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Mary – Type 2 Diabetes – Empowering Change and Taking Control
Diabetes Diagnosis and Treatment - Type 2
I found out I had diabetes type 2 in 1997. I worked at an elementary school and loved the chocolate milk. But after drinking it, I would become very sleepy. Then I started losing weight and a co worker suggested that I go to the doctor, because she had diabetes, and that was one of her symptoms. And I said, "Oh, I don't have it, but I'll go anyway." So I went, and that's what it was. It was a total shock, because no one in my immediate family had symptoms of diabetes and they said it was genetic - passed on from one generation. When I found out, the word “diabetes” was like the word “cancer” to me. I just started weeping in the doctor’s office. And she said, "But, you’re going to live." To me, it was a death sentence. My mother had a stroke, and I expected heart disease or blood pressure. I just didn't expect to ever have diabetes.
When I allowed it to soak in, after crying for six months, I realized I had to do a diet change and cooking change and meal planning. The first year was very hard, but we got through it. We had to... And I had no prior knowledge of diabetes. What to expect, what not to expect, what to eat, what not to eat. Nothing… I had to start from scratch.
Short-term you get through the screenings and the visits and the medications, and do what you have to do. Long-term, you need to incorporate exercise. You’ve got to incorporate meal planning. You’ve just got to do more things for yourself. I mean, you have to get involved with yourself, long-term. It’s not an overnight healing. It's a lifestyle. Once you know, that is your lifestyle. The consequences of not managing diabetes long-term are heart disease, kidney failure, palpitations, and blindness. It affects all the organs.
My treatment regimen before coming to DiabetesAmerica™ was visiting the doctor every three months. I took daily medications. I was told that I needed to exercise and to balance my meals. I went to a nutritionist, but I didn't really follow the plan because there wasn’t any follow-up. I was supposed to get phone calls, supposed to have meetings, but it didn’t happen. Without the follow-through, I got relaxed and I would just take the pill. I never questioned it because I didn't feel bad. I felt then that I was managing at the max.
DiabetesAmerica™ Treatment – A Partnership
Before my first visit to DiabetesAmerica™, they told me it would be lengthy. It was about three hours. You see so many different people at the initial visit. It leaves you asking, “Is this for real? Do they really care about us this much?” But it leaves you with hope. So you get excited about coming back. DiabetesAmerica™ is different because you become a partner. I felt like I was more than a patient. I felt like I had partnered with a group of people that understood for the first time what I was really going through. Then I got self-motivated to do more for myself.
With everything that I have going on, having everything I need under one roof is awesome. You don't have to go to another doctor for cholesterol. You don't have to go to another doctor for high blood pressure. It's all here, you get the whole deal! You feel like you're incorporating everything when you come into DiabetesAmerica™. DiabetesAmerica™ takes care of the whole body. They take care of all the issues surrounding diabetes. And there are a lot of issues surrounding diabetes, so that's what really impressed me and my co-workers. And you're not running all over the city of Houston for things.
My health has improved tremendously, because I started here with an A1C at 6.6. That is the 90-day test. Now I'm at 6.2. I've lost 10 pounds. My husband says I look better. I feel better. And, we have incorporated exercise together. So I have done very, very well, and improved so much that I became an advocate. I have the opportunity in my job to discuss DiabetesAmerica™ with a lot of our employees. And I have personally sent about 10 to the center, because when I came here, DiabetesAmerica™ made me feel like a partner. I have been so blessed, coming in to DiabetesAmerica™.
DiabetesAmerica™ has empowered me to take charge of me. I realize it's not the doctor. It's me. The doctor can write the prescription, but if I don't do what I need to do... That empowered me to get excited about living again. And eating healthier. It's an awesome feeling when you take charge of yourself. I had to take charge of me, and not allow diabetes to take charge of me.
I like the staff because you are a partner, not a patient. And you get the attention you need. If you call, like I did, about a concern, they call back. They didn't have the answer right away, so the nurse called me back again. And then she called me back again, to make sure that I had followed what I was supposed to. So the 24-hour care really is 24-hour care. And the facility doesn't remind of an ordinary office visit. It's not an office visit. It's more like somewhere you can go and hang out. If you want, go have the coffee. It’s more an atmosphere of lounging.
Diabetes Medical Treatment, Education, Nutrition, Lifestyle and Empowerment
I get much more time here at DiabetesAmerica™ because they take the time and listen. If you need additional questions answered, they’re not, "Okay, next patient." For example, when I first saw my doctor, she listed all the medications I was taking and I was telling her about morning hunger. She adjusted my medications and it worked.
The medical care has also impressed me because, after asking me about my family history and my mother’s stroke at a very young age, the doctor sent me in for more testing. I did a stress test, and the check of the veins and the neck. And they discovered I had a nodule that my primary care physician had not found. It could have become a real problem down the road. And that sold me. I took all the pamphlets; I put them on my desk, and gave them to all the employees that came to see me. It's just a joy to help others.
After seeing the doctor, they send you in to the nutritionist, and she ran some tests, gave me my mass, my weight, and discussed my diet in detail. The nutrition made an impact on my life because I learned how to balance my meals. The nutritionist taught me about snacks and what drinks not to drink. When I saw how much sugar is in one Coke, it was very, very good that day. I found out that I could eat a roll, because I had stopped completely eating rolls and I love them. I found out that I could have one. I found out how to divide my snacks, how to count my carbs, how not to be afraid. If there's a sweet tooth there, I can have something. But a smaller portion. The fear of diabetics is what you can't have. The education is what you can have. So, the nutrition part of it really helped.
DiabetesAmerica™ caused me to want to do more for myself. I had to incorporate all areas, and that included exercise. When I go to the grocery store, rather than getting the closest space, like I used to pray for, I park further away and walk. Even on the job. Rather than going to the copier machine there beside me, I'll go to the one in the back. Then my husband said, "We'll start walking three or four days a week." So that's what we have done. It's not that I'm dieting. It's just that I've learned how to incorporate walking and shopping.
Before I found DiabetesAmerica™, I think I was just waking up. Getting up and waking up, and not expecting to be alive. Be happy. Now, I get up and I have a certain time I take my medicine. I am excited about it. My husband ... he's such a good partner. He makes sure that I do well, and he sees the change in my attitude about my health.
If I wanted to thank DiabetesAmerica™ for one thing, I would say thank you for giving me my life back. I wasn’t expecting to have all of the concern and the care. And that regenerated me to do more for myself.
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