Okay, some background. My Primary Care Physicia, or PCP, sent me to a podiatrist because of my foot pain. After some significant time in his office, he prescribed Cymbalta for it and had some free samples to give me which I cheerfully accepted.
Here is the post I made on diabetes.org this morning:
I took Cymbalta for nearly thee months and it nearly wrecked my life.
I'll never support the use of Cymbalta for DPN or anything else, for that matter. It works, yes, but there is a host of detrimental side effects that go along with it. Do your homework before agreeing to use it. Personally, the risks are not worth it to me.
The podiatrist I was going to suggested it and informed me of NONE of the side effects to watch out for. He only said that it's supposed to help with the foot pain and he prescribed it because the pain it was waking me up in the middle of the night.
Again, what he didn't tell me, were the side effects:
1. Insomnia. Yup. That's exactly what happened to me. So, instead of waking up for 30 minutes on many (but not all) nights with foot pain, I was waking up every night for 2 hours with no real clear reason as to why. BTW, this is the most significant side effect listed on the Eli Lilly web site. You'd think the doctor would have mentioned it and told me to watch out for it.
2. Elevated blood sugar. Unbelievable, eh? It's supposed to be a SLIGHT elevation but really, now, are we supposed to battle our own body's lack of blood sugar control AND battle a prescription drug too? Jeez. BTW, I stopped it cold turkey about three weeks ago and my BG levels have been getting lower since. Could be a combination of things but . . . . Regardless, I'm interested in controlling BG at every possible level and I do NOT need something working against me, even if it's at a low level.
3. Elevated Triglycerides, elevated LDL, lowered HDL. Again, I was battling these things, working hard to get them under control and Cymbalta was working against me. Unbelievable. I still don't have a final verdict on my lipids but at this point, I hate to think that there is a possibility that I could have had another drug added to my list of pharmaceuticals to control lipids and worse, one which I might not need. At the very least, I'm thinking I might need less of it if it comes down to it.
4. Lethargy was the one that nearly wrecked my life. I'm still catching up from the productivity losses I suffered at work. I'm amazed I wasn't fired during that time. The only way I can describe it looking back to when I was taking Cymbalta, is that it put me into a zombie like state. Since I stopped taking it, I've feel like I've reawakened. My productivity is literaly multiples on top of multiples greater than it was while on Cymbalta. I'm awake again and getting things done.
5. Urinary dysfunction. I was having symptoms which appears, for all intents and purposes, to be the same as the symptoms for prostate enlargement. Difficulty starting, reducde flow, feeling like the bladder is not completely empty, taking a long time to urinate, etc. I was just about to ask the PCP to start dealing with it, which would most likely have resulted in the need for YET ANOTHER prescription
drug. Once I stopped taking Cymbalta, those symptoms dissapated gradually over the past three weeks. There is still some residual effect but I think I'll wait to attempt to determine if the Cymbalta is still working its way out of my system or if I really do have a slight prostate enlargement or if the Cymbalta did some permanent damage. I don't know yet so I'm still reserving judgement. It is clear, however, that stopping the prescription use has improved that part of my life.
6. Sexual dysfunction. Again, I was just about to address this with the PCP and would most likely have ended up with another prescription drug such as Cialis or Viagra. Not really what I want but I don't want to be deprived, either. Just as importantly, I don't want my life mate deprived. Problems included not having a full erection, not being able to sustain an erection to orgasm, less satisfying orgasm or long LONG delays in reaching orgasm and not reaching orgasm at all. Notably, ALL of these problems went away within 36 hours after stopping Cymbalta.
7. Suicidal ideations. I didn't have anything seriously along these lines, but I was starting to get discouraged about the failings I was having. See #4 above. The problem is, you know you're failing but you can't do anything about it. Scary stuff, really. Some anecdotal incidents on the web sites out there include putting people on suicide watch. This could have resulted in yet another prescription for
depression, although Cymbalta is used for that, as well so who knows? Was I headed in this direction?
8. Cardiovascular issues. This one didn't seem too significant, however, with diabetics, would you want to add risk to an already risky situation in this area? Not me. I don't know and will never be able
to tell if Cymbalta caused any permanent damage. I'll be watching for class action lawsuits, I can assure you.
9. Nose bleeds and dry skin. Putting these together here because they may be related. Fact is, my nose bleeds have tapered off significantly and the dry skin patches have shrunk in size dramatically and are less dry. Still battling some nose bleeds (never had nose bleeds before Cymbalta) but they are tapering off, finally.
