Type 1 Diagnosed at a later age

Hello there! I am looking for Type 1’s diagnosed later in life.

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Diagnosed at 54, you?

Diagnosed at 37, about 35 years ago.

Diagnosed as T2 10 years ago. Actually T1 (LADA). Now 58. Insulin only for 5 years. What a “honeymoon”! Probably would have preferred the truth, rather than the false hope of “diet and exercise can reverse this disease”. Oh well, now I know.

I was 52. Most of the reading of blogs is for children. I just wanted to connect with people more my age.

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I understand. Because of my age, the doctors thought for sure I was a Type 2. Then the panic testing since I was not responding to the meds and low and behold Type 1 at 52. Very thankful I was 52.

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Thank you for responding. Because of my age, now 61, the doctors put me on blood pressure medication, since all Type 1s have high blood pressure. Mine was always 110/70. Is this the norm?

diagnosed at 54 here.

How long have you been Type1? Has your MD provided you with any Type 1 support group info? Mine did. Went to one meeting. Me, and a room full of teenagers. Didn’t learn a lot about being diabetic but I did learn Sarah had a boyfriend who dumped her and started dating her best friend and that Ian was having trouble in Algebra because his teacher hates him. And poor Carly! Her parents took her car away until she gets her grades up.
Then I went on line and found this place. Much better.

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Thank you for the laugh! What a great story. I was diagnosed at 52 and I am 61. I have had a pump since I was 53. I was diagnosed during my yearly physical. What a shock. Please tell me your story.

Thank you for responding! What challenges have you had/

my story.
Never so much as a head cold my entire life. In the later summer of 2016, I got up one night in the middle of the night to use the restroom for the first time in my entire life. “Wow…that’s a first!” I thought.

Then I started drinking a lot of really sugary drinks. Which was also odd for me because I have never been a huge fan of sugar.

Then I lost about ten pounds. And my skin started to feel chalky.

About that time, I had hernia surgery and the pre-op nurse was going thru my blood work and mentioned my blood sugar was high. She told me this AFTER they had given me pre-op sedatives so I heard “Blood Pressure” and figured it was probably because I was nervous. Never once thought “Diabetes” because I had no clue really that diabetes was even an option. Doesn’t run in the family and hell, I’m 54 years old. Besides, at no time did anyone say the word “diabetes” to either myself or my wife, who was sitting right next to me.

Anyway, I digress… a few months pass and I’m now visiting the bathroom about twice nightly and drinking a gallon of OJ every day. Lost a few more pounds and then noticed I was getting weaker and weaker at the gym. About this time is when I started forgetting common words. I’d go into Starbucks and try to order a cup of coffee but couldn’t for the life of me remember the word “coffee”.
I’m not an overly emotional person and my wife finally insisted I go to the doctor when I started to cry when she was watching “Say Yes To The Dress”.
Wife: “Honey, what’s wrong?”
Me: “SOB SOB SOB She said yes to the dress!!! SOB SOB SOB”
Wife: “That’s it! You’re going to the Doctor!”

Got Diagnosed as Type 2 but in the back of my mind, that diagnosis didn’t fit but I played along for about six months. Prescribed Metformin. Doctors know best, right?
In those six months I lost another 35 pounds. And my eyesight went on vacation. And I was still peeing constantly. About once every 30 minutes.

Finally read on line about a GAD test. Told my Doctor I wanted one. He said it wasn’t necessary and to stop “borrowing trouble”. Got a new Doctor (one that didn’t graduate during WW2) and the first thing he did after looking at me was informed me I was in DKA . He ordered a GAD Test. Results were quick and definitive. Type 1.

The next day, I was back in his office, being trained on insulin ratios, keto strips, lancing devices, carb ratios and carb counting, basal and bolus, CGMs, test strips…the whole “ball o wax”!

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Wow…thanks for sharing! What a wild ride! I hope you are feeling as normal as a Type 1 can feel. God bless your wife. Unfortunately, our spouses are on the journey with us. Tim, my husband is my right hand man. Are you on a pump?

@wittersk hi Kathleen, not all type 1’s have high blood pressure.

ACE inhibitors have an off label benefit, they protect kidneys from passing protein and some other deterioration. Doctors will try to put you on one of the ACE inhibitors as soon as you can tolerate it to protect your kidneys - essentially to delay kidney disease, which is a terrible complication.

Taking a low dose of ACE inhibitors if your blood pressure is OK, may take some time to get used to. Some of us will get dizzy or be unable to tolerate it.

thanks for the laugh. I needed one today!

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no pump here. I know I should and my MD keeps bringing it up, and my kids are all amped about Dad becoming a Cyborg but I just have this huge, unfounded fear of all things wireless and computerized. I don’t trust the internet any farther than I can throw it and had a hard enough time accepting the Dexcom Apps into my life. (Old Man Yells at Cloud Syndrome)
Someday, maybe, but right now I’m still trying to figure out how Facebook knows my wife is married to a Type 1 diabetic when all she ever posts are dog and cat videos.

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you’re welcome…
Sorry it was so long winded but I don’t get to tell my story very often.

It was a wild ride and to be honest, I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. Whenever I grow tired of shots and glucose numbers and MD appts and alarms et al, I just think back to how rotten I felt back then and how I will do whatever it takes to NEVER feel that way again. Going into DKA was a rude but very effective way to be introduced to my new reality.

You are so funny. I appreciate this so much. My Endo said to me in front of my husband that one day, I would not wake up because of the lows. I am now a pumper for 8 years. It has been a life saver. It has also been a pain in my neck as my husband will confirm. I wear the Metronic 670G with CGM sensor. Consider it. Please keep in touch.

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Thank you! I do get dizzy when climbing a ladder…and have had episodes of feeling faint and clammy, which the doctor said would happen if I drop to low. Thank you again.

You were not long winded. I enjoyed hearing about your journey. I wrote my symptoms off as being over 50. Hiking and the gym were a struggle. I always drank a lot of water so I never notice an increase in thirst. And I was happy that I lost a few pounds. Thank goodness for yearly physicals. You never expect to hear those words, “You have diabetes” when it doesn’t run in your family. My daughter has been tested and doesn’t have the indicator. My son refuses to be tested, which is ok for now. I have three granddaughters that I pray will never get this disease. It’s a comfort to know another person like me.