this really scared me

[Rokiss12]

i found this disturbing, al though im not quite sure why because i hear things like this alot.

what is your reaction to this article? it was written this past summer. do you think its true? in all cases, most, only some? being a 16 year old girl, hearing the stats about women and diabetes brought me close to tears. i dont have a problem with my weight at all, and my pfts are at 75ish, and my diabetes is doing well for being diagnosed 2 months ago (sugars no higher then 170 for a LONG time)

guess i was just looking for some encouraging words, but reactions are good too. heres the link:

<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.rxpgnews.com/research/respiratorymedicine/cysticfibrosis/article_4659.shtml">http://www.rxpgnews.com/resear...sis/article_4659.shtml</a>

 

[Rokiss12]

i found this disturbing, al though im not quite sure why because i hear things like this alot.

what is your reaction to this article? it was written this past summer. do you think its true? in all cases, most, only some? being a 16 year old girl, hearing the stats about women and diabetes brought me close to tears. i dont have a problem with my weight at all, and my pfts are at 75ish, and my diabetes is doing well for being diagnosed 2 months ago (sugars no higher then 170 for a LONG time)

guess i was just looking for some encouraging words, but reactions are good too. heres the link:

<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.rxpgnews.com/research/respiratorymedicine/cysticfibrosis/article_4659.shtml">http://www.rxpgnews.com/resear...sis/article_4659.shtml</a>

 

[Rokiss12]

i found this disturbing, al though im not quite sure why because i hear things like this alot.

what is your reaction to this article? it was written this past summer. do you think its true? in all cases, most, only some? being a 16 year old girl, hearing the stats about women and diabetes brought me close to tears. i dont have a problem with my weight at all, and my pfts are at 75ish, and my diabetes is doing well for being diagnosed 2 months ago (sugars no higher then 170 for a LONG time)

guess i was just looking for some encouraging words, but reactions are good too. heres the link:

<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.rxpgnews.com/research/respiratorymedicine/cysticfibrosis/article_4659.shtml">http://www.rxpgnews.com/resear...sis/article_4659.shtml</a>

 

[JazzysMom]

I think its always harder to actually this in writing rather than hear or speak about them. I am not that familiar with the thoughts of how CFRD works, but others who are being treated on a regular basis might have more input. The only thing I can say is that Diabetes does a number on people without CF if left untreated & uncontrolled so you throw CF into the picture & its logical that things would become more complicated!

 

[JazzysMom]

I think its always harder to actually this in writing rather than hear or speak about them. I am not that familiar with the thoughts of how CFRD works, but others who are being treated on a regular basis might have more input. The only thing I can say is that Diabetes does a number on people without CF if left untreated & uncontrolled so you throw CF into the picture & its logical that things would become more complicated!

 

[JazzysMom]

I think its always harder to actually this in writing rather than hear or speak about them. I am not that familiar with the thoughts of how CFRD works, but others who are being treated on a regular basis might have more input. The only thing I can say is that Diabetes does a number on people without CF if left untreated & uncontrolled so you throw CF into the picture & its logical that things would become more complicated!

 

[coltsfan715]

Hey Kate,

Thank you for sharing the article.

I will share my thoughts on this and it is not to scare you at all I am just trying to be honest - please read all of what I write before panicing.

I DO feel that CFRD has had a huge impact on my overall health. I have seen dramatic changes in my lung function since my diagnosis, I have had problems with my weight since diagnosis along with the regular blood sugar issues that occur when you are sick (i.e. increases, nausea, weight loss and so on).

I feel that if my diabetes had been identified before it got so severe that I would not be having such difficulties though. I went almost a year from the onset of symptoms until I was diagnosed with diabetes. I went to the doctor with complaints of heart palpitations - misdiagnosed as stress. I had blurry vision - misdiagnosed as me not getting enough sleep. I was highly fatigued and sleeping at one point 16 hours a day if not more (I went to school and ate and the rest of the time I was sleeping). I had frequent thirst/urination and was nauseous pretty much all the time. I then started losing weight rapidly. My problem I never had all these symptoms at the same time. I had them each at different times and I would complain about the independantly of one another. They never put two and two together.

Then when I started losing weight and insisting something was wrong I was asked if I had body image problems and if I had an eating disorder. I told them for 2-3 months that something was wrong and they just kept saying eat more and the weight should come back. I was shoveling food into my mouth at every opportunity and getting sick at every turn because my blood sugars were so high. I ended up losing 20 lbs before they finally agreed there was a problem. They admitted me to the hospital and did blood work and lo and behold my blood glucose was 377 and had been running higher than that for months.

