Monday, December 6, 2010

Diabetes Day 1: T's story

 In early May 2010, I was feeling run down, a kind of weakness. Those who really know me, know that I can and will force my way through anything, and don't want to show any signs of weakness. It's just not in my nature. I had gone to a minute clinic due to a sinus infection that just wouldn't go away. I have been taking sinus medications daily since I was 16 . After the antibiotics and kicking the sinus infection, I still didn't feel right, so I went back to the clinic and was able to discuss the issues and the way I felt with the person there.

She thought I might have a potassium defiency, which I found weird because I ate a banana every day at work and even a leisure banana now and then.  I made an appointment with my Dr, got some blood work done and in the meantime kept getting worse. I wasn't sick, but I was so weak I could barely walk.

Thursday of Memorial Day weekend I went for the bloodwork and Friday I went to work. Sat, Sun and Mon, I couldn't get out of bed other than to eat, drink or pee and I mean pee a lot. No sooner would I drink a 16 oz glass of Orange Juice then in 15 minutes I would pee it out. Tues I get to the Doctors and they get me in the examination room. Routine height, weight, BP check, but then I hear the Dr and the Physician's assistant talking in the background, and they are discussing a patient.

 Oh shit... that's me they are talking about. They are arguing about sending me to the hospital or trying to stabilize the situation there. The Dr wins, and the next thing I know, they are giving me papers to go to the hospital. So I get in my car and drive myself to the hospital. I don't know how bad I am but I gotta be bad if they are sending me there. Remember I was driving, walking, and generally being myself.

 I am now in some admin. office at the hospital and they seem to be rushing things along, and the next thing I know I am heading to ICU.  I am thinking to myself WTF?!  When I get into ICU I start to get an idea as to how bad I must be. I don't feel sick just very, very weak.

OK, here is the scoop. I have a blood sugar of 1023!!
 and I have Drs and nurses coming in to my room at a pretty steady rate.  I ask one, "how come so many visitors?", and she says they haven't heard of anyone with a blood sugar that high and if they had, it was in a coma and came in by ambulance. Of course my thought is "Cool, look what I have done". That tells you what kind of nut I am.

After constant fluids, lots of insulin and many visits by every  type of Dr known to man other than a Podiatrist, they get my shut-down body back to normal. The Drs and nurses are amazed at how fast I came back to normal, and I was feeling better than I had for a month. That's my 1st day as a diabetic.

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