She had my bare feet on her lap and she was testing my reactions to a simple instrument I had never seen before. It is called a monofilament. Please see the top picture.
I kept my eyes closed as she poked the filament on and around my toes, asking what I could feel. I am afraid that this is one examination that I did not pass with flying colours.
In the past fourteen months, I have been teetering around the threshold of Type 2 diabetes. That is why I stopped taking sugar in hot drinks, reduced my alcohol intake and even paid good money for continuing weight loss reduction injections.
Monday's meeting has added impetus to my efforts and the next time I see my doctor I am going to be asking about a prescription for a drug called metformin which helps to reduce blood sugar levels. All my googling makes me wonder why it was not prescribed last year.
As some of you may recall, I recently finished reading "Entangled Life" which has a strong focus upon the underground characteristics of both fungi and plant roots. At the extremities of both systems there are tiny filaments. If the plant or fungus suddenly starts to retract, it is those tiny hair-like threads that die back first.
It is the same with the human body. When able-bodied people are in the vigorous health of youth those internal filaments - our blood vessels and nerves are in prime condition - reaching effectively to every part of the body and functioning well. However, if diabetes starts to creep inside us then those tiny threads begin to retreat and well, die.
We can be like deciduous trees that shut down every autumn, dropping leaves from their extremities as arboreal energy is drawn back into the heartwood. But unlike trees, we will not see spring returning for ahead of us is just the end - sooner or later.
I can walk for miles and my feet look pink and healthy but the physician's assistant was painting a different picture. She warned me about cuts to my feet, told me not to use scissors to trim my nails, be scrupulous about washing and drying my feet and said she would be referring me to a podiatrist. It all came as a shock - I can tell you, especially as the appointment was allegedly for an "annual hypertension review" which is what I wrote on our kitchen calendar.
Hell, I do not want to end up with amputated toes or sores that will not heal but that could so easily be the way of things. Those who crept into the diabetes nether zone before me never imagined that such things might happen to them.
Throughout my life I have been blessed with good health. My body was just a purring vehicle that carried the inner me through life - into adventures, pubs, love, foreign lands, jobs, libraries, dining rooms, oceans. I guess I took it for granted that it would always function like that until it simply conked out but that might not be the way of things and tonight I feel quite fearful.
You are still only on the threshold of type 2 Diabetes.
ReplyDeleteWith a reformed diet, reduction in alcohol, care of the feet and neuropathic
health care, you can remain on the threshold.
I got an all clear blood test in spring, but I as I left the doctor's surgery I was very aware of transience, and of young lives lost all over the world to war and disease.
*Men must endure their going hence, even as their coming hither :
Ripeness is all.*
CS Lewis asked for it to be inscribed on his gravestone.
I appreciate your response Jack.
DeleteI have had neuropathy as part of my inherited condition for many, many years. I barely feel anything right up to my knees. If you work on your blood sugars and maintain good foot care, you will be fine.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your fear. We get a shock when our mortality is brought sharply into focus. This is a challenge along the way and you have done hard things before.
ReplyDeleteYes, diabetic feet are scary and put the fear of God into everyone when they first learn of this side effect of diabetes. I know it did for me. But controlling blood sugars over the long term is your best defence. Like everything else having to do with diabetes, the goal is to stave off its side effects for as long as possible. You can do it! Metformin will help.
ReplyDeleteI am with you on the fear, I have a more intensive liver scan scheduled for next June as the recent scan showed signs of "stiffening" of a small portion of my liver and that is something the liver cannot recover from. I am trying so hard to cut back on sugar but after a lifetime of everything sweetened it isn't so easy, though I am making progress.
ReplyDeleteHow are you treating that awful sore/blister/callous on your foot? It looks painful.
You are looking after yourself very well by learning about your condition. It's funny how we roll along and all of a sudden we get that oops moment. Sometime it's too late and sometimes we can with tremendous effort turn things around. I hope this turns around for you.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if women are less overwhelmed by their bodies changing because we spend a lifetime living in bodies that change. It is weird though, this getting old. It also makes me realize that my days are numbered. The future is no longer endless.
ReplyDeleteI don't have wise words to offer, except follow the medical advice but yes, do your own research too.
ReplyDeleteBless you. Very few people escape without some sort of illness. Try not to be despondent. We live in a time and a place where these things can be treated.
ReplyDeleteYou are being proactive in your approach to it.
It's all the luck of the draw. I have had gallstones, cancer, pneumonia, shingles and Helicobacter Pylori. The latter causing me endless pain in my gut. I've ended up going private to get proper treatment. My doctor just kept giving me the same eradication treatment over and over. I did my own research using public health England and requested the next line of eradication therapy. That didn't work either. Theres one option left but I've to have a gastroscopy (which fills me with dread) before I can have it.
Husband, on the other hand has no health issues at all! We have the same diet and lifestyle except he drinks beer!
There's no rhyme or reason. Hang in there!
