Please note that this website has not been sanctioned by either Diabetes UK or by NHS England. However, I do ask people from both organisations to vet the entries I will be adding to it, in case of obvious errors.
Also, from time to time you will see entries here which relate to my own experience of diabetes. It is not a suggestion to any other diabetic as to how they should deal with their own diabetes. Anyone who has issues with their diabetes should seek the help and advice of a healthcare professional.
Personal Experience of Diabetes
Diabetes and Maths - Personal Experiences
How it all started
March 19th, 1971. A date etched forever on my memory. The date I was told I had type 1 diabetes. Not the best day of my life. The following morning, I was admitted to hospital and was there for three weeks. People diagnosed these days usually have a very different experience. I was 15 years old and was put in a ward in a hospital which was the regional prosthetic limb centre. There wasn't another patient on the ward aged less than 45 and many of them were delerious due to conditions such as gangrene.
I suppose in a way I was fortunate in that, because diabetes ran in my dad's family, my parents recognised the symptoms earlier than most. So, although I was quite ill when admitted, at least I was still conscious and mobile - which in those days did not apply to most juvenile diabetics when first diagnosed. Most were admitted by ambulance, suffering from ketoacidosis - and therefore unconscious.
Looking back, I was suffering all the symptoms now known as "The 4 Ts" (there is more about this on the Diabetes UK website - see the "Where to Find Out More" page)
THINNER
THIRSTY
TOILET
TIREDNESS
I had lost a lot of weight over the previous few months - probably more than a stone.
No sooner had I had one drink than I needed another one. Tea, water - anything.
When you drink more, you need the loo more - no surprise there. I was regularly having to get up 3 or 4 times each night.
I had no energy because my body was unable to digest any glucose, and of course it was made worse because I was never getting a good night's sleep because of constantly running to the loo.
The effect on life
So what has long-term diabetes stopped me doing? To be honest, not that much. I was never much of a party person anyway, but I've done plenty of the things I've always enjoyed.
To "celebrate" (if that's the right word) 25 years of diabetes, I did the Coast-to-Coast walk. From Robin Hood's Bay near Whitby to St. Bees Head on the Irish Sea. 190 miles in two weeks, staying at youth hostels and small B&Bs. I picked up a couple of blisters but anyone without diabetes could just as easily soffered from them. Of course, as a diabetic you have to be careful and check they heal. I've climbed the highest mountains in northern Europe - in the Jotunheim of Norway. Snow-covered 365 days a year. I've been driving for more than 40 years and these days I'm diving a decent-sized SUV and sometimes towing a caravan with it.