Chronic illness is part of my life; on top of having Rheumatoid Arthritis and Wegener’s Granulomatosis, I also have diabetes. When I started taking prednisone for my WG and RA I had to become more aware of my blood sugars. Prednisone increases blood sugars and I was scared. I watched someone that I loved dearly die from complications from diabetes and it wasn’t a pretty sight. Because I saw the effects of what can happen when you don’t take care of yourself, I was especially aware of how diligent I had to be with more than one chronic condition.
I sometimes feel like saying, “Screw it all,” but I don’t mean it.
There are two types of diabetes.
Type 1 Diabetes
A form of diabetes where your pancreas doesn’t work and you need insulin. It is not brought on my making poor choices. It shows up in childhood.
Type 2 Diabetes
A form of diabetes previously brought on in adulthood and now in teenagers who are making poor choices: Poor choices in what they are choosing to eat and staying sedentary.
I have Type 2. I have made poor choices. There are 21 million American’s who have diabetes. It is the 7th cause of death in American. That is scary. Especially since Type 2 can be stopped by merely making better choices in what you eat and moving your body more often.
When I was younger, I didn’t think diabetes would affect me. But when I was 27 years old, I had my first blood test and my blood sugars were in the 500’s. Also, my boyfriend at the time, had type 2 diabetes and chose not to take care of himself. He chose to give up. He chose to eat junk food and not move his body anymore. I watched him kill himself.
While caring for him, I in turn, started eating poorly. Before we lived together, I ate well. Yes, I was fat, but not to the proportion that I am now; I was never a size 10, but I lived with older parents who were watching their cholesterol, salt, sugar, etc. I learned from them. We ate out once a week, usually after church on Sundays. The rest of the time my mom would make nutritious meals. My mom made her own salad dressing and we used plain yogurt instead of sour cream before it was cool. This was in the late 80’s and early 90’s. My mom is a rock star.
Although, I had a great example for making healthy choices, growing up. I changed all that when I moved with someone who didn’t have good nutrition. I am not blaming him. I made the choices that I did. I am making better choices now. It’s a slow process, but you know what? Any new habit you build doesn’t happen overnight. No matter how much you want it to. It’s not instant.
It takes the body 3 months to recycle blood and build new cells. That is why it is important to have an A1C test every 3 months. I am due for mine now.
Diabetes needs to have a proactive action plan. Meaning, that you must make steps to change what you eat, and how you eat, and even how often you exercise. It’s also important to see your doctor. If you have had diabetes for more than ten years it is important to get an MRI done of your arteries and heart so that the doctor knows what kind of damage it has done to your body.
The challenge is hard, but not impossible to do. It takes courage and a willingness to step back and learn. Every decision counts.
Here are important things to do if you have diabetes:
- Test your blood sugar. Don’t let the fear of making yourself bleed detour you away from this annoying task. Information is power, especially in the case of diabetes
- Get your blood work done every 3 months.
- Write your numbers down, along with writing down what you are eating. A I said above, knowledge is power. Writing what you eat along with your blood sugars allows you to know what certain foods will spike your blood sugar. Each person is different, so this is vital. I find it tedious, but I also don’t have to wonder why my blood sugar is high.
- Plan fun activities that allow you to move your body. Go for a bike ride, a hike, swim, or just go out and walk with someone. Or even take a dance class, anything to get you moving.
- Talk to your support system about what you are going through. Encouragement helps you keep things up. If you can afford one, get a wellness coach or even find a support group on-line. Anything that will help you achieve your wellness goals.
- Finally, talk to your doctor. Show them your information. Communicate, communicate, and communicate some more.
It can become overwhelming, balancing it all. I struggle, but I know the importance of my health. I know that each decision I make throughout the day affects my life. It is just as important that you do this for yourself and those around you.
To set up your appointment for a Fitness Assessment and Life Coaching with Karen at Wellness Works NW click here.
Here are the links for where I got the information for my article.
Jamie Holloway lives in the Portland, Oregon area. Since October 2011 she has been sharing her Journey Toward Health and Wellness with Vasculitis through her blog at JamieChasesButterflies.com. As most of her articles will be about Men’s Health, Jamie intends to write her articles as though she was sharing important information with her brother, nephews and friends. This article was originally written for Wellness Works NW. We hope you are as inspired as we are with the raw candor Jamie uses in her writing.
For more information Contact Jamie.
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