Well it's been a week since I received the diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes.  I was more than a little disheartened for the first few days.  The thought of diabetes just never crossed my mind.  I knew my diet was bad, but really didn't believe it was bad enough to cause diabetes.  I also knew diabetes was often hereditary and, as far as I knew, none of my close relatives were or had been afflicted with the disease.  In that respect I was wrong.

Last evening I spoke with my older brother.  To my surprise, he is a diabetic and was diagnosed a few years ago.  I asked him why he never told me and his response was, "You never asked me."  I then asked if either of our parents or any aunts or uncles were diabetic.  His answer was, "No.  None of our them lived long enough to develop diabetes."  True enough.

My brother has been able to control his blood glucose level through a combination of diet and medication.  I told him the medication I was prescribed and how my diet had changed over the past week, but my blood glucose remained in the 250 level.  He told me it would take some time considering how high my blood glucose level was (368) at the time of my diagnosis.

The short talk with my brother helped motivate me to do whatever is necessary to get my diabetes under control as quickly as possible.  So today, I started an exercise program.  Not much right away.  Just a ten minute walk at a moderate pace.  The exercise along with the diet change and medication, should help me lower the blood glucose to a more manageable level within a few weeks.