My Story

I was living in Guam when I was 13. We'd just moved there and I didn't think I'd like it because it was so different from where I'd previously lived. It was around the end of July when we moved there and I was doing fine. We lived in a hotel for a little while and I was still unhappy, but fine. Finally we moved into a three story duplex and I got my own room and my own bathroom, which made me a bit excited to be there. I figured it would be a new school, a new impression I had to make, it wouldn't be that hard because I was starting the first day of school and I already had a friend through another friend I'd been talking to. This is when I started to get sick.

I started to lose weight rapidly and wasn't hungry anymore. I was always tired and I was always thirsty. My mom and I figured it was the change in temperature and a bit of depression mixed in with that. I had an appointment for August 28th just in case it wasn't just that. I was still losing weight and I was not able to hold any food down. My body was rejecting all food other than mashed potatoes and tums.

It was the first day of school when we finally went to the E.R..We had just got a new puppy, along with new neighbors and she was my puppy. So it was 4 in the morning and I had to get up with her to take her to potty. I let her out and stood on the concrete waiting for her to come inside when I really needed some water. So I got a cup and drank some. It made me nauseated. I didn't think anything of it because that was how I felt all the time until I couldn't walk up the stairs. Breathing was hard and I had to go up three flights of stairs.

My mom took me to the E.R. and left my siblings with my neighbor down the street. There I was diagnosed with type one diabetes, who was also going through DKA. We were told if we had waited any longer that my body would've started to shut down. This is a scary thought to anyone, but it terrified me as a 13 year old. I had to fly to Hawaii to go see an endocrinologist and a few months later, we moved back to the states.

And that is my story.

Welcome to Your New Life: Part 2

Still review. Now we review how to take an insulin shot. This isn't hard, but can hurt from time to time. I'm pretty... we'll call it chubby, so I don't know if it hurts if you're skinny.  Also listed below in picture format are some good places to put the needle in. So here we go:

First, get your stuff ready and take your sugar. Insulin needle, insulin pen, alcohol pen and glucometer. Some people have actual needles and actual insulin, which is what they started me off on. It's basically the same steps, but you actually have to draw the insulin.

 

Now, take off the insulin cap and wipe off the insulin top. We do this to protect ourselves against germs, even though it has a cap on.

 

Next, put on the needle (or put the drawing needle into the little vial of insulin). Usually this is a good time to wipe off your place of injection. Usually I use my stomach (which is the picture, please excuse the blur)

 

Now dial up/draw up the insulin. You need to know your carb ratio and take into account the carbs you are eating/drinking. (Example: My carb ratio is 1 to 10, meaning 1 unit per every 10 carbs) You also need to know your number. If you are higher than the doctor recommends, then you MIGHT need to take extra insulin to cover for how high you are, but ASK YOUR DOCTOR FIRST! (Picture's a little blurry, the insulin is set at seven)

 

 

Put your needle in your injection sight. The most recommended way is to pinch the skin you are using and put the needle in. It doesn't hurt as much, but pinch lightly. If you actually pinch, you'll hurt yourself.

 

 

Press down on the dial. You should hear clicks if you have a pen. Make sure that the dial is at zero before you take it out of your skin. You need ALL of the insulin that you are giving.

 

Take the needle out of your skin now. Put the cap back on the needle, you don't need to poke yourself again and needles are NOT reusable. Wipe off your injection site one more time and take the needle off. Make sure to dispose of it properly. Usually you put it in a container to take to your hospital, which unfortunately you usually have to pay for, and they will dispose of them.



Welcome To Your New Life: Part 1

Now you're diabetic. Welcome to the wonderful world of shots and pricks. To be honest, it's not as bad as it seems. The shots will hurt for a little bit and if you prick your finger in the wrong spot, it'll hurt too, but you'll get used to it and it'll become a no brainer. To start off, we'll go over the basics. The doctors in the hospital should have gone over them with you, but here comes a nice refresher.

Pricking your finger:
First get all your stuff. This includes your needles, test strips, glucometer, alcohol pads, and poker.

Second put your needle in your poker and put the top on the poker.

Third get your test strips ready and put one in the glucometer.

 

Clean off your finger with your alcohol pad. If your hands are cold, this is usual for diabetics, rub them together and move them by scrunching and bending your fingers to get them warmer. (the picture isn't very accurate, but use the alcohol pad and wipe your finger off. DON'T THROW IT AWAY YET)

Prick your finger. If you are afraid of needles, it's best if you don't hesitate because you don't realize what you're doing until there's actual blood. Don't worry, your fear of needles will go away after a few times of doing this. Also if you don't get blood the first time, don't worry, just reset your needle and push again.

Push the blood up. Use your fingers on your other hand and push the blood up, this isn't hard, especially if you are a new diabetic because your fingers aren't covered in scabs and scars like us veterans.

Put the blood on the strip that is in your glucometer. MAKE SURE THAT THE SCREEN IS ON! If it isn't, you'll end up wasting a strip and having to do it again because your blood will have gone up the strip, which you can't use again (as much as we all hope that this could happen, it doesn't) (The E-3 is a better picture so you can see what I'm doing but the bottom picture is what your screen should look like. Also glucometers will count down the seconds until you see your blood sugar).

Then you have your number! The number on the screen is your blood sugar number (mine is currently 84, which is a good number, but I should watch myself for signs because 84 is still sort of low)

Wipe your finger down after you use up the blood. We don't want anyone getting sick, especially with our weakened immune system!

 

And now you know how to check your sugar!