Sugar, Sugar

What I had long suspected might happen to me has finally happened. I have been diagnosed with diabetes, type II. My brother has type I, but his was some kind of genetic freak occurrence, as he has always been in good shape. I, on the other hand, was a ticking time bomb.

My entire life I have pretty much had a lousy diet. From those years as a child eating Wonder bread and powdered sugar donuts (cut in half, with the ends buttered), Pop-Tarts, Fruit Loops, and various Hostess cake products, I ended up with a serious sweet tooth. My weight has gone up and down--through my teen years I was an ectomorph, consuming food at a rapacious pace yet not being able to gain an ounce. When I graduated high school I was 120 pounds, dripping wet.

My metabolism changed in my twenties, and suddenly my body didn't burn off all those calories. Yet I didn't slow down much in my appetite. For years I have continued to eat entire packages of Entenman's chocolate chip cookies at one setting, or go through two gallons of ice cream a week.

Though I gained weight, my blood sugar remained okay. About five years ago I was diagnosed as pre-diabetic, which had me watching my carbs for a while. But lately I had been going nuts. One of my jobs is next to a Dunkin' Donuts, which for me is akin to a bar to an alcoholic. I got hooked on the Coolatas, and would have a large one every night. It was as if I was mainlining glucose.

A month or two ago I noticed some symptoms. I had dry mouth, my vision was blurring, and most significantly, I had to pee almost every hour. I went to the doctor and after testing my urine the answer was immediate. The glucose in my urine was at 2000. "What is normal?" I asked. "Zero," came the response. After a blood test, it was revealed I have a blood sugar of 287, which is more than twice what is required for diabetes. My triglycerides and cholesterol were double the norm, and something called hemoglobin Ac1 was 16. Normal is 4. This was off the chart, I was told.

So I was prescribed some drugs, which so far have no side effects. Of course it also entails diet changes, permanent ones. I can no longer eat the foods that have sustained me. No more candy bars, ice cream (although Breyer's makes a "Carb Smart" variety that tastes pretty good, god bless them), key lime pie, cheesecake, or chocolate chip cookies. It also means no pizza, which is pretty brutal. I'm okay with no pasta or rice (although it probably means no more Chinese food) and no alcohol, but oh will it pain me to not to have sweets in my life anymore.

Getting the disease at this age is probably a good thing. If I were younger I would probably have a much tougher time with it, both obeying the rules and dealing with it emotionally. I am clearly on the downhill slide toward mortality, and dealt with the news pretty calmly, I think. I'm philosophical about making the diet changes, and am kind of embracing it. I've lost ten pounds already, just by cutting the junk food.

In the long run, having Boston cream pie is not worth losing my sight or a leg. For the first 52 years of my life I ate as I pleased. Now I have to pay the piper.