Reading The Complete Diabetes Lifestyle by Donna Kay with Maribeth Stephens brought me back to that moment when I found out I had Type 2 diabetes five years ago. When you don’t have a family history of the disease, you don’t really know much about it. Your mind starts racing. In my case, when my eye doctor suggested my cataracts at age 48 might be from diabetes, I walked out of his office on a cold but sunny winter day and burst into tears.
Donna Kay had similar thoughts — I’m too young. My family doesn’t have diabetes. Why me? — which she has written about in her excellent primer book for diabetics. Newly diagnosed diabetics, especially those without any in-family experience, are looking for information, first and foremost, and The Complete Diabetes Lifestyle provides a ton of good basic information.

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Fitness centers love when January rolls around. That’s when guilt-ridden Americans rush to sign up at the gym, determined to make good on a New Year’s resolution to lose weight. The first step is dropping the 10 pounds gained over the holidays. January 2 is equal to Black Friday when it comes to the fitness industry.
I bring this up because I am still in the lapband surgery phase known as “bandster’s hell.” Last February, when I put on 15 pounds and saw when I looked like, I decided it was time to consider weight loss surgery.

Continue reading "Weight Loss Battle" »

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The idea began in February and culminated with surgery Oct. 18.
After spending more than half my life morbidly obese, I had gastric lap band surgery on Oct. 18. Anyone who thinks this is the easy way to weight loss is totally insane. (See my post-tummy picture as an illustration that it is painful at first.) It took a major commitment to understand that I would have my stomach physically altered in order to reach the finish line of my weight loss goals.Ten days post surgery and I am down 20lbs already, thanks to a liquid diet that includes dairy products and protein shakes. The weight loss will now slow as I begin to eat a bit more food, and the true restriction of the lap band follows in a few weeks with my first fill, which will tighten the ring around my stomach.
I am confident already that I made the right choice—getting into a pair of jeans this morning that has been on my shelf for 15 years was a great motivator. This is certainly not the right choice for everyone and I am sure I will have bumps along the way. However, if you are interested on info on the lapband, band2gether is a great site, featuring people who have been through the surgery talking about every aspect of the procedure. For a general website on bariatric surgery visit here.

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My journey to a new state of wellness is headed for the next major stage. I will be getting the bariatric surgery known as the gastric lap-band later this month, if all goes well with the hospital date and insurance paperwork. After decades of living in the world of the obese, I am hoping to crossover to a new life at a healthy weight.
It won’t be easy. Anyone who says getting a weight loss surgery is the “easy way,” has no idea what it feels like to struggle with a body that does not want to cooperate. For more information on bariatric surgery go here.
These days, doctors understand more and more that diets don’t work and that the “fattening” of America continues. The lap-band will be a tool that allows me to eat less without being assaulted by irrational hunger cravings. I have had to come to terms with the reality that by constricting my stomach to the size of an egg, I will be eating a different way for the rest of my life.
Today, I started a liquid pre-surgery diet. I’ve never used liquid meal replacements, so this might be the hardest part of the trip to defeat sleep apnea, high blood pressure and diabetes. However, I am determined to reach the finish line.

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When the California to Atlantic City Race Across America bicycle race arrives in Atlantic City after 3,052 miles this Sunday, June 17, the defending corporate team champions should be the favorites to win it all. That team, Team Type 1, is a group of elite cyclists who all have a medical condition that can terrify any of us who have been given the diagnosis. They are type 1 diabetics. Instead of living with self-imposed restrictions, these talented athletes prove that living with diabetes doesn’t have to be a life lived in fear, whether you have type 1 diabetes (formerly known as juvenile diabetes) or type 2 (adult onset) diabetes.
Riders in Team Type 1 have a collective total of 161 years managing Type 1 diabetes, and have taken more than one million finger sticks and hundreds of thousands of insulin shots. However, they haven’t let this stop them from achieving their goals.

Continue reading "Cycling for Diabetes Awareness" »

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After deciding to get weight loss surgery and finding a doctor, the first phase of preparing for the surgery has begun. In order to qualify with my insurance carrier, Aetna, I began my three-month diet/exercise/behavior program. First comes the visit with the dietician. Turns out the diet is the diabetic exchange program I used when I was first diagnosed as diabetic 4 years ago. I lost 40lbs back then, but hit a plateau. After three months of diet and exercise that didn’t get me past that plateau, I threw in the towel and gradually gained the weight back.
This time I know that there is surgery at the end of rainbow to help get me past that brick wall of frustration. I hope to lose at least 25lbs. before surgery in the fall.
So far so good, down four pounds this week.
Next up is a visit to evaluate my nutrition and behavior; they need to know I’m not depressed or crazy. This should be interesting. Hopefully the snail on my ticker below will be moving in the next two months.

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Morbidly obese with multiple co-morbidities.
That’s how a doctor describes someone like me who is over 100 pounds overweight with the obese-related conditions of high blood pressure, diabetes and sleep apnea. The time has come to consider bariatric surgery.
My dad died of a massive heart attack covering the Phillies in Chicago during their championship season of 1980. He was 56; I’m 53.
Personally, I’d like to live a little longer than my dad. I’d like to see my niece graduate from college and become a doctor. I’d like to see what my nephews and nieces are like in ten years. I’d like to become a great aunt.
The only way that is going to happen is if I lose at least 100 pounds (150 pounds would be ideal).
Unlike the people with perfect metabolisms out there, I’ve struggled with my weight most of my life. These days they categorize morbid obesity as a disease, like alcoholism. There is a complex mix of genetics, socialization, psychological factors and metabolism/appetite that combine to make it nearly impossible for some people to lose weight by conventional means.

Continue reading "I Want To Live!" »

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It can be a scary thing when a doctor looks you in the eye and tells you that you have Type 2 diabetes. Four years ago, I was given that news. Naturally I was upset and scared, but I learned all I could about the disease, got my diabetes under control and have kept it under control.
Pitcher David Wells of the San Diego Padres recently learned he has diabetes. He is in the process of learning what that means. However, in an interview, a quote credited to him made me wonder if his doctors are explaining the disease properly.
A story in the San Diego Union Tribute quoted Wells as saying, "This is a major lifestyle change. I don't want this going to Type 1 diabetes."
Let’s hope his doctor explained to him the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Type 2 is adult onset diabetes and that Type 1 is juvenile diabetes. Wells was probably referring to the idea that right now his diabetes is being treated with pills, exercise and dietary changes, not insulin. Type 2 is very different from Type 1. Some Type 2 diabetics need insulin; some don’t. I’ve found the Diabetes Self-Management website very helpful with updated info on the disease.

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