The Diabetes Talk

go_kayte · 04-06-2005, 01:47 PM

I'm 20 years old and I was recently diagnosed with diabetes. 4 years ago I was diagnosed with PCOS. A few weeks ago I got in the mail from my insurance company a "living with diabetes" packet, and a follow up discussion with my physician to learn what exactly I need to do to prevent complications.
Besides the stuff that I have to worry about though (blood sugar testing, eating at the same times each day, eating the right foods), there were some things I had to brief my boyfriend on (he lives with me, we've been together for 4 years). He's always known about the PCOS stuff and is very supportive, but I had to teach him about diabetes and that other thing when the opposite happens- hypoglycemia. I had to teach him to recognize the signs of hypoglycemia because sometimes it takes another person to recognize the signs, and a diabetic can go into a coma if they go unconscious from too little blood sugar. This was probably the most difficult discussion I had to have with him because it's hard to teach someone you love to give you a glucogen shot in case you can't.

I don't know how many of you are diabetic as well as PCOS, for me I didn't think it would happen - although considering the amount of sweets I ate I probably should have seen it coming. But I wanted to see if anyone had similar stories---? I haven't been able to talk to many other diabetics except for my grandfather who is 75 years old and managing it incredibly well.

04-07-2005, 01:29 AM

That is my biggest fear- I'll end up diabetic. I have a family history of it on both my mom and dad's sides of the family, so with that and PCOS I know how high risk I am. Did you take Met after your PCOS diagnosis? Just wondering because I've heard it can cut your chances of developing diabetes. Good luck adapting to your new lifestyle.

Shiphrah · 04-07-2005, 10:44 AM

I had pretty much self-diagnosed myself with PCOS so that part of my dx wasn't difficult. But hearing my doctor say, "This is much more than Mickey Mouse PCOS....it is far advance," really scared the crap out of me. And then he referred me to an endo who dx me with Syndrome X AND PCOS AND diabetes. For a week I fluctuated wildly between numb shock and hysterical weeping. It's been rough, for sure.

And, yes, I've had to have "the talk" with a few people. Two weeks before I was dx I had a major blood sugar crisis at work. I was shaking and crying and my face was numb and I was too confused to talk. So after the dx I had to tell my boss and everyone in the office that I'm diabetic and what to do if something like ever happens again. It was really hard dealing with their questions and sympathy.

And I had to tell the employees at the gym where I go...that was embarrassing.

Telling my friends was pretty easy. One is a nurse, another had a diabetic father, etc....so they know what it means and what to do.

My family doesn't really want to talk about it....which is typical.