I wanted to discuss Type 2 Diabetes today, and blood sugar problems in general. Where should I start? Let's start with my story. I was born to Edward LeRoy King, who was part Native American (yes, I have a roll number, too) and Anna Lee Flynn King in January 1954. My Dad was one of the first Navy Seals, trained in World War II even to undo bombs underwater so that they wouldn't sink any ships. He joined the Navy at age 16 like many men did, right after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. His ship was the USS Lowndes APA-154. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Lowndes_(APA-154)
My Mother was a Secretary at Mare Island in Vallejo, California and typed 91 words per minute. Needless to say when she went in to test for the job, after they saw her fingers fly, they thanked the rest of the girls and hired my Mom on the Spot. I am giving this information this time, because of what took place when I was a little girl.
In the late 1950's, right up until 1961, there were special x-rays given to people. These gamma ray X Rays were then outlawed in 1961. My brother, sister and I were subjected to these X Rays before they got outlawed. It was during a time that our own government experimented on it's own citizens with radioactive materials. Now, none of the parents knew of these tests, as they were kept secret. But President Clinton finally admitted that during the cold war era, America had done radiation experiments on some of it's own citizens.
The requirenments were general, but they accepted people who were poor, or Native American, or military personnel and their families. They were done on any minority, and being done all over the USA. Here is another's person's research. I only know of my own....
http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Evils%20in%20Government/experiments_with_radiation.htm
(Someone here in California I have emailed back and forth, is Cherie Anderson. When she was a child, they stuck a radioactive thing up her nose. She could develope brain cancer anytime. There are many of us grouping up together in Northern California.
"We're not here to point fingers at anyone, we're here to come up with solutions to help us," said Cherie Anderson, a Sacramento woman who was among an unknown number of children given radioactive implants during the Cold War. "We're not just statistics. We have families that care about what happens to us." http://articles.sfgate.com/1995-10-13/news/17818354_1_experiments-presidential-panel-panel-s-report )
As a little girl of 5, I had what they call "Full body radiation". I remember they stripped me down to my underwear, I was placed on a guerney, and they put special glasses on me. My Mother was taken to stand behind a special screen with the doctor. And then my body was subjected to all this radiation. The doctor said he was doing these tests on me and my older sister, for "Skin Treatments". But we had nothing wrong with our skin. I became sick, and later understood the feeling now, that I was having blood sugar problems, and sick so much more. There were many many times as a child, that I could not even get up out of bed to go to school.
My Grandfather Smith use to tell me, "You better eat or you will dry up and blow away." We'd go to my Grandparents almost every week end after church. My Grandmother noticed I was sickly, and she asked my Mother, "What are they doing to her??!!" My Mom answered innocently, "Skin Treatments." Grandma said, "Why?" My Mom said, "I don't know. Ed had that skin issue on his feet." Grandma said, "Yes, but that was different. She doesn't look good."
Eventually with these treatments, I woke up one morning with blood from my kidneys. My Mom panicked and called my Dad. They were seperated at that time. He came with my Aunt, and they took me to a specialist in San Francisco who couldn't understand why this was happening to me." When the so called "Skin Treatments" or special X Rays were outlawed in 1961, eventually I got better. But I still had blood sugar episodes. I recognise them now, but you know when you are a kid and that is all you know, to you, it's normal.
Well, I suffered from very very low blood sugars back then. Again, since I didn't know that it was not normal, to me I never said anything because to me, it was all I knew and it was normal to me.
Fast Forward to when I was in my very early 20's. I was married with 3 kids by the time I was 23 years old. I adored and loved my kids and still do! And I love my Grandkids, too! Anyhow, I kept having worse and worse problems. One day I slipped and fell when we were living in Hermiston, Oregon. I ended up in the hospital for 2 days. They did a 6 or 8 hour blood testing on me then. By the 2nd hour, I got so sick. When the doctor later came in, he said my blood sugars had dropped dangerously low the 2nd hour. He then told me after all my tests were done and my ankle put in a cast since I broke it, the Doctor told me about my blood sugars, "I've seen it before. I think by the time you turn 40, your pancreas will wear out and you will turn Diabetic". I kept that in my mind all those years after that. My first husband never could grasp me having low blood sugars and the effects it has on the human body all those years we were married. It's ironic, because now at age 55/56, he nows suffers from low blood sugar problems. Now, I think he understands, at least some. He must.
