Ok, show of hands, how many of you subscribe to O magazine? Good me too.
Did you get your February 2006 issue? Cool, you can follow along.
Did you read the story on page 133 about the 290lb doctor losing weight? And the part about the diabetes in her family? And the foot? My god the foot?
I knowwwwwwwww. My mouth is still on the floor.
Haven't read the article? Well get thee to a newsstand, stat. It is a must read.
You don't have access to a newsstand at this moment in time and you can't wait to know what I'm talking about? Ok, fine, click thee link.
[Edited to add: If you are squeamish or gross out easily, um...don't read it. Sorry to make you gag Amy, I wasn't thinking and should've put a warning disclaimer. What the doc describes is very gross.]
What the doctor said:
Nothing scares me more than diabetes. The glucose test showed it was just a matter of time," says Ward. "My brother is in his early 50s, a young guy, but he's been disabled from diabetes for the past four years. He took off his sock one day, and the whole heel of his foot came off with the sock, right down to the bone."
Joking about guzzling sweet tea aside, and believe me I was joking, I don't think I'll ever recover from reading that one paragraph. W/o a doubt it's the most powerful thing I've ever read as far as it concerns health. Losing weight to fit into my goal jeans is all fun and games, but the sobering reality of what we eat or don't eat and how it takes a toll on the body, scares me.
That's why I got so upset to hear the girl from The Biggest Loser having signs of adult onset diabetes.
That one paragraph was a wake up call for me.
Comments: 12
01.31.06 | Amy commented: I don't know how to spell the gurgling, shocked noise that paragraph evokes from me. GAH. That's one of the worst things I've ever heard. Talk about motivation for getting healthy.
01.31.06 | Shelley commented: Hi Renee...
My mom has adult onset diabetes and is significantly overweight. She didn't take care of her diabetes for almost a decade...until she got to the point that she couldn't ignore it anymore and was hospitalized. She has had numerous surgeries on her feet....and lost most of her toes.
It's sad...because now it is a huge double edged sword. She is really overweight, so she needs to exercise. But, she can't really exercise because of her lack of mobility and the increase risk of infection. Plus, she is slowly going into kidney failure. The doctors say she will be on dialysis within 5 years...if not sooner.
I know what my future brings if I don't make a lifestyle change...and become more healthy. I see it everyday with my mom...and honestly, it breaks my heart. My mom is my motivation...because I see her lifestyle and lack of action taking such a toll and the beautiful woman that she is.
Sorry this is probably more personal of a comment than you expected, but felt someone might take something from it.
02.01.06 | nicole-afw commented: Diabetes and high blood pressure are killing my mother right now. She is on the verge of being blind, she has to go on dialysis, and her mental function is impaired. It's a huge, huge, huge wakeup call and I'm glad you had your Oprah "a-ah" moment too.
02.01.06 | Renee commented: It personally impacts me too, though from a distance. My 7 year old godson is a diabetic, born w/it. So for the rest of his life he must take insulin and from what my aunt/his grandma tells me, the life expectancy of children w/diabetes is not long.
I've always felt it's one thing to be born w/it or genetically predisposed, like I believe Halle Berry is, but sometimes hearing that people get it b/c of preventable circumstances, like just eating right and being moderately active, really gets to me.
*sigh*
I'm sorry to hear about your Mother's Shelley & Nicole.
In my case, b/c I have my godson as a constant reminder, I try to use that to motivate me to do right. But something about the visual descripton in that O story, hit me in the gut.
02.01.06 | Friend commented: My mother has been overweight most of her life, and finally succumbed to diabetes in her 50's. She is now 71, and over the past 15 years has suffered numerous diabetes related complications. Currently, she is in a wheelchair due to a massive stroke that left her paralyzed. She can speak, but her personality has been altered so much from brain damage that she doesn't even seem like the same person.
At this point (and I am being totally selfish), I wish that it was only her heel that she lost.
02.02.06 | kathryn commented: I have diabetes and I never took it too seriously until about a year ago. The complications can be awful.
My doctor told me one story of a patient who was in her 70s. She was like - why should i care about having diabetes, I'm old, I don't care if I die. He said she ended up with an amputated leg and going blind!
It's a serious disease people and type 2 diabetes is entirely preventable!
02.02.06 | Alice commented: Just to let folks know, the "born with it" diabetes (Type I) is different than Type II, sometimes called "Adult Onset" (a misnomer, since more and more children are diagnosed with this type). My father had Type I, and did not outlive his parents, he died in his 50's - had to take insulin each day, etc. However, that kind is not reversable, only controllable. He did not lose any limbs, thank goodness, but did wear special thick soled shoes, as it does impair the healing of extremities, so in other words if you get a cut on your foot, it won't heal properly. This occurs in both forms of diabetes, and I believe that's what happens with people who have limbs amputated, they get a cut or some other sort of open sore, don't care for it, it gets infected...well you get the picture. Type II diabetes seems to be easier to control or get rid of altogether, so there is hope. If someone who is reading this has it... PLEASE TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF. THIS IS NO JOKE AT ALL.
Thanks Renee for a great journal - I read often but this is my first comment.
02.02.06 | Casey commented: Diabetes is a pain in the ass, no doubt, and as an adult who was diagnosed with Type II at the age of 26, it was not fun or pretty. I ate pretty horribly leading up to the diagnosis and it was a huge slap in the face.
But it was also the best thing that ever happened to me. I was so shocked by that diagnosis that I let it kick my ass into motion. You don't have to let diabetes be your death sentence. I fully plan to live a long and healthy life without diabetes-related complications.
As for whether or not it's entirely preventable, the jury is out on that. As my doctor explained it to me, my body was probably predisposed to not processing sugar very well, which I certainly didn't help along any with the way I was eating and not moving.
02.02.06 | Renee commented: Wow you all, I'm just so utterly blown away by your stories, and am really touched that you've taken the time to share.
I hear about diabetes, like I said thru my godson, but mostly as background noise in the news, so to "know" people that have suffered thru the consequences of it or are living w/it themselves, gives me pause.
Casey, I admire your attitude, I try to view my godson's condition in the same light, not to imply it's good he has it or I'm glad he does, but I use it to motivate me to do my best to use all the preventive measures @ my fingertips.
02.03.06 | BethK commented: Thanks for posting this Renee.
I always knew that I had high risk factors for developing Type-2. My grandmother had it with zero complications (because my mother and aunts watched her diet like hawks!) But, because her disease was so well controlled I never saw the potentially debilitating effects of not controlling it.
It wasn't until I was working for a company compiling and analyzing data from a diabetes drug study that I got a really good look at what happens to the bodies of people who have type-2 diabetes and don't work to control it. I spent days reading files of people who had left the study and ended up losing toes and feet, going onto dialysis, going blind... It was really scary stuff because it was where I was headed. Those files, more than anything else, are what will keep me from ever letting my weight get out of control or quitting exercise EVER AGAIN!
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There's a little bit about this dr (not the gross foot part) online here
Minor edit by Renee: Thanks Beth! For ease of use, I made the link clickable