
Diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and Did Something About It: Adam's Story
This article was written exclusively for Information About Diabetes by Adam Caryll. After being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, Adam decided to turn his life around by getting active. Over five months, he lost about 50 pounds, cut his A1C level in half, and lowered his blood pressure to within a normal range. This is his inspiring story.
This summer I went to get an abscess on my leg lanced and found out my blood pressure was in a dangerous range (180/120). After some struggle, (there’s currently a war between a large health care provider in my area and my insurance company) I found a PCP who would still be accepting my insurance in a year. I was prescribed blood pressure medicine and took a blood screening. The results came back with more news: I’m diabetic.
More blood work, something called an A1C. Two days later, I got a phone call: They wanted me to go to the hospital to get my blood sugar under control. Not having a full grasp of the situation, I asked if I could wait a day or two because I had to work and we were already short-handed in our busy season. The response was immediate and emphatic: “NO. There is a room waiting for you at the hospital. Go.”
Dead Man Walking
I’ve learned since then that my A1C index at the time was 11.3. For those of you unfamiliar with the index, it’s a scale of 1-14. Average people without diabetes have glucose levels around 70-80. With an 11.3 index over a three-month period, I was averaging around 279. AVERAGING. Between this and my blood pressure, I was walking around with a loaded gun next to my head and had no idea.
I spen
Continue
reading