Two years ago, when Michael Rostosky was sick with COVID, he started to suspect he might have type 1 diabetes, rather than type 2 as he had been told for 7 years.
A few days before he was bedridden with a fever, Michael did his usual finger prick to test his blood glucose (sugar) levels. The reading came back as 250 mg/dL “out of nowhere.” (A blood sugar level of between 180 mg/dL and 250 mg/dL is considered high, and over 250 mg/dL is considered severe, requiring emergency medical care. A reading of between 70-100 mg/dL is considered normal).
Blood sugar levels can spike when you’re sick, but typically levels decrease once they feel better. Michael’s blood sugar levels never went down and stayed dangerously high, between 250-300 mg/dL.
For three weeks he tried everything from cutting carbohydrates to taking medication his primary care doctor prescribed to lower his blood sugar that gave him “ice pick” headaches. He was losing weight and utterly exhausted. His primary care doctor was convinced that Michael had type 2 diabetes, not type 1. Type 1 diabetics must take insulin every day to regulate blood sugar, which he was not doing.
At a loss for what to do next and 35 pounds lighter than his usual weight, Michael decided to call Tufts Medicine Diabetes and Endocrine Care in Dracut.
“I remember counting down like a kid counting down to Christmas. I was so excited for the appointment,” he said.
When he arrived, a nurse ordered tests and asked if he would be open to taking insulin. He immediately agreed. He remembers his first injection to the day—July 4, 2023.
“I took the shot and, about an hour after the first insulin shot…I remember telling my wife, I’m going to go mow the lawn,” he said. “I have some energy. It is just amazing.”
After that first shot, he said his blood sugar level was under 200 mg/dL for the first time in months. More than a year later, he’s been able to keep his blood sugar stable throughout the day (average 150 mg/dL) and well below the dangerous levels where it had been.
Visiting the Diabetes and Endocrine Center made all the difference.
“They just believed me and knew what I was going through,” he said about the staff.
This patient-centered care is the key to successful outcomes, says Miguel Ariza, MD, Medical Director, Diabetes and Endocrine Care at Lowell General Hospital: “A holistic approach to care is especially critical when we’re treating patients with diabetes. It’s a disease that can impact every part of someone’s life—physically, socially and emotionally—we consider all these things so we can help people live full and healthy lives.”
He’s regained about 25-30 pounds and no longer needs several daily naps to get through work and coach his daughter’s soccer team.
“At that time, I didn’t know how sick I was,” he said. “I just did the best I could to keep moving.”
He uses the myTuftsMed app to communicate with staff, and he said they have been very kind and responsive, including when his insurance changed, and the insulin he was taking was no longer covered.
“Whatever I need is usually addressed within an hour or two,” he said.
Thanks to the nurses at the center, he’s now using a pump that feeds insulin directly into his body and eliminates the need for him to use multiple syringes a day to inject himself. It’s been a little over a week on the pump, and Michael already has a new lease on life.
He recently went away for a one-night trip to Foxwoods and didn’t have to bring any syringes, just the amount of insulin he needed for the pump and a backup pump for safety.
The personalized care he gets from the center’s staff has changed everything.
“That’s what I’m getting now. I’m Mike. They treat me off of my medical records but also off of my story,” he said. “Before, I was just categorized as someone who wasn’t taking care of myself. They treated my individual case and my situation.”
