Here's one of my first posts I had on friendster about 3 years ago. I always have lots of things to be thankful for during Thanksgiving, but it's also the anniversary of where over a period of days I found out I had type-2 Diabetes. I guess this is why I tend to focus on just having time off from work, watching football, and not seem to care too much about food around this time when everyone else is ...........................
From December 2005:
The weekend after Thanksgiving, for some reason I had a craving for Orange Juice and Apple Juice. For the first time in my life, I was wanting to drink that, instead of sodas or coffee drinks. Anyways, I just kept getting thirsty and I was also drinking lots of other liquids. I was wanting more to drink things than eat for some reason. Anyways, the weekend went on and I didn't think much about it. Just thought I might be coming down with a cold or flu. Well Sunday night, I had a tough time going to sleep. I was so thirsty that I kept drinking water all night- in fact, I had two glasses of water in my room at all times. I literally would wake up every hour or so, pee, drink more water, get more water from downstairs, and try to go back to sleep. This cycle just kept going on for hours that I ended up calling in sick the following Monday because I was feeling crappy, tired, and my throat felt really dry. During this time, I also started to notice that my 20/20 vision (via LASIK a couple years ago) was getting a bit blurry every here and there. So, I just stayed home on Monday just to relax.
That same night, I went through the whole thing again with the water, bathroom, etc. So, I went to the doctor on Tuesday and took a urine test. Found out that my blood sugar (glucose) level was at 450!! Your glucose level is supposed to be around 100 or between 70-140. Took a blood test and another urine test the next day while fasting and the results verified the same thing. So, as of my doctor's visit on 12/2/05, I am now officially a "Diabetic." Type 2, so I have to take medication, but not Type 1 where I need to have insulin shots.
I was given medication to bring my blood sugar level down and it worked. I felt fine after that. A few days later, I was given a second one. Then, I started having problems. When I started taking the 1st med, my eyesight started coming back. I visited the eye doctor (optometrist/ophthalmologist) and I was close to 20/20 again and the eyes looked healthy. A few days after taking the 2nd med, my eyesight got blurry again. This was weird because your eyesight is supposed to be blurry when your sugar level is off the charts, but mine was normal. Told the doctor this and he thought it was just my eyes adjusting to the "changes" going on. A few days later that's when I realized this started happening after the 2nd medication. So, I skipped an evening dose and wouldn't you know it, my vision vastly improved the next day!!!
I was thinking about how my eyesight would be fighting to focus throughout the day and then in the morning it would be blurry and it was like deja vu every day. That's when I realized the only consistent thing in my system was the evening medication that I was taking. That's why I skipped that day's dosage. Thing is, eyesight being blurry is not a side effect of this drug. Go figure.
So, now I'm living my life watching what I eat, staying away from sweets, monitoring my blood sugar with my new trusty glucometer, exercising (slowly building up), and having alot of water around me. So far, I'm doing well and I eat alot of chicken, steak, pork chops, sausage, jello, etc. Hardly or no white bread, candy, RICE, regular sodas, ALCOHOL, etc. Almost as if I'm on Atkin's diet, which I did a couple of years ago and I did lose like 16 pounds in a month.
I'm taking this as a challenge to myself to get back into good shape. I used to be one of those guys that people looked up to because I would work out twice a day and eat whatever I wanted like when I was at USF. I was in the best shape of my life back then and I'm hoping I can get somewhere close to where I once was. I always make a New Year's promise to get my weight down and I always start motivated and then I stop. Maybe this is God's way of helping me get back into "Bigsexy" shape? Only time will tell, but for my drinking buddies out there......that time is gone. I guess I'm your designated driver now. And, you know how I hate being the one taking care of the drunks!
Everyone please take care of yourselves and even if you don't watch what you eat or workout, please try to drink more water everyday. Try to take the stairs instead of the elevator when you are only going up or down 1-2 floors. Try to cut down on eating fast food, which is full of sodium, sugar, fat, calories, and carbs, although there are some healthy things at McDonalds, Burger King, etc.... Park in the middle of the parking lot instead of in front of the store. It will make a difference in your life. We aren't getting any younger and those days when we were teenagers and in our early 20's when we thought we were invincible might catch up to you. I just want to live for a long time and have ALL my friends there with me, ya know? We need to live, not just for ourselves, but for our loved ones as well. =)
Peace, love, happiness, Happy Holidays, and sincerely,
-Paul.G.Togonon-
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