Relieved to determine that this was only a stock photo.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I've known both the word and the condition for many years. In the 1990s, a brother-like friend of mine contracted AIDS; at that time, the diagnose equaled a death sentence. He suffered neuropathy in both legs and for the last year or so of his life was less and less able to walk, and he died at 32.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad also had Type 2 diabetes and related neuropathy, but he was much older than you AND had been a heavy smoker for decades - and even he managed to keep his feet in good condition (with my Mum's and a podiatrist specialised on diabetes patients. Therefore, I am optimistic about you, Neil. You are doing so much to keep at bay what threatens your health and wellbeing, and all those measures are certainly paying off.
PS: My Dad also had metformin prescribed, but because of other medication he needed, it didn't agree with him. I can't remember what he was prescribed as an alternative, but unlike you he had a stroke and you probably have way less medication to take daily and need not to worry about metformin interacting with other drugs.
DeleteWell hopefully you have woken up more cheerful. Forget the long words they use for health and the fear that death lurks at the corner. It does;) But you probably have many years still, You have lovely grandchildren to take you into old age, long or short walks in a decent walking environment and a life that has been lived to the full. What more can you ask for?
ReplyDeleteAt least you have a chance to pull back from the excesses of your life so far and will become a new man. My friend is on metformin and seems to cope well with that. I have some health issues which have scared the beejesus out of me and have some serious decisions to make, as you will see from my recent post. Growing old is not for the faint-hearted.
ReplyDeleteI can only echo everyone's words above. Keep on with the healthy diet and exercise and I'm sure you will pull back from the brink.
ReplyDeleteNeil, I am on metformin myself. I don't have diabetes (my father did), but my blood triglycerides were always stubbornly high. About five or six years ago, my doctor gave an Rx for metformin, thinking that it would bring my levels down. It did. When I have to list my medications, a lot of times I get asked if I am a diabetic. I have a bit of neuropathy in my feet as well, and I went to a podiatrist last month about it. I always say that "youth is wasted on the youth" as I, when I was young, always took my good health for granted.
ReplyDeleteKeep walking and enjoying those walks. That's some good medicine right there. This is off topic but how's your Stanage Edge poem coming along?
ReplyDeleteMy husband has severe neuropathy but it is not related to diabetes at all. It's part of whatever the neurological disease is that no one can seem to diagnose. He simply cannot feel his feet. Walking grows ever more difficult and standing in one place is impossible. As you know, it does not slow him down much. He manages. He hikes through woods and balances in a boat on the seas. He is still doing carpentry and painting and adapting however he can. He is probably the most stubborn man I've ever met and in that, I suppose he is fortunate because he refuses to give up. And is also the reason I support him on any adventures he is still able to take.
ReplyDeleteI tell you all this to encourage you not to feel that you are teetering on the brink of some sort of physical shut-down. Keep going. Do what you can and keep going. You will be fine.
Don't let fear, replace the enjoyment of the years we have left to live.
ReplyDeleteDear Pudding: I've been type 2 for close to 20 years now. I was shocked at first by the diagnosis and pictured myself tied to a dialysis machine. After a while I settled down and realized that being a bit more careful about what I ate and medication was what was required. I went on Metformin right away (even though I still call it Metaformin), and various other meds have been added and taken away ever since. My last check-up was just a week ago, and my A1c was 6.2, i.e., barely diabetic. I do have some neuropathy, which for me takes the shape of my toes being cold when I lie down. No amount of covering makes then feel warm, but there are meds that help a lot, even over-the-counter, i.e. non-prescription, things. (If you have any hair on your feet, i.e. the top of the foot, that's good; it means you have good blood circulation. I learned that from my podiatrist, who I go to for problems with my arches not for neuropathy.) In short, if you follow your doctor's advice and take proper care, you should probably be OK in the long run. Catching it early on helps. In all likelihood, you should be fine. I'm quite certain my enemies will do me in long before my blood glucose will. Best!
ReplyDeleteIt's a bugger.
ReplyDeleteWell, look at it this way -- it's good you know all of this is happening. Knowledge is the first step, and you are already making informed decisions to counterbalance some of these changes. I'm not pretending it isn't scary, but I'd say you're doing the right thing.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Steve that you're making important and healthy changes and that you sound like you're on top of the situation. Awareness is key! I hope the podiatrist will be reassuring.
ReplyDeleteWhen you know better, you do better. It's good that you know and you are doing what you need to do to stay healthy, Neil.
ReplyDeleteMy late grandad lost his leg to diabetes but his lifestyle was one of smoking and drinking plus low levels of exercise. Self care is the key. It'll probably be in my future at some point too but my lifestyle is so different to his I hope I can keep it at bay.
ReplyDeleteMedics have to give patients the full picture, warts and all, while knowing that they are presenting the worst case scenario. You are taking steps to alleviate your problems and will overcome them, I'm sure.
ReplyDelete