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One week later, the doctor called to break the news that her hunch was indeed correct. She was very concerned about my weight and told me I could treat my disease by exercising regularly and making healthy choices, such as eating healthier foods. She also prescribed me pills called Metformin.
At first, I didn’t take my diabetes seriously at all. I thought all I had to do was just pop a pill, and my sugar would be good throughout the day. Unfortunately, that’s not how easy it is. You also need to watch what you eat and check your blood sugar levels constantly. I didn’t take my medicine or test my sugars because I was just frustrated with it all – I even stopped going to the doctor. I saw no point if I wasn’t taking care of myself.
A year later, I was in the worst physical shape I’ve ever been in. I became immune to the headaches and the high sugar and I didn’t realize the extent to which I was damaging my body. Then one day I had a sharp pain in my lower stomach and back. I took it as any other cramp and brushed it off. It worsened and it got the point where I couldn’t really move without wanting to cry. My mom took me to the doctor to see what was wrong and we found out I had gotten an infection from my sugar being so high. High blood sugar can lead to high levels of sugar in the body tissue and cause bacteria to grow, allowing infections to develop more quickly. The most commonly affected areas are the bladder, kidneys, genitalia, gums, feet, and skin.
[pullquote_right]At first, I didn’t take my diabetes seriously at all. I thought all I had to do was just pop a pill, and my sugar would be good throughout the day. Unfortunately, that’s not how easy it is. You also need to watch what you eat and check your blood sugar levels constantly.[/pullquote_right]
My doctor in Merced told us that the hospital was no longer going to see me because I wasn’t taking care of my diabetes. She told me I should take care of myself or I’d end up like my mom. My mom isn’t in the best shape, but it still pissed me off that she said that. She also reported my mom to Child Protective Services (CPS) for not taking care of my diabetes. I left with no continuing medical service — only enough medicine for a month — and with my mom having been reported to CPS, on top of the infection I already had.
It was stressing me out big time and stress raises blood sugar, so it was hard controlling my sugar levels during this time. Eventually, CPS left us alone and my friends’ mom then referred me to her doctor at MFA Medical in Merced. When I was seen there I was shocked by the doctors who actually seemed to care about my physical state and my future.
“We want you to live a long and healthy life [and we’re going to guide you],” said a doctor who saw me. I don’t remember the doctor’s name but she was confident in me, which made me feel confident too. She started me off with another blood test called A1C that measures your average blood sugar level over a three-month period and she raised my dose of Metformin because of how high my blood sugar was measuring in the morning. She then set an appointment with another doctor. That’s when I met Dr. Sphabmixay, who told me that, “Finding out you have diabetes is like getting a job with no pay and no vacation.” That was a reality check for me.
