Akting Out

This is my blood sugar reading as of about nine pm, Central Standard Time. This is a lot better than I expected; I haven’t checked my blood sugar in about ten days. I know, I know. I won’t do it again. But the reason why this reading is so good is because I’ve been off glyberide for two days now.

I wrote a post not too long ago about what low blood sugar feels like; glyberide was the cause. No, wait. That’s not fair. My refusal to take care of myself back in the day is why I’m diabetic now. About a year ago, my blood sugar rocketed to 330, prompting a trip to the Emergency Room. I was already on metformin, which is used to keep blood sugar level. To it from spiking again, I was prescribed glyberide (aka “suicide medicine”) which essentially acts like a trap door on blood sugar.

I took a (fairly) strict hold over my diet and exercise plan, and lost forty pounds for the trouble. Problem is, when you don’t have to be on something as drastic as glyberide anymore, it can cause real problems. Fatal problems, if you’re not careful.

So my A1C is normal and my average blood sugar (according to Track3, also available for $6.99 in the Android marketplace) is anywhere from about ninety-eight to one-fifteen. Glyberide nearly killed me on a couple of occasions (not being dramatic; I woke up with a reading of 46 once), so my doctor decided to take me off of it. One medication down, one to go. The goal is to “beat diabetes” which is my dramatic way of saying that I want to manage it without medication.

It’s a balancing act. I tend to eat healthy, big breakfasts that involve some kind of Cheerios, or a smoothie, with a bacon-and-cheese quesadilla. I’m gonna burn most of those calories off throughout the day anyway. I’m supposed to eat salads for lunch, and I do two or three times a week, but I’ve learned to take it easy (and not pig out) when I get fast-food. Which accounts for, you know, the other half of my weekday lunches. Yeah. I know. Stop scowling.

Around six or so, I quit eating. It’s a tip I picked up in a fitness magazine; stop taking in when you’re not going to be burning off. This was primarily how I shed forty pounds, but I started getting ravenous at night, so I started eating soup (two cans tomato with water and seasoning) just to tide me over.

In order to get off medication, I need to get my weight down to about two-twenty. That’s forty pounds. My goal is the end of the year. So here goes. Thanks for reading and please feel free to pass along any tips.

Eating Tip: Cheerios may be one of the best cold cereals you can put in your body. Not even Frosted Cheerios is all that high in sugar when compared to some of the other brands. Work it into your routine with 2% for better health.

Exercise Tip: First thing in the morning, scoot to a sitting position at the edge of the bed and put your feet on the floor. Lay flat on the bed and place your hands beside your head (not behind). Sit up to a fully seated position and lay back down. That’s one rep. Perform ten of those until you become comfortable with them each morning, and then increase reps gradually over time. Works wonders on the lower abs.

(c) Avery K. Tingle for Akting Out LLC

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I’ve been a type-2 diabetic for over a decade. My goal is to manage it without the aid of medication. I’ve managed to go this long on metformin and glyberide (the latter of which, I’m about to come off of), having no reason to go on insulin. High blood sugar, I’m used to. I become sluggish; tired, my blood turns to sludge in my veins and I can sleep forever. I’ve dealt with that long enough to know how to handle it, and how to avoid it. Low blood sugar is something else. Something worse.

The reason why I’m about to go off glyberide is because the medication causes blood sugar to plummet rapidly. Since my diet isn’t so bad anymore, it causes my blood sugar to drop to dangerously low levels (46 was the lowest I’ve ever seen). I’ve started to keep snacks on hand for when this happens.
The feeling is torturous and agonizing, that’s the only way I know how to describe it. I’ve only been dealing with it for a few months; I wanted to share what it felt like, perhaps as another warning to those with diabetes who aren’t taking care of themselves.

First, a hole opens in the center of my stomach, and quickly, within a matter of moments, becomes a vacuum at the center of my being that is impossible to ignore. It’s hunger, impossible, endless hunger; striking within seconds and making me feel as though I haven’t eaten in days.

My hands are next; they begin to shake. The vacuum within my stomach has spread into my chest. I can feel my heart beating at the base of my throat. My mouth is dry. I can’t stop my hands from shaking. Breathing doesn’t help; it makes the hunger worse. Concentrating is impossible; all I can feel is the hunger. I can’t stop my hands from shaking and it’s frightening; I’m losing control of my own body. My body no longer does what my mind tells it to do. The shaking hands is usually the threshold; the most I can take, when I must get something to eat, or I’ll pass out, or worse. At least, that’s how it used to be.

