Hi Everyone, I am 23 years old, and was diagnosed with diabetes last April, which at the time was about the worst piece of news I could ever expect to receive! You see, I was about a month off embarking on a working holiday in the UK, and upon hearing the news from my doctor, my mind went into an absolute spin.  However, I was determined not to let it beat me and ruin my trip, so I bought a glucometer, and on my doctor's advice, tested myself two or three times a day.  (My doctor was a bit reluctant to put me straight on insulin because my readings were sometimes normal, other times quite high, so he thought there may have been a chance that it could have been controlled via diet and exercise. Not so!). 

About two weeks into my being in England, I started to get alarmingly high readings (23's-25's) on a regular basis.  I saw a specialist and was duly put on insulin, and that's basically how it happened.  The education I received on the whole thing was very minimal, and I was left feeling very lost and quite depressed - all this on top of having just planned and booked all the flights and rail passes for 3 weeks backpacking around Eastern Europe!

Turns out everything went OK, even though at times I had no clue what the hell I was eating - but it was the best 3 weeks of my life. Basically, to cut a very long story short, on my return home, I vowed to try and get into contact with people who have Type 1 diabetes, just like me, who perhaps feel just as lost and alone, or who have gained relatively good control over their levels and their lives in general!! Hope to hear from anyone out there.  

Shona