Net savings on not taking Cymbalta is at least FIVE fewer prescriptions at a co-pay of $30 each on my current insurance plan for a total savings of probably $150.00 per month. To say nothing of putting that many fewer unnecessary chems through my system. To say nothing of improving my quality of life dramatically. Already.
Google it. There are four benefits/uses listed for Cymbalta compared to a laundry list of potentially detrimental side-effects which will stretch from floor to ceiling and that's no exaggeration. Well, maybe a little. But the fact is, even mathematically, you will hit several of those side-effects. Which ones are you willing to live with?
I will say this: It did stop my DPN for the most part. Not completely, though, and mine isn't all that bad, either. I question the value of it for a guy like me who can take some Advil or Tylenol for the few times when it's bad enough to warrant that usage.
All I'm saying is, do your homework first. The podiatrist, I suspect, got a boat load of samples from a drug vendor/salesman and just dumped it on me without reading the insert. Who knows? I can't accuse him with 100% certainty, but at the very least, he didn't do his job with me.
I suppose the same applies to all care you receive from your physicians: Do your homework, folks. On EVERYTHING.
--Wag--
Friday, April 17, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
Semi-major announcement.
Semi-Major Announcement
Originally, I was only going to send this to my siblings because it directly relates to them. However, it’s applicable to many and deserves the attention of others.
The good part of the story.
I’ll start with the good part of the story.
In July of 2008, my buddy and I were sitting around whining and complaining about how we were getting soooooo, lethargic and sedentary and how we just couldn’t get up the motivation to get anything done about our increasing waistlines. He had the equipment set up in his home in a spare bedroom and could work out but just never had the motivation after a long day at work. I was the same way, coming home every day, sitting in front of the T.V. and computer (at the same time!) and just being a lazy slug.
To be fair, actually, we weren’t really putting on a ton of weight but we sure weren’t doing ourselves any good and we weren’t taking any off. We were just whining and complaining about it. Which turned out to be a good thing, ultimately.
One fine Thursday, I called and said, “Mikey, I drive past your house every day on the way to and from work. I could just stop in and we could lift weights for an hour or so and it wouldn’t be any real problem. No gym, no muss, no fuss.” He said, “Sure, let’s do it!” So, the following Monday we set up to work out. And missed the day. Something came up. We finally got to it that Wednesday but, of course, the important thing is, we got to it finally.
From mid-July to November, 2008, we worked out nearly every week day after work. I lost about 10 or 15 pounds during that time. Not a record-breaker, of course, but it was a good steady pace and not unhealthy to be taking our time. Even though I had hopes of losing the weight, ultimately, that was not mine or Mikey’s motivation. We just wanted to get off our lazy hineys.
When you train with weights, you put on muscle which has a greater density than fat and weight loss on the scale actually translates to greater loss of mass on the body as your fat melts off and your muscles grow. That fact was evidenced by my gradually shrinking waistline. One of the other benefits of weight training is that muscle tissue requires fuel and as you develop your musculature, it just sits there in your body burning lots of needed fuel which comes from your fat stores.
The list of benefits to the body is virtually endless and I won’t go into it here.
An interruption
In November, the Sunday before Thanksgiving, Nanette and I were on our way to a charity benefit ride on our motorcycles. As we left the house, it was very cold and my motorcycle’s tires were very cold. If you don’t know already, cold tires on any vehicle simply don’t grab the road very well. Most people in cars don’t have any issues with this because they don’t drive aggressively enough to cause a skid on dry, cold pavement.
On a motorcycle, though, it’s a real concern and a significant danger. When a motorcycle tire is cold, it can slip quite easily, even on dry pavement. I have always known this but usually keep my attention on the back tire and I always take it easy on the throttle so as not to spin out when my tire hasn’t warmed up yet.
I forgot about the front tire.
As I went to make the first turn at the end of my street, my front tire washed out on me and dumped me on the ground. I was going less than 10 mph and though slightly stunned, I shook it off, the bike started up again and we took riding for the rest of the day. I’ll interject, that if you buy a bike and ride, buy all the leather gear with armor and helmet. Looking at the damage to my equipment and riding gear, it saved me a great deal of pain and suffering, even for a low speed crash.
I was having a slight pain in the left side of my abdomen, just under the rib cage but it seemed insignificant and I just figured I’d bruised a rib when I hit the ground. It was a little tough to breathe was the only thing.