My mind is the final step. With my heart pounding like a bass drum in the center of my chest, my body feeling as though it’s on the verge of a seizure, my mouth dry and taking in each breath like it’s a chore, I begin a mental battle in my mind. I’m usually trying to finish whatever I’m doing; a sentence. A call. A conversation. Something that, for whatever reason, cannot be interrupted.

Little things begin to slip. Words; I forget how to spell things. Typing has become an exercise in futility, as I spend about as much time on the backspace key as anywhere else. My mind has a hard time focusing on anything beyond this intense hunger. Without food, my body will shut down. I will die.

THAT’S NOT TRUE!!!

So begins the battle most often fought in my mind, much like the image I used in this blog. I’m strong, I’m powerful, and I can overcome anything, I know this…but against this, I have no chance. This enemy is beyond me, and I know it, and eventually, I will have to give in to it, but for whatever reason, I cannot do it now. I have to finish this thought or I’ll lose it. I have to finish this call or I will lose the sale. The person speaking to me needs to me listen and retain. For whatever reason, I have to keep this gluttonous monster that is ravaging my body from within at bay.

I have two children. Their names are Terry and Brandon. Terry was named for my childhood hero, a video game character. Brandon was named for Brandon Lee, the late son of another one of my heroes. I take hold of their names in my mind and I hold them, feeling like I’m hanging off a cliff in a windstorm. Buffeted, beaten in all directions, just hold on a little longer.

Eventually, I’m able to get something into my system, and the monster within recedes, although it usually takes about twenty minutes to feel normal again, and I feel as though I’ve just run a mile. Beaten, exhausted.

This happens on average of once a day, usually between breakfast and lunch. The medication that causes this is no longer necessary (obviously), so I should be going off of it within the next month or so.

This is what it feels like to have your blood sugar bottom out.

Thanks for reading.

Figure 1 Image Copyright DC Comics, taken from Superman/Batman: The Search For Red Kryptonite

(c) Avery K. Tingle for Akting Out LLC

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I heard type two diabetes likened to acid in the blood. It’s frightening because it’s true.
When your body cannot produce enough insulin to keep up, sugar runs through your system unchecked. It cuts like tiny shards of glass, racing through your bloodstream. Over time, it erodes every major organ in your body, and one day, things you took for granted are taken from you—things like using the bathroom without assistance, or walking around.

You know when it’s coming. Everyone has their feet go to sleep every so often. Not everyone has them wake up again. You look down and they have swollen like flesh balloons. You wonder if they’ve always been this way, or did it gradually happen and you just didn’t notice? Did you think that if you ignored the acid in your blood, it would go away?

If you’re still lucky, you’re feet tingle as though they’re asleep. If you’re not, you feel nothing. The nerves in your foot, eroded beyond repair, have died off. Welcome to neuropathy.
You can’t go back after this. After this, the doctors begin cutting things off.

This is the real horror of type two diabetes; it takes everything from you before it takes your life. Your sight, your ability to walk around, your ability to touch and feel, everything you love is stripped away as the acid melts away your body before finally killing it.

I’ve had the acid in my blood for more than ten years. It’s put me in the hospital no less than five times, most recently, this past week. I do the best I can, on most days, to take care of myself. I watch what I eat. I exercise five days a week, knowing that cardio is my best defense against the acid. At this point, I’m not sure why cardio is so effective against the acid. I just know it is, and that’s all I need, for now.

Yet, I follow all the steps, I stay current on my medication, and it’s still not enough. As I get older, I wonder if I can outrun the acid; or is this what is finally going to bring me down.

This post was inspired by a recent trip I took to the emergency room because my blood sugar reached nearly 400. I take a lot of dramatic liberties here, but type two diabetes is very, very, real, and works in the same manner I’ve described here.

More than two hundred and twenty million people in the world have diabetes, and the disease has claimed just over a million people.
While we may be years away from a cure, the disease can be managed—with or without insurance. I know because I managed it for ten years while I was homeless. It can be done.
If you’ve been diagnoses with type two diabetes, or you think you may be at risk for it, I urge you to seek help. There are free or low-cost medical centers in almost every major city in America. If you need help, please email me and I will help as best as I can.

Until we can cure it, management and prevention may be our best weapons.

Thanks for reading.

