I like to think of myself as a typical diabetic: My blood sugar is generally under control, but I have good days and bad days. Sometimes I throw caution to the wind and eat a pint of ice cream, but in general I eat well, get regular exercise, and check my blood sugar frequently.
Or, as I once told my primary physician in a fit of self-reflection, “It’s a good story, at least.”
The reality: I have good and bad months. I seldom pass up dessert, and my blood-sugar monitor gathers dust for weeks on end. Sometimes my blood sugar is so out of control the effects are evident.
• My behavior changes and my moods swing wildly.
• My vision is often blurred.
• I am tired all the time.
This is my diabetic-gone-wild phase. It usually occurs when I’ve been nagged to the point of complacency. A lecture from one of my doctors can send me into a sugary free-for-all that stops just short of hospitalization. Other times I just get tired of the regimen, tired of bleeding myself three or four times a day, and tired of being diabetic.
January, however, is shaping up to be one of those months I look forward to telling my doctor about. After a wobbly start, I’m in good control because I’m dieting—or rather, following a diet I should have been following all along.
And I’m exercising. One weekend I dug holes and expanded a fence around the barn on our small Alabama farm. Then I chased a dozen children at a birthday party, the ultimate endurance test for a tubby parent.
I’ve also been checking my blood sugar frequently. My forearms are tender from all the poking, but at least I haven’t repeated my low-sugar episodes of a few weeks ago, and my highest reading last week was under 200.
When I feel like this, I don’t really care if I meet my goal of losing 25 pounds by the end of March (though I’d still like to stick it to Scott). I’m just happy to have motivation that results in low blood sugar and feeling good. That’s worth more to me than a 34-inch waist.
Competition Numbers:
Start date: 1/1/08
Height: 5’7”
Start weight: 200.4 lbs
Latest weigh in: 1/22/08
Latest weight: 192 lbs
Weight lost: 8.4 lbs
Comments (3)
I understand your pain — I have been type 1 for the last 33 years, and have the scarred fingertips to prove it (before you could test blood sugar from elsewhere.) I had fits of rebellion where I felt like eating ice cream and pound cake, so I did, and hang the consequences. What I had to do to finally get on the straight and narrow (have not had an A1C over 6 in the last 3 years) was to alter my way of thinking. I had to start telling myself that I was in control (I hated feeling helpless in the face of this disease, like it was in control of MY body.) I began to see that blood testing was my tool of power; that I could catch this disease when it began to sneak up on me, and beat it back quickly before it did long lasting damage. I was in charge, and I would NOT let this disease run my life! This mind change led to much better control, which meant I felt physically better, which made it easier to maintain my mental state and avoid those pound cake binges. My additional motivation came when one of my best friends passed away suddenly, leaving two young sons, a husband, and devastated parents. I saw the family’s grief, and realized that if I continued not taking care of myself, I might cause my family the same grief. That was the final motivation I needed to jump on my health w/both feet. Taking care of yourself is the best way to insure you will not only be around to run after your kids, but your grandkids as well. Good luck!
Thanks for your comments, Ayn. I’ve been corresponding with my 89-year-old grandmother lately; she helped manage my grandfather’s diabetes. He was diagnosed in 1944 and lived with the disease until 1970, before they really started call us type 1 or type 2.
Her stories are cautionary for me because: he died young at 57, three years before I was born; and they had a nightmare of a time managing blood sugar. She writes a lot about having to boil urine just to get an idea if his sugar was high (the indicator turned orange if he was high and red if he was really high!). And she tells about spooning orange juice into his mouth as he lay passed out on the floor.
It’s sobering and makes me sheepish when I let my sugar get out of control.
Cheers,
Sean
I AM A 47 YR OLD MALE TYPE 2 FOR THE PAST 11 YRS. I RECENTLY CHANGED DOCTORS BECAUSE I WAS TOLD FROM THE BEGINNING, I WOULD ALWAYS BE DIABETIC AND EVENTUALLY GO ON INSULIN. AFTER GETTING AN A1C READING THERE WAS NO CELEBRATING BECAUSE MY LEVELS WOULD GO UP, SO I HAVE HAD GOOD A1C READINGS AND THEN BAD BECAUSE I COULD NEVER MAINTAIN MY LEVELS.
CHANGING TO THE NEW DOCTOR GAVE ME HOPE TO AT LEAST COME OFF MOST OF MY PILLS IF I LOST MORE WEIGHT. THAT WAS A START AND A GOAL. WHEN I FIRST MET THIS DOCTOR, I WAS 225 AND NOW 2 AND HALF MONTHS LATER, I AM 210. I HAVE BEEN USING THE AID OF A STATIONARY BIKE FOR THE BETTER PART OF TWO MONTHS. I GET MY HEART RATE UP, BUT SINCE MY LAST VISIT, I HAVE ONLY LOST 2-3 LBS IN OVER A MONTH.
MY EATING IS SOLID BUT I HAVE NOT SEEN MORE WEIGHT COME OFF. I HAVE TWO CHILDREN AND A WIFE THAT WORKS OVER NIGHT, SO I CAN’T LEAVE THE HOUSE WHEN I COME HOME AND HAVE ABOUT 45 MINUTES TO RIDE THE BIKE.
I HAVE BEEN TOLD BY MY DOCTOR THAT TWO OUT THREE PILLS I AM TAKING ARE IMPEDDING ME FROM WEIGHT LOSS. IT IS VERY FRUSTRATING AND I DON’T WANT TO QUIT. MY GOAL AS STATED BY THE NEW DOCTOR IS 185. I DON’T KNOW WHAT I CAN DO MORE TO SEE RESULTS. I CAN’T JOIN A GYM AND CAN’T AFFORD TO BUY BOOKS AND METHODS. IS THERE ANYONE OUT THERE THAT CAN HELP? I HAVE SET A GOAL BY NEXT VISIT(DEC 16) TO LOSE 14 LBS FROM OCTOBER 17, BUT TO TO DATE, MAYBE 2 LBS HAVE COME OFF. HELP!