I found out that my prior bloodwork (about 9 months before that hospitalization) indicated that I was pre diabetic - but no one picked up on it at the time. I was furious and made sure to tell them they had messed up and cost me ALOT in regards to my health. I just didn't realize at the time how hard it would be afterwards.

I have NEVER gained the weight that I lost back. I weighed 126 before I started losing weight and the most I have weighed in the 7 yrs since is 115. I have clung around 108 for the past year or so. I weighed 114lbs at my last docs appointment on Thursday though. I had roughly 60% lung function when I first started exhibiting symptoms of CFRD and now am at about 30%. I am hoping to bring that up, but I know it is a long road ahead (I actually as not aware of HOW severe my PFTs were because my last doc had been giving me the wrong numbers - I just found out how BAD my numbers were on Thursday).

I wanted to give that because I do feel that CFRD has had a very negative impact on my health - my mom feels the same. We can both pinpoint my senior yr in high school and my CFRD diagnosis as being a huge turning point for me. That being said I think that if I had been diagnosed properly from the very beginning that it would not have had such a devastating impact on my health in the long run (well at least the 7 yr run I have had since diagnosis). Alot with diabetes is early diagnosis, so you can prevent any long lasting damage and problems. I had so many things working against me when I was finally diagnosed that it has been very difficult to get back to where I was (which I haven't been able to do) - and I am unsure if I can now that it has been so long.

I think the fact that your docs were on top of the situation and diagnosed you quickly before you started having any MAJOR problems will really help you. I think it will possibly prevent you from having a lot of the problems that I have and had due to the CFRD.

I don't know how many responses you will have like mine, but I hope you do not let them get you down if there are. I thought about not posting this reply because I did not want to scare you or depress you. Then I thought .. no I want to be honest about it. So there it is - again I hope I didn't upset you but you asked and I wanted to be honest in my reply.

Have a good day,
Lindsey

 

[coltsfan715]

Hey Kate,

Thank you for sharing the article.

I will share my thoughts on this and it is not to scare you at all I am just trying to be honest - please read all of what I write before panicing.

I DO feel that CFRD has had a huge impact on my overall health. I have seen dramatic changes in my lung function since my diagnosis, I have had problems with my weight since diagnosis along with the regular blood sugar issues that occur when you are sick (i.e. increases, nausea, weight loss and so on).

I feel that if my diabetes had been identified before it got so severe that I would not be having such difficulties though. I went almost a year from the onset of symptoms until I was diagnosed with diabetes. I went to the doctor with complaints of heart palpitations - misdiagnosed as stress. I had blurry vision - misdiagnosed as me not getting enough sleep. I was highly fatigued and sleeping at one point 16 hours a day if not more (I went to school and ate and the rest of the time I was sleeping). I had frequent thirst/urination and was nauseous pretty much all the time. I then started losing weight rapidly. My problem I never had all these symptoms at the same time. I had them each at different times and I would complain about the independantly of one another. They never put two and two together.

Then when I started losing weight and insisting something was wrong I was asked if I had body image problems and if I had an eating disorder. I told them for 2-3 months that something was wrong and they just kept saying eat more and the weight should come back. I was shoveling food into my mouth at every opportunity and getting sick at every turn because my blood sugars were so high. I ended up losing 20 lbs before they finally agreed there was a problem. They admitted me to the hospital and did blood work and lo and behold my blood glucose was 377 and had been running higher than that for months.

I found out that my prior bloodwork (about 9 months before that hospitalization) indicated that I was pre diabetic - but no one picked up on it at the time. I was furious and made sure to tell them they had messed up and cost me ALOT in regards to my health. I just didn't realize at the time how hard it would be afterwards.

I have NEVER gained the weight that I lost back. I weighed 126 before I started losing weight and the most I have weighed in the 7 yrs since is 115. I have clung around 108 for the past year or so. I weighed 114lbs at my last docs appointment on Thursday though. I had roughly 60% lung function when I first started exhibiting symptoms of CFRD and now am at about 30%. I am hoping to bring that up, but I know it is a long road ahead (I actually as not aware of HOW severe my PFTs were because my last doc had been giving me the wrong numbers - I just found out how BAD my numbers were on Thursday).

I wanted to give that because I do feel that CFRD has had a very negative impact on my health - my mom feels the same. We can both pinpoint my senior yr in high school and my CFRD diagnosis as being a huge turning point for me. That being said I think that if I had been diagnosed properly from the very beginning that it would not have had such a devastating impact on my health in the long run (well at least the 7 yr run I have had since diagnosis). Alot with diabetes is early diagnosis, so you can prevent any long lasting damage and problems. I had so many things working against me when I was finally diagnosed that it has been very difficult to get back to where I was (which I haven't been able to do) - and I am unsure if I can now that it has been so long.