That evening, I was REALLY hurting. My abdominal area was in pain and my left shoulder was killing me. Nothing helped. Some pain killers helped me sleep a bit and I went to work the next day thinking it was still just a little minor bruising of some kind and that I would get over it. I hadn’t hit my shoulder when I went down off the bike so that didn’t make sense to me. It just hurt. A lot.
Cutting a lot of story out of here for the moment. I went to the ER the following afternoon, they did their thing and determined that I had lacerated my spleen and lost a lot of blood into my abdomen (I could feel it sloshing around) and that I was lucky it wasn’t any worse.
Well, of course. A serious spleen injury would have bled me to death in mere minutes the previous morning! I was lucky. They determined that I didn’t need surgery and would likely heal up on my own.
Of course, the Dr. told me no riding, no working out, nothing. The pain was pretty intense for a couple of weeks, though, so I couldn't eat anyway and continued to lose a bit of weight, even though I wasn’t working out. I was off the workouts for about six weeks before the Dr. cleared me to ride and work out again and Mikey and I got back to it.
The real reason for this story and the announcement
At the end of January, after resuming my work outs with Mikey and continuing to shed the pounds and inches, I finally decided I needed to get myself down to a doctor’s office for my forty-year old checkup and tune up. Of course, I was three years late. I didn’t feel exactly unhealthy but there were a few minor things which were making me wonder. Nothing major, just some things which I’ll get into in a moment.
We talked, he ordered the usual blood work and I went to have my blood drawn the next day and then set a follow-up appointment with the Dr. for three weeks down the road. Of course, I can’t stand to have to wait for results or anything so I asked around and was able to get my test results that afternoon.
Nothing was in the right place. Well, actually, most of the tests were perfectly normal except the cholesterol. All of those numbers were slightly out of the maximums or in the case of HDL the minimum. The triglycerides were significantly out of whack.
The big thing was the fasting blood glucose test (FBG). Mine was 335. The test page said it should be between 80 and 120. I didn’t know for certain but something jogged my thoughts to the point where I asked around a bit and realized that I was probably diabetic and that a number that high was actually quite dangerous.
I waited for the Dr. to call me in a panic, telling me to get in there and get started on some pills or something. No call. After a week, I wasn’t too happy at all with the lack of attention from the doctor. My brother-in-law and I were talking about it and he had an extra test meter which he showed me how to use. I started testing and realized that the first test at the lab was actually much higher than what I was probably normally at in every day life. I don’t remember how high those first few self-tests were that week but they were too high.
So, after not hearing from the Dr. for about 10 days, I called in and demanded that the Dr. see me ASAP. He worked me in the next afternoon and we started treating this.
Some things I’ve learned.
Well, of course, there were a wide range of emotions of all kinds as I started to confront this. It isn’t like cancer which is going to kill me in a couple weeks. But it’s a dang inconvenience at best. I had started testing all the time, worrying about what I was doing to myself when I eat, blaming myself for the onset of the diabetes, ticked off because I’ve always been healthy as a horse all of my life. . . .
The works.
But in the meantime, I’ve been educating myself about it and have learned a ton. This self-education is the reason for writing to you, my brothers and my sisters. I’m thinking that it would be useful for you to know this and you’ll see why in the very next paragraphs.
One of the most important things I’ve learned is that it’s a genetic abnormality. It isn’t something you can give yourself by neglect or even intent. There is a prevailing, false rumor out there that people who allow themselves to be overweight will contract diabetes. I’ve learned that that isn’t remotely true. There are plenty of grossly overweight people out there who have no issues with blood sugar control and there are plenty of normally-weighted people who discover that they have it. So, you can’t tell by looking at someone that they are prone to diabetes although you could justify testing for it.
As I said, it’s strictly genetic and is passed on through the genes. As you all know, Mom and Grandma Wagner both were diagnosed as Type II Diabetics within the last 15 or so years. As Mom so truthfully put it, “You’re getting it from both sides of your parentage.” That was years ago and she was telling me, essentially, to watch myself. I didn’t not take her seriously, but for some reason, I thought I had plenty of time to keep an eye out for it.
During the year or so prior to beginning my workouts with Mikey, however, I had started to notice some things which caused me to wonder. Even though it was all relatively minor stuff, it was, as I said, concerning. Diabetes is called the silent killer. It just sneaks up on people. The little symptoms don’t seem like a big deal until one day, you’re in the ER with your blood glucose through the roof and you’re losing a leg.
