I Just Got Diagnosed With Diabetes And I’m FREAKING OUT!

Diagnosed With Diabetes: Week 2 – The Slowly Lifting Fog & Steps Towards More Proactivity & Aggressive Action

The first week after I got diagnosed with diabetes is still a blur, no matter how I try to recount it. But I do remember being very frustrated with my primary care physician (PCP) and the passive way she seemed to have glossed over my A1C level from my previous physical. See, “prediabetic” A1C levels are those between 5.7 and 6.4. Mine was 6.6 at my previous physical, but the doc pretty much said “you’re in prediabetic range and you’re going to want to keep an eye on that” and sent me on my way.

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Back then I definitely didn’t understand what an A1C was and I definitely didn’t understand the potential implications of actually being diagnosed with diabetes. Combine that with an extreme lack of concern from the doctor and no urgency in following up or starting treatment at all, and I ignorantly just kept business as usual. I mean, she didn’t really seem concerned, so I took her lead. Big mistake. 

But I digress. 

Week 2 – My First Appointment With A Diabetes, Endocrinology & Metabolism Specialist

That was the point where I realized that I needed to see a diabetes specialist. Now, I’ve been fairly healthy my whole life and typically only go to the doc for yearly routine maintenance and my physical. I’ve been blessed to have decent insurance in the past that I rarely needed to use… or understand really. And I definitely hadn’t had to dive into the world of “specialists” or how to find or work with them.

Yes, that’s a privilege and/or luck, but regardless, it meant that I really didn’t know how to proceed. So I just started searching the interwebs for things like “diabetes specialist near me” and “diabetes specialist reviews” and went from there. A few more hours later I found some names within my network. I requested that my PCP fill out the proper referral paperwork to get me an appointment. One week after initially being diagnosed with diabetes, I was in my new specialist’s office.

But This Time It Was Different…

Another reason this visit felt so much different is that it seemed much more proactive than reactive. During the appointment when I was first diagnosed with diabetes it felt like my entire world was crashing down because of the urgency (or my perceived urgency) based on the deluge of information I was being given and the way it was being given.

I thought that the changes to my daily life would be cataclysmic and that I would have to constantly carry bulky diabetic supplies, medications, insulin, syringes, test kits and strips, and so on. I thought my travel life was definitely being hijacked and that enjoying international cuisines was definitely no longer going to be an option. In hindsight, that was mostly based on my own ignorance of diabetes and diabetes care in general.

Week 2 – Spoiler Alert: Just Because I Got Diagnosed With Diabetes Doesn’t Mean My Life Was Over (Aka: Simmer Down Drama Queen)

My diabetes specialist sat with me for almost an hour and slowly dispelled so many myths, unwarranted assumptions, and negative stigmas that I had somehow “acquired” over the years. I’m fairly ashamed of that fact; that I had allowed myself to be so ignorant about a disease that more than 1/3 of American citizens will deal with. Yes, nearly 35 million Americans have diabetes and nearly 90 million American adults have prediabetes, per the CDC.

The specialist let me know how far diabetic care had come in recent decades. Things like compact flex pens with potentially weeks worth of doses corrected my misconception about carrying and curating masses of traditional needles. Continuous glucose meters have the ability to consistently track blood glucose levels without the need to Napoleonically bludgeon your digits multiple times a day. 

When I Left The Specialist’s Office…

I left that visit feeling much more hopeful about the reality of being diagnosed with diabetes and how it might be less invasive in my life than I originally thought. While still pretty darn invasive, mind you. I was feeling much more confident about things. Well, other than the fact that the specialist ordered more labs and said that I was likely to actually be diagnosed as a Type 1 diabetic as opposed to Type 2.

