I first learned about diabetes in July of 1994. It was a little more than a month after my 5th birthday. I don’t remember much from that time as I was fairly young and years of uncontrolled sugars led to a memory lapse. I do remember that I was on a very strict diet and I took 2 insulins, humalin R and Nph. My mom was in control of my diabetes until 1998 when I was switched from R to Humalog. That’s when carb counting was introduced as well. In 2004 I started on the pump and my life change dramatically, I lost weight and got my A1C more under control, but it didn’t last long. Soon after I was taking advantage of my new freedoms and I started not checking my sugars and not even taking insulin at times. In 2010, I found out I was pregnant and had to go through changes again in my diet and testing habits. I went off of the pump during that pregnancy and didn’t go back on until 2016. During that time I tried my best to control my sugars with NPH and Humalog again, but I was without an endocrinologist. I finally was able to start seeing an endocrinologist in 2014.
Here we are in 2020 and I now have 2 more children, making it a grand total of 3. Since becoming a mother it has been difficult balancing the diabetic side of my life. I’ve gone through major burnouts where I was eating whatever and forgetting insulin regularly. Currently, I’m striving to be the best version of myself as I can be. Over my 26 year journey, I’ve accumulated other diagnoses and have suspicions of others. A lot of the issues I’ve gained are due to the poor control I have had. To date I have, in addition to Type 1: Severe anxiety, severe depression, polycystic ovarian syndrome, hashimotos, fibromyalgia, neuropathy, arthritis, borderline personality disorder, and gastroparesis. The suspected diseases are all connective tissue disorders. I will say that my level of care about my control changed drastically since becoming a mother. I do still experience burnout, but it didn’t last nearly as long. I’m still learning how to balance everything, but now that my kids are older they do help where they can.
Lalay Neshan-Seeley
I’m 31 and have had Type 1 since July 1994. I’m married and have 3 kids (aged 9 -2years old). I love learning and sharing my knowledge, especially when it comes to diabetes. My other interests are reading, cooking, listening to music, and watching movies/television shows.
