My Diagnosis Story - Part 1

Hi and welcome to my first blog post!

I want you to get to know me, understand my journey and see how my experiences can help you.

My journey to a Type 1 Diabetes started in October 2017. I was about to have surgery, when my pre-operative blood work came back with very, very high blood sugar levels. I was told to follow-up with my doctor as my surgery could not proceed.

I had been overweight for the greater portion of my life, and began losing weight, and I feared type 2 diabetes. I wanted to avoid the conversation with my doctor, so I kept putting the appointment off.

I was scared, anxious, and felt shame. I finally booked the appointment in January 2018 and my A1c was an astonishing 13%. I pleaded with my doctor to allow me to try keto, or low carb to bring my A1c down. He told me I was a Type 2 diabetic, and would need medication. I started Metformin and was motivated to get rid of it. I started a running program, watched what I ate, and I started getting bloodwork every 3 months with no improvement.

In January of 2019, I had a new family doctor as mine had moved out of town. She placed me on Invokana, Genuvia, along with a few for my kidneys and my heart. My A1c was a steady 15%. I was feeling worse and worse everyday.

Fast forward to May, I was getting married. I had lost a total 96 lbs between 2016 and 2019. I looked great and was set to marry the man of my dreams. I thought I was doing well.

May 9, 2019, while I was at work, I was dizzy, flush, my stomach hurt like I had the flu, my lower back was killing me, and I was out of breath. The Nurse at my work told me to go to the emergency department. I went after work. My husband joined me at emergency (he also needed to go to the ER as he had thrown out his back), and thankfully he was there. I was in and out of consciousness while waiting for word from the doctor. My husband recalls the doctor asking him if I had recently taken cocaine or heroin, as it appeared I was in withdrawal. He laughed, as I never took recreational drugs, ever. When my blood work came back, the ER doctor came to tell him that my blood work was "all over the place" and that I would be admitted to the ICU.

While in the ICU, I was having my blood work drawn every two hours and my blood sugar was being tested every hour. A doctor (I cannot recall their name), came in right away and said, "Are you sure she was diagnosed as a type 2? She isn't a type 2, she's a type 1 and needs insulin now."

I was so out of it, I was weak and felt awful. My arms were bruised, with an iv in both hands, and regular bloodwork being performed. I had diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and my organs were shutting down.

When I was finally released from the hospital, I began following up with a Nurse Practitioner, Internal Medicine doctor, a dietician, and a registered nurse. My A1c was 13%. My internal medicine doctor told me that had I not went into the ER that day, I would've died over that weekend.

To be continued...

Fast forward to today, my A1c is 6.6%, I feel great and am passionate about diabetes education and helping others.

Stay tuned for more blogs! Please comment, like, share, etc. Also, please reach out if you're looking to improve your own diabetes management. I'm here to help!

Book a consultation with me!