My Real Life

So, November is National Diabetes Month.  It’s also the first November that I’ve dealt with diabetes.

I was diagnosed with diabetes last March, and since then, I’ve been walking the tightrope of trying to find a balance in my diet so that I can control this disease with diet and exercise, and not have to use insulin shots.

When I describe it as a tightrope walk, please know that I am not exaggerating.  Too little carbs and I become a blathering idiot with no energy or brain power.  Too many carbs and my blood sugar shoots through the roof.  Then there is the issue of good carbs versus bad carbs and how do you know which is which?

I’ve spent more hours researching this disease than I did researching for both of my masters degrees.  As is always the case in this information age, there is way too much information for me to even make sense of most days.  Also, the information is always contradictory.  One website says apples are an important source of fiber while another says they are too high in sugar for a diabetic.

What’s a girl to do?

I’ll tell you what I do.  I persevere.  I’ve got three small children with a lot of life left in them and I plan on being there for every single step along the way.  Those who know me well would agree that I’m a total control freak, and dealing with this disease is no exception.  I will not let it get control of my life.  Instead, I work hard to control it.

I think I’m doing a pretty good job, thus far.  It doesn’t affect my daily life in any major way.  I quietly check my blood sugar throughout the day and make adjustments accordingly.  I do my best to eat right and to help my family eat right as well so that my children do not follow the same path.  The truth is, I know it doesn’t matter how I help them…they may inherit it genetically, just as I have.  So, if I teach them young, they may be able to keep it in check, as I do, with diet and exercise.

This is the first holiday season that I am facing with diabetes.  This is going to prove to be a big challenge for me.  After the diagnosis, it wan’t candy and sugar that I was missing. 

It’s been the big carbs.  I love potatoes and pasta and bread and all things lethal to a diabetic diet.  So, here comes Thanksgiving with all of it’s carby goodness.  I’ll make good choices…I will.  Yet, it won’t be easy.

Going into the New Year, I know the biggest change I need to make is exercise.  It’s not a vanity thing.  I look just fine.  However, the more exercise I get, the better my pancreas can process all that it needs to process to keep the diabetes in check, and yet, that is the area where I need the most work.  I need to learn to carve out that time for myself without feeling guilty.  The truth is, exercise is more than “me time” in my case.  It’s important in terms of keeping me healthy and functional with my family.

So, even if you don’t struggle with diabetes, as we move through November, I encourage everyone to really look at their eating and exercise habits and see if there isn’t something that they could do better.  I think, as Americans, we can all stand to be a little healthier.

Next year, I plan to walk in the Diabetes Walk in the beginning of November.  I hope to do so in better shape and health than I am in today.