My mother is 85 and has been diabetic for 77 years.
Don't give up read my post below (macatack) I am still very active & do not let anything get in my way just takes some planning. My wife & I have fished in the pacific jungles of Costa Rica & do a lot of back woods fishing in Adirondacks. We live if Florida & are very active. Never thought I would have to worry about retiring & medicare & here I am. We have been married for 52 years. If you ever want to talk E mail me.
Mac MacKenzie
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Website: http://www.mackenziefamily.com/macattackfishing/index.htm
I was looking for some info on people with type one diabetes for a long time & came across this blog. I found some very interesting comments & info from everybody who posted, they all are very interesting considering the time this blog has been going on.
I am 73 this month & going into my 63rd year with type one diabetes. I have no complications (very lucky) Have had a pump for 7 years & has made my life alot easier with controlling my A!C which used to run 5.5-6.0 with a lot of low sugers. Now runs 6.5-6.8. I would like to communicate with other long term type one's as I really have not anyone.
I didn't sign up for diabetes..I was 12 yrs old..most ppl on this page was younger..nobody asked for it.Your rude-
Wow, this thread is almost 7 years old and still on the internet LOL...I'm 23 years old and was diagnosed at age 2. I have been wearing the pump for about 2 years now. I inherited it from my now deceased father. Knock on wood, I have no "major" complications, other than high blood pressure a few years back that is treated with an ACE inhibitor and exercise, so now it runs around 120/75 most of the time.
My father recently passed away from this disease at the age of 58 after having it for 51 years. He smoked like a freight train until he was 51 when he had his first major complication from type 1 diabetes...blocked arteries and had to undergo double bypass, which then put his kidneys under a tight strain, and thus began the year streak of dialysis, amputation of his big toe, more open-heart surgery, and stints in his legs to get blood flow to his feet to try and save them from amputation. His heart finally gave out from the pressure of dialysis and not being able to fully quit smoking. He never exercised, smoked a pack of Marlboro Reds a day religiously, and would often go days without checking his blood sugar when he was in his bachelor days (even with the invention of the blood glucose meter)....the point? His bad habits caught up to him quick, and hit him like a brick.
My point to my rambling if I still have your attention is this: no matter how old you are or how long you've had it, or whatever your family history might be...never take a day off from this battle. My dad taught me a lesson I'll never forget. I hope to one day be to retire comfortably and say that I have zero complications. If you have complications, I'm sorry to hear. Sometimes they are unavoidable no matter how much you control it as mentioned in other posts. I'm a 23 year old type 1 diabetic that is not going give up.
If this came off as a sympathy case or a scare tactic, that was not the intention, just trying to make my point of how not treating your condition can lead you down a rocky path. Good luck to you all.
my mother had diabetes and lost her life recently. I want everyone to know that she could have lived longer if she would have took better care if herself. It is possible to live a long life with this disease you just have to be willing to start changing your eating habits. my mother was only 56 years old:/