That’s no joke. It happens. Larry Miller, a man living in Salt Lake City who owns many car dealerships and other businesses in the Southwestern U.S., and who was a very wealthy man was put in the hospital a few months ago and had both of his legs amputated. A few weeks later, he died from complications of his diabetes. I don’t know his whole medical history, of course, but I have to wonder if it was something he was ignoring because of his busy schedule or just not really realizing that his pains were not just from aging.
I do know what it was for me, which is what I intend to attempt to communicate to you. I was lucky to be diagnosed so early in the progression of it.
The symptoms and warning signs
I ignored these, partly because I was not really all that clear on them, partly because I was in denial and thought I could just cut most sugar from my diet to prevent it and partly because I genuinely didn’t recognize all the symptoms as being related to a problem like diabetes, regardless of Mom and Grandma having had it. I was also actually making several excuses to myself and I think somewhere deep down, I was simply denying what was going on.
First memorable symptom was raging thirst, especially at night. I started keeping a water bottle on the night stand and sometimes, would wake up and chug the whole thing.
In addition, I would find myself getting up three or four times a night to pee. I also remember that there were times when I would eat a dinner high in carbs, such as rice (sushi!) or lots of bread or pasta and would spend the rest of the night getting up every hour on the hour to pee.
Also, early on, I noticed that my feet would itch incessantly whenever I went to bed. I didn’t really connect that to anything but I thought it was just some kind of allergy to laundry soap or something. Now, looking back, I think it could have been an early symptom.
As time went on, I would occasionally have a sharp, piercing pain in my foot. Right before I went to the Dr., my feet finally developed some numbness in the toes and some numbness on the bottom of my feet right behind the ball of my foot. It felt like my sock had wadded itself up, even though I would check and it was just fine. Sometimes, I felt like my feet were freezing cold but if I took my shoe off and rubbed it down, it was warm to the touch of my hand.
Another symptom was that I was tired all the time. You know that tired feeling you get after a big meal like Thanksgiving? I was getting that feeling after eating minimal amounts and the sleepiness would come on completely uncontrollably and I’d go out like a light. Behind my desk at work, on the couch at home, at a friend’s house, etc. Never behind the wheel of the car, though. I just don’t drive that much any more anyway.
Sugar cravings were a big part of it. I would find myself just simply lusting after anything sweet, anything bread related, cereal, pasta, corn, that kind of thing. French Fries were a constant craving, it seemed. Something about diabetes just makes you want that easy sugar rush all the time.
Weight gain is now thought to be a symptom of diabetes and it is thought that people with diabetes who are overweight probably became overweight because of diabetes rather than the other way around. It could be a symptom, or so the studies are starting to show. Yet, some people who are not remotely overweight will develop diabetes. Grandma was an example of this.
When I was in the hospital after the motorcycle spill, they tested my blood sugar at 147. I asked the doctor at the time if that wasn’t a bit high and he said that it is but they felt that it was because of the blood pooling up in my abdominal cavity. I think this was the catalyst for going to the family doctor for the 43 year old tune up!
Even though diabetes is genetic, prevailing thought is that it may lie dormant in many cases until it is triggered by an event or a long cycle of habits. Even though you can’t eat yourself or laze yourself into diabetes, you may not have the best of eating habits and that could cause it to trigger. You may be sedentary and cause it to trigger. There is the possibility that an exposure to a fertilizer or a bug spray or some other chemical catalyst could trigger it.
It could just as easily, however, simply land on you with both feet regardless of how you treat your body, good or bad.
The bottom line here is that about the only thing the medical profession is sure of is that it is genetic in most cases. We joke about eating ourselves into diabetes and yeah, it’s funny. The fact is, however, it’s just not the way it works.
The conclusion for our families.
So. What next? It’s kind of a mixed bag. On the one hand, I didn’t ask for this, of course. On the other hand, I’m sitting at the card table of life with this crappy hand and asking for four more cards. I can’t, however, give this one back. It has to be played. Fortunately, technology and learning have made it possible to control diabetes and live a normal life for the most part.
People will say, “Well, now you can’t eat this or that and you have to exercise all the time and and and. . .THAT’s not a ‘normal’ life!”
Um, actually, it is. What’s not normal is sitting around all the time getting no exercise, eating crap food and putting on excess weight without regard to one’s health. That’s the life I used to live. Pretty sad that in our society today, “normal,” has come to be defined as, “Doing whatever we wish without regard to the consequences.”
After the diagnosis, I’ve started to realize that the diabetic lifestyle is probably more “normal” than the way most people live. We should be getting exercise once or even twice a day. We should be limiting the amount of carbohydrates we eat. We should be making sure we get enough rest every night. The reality is, most people in this country don’t live a normal life at all with regard to their health.
