Blood Will Tell

  Just when you thought it was safe to breathe a sigh of relief...
  Everything seems to be going well. It's sunny out, no hurricanes have hit your part of the world. (Funny how we get so complacent when the bad stuff happens to other people)

   But something is not feeling right. You are feeling hungover and you don't even drink.Shaky, room spinning at times. Eyesight changes. Hmmm. You ignore it because someone else needs you more.
   You read about Rosie O'Donnell's heart attack and you think "What???!!! How can a bright woman who presumably reads and keeps up with trends have such obvious symptoms of a heart attack and ignores it until its almost too late?"

I will tell you in one word: DENIAL
We don't want to hear it: From the woman who doesn't get a mammogram because it might be "bad news" to the person who continues to eat poorly because after all "everything will kill you anyway eventually".

  No one wants to hear bad news. No one wants to face mortality. No one wants to think the unthinkable.
   I have always prided myself on being a fairly healthy cook, little or no processed foods, heavy on the fruits and veggies, etc. but boy, put a cookie in front of me and I will be your best friend. Love cookies. No, not just love cookies in small letters. I LOVE cookies. Any type, but leaning heavily into the chocolate anything category.

  Just pile 'em up and feed 'em to me now.

    So what? All is fine tra-la-la...until you get those pesky blood test results back. I had been noticing over the past couple of years that my fasting blood sugars have been on the higher side. I was always watching it due to the fact that on my dad's side, diabetes runs rampant. Concerned, but not consumed by the fact (pardon the pun) that they were high-ish, I vowed to be more careful. More exercise, check. More veggies and fruit, check. Less sweets and cookies...er, well, uh...
   This week marks the end of Life As I Know It.
   A more indicative test (A1C, which measures average blood sugars over the past three months, which is more like a video than the one-time snapshot of a fasting blood sugar) came back high, showing that my blood sugar average has been way higher than it should be.
   Coupled with an abnormally high insulin level, it shows that my body does not properly process insulin. I have joined the thousands of people in the "pre-diabetes" category. Insulin-resistant. Metabolic syndrome.
   Whatever you call it, it is serious. If you are in the pre-diabetic column, your risk of getting diabetes w/i 5 years has now just sky-rocketed. No one wants to hear the words "diabetes" (pre or full blown) in the same sentence as "You have..."
   Of my dad's relatives, if you do not have diabetes, it's because you have DIED from diabetes. 
   So, apparently DH and I are now sharing this new thing. I am going to do a little more investigating. Is it becoming more common or are the tests more sensitive or have they lowered the parameters?   What are the stats saying about becoming diabetic after this diagnosis? Can it be reversed? What are the odds you have it right now and don't know it? What can you do to control it?
(Your chance of heart failure and stroke have just now gone up....)
  




 So now what? My doctor told me she doesn't know how long I can remain vegetarian since it is obviously heavy in carbs. I am resisting because the thought of meat makes me want to be ill. I stopped eating meat due to high cholesterol but hubby says I need to find a balance, I can't be extreme in either direction. I will keep you posted on what I find out.



  to be sick...especially if you don't know it.


One last look at my addiction