Diabeetus

For those of you who have read my prior posts, I indicated that I was diagnosed with diabetes several years ago.  Full disclosure: I was 'pre-diabetic'.  My glucose was above normal, but not high enough to be full blown diabetic.  Fast forward to age 40 - my glucose A1C is more than double the threshold for a diabetes diagnosis: FYI: below 5.1 is normal, 5.1-6.9 is pre-diabetic, and 7 and above is diabetic.  So my A1C of 13.7 is "wildly out of control diabetic".

I was pre-diabetic for years, bouncing between 5.5 and 6.5.  My last A1C was taken in May of 2023, less than a year ago, and it was 5.4 (I was so excited at how low it was!).......spiking up to 13.7 in less than a year was totally unexpected.  I was living in a mind space where I would always be pre-diabetic.  Becoming a diabetic was not something I had even considered, let alone prepared myself for.  My immediate reaction was anger.  At myself.  At my doctor.  At sugar.  Then came grief.  I ate a lot of chocolate in this stage.  Definitely not recommended on the heels of a diabetes diagnosis.  Then finally....acceptance.  Ok, so I'm diabetic.  What does that mean?  What do I do?  Who can I turn to when I have questions?  What questions should I be asking?  WHERE IS MY STEP BY STEP GUIDEBOOK?!

As it turns out - there are a lot of guidebooks.  There is a lot of information out there about diabetes.  But how much of it applies to me?  With all the available information, I can already feel myself becoming overwhelmed.  My intention is to use this page to share the details of my diagnosis as I wade through all the information to discover what it means for me and how it effects my life.  Not only do I wish to share what I learn, but I want to document my journey, so that one day I can look back and be proud of the progress I've made.  My hope is that I can learn what works for me and why.  The why is a big deal.  I want to be so much more intentional with how I treat my body, which I can only do if I know how it reacts to what I put into it.  So follow, comment, and enjoy.  Here goes!