roncli.com blog: It gets worse... but it gets better

Well, the tests came back.

The Wednesday before I took off for Hawaii, I received a call in the morning from the nurse of my doctor I had just visited the day before. I remember her voice was as calm and pleasant as could be. Her message, anything but: "Your results are consistent with diabetes."

Yeah.

321 was the blood sugar reading going in on that visit, and the A1C was a staggering 13.8%. I was immediately put on medication and was scheduled a followup visit with a diabetic specialist for the Monday after vacation.

The news was, initially, devastating. Yes, it runs in the family (thanks, mom!), but being only 34 it wasn't something I expected any time soon. But life has a funny way of making you expect the unexpected, and here we are.

Since then, I've changed my eating habits somewhat, and Kathy and I approximately doubled our walks to two miles. That plus some medication has helped. Last Tuesday, my blood pressure was measured 110/70, and my blood sugar has come down to commonly be in the 100-150 range.

Everyone I've talked to that lives with diabetes has said the exact same thing, word for word: "it's not the end of the world". That's certainly true. I had tons of fun on the vacation, and after coming back life has been pretty much normal.

It was a simple eye exam that pretty much saved me from a much worse fate than medication and stabbing myself every day. The human body often changes in subtle ways to major problems like this, often in ways that you aren't going to be able to detect yourself. Please, if you aren't checking up on your health regularly, I strongly encourage you to start. Sure, having diabetes is a lot worse than the high blood pressure. But knowing I have it has made it a hell of a lot better.

Labels: Diabetes, Life

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