Type One Diabetes Diagnosis Was No Surprise
Hi, My name is Tim Leary, I was born in 1983. At 7 years old in 1991, I was diagnosed with Type One Diabetes. My Mum also has had Type One Diabetes since she was 7, so both my parents knew the signs. I was skin and bone, always drinking water and going to the toilet. The school actually called my parents previously and spoke with them about the amount of water I was always drinking and toilet visits.
My Mum already had a blood glucose meter, so she did a BGL and I was HI 27mmol/L, so she called her endocrine (who is a type one) on a Sunday and that day I went straight to Hospital. I remember it like it was yesterday (I do not know the date only the year, I do not know my Diaversary), being hooked up to a drip, then learning to use a blood glucose meter (colour coded tabs back then) and injecting with a vial and syringe (used insulin pens, and now a pump years later).
And then the Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS) Diagnosis
In 2008 at age 26 I was diagnosed with Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS). I was feeling extremely exhausted all the time and had bad balance always falling over, had on and off double vision and experienced weakness on my right side. I had felt terrible going to university and work, and I knew something was wrong and it was getting worse and worse. I did ketone checks, million BGL checks- diabetes was all coming back in range, so I went to my GP who thought I had an inner ear infection. It was exam time in two weeks so I also got him to write me a medical form for work and university. I went probably three weeks still with all symptoms so my Mum drove me to her GP because I was vomiting, and couldn't walk straight. The doctor did balance and strength tests and referred me to a neurologist who did tests and sent me straight for an MRI. The next afternoon I had the RRMS diagnosis. I remember that clearly as I had previously been through 3 Neuros and multiple drugs and am now on Lemtrada.
I'm a quiet person and don't share my story unless asked or if it's hot and I'm limping around :), so thank you for letting me share.
