I'm starting this blog a little late, but at least I'm finally starting it! It's probably going to be rough for the first few posts, while I try to gather all my thoughts for the past few months, just bear with me. I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes a few days before my 26th birthday in July 2010, and it's now Jan 16, 2011 and I'm typing my first blog about it. Where to start? I guess, with a little background about myself to let you know how I got in to this situation. If you don't want to read that, just skip on to the next blog... now!
A LITTLE ABOUT ME:
So I am 26 years old, a Computer Technician in a small school system, and have also ran my own side business (CGrafiks) since 2006 fixing computers. I am 6 foot tall, and 150 pounds. Not overweight, and besides medical conditions that I cannot control, I consider myself a very healthy person. I have ate healthy all my life. Never cared for sweets much, except late at night before bedtime! I wouldn't say that I exercise daily, but I am a active person to be a computer geek. I was a bad asthmatic when I was young, but when I turned 13 I outgrew most of my asthma. I used to be allergic to allmost everything... dogs, cats, mold, eggs, strawberries, watermelon, fresh cut grass, peanutbutter, nuts in general, etc. I outgrew most of that too, besides my peanut and nut allergy that I will probably always be stuck with! I have always had allergy problems, skin problems that I can't ever get to clear up and, from where I was given steroids for the asthma, I personally believe that I have bone problems, and will have that diagnosed one day.
I was raised kinda rough, in the country, carried water, chopped wood, etc... (that's a whole other blog)so I've always been a hard worker and I don't really know how to stay still for too long. If I sit still for a day I'm usually sick! Since I became an adult, I have worked 2 jobs (or at least 1 and went to school) for as long as I can remember. Between school and work I don't have much time for my loving family, but I do the best I can and am fortunate to have them by my side. I have a wonderfull woman named Melissa, who has stood by me through thick and thin now for over 7 years! She has 2 daughters, one of which, Whitney, is already out of the house and Haley, which I consider to be my little girl. She is 10 now. She was 3 yrs old when I met her mom, so she considers me Dad too!
HOW I WAS DIAGNOSED:
In July 2010 I was diagnosed as a Type 1 Diabetic after Kara and Jesselyn (both are diabetics theirselves!) checked my blood sugar when I was feeling bad one day at school. Karas meter stopped at 600 and she told me to call someone to take me to the ER, or she would take me herself, but I was not allowed to drive. She said she was surprised I was even walking around! After a lot of pricks and pokes, they told me that my A1C (an average of my blood sugar over 3 months) was a high 9 on the scale. I guess my average bloodsugar had been in the 400's for awhile, and my body gradually got used to running that way. They said I have Juvenile Diabetes and have had it for awhile. That was when my 4 day hospitalization started, and my education on Diabetes was just beginning.
FIRST BIG MISTAKE:
I had not been to the hospital since I was 18 and fell down 13 stairs! I had only hurt my back and they didn't do any tests on me for it. I hadn't even been to a doctor since then, except maybe 2 or 3 times due to a bad cold. At that time I didn't know anything about being Diabetic. I didn't even know that it ran on both sides of my family until after I was in the hospital! During my stay in the CMC, I was educated on diabetes by several real nice women. I sadly, don't even remember their names now, but they were smart and I learned alot from them. Then after I was released they signed me up in Diabetes Wellness at the Wellness complex, so I had 6 more lessons with professionals to help me get my life on track.
RELEASED TO THE WILD:
So after 4 days of constant pricks on the finger to draw blood samples, shots of Insulin and IVs of fluids, I was released back to the wild to fend for myself. I did not have insurance before I was hospitalized, so it wasn't long before I realized how expensive life as a Diabetic was going to be. The hospital gave me a Bayer Breeze blood glucose meter and enough strips, needles, etc to last me a few days. However, being new to this and not quite sure of what my body was supposed to really feel like, I was having to prick myself more than just 4 times a day for the first week or two. First thing I needed was more test strips and insulin.
The DR at the ER had wrote me a prescription, for a vile of my Novolog and Lantus insulin, when I was released. So I went to the Pharmacy and filled it. ($110.00 + TAX for just the Novolog!) Luckily I had some money put back to cover that. Then I went to Walgreens to get the other supplies. Another $100 easy between the strips, needles, lancets, alcohol and pads. Then there was the fact of food. We didn't have much in the house that I could eat. My diet was very strict and I had to count the CARBS of each item on my plate. I was allowed approx 60 grams at breakfast, 15g at snack, 45g at lunch, 45 at supper.... and that was it! (Look at the back of anything and see the amount of carbs per serving! It's terrible) So it was time to go grocery shopping! Luckily one of the instructors, at the school I work at, gave me a gift card to Krogers! ( I spent the next 2 hours in the store having to read the Nutrition Facts on everything and finding the better food for me to eat! - Did you know that the stuff that says FAT FREE, and should be better for you, is actually worse? That's a whole other blog though!)
HARD TIMES AHEAD!?!?
So there it was, over $300 spent in the first day out, and that was just a small part of what was coming. I still did not have any insurance, the medicine that I just bought wasn't going to last long, and I have to eat 5 times a day so the food won't last long either! Thankfully, the school helped me out with some emergency cash and I began to look for some other alternatives quick. I began to scout the internet and look for ways to help me. I applied for TennCare and FoodStamps, but was denied because I made $2000 more than what the government wanted me to last year! I checked other prices on insurance, but now since I was classified as a Diabetic, nobody would insure me for a decent price. I finally enrolled in the Rural Health Clinic ($12 per dr visit) and the Local Health Dept, and between the two of them, they were able to get me some patient assistance to help with at least one of my insulins (Slow-Acting LANTUS - I take 10 units at bedtime.) It wasn't the insulin that I used the most though. I have to take Fast Acting Novolog with every meal 3 times a day! I had about 1 1/2 viles of Novolog left and needed to find a solution within a month or so! That's when I found a company called www.express-scripts.com. My insulin went from $110 each to about $8. Thank you God!
So that's the main story. Moving On....
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