Where’d My Spring Chicken Go?

I am still trying to wrap my head around what happened to me. This was a wake-up call for me and someone else who could be reading this.

I cannot believe I am not a SPRING CHICKEN anymore! How dare this life rip that status away from me so abruptly! And I thought everything I was going through was side effects from COVID-19, specifically, the DELTA strand. That stint of time was the sickest I have ever felt in my entire life. The combination of the flu and the brain fog felt like it covered every thought I had. It was terrible.

The effects of COVID were long felt after I was sick. And I am sure many of you can attest to that. I noticed that in my eyesight, endurance, and energy took a REALLY long time to get back to my normal self. And if I am being honest, in some ways still hasn’t.

With that thought in my head, I assumed all my health problems were related to what I called the “Covid Filter.”. What I ignored was the fact that for SO many years, my diet consisted of fasting all day until the evening when I would eat whatever I wanted. And that included sweets. And then I would drink wine. And eat late at night. All of this combined over several years started to take its toll on my health. For example, gummy bears were my absolute favorite, I would devour bags of these little bitches. I mean, they had 17 flavors! So, yeah. You can say my eating habits were lacking. BIG TIME.

Two years ago, I was rushed to the ER because of severe nausea and vomiting which lasted about 12 hours. I ended up staying in the hospital for two nights. That night, I was eating the new Cheez-It “Puffs” from Target and I ate way too many. I thought the bag was contaminated so I reached out to Cheez-It and received two $10 coupons. I didn’t pay 20 bucks for the Puffs so I thought I was a winner. Lol.

They had no idea what the cause could be. They figured it was because I was eating too late. But other than that they had no idea. It was completely unnerving not to get an explanation of what possibly could be happening.

Why did they not check my blood sugar, I have no idea. If they had, it would have been clear as day. Nonetheless, they didn’t and I was left in the dark.

This past Mardi Gras it happened again. Everyone knows that Mardi Gras is filled with late-night eating and sugar! King Cake for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And don’t forget the booze.

That being said it happened again. But this time I had abdominal pain on top of the other symptoms.

After 8 days of debilitating pain and Douglas being out of town for work, I went to Urgent Care and was told my appendix could be ruptured and I needed to rush to the hospital. There, I found out the Touro’s Surgical team was a condescending group of assholes who said "Nothing is wrong with you.” Yet the hospitalist and the medical team said I had appendicitis. It was maddening.

After almost 3 days I was told they couldn’t release me because of “appendicitis.” This didn’t make sense to me so I left. I have 3 kids who needed me while my husband was over a thousand miles away.

I couldn’t spend another night without any solid answers. Finally, during this visit, I was able to hear from a professional that I was pre-diabetic. However, I still didn’t realize the severity of what was at the root of my issues.

Fast-forward a month and Douglas and I took the kids to see the new Ghostbusters movie. There I got a delicious ICEE and sucked it down. I also had chewy candy. I went to sleep normally and woke up this particular Saturday morning to it happening all over again.

I’ll spare the gross details and forward 24 hours to Easter Morning. I could barely breathe. I was quickly exhaling every second. I was ghost white and could barely walk and was starting to collapse. Douglas saw I needed to go to the emergency room when everyone woke up so he brought me to the hospital.

OMG. NOT AGAIN. Are you kidding me? I never felt so weak. But then again, Covid got me, it must be that.

When I arrived I was quickly rushed to the back. I was in a hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state with a blood glucose reading of almost 900. I had never been in diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) before and it usually happens to Type 1 diabetics. The acid and high blood glucose can make you very sick. Exactly how I was feeling.

This visit changed my life. I finally found out what was wrong with me. I was killing myself and I had no idea. I was an avid runner who worked out 4 or 5 times a week.
But, fasting was also killing me. Now, I have to think before I eat or drink.

Eating late-night snacks and getting delivery was NOT the way to escape. I have little ones who depend on me. It is more than just myself at this point.

I walked away finding out that I am Type 2 diabetic. I have to administer an insulin shot every night now. I hope to reverse the damage I have caused. I am only 42 after all!

It is so easy to fall into an unhealthy routine and not even realize it. Naturally, we want to reward ourselves. Whether it’s King Cake, Gummy Bears, or Icees. The good things we love can also be the death of us.