Karen’s Free Health and Fitness Tips

I hadn’t been feeling very well for about a year. I kept feeling run-down where even walking to get the mail, or making dinner, took more energy than I had. I would eat things with sugar in the hopes the sugar would wake me up, but it kept doing the opposite. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me.

Eventually I went to the doctor and he ordered a four hour blood test. That consisted of me getting stuck five times in four hours. The tests came back that yes, I was glucose intolerant, or had pre-diabetes. This means I have a significant risk each year of progressing to full-blown diabetes. This also means I have an elevated risk for heart disease and stroke. This means I am scared.

It is a bit of a shock learning you have a disease. When they first told me, I really didn’t know much about diabetes. Was it like a cold and it would go away? Could they fix me? And last of all, why me?

Was it going to go away? The basic answer is no, it won’t go away but can be managed by diet and exercise. If those two don’t work, then they look into other options. My doctor said he is going to monitor my progress every six months and see what steps need to be taken.

I also learned that no one will fix me; I am the only one who can. I need to eat healthy foods, which is extremely hard as I have never had good eating habits and honestly don’t like the taste of most healthy foods. I am not overweight, as that is something that seems to go hand-in-hand, but in my case, not a factor. It was not unusual for me to have fast food in the morning, again at lunch, and again for dinner. Then, after dinner, top it off with a big bowl of ice cream topped with chocolate syrup and whipped cream. It is a wonder I am not overweight.

Why me? I don’t know. It could be genetic, or it could be my terrible eating habits. Either way, I have it and must deal with it. There are days when my sugar is out-of-whack and other days I feel great. Today it feels off and my brain is a bit fuzzy, almost feels like I took a sleeping pill.

This has become a huge part of my life. Sometimes it bothers me that even when I am 90 years old, I will have this. It is not a phase, but something I have to deal with every day. I can’t just get in the car and go somewhere, I have to make sure I have food with me. Some days I feel crummy and I know it will be several hours before I am back to normal and it is frustrating. Some days I feel great and other days I don’t. Very frustrating.

By: Cindy Breninger

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