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Share your quitting journey

It could have been me

JonesCarpeDiem
1 4 103

I was one of those people who only went to the Dr. in an emergency.

I never got checkups.

About 5 months into my quit, I had an episode I didn't understand. About 6 months later, I wasn't feeling well. I was sweating all the time, unquenchable thirst and urinating constantly. I had a lab order I had never initiated because I had no money for the copay at the time it was written. I found the lab in my Dr's building. I was dizzy. I could hardly stand by the time I got into the reception area. They said the orders were not current and they were reluctant to honor them.   but they did

They did the tests and a couple days later I got a call from a Dr. filling in for my physician telling me my blood sugar was well over 400 and I needed to start being treated for diabetes. There are studies saying smokers are more susceptible to getting type 2 diabetes in the first 2 years after they've quit. .https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/nicotine-blood-sugar 

That was 13 years ago. 

Now, the reason I'm writing this.

My son in laws mom passed yesterday. She was only 60. She had a heart attack a week ago but what was telling to me was, her blood sugar was over 500 and she never knew it because she never went to the Dr. for checkups.

Uncontrolled Diabetes affects your heart and kidneys badly

I've been through it with the kidneys but that was cured by a surgery that took care of the original source of the problem.

The thing is, if you don't take care of these things, they snowball...And, if you don't even know you even have them, they'll kill you slowly or quickly.  I can't help but think she didn't have to die if she'd gone to the Dr. every couple of years.

Take care of yourself. See a doctor for a physical and blood work at least every two years.

      I still wouldn't go to a doctor today but they make me come in at least every 4 months to check for deterioration. 

4 Comments
About the Author
Hello, My name is Dale. I was quit 18 months before joining this site and had participated on another site during that time. I learned a lot there and brought it with me. I joined this site the first week of August 2008. I didn't pressure myself to quit. HOW I QUIT I didn't count, I didn't deny myself to get started. When I considered quitting (at a friends request to influence his brother to quit), I simply told myself to wait a little longer. No denial, nothing painful. After 4 weeks I was down to 5 cigarettes from a pack a day. The strength came from proving to myself, I didn't need to smoke because I normally would have smoked. Simple yes? I bought the patch. I forgot to put one on on the 4th day. I needed it the next day but the following week I forgot two days in a row I put one in my wallet with a promise to myself that I would slap it on and wait an hour rather than smoke. It rode in my wallet my first year.There's nothing keeping any of you from doing this. It doesn't cost a dime. This is about unlearning something you've done for a long time. The nicotine isn't the hard part. Disconnecting from the psychological pull, the memories and connected emotions is. :-) Time is the healer.