Surprise! You have diabetes...
It's just one thing after another these days.
J (my husband) has been having some of the "classic" symptoms of diabetes lately. Drinking tons of water, feeling tired most of the time, weight loss. For awhile he just ignored it. He has that oh-so-popular male mentality of "I don't get sick".
I finally nagged him into going to the doctor. I hate a nag as much as the next person but it's more than a little disconcerting to see your husband wasting away in front of you. After watching him lose almost 40 pounds in two months I was getting scared; I'd actually started lying awake at night, just watching him and dreading what we'd find out.
The news was just as bad as I'd thought it would be. He finally went in to the doctor yesterday and was promptly sent in to the emergency room; his sugar was too high to be read on their machine. He was also told that he was lucky to be standing, and that if things continued to progress as they were right now he was headed for a heart attack in two years. All of which he told me over the phone while I was at work and he was en route to the ER.
Needless to say, I cried at work after that. And it was as embarassing as I thought it would be (see previous entry). Everyone made a big fuss and sent me on my way to the hospital. As a painfully private person, it was actually physically painful to come back to work and face everyone today.
On a lighter note, I guess everything is looking up. J was admitted to the ICU since his blood sugar tested at 711. He was put on IV fluids for dehydration and an insulin drip. He had to be poked every hour. I only got to see him for about an hour last night and 30 minutes this morning. But now his sugar is down and they're letting him go home. He's been diagnosed as diabetic now, which means we're in for some major lifestyle changes. He'll be testing his sugar 3 or 4 times a day, taking meds (no insulin shots yet!), and altering his diet dramatically.
As a wife and mom, I'm terrified. I don't want to lose my husband in 10 years. As an obsessive planner, I'm relieved. Because knowing is infinitely better than *not* knowing, and at least now I can devote myself to the study of diabetic cooking.
J (my husband) has been having some of the "classic" symptoms of diabetes lately. Drinking tons of water, feeling tired most of the time, weight loss. For awhile he just ignored it. He has that oh-so-popular male mentality of "I don't get sick".
I finally nagged him into going to the doctor. I hate a nag as much as the next person but it's more than a little disconcerting to see your husband wasting away in front of you. After watching him lose almost 40 pounds in two months I was getting scared; I'd actually started lying awake at night, just watching him and dreading what we'd find out.
The news was just as bad as I'd thought it would be. He finally went in to the doctor yesterday and was promptly sent in to the emergency room; his sugar was too high to be read on their machine. He was also told that he was lucky to be standing, and that if things continued to progress as they were right now he was headed for a heart attack in two years. All of which he told me over the phone while I was at work and he was en route to the ER.
Needless to say, I cried at work after that. And it was as embarassing as I thought it would be (see previous entry). Everyone made a big fuss and sent me on my way to the hospital. As a painfully private person, it was actually physically painful to come back to work and face everyone today.
On a lighter note, I guess everything is looking up. J was admitted to the ICU since his blood sugar tested at 711. He was put on IV fluids for dehydration and an insulin drip. He had to be poked every hour. I only got to see him for about an hour last night and 30 minutes this morning. But now his sugar is down and they're letting him go home. He's been diagnosed as diabetic now, which means we're in for some major lifestyle changes. He'll be testing his sugar 3 or 4 times a day, taking meds (no insulin shots yet!), and altering his diet dramatically.
As a wife and mom, I'm terrified. I don't want to lose my husband in 10 years. As an obsessive planner, I'm relieved. Because knowing is infinitely better than *not* knowing, and at least now I can devote myself to the study of diabetic cooking.