I was diagnosed in November, 2001 with type 2 diabetes. This article is just my random jottings and reflection on my experiences with the disease. I stress that this contains my PERSONAL experiences, and should not be construed as medical advice, etc. If you think you might be diabetic, I encourage you to see your doctor right away!
I was having problems with my vision being blurred, which is what prompted me to see the doctor. I had other symptoms before that (increased thirst/urination) but I had attributed that to a listed "dry mouth" side effect of medication I was on. In retrospect, I guess I should have known better. In addition, I was morbidly obese. I topped out at 331 in April of 2001, although I had managged to get down to the 280s before my diagnosis. Apparently weight loss is also one of the symptoms. As of this writing, I'm down to 251. My goal for now is to get down to 175 and see how I feel then.
My doctor suspected diabetes, so they did a urine sample and found sugar in my urine (not a good sign). So then they did a random blood glucose, which was 260. (Over 200 is considered high). I distinctly remember that with my wonderful diet, so far all I'd had to "eat" that day was 12oz of Coca-Cola. The next day I went back for a fasting blood glucose test. My fasting glucose was 298 and over the course of the test it rose to 515! A normal fasting glucose reading is considered between 80 and 110. A subsequent hemoglobin a1c test, which measures your average blood sugar levels over a 3 month period, resulted in a reading of 15.7% - normal is 4-6%!
I was really depressed for a few days. First, I was scared to death by my blurred vision. Second, my diagnosis came on my birthday! It also happened to be right before Thanksgiving and of course, leading right in to Christmas. That meant big changes in my normal holiday behavior! In the end, I opted to fight. I immediately began following the exchange diet program my doctor gave me, and started exercising 20 minutes a day every day on my exercise bike. I also purchased a blood glucose meter, so that I could test my glucose levels on my own. My doctor recommended the Therasense Freestyle meter which lets you test on your forearms instead of on your fingertips, which makes the testing a lot less painful. The first day I measured my glucose myself my fasting level was 258. It started going down day by day, and it really jumped down once I started exercising. Within a couple of weeks my fasting glucose was down to the mid 90s.
My doctor initially put me on Amaryl, a medication which tells your pancreas to make more insulin. Once I started exercising though, I started having episodes of relatively mild but uncomofortable hypoglycemia so my doctor switched me to Glucophage XR. Glucophage helps your body use the insulin you are producing more effectively, rather than just having your pancreas make more. I was worried about seeing a big spike in my blood sugar levels as a result of switching meds, but fortunately that didn't happen.
I started doing a LOT of reading. One very useful resource I found online was the alt.support.diabetes newsgroup. There are lots of great people who frequent that group, most of whom also have diabetes, and many of whom have been dealing with it for a long time and can provide lots of useful insights as well as moral support. In addition to the newsgroup and various web sites, one of the books I found most helpful was Diabetes For Dummies. It's a really easy read and contains a lot of information. It's the first time I've ever stooped to buying one of those "for Dummies" books and I'm glad I did. :) I recommend it to anyone else who finds themselves in my situation -- with a newly diagnosed and scary sounding condition that you know very little about.
The hardest thing to deal with was my vision problems. I was really worried that maybe I was going blind. I did get examined by an opthomalogist, and he said my eyes were fine, and I would just have to wait for my blood sugar to stabilize for awhile before my vision would return to normal. I've always been extremely nearsighted and it was strange when I found myself seeing distances better than I used to but needing reading glasses for working up close. I ended up getting new lenses for my glasses knowing full well I'd probably have to do it again -- but I was miserable not being able to see right. Sure enough, within a WEEK (!) my new lenses were useless. I do believe this experience will really help me stay motivated in the future -- I appreciate my vision all the more now. Fortunately, after about 2 months with my blood sugar back in normal range, my vision returned to normal.
Today, I have my BGs under control, (fasting normally in the 80s or 90s, no big spikes after meals; my a1c one month after diagnosis was already down to 10, as of 2/22/02 my a1c is down to 5.8%. "Normal" non-diabetic range is between 4-6%, they say diabetics should aim for "less than 7%". Needless to say, I am really happy with this. I'm still overweight but I've come a long way, and I'm MUCH more active. I've been exercising just about every day, mostly indoors alternating between treadmill/exercise bike. Needless to say I have also changed my diet drastically (no more 3 - 4 Cokes a day). I had a milestone of sorts on Sunday, January 27th. I tried out one of those "rail trail" multi-use pathways (the Silver Comet trail) on my recumbent bike. It's pretty neat; it has a total length of about 37 miles one way. Anyhow, I ended up riding my bicycle about 34 miles. There is NO way I could have done that a few months ago. And I felt great when I was done! I'm trying to gear up for the Tour de Cure ride that will be here in Atlanta in May. I want to do the longer stretch (100km, I think that's about 60 miles or so) so I guess I'm about halfway there! :) (SEE UPDATE TOWARD THE END!!!)
Since I originally wrote this article, I've started pursuing one of my other short to medium term goals - I'm now taking a Karate class. It is TOUGH - and I don't even approach keeping up with the other students during calisthenics - I have a really tough time with push-ups. And let's face it ... also with sit-ups, "mountain climbers", and all the other forms of calisthenic torture they inflict on us students. But I can already tell that I've improved since I started - and I just do my best. I'm having a lot of fun! And I have this dream that a year from now, I'm going to look back at how I struggled and try to remember what it must have been like.
I'd also like to give rollerblading a whirl. I tried it once before but gave up rather quickly -- being so heavy made it REALLY difficult.
Somewhat longer term, I hope to be able to keep my diabetes under control with diet and exercise alone, without having to take medication. I have to say, Glucophage has been wonderful for me. I really haven't had any bad side effects; but I just don't like the idea of taking medicine long term. However, if I must, I will be thankful that at least we have such wonderful treatments available today. Not long ago at all, oral meds weren't even available.
I plan to periodically update this article as I learn new interesting things, and to report progress along the way. Thanks for reading!
UPDATE 3-28-02
Decided to add some before/after type pictures of my weight loss. Still got a long way to go, but compare where I was before and where I am now (hopefully you can tell which is which!). Also I scanned in the portrait I had done at the Dojo (EVERYBODY had the Dojo had to get their picture taken).
UPDATE 5-20-02
Not long after I was diagnosed back in November 2001, I found out about the
Tour de Cure fundraiser bikeathon. Out of shape as I was, I set a goal for
myself to raise some money and to complete the 100K (about 62 miles) bike
ride. And yesterday, I DID IT! I finished! It was tough ... I was not
used to riding on as hilly of a route, and there were times where I thought
about quitting. But I kept thinking of the people who sponsored me, and of
my wonderful wife who has supported me through it all, and I just couldn't
give up! Not everybody had their own personal photographer, but I did!