I’ve just read this article in the Spectator from a Doctor who has stated that he would rather have HIV than diabetes and it got me thinking.

For years I was worried that I might have contracted HIV – it was the worst possible fate I could think of as a young adult in the 90s and yet I seemed to take my diabetes diagnosis in my stride.  But here we are with a Doctor telling me that Diabetes is worse for me than HIV – my biggest fear.

The article is quite prescriptive about the dangers of diabetes and it came as a bit of a wake up call.  You see as I sat at my desk late last week- feeling a little ill I decided to dust off my blood sugar kit and test my blood – and it was shockingly high.  Bearing in mind I had taken my medication an hour before I would have expected my result to be much lower and it was well outside of the normal range for me – considering I had what I would have thought was a relatively healthy breakfast.

So began my week of regular testing – and its amazing what the impact of the wrong foods  has on my bloods.  All this week I have had porridge for breakfast – a healthy low carb lunch and a healthy meal for dinner and I really did feel better, and my bloods reflected this. Id even managed to walk half way home the other night – something I haven’t felt like doing for ages.

Fast forward to last night/this morning and the truth really was bought home.  The Dazzler wanted to treated me to Chinese – something that he doesn’t particularly like –  so I was really touched and agreed. Big mistake – as soon as I finished the carb heavy food (mostly rice), which wasn’t actually in my mind that unhealthy,  I went into a “carb coma” and was snoring in my chair within 10 minutes.

This morning I found it much harder to wake up and didn’t have my healthy breakfast – meaning that I ended up having a bacon roll at the office and an hour later, after meds, am sitting here again feeling crap.  I took my bloods and what do you know – a huge sugar spike!!

But the fact that I know its wrong, that I am my own worst enemy, isn’t the worst thing.  The really bad thing is that its only now – 3 years after being diagnosed – that I am realising the impact the wrong foods, and subsequent high blood sugars, has on the way I feel.

This isn’t a “woe is me” post – its more of a reminder to myself that I am in control and only I decide what goes into my mouth and what exercise I do. Noone else can fix this for me – I know that if I put the right things in my mouth, and choose to get off my arse and move then this disease isn’t as bad as HIV – for me anyway.