On Wednesday, July 27th at approximately 3PM I was given a diagnosis that comes as something of a shock and surprise: I have Type II Diabetes.
There. I said it.
Back in 2016 I was told my A1C was at pre-diabetic levels. Also at the time I weighed 260lbs (morbid obesity for a man of my height). I also drank quite a bit of beer and smoked heavily so I did what any right-thinking person would do in that situation: I went on a diet, started exercising more, stopped smoking and stopped drinking beer entirely and, two years later, I managed to lose over 100 pounds.
I thought for sure that would lower my A1C.
Then, over the last several weeks I started having these chest pains that would come and go, especially when I would lay down to go to sleep so I decided to see the doctor who then strapped me to an EKG.
Diagnosis: nothing wrong with my heart and it was then he told me that I haven’t had lab work done since 2016 (actually hadn’t been to the doctor since that time) so, the next day, I went in to have my lab work.
Up until this point, I felt fine. In fact, I felt better than I ever have since I quit smoking, drinking and lost weight and thought for sure I was going to get a clean bill of health because, why the hell not? I’m doing everything right.
I was winning.
The reason I tell you this is that if Type II Diabetes got me, it can get you too.
Oh, let me show you something horrifying. This was taken last Thursday.
That’s after I made the mistake of eating Thai noodles. I should have known better as I was told to avoid noodles, especially pastas as they contain a shit ton of carbs.
I am currently on Metformin and will be on it for the rest of my life. Bear in mind that I just started Metformin last Wednesday so it’s going to take some time for it to stabilize my glucose but already I am feeling the side effects: diarrhea.
I call it Metforrhea and it’s so not the business. I don’t dare travel anywhere where I can’t get to a toilet in 60 seconds. I don’t dare so much as sip water until I’m sure I have access to a bathroom as that’s how fast anything in my stomach moves through me.
And on top of this I’m on statins and blood pressure medication. A mess? Increasingly so.
I’m sure there’s a whole bunch of TRAs out there who are rejoicing at my having contracted Type II Diabetes.
Let me just say that I’m going to outlive all of you as your self-destruction is pretty much a done deal: 41% of you commit suicide even though you’re the most Protected And Privileged People On The Planet which leads me to suggest that being trans really isn’t the long-term strategy for happiness you all think it is.
So, yeah, go ahead and get your little digs in me. Enjoy it while you’re still here.
Hope you feel better soon
Oh, jeez. That's a lot. You can manage it, I believe in you.