(c) Avery K. Tingle for Akting Out LLC

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I’ve been eating pizza soup for over ten years. It’s quick, easy, low in fat, and delicious. I’ve never gotten sick of it, and it has become a staple in my diet.

I discovered the recipe by accident. I was walking down the street when a Campbell’s wrapper landed on my ankle. I picked it up (as you do), read the recipe, and never looked back.

There are a lot of ways to prepare this soup and introduce variety, but this is my recipe:

You will need the following:

2 Single-Serving Cans of Campbell’s Tomato Soup
16 slices Armour Pepperoni
½ Cup Mozzarella Cheese
2 Tablespoons Italian Seasoning
1 Tablespoon Crushed Red Pepper (Optional)

1). Prepare soup as normal; stir water and soup thoroughly before heating the stove.

2). Turn stove on medium. Add pepperoni and Italian Seasoning. Stir thoroughly. (Pepperoni will stick to the bottom if you don’t).

3). Bring to a boil. Add mozzarella cheese, stir in thoroughly.

4). Allow soup to continue to boil. Stir frequently until soup color lightens and becomes creamy.

5). Remove from heat, allow to cool a bit, and serve.

This dish contains very little sodium and carbohydrates; it is diabetic-friendly. Plus, it will fill you up.

Some of the variations include:

Meat Freak—Extra Pepperoni, Ham, Ground Sausage

Supreme—Extra Pepperoni, Ham, Ground Sausage, Diced Bell Pepper, Diced Purple Onion

So that’s the pizza soup recipe. If you have any ideas for variations, I’d love to try them. Thanks for reading and enjoy!

(c) Avery K. Tingle for Akting Out LLC

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When I was in my early-to-mid twenties, I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. It happened by accident; I was at the doctor’s trying to get cleared for something, they ran my blood work, surprise; no more Reese’s for you.

Of course, being me, I didn’t take it seriously; there are certain foods I’m just not willing to give up. I’ll find a way to beat it. I always do.
Well, it didn’t quite work out that way. Type 2 can be a bitch, unmanaged. You live in the bathroom, especially at night. You can also drain the Pacific and still be thirsty as hell. And you sleep; you sleep a lot, whether you want to or not.

Sometimes you can sleep and not be sure if you’ll ever wake up.

You sleep because your heart is having such a hard time getting blood through your system that the only way it can do so is to shut you down. And if it can’t get the process back up to speed, well…

Type 2 Diabetes is the result of your body’s inability to produce enough insulin to counter the sugar that passes through your bloodstream. The sugar then acts like acid, literally eroding away at your major organs. Left unchecked, it can result in the amputation of your limbs. Amputation follows diabetic neuropathy.

Going from a physically active lifestyle to sleeping fifteen hours at a time was kind of a wake-up call. I was happy to learn that exercise, especially aerobic exercise, greatly countered the effects of this poison racing through my bloodstream.

I began to take it seriously. I was unmedicated for three years—during which time, I actually lowered my blood sugar by more than fifty points by exercise alone. I came to learn that enough exercise can actually replace the need for medication. I can live a very long life if I take care of myself…

I confess that there’s more to it than that…
When I was younger, and I fought, I could dance. I could float across the ground like I was walking on clouds, make my opponent dizzy just by continuing to circle them, and frustrate them by making them miss their every move. A friend of mind once told me he just wanted to grab me and plant me into the ground so he could land one clean shot. It was too much work trying to chase me down. Even more so, my right leg was a tripwire with a cannonball at the end of it. It was a threat from any range, at any distance. I used to taunt people; I didn’t even need my hands. You get close enough to me, and my right leg will take the wind right out of you.

Nothing beats the sensation of flying; leaping through the air and tagging your opponent with three kicks before gracefully returning to terra firma.

Type 2 slows you down. My entire body felt so heavy that when I fought my last battle in Saginaw, I did it using boxing—and got very, very lucky.

I run an average of about seven miles a week now. I can’t leap like I used to, but my body is beginning to remember the footwork again. What few sparring sessions I’ve had, the physical memory is kicking in. I may never be as fast as I used to be, but if I can lighten my body, it’ll make things easier on my heart.

If George Foreman can win the heavyweight crown at forty-five, I have no excuses.

My goal is to be completely off of medication by the time I’m thirty-five. To this end, I’m (somewhat) careful about my diet, I work out religiously, and I monitor my blood sugar.

