Diabetes, medications, feelings

                       Diabetes, medications, feelings 

Most people think that because you have diabetes that you're overweight, don't eat right and or you're sugar intake is out of control. What most people don't know is that is NOT true. 

I watch what I eat, I don't have a high sugar intake and don't overeat. I have been working with doctors, nurses, pharmacists, dietitians, medications, needles, and as much reading as I can handle. There is so much to read about diabetes it's unbelievable. A lot of what you'll find online to read is NOT correct. There's a lot that contradicts another. You have to watch what you believe and read. The best option, stay on sites like Alberta Health or something of the sort. Don't believe what you find on sites like Pinterest, those are posts from regular people, they don't always know what they're talking about. Everyone's illness is different from another's. No two illnesses are the same, or act the same in another body and the worst part about diabetes; it's an invisible disease! People don't know you have it by looking at you so, when you're having a bad day with your illness, no one knows or understands. 

No one tells you that diabetes will cause a LARGE number of side effects that are potentially deadly and harmful to your body. No one will tell you that diabetes is painful almost all the time and that you'll be put on countless medications to try and get it under control. 

These are just SOME of the medications I take in the morning. This is not including my 3 needles and other medications I take at night! There are also two pills missing from the photo I take each morning. I take SIX pills just for PAIN!! SIX!! Every morning. That's insane. Why? Because my back, hips, legs and sometimes feet are in so much pain I have a hard time walking, sitting, laying down, functioning well through the day, I wake up at night from the pain and have to take breaks from housework, work or whatever I am doing because of the damn PAIN!!! 

My doctor has me applying for AISH (disability for the severely handicapped) because of all the issues I've been having! He has me signed off work for 3 months, for now, will reassess me in 3 months and see how things are. I can tell you, they won't be any better. 

My A1C levels were 10.4 two months ago, which is really BAD! That can affect your kidney, liver, eyes, give you a heart attack, stroke... 

So, I'm on blood pressure pills because my blood pressure is just under 200! Which is also very dangerous. I take two blood pressure pills a day and have a monitor to check my pressure at home 2-4 times a day! 

I have cholesterol pills I take to also try and help my sugars and blood pressure and of course, my heart. 

I have 4 different medications I take for PAIN! I take 4 in the morning and 4 at bedtime and if I hurt in between, I can take more. 

Then, of course, I have my insulin. I take insulin with every meal (IF I eat), because of the one needle I take weekly, Ozempic, I don't eat a whole lot. I take between 12 and 22 units when I eat. 

I take another insulin at bedtime, between 40 and 50 units, depending on what my sugar is at. Even taking this HIGH dose, I wake up with sugar readings between 17 and 24!! That's with NOT eating before bed or having any sugary drinks. My sugars are just out of control and my pancreas just does NOT want to work for me. 

People hear you have diabetes and think Oh, you can watch what you eat, lose weight, take insulin and you're FINE... NO!! No, you're NOT fine just doing those things. That's the BIGGEST LIE about diabetes. You have to watch EVERYTHING you eat and drink. Every single thing has sugar in it, even natural sugars. Everything you eat or drink turns INTO sugar! So, you really have to watch it. 

It also doesn't help that insulin makes you GAIN weight and I also have PCOS on top of all of this. Polycystic Overlain syndrome. Which has a whole LIST of things that go against your body; including weight gain. 

Common symptoms of PCOS include:

• irregular periods or no periods at all
• difficulty getting pregnant (because of irregular ovulation or failure to ovulate)
• excessive hair growth (hirsutism) – usually on the face, chest, back or buttocks
• weight gain
• thinning hair and hair loss from the head 
• oily skin or acne

PCOS is one of the most common causes of female infertility. Many women discover they have PCOS when they're trying to get pregnant and are unsuccessful.

During each menstrual cycle, the ovaries release an egg (ovum) into the uterus (womb). This process is called ovulation and usually occurs once a month.

But women with PCOS often fail to ovulate or ovulate infrequently, which means they have irregular or absent periods and find it difficult to get pregnant.

Having PCOS can increase your chances of developing other health problems in later life.

For example, women with PCOS are at increased risk of developing:

• type 2 diabetes – a lifelong condition that causes a person's blood sugar level to become too high
• depression and mood swings – because the symptoms of PCOS can affect your confidence and self-esteem
• high blood pressure and high cholesterol – which can lead to heart disease and stroke
• sleep apnoea – overweight women may also develop sleep apnoea, a condition that causes interrupted breathing during sleep

Women who have had absent or very irregular periods (fewer than 3 or 4 periods a year) for many years have a higher than average risk of developing cancer of the womb lining (endometrial cancer).

But the chance of getting endometrial cancer is still small and can be minimized using treatments to regulate periods, such as the contraceptive pill or an intrauterine system (IUS).

I take the Depo Provera shot every 3 months as to NOT get my period and suffer through PAIN it can cause. Having PCOS makes period pain EXTREMELY bad! I don't need or want any more children; I have 4 ages 11 up to 21 and 2 grandchildren ages 2 and 4 months. My life is very busy child wise. So I don't mind the part of PCOS causing infertility. 

I did just have my yearly test done to make sure there is NO cancer in my ovaries or womb. It came out clear and good, however, there is a cluster of be-nine cysts on my ovaries which is another side effect of PCOS. 

So, just because my disease is not SEEN like others, doesn't mean I am okay, I am well, I am NOT in pain, struggling or suffering. Don't PRESUME you know what I am dealing with or going through. Don't presume because "OTHERS" have their PCOS and or Diabetes under control means I do and that I'm not working hard to do so. Don't presume to know that I am lazy or don't want to work or do things, you don't KNOW me or what I am dealing with every single day or how I am feeling inside. 

Diabetes is NO JOKE, it can make you BLIND and KILL you if can't get it controlled. If you have either, please take what I say seriously and take care of YOURSELF as best as you can.