A few weeks ago, I was taking everyone to the hospital… making sure they were in tip top shape… worrying that their health may be in danger…
A few weeks ago (but later than what I mentioned before), I felt so tired, exhausted, dizzy and my head almost felt like exploding. Then I got a blood pressure reading of 70/30 something… that was way too low…. Just ask anyone…
I got so freaked out with it… that I convinced myself that it was time to see the doctor… for myself… this time. But first, I went straight to the laboratory to have my blood tested…
Complete blood count: Check!
Lipid Profile: Check!
Fasting Blood Glucose: Check!
Thyroid Function Tests: Check!
Yep! Done it all… I was even freaked out with the size of the syringe that the lady at the lab brought out… Good thing though that the lady there was so gentle I didn’t even felt a sting when she pricked me.
I think it took a couple of days before I finally got my lab tests… that was also grocery shopping day for me. So before heading home for the results… I went shopping.. for food! Yep something I love… something that I’m excited for!
I swore… I thought all I needed would be a little ferrous sulfate dose… coz I really believed that I may just be a little anemic. So I was shopping guiltlessly for hours before finally seeing the results…
By the time I got to see the results, it was dinner time. But then, before I even took my first bite. I opened the envelope from the lab… and there goes my nightmare!
Everything was actually fine… I wasn’t even a little low on RBC… I got most of the stuff normal… Except for two things… HDL count (so called good cholesterol count) and FBS (fasting blood sugar).
HDL was a little low… but not exactly to be panicked about. But when I saw the results of my FBS… I felt my heart pumped so hard and so fast that I couldn’t even drink.
I thought I just misread it or something. But it was so real that I quickly grabbed my phone and started texting my friend who happened to be studying medicine. When my phone beeped, I grabbed it as fast as a flash of light and read what she thinks about it.
Then, the scariest message ever, “might be pre-diabetic”. She suggested that I better see a doctor fast.
I am 24 years old at the moment just turning 25 next month. And at this age, diabetes would be far from what I was expecting. I have never felt so scared. I have a little knowledge with the condition. Aside from the fact that diabetes is in the family history, I even wrote for a magazine that tackled it. So in terms of basic knowledge… I knew just too much not to get worried.
That very next day… I went to the hospital. I didn’t want my mom or my yaya to be with me. That’s just how I do things when I get scared. I don’t want those people who took care of me since I was a kid to see how freaked out I am.
I went to the hospital and searched for an endocrinologist or diabetologist available. I was gulping on Gatorade on the process to ease the tension. Then luckily, there was one available who was said to be one of the best in that hospital.
As frugal as I am, that moment, I never even thought how much I may have to pay just to see that doctor. All I wanted was to know for real what was going on.
As I waited for my turn, I was looking around to check out other patients. It hurts to see that the patients I was waiting with are as old as my own grandmother. And the irony was, my grandma had even normal blood sugar.
When my turn came up, the doctor’s secretary even got surprised to find out I was the patient. And she asked how young I was. I mumbled my age and just smiled weakly.
My doctor was actually very friendly. She asked all sorts of things. And she was checking out my results. She said, I shouldn’t be too worried… although in all honesty, she said that it doesn’t mean I shouldn’t do something about it.
For one, she gave me a BIG NO to iced tea. Wow… my all-time fave drink. Gone. Then she asked if I was a coffee drinker. Of course, I was. So limit that to two cups or less a day. Then exercise… uh-OH…. I confess, I am as lazy as a sloth when it comes to exercise. The most work-out I do is walking from my bedroom to the bathroom and back. So… she suggested that I do at least 30 minutes work out a day. Then for rice… half would be enough. No more sweets on a daily basis… here and there would be okay as long as it’s gonna be just a bite. Then soda… only those with no sugar… and I can only drink that at most three glasses a week. More veggies, fish, fiber and fruits. That’s basically it.. if I remember correctly.
Then… yes… medication and regular blood sugar check. I had to take meds daily to prevent the progression to diabetes. And blood check… at least once a month for now till our next check up… which is in November.
Two weeks had passed since my first visit to the diabetologist. And I just recently got my blood sugar test again. It went down favorably… more than expected actually. But I am still trying to limit everything I eat… since exercise is far from reality. I still can’t manage to bring my body to moving so much especially in the morning. So I just try to check and be very careful with whatever that goes in my mouth.
Although I think I can deal with this better than most have expected out of me, but the thought that at age 24… I got into this mess… well it was a tough lesson that I’ve learned the hard way. Ever since, everybody has been telling me to watch what I eat… but I didn’t listened… coz I thought being the non-smoker and seldom drinker that I am would be far from such illnesses. I really thought that being young could mean being invincible by such conditions.
I was wrong. So for now… on my third week of diet and getting better actually with the balancing act, I still don’t exercise and still running away from the mere sight of an icy cold iced tea… But at least I am still exhaustingly coping with it… and though I know putting myself in this situation actually meant one step closer to full blown diabetes, at least I am trying to delay it… BIG TIME… as much as I can actually… and it has been taking a lot of self-control and discipline… something that I really didn’t think I was cut for.
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