Inspiring Stories

Share your experiences, hopes, and dreams for the future.

My Story

My Story

Hi I'm Brad

I was diagnosed with diabetes Jan 2011.. My story started with me having bronchitis which I was treated for and came home to recover .. I had been feeling sick and run down for months prior to going to the doctor but thought I was just overworking and stress .. As I was home I began getting worse instead of better. The first thing I noticed was I could not get enough to drink all day and all night and finally ending up bed ridden and vomiting ... I had my blood sugar tested and would not even read so off to the ER I went . I was rushed back already being told I was acid ketosis which brings a fruity smell to your breath .. My blood sugar was 948 and I was passing out ( I hardly remember the day) sweating ,shaking .. I was admitted and given a insulin drip along with 3 shots a day for a week ... I was released and the doctors told me I escaped a coma and probably organ damage ( my kidneys are ) if I had waited another day... Then the fun started.. I had to learn to deal with this disease , eating , exercise , attitude
, not feeling like I was different . So I put my mind to it followed what I was told to do and made my own changes for me , everybody's body is different .. You have to learn your body to fix it.. Today I am 95lbs down and insulin free after 5 shots a day. My point is get your mind right and take care of your precious body.. Always remember diabetes never goes away .. It's not a death sentence .. Attitude is everything !! I did it , anybody can ... Improve yourself and improve your life ... And don't think things will change overnight , it took me 1 year to get there ... Set a goal ... YOU CAN DO IT !!! God Bless

Brad

Brad Burges
Arlington, TX
Mommy and Daddy's Hero

Mommy and Daddy's Hero

On July 18 2014 our world changed. Our precious 2 year old daughter was diagnosed as type 1 diabetic. On July 13 2014, I was in the hospital having Taylor's little sister Lizzie. We had noticed Taylor just didn't look right and was drinking a lot. My father in law actually mentioned that he hoped she wasn't diabetic. When he said this, I thought to myself, no not Taylor. She's only 2. Two year old babies don't have diabetes. On July 18 we woke up and Taylor told me she had a headache and started vomiting. I assumed she had a stomach virus . My mother in law came and got her so the virus wouldn't be passed to our newborn. She only became more ill as the day wore on. By the afternoon she was extremely lethargic and very labored breathing. She was brought to our local hospital where they immediately suspected diabetes. They checked her sugar and it was 505. She was sent to the PICU at Vanderbilt Childrens hospital where we learned she was in DKA. Then I had no idea what DKA was and how extremely serious it is. Now that I know it makes me sick to think of that time and how close we came to losing our baby. After several days in the hospital, Taylor was back to her old self. Only now we know she is diabetic. She celebrated her 3rd birthday in August and is doing great! She is so smart! She knows how to check her sugar and knows the differences in her novolog and lantus. She is too young to draw up the insulin or inject herself, but I have full confidence when the day comes she will do excellent. She is the strongest little person I know. My heart is filled with joy every time I look at her. She is her mommy's hero.

Callie Briley
Portland, TN
My Story

My Story

My name is Jorie,
September 27th is my 22nd birthday and I have been living with type 1 diabetes since the age of 4. It used to be so easy when I was young but when I turned 13 everything changed. I became inattentive to my diabetic needs and just wanted to be like every other person in the world and not have to count and track and watch. So I ended up in the hospital the same time every year for the next 6 years of my life with.... you guessed it DKA. my levels were well over 600 and my A1C was above 14. I just didn't care, I didn't want every meal planned out for me n having to be dependent on a medication to live. The doctors told me if I didn't start taking care of myself I would start losing my sight, having kidney failure, etc. Finally, in 2012 I met the love of my life and he didn't only give me a purpose he gave me goals and a chance at a normal person's future. After we got together and I started taking better care of myself I found out I had diabetic retinopathy. I was devastated. It was like no matter how hard I tried there my diabetes was to tear me down. I don't have it completely under control I still have old habits but I'm trying to be as healthy as I can so I can have kids and a future without disability or blindness. I have come a long way but I still have so long to go. I just got my pump in the mail and now I have to go and train for using it. I'm so excited and can't wait to see what my future holds.

