A Year Later....

[dvandom]

12 months ago, I didn't know I had diabetes, although I was dealing with a number of symptoms already.

Since then, a lot of things have changed.

I've lost about 40 pounds (210.0 lbs this morning).

I'm no longer so thirsty that I put away over a gallon of various drinks a day (usually broken down as a liter of soda, over a liter of milk, over two liters of water). Along with that, I don't need to rush to the restroom half a dozen times a day anymore. :)

I fall asleep in under 10 minutes most nights, rather than taking over half an hour every night.

When I lie down on my side on my saggy couch, I can now feel my ribcage bumping up against my pelvis (this is kinda disturbing, actually).

When I exert arm strength, I can actually see tendons and muscles and stuff.

I can climb the stairs all the way up from the basement to the fourth floor at work (about 60 feet/18 meters) without going into "painful exertion" phase (which used to kick in at about the halfway point).

I can button my shirt collars up all the way without it looking and feeling awkward.

I don't need a nap every afternoon (although this week I was back to napping, having gotten my sleep schedule messed up by noisy neighbors).

I no longer need a walking stick to handle my usual "exploration" walks at conferences.

My digestive system works better in general, and I no longer get various sorts of discomfort after eating too much (although a lot of that is because I no longer eat too much). At the same time, I don't feel weak and rubbery if I go too long without eating.

I do seem to have more problems with cold temperatures, although it's hard to say for sure why. Maybe I had been suffering the kind of nerve deadening typical of diabetes before, maybe my relatively rapid loss of bulk is just something I need to adjust to in thermodynamic terms.

Still dunno yet if my allergy issues will be lessened by my overall health improvement, I'll find that out in a few weeks when the spring allergen flood hits and ranchers start burning the prairies.

Comments

[liabrown]

Good work!

I get weak and rubbery if I go too long without eating...which sadly can't be a very long period. I'm always cold too. I've put on a few pounds in recent years and weight is definitely more of a struggle than it used to be, but I'm still around my ideal weight (I used to be quite underweight).