Diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes

Surprise!

I certainly was when my health office informed me I was suffering from Type 2 diabetes. I have ketones in my urine; this is significant as stored fat is broken down and ketones are made if your diet does not contain enough carbohydrate to supply the body with sugar (glucose) for energy or if your body can’t use blood sugar properly. I fall into the later category.

I had been experiencing some symptoms such as increased thirst and more frequent bathroom trips. Looking on-line I found these symptoms could be indicative of several underlying problems so I decided to get in and get checked.

I was diagnosed by the County’s health practitioner system. We have a service (C.E.B.T.) that covers screenings and routine medical care at no charge. The nurse who did my blood work was qualified to write prescriptions and was quite informative through the entire process.

I was hoping for something simple, like a bladder infection, but alas, I am now one of the 25.8 million people in the US who are afflicted. Of course, the same symptoms could have been the result of cancer, particularly prostate cancer, so in a way diabetes is not the worst case scenario.

I’ve already started to modify my diet and between that and medication my blood sugar levels have dropped over the past few days. While in the health office my count was 338, by the next evening it had dropped to 224 and last night it was 131. (Normal range, depending on who you talk to, is 100 – 140 or 70 – 120.) These are evening readings, taken around 6:30 PM before dinner. Readings at other times can be higher. This morning, before breakfast, it was 193.  I hope to be able to control my condition with diet after getting stabilized with the prescription medicine. I am currently on something called Glipizide.

The health office took several vials of blood and sent them off for testing. Of particular interest will be the results of the “A1c” test which is supposed to indicate you average blood sugar count over the last two months. While the clinic had said they would run this test my doctor did not yet have the results. My regular doctor  formulated an “official” treatment plan to go forward, basically confirming the diet I had already begun and monitoring the effects of the medication.

I didn’t notice any symptoms until we returned from our vacation trip, but diabetes doesn’t happen overnight so I probably have had it for some time. Some people who have diabetes never do experience symptoms.

As part of the treatment I had to get one of those blood monitoring devices. Geez…a lot to take in at once. I learned how to load my  “lancing device” with “lancets” and use this device to prick my finger to get a drop of blood to be wicked into the “test strips” and analyzed by the “glucose monitor.” At least  everything fits into a kit supplied with the monitor.

The lancing device has a depth setting…higher numbers drive the lancet deeper. I’m using the default setting of “4.” The device goes up to a setting of 7. (I can’t imagine using a setting of 7.) The lancets are disposable (single use, same as the test strips) and there is a learned procedure for removing them from the lancing device without damage to oneself. What a pain (literally).

My testing kit

Pam has been helping by going on-line and looking up foods and diets appropriate for diabetics. There is some conflicting information, but all pretty much come down to reducing sugar (for diabetes) and salt intake (for weight loss and blood pressure). Carbohydrates are necessary to get some glucose in your system; the trick is to determine the right balance. We are already planning an uptick in meals of fish and lean meats along with more unsalted nuts and alternative foods.

But, for the short term, I have given up my regular tea (I use a lot of sugar in mine), ice cream, cranberry juice  (kept in my refrigerator at work), crackers, and desserts. (Wouldn’t you know, we have 2 flavors of ice cream in the freezer as I speak.)  Some of these will be replaced by other sweeteners and flavoring substitutes, but it will take a while to get everything in place.

It was a bit of a shock but it won’t slow me down — much. I’m going to try Truvia sweetener in my tea and I’ll adopt a different diet that is probably better for me, and I’ll likely lose some weight, not a bad thing. The questions are more about going forward as diabetes tends to get worse over time, so this will affect me for the rest of my life to an increasing degree. How much so remains to be seen. I am hopeful it won’t be a major factor.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

All retirement plans going forward depend on a modicum of good health for each of us.  This latest diagnosis is a bump in the road, yes, the first in no doubt what will be many medical issues as we continue to age. It’s also a clarion call to move forward with land development for summer housing and to explore winter retirement alternatives.  No time to lose!  Should be an active 2015.

Happy Trails.