Most of the time I blog about my depression. I think it is because it is the illness that is most affecting my life right now. Since November is National Diabetes Month, I thought over the next few days I would blog about diabetes and the effect it has had on me, same facts about diabetes and some myths about diabetes.
I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes in May of 2008. I was 38 years old. When I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes I felt completely blind sided and devastated and oddly enough a little bit relieved at times.
About 10 months before I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, I had been diagnosed with Asthma. From the time of my Asthma diagnosis, I never felt good. I had frequent Asthma attacks that required emergency treatment and I felt so very tired all of the time. I attributed the fatigue to the Asthma.
If I had the usual symptoms you have when you have untreated Type 2 Diabetes, I never noticed them. I already urinated more frequently than most people, and because of some medications I was on, I was always thirsty anyway. I do recall in the last few weeks before I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes that I was even more thirsty, but I did not think anything of it. The only thing I really noticed was the constant fatigue.
One Friday in May, I began having some difficulty breathing. I used my nebulizer several times, but it seemed to have no effect. Since my breathing was getting worse, I decided that I needed to go to the Emergency Room and get some help. When I got there, I was taken straight back and the triage nurse performed her assessment. I was also started on a breathing treatment.
The doctor came in and told me that my blood pressure was incredibly high. I sort of laughed and said I was not surprised considering how many breathing treatments I had given myself before I had gone to the Emergency Room. The doctor did not appear to be as amused as I was. In fact, he insisted that he do some blood work. He was concerned that I had congestive heart failure because of my breathing difficulties and the high blood pressure. I agreed to let him run the blood work, I was not worried at all, as far as I was concerned there was nothing wrong with me except that I was having an asthma attack.
I did notice that the nurses started treating me a bit differently, paying more attention to me, going out of their way to make sure I was comfortable, I was moved from a curtained bed area to a room that was much more private. I still did not worry about anything “not good” showing up in my blood work.
The doctor finally came back to my room. He sat down. It was at that point that I actually began to worry. I knew by his demeanor something bad had been found in my blood work. I was preparing myself for a diagnosis of congestive heart failure. When doctor told me that I did not have congestive heart failure, I was so happy that it did not really register that he went on to tell me that my blood sugar was 442 and I had Type 2 Diabetes. It finally began to sink into my brain that even though I did not have congestive heart failure there was still something very serious wrong with me. Initially, the doctor thought about admitting me into the hospital so that my blood sugar could be monitored. In the end, he agreed to let me go home because I happened to have a glucose meter that had belonged to my father. He told me he was going to give me a prescription for glucophage and that I needed to see a doctor about the Type 2 Diabetes as soon as possible.
While I was happy that it was not congestive heart failure, my brain could not completely wrap itself around the fact that I had Type 2 Diabetes. Even though I had several family members who had Type 2 Diabetes and knew I was at a higher risk to develop it, I never thought that I would.
Shortly after the doctor left my room, a nurse came in with a syringe. She told me she needed to give me a shot of insulin either in my thigh or stomach. I promptly burst into uncontrollable tears. You see, shots/needles are a phobia of mine and the thought of having to get a shot in either my stomach or my thigh totally freaked me out. The nurse calmly talked to me and told me she could give me the injection in the back of my arm. The arm was a location that appealed to me because it was a place where I was used to receiving injections so I agreed. After I was given the injection I was sent home, I was told to monitor my blood sugar, but I was not given any clear instructions about how or when to do that.
That weekend was a very tense weekend for me and my husband. We were constantly checking my blood sugar. At the time we had no idea when the best times were to check blood sugar so we were checking it every hour. The glucophage upset my stomach. I was halfway convinced that the diabetes diagnosis had to be a mistake. We were also wondering if I would be able to get an appointment with an Endocrinologist on Monday.
I knew that once again that my life was going to take a drastic turn due to an illness, but I had no clear idea how this change was going to manifest itself.
To be continued…….Diabetes and Me – My Diagnosis Part II tomorrow
Diabetes Facts and Myths
information from American Diabetes Association
Facts – Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 Diabetes is the most common form of Diabetes
In Type 2 Diabetes, either the body does not produce enough insulin or the cells ignore the insulin
Being overweight is one of the leading risk factors for Type 2 Diabetes.
A family history is one of the strongest risk factors for developing Type 2 Diabetes.
Fiction
Myth: Diabetes is not that serious of a disease.
Fact: Diabetes causes more deaths a year than breast cancer and AIDS combined. Two out of three people with diabetes die from heart disease or st
roke.
Myth: If you have type 2 diabetes and your doctor says you need to start using insulin, it means you’re failing to take care of your diabetes properly.
Fact: For most people, type 2 diabetes is a progressive disease. When first diagnosed, many people with type 2 diabetes can keep their blood glucose at a healthy level with oral medications. But over time, the body gradually produces less and less of its own insulin, and eventually oral medications may not be enough to keep blood glucose levels normal. Using insulin to get blood glucose levels to a healthy level is a good thing, not a bad one.
