Tuesday 11 April 2017

My Journey Began With Gestational Diabetes

Diabetes can happen when you least expect it. You have no family history. You had no real idea you could be affected by it. You have one baby. All goes well. You're pregnant for the second time. All is going well now too...and then...you find out you have gestational diabetes. It's late in the pregnancy. You're tired. The baby...is the baby going to be ok? You can't think about anything but the baby. Testing your blood sugar? Ok. Eat then walk. Ok. But you're oh so tired. But it's for the baby. You're officially being told, no worries, the baby is fine. Once the baby is born, all will be good...

Did I know that having gestational diabetes would change my decision regarding how many children I'd have? It did. Now, let's not blame diabetes for everything. I will do that later on. I was 34 yrs old when I had my first baby. I was 36 when I had my second. To be honest, that also was part of the decision to not have the 4 kids I wanted. I don't think it was ever my husband's plan to have 4 kids, LOL. What surprised me was how much my parents were concerned about me having another baby because of the diabetes. I explained to them that I would be ok. It became a non issue pretty quick though. My husband and I were just plain tired at 36 years of age with two young kids.

Fast forward 10 yrs. You don't feel well. Must be some kind of bug going around. It will pass. Three months later it still hasn't passed. Hmmm. What else could it be? It's now November. There seems to be a lot of information about...diabetes...could you be...? Off to the doctor. If  we are going to test for diabetes, we should also test for any cardiac issues. Oh. Now that, you didn't see coming. Where do you begin with all of this? What do you have to do for you now? It's not for the baby. It's for you.

That's how my journey started. Was it a tough journey? Yes at times. Was it horrible? Not at all. I wanted to know from my doctor, do I have time to make some changes? Yes.

Let's give it 6 months and see what you can do. Ok. Now that sounds great.
Let's get you a blood glucose monitor. Check.
Let's get you testing. Check.
Let's get you some diabetic education. Check.
Let's get you some help from a registered dietitian. Check.
Now the hard part. Lose some weight. I'm 5' 8" and I weighed almost 230 lbs. Yikes.

I lost that weight, well, at least a good portion of it. I got down to 169 lbs. Yay me!
I tested.
I ate the way I was supposed to.
I walked.
I felt great. I had control of my diabetes. For 8 years, only diet and exercise.
Eight years??? Yes, 8 years.

Did you know that in 8 years, you get older? Me? Get older? I don't think so. I'm working full time. I have two children that have grown into amazing young people. We are a family on the go. It's all good.

Then after 8 years, I gave up. I now know, I burnt out. I had no idea that could happen. I had diabetes burnout. I was tired of being so regimented. I was regressing into my teen years. I was acting out. And I didn't care.

The journey continues...

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