I think the fact that your docs were on top of the situation and diagnosed you quickly before you started having any MAJOR problems will really help you. I think it will possibly prevent you from having a lot of the problems that I have and had due to the CFRD.

I don't know how many responses you will have like mine, but I hope you do not let them get you down if there are. I thought about not posting this reply because I did not want to scare you or depress you. Then I thought .. no I want to be honest about it. So there it is - again I hope I didn't upset you but you asked and I wanted to be honest in my reply.

Have a good day,
Lindsey

 

[coltsfan715]

Hey Kate,

Thank you for sharing the article.

I will share my thoughts on this and it is not to scare you at all I am just trying to be honest - please read all of what I write before panicing.

I DO feel that CFRD has had a huge impact on my overall health. I have seen dramatic changes in my lung function since my diagnosis, I have had problems with my weight since diagnosis along with the regular blood sugar issues that occur when you are sick (i.e. increases, nausea, weight loss and so on).

I feel that if my diabetes had been identified before it got so severe that I would not be having such difficulties though. I went almost a year from the onset of symptoms until I was diagnosed with diabetes. I went to the doctor with complaints of heart palpitations - misdiagnosed as stress. I had blurry vision - misdiagnosed as me not getting enough sleep. I was highly fatigued and sleeping at one point 16 hours a day if not more (I went to school and ate and the rest of the time I was sleeping). I had frequent thirst/urination and was nauseous pretty much all the time. I then started losing weight rapidly. My problem I never had all these symptoms at the same time. I had them each at different times and I would complain about the independantly of one another. They never put two and two together.

Then when I started losing weight and insisting something was wrong I was asked if I had body image problems and if I had an eating disorder. I told them for 2-3 months that something was wrong and they just kept saying eat more and the weight should come back. I was shoveling food into my mouth at every opportunity and getting sick at every turn because my blood sugars were so high. I ended up losing 20 lbs before they finally agreed there was a problem. They admitted me to the hospital and did blood work and lo and behold my blood glucose was 377 and had been running higher than that for months.

I found out that my prior bloodwork (about 9 months before that hospitalization) indicated that I was pre diabetic - but no one picked up on it at the time. I was furious and made sure to tell them they had messed up and cost me ALOT in regards to my health. I just didn't realize at the time how hard it would be afterwards.

I have NEVER gained the weight that I lost back. I weighed 126 before I started losing weight and the most I have weighed in the 7 yrs since is 115. I have clung around 108 for the past year or so. I weighed 114lbs at my last docs appointment on Thursday though. I had roughly 60% lung function when I first started exhibiting symptoms of CFRD and now am at about 30%. I am hoping to bring that up, but I know it is a long road ahead (I actually as not aware of HOW severe my PFTs were because my last doc had been giving me the wrong numbers - I just found out how BAD my numbers were on Thursday).

I wanted to give that because I do feel that CFRD has had a very negative impact on my health - my mom feels the same. We can both pinpoint my senior yr in high school and my CFRD diagnosis as being a huge turning point for me. That being said I think that if I had been diagnosed properly from the very beginning that it would not have had such a devastating impact on my health in the long run (well at least the 7 yr run I have had since diagnosis). Alot with diabetes is early diagnosis, so you can prevent any long lasting damage and problems. I had so many things working against me when I was finally diagnosed that it has been very difficult to get back to where I was (which I haven't been able to do) - and I am unsure if I can now that it has been so long.

I think the fact that your docs were on top of the situation and diagnosed you quickly before you started having any MAJOR problems will really help you. I think it will possibly prevent you from having a lot of the problems that I have and had due to the CFRD.

I don't know how many responses you will have like mine, but I hope you do not let them get you down if there are. I thought about not posting this reply because I did not want to scare you or depress you. Then I thought .. no I want to be honest about it. So there it is - again I hope I didn't upset you but you asked and I wanted to be honest in my reply.

Have a good day,
Lindsey

 

[lightNlife]

I am currently a "pre-diabetic" female. I have had steroid-induced CFRD episodes three times now, and each one is more difficult to reign in. The dramatic prognosis for females diagnosed with CFRD is enough to make my jaw drop, but truthfully, it doesn't surprise me the more I think about it.

The complications of diabetes pose quite a risk for women--particularly women of child-bearing age. Even women without CF who are diabetic (not just gestational diabetics) are high risk when it comes to pregnancy and are urged to consider carefully the decision to conceive. I can only imagine that such complications and risks are compounded in a woman with CFRD, and again, the decision whether to conceive a child should not be taken lightly.

