24 October 2021

"Diabeet-eez" Or "Diabeet-us"?

"If you don't change your diet you will be a full-blown diabetic when you return for your next visit", said the VA dietician.
Our local VA has been VERY thorough about poking, prodding, and investigating what is going on with my "possibly" Agent Orange tainted body. They draw blood, command me to pee in a small container, check my height, weight, blood pressure, and O2 saturation, then analyze all that stuff and send a readout on everything to my consulting physician. She's a VERY thin Pakistani lady. (Don't tell her I said so, but she reminds me of Margaret Hamilton in her most famous role, only she's not green.)
She's also very thorough, and is quick to chastise me for not taking proper care of myself.
"How many alcoholic drinks do you consume per day?"
"Three or four."
"WHAT?!", responds the Muslim woman.

My most recent visit to the VA proved the dietician was prescient. And Margaret Hamilton quickly prescribed insulin injections, (which I have so far avoided using because I'm in denial.)

But Sara Jean and I HAVE now been looking at ways to dramatically change my diet. We've been watching "Keto friendly" foods on YouTube to see what stuff I need to buy to lower my/our carb intake.
Some of the stuff sounds mighty exotic-
Guar gum?
Xanthum gum?
Maltodextrin?
Sugar alcohols? (Wasn't alcohol one of my problems?)

I MUST change.
The thing that scares me most is loss of my eyesight, which has been almost "hawk-like" my entire life.
Loss of the ability to read or do work on small objects would destroy me.

I've always been a disciplined guy.
Making these changes will be expensive, and an interesting journey.
Stand by. I'll keep ya posted.

And if you have any constructive suggestions, I'd sure appreciate them.

6 comments:

Well Seasoned Fool said...

Good luck. Eight years ago I was diagnosed as borderline Type II and put on Metformin. Four years ago I changed my diet to eliminate Lectin containing food. Boring but I've lost 60 lbs and tapered off Metformin under my primary care physician's supervision. Now I don't take it and my blood sugar is normal. I miss my favorite foods, especially bread.

Ed Bonderenka said...

"Diabeet-eez"

Anonymous said...

The progression of this disease is horrifying. Hubby became a pill diabetic and Would not change his diet even when I tried to alter his diet. Learned how to make special bread. There is a food site at DaVita.com for info and recipes geared to diabetics. Hubby loved many of them and I found them very good. But the sneaking of food he shouldn't eat eventually led to shots to multiple shots per day to dialysis. Please take all of this as seriously as you can.
Margi

Old NFO said...

Sorry to hear that, and no good ideas over here other than follow their directions.

Greybeard said...

I dunno, Navy.
I'm old enough to remember when butter was bad.
When eggs would close off blood vessels and kill you.
When artificial sweeteners were safer than sugar.
When "If I wanted to keep my Doctor, I could keep my doctor."

Who IS trustworthy these days?
(I know... I'll go to the internet for truth.) ;)

Jess said...

Eat whatever you want, but smaller portions, no snacking, and more exercise. Get up from the table a little hungry, and light on the sweets. It works for me.