I say this as an offshoot of a comment my doctor made. He said, “The diabetic diet is actually the diet everyone should live on. It’s about the healthiest diet out there!” I think he may be right, though I think the diet that is generally proposed by diabetic nurses and doctors is still not quite right. Each person is different, however, so no one diet can actually be applied to everyone.
Some thoughts.
I’m only telling you all of the above because as a genetic disorder, all y’all have the potential, through your genes, to have this problem yourselves. Also, it’s possible that you’ve been privileged to pass it on to your kids. The bottom line, of course, is that you will want to keep an eye on yourselves. There is no right age to check. Check it every year with your doctor and make sure your fasting blood glucose is never above 120. If it is, time to do further testing. Realize, too, that many doctors will not give you the proper testing until that number hits 140 or even 160 but studies are showing that peripheral neuropathy (that foot pain I was describing) and retinopathy (blindness) and a host of other disorders and physical damage can occur even at levels just above 100.
As a footnote (pun intended!) the pain in my feet continued long enough to cause permanent damage. It isn’t going to go away. I’m fortunate, however, in that this was caught before it got bad enough to cause loss of limb! Also, I believe whole-heartedly that I’m not going to have any further damage.
A “normal” range for your blood glucose while fasting is 85 and maxes just over 100 for a VERY short period of time after eating. Around 30 to 60 minutes typically. Then the glucose level drops again as the insulin in your body kicks in and clears most of it out of your blood. Everyone is different, of course, so if you get an FBG test over 100 or 120, it would be a good idea to explore it further with your doctors. Better to know than to lose a leg or a kidney!
In conclusion.
I’ve lost 30 pounds since last July. I intend to lose another 15 to 20 and see where I’m at from there. I’ve lost at least two sizes off my waist and look forward to losing more. If you want to know how much 30 pounds is, go to a grocery store and pile up 30 pounds of hamburger in the meat section and see how much volume that takes up. The fat in your body takes up about that much volume. As I said, though, the muscle you develop will weigh more per size so there is the possibility that while I’ve lost 30 pounds on the scale, I’ve lost 35 in fat.
Who knows?! I’m just glad of it regardless.
More importantly, I’ve gained greater control over my body and mind. It’s very true that the diabetic “diet” is healthy. It promotes normal weight and promotes the idea that an individual can actually take control and do what it takes to engage themselves in their own treatment. In fact, it’s practically mandatory!
While I didn’t ask for this or want it, there is a certain irony that now that I have this disorder, I’ve actually become healthier than I was before. Or thought I was. I’ve got a lot to learn, still, but for the most part, I think I know the basics and can confront this without further major issues.
Of course, I’m more than happy to go into more detail if anyone feels they need it.
Hoping you have the healthy lives you desire and
Much love,
--Wag--
Originally, I was only going to send this to my siblings because it directly relates to them. However, it’s applicable to many and deserves the attention of others.
The good part of the story.
I’ll start with the good part of the story.
In July of 2008, my buddy and I were sitting around whining and complaining about how we were getting soooooo, lethargic and sedentary and how we just couldn’t get up the motivation to get anything done about our increasing waistlines. He had the equipment set up in his home in a spare bedroom and could work out but just never had the motivation after a long day at work. I was the same way, coming home every day, sitting in front of the T.V. and computer (at the same time!) and just being a lazy slug.
To be fair, actually, we weren’t really putting on a ton of weight but we sure weren’t doing ourselves any good and we weren’t taking any off. We were just whining and complaining about it. Which turned out to be a good thing, ultimately.
One fine Thursday, I called and said, “Mikey, I drive past your house every day on the way to and from work. I could just stop in and we could lift weights for an hour or so and it wouldn’t be any real problem. No gym, no muss, no fuss.” He said, “Sure, let’s do it!” So, the following Monday we set up to work out. And missed the day. Something came up. We finally got to it that Wednesday but, of course, the important thing is, we got to it finally.
From mid-July to November, 2008, we worked out nearly every week day after work. I lost about 10 or 15 pounds during that time. Not a record-breaker, of course, but it was a good steady pace and not unhealthy to be taking our time. Even though I had hopes of losing the weight, ultimately, that was not mine or Mikey’s motivation. We just wanted to get off our lazy hineys.