I know life is full of difficult choices, and it's certainly not like the movies, but anyone who has ever seen Steel Magnolias will at least have a little bit of an idea of how making a choice to sacrifice one's health has a ripple effect. I'll never forget the terse tone that Sally Field's character had when she said the line "the doctor didn't say Shelby coudln't have a baby, but that she shouldn't."

Again, I'm not surprised that women with CFRD have their health impacted so greatly. It's important to commit to making good decisions that promote overall quality of life. In my personal opinion, CF doesn't have to be a slow and steady march to the grave. It doesn't need to be a life-on-the-edge live-for-the-moment foray into irresponsibility either. The complications I've had with CF only get scarier when I've been in denial about their gravity.

 

[lightNlife]

I am currently a "pre-diabetic" female. I have had steroid-induced CFRD episodes three times now, and each one is more difficult to reign in. The dramatic prognosis for females diagnosed with CFRD is enough to make my jaw drop, but truthfully, it doesn't surprise me the more I think about it.

The complications of diabetes pose quite a risk for women--particularly women of child-bearing age. Even women without CF who are diabetic (not just gestational diabetics) are high risk when it comes to pregnancy and are urged to consider carefully the decision to conceive. I can only imagine that such complications and risks are compounded in a woman with CFRD, and again, the decision whether to conceive a child should not be taken lightly.

I know life is full of difficult choices, and it's certainly not like the movies, but anyone who has ever seen Steel Magnolias will at least have a little bit of an idea of how making a choice to sacrifice one's health has a ripple effect. I'll never forget the terse tone that Sally Field's character had when she said the line "the doctor didn't say Shelby coudln't have a baby, but that she shouldn't."

Again, I'm not surprised that women with CFRD have their health impacted so greatly. It's important to commit to making good decisions that promote overall quality of life. In my personal opinion, CF doesn't have to be a slow and steady march to the grave. It doesn't need to be a life-on-the-edge live-for-the-moment foray into irresponsibility either. The complications I've had with CF only get scarier when I've been in denial about their gravity.

 

[lightNlife]

I am currently a "pre-diabetic" female. I have had steroid-induced CFRD episodes three times now, and each one is more difficult to reign in. The dramatic prognosis for females diagnosed with CFRD is enough to make my jaw drop, but truthfully, it doesn't surprise me the more I think about it.

The complications of diabetes pose quite a risk for women--particularly women of child-bearing age. Even women without CF who are diabetic (not just gestational diabetics) are high risk when it comes to pregnancy and are urged to consider carefully the decision to conceive. I can only imagine that such complications and risks are compounded in a woman with CFRD, and again, the decision whether to conceive a child should not be taken lightly.

I know life is full of difficult choices, and it's certainly not like the movies, but anyone who has ever seen Steel Magnolias will at least have a little bit of an idea of how making a choice to sacrifice one's health has a ripple effect. I'll never forget the terse tone that Sally Field's character had when she said the line "the doctor didn't say Shelby coudln't have a baby, but that she shouldn't."

Again, I'm not surprised that women with CFRD have their health impacted so greatly. It's important to commit to making good decisions that promote overall quality of life. In my personal opinion, CF doesn't have to be a slow and steady march to the grave. It doesn't need to be a life-on-the-edge live-for-the-moment foray into irresponsibility either. The complications I've had with CF only get scarier when I've been in denial about their gravity.

 

[catboogie]

kate,

the article depressed me...how could it not?

i was diagnosed with diabetes almost 13 years ago at age 15. i am not sure why my doctors decided to test me--they were definitly not on the ball with other things--because at the time i was not really having symptoms. i remember the doctors asking me if i was thirsty a lot or was going to the bathroom a lot and me thinking they were silly to ask. actually, i thought they were on a wild goose chase even testing me for diabetes! i was so shocked to find out...and i will never forget the first time i tried to do a shot. but i've digressed...

i think what lindsey said is definitly true; catching it early is much better than catching it late. i did see a decline around that time in my heatlh, but there is no way i can blame the diabetes for that. i was taking terrible care of myself! in any case, all that stuff aside, i don't think my health went downhill after being diagnosed.

the important thing to remember is that each one of us is affected differently by this disease...if you do your best to maintain your health, you are giving yourself the best chance to be at the head of the pack! it is depressing to think in terms of statistics--think in terms of beating them.

