Hi Steve,
Welcome. It sounds like you are on top of things. I agree with what Tom said…take it one day at a time. You will find that often, one day is completely different than the one before it. There are lot of people here if you need help! Your friend Mike sounds very inspiring!
Wow! You make it sound so easy. Here’s what you need to do…and you did it. Hopefully your doc will use you as an example to others who are newly diagnosed. Good job…hope all continues to go well for you, and good luck to your wife.
Hi Steve VERY VERY well done. The bottom line is this. CHECK OFTEN, ACT IMMEDIATELY AND ACCORDINGLY and then you can do whatever needs to be done because you will see the cause and effect results via your glucometer. There certainly is to some extent a profile for diabetics, and this is balnced by many individual things, including your lifestyle.
In terms of the symptoms, you seem to have experienced the very slow sneaky onset that happens to people as thier bodies adjust to the fact that they are running out of insulin at a very slow rate. As this occurs, you are become more ill day by day. Our bodies are conditioned in many ways, both mentally and physically to adapt to different situations, and a slow decline of insulin is no exception. We have no idea how long this has been going on, or how much longer until you became noticeably ill. Some type two’s find out they are diabetic from a simple eye exam, because they had no idea that thier sugars were in fact escalating very slowly, and some eye damage has occured.
For me it’s and ends justifies the means kind of thing. The maintainance is huge but the rewards are MASSIVE!!! I am on Intensive Insulin Therapy (5 to 7 needles a day) check approximately six times a day, and am doing just fine. Keep watching your glucometer because this is your gas gauge and as things change (and they will), you can do whatever (diet/pills/injections) to have REASONABLE control. We are after progress, not perfection.
I always recomend Dr Richard Berstein’s book “Diabetes Solution” because he is both an Endocrinologist and a diabetic. I don’t mean to keep plugging it however, if you are curious about my experience check out some things I have blogged about in Oprah’s Diabetes Support Board. It is at www.oprah.com/community/community/health/diabetes
It is called Diabetes The Real Cost. All of our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. No need to respond, just get better!!!
Love Always
The Anonymous Diabetic.
I would like to meet your friend, Mike. I have had type 1 for 55 years and I am 58 now. I am still going strong and I wonder what his theories will be with people who have never had all the advances in medicine readily available to them, and they are still going. Yes, now the information is available to me and I use it well, with the pump and GCM - is it just luck, or better judgement or maybe its in the genes that we are still around ?
Sheila
Sheila,
Thanks for responding. Sorry I have not responded sooner. I have not been on here in awhile. If you would like the contact information for my friend Mike, email me at cboocat@aol.com. Just let me know where you are contacting me from. Mike said it is OK to give the information out if it is regarding Diabetes.