Nick Riviera... Calling Dr Nick Riviera...
Way back in time, 15 years ago, I had gone back to Uni in Leeds early as I was doing a year out in industry as part of my sandwich degree. It was a warm summer as I remember it, and I seemed to be drinking a lot of water, like a litre or two every half hour, putting it down to the heat. Then I felt weak as a kitten and was shitting bullets so thought I'd better go and see my GP. I told them my symptoms, they took some blood and asked me to come back in the next day.

I went into the GP's office and had the following exchange, all the time him writing some notes into my folder and not even glancing up at me..

"Well Mr DeadEye, your tests are back, and it looks like you have diabetes"

"Oh. (pause) Er, what does that mean? Does that mean I will have to inject myself?"

(Now at this point I should point out I was pretty ignorant about diabetes at the time apart from the fact I had had a friend who had it. Not only was she a massive pain in the arse about it, passing out all the time and being generally sweaty, ruining a holiday in Ibiza.. I digress... But I knew it involved her acting like a human pin cushion. At the time I was so scared of needles that I wouldn't even have an anaesthetic at the dentists, I would rather put up with the pain than the needle)

"Yes, I'm afraid so" replies the Doc.

"Er, well I don't think I'm going to be able to do that.."

Of course I'm naively expecting him to say something along the lines of "Well it's a good thing we've got this miracle cure pill", but alas no.

Without missing a beat or looking up from his notes he replied

"Well, looks like you're going to die then doesn't it?"



Length? About 5mm four times a day, but it's only a small prick.
( DeadEyeDick, Tue 16 Mar 2010, 14:59, 12 replies)

This is how doctors should be
none of this 'heres some antibiotics' nonsense.
Straight to the point, tell it like it is, get it sorted!
(UnstableDan Bah, Humbug! ooooh, humbugs, nyom!, Tue 16 Mar 2010, 15:13, closed)

you're not wrong
I complied pretty quickly after his prognosis...
( DeadEyeDick, Tue 16 Mar 2010, 16:16, closed)

Must be something about sandwich years; I started drinking huge amounts and losing a lot of weight during my year in industry. Managed to "ignore" it for 18 months until after I finished my degree.

My mum finally convinced me to go and see a doctor about it. I explained my symptoms ( drinking 6 litres a day without trying, weight loss). She said that she didn't think it would be diabetes due to my age, but she got me to provide a urine sample. Turns out it contained huge amounts of glucose and ++ ketones. She took my blood sugar; 22.4. She phoned up the local hospital and booked me a bed, and told
me to get there ASAP, being very apologetic for giving me such a huge
bombshell and then deserting me immediately.

The first day/ night in hospital was horrible; one of the hottest days of the year on a plasticy bed that just seemed to pool sweat, with 6 litres of saline being pumped in to my veins and blood being taken from the artery
in my wrist.

I was there for a further two days, most of which were a blur. It certainly wasn't a good summer.
(ascience, Tue 16 Mar 2010, 15:30, closed)

:)
I was about 21 when diagnosed, apparently quite late for a type 1-er.
( DeadEyeDick, Tue 16 Mar 2010, 15:35, closed)

Yeah, if I didn't have significant weight loss and ketones at diagnosis they would have labelled me T2. They did an antibody check. GAD came back positive ( my levels were 17, normal is considered to be less than one ). My body seems to be doing something weird though; 5 units of insulin in a day is a lot for me, but if I don't do any insulin my blood sugar gets up to the high 20's very easily.
(ascience, Tue 16 Mar 2010, 16:48, closed)

Tell me you didn't get a degree
You can't spell sandwich, ffs.
( disasterprone "Pyjamas caused the Holocaust", Tue 16 Mar 2010, 15:56, closed)

You got a degree in sandwiches?
No wonder you ended up diabetic.

*may have missed the point*
( Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Tue 16 Mar 2010, 15:44, closed)

click for...
...superlative bluntness of doctor.
(SimianKid internet faffer, Tue 16 Mar 2010, 16:08, closed)

a good mate of mine was spotted shooting up his insulin in the toilets at work
a short while later his boss called him in to have a serious word about drug abuse.

My mate: "I'm a fucking diabetic you dumb shit. you know this."
Boss: *red face*
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Tue 16 Mar 2010, 16:55, closed)

The symptoms sound familiar.
But I seem to be more phobic of blood tests and needles than you. Is there any other way to diagnoe or live with it without intra-vein needles?
(Me, I'm not... in any way intoxicated, Tue 16 Mar 2010, 18:41, closed)

Type 1 diabetes can only be treated with injections at the moment.

Diabetes can potentially be diagnosed by taking a small sample of blood from your finger, which isn't really painful.

Ultimately, if it is a choice between doing an injection or dying, most people would choose doing the injection. Insulin injections don't hurt (if you do it right you don't actually feel it), they aren't as deep as most other injections you get (vaccinations go into the muscle, blood comes from a vein, insulin goes into the layer of fat just under the skin).

Also, you get to do it at your own pace, so if it starts hurting, you stop and try somewhere else.

If you think you have diabetes, go and get it checked out, it is definately worth getting it sorted ASAP if you do have it, the complications from uncontrolled diabetes are pretty nasty.
(ascience, Tue 16 Mar 2010, 20:14, closed)

Go get yourself checked out. Book in to see the nurse at your GP's, ask for a finger prick blood test. Short, sharp but ultimately painless. You won't even see a needle, let alone feel it for more than a fifth of a second. You can only find your blood glucose level (i.e. a diabetes check) through a blood test of any sorts - this is the easiest and most painless way. Get it done and let us know how you get on. If you really do have the symptoms you need to go TOMORROW. All the best.

PS Edit - if you do have diabetes, the injections are known as subcutaneous - into the fat of your arm, arse or legs. You do not need to inject into a vein, and as ascience says, they are painless 99% of the time. And they keep you breathing too... ;)
( DeadEyeDick, Wed 17 Mar 2010, 1:47, closed)