This category is going to be a weekly journal of my progress. I find that I’m more accountable when people are reading. Beyond that, I’d like to help anyone who’s at risk for getting this disease, or having trouble managing it. I’ll post what I’m eating, how I work out, my blood sugar levels—even when I screw up. For the record, Red Bull Sugar Free is a great energy drink that doesn’t skyrocket your blood sugar.

Feel free to contact me or comment, and thanks for following along.

(c) Avery K. Tingle for Akting Out LLC

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I’ve been living with type 2 diabetes since about my mid-twenties. When I was initially diagnosed, my average blood sugar was between three and four hundred–enough to put a man in a coma.

Since then, concerning the illness, I’ve gone from nonchalance to acceptance to resistance.

There is no cure for type two diabetes. Once you have it, you’re stuck with it. However, it is manageable.

Failure to manage your diabetes, or keep your blood sugar in check, can lead to severe blood circulation disorders, which can cause heart disease. Another possibility is diabetic neuropathy, which means the nerves in your body die off. Essentially, you lose your ability to walk. You lose your ability to see. You may lose your ability to hear.

Then you lose your life.

Ultimately, that is the end result of this disease, which has no cure. It kills you.

If you’re a type two diabetic, it means that your body cannot produce enough insulin to work with all of the sugar passing through your bloodstream. At this point, consider the sugar like a slow-working acid consuming you from within. One of your body’s last-resort defense mechanisms for your blood sugar being too high is to shut down until it comes down on its own. This is why you may feel sleepy after too much food. When T2 Diabetes is left unchecked for too long, this occasionally results in a diabetic coma. This, as you can imagine, is about a serious as it gets.

At first, I couldn’t have cared less when I was first diagnosed (the whopper was not something I was willing to part with). As I learned what this disease would do to me if I didn’t keep it in check, I decided to make some changes.

You need to know that you can beat this thing back. It’s not impossible. It’s difficult, but it’s not impossible.

Without medical insurance or any sort of medication, I reduced my blood sugar two hundred points in one year by developing a routine and sticking to it. I’m walking proof that it can be done.

You can Google type 2 diabetes and come back with a host of results that will get you started, and you should consult your physician before making any major changes. That being said, this is what I do.

1). Exercise
Aerobics is the greatest enemy type 2 diabetes has, because it increases your circulation. You should be doing something from the moment you get up in the morning; not only does it wake you up, but it improves your blood circulation immensely. You don’t have to do something hardcore from the moment you roll out of bed. Five minutes of jogging in place, jumping  jacks, or shadowboxing will do just fine. Anything to get you just a little winded.
Getting your weight down will also allow blood to travel more freely through your system, which will greatly reduce your blood sugar. This is my five-minute routine in the morning. Stretch first. Seriously. Trust me on this.

1). Ten axe kicks, each leg (throw your leg straight into the air, as high as you can).
2). Thirty jumping jacks (Three equal one)
3). Ten jab-reverse combinations (switching sides)
4). Shadowboxing

If you have a job that has you sitting a lot, you should get up every half an hour, and for five minutes, get your blood pumping. Jog in place. If you talk on the phone, walk around while you talk instead of sitting down. Little changes like this go a long way.

2). Eat Right
Okay, I’m going to admit that this part bloody sucks at the beginning. You have to give yourself time to get used to it…but yeah, I’m not going to lie to you, this was the hardest part of it for me.
I’ve learned a lot along the way, though. Cinnamon actually reduces blood sugar and goes great in coffee. Swap out sugar for sweetener in everything and you will start to feel results in weeks. Develop a routine for your body. It’s often debated that you can eat three regular, balanced meals, or several smaller meals throughout the day. Both methods work, but talk to your doctor and figure out which one works for you. Whichever you decide, stick with it. I avoid most pastas and breads because they take a long time to digest, resulting in a spike in blood sugar.

My typical meals involve oatmeal for breakfast (which also brings down cholesterol), pizza soup or salad, and then something with baked (not fried, gotta let the fried stuff go) chicken, usually wrapped in a tortilla with cheese and vegetables.

Conclusion
Again, I stress talking to your doctor (I didn’t go into testing your blood sugar here) before changing your diet or starting an exercise routine. What I gave here is what works for me.

What I’m trying to stress is that if you have been diagnosed with type two diabetes, DON’T IGNORE IT. It’s not going to go away, and if you don’t deal with it, it will take everything from you before it takes your life.

That’s not drama, that’s truth. That’s life.

Or death.

Your call.

(c) Avery K. Tingle for Akting Out LLC

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