It was my last year of high school and I had decided to tryout for the football team. It was super hot in August and we were doing two-a-day practices. I had noticed I was increasingly thirsty, and dropped about 20lbs in a short time. I just figured it was due to the intensity of the heat and exercise. I was drinking a lot of fluids, at this time in my life, that basically consisted of soda, and not knowing that it was diabetes, really just made things worse 😆. Ultimately though, I was losing sleep because I had to get up to pee all the time, we're talking like hourly.

I don't actually remember how it came up, but my Aunt somehow heard what was going on and said, "That sounds like diabetes." So I had an appointment with my doctor, and the fingerstick just read "HIGH", which I know now on a a BG meter ususally means >600 mg/dL. I think they took blood and sent me on my way to wait for the lab results.

I was at the grocery store with my folks when they got a call saying to take me to the ER right away. This was all really odd to me since I felt normal. I think it was the first time I'd ever been admitted to an ER. They checked my BG and by that time it was something like 250 mg/dL. I think I got an IV bag and was sent home.

Next, began a whirlwind of different appointments and tests and equipment and a lot of "lifestyle changes". Then it was the start of a series of pills and dietary changes. I was put on a carb restriction of about 60g/day, which at 17 years old, was basically impossible 🤣. I mean, heck, before this, I'd never even looked at the nutrition label much less counted carbohydrates. Also, as a person who tends to see things black and white, the concept of, "No, no, no, there are no restrictions on foods! You just have to have a little bit!" was kind of a non-starter.

It was all pretty overwhelming, and in hindsight, pretty typical of the experience for newly diagnosed diabetics. There was a lot to learn and you had to learn it fast. Everything was pen and paper and if you wanted any sense of how you were doing, you have better be checking your blood like 12 times a day. After a while, I was put on an insulin pen, Lantus for long-acting (basal) and I think Novolog pens for short-acting (bolus). This was over the course of a couple years. Ultimately I was put on an Omnipod insulin pump, which was huge advance because it meant being able to manipulate that long-acting dose, since effectively there were no long-acting doses, it just used fast-acting but dosed more frequently (on the order of every 5 minutes or so). I think this pretty much summarizes the start of my diabetes journey. I could go on and on, but this is a good stopping point for one post! Until next time! (Ya know... the AI actually suggested I put "happy diabetes-ing" here. Go home Copilot...you're drunk. 🤣)