DMMyAdultYears

I married at the age of eighteen and wanted to start having children right away.
My first pregnancy while I was still very thin saw my belly balloon out so far that it was
almost impossible for me to walk. I also had a great deal of swelling and my insulin needs
doubled. When my first child was born in my eighth month by C-Section, he looked like a
little football player at 10 pounds and 12 ounces.

It's very common for diabetics to have big babies.

My second pregnancy was somewhat easier and my second child was small;
he only weighed 6 pounds and 10 ounces. Insulin requirements were again about double
my norm. There were problems during the childbirth surgery that required the doctors to
remove most of my uterus. I don't know if diabetes was the primary cause of these problems
but many diabetic females are either unable to bear children or their pregnancy causes a
great deal of harm to their bodies.

Although I did not work while I was pregnant, I worked most of the time while my children were
growing up. I usually did not mention the fact that I was a diabetic because it was generally
thought that employers would discriminate against hiring diabetics. My mom always watched
the boys while I worked and did a lot of things to help out, otherwise it probably would have
been a lot harder for me.

I would have to admit that I didn't attempt strict control of my disease but I rarely had
problems. (YMMV your mileage may vary). Aside from having to take injections and
checking my urine, most of the time I felt like a normal person, whatever that is.
At some point the diagnostic strips came out and were so much easier to use than the
tablet / tube tests. However urine testing still left much to be desired and I didn't
test every day.

I still saw the family doctor occasionally; there was no real diabetes
education and active management. Yet you were always made to feel like you were
bad or weren't really trying if your urine checks were consistently high.
There wasn't the A1C then either; that's a relatively new test.

In late 1981 we moved to Illinois; I saw several family practice doctors, none of which I
found particularly impressive. In the later 1980's, the doctors wanted me to have more
and more tests, like an EKG and a chest xray and blood tests and a whole barrage
of other things.

Because my insurance at that time required me to pay up front and then wait
to get reimbursed, I found it terribly expensive and didn't see the need to get all those
tests done since I hadn't done them before. Little did I know that these tests were
a necessary part of staying well; the doctors were not good at educating patients
and I found it hard to pay all the medical expenses the way my insurance plan at work
was set up. I didn't really care much for any of these doctors.

During the 1980's one of the doctors told me about the new human insulin; he said it was
much more beneficial than the pork and beef I was taking. I thought it sounded a little
gross at first; I wondered about the origin of this stuff, but the human insulin is
artificially created in labs. I started taking it and also found that it was a good bit
more expensive, however not too many good things are cheap.

Then about 1988, I found Dr. Costabile through the 1-800-doctors service;
I don't know if this service still exists.   Dr. Costabile was just what I needed; he was
very much into educating his patients and he was very caring and went the extra
mile to help and to communicate. He is very good at creating an incentive in me to
do what I must do to help myself. The fact that he is on the teaching staff of a
couple of the major Chicago medical universities is another plus.

Dr. Costabile told me he had a special interest in diabetes because he had lost
his father to diabetes complications. He had me test frequently and report back to him
We worked hard to try to get my disease under control.   The doctor showed
such a caring attitude which even extended to his calling me personally to
check on me and give me advice.   How could this not inspire me to do better?

Education and self-care are key to proper diabetes control. And..control is key to
help prevent the serious complications that so many diabetics develop. We need to
be aware of so many factors that affect our control and the appropriate actions
we should take.

Diabetes affects all parts of the body; over the years it can cause so much destruction
to the body and even early death; we can't emphasize enough, especially to young
diabetics, how important it is to learn all you can about this disease and to do all
you can to keep it under control.

And of course the right doctor and other medical personnel are critical as well; if you
are not satisfied with your doctor and you have a disease as potentially dangerous
as diabetes, you should get away from that doctor and get another one
immediately, otherwise the results could be disastrous.

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MAKING IT THROUGH MY ADULT YEARS WITH DM
FACING THE WORLD, WORKING, AND RAISING A FAMILY