While I was sitting at my mother's house one day, a phone call came out of the blue from a group at the University of Utah who were doing a study on the effects of gastric bypass on people over a period of years. Back in 2002 or 2003, I signed up to be part of the study in the control group--the people who did not have gastric bypass surgery. I'd gone in for a couple of in-hospital rounds of tests, done a few phone interviews and then fallen off the radar when I lost my Utah cell phone number a few years ago.
My sister and I had discussed the study a day or two earlier, specifically since I haven't been able to get to a doctor for more years than I like to admit. (Don't ask. It's complicated.)
My sister and I had discussed the study a day or two earlier, specifically since I haven't been able to get to a doctor for more years than I like to admit. (Don't ask. It's complicated.)
Anyway, my sister encouraged me to call them while I was in town -- which sounded like a good idea, but I couldn't remember what the study was about so I had no idea who to even ask for if I did randomly call the University Hospital.
Which brings me to the foreign language section of this blog post. Apparently, in the decades during which I haven't been able to visit the doctor, I have developed high blood pressure and type-2 diabetes.
The high blood pressure isn't at a frightening number, and I know for a fact that I didn't have HBP during my last visit to the ER several years ago. The glucose numbers are a bit more concerning.
The high blood pressure isn't at a frightening number, and I know for a fact that I didn't have HBP during my last visit to the ER several years ago. The glucose numbers are a bit more concerning.
And so I begin a journey into the unknown -- a world of concerns about blood glucose and blood pressure numbers that make very little sense to me at this point. Luckily, it seems (at first glance anyway) that eating a diabetic friendly diet is a lot like eating a Weight Watchers friendly diet, which I know how to do. The only real difference, is that the stakes are higher than they've ever been.
So even though I don't understand a lot about where my numbers are supposed to be, I do know that they're much too high where they are now and there's only one thing I can do about it at the moment -- change my diet and add some exercise into my lifestyle while I'm trying to find some kind of medical care and researching as much as I can on my own.
If any of you have tips on living with type-2 diabetes or diabetes friendly recipes, feel free to share. If I come across any I'll share. At least it will give us something to talk about!
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So even though I don't understand a lot about where my numbers are supposed to be, I do know that they're much too high where they are now and there's only one thing I can do about it at the moment -- change my diet and add some exercise into my lifestyle while I'm trying to find some kind of medical care and researching as much as I can on my own.
If any of you have tips on living with type-2 diabetes or diabetes friendly recipes, feel free to share. If I come across any I'll share. At least it will give us something to talk about!
_____________________________________________
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