Inspiration

I was diagnosed with type I insulin-dependent diabetes 54 years ago at the age of 22 months. A dear family friend suggested my parents take me to our family doctor and have me checked for diabetes after I showed some of the more common symptoms. I was unusually cranky and always hungry, but had a stomach that was hard to the touch as though food was not digesting properly. I was also always thirsty, drinking a lot and urinating frequently. Our doctor tested my blood sugar, and the result was high enough to indicate diabetes. He put me on 60 units of insulin per day and told my parents to take me to the hospital 30 miles from the little Western Kansas town where we lived to get a shot of insulin once a day.

2 comments - 8 May 2008 -

Carol Whitton of Coral Springs, Florida, discovered that her blood sugar often increased sharply after she drank a diet soda while dining in a restaurant. So she started to test her diet drinks for sugar, a practice she learned from watching the “Living With Diabetes” television program.

14 comments - 28 Apr 2008 -

How did Lilly approach you to be F.A.C.E.’s spokeswoman? How long will you do it?
Before Lilly even contacted me, which they did through my manager, I’d been pretty outspoken about my diabetes. After discussing it, we agreed that my role is to get out and meet and greet people, and talk about diabetes. One of the things I’d like to get across is that celebrities are more than just stars – they’re real human beings with real human problems and concerns.

0 comments - 21 Apr 2008 -

We’d like to invite diabetes professionals, persons with diabetes (and the people who love and help them) to contribute articles to Diabetes Health.

0 comments - 21 Apr 2008 -

Forty-six years of coping with IDDM hasn’t stopped me!  I’m a published, award-winning poet, an actress and, in my “retirement,” a vocalist.  All this from a girl from a far off place known as The Bronx – and a policeman’s daughter, no less!  

0 comments - 16 Apr 2008 -

When we ran the story “Type 1 Pop Star Nick Jonas Tells His Story” on our website in April 2007, we didn’t expect it to generate the hundreds of responses that it has since then. The story continues to receive new comments every week.

34 comments - 2 Apr 2008 -

In November 2005, with an A1c of 7.5%, I was told that I had type 2 diabetes.  It shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise to me because my mother has type 2 and her mother died from complications due to her uncontrolled diabetes.

2 comments - 2 Apr 2008 -

When Dee Brehm was diagnosed in 1949 with type 1 diabetes, her prospects were not bright: a permanent chronic condition, a reduced life span, potentially devastating complications and perhaps no children. She married Bill Brehm in 1952, and they began a partnership knowing that together they would have to manage her disease. Dee subsequently defied the dim outlook for her life: She has two children and six grandchildren, and she has surpassed the half-century mark with this disease having been spared the ordeal of complications.

16 comments - 2 Apr 2008 -

Fifteen-year-old Californian Laura Miller, a brittle diabetic, and her mother, Gillian, thought they had a strong case when they asked Blue Cross in late 2007 to pay for a continuous glucose monitor for her.

10 comments - 26 Mar 2008 -

The table was set for Thanksgiving and all the family was there. Joey, the baby, was the center of attention. This would be the second Thanksgiving he had witnessed in his relatively short life. Somebody remarked that he looked thin, but Sandra, Joey's mother, thought that it was just a sign of growth. As the turkey and mashed potatoes were served, the family turned its attention away from the cooing baby to ladling piles of food onto plates. Joey didn't eat much that night, but kept asking for more to drink.

19 comments - 13 Mar 2008 -