Diabetes Dilema

August 9th, 2012 was a big day for me.  A day I'll probably never forget.  No, nobody I knew died or was seriously hurt, and no one I know had a baby that day.  August 9th is the day I was diagnosed with DIABETES.

I figure I have just about enough medical knowledge to be dangerous.  I knew deep inside that the "d" word was pouring through my veins, I just didn't know to what extent.  I had been exhausted for some time: coming home from work and taking a nap, then having dinner and going right back to bed.  I'd been drinking like a fish... needing a big glass of ice cold water before even showering in the morning.  I drank 4 cans of sugary orange soda the night before diagnosis and was drinking bottle after bottle of water during the day.  With all the liquids I was injesting, of course I was spending lots of time in the bathroom as well.  It finally got to the point where I couldn't live in the "special land" of denial any longer.  I went over to my folks' house and asked my dad to check my sugar.  I know now that your blood glucose level should run between 80 and 120.  Mine was 490.  I asked what that meant and my dad said it meant I had Coke syrup running through my veins.  Hmmm.

I headed over to Same Day Care where they ran a bunch of tests including blood and urine and started an IV.  When the doctor came back in and said: "You have diabetes.", it literally hit me like I'd had the wind knocked out of me.  It didn't matter that I knew it, it was hearing it from the doctor that made it real.  So, of course, I started to cry.  She discussed admitting me into the hospital, but apparently I convinced her I am responsible enough to do what I needed to do, so she gave me instructions and we headed off to Walgreens to purchase my new constant companion, my meter.

The first month was rough... the first WEEK was really rough.  I had to mourn the life I had bd (before diagnosis) and accept the life I will have now.  I haven't had pasta in almost 4 months.  I have to count the carbs in every bite of food that I eat.  And I have to know the totals BEFORE I eat it.  I check my bg's at least 4 times a day, more if I'm feeling "off".  I take 2 kinds of insulin, a rapid acting insulin before meals and a long acting at night.  Giving myself the shots isn't too bad, unless I hit a nerve.

My cholesterol is the best it's been in a decade and I hope to get off my high blood pressure medication before too long.  I just need to amp up the exercise. 

I have a friend who is having gastric bypass surgery next week.  She has an 80% chance of her diabetes totally disappearing.  Makes it pretty tempting, but I need to do everything I can on my own before considering anything more drastic.

So... until next time, do what you can NOW to prevent my story from becoming yours.