I have been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. My doctor put me on oral medication (Metformin), set up an appointment with a dietitian and told me to exercise 4-6 days per week.
Since the diagnosis, I've been trying to eat right, watching my carb content, and exercise. I bought a glucose meter and have been measuring my levels. Until yesterday, I had some really good readings and was feeling optimistic. Saturday, I got off track, I think, without realizing it and now my glucose levels are in the 200's again. I'm not exactly sure what went wrong, but what I think happened is I mindlessly introduced some new foods into my diet without taking into account the effect on my blood sugar.
For breakfast I had a scrambled egg beater sandwich on low glycemic bread (Nothing new there. I've been eating that since my first glucose test.) For lunch, I had chicken strips from Chick-fil-a and a salad. I hadn't had chicken strips since my diagnosis and my body may have been sensitive to the carbohydrates in the breading. I don't know for sure. For a snack I had strawberries. It could be that I had too many strawberries for my body to handle. Also, the strawberries were just about to go bad (they were fine yesterday but they are all fuzzy today) so the sugar content may have been higher than normal as evidenced by the fact that they were so good. For dinner, I had sugar snap peas with roasted chicken. Despite it's moniker, sugar snap peas only have 7 carbs per serving and I had 2 servings. It's the only carb I had at that meal so I'm having a hard time believing it to be the lone cause for my high readings. But again, I don't know for sure.
In any event, I effed up and I effed up bad. I just pray that my glucose levels go back to normal soon as this can't be good for my body.
This whole thing has got me so frustrated. I feel helpless and out of control. Some days, I'm doing fine. Other days, like today, I want to break down and cry. And there is no one here (at the moment) to help me deal with this. I have never felt so alone in my entire life.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Today was a good day.
Thanks everyone for the encouraging comments in the previous post. It helps to know that I am not alone in this thing.
I had a really good day today. In fact, it was the best day I've had in a long time.
Since I've been eating healthier and watching my carb intake, I haven't felt the incessant need to drink my weight in fluids and my body feels like it's running smoother, if that makes sense. I even had energy after I got off of work today (this despite only getting 4 hours of sleep last night), and that almost NEVER happens. Normally by 5 p.m., I am dog tired. If I do anything after the 5 o'clock hour (and I always do), I have to force myself to do it. Not today. I bounced through the door and went straight to the kitchen to start dinner ('cause I was howngry!).
Speaking of food, I am having a hard time finding enough food to eat during the day while still maintaining a reasonable carb intake. I have set a goal of 30-45 grams of carbs per meal. What I'm finding is I meet my carb intake goal way before I've met my caloric needs for a meal. For instance, for lunch today, I had a can of Chunky's Vegetable Beef Soup and half a 6 ounce container of raspberries. Total carb content was approximately 46 grams. Caloric content was approximately 300 calories. Needless to say, I was hungry by 3 p.m.
Other than that, I am doing okay. For today. I moved my doctor's appointment up to Wednesday so I wouldn't have to experience the torture of waiting until Friday. My only concern is I'll find out something else is wrong with me. My blood test results showed that my white blood cell count was slightly high and my platelets were high. Lord only knows what that's about. I hope it's not anything too serious. I don't know if I can take any more bad news.
I had a really good day today. In fact, it was the best day I've had in a long time.
Since I've been eating healthier and watching my carb intake, I haven't felt the incessant need to drink my weight in fluids and my body feels like it's running smoother, if that makes sense. I even had energy after I got off of work today (this despite only getting 4 hours of sleep last night), and that almost NEVER happens. Normally by 5 p.m., I am dog tired. If I do anything after the 5 o'clock hour (and I always do), I have to force myself to do it. Not today. I bounced through the door and went straight to the kitchen to start dinner ('cause I was howngry!).
Speaking of food, I am having a hard time finding enough food to eat during the day while still maintaining a reasonable carb intake. I have set a goal of 30-45 grams of carbs per meal. What I'm finding is I meet my carb intake goal way before I've met my caloric needs for a meal. For instance, for lunch today, I had a can of Chunky's Vegetable Beef Soup and half a 6 ounce container of raspberries. Total carb content was approximately 46 grams. Caloric content was approximately 300 calories. Needless to say, I was hungry by 3 p.m.
