DAY 136: My Diabetes

   

Some people would view my Type 2 diabetes diagnosis as a tragedy and fall into a heap about the changes that have to occur as a result. Some people would retreat into themselves from fear of the unknown or, worse, ignore the diagnosis and pretend it didn't happen and they're all valid reactions to have once you've been diagnosed.

However, let me share my reaction with you. Sure, at first it came as a shock and it took a full day or so to realise that I HAVE DIABETES. One of my little voices said "So what? Not life-threatening, is it? It's not cancer or something similar". The other little voice said nothing. it just looked on in silence, trying to digest what this actually meant.

There's this part of me that refuses to be a victim to my circumstances. Not sure where I got that from - I haven't always been like this. But once I got my head around the diagnosis, I decided that I wasn't going to let diabetes debilitate my life and, really, if you look at it positively - it was what I needed to change my life around. I obviously missed/ignored/swatted all the other little (and sometimes not so little) signs that the Universe had been sending for some time so the message had to become less subtle for Shaz.

It's been the blessing that I needed. Honestly. You may be reading this and shaking your head thinking "what a wally" but I REALLy am grateful that this happened when it did.

Now as time progressed and I changed my eating habits and lifestyle habits, I got the beast under control rather than the other way around and..........I started to slip. "Just one lolly won't hurt" and it didn't seem to at the time. So I'd have two lollies....which escalated to dessert every now and then or a sliver of cake....and then other folks would say "You don't have to be so rigid. you can eat whatever you want to, shaz. Just take your medication" .....and I listened to that because I wanted my previous life back (minus the consequences).

Christmas came and I thought that I'd been soooo good that I could afford a little blowout. Afterall, it's Christmas!! Which then bled into my birthday (you can't NOT have cake on your birthday....and cheese....and a bourbon). Before I knew it, I wasn't totally back to my old ways but my little 'treats' had become 'regulars'.

My sugars blew out and I had trouble bringing them back down. My Doctor increased me medication to help and it really didn't help THAT much. When he threatened me with insulin injections 3 weeks ago, the Shaz I know and LOVE kicked in. She rose from her grave, put on her kick@rse boots, got the whip out and said "LIKE HELL".

To the gym we went (Other Shaz comes with me when I lack the strength and courage to go thru with some things) and before we knew it, we'd hired a personal trainer - Andrew - and a nutritionist - Tarryn. You guys rock!!

Three weeks in and I'm starting to lose the bulge, which is correlated to my sugars. My sugars (blood glucose levels) are reducing quickly and I am going to rock this planet once again!!

People, please stop telling diabetics that they can eat anything so long as they just take their medication because that's A LIE and you are doing harm by saying this!

Diabetics:

• DO NOT LISTEN to the above waffle. Go to a diabetes specialist and follow their instructions.
• Heed medical advice and not the quackery of well-meaning friends and family.
• Treat your body with the respect that it so richly deserves. Don't expect it to take you through this life if you don't worship the ship that you came in.
• Stay focussed - the rewards WILL come and it WILL be worth it!

More than anything, I am grateful, grateful, grateful to my beautiful husband who supports me when I fall and stands beside me when I dust myself off to start again without one utterance, not one word of judgement or "I told you so". WHAT A MAN!! He won't read this but he knows because I tell him every single day.