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Sep. 26th, 2006
Although I've told a lot of my friends, I never actually wrote about this in my Live Journal. But back at the begining of August after a weekend in which I felt very sick, and it wasn't the kind of sickness where I felt I was coming down with something, but it was the kind of sickness where I felt like something was seriously wrong with my body, I scheduled a doctor's appointment. I had a physical exam, and blood tests. All the doctor found initially was that my blood pressure was a little high and he reccomended that I stay away from high-salt foods and try to walk up to 45 minutes a day. Since I didn't exericise at all, the walking was probably a really good idea.
The bigger revelation was to come from the blood test, although frankly it was something I had kind of suspected all along. My glucose level was very very high -- something like 268 if I remember correctly. Of course I knew what that meant before I even scheduled another appointment to discuss it with the doctor -- it meant Diabetes, type 2 or adult onset as it's called. Anyway the doctor told me to walk at least an hour a day, two if possible, and to avoid foods high in sugar (especally processed or added sugar) and high in carbs (especially simple carbs -- pasta, white rice, bread that isn't whole grain bread, pizza dough, etc. etc.) He also had more blood tests done.
My second set of tests shows an even slightly higher glucose level and a hemoglobin level of... I think it was 9.9. I don't really fully understand how the hemoglobin level factors into things completely, but it's supposed to be below 6.0, and a higher than normal reading was an indication that I'd had this condition for quite a while. The doctor said that we needed to get it below 7.0 within the next five weeks, and he subscribed some medicine that was supposed to help do that.
So for the last five weeks or more I've been walking at least an hour a day, although rarely more than that, and I've been very careful with what I've been eating. Today was the day I went in for new blood tests, so within a few days or by next Monday when I see the doctor again, I'll find out how much help it's all been. Frankly I think I've done everything I was supposed to do -- eaten right, gotten exercise, taken my medication. I'm sure if I'd managed to get in more exercise in the evening that would have been even better, but I've gotten in my hour in the morning almost every single day. There were a few days when it was raining last week where I maybe only got in 45 minutes of exercise in my apartment, but never two days in a row -- I managed to get in an hour every day after one of those days.
I have a kind of pessemistic feeling that it won't really matter, that I've had the condition too long and it's not really going to be possible to control it with just diet and exercise and that will mean I'll need to go on insuline, which of course I'd rather avoid. But at least if that happens, I won't feel like it's because I failed to take things seriously or was too lazy or not careful enough. I think I've given it my best shot so far, and aside from having the disease I'm probably as healthy right now as I've been in a dozen years at least. I've lost about 12-15 pounds so far, and I feel good. I've managed to eat healthy, accomplishing things as far as buying more fruits and veggies and eating breakfast and making lunches to take to work and all of that, which I've always known I should do but mostly wasnt able to manage before.
As my friends know, I'm a very healthy person otherwise. This medication I've been taking is the first medication I've ever taken, other than the occasional antibiotics or cold remedy. I still have a full set of sick days at work -- I haven't had to take any sick days in several years, and I really haven't even gone to work sick with a cold or anything in the last 2 or 3 years. If I'm lucky and able to control this, I'll still need to keep exercising and of course I'll have to watch what I eat, and I'll have to continue to get tested every three months to see how things are going.
Anyway, I'm kind of anxious to find out what the tests reveal, and scared to find out too.
The bigger revelation was to come from the blood test, although frankly it was something I had kind of suspected all along. My glucose level was very very high -- something like 268 if I remember correctly. Of course I knew what that meant before I even scheduled another appointment to discuss it with the doctor -- it meant Diabetes, type 2 or adult onset as it's called. Anyway the doctor told me to walk at least an hour a day, two if possible, and to avoid foods high in sugar (especally processed or added sugar) and high in carbs (especially simple carbs -- pasta, white rice, bread that isn't whole grain bread, pizza dough, etc. etc.) He also had more blood tests done.
My second set of tests shows an even slightly higher glucose level and a hemoglobin level of... I think it was 9.9. I don't really fully understand how the hemoglobin level factors into things completely, but it's supposed to be below 6.0, and a higher than normal reading was an indication that I'd had this condition for quite a while. The doctor said that we needed to get it below 7.0 within the next five weeks, and he subscribed some medicine that was supposed to help do that.
So for the last five weeks or more I've been walking at least an hour a day, although rarely more than that, and I've been very careful with what I've been eating. Today was the day I went in for new blood tests, so within a few days or by next Monday when I see the doctor again, I'll find out how much help it's all been. Frankly I think I've done everything I was supposed to do -- eaten right, gotten exercise, taken my medication. I'm sure if I'd managed to get in more exercise in the evening that would have been even better, but I've gotten in my hour in the morning almost every single day. There were a few days when it was raining last week where I maybe only got in 45 minutes of exercise in my apartment, but never two days in a row -- I managed to get in an hour every day after one of those days.
I have a kind of pessemistic feeling that it won't really matter, that I've had the condition too long and it's not really going to be possible to control it with just diet and exercise and that will mean I'll need to go on insuline, which of course I'd rather avoid. But at least if that happens, I won't feel like it's because I failed to take things seriously or was too lazy or not careful enough. I think I've given it my best shot so far, and aside from having the disease I'm probably as healthy right now as I've been in a dozen years at least. I've lost about 12-15 pounds so far, and I feel good. I've managed to eat healthy, accomplishing things as far as buying more fruits and veggies and eating breakfast and making lunches to take to work and all of that, which I've always known I should do but mostly wasnt able to manage before.
As my friends know, I'm a very healthy person otherwise. This medication I've been taking is the first medication I've ever taken, other than the occasional antibiotics or cold remedy. I still have a full set of sick days at work -- I haven't had to take any sick days in several years, and I really haven't even gone to work sick with a cold or anything in the last 2 or 3 years. If I'm lucky and able to control this, I'll still need to keep exercising and of course I'll have to watch what I eat, and I'll have to continue to get tested every three months to see how things are going.
Anyway, I'm kind of anxious to find out what the tests reveal, and scared to find out too.