Re: Is there anybody out there that is happy to have diabete
I'm not happy to have diabetes, but I'm happIER to have a proper diagnosis rather than being treated individually for a bunch of life threatening symptoms such as chronic asthma and bronchitis, gastritis, IBS, Meniere's Disease, angioedema, anaphylactic shock. I had all those medical conditions for years, nearly lost my life 3 times with anaphylactic shock and angioedema and was on the verge of jumping off the nearest bridge just before I was diagnosed with so called 'simple' T2 Diabetes.
Three weeks later my world had begun turning around. The asthma was disappearing by the day, the gastric problems, fullness and bloating, reflux etc receded, the itching skin (which drove me to the point of insanity, never understimate the power of an itch) and the swelling of my skin and internal organs began to recede. I can't tell you what it means to be struggling to walk, breathe and talk, using sticks and 6 weeks later to be breathing normally, walking normally and able to talk and walk at the same time.
There's an element of Stockholme Syndrome involved for me. I've been held 'hostage' by diabetes for over 20 years, I was diagnosed as borderline 33 years ago after my second child was born. Nothing has shown up since, I've been borderline but the damage was being done slowly and gradually. When the diagnosis came along it was like the 'hostager' was also my 'saviour' and I was grateful to it for revealing itself. But really, I'd prefer not to have diabetes, but if I DO have it, I want to KNOW what I'm dealing with.
I don't think of it as the enemy, it's a condition, it doesn't have an agenda, it just is what it is, I have to understand that and work with it as best I can. I could hate it for doing so much damage without revealing itself for so many years, I could hate the medical profession for not having better diagnostic criteria and for inventing that stupid 'borderline diabetes' threshold that is so dangerous. But what's the point?
My priority is me getting well. So that's what the diagnosis did for me, it identified the true problem, it allowed the proper treatment and diet to be made, it removed those other 'illnesses' I'd been diagnosed with, it removed most of the pills and inhalers I was taking and gave me some energy, enthusiasm, quality of life and my sense of humour back. If I could get rid of diabetes I would. But if I can't, then at least I know what I'm dealing with.
It's Saturday morning, I'm 59 years of age, I've been up since 6am, I've done some washing, mopped the kitchen floor, vacuumed, thrown out some rubbish, am now going to do more washing and have a re-arrange of furniture. This time last year I didn't even have the energy to THINK of doing all that, never mind DO it. It took me all my energy to get out of bed, make tea and get back into the chair. And I HATED that. I hated feeling lazy and tired. I'm an active person and I'd changed over time into a slug. And I was my own worst enemy, because every day I called myself for everything for being UNABLE to drum up the energy to do something. Chronic fatigue and depression have to be the worst conditions ever because they're stupid. They make no sense. We see no reason for them. We feel stupid when we have them. We believe they're all in the mind and we can snap out of them if only we try hard enough.
We can't. There are ALWAYS underlying reasons for them and those reasons are often as not, NEVER DISCOVERED. I think may people diagnosed with mental illnesses may also be suffering from undiagnosed diabetes. Swinging blood sugars means swinging moods. Swinging moods = bipolar = strong meds.
My heartfelt wish is for whoever is responsible in the medical profession - WHO - to review the diagnostic criteria for diabetes so that it's caught earlier, that 'borderline' becomes more than a cliche, but becomes a condition that warrants treatment, doing something about BEFORE it gets too far and before other complications mask the true problem.
Over and Out :thumbup: