Diabetes-Life Struggle

I have been a diabetic for twenty years. When I was first diagnosed, I was sent to a nutritionist. The person was a complete waste of $75. He did not listen to the fact I have food allergies. He insisted I MUST eat 2000 calories a day (I had never eaten 2000 calories a day in my life). He also insisted I MUST eat foods I was allergic to.

My doctor put me on the maximum dose of Metformin...a drug which will ruin your kidneys. Hello, I already have diabetes, do we need to incapacitate me, too???? Why not the lowest dose?

I attempted to eat healthy, but found myself steadily gaining weight. No one told me the diabetes meds would cause weight gain. Ugh. So, I am supposed to lose weight and you put me on meds causing me to gain weight. Makes sense...to no one with a working brain.

Over the years we played with different kinds of diabetes meds. Some I couldn't take due to reactions. Others didn't seem to work. I was frustrated, so I ate. I would try dieting them found myself binge eating. It was a vicious cycle.

Finally, in 2002 I started Weight Watchers. I lost fifteen pounds. I felt better. 2003 brought a job transfer, stress, and elevated blood sugars. Doubled the weight I had lost. Saw an endocrinologist who was sure I had Hashi Moto Syndrome, too. She put me on Byeta. What a nightmare. Since I didn't have Hashi Moto's. She passed me off to her PA. First, I detest PAs and won't see them if I can avoid it. Second, the Byeta gave me nausea after every meal. I couldn't take it. We parted ways.

Then a dear friend and mentor died of diabetic complications. She was fifty-eight, the age I planned to retire. It was my wake up call. I had to take control.

I started by making a fist. Your fist is the size your stomach is supposed to be. I used salad plates for my meals, pushed all the food to the center of the plate, made a fist, took my knife and went around my fist. Everything on the outside went into a container for the next meal. I did this in restaurants, too. Then took a doggy bag home.

The first year, I lost twenty-five pounds just using portion control. I can't begin to tell you how much better I felt.

Year two, I started watching what I ate. No more junk food. No fried foods. I was still doing portion control. More vegetables were added to my diet. The result at the end of the year was another twenty-five pounds lost.

So, with the help of a friend, year three, I added thirty minutes of walking five days a week. It was amazing. I was still doing everything from years one and two. I bought a pedometer which played classical music when I walked. It was not loud, just enough so you knew it was there. By the end of the year I was down another twenty-five pounds.

So for all you math folks, I was losing 2.08 pounds a month. I'd lost a total of seventy-five pounds. It was staying off.

Then, something unexpected happened. I retired. A full two years before I planned to retire. Determined not to sit around and gain weight, I spent three months of winter in south Texas. Where I walked, swam, and continued the previous years good habits. I bought the book The 30 Day Diabetes Cure and started following it.

You guessed it. I was down another twenty-five pounds. My sugar levels were dropping. I no longer needed my rescue inhalant for my asthma.

Still, I needed to lose thirty-five pounds. I learned I binge eat when I am stressed. Yet, I was healthier than I had been in years. People noticed. A friend didn't recognize me one day when I stopped into the school for a visit.

I got rid of my "fat" clothes. They were just taking up space in my closet and dresser. My house got a make over and I sold it in March, 2015.

I moved to Johns Island, SC in April, 2015. Living in an apartment was a trip. I forgot how thin the walls could be. After six months, I bought a house. It was cute and full of charm, but was not meant to be my forever home.

My blood sugars were out of control. There was no place safe to walk. I played with a five to ten pound gain/loss. I knew I could not take Lantus insulin. Levemir worked for two years before causing nausea after every shot.

I was trying desperately to control my sugars and nothing was working. My stress level was out-of-sight. One night my sugar was so high before dinner, I called a friend and asked her to take me to the ER. After four and a half hours I was put on Novaflex.

It worked wonderfully for about three weeks, then I broke out in a rash. Guess who is allergic to insulin?? Yep, me.

I'm struggling. I moved back to Michigan at the end of 2017. Saw an endocrinologist and refused to return. He prescribed Lantus, which I knew I was allergic to. My regular doctor wanted me to take Lipitor for cholesterol. Lipitor causes diabetes in some women. Imagine what it does to someone who is already a diabetic. Picture me in search of a new doctor.

Then a friend found an all natural med which took her A1c from 8.9 to 6.9 in six weeks. I ordered the seven day trial and thought I was onto something. So, I ordered it. Surprise, surprise. Guess seven days wasn't enough to discover I am allergic to it.

I called the company today. They took all my information and symptoms. Someone is supposed to call me. back.

My current plan is to go lean meat, low carb. Add walking back in. We'll see if it makes a difference. I am pretty much ready to give up.

TTFN