Article

 

Defeating Diabetic Denial

 

In the summer of 1986, I thought I had finally found a diet that worked. For a couple months, no matter what, those extra pounds that I had always wanted to lose seemed to slip away. I did seem to be remarkably thirsty all the time, and I mean all the time. I was unable to drive the 30-minute commute to and from my office without having something to drink with me. All of that drinking meant that I couldn’t make it to and from anywhere without finding a restroom.

Of course, I let things get much worse before I made an appointment with the doctor. By then I had dropped over 30 pounds and was on the verge of collapse. Denial always worked for me!

A simple urine test confirmed the doctor’s hunch, diabetes. The blood test done that day confirmed just how out of whack my system had become.

Now what?

At first I was embarrassed and in denial. I was 33, busy in my career, had little babies and a full plate. How would I tell my wife, my friends, my boss! Will I be able to work? What does this really mean? What can I eat? Am I going to get fired? Needles!!! Up to this point in my life, I had fainted every time I’d ever had to give blood and had to have any sort of shot, now I’m going to live with injections!?

You have got to be kidding me. I thought that this was some horrible pay back for something I had done. On top of what appeared to be my worst nightmare, everybody seemed to find it necessary to share some horrible diabetic family story. You have diabetes? Oh, my aunt was diabetic and she,________________ fill in the blank (blindness, amputations, death), and it always starts with the word was. I know they mean well and are trying to empathize, but please.

Early on, I was in denial, my honeymoon period. I figured I would be able to weasel out of the shots, the testing and the changes I would have to make. Just do it my way. After months of struggling, totally clueless and terrified, I began to come to grips with my new life. My desire for things outside of me, such as my family began to take hold. The fear of the long-term complications was real, and I wanted to make peace with my disease and live a normal life.

In retrospect, I was so scared that I didn’t let my denial really take hold. I had then and still have today a very supportive wife who helped me face and accept the daily struggles, to understand and deal with my new life. When I struggled and wanted to forget it all, I was able to look at my two young sons and say that I’ll do what ever it takes so that I can be here to watch them grow up. Even today, over twenty years later, I want to be here for my family. Last year we had a wedding, and this year holds fantastic opportunities for everyone. I want to be here.

Over twenty years have passed and I have survived, even thrived by confronting my disease. It is easy to fall into that hole of depression and self pity that will tell you that it is OK if you don’t test your blood, eat whatever you want, that you don’t have to take care of yourself. The tricky part of this disease is that if your blood sugars are consistently too high, you don’t feel bad. You feel pretty good, normal. But, over time as was shown in the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) long-term complications will begin to creep in, and when they do, they don’t go away.

Here are a couple things you can do to help defeat diabetic denial.

Find a great endocrinologist to help you take care of yourself. Find that specialist who knows the latest and the great techniques. No offense to your regular primary doctor, but you wouldn’t see him if you needed heart surgery.

Talk to the Diabetes Educator at your doctor’s office. Take advantage of the help that is in front of you, they really can help.

Look for a small support group of other diabetics that you can relate to. Ask your diabetes educator about a support group. There are many people struggling with this disease. Look for one or two people that you can rely on and call them to whine, complain and support. It may seem corny, but reaching out to help another always helps me more.

Can’t find a reason to test? Do it for someone else. When I was first diagnosed, I found the resolve to do all those blood test and those pesky injections for my children. I wanted to be there to watch them grow up and I knew I needed to keep my health in order to do that.

Get involved in the diabetes community. The Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, the American Diabetes Association and many other local groups need and want your help. Give them a call, see what you can do to get out of yourself and help another person struggling with diabetes.

Can’t get out? Go on-line. There are many diabetes forums and chat rooms that are open 24/7. The motivation you need may be just a mouse click away.

Please don’t let diabetes take anything from you. Don’t let it slowly rob you of the things you love. Acceptance of the hand we are dealt will defeat diabetes denial and help you live a longer healthier life.

 

Jeff Meese is the owner of DiscountMeds4You.com and previously founded Preferred Rx of Ohio, a national mail order diabetic supply company. He has participated as a research volunteer in diabetes research programs for over 18 years and has been a regular contributor on Golden Opportunities, a weekly syndicated television show.

 

Contact: Jeff Meese
DiscountMeds4You
866-933-2434
http://www.discountmeds4you.com