The Saga of Billy O

Good morning, friends.  In today’s guest feature, we have contributor Billy O with an unflinchingly honest portrayal of his discovery and management of Type II diabetes. We’ll be hearing from a few people on this topic, as it is imperative to get a handle on this before it progresses.  It does not discriminate, so let’s listen to these voices of experience to help us through it.

Two years ago was my 16th and final year in the film business. I was in the Camera Dept. – a physical job requiring me to stand and walk for a good part of the day. When our season was cut short, I was unemployed. It was the duration of unemployment that changed my life. I was unemployed for seven months. I wish I could say that I was exercising or eating right, but I was not.

Two months out of work I began to notice some things: I was losing weight, about two pounds a week, I had an unquenchable thirst, I was drinking (two) 32 oz. bottles of water per night. No joke. This was causing me to make three or four trips to the restroom each night. And all this time in the restroom lead me to notice spots of black mold in the toilet. Although I knew something was going on, I did not feel the need to see a doctor.

After seven months out of work I had lost about 40 Lbs. and I was super tired all the time because I was not getting restful sleep. The water and the restroom trips made sure of that.

In August 2011, I was offered a job outside of the film business. I was no longer on my feet all day. A new issue arrived with the new job: A light breakfast was just fine but, a 20 minutes after a good size lunch and would I would start to doze off sitting at my desk. I would have to get up out of my chair to keep from falling asleep.

    
OKAY, IT’S TIME TO SEEK INFORMATION!!  

 
A visit to the doctor, a donation of blood then a short wait for the mystery to be solved. The doctor started by asking me if I ate a box of donuts for lunch that day?  The real news, I was Type II Diabetic. My blood sugar was 717 (normal ranges from 90-115). Soon after that I was on my way to a specialist that works with Diabetics.  

More blood drawn and a more accurate test, my blood sugar was 550.  500% higher then it should be.  This is when I really learned about my symptoms.  It turns out that the Diabetes was causing me use the restroom to flush out the unprocessed/unburned sugars, frequency caused dehydrated, causing the unquenchable thirst.  When I was flushing all this sugar out of my body, I was dropping weight.  And all that sugar in the toilet (damp and dark) grows mold.

 
It’s official – I am a Type II Diabetic.

It took a couple weeks to get my blood sugar numbers under control and then a choice between one shot and eight pills a day. I hate needles. The first couple weeks were fine. I was motivated to do EVERYTHING the right way.  

That lasted a few weeks. Then I cheated once, then again, and again. Later I’m walking thru Walgreen’s and all I can see are bags and boxes of candy, popcorn, soda, and white bread. I’m going thru carb withdrawal. Grasping at straws, I try SUGAR FREE CANDY. I tried all I could get my hands on. Most of it tastes gross, and is full of FAT. Lucky for me this only lasted about four months and I was over candy (except at the movies, I cheat there).

During the sugar free candy phase, my diet really slipped. I gained back 17 pounds in four months. It was time to embrace exercise. I had to act! I decided to go to the gym five days a week for a month, then cut back when my body was more used to the workouts.

I started on the treadmill. Walking for 30 minutes. Adding in running, as my legs got stronger. Now I am running four miles twice a week. On Wednesdays, I “enjoy” a cardio class with co-workers. Aside from my workouts, I have broken a sweet tooth habit I have had for most of my life. Now I don’t eat after 8 pm until I wake up in the morning. I can drink water or diet soda.

I am learning that Diabetes for me is a process. I was told what I needed to do and it was easy, then HARD, now it’s MANAGEABLE. I am finally starting to manage my Diabetes. 

My next goal is running a 10K. This would be 2.2 miles further then I have run in over 20 years.  Gotta have a goal. By then I hope to be back to 180Lbs. Okay, so I have two goals.

 
Please take it slow. But take it seriously. Good Luck & God Bless.

-Billy O

Billy and his beautiful wife, Jill.