2012: A Year of Changes

2011 has been such a wonderful year.  We celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays.  We went on several mini vacations, played sports, and enjoyed the great outdoors.  The kids grew like crazy and learned countless things.  Josh got a new job which brought us to a different state that we happen to love.  We served in various capacities at church, made new friends, and just enjoyed the changing dynamics of our young family.  To state it simply: we just lived life.  And loved it!

2012 is already looking like it will be an eventful year.  The kids will continue to get older (they change so fast!), we'll continue to settle into our new life in Indiana, we'll go on vacations and embrace opportunities to spend quality time with family and friends.  

A lot of people make a New Year's resolution to go on a diet.  That is certainly NOT my resolution but it will have to happen anyway because I've been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes.  To make a very long story short, I started developing weird symptoms while I was home for Christmas.  I was drinking at least a gallon of water a day.  As you can imagine, that made me have to use the bathroom a lot.  I was tired even though I was getting plenty of sleep.  I was also losing my vision-- BAD.  At the start of the week things were a little blurry.  By the end... I couldn't see 2 feet in front of me.

When I returned home to Indiana, I got out my trusty glucose meter and tested my blood sugar.  It was through the roof!  Mine was at 564.  Most glucose meters give you an error message if you go over 600.  After a trip to the Emergency Room, I walked away with a shot of insulin, my lab results, a stack of papers regarding my new diet, and a number for an endocrinologist. 

This is all very unexpected.  For one thing, I don't fit the bill of a typical type 2 diabetic at all.  I am under 30, underweight, and have no family history of diabetes.  None.  I knew that I was at risk of getting diabetes eventually because I had gestational during pregnancy, but I thought it would come much later.  Surprise!

So, like I said, 2012 will be full of changes.  It will take countless doctor's appointments, finger pokes, and diet changes before I finally get a handle on this.  It's a difficult adjustment anyway, but maybe even more so for me because I need to gain weight while counting carbs.  Luckily I'll have plenty of help from a dietician that can create a specialized diet just for me.

Despite the disappointing news, I'm grateful that I have so many resources available to me to help me adjust.  I've got medicine, various doctors, and a wide variety of foods that I can eat.  I'm grateful that I found out before the problem got too bad... like going into a coma or something.

I'll keep you posted throughout the upcoming year.  Bring it on, 2012!