The Diabetes Update

I have a family history of diabetes. So much so, that part of me has always felt that the diagnosis was inevitable (I do know that it wasn't, but that's not the point right now.)

January 19, 2013, my roommate drove me to the ER because my vision had gone blurry. The culprit, it turns out, was blood sugar so high it had caused my lenses to swell. I had just fought off a fairly serious bug, which is apparently a common trigger for people on the border of diabetes to tip over. Of course, I didn't just tip, I plummeted. My blood sugar was so high that we don't actually know how I was still alive, much less perfectly functioning (except for the eyesight).

I was put on quite a bit of medication, and went on about my life for a couple of weeks. I was still pretty exhausted from the virus, as well as the diabetes. I paid a lot of attention to the card counts (especially the sugar counts) in my food.

The quantity of pills I was taking was hard on my stomach. So, I resolved to get weaned off at least some of it. That meant, in part, losing weight. I started walking on a somewhat regular basis. I signed up for a 5K, and I joined Weight Watchers. 

Since joining WW In April 2013, I'm down 19 pounds (I was down 21, but I've gained a couple back). I've started working out much more regularly, and in fact just started a strength training program.

I'm on slightly less medication, but my goal is to get to half where I am now. I can walk up 3 flights of stairs without feeling like I'm going to die, but I'd like to get it to 5.  I've done another 5K, and I have plans for at least 3 more in the next few months. 

All in all, I'm actually healthier than I've been in a while.