Being Home and Getting Stronger
When I got back home, I could not believe how weak and emaciated that I was. And because I would soon embark on a 6-month chemotherapy regimen, I had to get much stronger first.
Once again, I had no idea about the full intensity of the upcoming chemotherapy, its possible side effects, and its impact on my overall energy level. For someone who was well educated and was supposed to be so smart, I sure was oblivious about too many issues having to do with my own health. [My interest in all things related to my health is certainly an ongoing activity for me these days. And will continue to be.]
I think a lack of information about our own health is true of a lot of us. We face things as they happen, not before then. This is a not a good approach. That is how I acted when I learned I was a diabetic. Over time, I found out all the right things to do, through a lot of trial and error.
In the lead up to chemo, I had to not just get stronger, but also begin to adjust to my new-post surgery life. This meant changing my diet, eating in smaller portions, adapting to a revamped medication schedule, finding out what types of exercise were best, adjusting my teaching style, and so on. For example, I found that I needed to sit rather than stand much more often.
For the first couple of weeks, I received the services of an in-home nurse and an-home physical therapist. They were very nice and quite helpful. I got tips on food/diet and eating properly. I learned some simple exercises to help stretch me out. Bending over was a chore. As was doing toe touches.
Happily, I was finally cleared to take regular showers – without baggies or Saran Wrap. Unless you can’t shower unencumbered for a few weeks, you don’t realize how big a deal of that was. Of course, Linda LOML was always there to help me get in and out of the shower.
Aside: Upon leaving the hospital, I “borrowed” several pairs of hospital socks. They are very comfortable and slip-proof when walking around without my shoes or slippers.
I was able to see a number of my good friends and colleagues, who all helped to cheer me up and motivate me. Thank you!
But one real downer occurred the afternoon that my friend James visited me around lunch time. He drove about 45 minutes to get to my house. Shortly after he arrived, I started throwing up like crazy, which of course made me extremely dizzy. I took a couple of antacid pills and had to apologize to James for asking him to leave less than 30 minutes after he arrived. That bothered me since he went out of his way to be there for me. Yet, he was understanding.
At that point, I went to lie down, figuring that the nausea and vomiting would stop. And that the incident would blow over. I had been nauseous a lot post- surgery. Boy was I wrong.
A couple of hours later, I had to ask Linda to drive me to the hospital to get checked out. It was not a fun ride, given the way I was feeling. At the hospital, they did a number of blood tests, as well as a CT-scan. I thought they would then give me some meds and send me home.
Wrong again. [Do you sense a pattern here? Lesson: Let the doctors diagnose and treat. Let the patients follow those instructions.]
It turned out that I had gotten ulcerative colitis—another term I had to have explained to me, and read up on. This hospital stay was 4 days; and I was sent home with a ton of instructions and other meds. No more details are needed here. It was another l-o-n-g day when I was discharged from the hospital. But I was again very happy to get home. Thank you Dr. Coppa and Team.
Now, we get to the most challenging—by far—part of my life post-surgery: controlling my blood sugar. This remains a tough task, even in summer 2020, and one I will have to live with for life. However, I try to keep this issue in perspective, as just one more step in my extended personal journey.
So, here’s the scoop. I was diagnosed as a Type 2 diabetic in fall 1995. To demonstrate how much of a dummy I was, the day before my diagnosis, I ate 12 donuts in one sitting. Really? Yes. 
Once diagnosed with diabetes, I radically changed my diet (no kidding!). I don’t think I’ve had more than a few sugary donuts in total since 1995. And I began two oral medications, as well as testing my sugar levels twice a day. For years, my sugar level was normalized via diet and meds, and with exercise.
But as with many other diabetics, after a while, oral meds alone were not sufficient. Then, I added low doses of insulin to my regimen. Like before, my blood sugar was normalized. Being diabetic at that point was only a small part of my life, since my sugar was so well under control. This would continue until the Whipple surgery.
After I had the surgery, my life-saving endocrinologist Dr. Terrana told me that I was now the equivalent of a Type 1 diabetic. Why? My pancreas, what little there was of it, did not function very much. Therefore, I went back to my online reading to learn the differences between Type 2 diabetes and Type 1 diabetes. As before, I plead ignorance to understanding the distinctions between these medical ailments.
As per the American Diabetes Association (ADA):
Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes. Diabetes is a problem with your body that causes blood glucose (sugar) levels to rise higher than normal. This is also called hyperglycemia. If you have Type 2 diabetes, your bodydoes notuse insulin properly. This is called insulin resistance. At first, your pancreas makes extra insulin tomakeupfor it. But, overtime it isn't able to keep up and can't make enough insulin to keep your blood glucose at normal levels.
Type 1 diabetes is usuallydiagnosed in children and young adults, and was previously known as juvenile diabetes. Only 5% ofpeople with diabetes have thisformofthe disease. In Type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce insulin. The body breaks downthe sugars and starches you eat into a simple sugar called glucose, which it uses for energy.
Insulin is ahormone that thebodyneeds toget glucosefromthebloodstream into the cells of the body. With the help of insulin therapy and other treatments, even young children can learn to managethe ailment and live long, healthy lives.
By multiple daily injections with insulin pens or syringes or a pump, it will be up to you to monitor blood glucose levels and properly administer your insulin. You will need to work closely with your health hcare team to determine which insulin or insulins are best for you and your body. 5
This was an awful lot for me to fully process. What has the move from Type 2 to Type 1 diabetes fully meant to me since my Whipple surgery?
Hypoglycemia is a condition characterized by abnormally low bloodglucose(blood sugar) levels, usually less than 70 mg/dl. It is important totalkto your health care provider about your individual bloodglucosetargets, and what level is too low for you. Hypoglycemiamay also be referred to