My Name Is Larry And I'm A Diabetic

This is me in August of 1983 age 20 years old. My high school graduation weight was about 120 pounds. This is two years later when I was in the Navy in Orlando, Florida, probably at about the same weight more or less.

This is me now, twenty-six years later and a little more than double the weight. The last 60 pounds came on in the past ten years. I don't have any full body shots because the camera adds pounds and in photographs I feel like I should have Goodyear emblazoned across my back side. This week I officially became a statistic in the Great American Diabetes Epidemic.

I am what is commonly referred to as a Couch Potato (CP). However, I am an unusual sub-species of CP in that I don't have television. I am a literary couch potato -- at least I have a well exercised brain, if not body. That really is my main risk factor in conjunction with my weight gain.

I really don't have a family history. My paternal grandmother made claims to being diabetic. God love her, she was a bit of a hypochondriac though and made claims to lots of illnesses, so the family history is suspect.

I'm not exactly a carbo loader either. There's half of an organic 70% dark chocolate bar still sitting on the table from Saturday's dinner with company. There's a tub of Breyer's vanilla ice cream in the freezer that I purchased about two months ago. Dinner tonight was some smoked turkey lunch meat and raw zucchini and green beans tossed with some salad dressing.

And, yet, here I am with a brand spanking new diagnosis...Type II Diabetic. Like most diabetics, my pancreas is still producing insulin but my body has stopped using it efficiently. I was extremely fortunate that my sugars escalated rather quickly to a high degree and that I recognized that something was wrong and got the medical attention that I needed and had insurance to pay for as well. As a result, I've caught this problem very early -- probably within months of having raised sugars.

Many others have no idea that they are walking around with high blood glucose (sugar) levels. I remember a number of years ago I finally convinced a friend of mine to sign up for the Marquette County Medical Access Coalition and get a check up. She works as a seamstress and at the time she had no health benefits. She felt fine so she didn't go to the doctor. After much nagging on my part, she went and had her physical. As it happened she was diabetic and had high blood pressure. She could easily have gone on for a few more years without any symptoms while the illness did it's damage to her circulation, eyes, kidneys, etc.

I am very optomistic about this. I don't have to make significant changes in my eating habits - I have to learn to count my carbs and give myself the appropriate insulin for now. I will soon begin some form of walking regimen. The doctor thinks I should be off the insulin rather quickly.

I'll keep you all posted.