A Co Tyrone woman has opened up about her experience of being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of 21.
Nicole Cairns, now 23, from Douglas Bridge, initially thought she had an infection while on holiday but was eventually diagnosed with the condition weeks later.
Now she has had to make significant changes to her lifestyle and has been hospitalised on several occasions due to the condition.
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“We had actually been away on holiday and I came back and thought I had a chest infection or a kidney infection and I thought I would let it work itself out," Nicole told MyTyrone.
“Three weeks later I was still very sick and I eventually went to the doctors and they sent me away for samples.
“They found there was a lot of sugar in my urine and for me to come back again in six weeks time and cut out sugary foods from my diet.
“I bought myself a wee monitor online and started checking my sugar levels, and it was so high that it wouldn’t even give me a reading.
“I contacted the doctor again then and the diabetes team said they wanted to see me that day, and they told me that I had Type 1 diabetes and it should never have been left this long.
“I was very lucky because going by the readings I was getting I could have ended up in hospital.
“They tested me for it when I was pregnant with my daughter, as a lot of people do get it during pregnancies and it stays with them.
“But I had no signs of it at that time.”
Nicole says she is still learning about diabetes, and said it can be very hard to keep on top of her diet as well as monitoring her sugar levels and having regular injections.
“I’m learning about it myself and trying to teach my family about it at the same time.
“It’s very hard because even if I eat bread or even if I don’t eat for a few hours I have to inject myself.
“About six weeks ago I went away for the day and I took a while bad turn and ended up in the hospital.
“I just started to get very sick and lightheaded and nearly ended up in ICU.
“The doctors do tell me they’re not trying to scare me just to look after myself, but people do die, people can lose limbs if they don’t do things right.
“Before I thought I’d never have diabetes, I’m grand. But what I thought was a chest infection turned into that.
“I was going on holiday a few weeks ago and I was panicking a few days before I went, thinking what if something happens when I’m away?
“You do worry about it, you always have to be mindful of what your sugars are and make sure you carry everything with you.
Nicole hit the headlines recently after getting engaged to partner Ryan at the Ed Sheeran concert in Belfast, with many readers praising her for proudly wearing her glucose monitor during their big moment.
She revealed: “I actually hate wearing it but that night and I was having a drink so you have to be really careful in situations like that.
“A girl came up to me after and said congratulations and well done for proudly wearing your monitor, and I was surprised she even knew what it was.
“Where I’m from a lot of people would ask you what that thing on your arm is, a lot of people don’t actually know what it’s for.
“It’s a lot handier now compared to how things used to be.”
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