I've been type one diabetic since I was diagnosed in September 2001 at the age of 5. When I hit puberty I developed what I call "diabetes denial" and just straight up pretended I didn't have it. My blood sugar constantly hovered anywhere between 350 to 600, but I'd say most of the time I was in the 400's. I had a mentality of "well everyone's going to die some time, and I want to live as normal of a life as possible while I can and I'll just die in my 20's." It might be clear to some of you by this point (obviously it wasn't to me- I was perfectly content on my one way ticket ride to medical hell) but I was severely depressed. My kidneys began to shut down and talks of dialysis were in the works at 18. My ankles were so swollen o could only wear flip flops. My nephologist believed I was carrying at least 60lbs of water weight around. My A1c hadn't been in single digits since I became a teenager. Thankfully I got help and changed my ways. Unfortunately it was after almost a decade of diabetes denial, but it's better late than never. My kidneys have returned to normal function, my A1c is 5.5, I've lost almost 200lbs, and I'm happy and healthier than I've ever been. Unfortunately the damage to my eyes was not reversible. I've had 7 laser procedures to try to stop the bleeding, and countless Avastin injections. Unfortunately my eyes were too far gone to respond to these treatments. I had enormous black spots in my vision and could hardly even walk alone because I just couldn't see. I had night blindness and couldn't see if the sun was out. Over the summer my vision was 20/600. Finally my doctor decided to take an aggressive course of action and in November I had a vitrectomy in my right eye. Going in I was absolutely terrified. I had a panic attack during surgery prep because I was so scared. Thankfully it was the best decision I've made for my eyes. It wasn't painless but didn't hurt anymore than the laser procedures did. Now at two months post op my vision in my right eye is 20/25. Today I went in to get my left eye done and it went flawlessly! I can't wait to see the world again! If you are on the fence about getting this surgery done, DO IT. It's so worth it. And if you are currently in diabetic denial, please learn from my mistakes. You aren't invincible. Your body is precious and if you take care of it, it will take care of you. I'm 22 years old and went through things most diabetics don't go through until much later in life. I feel like such an idiot now, and I have to face the lifelong consequences. Don't let my story be yours too.
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