On Friday morning July 3, 2009, I met my brother for breakfast. Our plans for the day did not survive contact with reality.

After we finished breakfast and were standing at the cash register, I began to feel "funny." I felt a bit disconnected from reality and life was passing by like a movie I was watching rather than something in which I was present.

As we were walking to his truck, I told my brother something was wrong. I began to get tunnel vision, began to walk very carefully as if I might lose my balance, and had to try several times before I could grab the truck door handle
to open it and get in.

By this time my brother, a trained law enforcement officer, was very concerned and started asking the kinds of questions designed to see if the person you are encountering is oriented to time, space, date, etcetera. I think I got through some questions with appropriate answers but apparently my lack of expression and monotone voice alarmed him.

Then he asked where we were going. I knew that I knew the answer but I could not recall "Fremont Street" or respond except to say, "Uh, Uh." Then he asked me if I knew his name and the same thing happened.

So we are on the way to the ER. He asks if we should go to St. Joseph's and I was able to communicate I had no insurance so we should go to the County Hospital.

I did not realize it but apparently we went there very quickly. I was not afraid or in pain, just confused and a bit frustrated by whatever was goin on.

At the hospital I was able to walk in to the Emergency Room, but one look at my careful gait and the look on my face got me an escort to a cubicle. A swarm of folks hooked me up to lots of sensors, a saline IV was started and I was given some aspirin. They took blood, vital signs, etcetera.

I was recovering quickly and able to answer the doctors' and nurses' questions. Everyone was suspecting a minor stroke or heart problem. It was quickly clear that a heart problem was not likely but could not be definitively ruled out.

Then one result of the blood tests returned: I had a blood glucose over 400. This is way too high and they told me in some people would result in diabetic coma. Whoopie, I'm a Type 2 diabetic!

A carotid ultrasound was essentially negative, but some arterial plaque was found.. A echo cardiogram was scheduled, rescheduled, and finally pushed out a couple weeks because there were no signs of heart problems and the hospital
staff to do the testing were not available.

So 24 hours or so in the hospital, a few insulin shots, lots of saline IV pumped through my system, not much sleep, little edible food - and most not appropriate for a diabetic! , etcetera. In other words, a standard hospital stay.

I left with some advice and literature from a dietician, prescriptions,a last insulin shot, and appoints for a couple weeks out a the outpatient clinic.

So over the weekend I wrestled with my emotions [anger, sadness, etcetera] as I picked up my glucose test meter, lancet device for pricking my fingers, baby aspirin, and three other medications designed to help my bodies natural insulin,
reduce arterial plaque formation, and slightly moderate blood pressure.

I spent time online and in bookstores to learn about diabetes and its treatment. I monitored my blood glucose before three meals a day [its ranging from a high of around 240 before breakfast to a low of about 165 before dinner, and
apparently "should" be ranging between about 160 and 80].

My personal survival decisions: [1] keep monitoring the blood glucose, and [2] adopt a vegetarian diet [no animal products, plant protein, and fruits lower on the glycemic index]. Exercise is supposedly a good thing, too.

My personal guru for now is Dr. Neal Barnard. Of all the sources I have looked at, his book makes the most sense to me. Based on worldwide population statistics and studies for decades, doing your best to eliminate animal products
from your diet not only reduces cholesterol [the only significant sources of cholesterol are animal], leads to loss of weight, and can radically reduce and even eliminate the need for diabetes medication.

I will let you know how I progess from time to time.

Wow, just wow. I am sorry and at the same time glad you found out now instead of out in the middle of open seas.

I don't have any other comments about it since I don't know much on the topic.

Read In Defense of Food by Micheal Pollan. There's a bit in there on diabetes research done on an aborigine population. The big point is that escaping from the American diet is essential. Like you say, a mostly vegetarian diet or a diet based on traditional food sources, small scale agriculture and hunting and gathering. Don't try and hang on to this lifestyle by replacing crappy processed food with crappy processed food for diabetics. It sounds like thats kind of the path you're on now. Good luck, its a tough row to sow.

