Life changing event

[chatterbox]

Good morning fellas!

I have been a member of OG for a good many years here, and have made many, many lifelong friends.
I've shared many successes and failures with all of you, and many of you have seen my children grow up right along with me.
Well, back in January, I had a life changing event occur.
I was getting ready to go to work, and felt a little strange when I woke up. Kinda dizzy and light-headed, but I figured I was just overtired.
Got to work, and was feeling worse, couldn't really stand or concentrate. I work in a small 2 room operating room, and my charge nurse sent me to the same-day unit to have them check my blood pressure.
I was ticking along at 200/115 with a pulse rate of 113.....
My boss took one look at the monitor, and dragged me to the emergency room.
So, I got the full court press, but all my labs and EKG for my heart were fine, which was good. However, my non-fasting glucose was 240. So they drew an A1C.
However, my A1C which measures a 3 month study of how sugar binds with your blood, was 7.5.
It hit me then, that I was a diabetic.
So, I went home and made an appointment with my regular doc.
He said no meds  for you, except for your blood pressure.
He basically said, you can fix this.
So I started my journey back to being healthy.
I had a long talk with God, and I told him there was no way I wasn't going to be there to see my kids grow up, and my son wasn't going to walk his sister down the isle someday because I couldn't be there to do it!
I am happy to say, I have shed 46 pounds to this point. My BP is right around 116/60, with a resting pulse below 60. My daily fasting glucose is between 74-76, and I haven't felt this good in years! I ride a recumbent bike or my bike on a trainer every day for an hour and a half, and don't miss a workout!
Thank you all for reading this.
God is good, and I know it might sound crazy, but becoming diabetic was a good thing.
If I hadn't become diabetic, and only had high blood pressure, I probably wouldn't have fixed it, but diabetes scared the pi$$ outta me!
If anyone is fighting this battle, I'm right there with you, and if I can do it, anyone can!

[Bearhunter247]

I've had it since I was 4.(type 1) so there's no getting rid of it but stayin on the move helps more then anything. Glad it helped u out!

[spaightlabs]

Good on  ya for getting after this and taking control of your destiny.

For any among us who is struggling with being pre-diabetic or who suspects they may be diabetic but is ignoring it, please take note and step up.

Type 2 diabetes is a lifestyle disease and the sooner you get on top of it the more likely you are to be able to control it without meds.

Get off the processed food, sugary drinks and empty calorie hyper-palatable food that are being foisted off as nutrition.

Coming off sugar and processed food seems tough, but in 30 days you can make a big difference.

[allaboutshooting]

Hey Mike,

I had no idea of this but I'm so glad you took the positive steps to get things under control. I also appreciate you sharing your story. Hopefully it will help someone else.

Glad you're here and appreciate what you've done.

Thanks,
Clark

[SteelerFan]

Congrats chatterbox!!

Way to grab that bull by the horns!!! 

[Happy]

Glad to see your taking the necessary steps and are doing well. Like you said it's a lifestyle and it can make all the difference in the world. Good luck.

Sent from my SM-G800R4 using Tapatalk

[guesswho]

Good job!   PM can go a long way when it comes to health.   Keep it up.

[Gooserbat]

Im glad you have it under control.  Diet does matter.  I'm not a diabetic thankfully, but I found out last summer I have blood pressure? problems. (Dad has had two strokes related to high blood pressure)  I've been able to take care of it with diet but I have to do my part.  Coffee went from 6-8 cups per day to 1.  No chocolate ( It sends it through the roof) closely watch my sodium.  I mostly stay away from fried food.  More salads.  My diet is somewhat like that of a diabetic but more forgiving.

[Tail Feathers]

I had a physical almost a year ago.  Dr. called me back in and said my A1C was 1/10th of a point into the pre-diabetic range.
I've dropped 25 pounds since then and began lifting weights and walking a lot.  I have my next physical and bloodwork in late May.  Sure hope my efforts worked on the blood sugar. 
Giving up sugar was pretty easy.  Giving up bread was harder.  Committing to exercise every day is difficult with my 12 hour day work schedule, but it's worth the effort.
I'm not ready to run a race with Stoner yet, but I'm better off than I was.

[mgm1955]

Good job!!

[perrytrails]

Congrats to you, although not diabetic, I'm trying to eat better and exercise more.

Amazing how much better you feel. 

[tha bugman]

God is good!  Keep up the good work and glad to know that you are taking those necessary steps.  While not diabetic I decided myself to have a better diet and exercise more.  You are right it is life changing.  Now if I can convince folks at church that I don't have cancer!

[ddturkeyhunter]

Glad you got your wake up call before it was worse. Health is everything. My wake up call was at age 46 my wife of 42 got cancer. And pass away seven years later, because the drug for her was not available yet. You got the drug for you and with better eating will lead a better life.

[kjnengr]

A couple of things......

Good on ya for making a lifelong change and making a difference in your life.  As you mentioned, it doesn't just affect you.

Although not diabetic, I know where you are coming from.  A little over a year ago I made a lifelong change in my diet and exercise and am 70 lbs down from my weight last March.  My dad is diabetic and although he takes medication, he greatly controls his disease with diet.  I see others who don't watch their diet and they up their dosage every year and then move on to having to inject themselves.  It is great that you and your doctor realize that you can control it with diet and you are committing to make that change.  It helps having support in the transition and as you mentioned, God is definitely part of that. 

Also good for you for posting it here as hopefully it will give someone the "wakeup call" that you answered.    

[HFultzjr]

Good job getting it under control and wishing you many more seasons.