When you train with weights, you put on muscle which has a greater density than fat and weight loss on the scale actually translates to greater loss of mass on the body as your fat melts off and your muscles grow. That fact was evidenced by my gradually shrinking waistline. One of the other benefits of weight training is that muscle tissue requires fuel and as you develop your musculature, it just sits there in your body burning lots of needed fuel which comes from your fat stores.
The list of benefits to the body is virtually endless and I won’t go into it here.
An interruption
In November, the Sunday before Thanksgiving, Nanette and I were on our way to a charity benefit ride on our motorcycles. As we left the house, it was very cold and my motorcycle’s tires were very cold. If you don’t know already, cold tires on any vehicle simply don’t grab the road very well. Most people in cars don’t have any issues with this because they don’t drive aggressively enough to cause a skid on dry, cold pavement.
On a motorcycle, though, it’s a real concern and a significant danger. When a motorcycle tire is cold, it can slip quite easily, even on dry pavement. I have always known this but usually keep my attention on the back tire and I always take it easy on the throttle so as not to spin out when my tire hasn’t warmed up yet.
I forgot about the front tire.
As I went to make the first turn at the end of my street, my front tire washed out on me and dumped me on the ground. I was going less than 10 mph and though slightly stunned, I shook it off, the bike started up again and we took riding for the rest of the day. I’ll interject, that if you buy a bike and ride, buy all the leather gear with armor and helmet. Looking at the damage to my equipment and riding gear, it saved me a great deal of pain and suffering, even for a low speed crash.
I was having a slight pain in the left side of my abdomen, just under the rib cage but it seemed insignificant and I just figured I’d bruised a rib when I hit the ground. It was a little tough to breathe was the only thing.
That evening, I was REALLY hurting. My abdominal area was in pain and my left shoulder was killing me. Nothing helped. Some pain killers helped me sleep a bit and I went to work the next day thinking it was still just a little minor bruising of some kind and that I would get over it. I hadn’t hit my shoulder when I went down off the bike so that didn’t make sense to me. It just hurt. A lot.
Cutting a lot of story out of here for the moment. I went to the ER the following afternoon, they did their thing and determined that I had lacerated my spleen and lost a lot of blood into my abdomen (I could feel it sloshing around) and that I was lucky it wasn’t any worse.
Well, of course. A serious spleen injury would have bled me to death in mere minutes the previous morning! I was lucky. They determined that I didn’t need surgery and would likely heal up on my own.
Of course, the Dr. told me no riding, no working out, nothing. The pain was pretty intense for a couple of weeks, though, so I couldn't eat anyway and continued to lose a bit of weight, even though I wasn’t working out. I was off the workouts for about six weeks before the Dr. cleared me to ride and work out again and Mikey and I got back to it.
The real reason for this story and the announcement
At the end of January, after resuming my work outs with Mikey and continuing to shed the pounds and inches, I finally decided I needed to get myself down to a doctor’s office for my forty-year old checkup and tune up. Of course, I was three years late. I didn’t feel exactly unhealthy but there were a few minor things which were making me wonder. Nothing major, just some things which I’ll get into in a moment.
We talked, he ordered the usual blood work and I went to have my blood drawn the next day and then set a follow-up appointment with the Dr. for three weeks down the road. Of course, I can’t stand to have to wait for results or anything so I asked around and was able to get my test results that afternoon.
Nothing was in the right place. Well, actually, most of the tests were perfectly normal except the cholesterol. All of those numbers were slightly out of the maximums or in the case of HDL the minimum. The triglycerides were significantly out of whack.
The big thing was the fasting blood glucose test (FBG). Mine was 335. The test page said it should be between 80 and 120. I didn’t know for certain but something jogged my thoughts to the point where I asked around a bit and realized that I was probably diabetic and that a number that high was actually quite dangerous.
I waited for the Dr. to call me in a panic, telling me to get in there and get started on some pills or something. No call. After a week, I wasn’t too happy at all with the lack of attention from the doctor. My brother-in-law and I were talking about it and he had an extra test meter which he showed me how to use. I started testing and realized that the first test at the lab was actually much higher than what I was probably normally at in every day life. I don’t remember how high those first few self-tests were that week but they were too high.
So, after not hearing from the Dr. for about 10 days, I called in and demanded that the Dr. see me ASAP. He worked me in the next afternoon and we started treating this.
Some things I’ve learned.
Well, of course, there were a wide range of emotions of all kinds as I started to confront this. It isn’t like cancer which is going to kill me in a couple weeks. But it’s a dang inconvenience at best. I had started testing all the time, worrying about what I was doing to myself when I eat, blaming myself for the onset of the diabetes, ticked off because I’ve always been healthy as a horse all of my life. . . .
