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The Diagnosis and Facing it Head On
I was thirty-three when I got my Type 2 Diabetes diagnosis. Not much of a check up goer, it had been at least 3 years since my latest annual check up. The only reason why I was even at my general practitioners office was because my husband and I had been trying to conceive but without much luck.
I don’t remember the specifics but a few days after the battery of tests, my doctor told me that I had diabetes. What that meant, I had no clue. He explained the basics of insulin resistance, high blood sugar, carbs and diet change and of course, medication. Before leaving his office, I had pamphlets and referrals for dietitians, endocrinologist and what not.
That evening, after much googling, Mr. Tech and I went straight to Wegmans and armed ourselves with everything we thought we’d need to kick Diabetes’ butt. We were going to eat healthfully and do a low carb lifestyle.
For the first time in a long time our shopping cart was not loaded with rice, potatoes, cakes, cookies or pop tarts. Instead, we had veggies, lean meats and even Splenda and almond flour (oh yeah, we were going to bake low carb cakes and cookies).
Pretending Like Nothing Changed
It probably wasn’t a week until we had given up on our low carb endeavor. We went back to our old eating habits. The bag of almond flour was never opened. We eventually purged it two years after, when we were prepping to move to a new house.
Eating white rice was just something I couldn’t stop. Rice wasn’t just an addiction but part of my DNA. Each of my specialist that advised me to stop eating rice was told the same thing. “If I stop eating it, I’ll stop being Asian.”
I eventually used Metformin and Insulin during each of my two pregnancies. After giving birth to Jay, my blood glucose numbers went back down to pre-diabetes levels. The combination of good glucose numbers and losing 25 lbs from my diagnoses weight made me believe that I had miraculously beat diabetes.
Eighteen months later and I knew my diabetes was back and with a vengeance. I had dry mouth, tingling feet, constantly urinating during the night and, most embarrassingly, discomfort in my lady parts due to high sugar levels in my urine. I knew I had to go to an endocrinologist.
It’s True What They Say, You Won’t Really Kick the Habit Until You’re Ready
We found a new endocrinologist and my test results were shocking. My A1C level was almost at 11%. I had not been testing my blood glucose and I can blame being a busy mom for that. If I’m being honest, I just didn’t want to know.
My new endocrinologist was really supportive and explained all the different courses of action that we could take. Insulin was something I absolutely detested and I knew I definitely didn’t want to go down that route again. I was open to taking other pills but wanted to try lowering my carb intake again.
Off to the grocery store Mr. Tech and I went again, Harris Teeter this time. We also watched a documentary on the Keto diet and we decided to go real low carb. This time, we’ve been able to stick with our healthful life change. We still have some cheat days but overall, we stick to less than 25 grams of carbs per day.
It’s only been six weeks but I’ve already brought my blood glucose numbers down from an average of 300 to 160. Those numbers are based on my Freestyle Libre (I bought mine at ) which is somewhat like a continuous glucose monitor. And I’ve lost two inches from my waistline alone. The weight is a different matter, I’ve only lost 6 lbs. Mr. Tech on the other hand has lost 18 lbs in the past six weeks.
We hope to share our journey with you. We may be new to this but we’ve learned so much already. What has been you’re experience with diabetes or even just doing low carb? We’d love to hear from you.
