Renewed Health Today

I remember November 2006 very well. I was just plain scared! I had never been sick a day in my adult life and now I had lost 42 pounds in 30 days or so. I was not really walking, but shuffling. I remember now I wasn’t standing up straight. I am a proud man who is only 6′ 1″ tall, but could seem taller to everyone since I stood up straight with my shoulders back naturally. I could not get more than a few hours of fitful sleep.

I had begun to change my diet. I had not yet tried any exercise. because I was lucky to walk around the office building. When I did try walking for exercise I remember I had to swing my whole leg to get what seemed a reasonable stride. I had acquired a tread mill for the family at Christmas. I had to hang on for dear life at 2 miles an hour. Actually, as I learned later my stride did not get longer at all, I just worked harder. I remember meeting a jogger who may have ran a half mile beyond me and would catch me on his way back way before I finished my half mile walking. Today that same jogger cannot catch me at all in the 1.5 mile I walk to catch the bus to work.

So what changed? Well my friend concerned about how I looked then asked me if I was well. I told him than I had just been diagnosed as a Type 1 diabetic (HbA1c 12.1 and daily finger pick results 600+). I was on insulin to gain control of my glucose levels. Now I did not know anything about diabetes except that my father struggled with it and not very well. He suggested a diet supplement that he took. I trusted him a lot and knew that his  health had been much worse than mine most of his life. So I accepted his offer. I’ll explain about the dietary supplement another time. Many small facets about my overall health improve quickly. There was a dramatic positive change in my diabetes.

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