The works.
But in the meantime, I’ve been educating myself about it and have learned a ton. This self-education is the reason for writing to you, my brothers and my sisters. I’m thinking that it would be useful for you to know this and you’ll see why in the very next paragraphs.
One of the most important things I’ve learned is that it’s a genetic abnormality. It isn’t something you can give yourself by neglect or even intent. There is a prevailing, false rumor out there that people who allow themselves to be overweight will contract diabetes. I’ve learned that that isn’t remotely true. There are plenty of grossly overweight people out there who have no issues with blood sugar control and there are plenty of normally-weighted people who discover that they have it. So, you can’t tell by looking at someone that they are prone to diabetes although you could justify testing for it.
As I said, it’s strictly genetic and is passed on through the genes. As you all know, Mom and Grandma Wagner both were diagnosed as Type II Diabetics within the last 15 or so years. As Mom so truthfully put it, “You’re getting it from both sides of your parentage.” That was years ago and she was telling me, essentially, to watch myself. I didn’t not take her seriously, but for some reason, I thought I had plenty of time to keep an eye out for it.
During the year or so prior to beginning my workouts with Mikey, however, I had started to notice some things which caused me to wonder. Even though it was all relatively minor stuff, it was, as I said, concerning. Diabetes is called the silent killer. It just sneaks up on people. The little symptoms don’t seem like a big deal until one day, you’re in the ER with your blood glucose through the roof and you’re losing a leg.
That’s no joke. It happens. Larry Miller, a man living in Salt Lake City who owns many car dealerships and other businesses in the Southwestern U.S., and who was a very wealthy man was put in the hospital a few months ago and had both of his legs amputated. A few weeks later, he died from complications of his diabetes. I don’t know his whole medical history, of course, but I have to wonder if it was something he was ignoring because of his busy schedule or just not really realizing that his pains were not just from aging.
I do know what it was for me, which is what I intend to attempt to communicate to you. I was lucky to be diagnosed so early in the progression of it.
The symptoms and warning signs
I ignored these, partly because I was not really all that clear on them, partly because I was in denial and thought I could just cut most sugar from my diet to prevent it and partly because I genuinely didn’t recognize all the symptoms as being related to a problem like diabetes, regardless of Mom and Grandma having had it. I was also actually making several excuses to myself and I think somewhere deep down, I was simply denying what was going on.
First memorable symptom was raging thirst, especially at night. I started keeping a water bottle on the night stand and sometimes, would wake up and chug the whole thing.
In addition, I would find myself getting up three or four times a night to pee. I also remember that there were times when I would eat a dinner high in carbs, such as rice (sushi!) or lots of bread or pasta and would spend the rest of the night getting up every hour on the hour to pee.
Also, early on, I noticed that my feet would itch incessantly whenever I went to bed. I didn’t really connect that to anything but I thought it was just some kind of allergy to laundry soap or something. Now, looking back, I think it could have been an early symptom.
As time went on, I would occasionally have a sharp, piercing pain in my foot. Right before I went to the Dr., my feet finally developed some numbness in the toes and some numbness on the bottom of my feet right behind the ball of my foot. It felt like my sock had wadded itself up, even though I would check and it was just fine. Sometimes, I felt like my feet were freezing cold but if I took my shoe off and rubbed it down, it was warm to the touch of my hand.
Another symptom was that I was tired all the time. You know that tired feeling you get after a big meal like Thanksgiving? I was getting that feeling after eating minimal amounts and the sleepiness would come on completely uncontrollably and I’d go out like a light. Behind my desk at work, on the couch at home, at a friend’s house, etc. Never behind the wheel of the car, though. I just don’t drive that much any more anyway.
Sugar cravings were a big part of it. I would find myself just simply lusting after anything sweet, anything bread related, cereal, pasta, corn, that kind of thing. French Fries were a constant craving, it seemed. Something about diabetes just makes you want that easy sugar rush all the time.
Weight gain is now thought to be a symptom of diabetes and it is thought that people with diabetes who are overweight probably became overweight because of diabetes rather than the other way around. It could be a symptom, or so the studies are starting to show. Yet, some people who are not remotely overweight will develop diabetes. Grandma was an example of this.
When I was in the hospital after the motorcycle spill, they tested my blood sugar at 147. I asked the doctor at the time if that wasn’t a bit high and he said that it is but they felt that it was because of the blood pooling up in my abdominal cavity. I think this was the catalyst for going to the family doctor for the 43 year old tune up!
