WHAT THE WHAT?

I initially wanted this to be sort of a training log/info hub, and it will be, but I also need to add a little context, i.e. tell a story. I'll try to keep the story telling sessions brief, but as I have two weeks before I start my marathon training plan, I will add a little back story.

I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in October 2004. It was a complete surprise even though I had classic symptoms several weeks before seeing a my doctor. I was not obese, though had a few extra pounds on my 5' 7" frame -- and by a few I mean more than 20, like most Americans. I had quite a bit of weight fluctuation in my adult life usually 150 to 180 lbs. Mostly heavier towards the end of relationships, in shape in the beginning of relationships. Serial Monogamy meet Cereal Monogamy.

My classic symptoms: Polydipsia (extreme thirst), polyuria (peeing all the time).

Not classic symptom: ketoacidosis, most noticed by "fruity" breath, an attempt by the body to rid itself of acetone. This is not a typical symptom of type 2 diabetes but is of type 1. In fact, the ketoacidosis is what drove me to make the call to my doctor.

Symptoms that weren't viewed as symptoms because they were part of my "normal" repertoire: surliness, depression, and weight loss (as I was in my relationship-ending phase...).

At one point right before my diagnosis I went to the grocery store and bought over 70.00 worth of "healthy" beverages, mostly juices and sport drinks full of sugar and high fructose corn syrup. Needless to say that pushed me even further up the hyperglycemia scale. When I was finally diagnosed my blood glucose was in the mid-400s, or 4 times normal.

Amazingly, or maybe not-so amazingly, my ex, a health care professional, never said: "I think you have diabetes." A month later we were done.

Thankfully when I called my doctor, Dr. Robert Cole, he got me in the next day and made the diagnosis. I took insulin for about two weeks to stabilize my blood glucose levels. After that and then on to my favorite sulfonylurea, Metformin.