Lucas Received Four Diagnoses at Once: “30,000 Emotions Rushed Through Me”

It was a Friday when Lucas was admitted to the hospital. He spent the weekend there, being told he had diabetes but that they wouldn’t be able to confirm whether it was type 1 or type 2 until Monday.

"That weekend, they woke me up at all hours to check my blood glucose and give me insulin. I didn’t understand why they were doing it or what was happening, and no one explained what diabetes actually is," Lucas recalls.

"30,000 emotions rushed through me. I was scared, confused, and frustrated about having a disease I’d have to live with for the rest of my life," he says.

Lucas knew nothing about diabetes—no one in his family, including his parents or three siblings, had the condition. Looking back, he realizes that he had been unusually thirsty in the years leading up to his diagnosis, but he had no idea it was a symptom of type 1 diabetes.

His mother was also shocked by the news.
"She was very scared and upset because, as a young woman, she had a friend who almost died from type 1 diabetes," Lucas recalls.

"I’m very sensitive. My senses of smell, hearing, and touch are heightened. For most people, pricking your finger to measure blood glucose feels like a small pinprick. For me, it felt like slamming a hammer on my finger.

It was especially frustrating if I had to measure my blood glucose while sitting on a bus surrounded by people," Lucas explains. Luckily, he found a great source of support in his nurse.

"He understood that I have specific challenges. He took the time to sit down with me and my mom to explain what diabetes really is."

Lucas now uses a closed-loop insulin pump, which helps him keep his blood glucose within recommended levels. The system consists of an app, an insulin pump, and a sensor that continuously monitors his blood glucose, automatically adjusting insulin delivery as needed. Lucas still has to input carbohydrate amounts and meals, but the pump has made a significant difference.

"Because of my autism, I get stressed easily when I’m out in public, which causes my blood glucose to spike".

"Before, I always had to carry insulin with me and inject it, even in the middle of a store. It wasn’t fun," Lucas says.

Now, with the pump, he doesn’t need to do that, though he still finds diabetes frustrating at times.

"Some days, I can’t get my blood glucose to rise, and other days, I can’t get it to drop. It makes me groggy and nauseous. In that sense, it’s just a crappy disease. But I’ve learned to live with it," he says.

Lucas advises other young people newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes to talk to others in the same situation and to ask for help.

"The Diabetes Association has fantastic events where you can meet other young people with diabetes. You can share your frustrations with people who understand and get advice from those who’ve lived with the disease for years."

Lucas has also worked with the Diabetes Association to create a document for his workplace, explaining what to do if he experiences low blood glucose and faints. He works as a business manager at GladTeknik, a company known for hiring people with diagnoses and accommodating individual needs. In his free time, Lucas participates in debates and events focused on autism and neurodiversity.