Tuesday, December 2, 2014

"I saw the sign, & it opened up my eyes..."

So seeing the signs aren't always like an Ace of Base song... But I have been asked at least 100 times this week alone, how did I know that my daughter had type 1 diabetes.  I am not sure I knew that is what it was.  I had no idea it ran in my husbands family until our daughter was diagnosed.

It began with heavy thirst, extreme fatigue, soaked diapers every hour, fussiness... within 24 hours we were at the doctor's office with what I believed to be was a UTI... a few hours later we were at the hospital, praying for our daughter to just be ok, in shock that they were telling us she had type 1 diabetes.

Each child is different.  Here are a couple of parent's stories of how they knew something wasn't right:

"My daughter came to me a week before I rushed her to the ER with the computer open to WebMD's symptoms of diabetes. She was crying and told me she thought she had it. I laughed it off and told her she was going through puberty. 1 week later she was white as a sheet, shaking so badly she couldn't hold a cup to her lips, and vomiting. By the time I got her to the ER she was slurring her speech and couldn't lift her feet off the ground when she walked. DKA almost comatose. Spent a week in PICU. She was 11."

"My daughter was not sick at all at the time. Actually, the only signs of anything being a little wacky was her craving water all the time and peeing in my bed a few times. So, I called the Dr. about it and he told me to bring her in right away to test her sugar. It came as a huge shock to me to find out that she has diabetes."

Signs to watch for:
  • Unquenchable thirst
  • Frequent urination
  • Weight loss
  • Lack of energy
  • Intense hunger
  • Changes in eyesight
  • Yeast infections
I am ending this blog with saying this...
If you think you or your loved one may have type 1 diabetes, please have it checked out.  It could be nothing.  Some of these symptoms are also those of other diseases, such as a UTI or kidney infection.  I am glad that I was the hypochondriac mother, who knew in her gut something wasn't right.  I will forever trust my gut.  I am a true believer in mothers intuition

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