Even though diabetes is genetic, prevailing thought is that it may lie dormant in many cases until it is triggered by an event or a long cycle of habits. Even though you can’t eat yourself or laze yourself into diabetes, you may not have the best of eating habits and that could cause it to trigger. You may be sedentary and cause it to trigger. There is the possibility that an exposure to a fertilizer or a bug spray or some other chemical catalyst could trigger it.
It could just as easily, however, simply land on you with both feet regardless of how you treat your body, good or bad.
The bottom line here is that about the only thing the medical profession is sure of is that it is genetic in most cases. We joke about eating ourselves into diabetes and yeah, it’s funny. The fact is, however, it’s just not the way it works.
The conclusion for our families.
So. What next? It’s kind of a mixed bag. On the one hand, I didn’t ask for this, of course. On the other hand, I’m sitting at the card table of life with this crappy hand and asking for four more cards. I can’t, however, give this one back. It has to be played. Fortunately, technology and learning have made it possible to control diabetes and live a normal life for the most part.
People will say, “Well, now you can’t eat this or that and you have to exercise all the time and and and. . .THAT’s not a ‘normal’ life!”
Um, actually, it is. What’s not normal is sitting around all the time getting no exercise, eating crap food and putting on excess weight without regard to one’s health. That’s the life I used to live. Pretty sad that in our society today, “normal,” has come to be defined as, “Doing whatever we wish without regard to the consequences.”
After the diagnosis, I’ve started to realize that the diabetic lifestyle is probably more “normal” than the way most people live. We should be getting exercise once or even twice a day. We should be limiting the amount of carbohydrates we eat. We should be making sure we get enough rest every night. The reality is, most people in this country don’t live a normal life at all with regard to their health.
I say this as an offshoot of a comment my doctor made. He said, “The diabetic diet is actually the diet everyone should live on. It’s about the healthiest diet out there!” I think he may be right, though I think the diet that is generally proposed by diabetic nurses and doctors is still not quite right. Each person is different, however, so no one diet can actually be applied to everyone.
Some thoughts.
I’m only telling you all of the above because as a genetic disorder, all y’all have the potential, through your genes, to have this problem yourselves. Also, it’s possible that you’ve been privileged to pass it on to your kids. The bottom line, of course, is that you will want to keep an eye on yourselves. There is no right age to check. Check it every year with your doctor and make sure your fasting blood glucose is never above 120. If it is, time to do further testing. Realize, too, that many doctors will not give you the proper testing until that number hits 140 or even 160 but studies are showing that peripheral neuropathy (that foot pain I was describing) and retinopathy (blindness) and a host of other disorders and physical damage can occur even at levels just above 100.
As a footnote (pun intended!) the pain in my feet continued long enough to cause permanent damage. It isn’t going to go away. I’m fortunate, however, in that this was caught before it got bad enough to cause loss of limb! Also, I believe whole-heartedly that I’m not going to have any further damage.
A “normal” range for your blood glucose while fasting is 85 and maxes just over 100 for a VERY short period of time after eating. Around 30 to 60 minutes typically. Then the glucose level drops again as the insulin in your body kicks in and clears most of it out of your blood. Everyone is different, of course, so if you get an FBG test over 100 or 120, it would be a good idea to explore it further with your doctors. Better to know than to lose a leg or a kidney!
In conclusion.
I’ve lost 30 pounds since last July. I intend to lose another 15 to 20 and see where I’m at from there. I’ve lost at least two sizes off my waist and look forward to losing more. If you want to know how much 30 pounds is, go to a grocery store and pile up 30 pounds of hamburger in the meat section and see how much volume that takes up. The fat in your body takes up about that much volume. As I said, though, the muscle you develop will weigh more per size so there is the possibility that while I’ve lost 30 pounds on the scale, I’ve lost 35 in fat.
Who knows?! I’m just glad of it regardless.
More importantly, I’ve gained greater control over my body and mind. It’s very true that the diabetic “diet” is healthy. It promotes normal weight and promotes the idea that an individual can actually take control and do what it takes to engage themselves in their own treatment. In fact, it’s practically mandatory!
While I didn’t ask for this or want it, there is a certain irony that now that I have this disorder, I’ve actually become healthier than I was before. Or thought I was. I’ve got a lot to learn, still, but for the most part, I think I know the basics and can confront this without further major issues.
Of course, I’m more than happy to go into more detail if anyone feels they need it.
Hoping you have the healthy lives you desire and
Much love,
--Wag--
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