Jorie
West Branch, MI
My Fight with Diabetes

My Fight with Diabetes

Hi I'm Chloe, I'm 17 and have Type 1 diabetes for 10 years, it has been a struggle. I developed diabetes when I was nearly 8 years old not long after I had my Pacemaker for my heart fitted. I nearly didn't make it as I had ketonacidousis before I was diagnosed. I have always hated diabetes. I ve struggled with it throughout my life as I just want to be a normal teenager like my friends. I always feel it's awkward to explain and for others without it to understand that just like a physical disability it affects your whole life. My mother Joanne also developed type 1 diabetes 2 years ago and so has been finding it tough herself but has got experience from helping me with my diabetes management.

I'm not going to lie but my diabetes isn't good, I've just managed to stay out of hospital these past times that I have been to the clinic. I try to motivate myself but as I get back into the swing of things I can not seem to get back on track. I feel very alone as I don't have someone my age to talk to as my friends wouldn't understand and it might make them think I am attention seeking. I don't want to tell my parents as I already put enough stuff on them and so don't want to make it worse.

I am currently in a relationship with a wonderful man named Ryan and he is the love of my life but I can't make him understand and I don't want to put pressure on him to take care of me as I don't want a third parent in that sense.

I don't think there will ever be a day with diabetes that I don't hate it or feel different. I just wish I could cope or that it'd go away.

Chloe Jones
Maldon, United Kingdom
#mystory

#mystory

February 2007 I had what they thought was a stomach virus, that previous november I had just gotten my braces. After feb, I never really ate anymore..my parents thought I had a eating disorder because all I would do is drink. I lost 45 pounds in 3 months, all my teachers told me that I looked very tired and out of it always. April 1st, 2007 was the day that turned my world upside down. I was getting sick that entire day a few hours after getting sick I started throng up dry blood, my uncle which was EMS thought my appendix may have bursted. Got rushed to the hospital to find out my sugar was way WAY over 600. Since then I have been taking care of my self with insulin shots that I do through an insulin pump. I was a month shy of my 13th birthday. I am now 20 years old going away to college to become a teacher. Diabetes doesnt bring me down..it motivates me more and more to be a healthier. One day there will be a cure we must believe and stay strong!

meghan
brooklyn, NY
Diabetes Does Not Mean You're Going to Die

Diabetes Does Not Mean You're Going to Die

When I was just two years old I remember being so thirsty I was drinking gallons of water while going pee on the toilet at the same time. At the time, my grandmother (a nurse) urged my mother to take me to the doctor because I was showing signs of diabetes. The doctors took some blood tests and sent me home. A few days later the doctor called my mother and informed her that she needed to rush me to the nearest emergency room. I remember laying on the backseat floor, dizzy, moaning and struggling to breathe with intense chest pain. When I was admitted to the hospital, my blood sugar was over 1000! My parents had no idea what having a type 1 diabetic child would mean and now they had to explain this to their two year old. When I was told I had diabetes, I remember the first thing I asked my mother was, "Mom, if I have diabetes, does that mean I'm gonna die?" After explaining to me that I was in fact not going to die, my mother blamed herself and questioned what she did wrong for her child to be diagnosed with diabetes. Growing up, I struggled accepting the disease, often not taking my blood sugar or refusing to take my shots. Now, after battling with diabetes for 17 long years, I am currently on an insulin pump and my A1C is better than it has ever been. I have graduated with an associate's degree and now I am currently attending MSU. I have diabetes, diabetes doesn't have me! I am just one example that having diabetes does not mean you have to die!

I am diabetic and proud!

Taylor Siebecker
Lansing, MI
A coma that could of killed me

A coma that could of killed me

I was 7 at the time, my parents noticed something wrong with me. My dad thought it was Diabetes of some sort (He was right). I went to the doctors to get myself checked up. The doctor told me to go home and drink lemonade. My dad used to go out to sea to make money for the family and he was cleared to come home and see me 24/7 at the right time. Here's where the coma comes in. After a week of missing school i went up to get some clothes. Then all of a sudden i just feel like i'm gonna pass out, i try to make it up the stairs (lucky i made it up but then went into the coma straight after) After i faint my parents take me straight to the hospital. What i can recall from my parents is when i got into the waiting room i was taken into the ER straight away and the Doctor basically told my parents i was done for if i got there 20 seconds later, after 8 and a half days of my parents staying at the John Hunter Hospital hoping i was gonna wake up, i did. Ironic something on the news about chocolate was playing. I kept asking where i was and my Dad turned around and he was shocked i woke up. He told me i was at the John Hunter Hospital with the biggest smile on his face i'd ever seen, 5 minutes after i woke up some guy gets me to do an x-ray. 7 years later here i am at age 14 taking the needles remembering this experience that could of caused me death at any moment. Be sure to question the doctor twice about things ;)

