My name is Jodie
Diagnosed in June 1995, age: 20.
Family history of juvenile diabetes: cousin was 20, mum was 25, uncle was 41! (Makes for fun times at family gatherings with the 5 minute till food warning so we can all get our fix into us!!!)
I was diagnosed in hospital and was told that Mum could look after me well enough until I could see the specialist the next day. Specialist was good, gave me my first needle (OUCH!) and took me through what would happen everyday for the rest of my life. Then to Diabetes Australia Victoria. They pointed me in the direction of a nurse who told me 'facts' hard and fast: needles, diet, highs, lows, only have kids before I'm 30! Consulation prize: a tissue to cry into.... This was a very scary introduction into it all, and I remember crying the whole 40min train ride home with mum consoling me as best she could. I bought the Diabetes and You book from DAV and read the bits that mattered to me. That was it...Everyone seemed to say 'if I had any queries my mum would help me'. This is all fine and well except that mum blamed herself for me getting D and saw a doctor for herself for her own negativity towards it all.
So there we were: Mum miserable and trying her best to cope with me also having D. Me finding out I have this disease that until then I really only understood because of seeing, but not fully understanding, mum having it. Dad trying to give support to us both. And a brother who got to eat any remaining chocolate I may have had stashed in the fridge! After a few days I saw an educator for the first time. She was nice. She tried her best to make me give myself a needle - something I had huge problems with. She explained why I had to test and jab and eat right etc etc etc. And her closing comment was: "We will have so much fun when you have a baby". WHAT? I'm only 20! I've never even had a boyfriend before.....I walked out of there more confused then ever.
IN SUMMARY (cos I could go on for lines and lines) I got the distinct impression that because I was an 'adult' and diagnosed that everything revolved around any pregnancy I may have in the next few years. Quite frankly this scared the hell out of me at the time. At that point I was 20, working shift work full time (2nd year of my apprenticeship), had never had a boyfriend or even kissed a guy and the experts were telling me pregnancy, family, 30! Looking back over the past 7 years I think they missed the point of what they were telling me. I'm now 27 and am extremely self conscious of any needle marks or 'lumpy' scar tissue. When I was diagnosed I went into my shell, and became very set in my ways with dealing with everything that I now had to take into consideration. I am no closer now to having any pregnancy as I was back then. I know that every case is different, but I think if the 'experts' had taken the time to talk to my mum and dad as well as me that would have found out that I only needed to know the bits that related to me and then may have been more helpful in their approach to guiding me through this time.