To be dependent upon something means that the existence of a behavior, attribute, or object has a measurable impact on your state of being. Take, for instance, the consumption of water. Our bodies depend on water for their continued function in this mortal plane. Failing to consume the appropriate amount of water leads to multiple health issues and even death in some cases. Excessive consumption of another substance, such as sugar in this example, would also lead to health issues the individual must address. A problem in my life is diabetes.
Resolving a problem requires understanding, resources, and the will to overcome obstacles. It is rarely easy. I envy those capable of deciding on a course of action and then pursuing it despite the impact it may have upon you.
Diabetes Revisited
The Heart Organization likes to poorly define Diabetes Mellitus as a condition that causes blood sugar to rise. Humans are complex organisms whose biochemistry fluctuates over time and depending on how it operates. If you eat a large meal, your blood sugar could increase. How and when it returns to its original operating band is essential.
Diabetes Mellitus comes in two types of general categories:
- Type 1: Autoimmune disease that targets and destroys pancreatic cells. Causes blood sugar to skyrocket or plummet depending on the severity. Normally, it's addressed with medicines, organ transplants, or possible stem cell treatment.
- Type 2: Metabolic disorder where the body can't effectively regulate insulin. Normally managed with medicine and behavioral changes.
For the remainder of the article, we'll address Type II diabetes. It is this malady that, after 10 years of dealing with it, seems to be going into remission.
Remission
A malady goes into remission when the principal components of the disease are no longer detectable. Regarding Type II diabetes, I would be in remission if I no longer require medicine to maintain my blood sugar within normal ranges. So, how difficult is it to get rid of Type II diabetes?
The Cost of Treatment
There are doctors, dieticians, and many medicines on your wait to ONLY treat diabetes. No doctor I've been to helped me set a goal of "no more diabetes ."I've only ever been placed on a treatment regimen to "manage" my blood sugar. Sometimes, the costs can get debilitating, especially without insurance:
Insurance pays 80% of approved costs IF you have spent $2000 on the plan; otherwise, insurance pays 60%.
The medicines I've primarily utilized include the following:
- Metformin: $2.00 - $12.00 / 60-pills
- Jardiance: $400 - $600 / 30-pills (10 mg)
- Ozempic: $135/month / 4-inj supply
Using these medicines over 12 months costs approximately $6500/year.
- Insurance "reduces" the cost of medicines if you pay into it long enough or meet a minimum limit for annual health costs (i.e., $2000 spent before using drugs).
- Remember, the intent of treatment is to manage your blood sugar. The goal of treatment is to maintain the illness for a while.
- Failing to take your treatment can incur penalties in some insurance and workplaces.
Sometimes, pharmaceutical suppliers get greedy. In several instances, my Metformin skyrocketed to $900/bottle. I was angry, to say the least, and was forced to ration my medicines to extend them past the point where the CEO came down off his crack high. The higher price might last anywhere from 1-3 months, depending on how pissed off the patients get and start threatening people.
Many sick people tend to get murderous when the meds that make them feel normal are taken from them due to "price adjustments." It's funny, if I'm honest. Suddenly, drug companies start having "higher" call volumes on their helplines. It's a short time after when the prices return to normal.
Dependency
You won't get addicted to these drugs. You will, however, enter into a period of acceptance:
- Organize your medicines
- Take your medicines
- Test your sugar
- Get your regular blood work and see the doctor
- Rinse/repeat
Remission in Sight
I've had issues with my back for the longest time. Doctors had advised me against activities that added undue stress to my spine. However, when I developed cataracts and started losing my vision, I required surgery to correct the vision problem.
The obstacle here is that surgeons will only touch you if it's an emergency and your blood sugar is controlled. According to the doctors, high blood sugar will negatively impact the healing process. I had to fix the sugar problem immediately.
- I ignored the warnings about watching which exercises I do.
- Eliminate virtually any sugar above what I would get from a regular meal.
I lowered my blood sugar and got cataract surgery at the cost of worsening issues in my spine. Now, I require spinal surgery. The end result of the surgery was nothing short of a life-transformation event.
In Closing
The tenet of this article is this: medicine is designed to minimize the impact of a malady at the risk of experiencing others. The industry is designed to keep you on the medication you're taking. I respect many financial posts regarding cryptocurrencies or any education articles I've read on Hive. Your health is infinitely more important. People should pay that kind of attention to their mental and physical health.
Don't follow the path of complacency if something goes wrong with your health. Refrain from falling for the tactic of getting used to a bad condition with the treatments they prescribe. Set your goal to rid yourself of whatever is wrong. Perfection is impossible to attain, but if you try and reach for it, you'll get yourself to a place much better than where you were before.
Getting the surgeries, I needed almost immediately removed any pain I was suffering. Even during recovery from spinal surgery, I was more active than I had been in years. My blood sugar hasn't spiked to toxic levels since March 9, 2023. Any bad habits I had to distract myself from the pain disappeared. My new active lifestyle lowered my weight from 180 lbs to about 155 lbs. If I keep up this progress for another 6 months, I'll be able to start pulling back from my meds and finally be rid of this condition.
Thank you for reading and following on throughout my Hive journey. If you like this article, please consider reblogging, upvoting, and following @scholaris!
