Monthly Archives: September 2007
The harsh reality.
This is where I get brutally honest about life with type 2 diabetes.
I know that eating that donut this morning and then the bag of chocolate chip cookies this afternoon were bad choices. But I did it anyways.
I know that putting off exercise another day was bad for me, especially given the week I took off because of ankle tendonitis. But I did it anyways.
I could be told a million times how I need to watch my carbohydrate intake and how I need to exercise, but sometimes the motivation IS JUST NOT THERE. The smell of the donuts and the lure of the recliner are too powerful.
Thoughts of living with type 2 diabetes, taking care of myself day in and day out, for years to come becomes too much to handle. I wasn’t in midlife when I was diagnosed – I was just short of 29 years old. Yeah, yeah, I know all too well about how many type 1′s have lived with that condition from a young age, but what I experience IS different. It is uncharted territory for most people my age.
It is hard to think that I didn’t do this to myself. That all the bad habits caught up with me. (Though the realistic side of me knows about the missed hypothyroid diagnosis, the enormous weight gain while on a certain anti-depressant, and the genetic predisposition to type 2.)
It has forced me to become an amateur athlete, complete with sports-related injuries. It has robbed me of the freedom to eat a pint of Ben & Jerry’s during PMS. It has taken away the ability to skip a meal because I don’t feel well. It has made me yell and scream at the scale. It has made me feel absolutely exhausted from a night out during the work week, when only five years ago, five hours of sleep was normal for me. It has made me wonder if I’m running out of time before another disease or condition appears in my relative youth.
And sometimes I forget that controlling my feelings about type 2 is every bit as important as controlling food intake…
That book meme.
(please excuse the lack of real content. things should be back to “normal” soon.)
Total Number of Books Owned: Too many to count.
Last Book Bought: The Five Gifts of Illness by Jill Sklar.
Last Book Read: The Five Gifts of Illness by Jill Sklar. (No, really! I bought it, then I read it!)
Five Books That Mean a Lot to You:
1. The Little House – Virginia Lee Burton (Favorite book as a child, about a little house being crowded by excessive suburban/city growth and finally moved out to the country.)
2. The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett
3. Prodigal Summer – Barbara Kingsolver (Amazing writing.)
4. Encyclopedia of Chicago – Great resource on the best city in the world.
5. The Five Gifts of Illness – Jill Sklar (Proves that I’m not completely crazy to think how fortunate I’ve been with the changes I’ve made in my life since my type 2 diagnosis. Not just about diet and exercise, either.)
Best Five Books You Read in the Past Year:
1. The Sparrow – Mary Doria Russell (Thanks to Julia for this recommendation.)
2. The Omnivore’s Dilemma – Michael Pollan
3. Eats, Shoots & Leaves – Lynne Truss
4. Cheating Destiny: Living with Diabetes, America’s Biggest Epidemic – James S. Hirsch
5. Saving Graces – Elizabeth Edwards (LOVE HER!)
COME ON, play along!
Limping along.
Another case of tendonitis. For the third time in less than two years, I am experiencing moderate pain surrounding a joint, rendering regular activity impossible. Rest, naproxen sodium, and ice are my friends this weekend, along with a couple of books, laptop, and football on TV.
I understand that tendonitis can be more prevalent in people with diabetes, so I believe it is no coincidence that the three cases of tendonitis have occurred since my type 2 diagnosis. Okay, so I’ve also increased my physical activity in the 2+ years after diagnosis, so there’s a better chance of developing sports-related injuries. Remember, it was only a month ago that I struggled with post-kickball soreness.
But this time is different. The first two times involved my elbow. I was able to go for walks and work on the balance ball.
This time involves my right ankle*. Which means little exercise for me. Which means frustration. (Though not nearly as much frustration as Friday’s 45-minute wait at the lab for the A1C in preparation for Thursday’s first endo appointment on metformin, though. Another possible story for another possible time…)
I believe it is related to those worn-out running shoes I’ve been wearing for exercise while searching for another pair or two of the same model. So, along with making a home in my recliner this weekend, I went ahead and ordered the “new and improved” model of the shoes I love. Because I can’t go through another bout of ankle tendonitis. Nope, not when my health depends on exercise.
*I haven’t had it formally diagnosed, but seeing as the treatment of Aleve, ice, and rest is working quite well, I don’t think it is something worse.
