10th Year Anniversary After Type 2 Diagnosis My Story

It has been 10 years today that I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. I remember the day. In December 1999 I had not been feeling very well. I had not been to a medical doctor in years. I thought something was wrong with my heart. I don't remember why I thought it was my heart, but I just thought it might be. I looked in the phone book for an internal medicine doctor that was close to home and made an appointment. He looked me over and said he wanted some blood tests and an EKG. I had to fast for the blood tests and returned in a week for the blood test results. I was told that my fasting blood sugar was 131. I asked him about pre-diabetes or borderline diabetes and he told me that he didn't make those diagnosis. You either are or are not a diabetic. By the way the EKG was normal and I did not have any heart problems. I really had no symptoms of diabetes. My Grandmother was the only diabetic in my family. She died at the age of 52. She had gallbladder surgery and died from complications from the surgery. Anyway, I was put on Glucotol XL 5 mg and was given a prescription for a glucose monitor, lancets and test strips. I remember standing at the pharmacy, I was in total disbelief. This couldn't be happening to me I thought. I then was handed a bag of testing supplies and went home. I was in denial for at least 6 months. My diabetes was mild and was well controlled by the Glucotrol, diet and exercise. Five years later I had started having very blurry vision and headaches. I only tested 2 to 4 times per week and didn't catch the fact that my blood sugar was over 300 on some days. I went to the doctor and was told that I needed to be on insulin. The doctor gave me the insulin and I had to return the next day for more shots. A nurse showed me how to inject insulin. I was off to the pharmacy again for another batch of items for my diabetes and I learned to live with it. It wasn't until 3 years later that I lost my job and my health insurance due a poor economy. My doctor gave me samples for a year and then I still had no job or insurance. I stopped taking care of my diabetes. Two years later I ended up in the ER with my blood sugar readings above 500. I had been living with every symptom of diabetes. I had also developed several complications. I was then hooked up with several drug companies who sent all of my medications to a doctors office for free. Things have changed and I got back on my feet and my diabetes in under control. I didn't know that drug companies would help the way that they do. I also did not know that a hospital had to see you if you didn't have insurance. I didn't know that you could buy insulin without a prescription. Walmart sells Novolin N and Novolin R over the counter for $24 a vial. I am so wiser now than ever before. Hopefully, some day I can help someone in need. End of chapter.