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bobbibee Posts: 215
Member
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Hello; I was diagnosed with Type II diabetes two months shy of my 40th bd. I knew one day I would face it because it runs on both sides of my family. At the time I was diagnosed I was overweight. I am 5'5" and weighed a good 270lbs. I was not inactive; in fact, I was very active. Nothing stopped me. I hiked, snorkled, swam, gardened to an extreme (hauling 500lbs of manure, rocks etc), went anywhere and everywhere. I didn't live on junk food, as a gardener I really love my veggies and spend a lot of time on nutrition. I didn't shy away from french fries but I didn't live on them either. So when the diagnosis came down, I just dealt with it. In fact, I turned my numbers around within ten days and kept it under control so well my doctors were worried that they had made a mistake. Cut to two years later and with no change in my lifestyle, my body started having trouble keeping my numbers in control. Nothing I did seemed to matter. My numbers were climbing every three months. We tried all oral meds and all combos of them. I worked with nutritionalists and took classes. I was able to offer more info than some of the instructors when it came to natural/homeopathic remedies. Still, my numbers kept inching up. Finally, as I was losing ten pounds a month, my doctor said he wanted me to try insulin. I asked if I would be able to come off it as I dropped more and more weight; to which he said "yes". Mind you, I was meeting with my nutritionalist who was happy with my diet and encouraged me to eat more carbs even. Thirty days later, I gained fifty pounds. That's 30 days and gained 50 pounds. I was inconsolable. They took me to several scales in various offices to confirm it. Then my doc said "Well, insulin will do that". I lost my mind and every person in his lobby heard what I had to say about being irresponsible and not disclosing that info etc etc etc. Well, the insulin had to continue because my numbers still sucked. I switched doctors immediately. My new endocrinologist suggested gastric bypass surgery the first time I met him. I balked at that because I had read a lot about it and met a number of people who had had it done. This was all about "eating issues". I didn't have eating issues. I could eat small amounts and not snack and not eat crap. He couldn't explain it all to me but I did a little more research and put it behind me. My numbers just got worse and worse. My A1C was 11 and I was still fat and my daily numbers remained over 400 every day. Finally, one day, I thought I was fighting the flu. Stayed home and rested, called my PCP and was told it sounded like a cold, no need to come in, everyone is fighting it. So I remained in bed, drank Gatorade and diet gingerale. The next day called a friend to bring me more liquids and she came and stayed with me a while cos I was really out of it. Finally, we both determined that something was really wrong and she called 911. The ambulance came and got me; I passed out on the gurney and woke up in ICU. My numbers jumped to 765. I was there for five days; under their diet, their meds, their care. My endocrinologist came to see me even tho he wasn't on staff there and he knew the attending. They commiserated over my history and my new problem. Five days later, I would go to sleep with my numbers down to 120 and wake up with my numbers at 400. They were stymied and finally agreed that it was "just my body" and its resistance. That was in November. In January it was discovered that my pancreas was kaput with making insulin. I am now in the same boat as Type I's. By now I had started contemplating gastric bypass. All these years later; I read and saw info that showed that there was something about the actual surgery that helped diabetics. It had nothing to do with losing weight or eating disorders. There was something about the actual bypassing and malabsorption so I agreed to do it. I had the surgery last year in June. I lost 102 pounds in nine months. I feel wonderful and eat anything I want (in small portions of course). Unfortunately, it did nothing to help the diabetes. I am one of the 15% that it doesn't help. I still take 40 units or more of insulin every day. I still wake up every day with numbers in the 300-400 range. My A1C went from 11 to 10, to 12, to 13, back to 12.6 in the past year. I exercise 3-5 days a week, I eat well, I drink only Vitamin Water, coffee (a little) and tea. No carbonation (for the rest of my life), no alcohol, no sugar anything. I eat several times a day as I need to. And while I lost that weight, I can't seem to lose anymore. My surgeon said "Its all diet and exercise from here out" Great, I do diet and I do exercise but where others have lost so much more, I'm stuck these last six months. This is beyond a plateau. That's my story so far; any input any suggestions any advice will be greatly appreciated. At this point, I know neuropathy is starting in my feet and I feel like I'm going to die pretty much just like this, and not too far off.
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