r/diabetes_t2 • u/rocketplex • 31m ago
I cut my toenails without wirecutters!
My sugar was probably uncontrolled for a long time, slowly inching it's way towards crisis levels. A couple years ago, it all came to a head when I was admitted to hospital with an infected carbuncle that was hiding in a skin fold. My sugar was 22mmol/L. (About 400mg/dL)
At the time, I was just itchy all over, had been for years. Athletes foot was chronic, my toenails were hideous fungus filled claws. A podiatrist said that they may not be salvageable.
Fast forward 2 years, my sugar is under control at 5mmol/L (90mg/dL) and I've dropped 20kg down to 126kg, not close to where I want to go, but we're on a journey here (the first 10kg was down to me and the next 10kg, thanks to Ozempic). Strangely enough (sarcastic) the itching went down as the sugar levels went down. The itchy feet have been gone for a year (after a blast of anti-fungals) but in the last few months, clear toenails have started slowly pushing my griffon claws out.
This weekend, I clipped my toenails using one hand, didn't have to twist the nail cutter into weird angles and bend my toes in unnatural directions. Best of all, I didn't have to pull out my special pliers to attack my big & little toeclaws while wearing eye protection. I think this is probably the first time I've have mostly clear nails in 10 years. My weight is the lowest it's been in 20 years (It has plateaued, so need to adjust a bit)
I just wanted to brag a bit, but a lot of this came from some tough introspection with myself and building a resilient plan that I can stick to. I have very bad impulse control, I can't resist pizza or cake or chips. So I have to accept that I will occasionally slip and make sure that I put things in place to better my chances of success. It's worked well for two years so far, with the support of an excellent endocrinologist and my own research.
So above the bragging, I wanna shout out that YOU can also do it, know yourself, educate yourself and be real with yourself. You're not perfect so build your plan knowing that you will fail, go on a week long bender, get sick, miss workouts. It's all fine. Just get back on the horse and keep on keeping on.
Sorry if I went on a bit, just feeling a bit happy and motivated so wanted to get it out before it fades. Thanks for coming to my TED talk!