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.”
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! 
