Hi! My name is Isabella, I am almost 20 years old and I am a type 1 diabetic!

My story starts in 2013

I was 12 years old and I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes. I used to be an overweight girl and had already been diagnosed with hypothyroidism at age 8. So, I started to eat better: only complex carbs, a lot of fibre, veggies, fruits and mostly food with low sugar levels. That attitude helped me lose weight and maintain a stable life until my senior year of High School.

I was under a lot of pressure: trying to get into chemical engineering college and planning prom. In Brazil, prom is 100% planned and financed by the students. We have to do everything!

In August 2018, my sugar levels were really high and my HbA1c was at 12. I went back to the doctor who had diagnosed me before, and she said I was a type 2 diabetic.

She diagnosed me without even looking at my immunoglobulins exam!

So I started a diet that was even more restricted than the one I was already in. I couldn’t eat anything and that made me really unhappy and I revolted against it all. I spent a year like that and even though I was doing everything according to what the doctor had said, my HbA1c was 14. I had even started to use NPH insulin. 

In November 2019, I switched doctors and found out I had been wrongfully diagnosed as a type 2. I was in fact a type 1 diabetic. To be more specific, I am a type one LADA diabetic. That was a relief! I knew I would have to monitor my sugar levels and use “more” insulin, but that also meant that I could live normally. I had to learn how to live again, but it was a life a lot better than the life I had before. The period I spent thinking I was a type 2 really made me feel thankful for being a type 1. I didn’t even have a phase where I felt the need to revolt against it, I just thought: I can eat again!

That’s my story. My path with diabetes is troubled, but now - almost 1 and a half years later - it is simply a part of who I am.

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The message

Isabella had an extremely confusing journey to becoming a type one LADA diabetic. She was even working toward college and still running her daily life as it were. Unfortunately, she was the victim of a misdiagnosis which delayed proper care.

Isabella has shown great resolve in taking her health by the reins and controlling it herself, so much so that by the time she was formally diagnosed as a type one diabetic she was pretty confident with it already! 

Like Amanda in our previous diabetic story, Isabella champions positivity. Positive thinking completely changes the outlook of living with type one diabetes. Sometimes humour and positive thinking is all we need to get through today and the next day. And remember, we can still eat delicious, tasty food!

You can follow Isabella on Instagram at @isabellablasii