the Faraday cage because it blocks phone signals) for four-and-a-half days before being allowed home on Tuesday.
Anyway, some explanations:
Diabetic ketoacidosis
Normally, when you eat, food is broken down into glucose - a simple sugar - and an organ called the pancreas makes a hormone called insulin, which regulates blood sugar levels by allowing sugar into cells like a key.
Sometimes, however, the body has an autoimmune reaction and starts to attack and kill the insulin-producing cells. Thus, there is no way for cells to get energy from the sugar in the blood; thus, they resort to using fats instead.
The problem is that directly breaking down fats creates a type of compound known as a ketone. These lower the pH of the blood (making it more acidic) and are toxic, so will kill if left untreated.
Type 1 diabetes
This is the type of diabetes I suffer from. It occurs when the body kills the insulin-secreting cells in the pancreas, stopping the production of insulin.
It means every time I eat, I have to measure my blood glucose levels and then inject myself with insulin to make sure I can absorb the sugar from my meal.
In addition, my diet is now more restricted (no sweets, no chocolate, no snacking on carbs of any kind) and it is also extremely advisable for me to count how much carbohydrates are in each meal (as they affect my blood sugar levels more than other food groups.)
Everybody has been saying that they're proud of me for how I'm managing the news and how I'm coping with treating my diabetes. I will admit that I have cried a few times. It's going to be a tough new life to get used to.
But I'd rather live like this, have an occasional treat and stay alive than live like I did, gorge myself and die. I want to have as full and long a life as possible now; I was brought back from the edge of death and never want to be there again. Ever.
But anyway, I think that just about wraps it up for this week. I won't be doing Game Reviews anymore (too much stress, I figure), but apart from that, this blog will continue just as it has done in the past! So I'll see everyone on the 26th! Bye for now!
Mum worried I was developing diabetes (as our family has a history of it), which elicited my usual response ("no, I don't have diabetes.") I went into school on Halloween, and the general consensus was that I was really out of it.
That Friday, though I had already had a fasting bloods test booked for Monday, I threw up again, so Mum took me to the GP and managed to get an appointment. We were seen by the doctor at about 4.30 and she took a reading of my blood sugar levels - the normal level is between 4 and 7 millimoles of sugar per litre of blood.
Mine came back at 25.
I was in a state known as diabetic ketoacidosis (often shortened to DKA.)
Had I not been tested, I would have died by today.
We were driven to the hospital in the ambulance, with the lights and siren blaring. (At the time, we thought I might also have appendicitis. Thankfully, I didn't.) I was rushed into A&E and put on a drip due to being dehydrated.
And that's the story of how we found out I have type 1 diabetes.
We were in the hospital (which I ended up nicknaming the Faraday cage because it blocks phone signals) for four-and-a-half days before being allowed home on Tuesday.
Anyway, some explanations:
Diabetic ketoacidosis
Normally, when you eat, food is broken down into glucose - a simple sugar - and an organ called the pancreas makes a hormone called insulin, which regulates blood sugar levels by allowing sugar into cells like a key.
Sometimes, however, the body has an autoimmune reaction and starts to attack and kill the insulin-producing cells. Thus, there is no way for cells to get energy from the sugar in the blood; thus, they resort to using fats instead.
The problem is that directly breaking down fats creates a type of compound known as a ketone. These lower the pH of the blood (making it more acidic) and are toxic, so will kill if left untreated.
Type 1 diabetes
This is the type of diabetes I suffer from. It occurs when the body kills the insulin-secreting cells in the pancreas, stopping the production of insulin.
It means every time I eat, I have to measure my blood glucose levels and then inject myself with insulin to make sure I can absorb the sugar from my meal.
In addition, my diet is now more restricted (no sweets, no chocolate, no snacking on carbs of any kind) and it is also extremely advisable for me to count how much carbohydrates are in each meal (as they affect my blood sugar levels more than other food groups.)
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| This is my blood sugar level monitoring kit. On the left is the monitor itself, in the middle are my blood glucose level testing strips and on the right is the pen I use to draw blood (yep, I stab myself four times daily to stay alive. The universe is cruel…) |
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| This is my insulin pen, with the cap on. This is the daytime variety of insulin - it works quicker than the night-time variety, which releases slowly over several hours while I sleep. You can also see one of the needles I use in there as well. They're only about as wide as a human hair - I hardly feel anything putting them in! |
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| And this is my insulin pen with the cap off. There's a clear part in the middle and numbers on the side so i can see how much insulin is left and a dial on the right, which lets me choose how much insulin to inject. |
But I'd rather live like this, have an occasional treat and stay alive than live like I did, gorge myself and die. I want to have as full and long a life as possible now; I was brought back from the edge of death and never want to be there again. Ever.
But anyway, I think that just about wraps it up for this week. I won't be doing Game Reviews anymore (too much stress, I figure), but apart from that, this blog will continue just as it has done in the past! So I'll see everyone on the 26th! Bye for now!