The philosophers say, “In each life, a little rain must fall…” But, to be honest, in my life, I have been experiencing monsoons for quite some time.
My life has been a plethora of ironies ever since I can remember. For instance, when I once consulted with a soothsayer and she told me I was going to have a phenomenal life change, I thought “Gee, my ship is finally coming in!”
Instead, I experienced a “Change-O-Life”. In other words early menopause. That’s the thing with psychics, sometimes their divinations are literal. Anyroad, the past several years I have dealt with recuperating from my accident, going through relationship woes, loss of relatives and random health issues.
However, through it all, I have been able to take care of myself and rise above the cack life threw at me. As one gets older approaching middle ages, you begin to notice subtle changes in your body’s functions and how you react to things, whether external or internal.
At times it is a whole new world because due to my earlier injuries, every minor malady can turn into a major situation if not handled properly.
I have always been a maniac about my diet, when not giving in to Anorexic tendencies, I maintain a wholesome diet. Despite my diligence concerning my nutrition, a few months ago I started feeling “strange”. I noticed every morsel I consumed had an adverse effect on my health.
At first, I thought my food allergies had gone to a whole new level, but the symptoms which persisted proved otherwise. The fact that I was drinking gallons of water thinking that I must have consumed meals that were laced with salt, then I remembered I did not use salt because of my hypertension.
I had moments when I felt like a toddler because I found myself snacking every few hours which was not normal for me. Even though I had been consuming more calories, I was rapidly losing weight, not to mention I was being plagued by tingling sensations, nausea, and vomiting.
If I waited too long in between meals, which I often did, I became aware that my body was not being cooperative at all. For me, it was strange because as a recovering anorexic, there were times during the disorder where I would purposely not eat and feel lethargic yet functional.
This time around, I felt woozy and had symptoms I had never experienced before. So I decided I would have a few tests taken just to make sure all was well. To be honest, I had my suspicions I was diabetic since most of my early life I was borderline and tried earnestly not to be diagnosed with it.
Since I have a family history of the disorder I knew it was not unfathomable. Nevertheless, I hoped I had eluded the chance of becoming a diabetic. All the symptoms I had pointed to diabetes, so when I received my test results it only confirmed what I had known.
At that point, I thought, “No biggie, I am a practitioner, I will just apply the same healing modalities I would suggest to any of my clients.” Was I ever wrong!
For the most part taking herbs such as cinnamon, moringa tea and sour sop juice along with vitamin supplementation tends to regulate my blood sugar. But the thing is when there are other factors involved and you have to keep checking your sugar levels by pricking yourself, it is a frustrating feat altogether.
I now understand the frustration most diabetics feel when trying to take care of themselves. Many give up because the process by which they have to test their blood sugar is archaic and barbaric.
After participating a few times, I realized I would have to rely on my own intuition to regulate my blood sugar and insulin levels. I also became determined to find or create a device which is like a watch that can tell a person when his/her blood sugar or glucose levels are dangerously low without having to prick oneself and going through hoops.
Thank goodness I have non-insulin dependent diabetes and it can be treated with diet and moderate exercise. I am not a fan of any invasive medical procedures and it would be a task, to say the least, for me to puncture myself on a frequent basis.
A diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes is quite disconcerting because even though I am a fanatic of natural foods; it has become more obvious that my five food groups are slowly dwindling.
As a holistic practitioner, it is one thing to treat clients with a disorder, but you never know the daily ins and outs of any affliction until you are actually living the whole experience.
Believe me, the diabetes journey is a job within itself. One of the hardest tasks is getting others around you to cooperate. Being of West Indian heritage, my family believes I should stick with the tried and true Caribbean diet.
The fact of the matter is, no one in my family wants to come to terms with the idea that I am a diabetic because misinformed people in America associate diabetes with being an African American Disorder, when in fact, 16% of American Indians are diabetic, 13.2% of non-Hispanic blacks have been diagnosed with the disorder while the third reigning group is Hispanics with a 12.8% diagnosis. The other groups who have been documented with the disease are Asians and non-Hispanic Whites.
Therefore I think they can rest easy knowing that diabetes is an international disease, which is not bound to any one ethnicity. It is more about diet, lifestyle and stress management.
The first few months of my diagnosis I pushed the envelope and try to get away with consuming certain carbs until my body alerted me otherwise. Then I knew it was time to take my diet more seriously and not give in to temptation or others downplaying my condition.
The past few years have taught me that life is a domino effect. One ill-fated incident can trigger a whole host of other issues. In the grand scheme of things, every experience we have ever encountered somehow affects our individual circle of life.
Fighting For My Life Memoir 