Re: How long have you had T1?

Diagnosed in 1968 when I was 2yrs. old

Coming up on 11 years this June, diagnosed in 2001 when I was 16 years old. Minor retinopathy but I have not required any treatments so far. Currently on ace inhibitors to bring my kidney levels down but other than that-no complications

Butterfly.  I was hesitant on going on the pump after my daughter was born and that was almost 14 years ago now.  I love not doing the shots.  I started on Disetronic's pump and when I was having problems with getting my insurance to cover my new one I found out about Omnipod and how much less it cost.  At first I had some problems with it and getting use to it but now after a year I'm so glad I did it.  I have a younger girl here at work that I'm trying to convert to it. LOL

Laura - if you dont mind me asking - where do you wear it?  I was more concerned with the day to day things - sleeping (will I be uncomfortable), not being able to wear certain shirts cause the darn thing will pop out lol...things like that...

I wear it everywhere.  On the back of my arms, stomach, fatty part of my back and behind.  I've tried on my legs but I have not had much success on not getting occlusions and having to change it.  I don't tend to have many problems while sleeping, every once in a while depending on where it is.  I've reached a point in my life that I don't care if people see it, I don't care if people ask me about it.  I once saw a young boy wearing one on his arm and I smiled and asked him how long he started wearing his as I showed him mine.  It put a smile on his face when he answered me and I told him to keep it up.  I figured it doesn't bother this kid that the world knows he has Diabeties why should it me.  I'm not ashamed of what I have.

congrats on the complications!!

*NO Complications...

Hi butterfly, I was also hesitant to go on the pump but I've had it for at least 8 or 9 years (is it bad that I can't remember? lol). I would never ever go back to injections. Granted, the first two months or so of switching to the pump are somewhat exhausting (because of all the testing) but soooo worth it. My quality of life has gone up substantially. And beleive me, I was an early teen when I first started out (I'm now 24) so I was worried about having it noticed and where to wear it, etc. And like Laura, I'm no longer ashamed of having people see it. But when I do want to hide it, it's sooo easy to. It's actually more discrete than having to whip out the syringe and insulin and jab yourself. I almost always where the infusion on my stomach and put the pump in my pants pocket. If there are no pockets, I tuck it into the waistband. With dresses you have to get a bit creative but I manage to wear them fairly frequently ;)

It's such a liberating feeling to say "hey, I feel like eating some strawberries and it's 4:17pm and I don't care because I can!" or "sure I can go out to dinner with some friends at a later time than usual." Just keep in mind that carb counting still remains crucial.

And one last point, pump technology is so much better than what it used to be... As long as you tell it how many carbs you're consuming it does all the calculations for you. It will even tell you if there is still insulin in your system and, if so, calculate a lower dosage.

Hope some of that info is helpful :)

Age 26- three weeks ago!

Looking into a pump though!

Definately do the pump!!  I have been a T1D for 35 yrs and could never get things under control.  I went on the pump and the CGM late last year and it has been a lifesaver.  My A1C went from 13.1 to 6.8 and I havent had one trip to the ER for crashes since.

I have had it for about 19 years and so far no complications!

Congrats!

39 years and no problems  -  my last A1C was 5.7 with injections and no pump.  I really would like to try a pump.  Diet could be better.  Remember the days before test strips when we had to pee on test paper?  Dark purple was +4, blue was +3, green was +2, and yellow was +1.  The syringes were huge and they hurt!  The insulin was basic short acting Regular and mixed with long acting NPH.  Things have come a long way!  I went to Camp Firefly in PA for diabetic kids back in the early 1970's.  Streaking was popular at the time.  My whole cabin including the counselor went streaking!  Nothing on but a smile!  They were the days that I will never forget!  They really taught me a lot about diabetes and I learned that there were other kids like me.  Live long happy lives my friends !!!!!!   

Nice going!! No problems?  Wow that's great .. do you have a secret?

22 years currently, diagnosed aged 5. Thankfully no sign of complications. I hope it stays that way...