Less Diabetes

Monday, March 11, 2024

Today was my six month follow up A1c test – the test that measures your blood glucose average over the past three months. It’s been six months since my world turned upside down – at least for a little while. When I saw my doctor in November and she said nothing the diabetic educator had said was accurate and that I could just go on with my life and she fixed my mental collapse, I had to restart eating. She said that since my diabetes was completely in the “under control” level that I could just continue to eat as I had been. I didn’t think that was entirely a good idea (but she was talking to an absolute destroyed person, and I think she pretty accurately assessed that I was in no shape to talk to degrees of changing my diet), but it really helped me out of the mental health hole I was in.

Keith and I understand a low carb diet and used one to lose weight 10-12 years ago. We adapted that into a realistic lifestyle for the past three months. We have treats in moderation and eat a LOT more vegetables and try to stay away from pasta (my kryptonite). I purposefully did NOT go hard on low carbs, because I wanted to know what my level would be using a “doable” diet.

I went from one tick into diabetic (6.7) down to one tick into pre-diabetic (5.8), which she thought was fantastic. I will always be considered diabetic, because I went over the line last September, and my level could go up with age, even if I continue the exact diet. (Diabetes is a very personal disease – no two people seem the same.) I will continue to go every six months to check on things and try to keep the medium-low-carb diet going – except for today. The very first thing I did when I got home was get a chair and have three cherry jelly hearts from Valentine’s day!! Woohoo! I had a soft pretzel for lunch, followed by a pear. I had six chocolate eggs (the little ones, not giant) at Maren’s house (I tried to have three, but then I had three again). We had macaroni and cheese for supper, then a scoop of ice cream for dessert. I am not thinking about what my blood glucose is right now, because ouch. My doctor said there is no reason for me to test it, so I am not.

I am most happy that I have not been stressing or worrying about this test. I still feel fine. Yay!