A Life with Diabetes
"The first thing I had to change was my attitude"

(Like many people facing diabetes, Melissa had a hard time coming to terms with her diagnosis. If you're just joining us, read the rest of her story.)

My Search for Control
Saturday, April 2, 2005

With my new-found responsibility for my health, I went in search of a doctor that could help get me back on track. However, at this point I was working as a freelance writer/editor and therefore didn't have any health insurance. My attempts to get a plan on my own were rejected by several big-name insurance companies. I was in an interesting quandary; I made too much to get public assistance, but made too little to pay for my health care completely on my own.

I finally ended up finding a health center that had subsidized services and a large diabetes clinic. However, like my earlier experiences, this clinic was geared toward type 2 diabetics, not type 1 diabetics like me. Still, as it was my only option, I visited the center and received different types of insulin to get my blood sugars under control.

The doctor seemed unaffected by the news that with my low blood sugars, seizures would result. At the time I thought he must just be a seasoned pro who had heard it all. So with my new insulin in hand, I started my new responsible life that would soon be seizure-free.

It didn't take long to realize that the opposite was true. The new insulin was making my blood sugars even more erratic. I found out later that the insulin I was given was going to be taken off the market as it wasn't that effective. Turns out that while the doctors at this clinic might have had a good grasp on type 2 medications, their mastery of the many types of insulin that would work for a brittle type 1 diabetic was not up to par.

The seizures increased and even seemed to get worse. They were occurring when I was awake (something that had only happened once before), and it was taking longer for me to come around to full awareness after one.

Whereas it used to take me 30 minutes max to get me out of seizure and fine, it was now taking a few hours or so for me to even make sense. One such incident even caused seizure-master Tim to call 911 and resulted in me waking up to a roomful of men in uniform staring at me. Also, like college, most seizures would occur on a weeknight, causing several sick days from my freelance jobs, which caused a lack of money in my bank account.

I had to convince myself that this was a mere bump in the road on my search for control. I decided to take a different route down the road this time. As much as I liked my freelance world of working when I wanted, where I wanted, I needed to buckle down and find a full-time job with full benefits.

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Early Days

02/10/2005: The Diagnosis

02/19/2005: My First Seizure

Independence & Denial

03/03/2005: The College Years

03/09/2005: New York, New York

Unfamiliar Revelations

03/13/2005: Home Sour Home

03/29/2005: Taking Responsibility

04/02/2005: My Search for Control

11/01/2005: The Final Chapter