Natalie Sera
Type 1.5 Diabetes, August 1992

“I’m a square peg in a round hole, so I’m always looking to learn as much as I can about all types of diabetes, and passing on tidbits of information, experiences, and relationships that it has brought into my life.”

The Odd Duck Out

When it was first suspected that I had diabetes in the fall of 1992, I was assigned to the Type 2 category because of my age (44) and the fact that I was a little overweight. But it soon became apparent that I did not fit the classic description. My cholesterol levels and blood pressure only became elevated when I started running high BGs, and I derived no benefit from losing 10% of my weight and exercising as I had been advised. By fall of 1993, I was uncomfortably symptomatic, and in December, was sent to an endo who put me on Glucotrol, a sulfonylurea, which did exactly nothing for my BGs. So I begged for insulin and started it in May 1994, and have not looked back since then. At this point, I’m using a pump, and it has given me my quality of life back. I’m also eating a reduced-carb diet, and getting wonderful results from it.

I have been involved in the Diabetes Online Community since before it started, beginning with the Usenet group, misc.health.diabetes in 1993, and the Lehigh list at the same time. A group led by Dr. Arturo Rolla of Harvard University broke away from that group, and is still going, and I’m still a member. In 2010, I found TuDiabetes, and have been active there ever since, and several people encouraged me to start a blog. I will admit that I’m a reactive rather than proactive writer, and so that tends to be the nature of my posting. On occasion, I will react to things that are not diabetes related, but the D will be the central theme of my blog. I’m always interested in new topics, and reader input is greatly welcomed!