Living with Type 2 Diabetes

I use to eat all the junk food you can think of, (I know, not good). But, I just had to have a double cheeseburger from McDonald’s or greasy chicken legs from Church’s Chicken and Coke was my go-to soda. Looking back now, I should have known I was a diabetic, the signs and symptoms were there all along.

Before I found out I was a Diabetic

During my first pregnancy, which took me by surprise pre-clampsia and pre-diabetes was one of my biggest concerns. So, during every visit, I would mention it and the OBGYN ran blood work and I had to fast every three months. Nothing ever came up, so I stopped asking. My second and third pregnancies I mentioned the same thing. Again, everything was normal.

I think everything was normal because, throughout my pregnancies, my babies were picky eaters. I couldn’t eat much because… We all know morning sickness is rude! I talk more about how to cope with that in another blog post. I figure since I couldn’t eat what I wanted my blood sugar didn’t get out of normal ranges.

When I knew something was wrong

I was just watching TV one day, and everything started looking blurry and my eyes started watering. I really thought nothing of it at the time. But, then my feet started feeling numb and was tingling like they had fallen asleep and to make matters worse, I had a Charlie horse (leg cramp), which was absolutely painful. My mind went into overdrive and I started panicking, I got a headache and chest was beating so fast and hard I could hear it and feel it in my ears… I called the ambulance because I thought I was having a heart attack, after confirming everything was ok, the next day I made an appointment with my Physician for the earliest day and time.

At my appointment, we discussed everything from bipolar- depression to anxiety. He ran some blood work and what ya know… I am type 2 diabetic, I wanted to cry at first, but, in the back of my head, I already knew, I was just in denial. Now, I am learning how to cope with being a diabetic. What to eat, what to avoid as well as watching how much I eat. Soda is now my enemy.

I take it day by day, and since that day at the doctor, my sugar levels have been up and down. The highest being 220 and the lowest being 115, I really did not know much about living with diabetes and everything that I learned I googled. It has been so hard letting my favorite foods go, but, I am a lover of seafood and very glad I get to keep fish, shrimp, and lobster as part of my diet.

I know I’m not alone and would love to hear some suggestions with food or you can share your secret recipe! 🙂