Kai Casey
Newcastle, Australia
Misdiagnosed at 24

Misdiagnosed at 24

When I was 24 I got really sick. I didn't know what was wrong and neither did the doctors. I thought I had food poising from some under-cooked pizza and the doctors couldn't find a reason for me feeling so sick. After I got a little better I noticed that I started losing weight. Like a pound every day for over a month. I was drinking gallons of water a day and peeing constantly. When a coworker told me how sickly I was looking I decided to go to the doctor. After I told the nurse my symptoms she immediately tested my blood sugar which was 324. She said, "yup, you're diabetic." The doctor came in to talk to me and said that I am a Type 2 diabetic and put me on a pill. Needless to say the pill was not enough so he put me on 10 units of insulin a day. This was not enough either. I ended up in the hospital with my first case of DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis) before a different doctor tested me for insulin antibodies and officially declared me a type 1 diabetic in need of both long lasting and short acting insulin.
Pretty soon I was taking up to 8 shots a day to control my sugars and they finally set me up with Medtronic where I officially got my insulin pump. Between first diagnosis and my insulin pump I was hospitalized 8 times for DKA. This is because the first doctor to diagnose me said that I couldn't be a Type 1 because I was an adult and only kids can get that form of diabetes. More and more adults are being diagnosed as Type 1, insulin dependent diabetics. Hopefully others wont have to go through this in the future.

Michelle Leigh
Gilbert, AZ
Re: Living my life with Diabetes

Re: Living my life with Diabetes

My name is Joey I've had diabetes since 2000 it started out as type 2 and quickly turned into type 1. I check my blood sugar level 4 times or more daily and I have to take between 5 or less insulin shots and I've had to make some dietary changes and etc. I just wish they would hurry up and find a cure for type 1 diabetes I have about cures for other diseases but nothing much about diabetes. I think the bionic pancreas is a good start to help with finding a cure. But I also have other health issues after being diagnosed with diabetes like high cholesterol, high blood pressure, acid reflux, sleep apnea, insomnia, asthma, bronchitis, fatty liver, depression, and etc. I take a lot of medecines for all of that stuff. You have to life your life like you don't have any health problems and/or diabetes. I do everyday.

Joey Stevenson
Leitchfield, KY
Battle of Type 2 Diabetes

Battle of Type 2 Diabetes

My name is Missy ( Short for Melissa) . I was in the happy stage of my life. I had recently married for the 3rd time to my soul mate ( 10 1/2 years now). We had moved to S Florida Hubby was offered a great job. A few years later decided to buy our first home . Everything was falling into place and I was happier than I had ever been. I started feeling tired all the time, thirsty and up multiple times a nite to use the restroom. I suffered with yeast infections , tired of using Monistat and it would come back within a week. My husband suggested I see a doctor. Well that time came for my yearly Pap. I didn't have a doctor yet so while my daughter was having a tooth removed we walked around the area. We came up on a Gynecologist which my husband convinced me to make an appoint so I did. A week later I went for my appointment and was told they couldn't do the Pap cause I was dumping alot of sugar in my urine. She gave me meds for 10 days and after 10 days she checked me and it became another 10 days.. It was all through my body, in my lips and ears, I mean all over inside and out. Really made me wonder why I was always itching. Well I went back to the doctor and was told my sugar was in the 500's ( I cant remember the exact). So I was put on Meds (Metphormin) . Im now on insulin ( Nova-log and Nova-lin) and other oral meds, BP meds, Cholesterol . After over 8 years Im finally seeing some readings below 200. I still have those bad days and I suffer with Diabetic Neuropathy in my right leg and foot. My A1C level was 10.4 and my last visit it went to 8.5 so I have made some progress with the new doctor (first time Ive seen an Endocrinologist) but its a battle. Thanks for allowing me to share my story.

Missy
Manassas, VA