Diagnosed With Diabetes: Week 3 – Free Resources For New Diabetics & Being Diagnosed Type 1 Vs. Type 2 (And What That Means…)

One of the other things that my new specialist did was let me know about some of the free programs and resources that I had at my disposal under their network. Minimally, there was a program where I could have multiple appointments with area-specific specialists. Those include a diabetes-specific dietician, a clinical pharmacist, and a registered nurse. That meant that I could have multiple appointments to not only be educated but to also just ask all the questions I could come up with about being diagnosed with diabetes and how to proceed. 

Immediately after leaving that appointment, I got calls from those people to set up appointments and within 3 days I was sitting with a dietician talking specifics about how my primarily vegetarian diet would need to be adjusted. A day later I was on a 1-hour phone conversation with a clinical pharmacist not only talking about the possible different medications, but how I was going to afford them. She helped me find programs for reduced-cost drugs as well as pharmacies that might have lower-cost prescriptions. 

Week 3 – Diagnosed Type 1, Not Type 2 

One of the first things my specialist said was that it was likely to be diagnosed Type 1 diabetic just because of how high my A1C shot up. Also because of how quickly the onset and symptoms happened over the course of only a few weeks. More tests were ordered and it was shortly confirmed that I was now diagnosed Type 1. 

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But what does being diagnosed Type 1 vs. Type 2 really mean to the layperson? Here’s my extremely quick and truncated take on them. There’s much more to it, so I suggest you use this as a starting point and then go deep dive. I suggest later visiting the American Diabetes Association site for starters. 

What Is Type 2 Diabetes?

Type 2 diabetes means the cells of the body that process glucose become insulin resistant, meaning they kind of don’t listen to the insulin anymore when it brings glucose along to be processed. Lifestyle is often a contributing factor to Type 2 diabetes. Things like being inactive or overweight can play heavily. But genetics may also be a contributing factor among other things. 

What Is Type 1 Diabetes?

Type 1 diabetes is an auto-immune disease, which means you can kind of “catch” it, but it seems the experts don’t really know why. Then your immune system turns into a real A-Hole and attacks and destroys the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas…which can’t be re-grown or re-produced. After these beta cells are destroyed, the body is unable to produce insulin or as much insulin, as before.

Now, while some diabetes care is similar for both, the big difference with being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes is much more of a dependence on regulating insulin manually, since the body simply isn’t making as much or any insulin.

This leads to dealing with the complicated high and low blood glucose roller-coaster and the potential effects of hypoglycemia in the short term. This is by no means downplaying Type 2, but just noting that the more elevated “insulin-dependent” nature of being diagnosed with Type 1 seems to make it much high-maintenance and more volatile on the daily. 

Hyperglycemia vs. Hypoglycemia

Having high blood sugar/glucose levels (hyperglycemia) for extended lengths of time (like weeks, months, or years) can cause nasty issues like diabetic kidney disease, End-Stage Renal Disease, nerve damage, diabetic retinopathy, and other loveliness that can affect the eyes, kidneys, nerves, and heart.

Low blood sugar/glucose levels (hypoglycemia) are an immediate threat. Essentially, the brain cannot function without proper amounts of glucose. So when levels drop well below normal, things like dizziness, headache, confusion, muscle weakness, seizures, unconsciousness, and potential coma or death start to come into play, among other things.

Again, I suggest visiting the American Diabetes Association site to get a true understanding.

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Diagnosed With Diabetes: Week 4 – Quiet Acceptance And Momentary Calm

During the first 3 weeks of being diagnosed with diabetes I racked up at least the following:

• 5 in-person and 2 virtual/phone doctor or support appointments
• 8+ new prescriptions for new medications, treatments, or diabetes gear—some redundant or eventually replaced after being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, since the treatments differ between 1 & 2
• 2 new glasses prescriptions, both of which became irrelevant eventually (don’t get me started…)
• 2 new diabetes cookbooks (One a gift from my sometimes roomie who was very patient with me during this time…)
• 3 hypoglycemic nighttime blood glucose lows between 42-60mg/dL, which had me waking up drenched in sweat, shaky, dizzy, and not thinking straight to say the least (One night almost talked myself into laying back down sleeping it off. WTF?!)
• Unknown new health debt/bills due to most of the above

To say it was overwhelming would be an understatement. Especially as a single person not in a relationship at the moment and without the foresight to take a friend with me to the early appointments. It was frustrating and lonely not to have someone to “assist” when my brain…or heart…was short-circuiting. It’s natural only to want to burden family or friends so much with your problems, so I was wary of that.

