Time to be serious

Ok it's time to be 100% serious. Due to the previous week's events, I almost wasn't here to write this blog. To answer the question of what happened to me I post this blog for my readers, and friends to inform and educate.

Last week I was diagnosed with Diabetic ketoacidosis...

Diabetic ketoacidosis, or DKA, is a potentially life-threatening complication in patients with diabetes. It results from a shortage of insulin; in response the body switches to burning fatty acids and producing acidic ketone bodies. This is, (as in my case,) sometimes the first symptom of previously undiagnosed diabetes, but it may also occur in known diabetics due to a variety of causes, such as illness or poor compliance with insulin therapy.

I dealt with vomiting, dehydration, deep gasping breathing, and confusion which are all typical symptoms. DKA is a medical emergency, and without treatment I could have died. Fortunately a swift trip to the ER made treatment possible.

Treatment involves intravenous fluids to correct dehydration, insulin to suppress the production of ketone bodies, treatment for any underlying causes such as infections, and close observation to prevent and identify complications. For me this involved a week long stay in the hospital.

I'm happy to say I'm home now, recovering and regaining the strength necessary to get back to work, but this could've been prevented.

Diabetes often goes undiagnosed and has been called a “Silent Killer.” People can exhibit noticeable symptoms such as frequent urination, blurred vision, excessive thirst, itchy skin and numbness or tingling in feet. Most individuals diagnosed with type 2 diabetes do not show these overt warning signs at the time that they develop the disease. These symptoms sometimes get ignored, I should know. I've NEVER had any health problems and I work a whole lot so I figured I was thirsty and exhausted because of it. I've never been used to eating a lot of sweets or soda, BUT, I do enjoy pasta which was a issue. The moral of the story is, don't take your health for granted.

Take the initiative and make sure this doesn't happen to you. The doctors don't know how long I've had diabetes. I could have been unknowingly controlling it for years.

Get tested! Just because you get blood work done during a doctors visit doesn't mean that your blood is being tested for diabetes. You have to request a HbA1c test. If your family has a history of diabetes than your doctor might suggest you get tested, but it's still up to you.

Feel free to leave a comment, and share this with any who are putting off going and getting tested. It's a matter of life of death.
Take care of yourself and see ya next blog...