Other than that, I am doing okay. For today. I moved my doctor's appointment up to Wednesday so I wouldn't have to experience the torture of waiting until Friday. My only concern is I'll find out something else is wrong with me. My blood test results showed that my white blood cell count was slightly high and my platelets were high. Lord only knows what that's about. I hope it's not anything too serious. I don't know if I can take any more bad news.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
So, as it turns out, I am not doing okay.
I won't know how not okay I am until I visit my doctor again on Friday. But from what I can gather from reading the results of the blood test that were mailed to me, I am not a well little girl. My glucose levels are more than three times what they should be, my electrolytes are down (probably as a result of frequent urination -- a symptom of diabetes), my thyroid levels are a little high and my hemoglobin levels are low.
It's no surprise my hemoglobin is low. I am anemic. And not long ago, I bled for six weeks straight (One of the reasons I have been too tired to post) after switching birth control pills. The thyroid levels were not much of a surprise either since my doctor had hinted that I might have thyroid problems.
The high glucose level is what has hit me the hardest emotionally. Both my mom and my uncle have Type 2 Diabetes, and I was hoping to avoid that fate. Not that I was doing anything to ward off the disease (In fact, I was actually doing things to aggravate the disease), but one can still hope.
For someone who enjoys cooking (and eating), a diabetes "diagnosis" (as I haven't actually seen my doctor yet to hear him say that word) feels like a death sentence. I'm a big fan of pasta and rice. I won't be able to eat those things anymore because this blasted disease will force me to watch my carb intake. My diet will now consist of non-starchy vegetables, meat and fruits. A healthy diet, to be sure, but is it any fun? I like to mix it up a little more than that. Sometimes, I eat vegetarian meals. I compensate for the lack of protein by adding beans and rice. That type of meal is out of the question now and my heart literally breaks as a result. I have been mourning the loss of carbohydrates from my diet all day.
Another thing that concerns me is that diabetes is a progressive disease. You can control it for a while but ultimately it gets worse and requires more intensive treatment. It's more than a little disturbing when I read on the diabetes message boards about how people struggle to get their glucose levels back to normal even though they eat right, exercise, etc. I'm not sure I'm ready for that kind of emotional rollarcoaster ride concerning my health.
So that, folks, is why I haven't been posting lately. I have felt like shit for a long time and I am just now learning why. It's a sad day in the Grizzbabe household.
It's no surprise my hemoglobin is low. I am anemic. And not long ago, I bled for six weeks straight (One of the reasons I have been too tired to post) after switching birth control pills. The thyroid levels were not much of a surprise either since my doctor had hinted that I might have thyroid problems.
The high glucose level is what has hit me the hardest emotionally. Both my mom and my uncle have Type 2 Diabetes, and I was hoping to avoid that fate. Not that I was doing anything to ward off the disease (In fact, I was actually doing things to aggravate the disease), but one can still hope.
For someone who enjoys cooking (and eating), a diabetes "diagnosis" (as I haven't actually seen my doctor yet to hear him say that word) feels like a death sentence. I'm a big fan of pasta and rice. I won't be able to eat those things anymore because this blasted disease will force me to watch my carb intake. My diet will now consist of non-starchy vegetables, meat and fruits. A healthy diet, to be sure, but is it any fun? I like to mix it up a little more than that. Sometimes, I eat vegetarian meals. I compensate for the lack of protein by adding beans and rice. That type of meal is out of the question now and my heart literally breaks as a result. I have been mourning the loss of carbohydrates from my diet all day.
Another thing that concerns me is that diabetes is a progressive disease. You can control it for a while but ultimately it gets worse and requires more intensive treatment. It's more than a little disturbing when I read on the diabetes message boards about how people struggle to get their glucose levels back to normal even though they eat right, exercise, etc. I'm not sure I'm ready for that kind of emotional rollarcoaster ride concerning my health.
So that, folks, is why I haven't been posting lately. I have felt like shit for a long time and I am just now learning why. It's a sad day in the Grizzbabe household.
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