Since I'm getting closer to my blood tests for my blood sugar around April 10th or so, I decided to take a look at my last blood work. I compared it to the blood work from December. In that one month my blood sugars got worse. I think as my thyroid got better, the sugars went up (which is the usual thing for someone hypothyroid who also has blood sugar issues). Everything indicates that indeed, I am diabetic. My fasting blood sugar results were 145 the first time and 209 the second time. The HA1C test was 8.7 in January, which is in the range of poorly controlled blood sugars.
Now, I am doing everything in my power to make it better naturally. I am staying away from simple carbs all together (just two occasions I had something simple carbs). I'm exercising 6 days a week. I'm losing weight at a decent, safe rate. I am worrying a little bit about what those blood tests will say. What if they are still high numbers? I can cut carbs some more. That's true. Right now I eat about 100 net grams of carbs a day - mostly from veggies and fruit (light on fruit). I could eat closer to 50 if needed. I could take glucose readings after meals (1 hour and/or 2 hour) to see what my trigger foods are and eliminate them if needed. Beyond that, it's out of my control at this point.
It's a shame that I let myself get to the diabetic state. Sure, I can get test results back that have my fasting blood sugar well under 100 and my HA1C under 6.5, but those numbers would only appear because of what I'm doing which is what any diabetic should do - naturally controlling blood sugar levels as much as they can. Most likely, I will need to eat like this the rest of my life - avoiding breads, pastas, rice and other simple carbs. Much of it I shouldn't have even if I wasn't diabetic, but I made it more difficult on myself by being overweight and unfit. The only way I could really know if I 'cured' my diabetes is if I took that 3 hour fasting test where you drink a sugary drink and they track it. If my insulin was able to take care of the sugars, then I am not diabetic and it was just the thyroid that was causing the problem and the extra weight and unfit state. But, they don't do those tests usually and I'm not sure I would want to sit through that (again) just to know. But, I will get some test strips and a glucose monitor so I can find out my triggers. It's something I should know.
I look at those tests and I think I knew I was going to have blood sugar issues. It's what kept me away from the doctor for several years. I didn't want to know. I was actually beginning to think to myself, "Well, I feel like crap. I don't really care if I live a long life. Long enough to see my kids grow up, but that's enough." I was surprised at the bad thyroid and the blood pressure issues, but in general, I felt like crap, so I didn't care very much. I was afraid to face a lifelong illness. So, I'm glad I had those terrible headaches for three months that finally forced me into a doctor.
It's obvious now that I was in a depression. I understand it, however. I had been in a funk since my pregnancy 6 years ago. The pregnancy was difficult and then I was handed a very difficult baby. He didn't sleep, which means I didn't sleep. It's one thing if you sleep most nights well and only occasionally lose sleep, but I was never getting a good night's sleep. Every single night for 3 years he woke up 5-7 times a night and had to be comforted back to sleep (with some nights he would be awake for 3 hours in the middle of the night). Once I finally got him to stop that, he would wake up only once, but at 2 am or 3 am and stay awake until 5 am. For over a year he did that 3-4 times a week, with it slowly decreasing in frequency. Finally, when he was about 5 I was able to teach him to stay in bed and to let me sleep when he had one of those sleepless nights. He still gets them about every 6-8 weeks, but now it doesn't disturb me.
Of course, by then, my health had gone to pot and now "I" wasn't sleeping 3-4 times a week for a year, and then the headaches started and got worse. I really wasn't even sure what I wanted, but a long, miserable life was not one of them. It was only having a young child that made me want to live long enough to see him raised.
Severe sleep deprivation is a killer. It really is. And so, the headaches forced me to the doctor and within a week, I was sleeping again and the depression slipped away very quickly - within 2-3 weeks as I recharged my brain. Sleep deprived induced depression. Who wouldn't be depressed? The body and head get completely messed up when it never gets recharged.
So, yes, it sucks that I still have high blood pressure. That I hope will disappear soon. Yes it sucks that my thyroid is messed up, but that is easily treatable. And yes it sucks I am probably diabetic, but I am sure hoping that I can control that naturally too and not have diabetic problems. I am really lucky that I hadn't done any permanent damage to my body yet - kidneys are fine, heart is fine, eyes are fine. If it wasn't for the high blood pressure induced headaches, who knows how long it would have taken me to go in to the doctor's office. I could have had a stroke, gotten kidney disease, or worse. So, yes, I'm thankful to the headaches for forcing me to face the doctor. It's not so bad to deal with what I'm dealing with. I feel great and hope to keep feeling better and better!
Stats for 3/25/11:
Beginning weight: 255.6 Now: 230.4 (that pound disappeared, but those 230s won't let go!)
Exercise totals for 2011: 78 hours
Walking totals in 2011: 255/1000
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