I had long suspected that I might be diabetic, but I had physicals pretty much annually and nobody ever said I should be concerned. There were a couple of occasions when I asked about blood sugar and was assured it was normal.
The confirmation that I was diabetic came in the emergency room when I suffered my first stroke. That was the beginning of a life changing and almost life ending event.
At 56, I was overweight with a body mass index of 33, and with high blood pressure I was considered severely diabetic and they treated me with insulin and a several medications.
I went through training for testing my blood sugar and dietary restrictions and the staff stressed I would be on medications for the rest of my life.
There is no doubt in my mind that diabetes was a major contributor to my strokes along with retinopathy in my eyes.
I have had 15 laser surgeries on my eyes to repair the damage and received numerous injections in the eyes balls to stimulate the growth of new blood vessels. Diabetes is not something to be taken lightly.
The accurate test for diabetes is the A1C which measures blood hemoglobin and gives an accurate measure of your blood sugar over a period of time. Normal A1C is 5.5 or lower, over 5.5 your pre-diabetic, over 6.0 and your diabetic and need to control your blood sugar.
Failure to address this problem will lead to health problems such as blindness, kidney failure, amputations, chronic skin rashes and stroke.
My experiences demonstrate that you have to take control of your health. Be aggressive, take charge, insist that your doctor check your A1C. If cost is a factor, look at from this perspective my stroke costs were approximately $962,000 the first year and I have had no earnings in six years.
The good news for me is by watching my diet and exercising regularly, my A1C is 5.5 and I have been off all medications for five years, I am vigilant about testing daily blood sugar levels and have my A1C checked every three months.
Do yourself and your family a big favor …look into this.
REFUSE TO BE HELPLESS
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