Ah, crap.

[dvandom]

Today I went to the doctor to see what was up with my recent stomach problems. Got blood drawn to check for H.pylori (ulcer bacteria) and other stuff. No helicobacters, no problems with kidneys or liver, no infections.

Blood sugar 320 nearly 2 hours after my last meal.

I'm probably going to be a bit pissy for a while as I'm forced to change my life around to cope with diabetes. I don't even like MOVING, and that doesn't require as much in the way of permanent lifestyle changes.

Comments

[jarodrussell.livejournal.com]

Och. Are they sure?

[dvandom.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm going to need more tests to see if it's type 1 (my paternal grandfather got it later in life, so possible) or type 2 (I'm fat and fairly sedentary), but blood sugar like that makes it pretty likely. It should have been under half that.

Meanwhile, I'm flashing back on the Happy Days episode where Chachi finds out he has diabetes. Not planning on skydiving into a woods, though.

[5eh.livejournal.com]

I worry about the same thing. Just be glad you found it out now, I know that is small solace, but still.

[finback.livejournal.com]

I hope it's just a fluke, but if not, I'm really sorry to hear that, Dave.

[dvandom.livejournal.com]

Thinking about the illness I had earlier this week (tired, dizzy, excessive sweating), it's certainly of a piece with a diabetic Event, though. So probably not a fluke.

[redneckgaijin.livejournal.com]

Er... yow.

I really hope it's diet-controllable. Needles and finger-testing SUCK.

(I know- had to administer both to step-grand for about a year and a half prior to his moving into a nursing home.)

[dvandom.livejournal.com]

Well, I figure I can at least splurge for arm-testing, now that it's available. One-touch changes everything, annat. (Finally, being inundated by all those diabetes product ads on TV is paying off.)

[liabrown]

I'm sorry to hear that, Dave -- take care of yourself. You want to stave off diabetes complications, if possible.

[ratmmjess.livejournal.com]

Ouch, damn. My sympathies.

[wistling.livejournal.com]

Hope you feel better soon, Dave!

[foomf.livejournal.com]

Yeesh.

I've been in patent denial and deliberate avoidance on the same thing.

If it's type 2 diabetes, you CAN treat it without drugs that will damage your pancreas and make you develop full-blown insulin dependent diabetes within 15 years of starting them. Further, the dangers of hyper-elevated insulin levels has not been given much in the way of analysis, because it would be politically challenging since insulin is the 'only' way to manage diabetes.

Well, I can tell you that Penny died of a cancer driven by estrogen, but caused in the first place by cellular receptor damage from elevated insulin levels, and that that it was completely eradicated from her body, only to return more aggressively, shortly after her insulin dosage was increased. Being male, we're unlikely to get endometrial cancer, just as females are unlikely to get prostate cancer (and there's some jokes about that) but I'd like to know what other cells can go rogue with just a little myelinization on the growth-limiting receptors.

Yeah, be pissy, but blame your ancestors, and a sedentary lifestyle; I am completely aware that if I start losing fat and adding (or at least using) muscle tissue, that the insulin resistance gets better, and my blood sugar drops to 'controlled' levels (80-150).

So, moving... yeah. Physically moving. That's what it'll take.

[dvandom.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the trick will be finding some sort of exercise that isn't mind-numbingly boring, and doesn't require being outside (nothing kills an exercise program like 100 degree temperatures...I did start taking walks earlier this year, but then it got to where it as 90+ at 10 PM and that put an end to that). Maybe I'll take up martial arts or something.

[jameel.livejournal.com]

I recommend DDR. I don't remember if you have a game console, but they can be gotten fairly cheaply if you go used. The later versions even have a workout mode.

I'm guessing that your university has a gym with a weight room. Use it if there's not something physical that prevents it.

Ideally, find a workout partner to help keep you motivated.

Whatever you do, don't just give up, and don't fall to denial. Both types of diabetes are controllable, and you can live with them.

[dvandom.livejournal.com]

I don't have a console (unless you count my Sega Genesis), but I do have downstairs neighbors with whom I have gotten into Noise Wars. Don't want to give them an excuse to call the cops on me. :)

The university has a full-fledged health club, and I will no doubt be getting a rundown of its facilities as part of the diabetes education thing I'm going to be scheduled for at the university hospital.

Heh. Maybe I can get into a jazz dancing thing or something along those lines. Lose weight, meet women, etc. ;) Now there's a workout partner idea. I can see the pickup line, "Hey, I have diabetes and need to lose weight...wanna come back to my place for a 'workout'?"

[1boringperson.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear about it, Dave. You make the second person in the past few weeks I know that's recently diagnosed. I wonder if they're doing a better job of diagnosing it, we're all too sedentary, or if they just jump to conclusions? Regardless, good luck with it.

[dvandom.livejournal.com]

Yes to all three, I expect. Given how much of controlling diabetes comes down to "eat better, exercise more" stuff, jumping to conclusions isn't necessarily a bad thing.

[skyjammer.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear that, Dave. If you have any questions, just shoot me an E-mail. I'm not a doctor, but I do have a little experience in this matter. :)

The key thing here is learning to accept it. You're smart enough to know what you have to do, so that shouldn't be a problem. Keep me informed about what the treatment plan is; I'm wondering how fast they're going to recommend going to a pump if it's Type 1.

[dvandom.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I expect to blog about this pretty extensively, although hopefully not to the point of annoying people. :) Type 2 does seem more likely, given my weight, sedentary lifestyle and recent tendency to have 40 oz or more of soda daily. But grandpa Van Domelen "came down with" type 1 as an adult, so it's not out of the question. I got regular diabetes tests as a kid, and always ask for the test the eye doctor can do to check for symptoms...so if nothing else, I'm fairly sure onset didn't happen until the past few years.

This does explain the excessive sweating I've been having the past month or so, though. :/ And may be the actual cause of my tiredness problems earlier in the week.

[susp.livejournal.com]

Argh, that's a bitch, old friend. Sorry to hear it.

If you have the time and the means, I recommend joining a gym and consulting with a personal trainer. Treadmills and cycles aren't exactly thrilling, but with a TV and a set of earphones, you can at least make time go by faster. Or given you're a big guy, perhaps working out with weights is up your alley.

[photonex68.livejournal.com]

Oh, fun. Now you'll know what I've been putting up with for the past five years. I was diagnosed in July 2001.