Diabetes and me........ ....sigh.....

 

I was diagnosed with Diabetes in 2001.  I was at the doctor's office because I had not been feeling well, to say the least.  I had been feeling really crummy, in fact.  The doctor drew labs and did an EKG, and told me the only thing wrong with me was that I was diabetic.  That's all he told me.  Literally "You're diabetic.  Go on a diabetic diet."  No referrals, no information on what a diabetic diet was, no handout, just "Go on a diabetic diet."  Not even how many calories a day!  He did write me a prescription for Actos, but that was it.  The Actos was not good for me.  My blood sugar dropped a lot.  We later tried Starlix, which, again, was not good for me.  These are both great meds, but they didn't work for me.  Later, a different doctor put me on Glucovance, which is a combination of Metformin and Glyburide.  This worked pretty well for me for a while.  Now, I am Insulin Dependent.  It is a journey.  It is a journey that will not end any time soon.  It is frustrating and sometimes downright hard.  I hate Diabetes.

 

 What has frustrated me the most about this journey is the lack of information I came up against.  This was 2001, fairly early in the internet game.  I could just plug something into a search engine back then.  Not everyone had internet.  Not only that, I am of a certain age.  In 2001, I was forty, and learning this whole internet thing was a challenge.  I didn't grow up in the internet generation.  The doctor said "Go on a diabetic diet."  What, exactly, is a diabetic diet.  Is there just one?  How do I know whom to trust?  Who do I call for this information?  And how do I frankly afford the information?  I was a stay-at-home mother with very, VERY limited resources.  I looked for a book, and found a couple that were very little help.  Where could I turn?  

So here's what I'm going to do.  I am going to share all the information I have found.  I am going to search out more information.  I am going to use this blog, among other things, to share this information.  I will read books, look online, meet with nutritionists and diabetic educators, and found out everything I can about how to deal with diabetes.  Then, I will post it.  Follow me in my journey.  Maybe we can all learn something together.  And feel free to comment, and share and information or sources of information, or questions you may have.  I'll try my best to find the answer.

November, come to find out, is Diabetes Awareness Month.  Who knew?  I didn't know.