I should have known it was too good to be true.

For the first time in my 35 years, I was eating whatever I wanted and losing weight. I was ravenous all day and recklessly indulged in all manner of food to ease my hunger. Despite eating farmhand-sized breakfasts, lunching on huge sandwiches, dining on steaks and potatoes loaded with butter and sour cream, and munching on carbohydrates and sugar the rest of the time, the weight was peeling off.

I was also wildly thirsty. The good news was that I was finally getting my daily-recommended dose of water — and then some. Drinking eight glasses of water had always felt like a chore, and not one I completed with ease. Of course, I was going to the bathroom like crazy during the day and getting up to urinate four or five times a night. Visiting the bathroom several times a night wasn't my only nighttime predicament. Cramps would seize my calf and send me six feet off the mattress.

Despite the enormous appetite, nagging thirst, and exhaustion from too little sleep, I reveled in the unexpected weight loss. I adored eating without worrying. Stepping onto the scale had become an experience I'd only dreamed about. No matter how many doughnuts, candy bars, filets mignon, and potato chips I ate, the dial went down. I wasn't just losing a couple of pounds here and there. The weight was dropping off as fast as I could turn around. I had lost 15 pounds in a month by eating like a horse. Had I found the Holy Grail--the ultimate Hershey's diet?

In the back of my mind, though, an alarm bell was ringing. Instinct urged me to go to the doctor. But I kept putting it off. I had back surgery for a herniated disk scheduled in a couple of weeks, and I figured I'd mention all of this to my doctor when I went in for the pre-surgery exam and blood test.

The minute I walked into my doctor's office, he said, "Looks like you've lost weight."

"Yes," I said, proudly. Then I divulged the details.

"Sounds like diabetes," he said.

I looked at him, unbelieving.

"I'll take your blood and run the tests for surgery. We'll also get your sugar count. I'll call you tomorrow."

The minute I walked out of his office, I dismissed our conversation about diabetes. After all, no one in my family had diabetes. I was too young for such an illness. Mentioning diabetes was just one of those things that doctors were supposed to say, just like they were supposed to tell you to eat less and exercise more.

*********

I was in the kitchen the next morning when the phone rang. "Hi, Donna, it's Dr. Killian calling."

"What's the good word?"

"You have type 2 diabetes," he said.

I stood in the kitchen, one hand gripping the phone, the other clutching the counter. I heard the words, but what he said wasn't possible. Was it?

"Do you have any questions?" he asked.

My mind was buzzing. My internal monologue immediately took over. Did I have any questions? Well, for starters, why in the hell was this happening to me?! I didn't have any family history of diabetes. True, I was a solid 30 pounds heavier than I should have been. But my diet was so much better than it had been 10 years ago. Wasn't diabetes for old, sick people? I stared at the glass of cola I had just poured, my mind so frenzied I could not articulate a word.

Finally, I mustered a question. "What do I do first?"

"I've already called in a prescription. Start taking your new medicine today. Your blood sugar count is 370."

"Is that bad?"

"It's supposed to be around 100. We need to work on getting that number down right away."

By this time, a rivulet of what he was saying was seeping in. "Dr. Killian, just how freaked out should I be?"

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"On a scale of zero to 10 — zero meaning I am lying in the fetal position, crying and incapable of movement and 10 meaning that in a few minutes I'll forget you said diabetes to me — how concerned do I need to be about this disease?"

He drew a breath and said, "You need to be a three or four. This is not so devastating that you need to be crippled by it, but diabetes needs to command your attention. It's manageable. But you're the one who has to manage it."

As I hung up the phone, all I could think was, "Damn. And I finally just lost 15 pounds."

[end excerpt]

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To learn what Donna did next to take charge of her diabetes, order The Complete Diabetes Lifestyle or come visit her at one of her upcoming speaking engagements.

Donna is available to speak at to your community groups, church groups, or your upcoming corporate event. Email Donna to find out how.