But about the time I went to my “last” appointment—for at least a couple of weeks at least—a friend offered that I housesit his beach house while their family was away. Either a couple of days or up to a couple of weeks, whatever I wanted or felt comfortable with. He knew I could use the time away and he would feel better with someone in the house, a potential win-win.

Stop Overthinking Everything And Just. Say. Yes.

But then I listened to my own advice to “just say yes” when unique opportunities arise, and I took it. I mean, this was exactly why I worked hard to become a location-independent digital nomad. The reason I chose to be a penny-pinching, budget-traveling remote worker.

Week 4 – The Calm After The Storm

I ended up housesitting and working next to the calming sound of the ocean for a full 10 days. I concentrated on learning how to and eating better. Also exercising almost every day among, another new dictate from the doctors. I spoke about being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes publicly for the first time, since I was ready to finally pull off the bandage. 

Essentially I was able to finally start processing all that had happened and the unavoidable reality of what my future would look like. I slowed down and absorbed things. I got back to my normal working habits, no longer being controlled by the false “urgency” of figuring everything out right now. Calming down and taking it slow and methodically was much more healthy in the moment, and giving myself some grace to be human and emotional or fallible was completely appropriate. 

It means that when things are rushed, details are missed. Haste makes waste. That slower is often faster in the long run. This is a marathon, not a sprint…or any other cliche you want to insert here. They’re cliches for a reason my friend—there’s truth in them.

What’s Next?

Now that I’ve made it through the first month of craziness, I’m realizing that it’s going to take a long time to get in any rhythm. There’s so much to learn, and no two bodies react the same way to diabetes, food, medications, exercise, etc. 

And while I’m regularly frustrated at my inability to regulate right now, I’m trying to remind myself that this is the long con. I’m trying to calm down and just keep taking more steps forward than backward in my education and practices. I suggest you do the same. 

I’m deep-diving travel medical insurance and how pre-existing conditions factor in, as well as covid, to help me and you feel more confident in long-term international budget travel. Up until now, I’ve written about facing the fear of travel and learning how to travel on a budget later in life. Now I’ll add travel with Type 1 diabetes to that mix, which actually fits right into overcoming real or perceived roadblocks to bettering oneself. 

What Can You Do?

We all need to better understand what’s going on around us in an effort to be better humans and gain more empathy toward others. Please don’t be passive about diabetes, whether you have it or not, learn some more. Get your physical every year over age 30, and make sure they do all the bloodwork they should.  

If you’ve been diagnosed with diabetes and can resonate with some of the things I shared, please hit me up on Instagram and let’s chat there. In my opinion, the more we have open and honest conversations about uncomfortable things, the better off we will all be personally and as a larger society.

Appreciate you! Cheers! 

Jason

By the way…please share this article with someone that needs it if you feel it might be helpful. Whether they’re dealing with a new diagnosis or might benefit from understanding some of the emotions and overwhelm you’re dealing with.

About Jason Robinson

Jason is the author of “The Beginner Traveler’s Guide To Going Nomad,” as well as the voice behind the words and the eye behind the lens for The Nomad Experiment. “Planning to travel at some point” wasn’t actually getting the job done, so nearing 40 he decided to make it a priority, nomatter how scary that was. A few years later—through the pandemic and a type 1 diabetes diagnosis at age 42—now living a life of nomadic travel, he’s speaking out to encourage others of any age, or with any serious medical diagnosis, to live an unconventional life.

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