It was Saturday, the day before Mother’s Day. May 10, 2008. How do I remember the exact date? On May 10, 2008, I lost my youngest daughter, yes, she died at 36 years old. She had a hemorrhagic stroke. The rupture of a blood vessel in her brain.
I was in shock, and that evening I felt like I was going to have a stroke. I drove myself to the emergency room.
The nurse took my blood pressure, it was elevated. I explained to the doctor about my day, he said, “I am going to give you a Xanax tablet and if your blood pressure comes down, it’s stress that has it so high.” Yes, after taking the tablet, my blood pressure was normal.
He gave me a few tablets and suggested I see my doctor for a prescription to help me through the next few days.
At the time, I was healthy, (I thought) and didn’t have a primary doctor. A friend suggested a local doctor, and he wanted my history along with a battery of tests before prescribing the Xanax.
This is when he told me my glucose was high at 256. I was stunned. I didn’t have any extra pounds, my diet was good, but I was emotionally wrecked. I was certain stress raised my glucose, and it would go back to normal when I was normal again. Would I ever be normal again?
A surprising link exists between stress and diabetes. I needed to learn how to handle both things to live a healthy life.
A few months after losing my daughter, we moved to another state and I got a new doctor who continued the medication I was taking.
I was getting better because the medication gave me the shakes. He immediately dropped one of the drugs and the shakes subsided. I didn’t realize at the time the shakes are an indication of low blood sugar. I had so much to learn.
Not only that, I got a prescription and zero instructions about diet, weight, exercise, stress, and medication. It was up to me if I was going to live a healthy life with this disease. I asked for a prescription for a blood sugar monitoring system. With that system, reading along with trial and error I gradually, tamed this disease.
My grandfather and mother had diabetes, and I look back at how she behaved. I must admit her diet was not good. She was told not to eat sweets and to ease up on salt. She was, however, always concerned about her toes and her feet. Her doctor must have drilled that point home to her. My mother was obese, and had heart disease and high blood pressure because of diabetes or along with diabetes.
I am doing well. Over the years, I have continued to move/exercise because exercising moves glucose from my bloodstream and into my cells. I learned the essentials of diabetes, and how to care for myself.
Our doctors provide suggestions, and it is our responsibility to look after our health. To learn what works and what doesn’t work.
Many years later, I still have high blood sugar when I don’t follow my dietary guidelines. I never got back to normal however, I have managed this chronic disease successfully.
When I was diagnosed, I followed the Atkins Lo-Carb Diet Revolution. Today there are so many tools available to educate, and keep us on top of this disease.
We have a lot to talk about. If you have not subscribed, do so. Ronda, my daughter, and I look forward to meeting you on this journey.
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