It all began when I noticed I was losing weight sometime after June-ish. I've consistently been 115 pounds since high school, hardly ever fluctuating in weight. Suddenly I lost a pound, then another pound, then another pound. At first I thought it was pretty neat that I was losing a few pounds without exercising or dieting, and that I might make it down to a nice, slim 110. Then 110 came and went, and I kept losing weight. Not only was I losing weight, but I noticed I was losing muscle mass and my "trouble areas" were becoming bony. I was down to 105ish when I began to feel like I was drying up from the inside out. My lips and skin had been very dry for a few weeks and I was extremely thirsty and hungry. I could not put enough icy cold water in my body to satisfy my thirst. I was also peeing like crazy! The week before I was diagnosed I was up every 2 to 3 hours using the bathroom, which resulted in no sleep and a very tired me. I had no strength to brush my teeth or straighten my hair with a curling iron without having to rest my arms on the counter. My heart would race in the mornings and my vision had become super blurry; I could not see at all at night, even with my glasses on.
With all the above going on, I still managed to get my weekly walk in with my mom that Wednesday night. It felt really good to get out and warm up my aching muscles. As we were walking, I was telling her my symptoms and how I was feeling, and she made me promise that if I woke up the next morning and lost more weight to go to the doctor and get checked. The weekend before, my mom had fed me get-some-fat-on-those-bones meals for three days in a row thinking my weight loss might have been due to eating like a college student (you know, ramen noodles and frozen burritos). When I lost weight following the third day, we knew something was wrong.
The next morning I woke up to find I had lost another pound - the scale reading 102.9 pounds. Off to the doctor I went. I did not have a Primary Care Physician (shame on me, but I never needed to see the doctor except for my annual well woman exam) so I went to the nearest Urgent Care. I told the receptionist I was there for weight loss. I was taken back to my room and waited (for what felt like an eternity). I could suddenly hear the urgent care doctor in the hall saying, "Weight loss, are you kidding me?". She entered my room and immediately began to tell me that this was an urgent care, a step down from an ER, and weight loss was not something you went to the urgent care for. She could probably see the tears in my eyes and my lips quivering, so she assured me she would treat me but to use a PCP for weight loss issues in the future. As she sniffed my elbow pit for traces of drugs, I told her my symptoms and she sent someone in to take blood.
An hour later she came into my room asking me if I wanted to hear the good news or the bad news (I hate when anyone asks me that). I don't remember what she said the good news was... but I remember the bad news, "You have diabetes". I looked at her and said really? She said really. I told her I thought she was joking. I really did think she was joking. I thought she would say, "Just kidding. You’re fine. Now get out of here and stop wasting my time". But she replied with, "No, I'm not joking". She then proceeded to tell me she was sending in some IVs and fluids to get me hydrated.
As the nurse hooked me up she told me to push the button if I had to a) pee or b) when the fluid ran out. I pushed the button three times, each time to tell the nurse my fluids had run out. Three bags of fluids... and I did not have to pee at all. I walked into that UC at 103 pounds and walked out of the UC at 111 pounds - my body held onto every ounce of fluid they put in me, that's how dehydrated I was.
The urgent care doctor made an appointment for me that very day to see an Internist that was right upstairs - who had a 3 month waiting period for new patients. Four hours after entering the urgent care, the doctor who lectured me about abusing the urgent care walked me to the lobby and shook my hand as we parted.
I went upstairs, met my new PCP (awesome lady, by the way), received my Humalog and Lantus pens, learned how to give myself an injection, and went home. My diabetes journey had begun. The next few days I read a lot about diabetes (can't remember a single thing I read during those few days) and slept A LOT.
It’s been a little over one month and here I am. Getting my blood sugars slowly under control, probably annoying everyone around me with my constant talk of insulin and sugars, and becoming an advocate of a disease I thought I’d never have.
If you care to take this journey with me, maybe learn a few new things about diabetes along the way, then read on friend! Here we go!
No comments:
Post a Comment