National Diabetes Awareness Month: a personal post.

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Many thanks to Biz for taking the time to write this post and share so much with us.

“Diabetes is a Manageable Disease”

Whenever I read that sentence in doctors office literature, on-line or in diabetes magazines, I sometimes shake my head.  Yes, diabetes IS a manageable disease – but the left out the “micro” management part!

When I was first diagnosed with diabetes, I was put on oral medication and told to diet and exercise.  My sister and I had just finished a year with Weight Watchers – this was 1999 – and both successfully lost 70 pounds.  I felt great!

I maintained that weight loss for several years, until all of a sudden, the oral medication wasn’t working.  My average blood sugar sustained in the high 200’s and no amount of exercise and diet changed that fact.

I was put on insulin two years ago, and in the course of that time have gained 30 pounds back.  Yes, weight gain is a side effect to taking insulin, but insulin opened up a whole world of foods that I had neglected for so many years!  “Do you mean to tell me I can have bacon and cheese on my fries for only .99 cents more?   I’ll take it!”  I would just cover the carbs with more insulin!

I realized that was not the answer.  I have to pretend that I don’t take insulin to shut the door to foods I shouldn’t eat.  It’s a constant battle every day.  I can’t just walk out the door without a plan.  I have to weigh my food to figure out how many carbs I am eating to make sure I give myself the right amount of insulin.

Then there is the struggle of eating and taking insulin while exercising.  There are some days I test my blood sugar 8 times in a day!  And there are times when I am on the elliptical, eating a granola bar because my blood sugar is dropping.  But I know I have to do it to prevent having complications later in my life, such as eye damage and kidney disease.

Roughly 18 million people are walking around with diabetes and don’t even know it.  The basic symptoms:

•    Rapid Weight Loss
•    Increased Hunger
•    Thirsty
•    Frequent Urination
•    Tiredness
•    Tingling in the Hands and Feet

There is also another phenomenon with teenagers who are insulin dependent.  It’s called Diabulemia.  It’s an eating disorder in which people with Type I diabetes deliberately give themselves less insulin they need, for the purpose of weight loss.  The sad part is that if not caught and treated early, they are likely to suffer from the effects of not managing their diabetes YEARS earlier had they monitored their diabetes. This includes renal failure, blindness and diabetic neuropathy.

Could you have diabetes and not know it?  I urge everyone to ask for a glucose test at your annual physical with your doctor.  The sooner you know you have the disease, the sooner you can treat it.

However difficult, I know I have to manage my diabetes so I can have a long life with my husband and kids.  That’s the prize in managing this disease!

Thanks to MizFit for giving me the opportunity to share my life with diabetes!

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Comments

  1. Biz/Miz – what a great post, thanks for sharing! You are an inspiration to many. It is scary how many people are walking around with diabetes and don’t know it – thanks for telling your story and raising awareness!

  3. Miz & Biz,
    Great post, It is not talked about enough. My daughter has been on insulin since the age of twelve!! She is now at age 23 and I worry about her health constantly

  5. Thanks Biz for the insghts- and it’s applicable so much to everything, really; if we take something to mask the symptoms of something else, we’re only going to do ourselves more harm in the long run.

  8. When I first got into medicine, I thought diseases like diabetes or asthma would be eliminated! I had no idea of the power of humans to make unhealthy decisions 🙁

  9. I’m Type II and can relate to this completely. I am rapidly getting to that place where my meds are not working and so scared/worried about insulin. I pray that I can work hard and somehow slow the progression of this disease.

  10. Thanks for sharing these insights into life with diabetes, Biz! I do not have diabetes, but my old dog suffered from it for awhile, and I had to test his blood and give him insulin. That experience convinced me to pay more attention to my own health!

  12. Thanks for sharing, Biz. I can’t even stress how important this message is- my dad might still be alive if he had only realized this sooner. Your husband and kids are very very lucky.

  13. I had no idea, the seriousness of this disease! Thanks for sharing and informing us all!! Is diabetes hereditary?

  14. Biz… thank you for this post. It moved me and it also scared me.. because I’m in that early stage of “just been diagnosed, did WW, lost weight, only on oral meds, all is great!” I’m like… whaaaaaat? Oral meds not working all of a sudden? Noooooooo!

    Gotta keep breathing. And doing whatever it takes. Hug.

  17. I’m not an MD. But I urge everyone to start doing some homework in regards to type 2 diabetes. Sadly the “conventional” recomendations about diet are not helping anyone ;-(

    Many people have had good/great succes with a “real food diet”. meats, vegetables and fat.

    I’d be happy to share some links if interested.

    Marc

  18. Since Biz and I are twins, it has opened my eyes in how to try to prevent it as long as I can.

    I test my blood sugar every few months, and so far have been fine, but like Biz said, there are so many people walking around with it and they don’t even know!

    It takes 2 minutes in your doctors office for them to take a blood sample. That’s it!

    I have also bought an at home kit available at drug stores for about $10.00 and you can even check yourself.

    Thanks Biz! Great article!

  20. Hi Carla – I just wanted you to know that my post today was because of you. I was not aware that it was Stop Diabetes Month until I stopped by and felt compelled to write a post about it and my personal experience. Thanks for your support, caring and kindness. You are a true blessing to us here in blogland 🙂 xoxo

  21. My only exposure to diabetes was my cat. So needless to say, I knew nothing outside of just making sure she got her shot and didn’t go into shock.

    This post was a real eye opener. Thanks for sharing.

  22. Biz, I’ve always been so impressed with how diligent you are about managing your diabetes…it takes a lot of effort, and the fact that you are doing so well is a great testament to your daily work. Thanks for this post.

  24. Biz, thanks for writing this! I don’t think people realize that it can progress this way, even with people doing all they can to manage it. I’ve had a taste of insulin-dependent diabetes during both of my pregnancies, and it involves quite a bit of micromanagement. I’ve always been inspired, though, by how gracefully you manage yours. (And how joyfully you and your family live!)

  26. When I was first diagnosed I was placed on insulin and I have worked so hard to get off it just because I have phobia for needles and this made my management that much worser. I dred ever having to regress back to the Insulin days and this has just been a wakeup call for me to tighten up my management. thanks for the great post
    ronn

Trackbacks

  2. […] unknown wrote an interesting post today. Here’s a quick excerptWhen I was first diagnosed with bdiabetes/b, I was put on oral medication and told to bdiet/b and exercise. My sister and I had just finished a year with Weight Watchers – this was 1999 – and both successfully lost 70 pounds. I felt great! … […]

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