Yes, I said it. I’m a diabetic.
                                                By Michelle Bollom

A trip to the ER this January for what I thought was just another chest X-ray for a nasty cold I had during the month of December turned out to be anything but normal or routine.

I had been feeling really run down and could not get over a recent diagnosis of bronchitis and a sinus infection. I was on the third round of antibiotics and I just knew something was off.  A wonderful ER doctor did a nuclear CT scan and sent me rushing to a cardiologist. This ER doctor saved my life.

The cardiologist immediately admitted me into the hospital for three days. I was on an IV Heparin drip and had numerous tests run.  Final diagnosis was that I had suffered a “TIA”.  I had no idea what it was until the doctor explained to me and in short this is the definition of a TIA, or transient ischemic attack.

Tests indicated that my liver was enlarged and my liver enzymes were way too high. My gastroenterologist made a diagnosis of NAFLD (Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease) and referred me to an endocrinologist. The endocrinologists took blood and ran numerous tests.

I did not suspect anything major. But just a couple days later, it happened just like you see in the movies when the doctor sits behind his big desk giving bad news to the patient sitting uneasily in front of him. That’s exactly how they broke it to me. They pulled me out of the patient room, took me into the doctors office, he sat behind his big desk and began to tell me that the diagnosis was the big “D” word—Diabetes!

What? Diabetes? I felt like I was spinning out of control and I really wanted to cry, but instead stopped the urge to break down and have a slobbering snot-filled cry right in front of the doctor. The doctor sensing my fear and uncertainty at the news reassured me that it was ok to cry. Being diagnosed with diabetes is BIG news. I ended up holding it together until I got in my car, but I barely remember the drive home. My eyes filled with tears, and I felt devastated by this news. 

The ADA makes the classes now mandatory for all newly diagnosed diabetics.

Yes, I said it. I am now known as “diabetic”.

I have yet to find a stylish diabetic notification bracelet or necklace to wear because you have to wear one. It’s that serious of a disease that people around you need to know you are one so they know what to do to help you.

The reality of being a diabetic is overwhelming. The endless checking of blood sugars and medicines. The highs and lows of life now revolve around the blood sugar numbers.  Keep it under this number in the mornings and it will be a good day.  If it goes over this number it is crisis time and reason for concern.  If it runs high, that can mean you have an infection or a reaction to medicines or foods you ate. You have to check first thing in the morning, then check again before and after working out, and then again after lunch and dinner. My fingers are so sore from my shots that I look for new areas of my fingertips to prick.

My family has even begun to recognize the warning signs and ask me to check my blood sugar when I get grouchy.  The information provided in the classes can scare you half to death. Your brain hurts from all the data and trying to keep it all straight.

And, much to my dismay, there are no more pedicures!

The risk of getting an infection from being cut it too great. This makes it seem like a prison sentence.  I hate to do my own pedicures and now my nice little nail lady that is like Michael Angelo with a callus remover could no longer make my feet a work of art. Oh, how I mourned the loss! Might be insignificant to some, but to me, it was major! How do I to get the calluses off? And not only that, but there is another doctor you have to see twice a year called a podiatrist!!  I was not even 40 yet, but the word “podiatrist” made me feel like I was 80!

Cheeseburger in paradise? Not for me anymore!

            Thankfully, the watching of the sweets was not my biggest concern. My nutritionist said you can have them occasionally in small portions. It was more sad news to me that a cheeseburger now could only be eaten with one side of the bun unless it was a child-size burger. If you have ever tried to eat a Whataburger with only one bun, you will know it takes all the pleasure out of a cheeseburger. I once loved cheeseburgers and they are now a long lost friend that rarely keeps in touch.

          You have to be very creative in your meal preparations. Eating and food take on a whole new meaning with diabetes. I no longer feel the same way about food. I see it now as what keeps my body running well and the better fuel I put in, the better I run.

My doctors now believe that I had Gestational Diabetes with my pregnancy in 1999, almost nine years ago with the birth of my twins. I have lived with this disease for almost nine years and didn’t know about it. Years back after my total hysterectomy in 2002, my ob/gyn diagnosed me with Metabolic Syndrome, a fancy name for pre-diabetes. Come to find out now, in 2008, that I actually have diabetes! 

My primary doctor at the time felt no reason to treat me for diabetes or to be concerned with the diagnosis. Now I can see all the symptoms and signs over the past six years that together point directly to diabetes. My endocrinologists said that fasting blood tests does not always tell if someone has diabetes. They ran the four-hour glucose tolerance test and that is how they finally diagnosed diabetes for me.

            With women especially and their hormones and other conditions that have the same symptoms, it is very hard to determine if someone has diabetes without doing the 2 – 4 hour glucose tolerance blood tests. Most people live undiagnosed from five to 10 years.

 If I can just save one woman from the pain, sorrow and frustration I have gone through, it is worth writing this column and sharing my story!

Women, please ask your doctor to do a two to four hour fasting glucose tolerance test if you have any of the symptoms listed in the Diabetes Statistics below. Diabetes is not a death sentence. It takes organization, making better choices with diet and exercise, and working with your doctor or doctors to learn ways to live a great healthy life.

 Through it all, God has kept me in his wonderful hands. I was discouraged, but each time I was down he would show me something that would pick me right back up. A scripture that kept me inspired that I still read each day follows:

 “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace [Who imparts all blessing and favor], Who has called you to His [own] eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will Himself complete and make you what you ought to be, establish and ground you securely, and strengthen, and settle you.” 1 Peter 5:10 (Amplified Bible)

I realize now that diabetes was a blessing in many ways. Now I am forced to take better care of myself. God in all his magnificent Glory was still working in me making me what I ought to be, establishing me, grounding me, securing me and strengthening me. I know the settle will come in his timing and not mine.

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