 

[catboogie]

kate,

the article depressed me...how could it not?

i was diagnosed with diabetes almost 13 years ago at age 15. i am not sure why my doctors decided to test me--they were definitly not on the ball with other things--because at the time i was not really having symptoms. i remember the doctors asking me if i was thirsty a lot or was going to the bathroom a lot and me thinking they were silly to ask. actually, i thought they were on a wild goose chase even testing me for diabetes! i was so shocked to find out...and i will never forget the first time i tried to do a shot. but i've digressed...

i think what lindsey said is definitly true; catching it early is much better than catching it late. i did see a decline around that time in my heatlh, but there is no way i can blame the diabetes for that. i was taking terrible care of myself! in any case, all that stuff aside, i don't think my health went downhill after being diagnosed.

the important thing to remember is that each one of us is affected differently by this disease...if you do your best to maintain your health, you are giving yourself the best chance to be at the head of the pack! it is depressing to think in terms of statistics--think in terms of beating them.

 

[catboogie]

kate,

the article depressed me...how could it not?

i was diagnosed with diabetes almost 13 years ago at age 15. i am not sure why my doctors decided to test me--they were definitly not on the ball with other things--because at the time i was not really having symptoms. i remember the doctors asking me if i was thirsty a lot or was going to the bathroom a lot and me thinking they were silly to ask. actually, i thought they were on a wild goose chase even testing me for diabetes! i was so shocked to find out...and i will never forget the first time i tried to do a shot. but i've digressed...

i think what lindsey said is definitly true; catching it early is much better than catching it late. i did see a decline around that time in my heatlh, but there is no way i can blame the diabetes for that. i was taking terrible care of myself! in any case, all that stuff aside, i don't think my health went downhill after being diagnosed.

the important thing to remember is that each one of us is affected differently by this disease...if you do your best to maintain your health, you are giving yourself the best chance to be at the head of the pack! it is depressing to think in terms of statistics--think in terms of beating them.

 

[thelizardqueen]

My story is very similar to Lindsey and Laura's. I've been Diabetic for 11 years now, and have pretty much the same issues as Lindsey, but Laura is right when she says that everyone is different. All I can say is do your best to stay healthy and on top of things. The one thing I have been told before, is that CFers don't get ALL the long term problems that regular diabetics get, but don't quote me on that.

 

[thelizardqueen]

My story is very similar to Lindsey and Laura's. I've been Diabetic for 11 years now, and have pretty much the same issues as Lindsey, but Laura is right when she says that everyone is different. All I can say is do your best to stay healthy and on top of things. The one thing I have been told before, is that CFers don't get ALL the long term problems that regular diabetics get, but don't quote me on that.

 

[thelizardqueen]

My story is very similar to Lindsey and Laura's. I've been Diabetic for 11 years now, and have pretty much the same issues as Lindsey, but Laura is right when she says that everyone is different. All I can say is do your best to stay healthy and on top of things. The one thing I have been told before, is that CFers don't get ALL the long term problems that regular diabetics get, but don't quote me on that.

 

[flamejob]

16 years is an ENORMOUS amount to lose on an already shortened life expectancy.

im male ... 2 years i can handle ... i had the rapid onset of CFRD in may .. only formally diagnosed just over 2 weeks ago .. and started 'slin' 10 days ago.

im missin 18lbs from my usual weight and 34lbs from my peak (beginnin of may). i can see how the deprivation of carbs totally ravages the body on its own. throw in chronic colonisation of our 'classic' bugs and frequent flare-ups .... its gotta be a recipe for disaster. talk about addin insult to injury ! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif" border="0">

as i understand and to concur with liz , cfrd doesnt pose the 'longterm' problems usually associated with type 1 & 2 in the normal pop ... but diabetes related complications usually take years or decades to manifest themselves ... we may not develop these complication due to our shortened life expectancy .

oh well ..... LET THE CHIPS FALL WHERE THEY MAY !!!

you're welcome ... the flamester .

 

[flamejob]

16 years is an ENORMOUS amount to lose on an already shortened life expectancy.

im male ... 2 years i can handle ... i had the rapid onset of CFRD in may .. only formally diagnosed just over 2 weeks ago .. and started 'slin' 10 days ago.

im missin 18lbs from my usual weight and 34lbs from my peak (beginnin of may). i can see how the deprivation of carbs totally ravages the body on its own. throw in chronic colonisation of our 'classic' bugs and frequent flare-ups .... its gotta be a recipe for disaster. talk about addin insult to injury ! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif" border="0">

as i understand and to concur with liz , cfrd doesnt pose the 'longterm' problems usually associated with type 1 & 2 in the normal pop ... but diabetes related complications usually take years or decades to manifest themselves ... we may not develop these complication due to our shortened life expectancy .

oh well ..... LET THE CHIPS FALL WHERE THEY MAY !!!

you're welcome ... the flamester .