My mother was a type II diabetic. I remember as a little girl, she would teach me how to inject her insulin in case of an emergency, and taught me the warning signs of a diabetic attack.
With that being said, I was recently diagnosed with type II diabetes, but fortunately do not require insulin. My A1c was not that high, but enough to categorize me as an official diabetic. *sigh* Gotta love genetics. I didn't want to admit this to myself at first, because the initial feeling when you hear something like this is - "I've failed myself". But, if it runs in the family, your odds of getting it is that much higher. In fact, my sister informed me that one of my brothers now has it, and he's on a ton of medications. I do not want to walk that path.
Good news is, with diet modification and daily testing, it seems that I am for the most part, within normal readings. I have yet to get the results of my latest A1c, but I am pretty confident that it's better than before if not close to or even normal. I am only on one dose of metformin, and my doctor feels no need to increase my medication. Yay for me.
It's under control and that's the goal. My ultimate goal is to get off the meds and control it with diet and exercise because
this CAN be reversed.
Carbs are the enemy. I am a carb maniac, so getting used to a diet with limited carbs and sugar is rough but doable. I don't drink soda anymore, eat very little carbs, and exercise regularly because exercise helps control the insulin in your body. It's overwhelming at first, but once you get a grasp on it, it's manageable. My mom died at a very young age and I certainly don't want to follow her footsteps.
For those ignoring their diet, I implore you not to. Diabetes is a silent killer and will damage your organs and nerves over time. It can cause blindness, nerve damage, heart and other organ failure... (you get the idea). Besides, purging the crap that only does your body harm makes you feel better all around. You can still eat the things you like (for the most part), but it's all about portion control. When I eat something that I know might spike my sugar, I'll work out afterwards. I find that it lowers my sugar and burns off some of those nasty calories.