On or about June 14th, 2006, I was diagnosed with Diabetes Mellitus; Type 1 diabetes. The doctors called it sudden onset diabetes. Yep, it sure was sudden.
I had been taking an antibiotic to treat an upper respiratory infection. The antibiotic Levaquin has some side effects:
- Drowsiness
- Taste Problems
- Dry Mouth
I was on Levaquin for 10 days, so my symptoms were expected. I also lost a little weight..actually looking back, it was a lot of weight, but I chalked that up to not eating. After all, my tongue had a bitter taste, and I was not eating much. I was also drinking a lot of water. At least 80 ounces a day and frequent (every 15 minutes) trips to the bathroom. My symptoms continued for another week before I finally decided to go see a doctor. Two days before that, I was scheduled to donate blood. So I made my donation, and after sucking down two glasses of apple juice and a bottle of Gatorade, I made it back to my desk. Fifteen minutes later, I felt woozy while finishing another trip to the men's room. I stumbled back to the nurses' station, where I was given another glass of sweet apple juice. Afterwards, I went home because I was feeling drained.
The next day, I woke up feeling much more tired. Too tired to even get dressed for work. I asked my wife to take me to the doctor that day and not wait.
As I said above: "On or about June 14th,2 006 I was diagnosed with diabetes mellitus; Type 1 diabetes. The doctors called it sudden onset diabetes. Yep, it sure was sudden."
