The news I'll get tomorrow

Tomorrow I go see the good doctor, and I suspect that the news she's got for me is that I'm diabetic.

Well, if things like this come in threes, then that makes sense.  Lillian, Dina and now me. 

I also suspect she's going to tell me that it's Type 2, and that I'm going to have to take meds, change my diet and exercise a lot more.  That's pretty much the way these things shake down, isn't it?  My last blood sugar test was slightly elevated so I'm reasonably certain it's not Type 1.

And I've lived with Lillian's diabetes and I've seen how it affects her, what she can and can't eat, what she has to do to maintain her levels, so none of this is going to be new and unfamiliar to me.

Still.

It's going to be a blow when she says it.  I'm not sure why, and the gods know I'm braced for it, but still. . .

When I got the call to come in and discuss my lab results, that was really all I needed to know.  The rest is just formalities and paperwork.  And a prescription for testing strips, and the meds to begin help regulating everything.

So why am I so surprised? 

When I got the call to schedule the appointment, I was dazed for a bit.  I'm not entirely sure why, and I bet I'll be the same way tomorrow.

I know I'm not 25 any more, and in fact I'm not sure I'd like to be that young again anyway, although in general my body was in better shape then, but then that's true for all of us, eh? 

And I know I can't do the things I used to do, eat the foods I used to eat.  Well hell, with my dental history, of course I can't eat what I used to. 

So I've been thinking, now that I'll have to give up breads and potatoes -- well, all starches, really -- if I could choose between the two, which would I choose?  It varies from moment to moment.  A freshly toasted bagel or a fully loaded baked potato?  Could go either way.

But it won't matter since they're both off the "can do" list. 

In the grand scheme of things, this is so much less awful than so many other medical issues, and I know I shouldn't whine.  And I'm not.  Not really.  I'm kind of resigned, I guess.

I don't have to like it, and it's going to be a nuisance to live with, but the key to remember is going to be to live, isn't it?

Comments

[Cate Culpepper]

I'll be thinking of you tomorrow, Fran-friend. Please catch us up when you can.

Cathy

[Dina]

So much better to live with something you can control than something you can't. Also, so much more is known about the condition and how to live with it now than there was 10-15 years ago. Still, I'd rather not have to worry about it, either.