I am on a mission to find out what works best for me to help control my blood sugars and if this info can help someone else along the way, the more worth it! At that time my doctor told me that with a better diet and increased exercise, I would be fine. However, I became caught up with all the hustles of life, becoming a single parent of two children (ages: 2, 4), and figuring out what to do in or
der to support and raise my children. Diet and exercise was not at the top of my priority list. As the years went by, slowly but surely, my doctor put me on medication and again suggested a change in diet and increased exercise to help control my diabetes. I took my medications from time to time, for as irritating as they were to my stomach, but never really gave much thought to the types of foods I was eating. I cut out most of the sugary foods and would have some every now and then, but not that often. However, I could never really seem to bring my sugar levels below 180. The highest they would go was 280. In the Spring of 2013, I went in for a Hemoglobin A1c Count test and my doctor urged that I begin taking insulin. She found that my A1c count had gone from 7.6 (2011) up to 8.9 (with my daily checks averaging around 209) and was concerned that if I didn't bring it down, my other organs would suffer the consequences of my stubbornness to not take better care of myself. She gave me 6 months to bring it under control or I would agree to let her teach me how to give myself shots. Her final words to me that day were, "I will see you in 6 months. I want you to prove to yourself that you can't do it!" So, I left her office that day feeling both irritated and challenged. Six months went by and we were in the midst of the holiday season. And if you are Hispanic, you know what we were baking at that time...TAMALES! :-)
No, I didn't go see her. But, what I did see, as I was out shopping for holiday stuff, slapped me in the face--I think my cheek is permanently red from it. I cried in the grocery store as I watched a boy, not much older than 15 or 16, if that, pushing his mother, a woman of at least 400 lbs, around in a wheelchair. I couldn't see her ankles due to the fat from her legs draping over them. She wore slippers with slits cut into the tops of them to widen them for her feet to fit, and the boy had such a helpless and confused look on his face as he tried to figure out what she was asking him to find on the shelf. As he looked for what she needed, she gawked at him, saying, "If it wasn't for this damn diabetes, I wouldn't be in this chair and I could get sh!t on my own!" That made me cry. I felt angry over her lack of appreciation for her son's efforts, but also scared of the thought of that could be me if I don't take care of myself; plus the burden that I would be placing on my children because of my own selfish acts—since I was at a point where I could still help myself. So I helped him find the Nutmeg in the spice rack and went around the other side of that aisle and cried...
In realizing that diabetes was not the only issue for that woman to be in that situation, it still scared me to think that because of my selfish actions of not taking proper care of myself, I could be opening up the flood-gates for other diseases and illnesses to manifest within me. I didn't want that for me or for my children. My two older kids were 18 and 20, and starting college. At that time, my youngest was 12. I didn't want that to someday be me and the boy pushing me around, my 12 year old. The two older kids would be too busy with school and their own lives. In November of 2013, I weighed 234 lbs. and my daily blood sugars averaged between 195 and 280. I had tried other diet supplements and shakes/meal replacements, everything that offers a quick fix to losing weight, but found that it was all good and dandy up until your body gets used to it, it stops working and you have to spend more money on other supplements and exercise videos to help you lose the weight. By that time, it all becomes too costly and draining on the pocketbook. In February 2014, I weaned myself off of diet sodas--which, by the way, are the WORST thing ever for you!!--and became addicted to drinking pure H20 and some coffee and iced teas (all unsweetened and with no creamers). From the time period between February and May, I had also stopped eating the small amount of chocolate candy, ice cream, pastas and other bread products. I also increased the amounts of fruits, vegetables and proteins in my diet--all which contributed to my losing 17 lbs. I was excited about it and feeling on top of the world! Yet, I was still afraid to go and take that A1c Count test my doctor was urging me for. It was very hard work to change my nutritional lifestyle, but I kept thinking back to the lady and her son in the store, and that thought helped me through the tough times. I developed a “Just get it done!” mentality and began using the old mind-over-matter psychology technique to do it. In May, I began incorporating some light exercise into my daily routine. My coworker, (and awesome friend) motivated me to go walking with her on our lunch hour--besides, we could always eat our food at our desk while doing our work afterwards--and by the end of July, I had lost another 10 lbs. Our walks turned into hour-long workouts as we began walking 3½ miles a day while lifting 5 to 8 lbs dumbells during our walks for toning of the muscles and to help burn fat. So by the time August came around, I decided to go in for the blood test my doctor had ordered the year before...Eeeek!!! A week later, I was so thrilled when I received her letter stating that my Hemoglobin A1c was at 7.2 and the average glucose count (daily) was at 160 (although, that number needed some improvement)! No insulin was needed at that time anymore!! My daily numbers were ranging between 95 and 140. :-)
So, just as I'm feeling happy and comfortable with my nutritional lifestyle change, workouts, weight loss and about my diabetes being under control, that's when trouble in paradise began. One afternoon at work, I checked my blood sugar count two hours after eating my lunch. My glucometer registered at 53. Thinking it might have been a glitch, I waited a few moments and checked again. It registered at 46. Being intrigued by this, I checked again after 5 minutes and saw it had dropped to 38. Then I began to notice the cold sweat on my back, the shaking and my heart rate increasing. All this within 13 minutes from when I first tested. I went from feeling focused on my work to being confused and in a mental fog. I drank some orange juice, ate some Lifesaver candies and called for a ride home from work since I couldn’t think straight. The ER doctor that evening suggested I go eat something unhealthy (ice cream/dessert) that night and to not take my evening meds. Since it wasn’t the first time that I had felt that way, and especially at night time, my doctor cut my evening dosage completely, thinking that it would solve this issue. However, I would still wake up in the middle of the night feeling like my heart was going to pop out of my chest from how hard it was pounding. I never knew what was happening because all of those symptoms would occur while I was asleep and I would only wake up once my heart would start to pound fast and I would be drenched in sweat. My son found himself scrambling to find something with sugar in the house to help bring my sugars back up. It was the scariest thing ever! Not only could I not think or do for myself, but I had to depend--for the very first time--on a scared and confused 13 year old boy, who did not know what to do to help his mom. As the weeks went by, my blood sugars were still dropping into the 60's, 50's and 40's. The symptoms I experienced during those times were: cold sweats, chills, uncontrollable shaking, feelings of being in a mental fog (60-30 range), can't think straight, focus or concentrate on anything. Almost daily, I would wake up in the middle of the night feeling these symptoms and feeling like my heart was about to pop out of my chest. I had migraines from the moment I awoke due to this. Then came the worst mood swings and emotional roller coasters EVER! On a 24/7 basis! I found myself depressed and crying over the most insignificant of things and dealing with situations much differently than how I would have dealt with them had I been of a much sounder mind. And once that happened, I found myself making mistakes. Some huge, others not so much, but some that will carry a consequence that I will have to learn to live with, for as heartbreaking as it may be. Needless to say, the past several weeks have been grueling, and after reducing my medications and increasing the complex carbs in my diet, I have been on the road to recovery from this. I won’t lie... I have my days. However, the most important thing is that my blood sugars are at a more consistent level (75-140) now. I am working on trying to keep them between 85 and 140, but all with time, healthy eating, a consistent exercise routine and lots of faith. Since July, I have lost another 23 lbs (totaling 50 lbs lost) and am feeling great! I’m still working on finding that perfect balance between food and exercise to prevent my blood sugars from falling too far below 90, but also to avoid them from spiking too high by the end of the day. Exercise wise, I realize there’s a lot more I could do in order to achieve a much healthier weight level for my height and body frame, but I have to do it by way of not subjecting myself into any hypoglycemic episodes. What works for you?