At age 39, things started happening on my body. I went in for a thyroid scan, and the Radiologist asked me point blank if I had "Skin Treatments" as a child. I said yes. He said my thyroid was burned and he had seen this before from that treatment. I learned that anyone who had these "Skin Treatments", they found, had a good chance of developing thyroid cancer in their later years. Then I had alot of questions, like, did this change my DNA? Will it affect my children and grandchildren and future generations? He said he didn't know. So I tried to contact Dr. Joseph in Vallejo California the one who did these treatments on me. I found out he died and that all previous patient records had been shredded. Except for the radiologist who verified this, I had no physical proof.
I've had two thyroid biopsies, and so far, they've come out normal. I am actually fortunate to have only been subjected to the Skin Treatments. Because during that time of testing, some people got injected with platonium thru shot needles. And others had radioactive stuff put up their noses as children. I belong to a group now of radiation experiment survivors.
Then in January 1999, I lost 70 pounds in 10 to 14 days. I felt sick, flu like. I ate a sandwhich 3 times a day, trying to be good and eat. But I still lost weight. Finally I went to the doctors and she diagnosed me as having turned Diabetic. But more then that, I was in Ketoacidosis and my body systems were shutting down to die, literally. Thanks to God, and an excellent team of doctors and dieticians, they pulled me out of it. But I was still so sick, I was not able to work and was still under a 24 hour kidney failure watch, and more. But I fought and got better at that time. I began trying to go back to work part time.
More and more I learned about Diabetes. I learned it runs in both sides of my family. My Parents and Grandparents were from the time, that people didn't want to discuss health issues, or anything that was not of a positive nature. So I was totally uninformed. My Mother passed on in 1995, so I couldn't ask her.
So here I was, still sickly, trying to work 4 hours or less a day at least, and trying to find out about Type 2 Diabetes. At that time, there were no Type 2 Diabetes Groups in Yahoo, or that I could really find online. After a few years, I began my own group for Type 2 Diabetics in Yahoo. I decided I didn't want others to go thru blindly what I went thru.
I learned that a Type 2 Diabetic's cell receptors don't work right. For me, it is on a cellular level. For most Type 2 Diabetics, either the cell receptors don't work right, or the body rejects it's own insulin for some reason. Or a combination of both problems. Now, this happened to all Type 2 Diabetics. Not just me. I also know that genetically, it can and does run in families. I learned you don't have to be overweight to get Type 2 Diabetes. Many skinny people get it too.
Stanford University found that when a person turns Type 2 Diabetic, two or three protien genes get turned off. Also, it may be well into the DNA coding as to why people turn Type 2 Diabetic. Our bodies replicate themselves every year. I don't look like I did at age 16, and most of us don't when we are 56 years old. It's because our DNA cells do not exactly copy themselves over time. That is why we get to a certain place and then age.
I've learned that anyone with Low or High blood sugars should eat a higher protien diet because it stays in the stomach longer, as long as a person's kidneys are still working as they should.
I learned a Diabetic should eat something every 3 hours. Even if it is 6 almonds, or a cheese stick and apple slices. Something healthful.
Friends have discovered that by eating low carbs, they were able to eat and get filled up. They lost weight. Their blood sugars went down to normal! Are they still Diabetics? YES. Because if they were to start eating the old way, their weight would come back on and they would be full blown diabetics again.
But some doctors feel that if you no longer have blood sugars of 200 and above without medications, then you are no longer a Diabetic. But in the minds of Diabetics who's blood sugars have returned to normal, and have lost weight eating a low carb diet, they understand that they can never ever go back to eating the old way again. Low Carb eating is a way of life for a Diabetic.
With so many Americans and people around the world being over weight because of all the hidden sugars in foods, and processed foods, high fructose corn syrup, that's why people are more over weight now adays. When I see those commercials with people saying, "Corn syrup is the same as regular sugar. It's the same", and the woman walks off smiling like it's okay...IT'S NOT OKAY. Sugar is poisening people all over the world. I don't hand out candy on Halloween. I smile as I watch the kids enjoy themselves dressing up, but I don't want to contribute to any future health problems they may encounter in the future.
I may come back to these subjects in the future, but for now, I am done for today. My Diabetes group is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Diabetes_Type2
is open to anyone to join. If you are a Diabetic or not or want to join this group, just make sure you said you saw Sandy's Dear Diary Blog and I'll know.
It's night time right now, and it's very very cold outside. The snow has made it's way 20 minutes up the road from me here. Now I am going to count my blessings, pray for my family and friends, and enjoy the evening. May all of you have a lovely evening as well.
:-)
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