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Diabetes type 2 is probably one of the most underestimated diseases in history. When I used to think about diabetes, I didn’t think much of it. I knew some people suffered from complications, but just thought they were unlucky, or just didn’t take care of themselves and, of course, everyone I have ever known with type 2 diabetes was over weight.
Last April 2015, I woke up extremely exhausted. I called in sick to work and went back to sleep. I woke up again around noon feeling a little better. I got up and went to the kitchen to make some breakfast; eggs and hash browns. As I dropped the eggs in the pan my heart suddenly started racing as if I was running real fast. I wasn’t short of breath, and there was no pain or tightness in my chest, but I didn’t know what a heart attack felt like, so I started looking for my phone, just in case I had to call 911. Then I felt like I was starting to pass out. I dropped to the floor and crawled around, continuing to look for my phone. I couldn’t find it because it had dropped into my recliner the night before while I was watching television.
I started taking real deep and slow breaths, hoping it would slow my heart rate. It did. Feeling well enough to drive, I raced to the Emergency Room at a nearby hospital. They got me into a room pretty quickly and started running tests. The first test they ran was a blood glucose test. The nurse pricked my finger, turned to the counter behind her where the test machine was, and inserted the sample. She then turned to me with a scolding look on her face and said, “you’re diabetic!” My blood glucose level was 375 mg/dL (milligrams per deciliter), and my A1C at the time was 13! Though my family doctor later informed me that the A1C could have been due to a faulty testing machine.
This began my journey into type 2 diabetes. I didn’t have a family doctor, so the ER doctor found me one in their system. This hospital has a huge network with a lot of very good doctors. To protect the innocent, I will call my doctor Hank. I went to see Dr. Hank the next week, and he put me on Metformin (1000 mg twice daily) and Glipizide (5 mg twice daily). He also assigned me to diabetes self-care classes. Through the next few months I was able to stop taking Metformin (with permission from my doctor), and I am able to manage a blood glucose level of 70 through 110, with the occasional high spikes up to 140 through 170 after certain meals. My A1C at last check was 6.7%. That’s still higher than normal, but not too bad. I manage my diabetes through diet and exercise.
This series of blogs will show you what kinds of foods I eat, why I eat them, and what kinds of exercises I perform to keep my blood glucose levels as close to normal as possible. This series will explain:
My journey into health and wellness and diabetes care has only just begun, but in just a couple of months I feel I have pretty good control over my diabetes, and as I grow and learn I may be able to quite possibly reverse this condition and get my body running normally again. It is my hope that my journey over the next few years will help others out there with type 2 diabetes avoid the horrible complications that this disease can inflict on you. I also pray that these blogs will give hope to those with type 2 diabetes, or who have family members suffering from this disease.
Blood glucose is the amount of glucose, or sugar, floating around in your blood. When you eat carbohydrates for energy, your body converts those carbs into glucose. Your pancreas releases insulin in order to transport the glucose to the cells that need energy. Excess glucose is then stored in your liver and muscle cells as glycogen for use later when your body needs energy between meals.
Glucagon is another hormone that counteracts insulin. When your blood glucose starts to fall between meals (several hours later) the pancreas releases glucagon, which suppresses insulin and signals the body to break down the stored glycogen into glucose so that the blood glucose levels don’t drop too low. If your blood glucose drops too low then the cells in your body cannot get enough energy to function. This can cause a lot of problems, including seizures, comma, and death.
Diabetes type 2 is a condition where your body doesn’t produce enough insulin to use the glucose in your blood, it produces too much glucagon, or the cells in the body are resistant to the insulin your body produces. All three conditions result in too much glucose in the blood stream.
Some of the symptoms, as posted by the Mayo Clinic, are:
I experienced the increase thirst, frequent urination, fatigue, and unexplained weight loss. I lost about 40 pounds in a year. I felt pretty good about it, but was a little concerned because I did nothing to lose the weight. The frequent urination contributes to the fatigue because most likely you will urinate the most at night when you are trying to sleep. I would get up almost once every hour or every couple of hours to urinate.
According to the American Diabetes Association, type 2 diabetes is diagnosed when two separate Fasting Plasma Glucose (FPG) tests show a BG level greater than or equal to 126 mg/dL. This test is performed in a blood lab, and you need to fast for 10 to 12 hours prior to the test. Your doctor would normally order this test, but you can have it done at any blood lab yourself.
That’s what this blog series is about. I will take you through some pretty simple but very powerful ways of lowering your blood glucose and A1C over time and on demand after meals. This will require some discipline and work on your part. There is no magic bullet to controlling diabetes type 2. There are medications that will lower your blood sugar levels, but they are not as effective as diet and exercise.
Keep reading these blogs to learn how to manage your diabetes and get yourself back into a healthy lifestyle.
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