She Says Five Medical Professionals Missed Her Type 1 Diabetes Before She Nearly Died
Guest Contributor
Undiagnosed type 1 diabetes can unravel a life quietly, symptom by symptom, long before anyone realizes what is really happening. In one woman’s experience, what seemed like a simple stomach virus during Thanksgiving break marked the start of an 18‑month descent into alarming health issues, repeated misdiagnoses, and a near‑fatal emergency. Her story illustrates how common signs of type 1 diabetes are often overlooked, and why awareness of undiagnosed diabetes symptoms truly matters.
After that initial illness at twenty‑two, the author returned to grad school and her teaching responsibilities, assuming she had recovered. Instead, her health began to steadily deteriorate. She developed chronic sinus infections, could not seem to drink enough water, and started losing weight at a startling rate. Over time she went from a size four to a double‑zero, eventually needing a belt to keep her pants from slipping down. Despite all this, the pieces were never put together as signs of type 1 diabetes.
She sought help again and again. There were repeated visits to a general practitioner, who eventually referred her to a dietitian. There were appointments with an ear nose and throat specialist to investigate her sinus infections. She went to a gynecologist for irregular, spotty periods, and an optometrist for vision changes that kept worsening. Each specialist focused on one piece of the puzzle, often assuming her symptoms were unrelated or psychological. Not one ordered a simple blood sugar test that might have revealed type 1 diabetes much earlier.
The turning point came one Friday after she drank an orange milkshake from a local fast food place. She remembers falling deeply asleep and barely caring that she had missed multiple calls from her husband. When he finally reached her and realized something was very wrong, he rushed home and got her to the emergency room. There, the picture changed rapidly. The attending physician ordered extensive blood work while she shivered under piles of warmed blankets and begged for something more to drink.
Within an hour the doctor returned, visibly shocked by her lab results. The author recalls him explaining that they finally knew why she had been so ill. She had type 1 diabetes and was already in a state called diabetic ketoacidosis, often shortened to DKA. As Mayo Clinic explains, DKA occurs when the body cannot use glucose for energy because there is not enough insulin. The body then breaks down fat too quickly, which leads to a dangerous buildup of acids known as ketones. It is a medical emergency and the reason she was immediately admitted to the intensive care unit.
Looking back, she remains stunned that she attended more than fifteen medical appointments without anyone checking her blood sugar. Instead, she was repeatedly labeled as anorexic and a hypochondriac, told or implied that her problems were self‑inflicted. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 23 percent of diabetes cases in the United States go undiagnosed, which suggests her experience is not rare. I found this detail striking because it shows how easily serious illness can hide in plain sight when familiar symptoms are misread.
One of the clearest warning signs she experienced was repeated infections. Over those eighteen months she had more than five sinus infections that did not respond to antibiotics. Information from Type2Diabetes.com notes that uncontrolled high blood glucose can weaken the immune system and make it harder for the body to fight infections. Elevated sugar levels in the blood and organs can create an environment where bacteria grow more easily, which helps explain why persistent or unusual infections may be a red flag for undiagnosed diabetes.
Significant and rapid weight loss was another obvious but misunderstood symptom. By the time she landed in the emergency room, she weighed only ninety‑seven pounds at five foot eight. She emphasized to multiple professionals that she did not have an eating disorder. In fact, she was constantly eating. The assumption, especially given her age and gender, was that she must be restricting food. The Cleveland Clinic notes that small fluctuations are normal, but unexplained weight loss of ten pounds or more can indicate an underlying issue. In type 1 diabetes, glucose cannot get into cells properly without enough insulin, so the body burns fat quickly for energy, which can lead to dramatic weight loss even in someone who eats frequently.
Mental health changes also colored her experience. As her physical health declined unchecked, she became both anxious and depressed. Part of this was the impact of chronic illness and disrupted body chemistry. Another part came from repeatedly not being believed. Strangers and clinicians alike commented on her thinness in ways that suggested she was responsible for her condition. The emotional toll of being dismissed while feeling progressively worse deepened her distress. The CDC notes that the relationship between diabetes and mental health is bidirectional. Untreated mental health challenges can worsen diabetes management, and living with complications of diabetes can in turn amplify anxiety and depression.
Her vision changes provided another clue that something was seriously wrong. Over those eighteen undiagnosed months, her eyesight deteriorated noticeably. She visited her optometrist several times, convinced that her contact lens prescription still was not right. Each time, she left feeling that her concerns were brushed aside and that she was being difficult. Johns Hopkins Medicine explains that excess glucose in the bloodstream can damage blood vessels and nerves throughout the body, including those in the eyes. Blurry vision and shifting prescriptions are therefore common symptoms of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Debilitating fatigue became the backdrop to everything else. She describes being constantly exhausted in both body and mind, even though she slept early and took daily naps. After diagnosis, her numbers revealed just how extreme the situation had become. Her blood glucose in the emergency room measured around 700, roughly seven times the typical level. Her A1c, which reflects average blood sugar over about three months, showed a startling average of 438, more than four times the usual range. With those numbers, it is not surprising that everyday tasks felt overwhelming. The National Institutes of Health notes that fatigue commonly accompanies diabetes due to psychological factors, metabolic and endocrine disruptions, and both acute and chronic complications of the disease.
The author’s experience underscores a critical point. Any person of any age can develop type 1 diabetes, not just children and teenagers. Symptoms can appear scattered and unrelated. Repeated infections, unusual weight loss, mental health struggles, drastic vision changes, and profound fatigue may be written off as stress, lifestyle, or personal choice, particularly for young adults. She also mentions other signs to watch for, including slow‑healing sores, vomiting, lethargy, dry skin and eyes, unquenchable thirst, and constant hunger. When blood sugar rises quickly and remains undetected, each day without treatment increases the risk of life‑threatening complications like diabetic ketoacidosis.
Her story is not about blame. It is about the importance of listening carefully to patients, recognizing patterns, and considering that common symptoms might share a common cause. It is also a reminder for anyone experiencing similar issues to ask directly whether a blood sugar test or screening for diabetes might be appropriate. In situations where health keeps declining without clear answers, that single question can be lifesaving.