$9 w/free amazon prime shipping 2day
Not bad!

http://www.amazon.com/Defense-Food-Eater...0730&sr=8-1

Good reviews too.

I may give the book a go, and see if I can change my eating habits too... I mean what's healthy is healthy!

get you but to dlife.com - seriously

For your meter readings - I love the software at sweetspot.dm (standard disclaimers)

You need a diabetes buddy - drop a line

They tell you your A1C?

(Charlie - who found out the same thing in January)

First read this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabetic

It's not the end of the world. A nasty shock, but not the end of the world. You are simply going to have to be sensible about what you eat and respectful of your condition. Not scared of it, but respectful. That does not mean going vegetarian. For some people it's actually beneficial because it forces them to look after themselves. I have a close friend who suffers from diabetes. He was overweight, drank and smoked. Looked about 70. Old 70. Year after he was diagnosed he looked closed to 50. A healthy 50 and his weight is down to something reasonable.



One other thing: my girlfriend is diabetic. Which is a PITA but it's not exactly slowing her down. One thing she ain't done is give in to her condition.

It is a fast growing club, I have been a type 2 now for going on 15 years. Here are a few things I have learned:

1) take charge of it. Your doctors will display as much interest in helping you as you display in helping yourself. If they tell you to do something, do it. If you do not understand something, ask.

2) test frequently and keep the results and show to the Doctor.

3) Exercise, (walking is best for me) is critically important and shows measurable effects on blood sugar levels on days I walk and those I don't.

4) Do not fear insulin! I was on pills for a long time and always felt sick. I started on insulin and felt my old self come back in less than 2 days. There are 24 hour types of insulin, so you might need only one shot a day. I have a feeling that with fasting blood sugars of the mid-200's they will start you on pills. I had fasting blood sugars in the low 300s when diagnosed, and was started on pills. If I had to do it over again, knowing what I know now, I would start on insulin (e.g. "lantus") right away. On insulin, I get fasting blood sugars in the 80-100 range and A1C's of 6.0 to 6.2. You want your A1C to be below 7.0: below 6.0 is "normal."

It is great you are looking at your diet. Read labels: sugar is hidden in the most unlikely places and in large amounts. Remember that 4 grams of sugar is equal +/- to one teaspoon of table sugar. Do the math on the "teaspoon" content on a 12 oz can of cola and you will be amazed. However, diet and exercise may not be enough to get your control where you need to be.

Lastly, one of the most expensive parts of this disease is the cost of the tests strips if you are paying out of pocket. The big "brand name" meter strips will run anywhere from .75 to $1.00 per strip, and you may be testing several times a day. I found the cheapest place to get a meter and strips was Wallyworld's house brand and strips, via on line order (100 strip box), bringing the cost per strip down to the 43 cent range. One of our local chain drug stores (Rite-aid) also has their house brand with similar pricing. Skipping testing can get you into trouble fast: it is not something that can be ignored.

It is a very individual disease and these are my experiences; I hope you find them useful. Think of it this way: your body used to be on "automatic" but is now on "manual" and you have the controls in your hands.

Well, "congratulations" on joining that club. Full of irony, of course.

From a healthcare provider's standpoint, I'm glad that you were sick, and got caught. I'm sure your sugar was more than 400 - that by itself USUALLY isn't too symptomatic. Chances are their handheld meter just tops out at 400. When you finally get your insurance (subtle hint!) and talk to your doc, have him get copies of your blood work and see your real numbers.

Diabetes sucks. It's a crummy disease. you usually feel fine, but are suddenly at increased risks for all sorts of things. If you want details, pm me. I try to be brutally honest with all my DKA and newly-diagnosed patients, b/c I don't think that many of them realize how deleterious this can be (sort of like high blood pressure).

The best advice? Lose weight. I don't care how, really, as long as you're not eating less and puking more. It's possible that you can "reverse" diabetes with a healthy weight and body fat index. Even if you don't, you get much better control over your sugars.

Good luck!

I'm happy to say I've gotten my A1C down to 5.8, and my daily glucose numbers are trending down since then. MD had me stop exercising because of my leg (it was messing stuff up there), but that is temporary