Valoring Victoriously

I am a 36 year old mother of 2 daughters, and a kindergarten teacher in Washington DC. With a love for fashion during the pandemic I decided to pursue my ultimate dream as an online boutique owner.Next to fashion I also have a passion for health, science, and anything dealing with nature. So I decided to put my business (Stacy JaAdore) on hold and finish my degree. I graduated in 2022 from Purdue Global University with my BS in Health Science. Earlier that year I went to the doctors for a routine checkup and was diagnosed with prediabetes.

I am a 36 year old mother of 2 daughters, and a kindergarten teacher in Washington DC. With a love for fashion during the pandemic I decided to pursue my ultimate dream as an online boutique owner.Next to fashion I also have a passion for health, science, and anything dealing with nature. So I decided to put my business (Stacy JaAdore) on hold and finish my degree. I graduated in 2022 from Purdue Global University with my BS in Health Science. Earlier that year I went to the doctors for a routine checkup and was diagnosed with prediabetes. ME? DIABETES? NO WAY!!! I stopped going to the doctors, and I continued on with life carefree like most people my age. I live in Washington DC with thousands of great restaurants and I was destined to eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. Although I know diabetes ran in my family, and was very knowledgeable about diabetes I was in denial. I told myself “ I’ll be fine”. With my youngest daughter who is already super health cautious at the age of 8, and my oldest daughter who is 16 and perfectly healthy too I just knew I would be fine. After all, I’m a super healthy person who never gets sick. I felt perfectly fine, and had everything under control. I convinced myself as long as I did not consume lots of junk food, sweets, and sugary drinks I would never become a diabetic. WRONG!!
Here it is February 23, 2022 and I couldn’t take it anymore. I was running to the bathroom every 30 minutes. I’ve been ignoring this warning sign for two weeks now and enough was enough. Teaching a bunch of 6 year olds, and running to the bathroom every thirty minutes did not go hand and hand. Today was the day I stopped assuming what it could be, and find out what it actually is. I told myself over, and over it’s probably just a UTI, and even started doing my own research and the list of possibilities grew. In the back of my head diabetes always came up, but I refused to live in my reality, not today, besides I always come out on top. After work I headed to urgent care checked in and straight to the back I went. The medical assistant got me all checked in with my vitals, left out and came back with a glucose kit. My anxiety went into overdrive time to address the elephant in the room, and find out the truth: am I a diabetic? She pricked my finger and there it was instantly a glucose reading of 547. I just wanted to die right there on the floor in front of my kids, and assistant. All I could think is that I’m a diabetic. The doctor came in to talk to me, and I’ve never fought so hard to hold back tears my entire 36 years of living. As the doctor was talking all I could think was why me? With diabetes running in my family, and me thinking of how im so “super health cautious”, and I go to pilates every week I just knew this wasn’t my new reality, but it was. The doctor advised me to go to the emergency room to get full blood work done, and check my A1C levels, because at urgent care they couldn’t do but so much.
I left urgent care emotionally distraught. How did I get here is all I could think of. I got on the phone and called my best friend to cry who too was just diagnosed with gestational diabetes. As days went on my emotions grew I was angry. I was angry at God because why me, I was angry at my family because of genetics. It was my family’s fault I’m here in this situation, and I was angry at diabetes for being a thing. I was taking no accountability for my part in this. As an Aquarius we tend to be very head strong, independent, and of course stubborn. I was determined to fix this, and fix it my way. I wanted to fix my situation without medicine and do it naturally by just exercising, and changing my diet.The next morning i went to the emergency room like the doctor told me, just to get the same news and my emotion all worked up again, the doctor said you are a diabetic. I finally calmed my emotions, built my confidence back up, and made my doctor’s appointment with my primary care physician. Still not aware of the severity of my situation, and the challenge behind reversing diabetes, I was determined to stick with no medicine and doing it on my own. Dr. Willis was a new physician for me. He heard my concerns and my plan, and was definitely all for my wants which were no medicine. After checking my A1C levels, which had been a 10.7 for months he said my plan wasn’t an option. I had to take medicine. Here I am at another doctor’s office struggling to hold back more tears. My hopes were shattered again, and I’m right back to where I started. I felt like everyday was a new setback on my emotions. All I could think again is why me, and how; how did I get here? 2022 had finally caught up with me. I was determined to fix this. Just because you are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes does not mean it’s the end of the world. I decided to put my degree to use and figure out how I can save my health, and reverse this.
What exactly is diabetes? How does it work? Diabetes is a disease that affects the body when the pancreas isn’t producing enough insulin, your blood cells aren’t properly using the insulin the body is producing, or in some cases both. Therefore there becomes a build up of sugar in the bloodstream causing high glucose levels. Eating tons of junk food such as: chips, cookies, cakes, pies, and etc, and drinking sugary drinks, soda, and juice aren’t the only ways to become a diabetic. You also have to take into consideration the foods you consume too that are filled with carbs such as: pastas, potatoes, fries, and breads. Carbohydrates break down into sugar, and then we are left with elevated glucose levels. This was the hard part for me, although I wasn’t consuming tons of junk food, and only drank water. I love food. Over the course of years of my life I was a typical Washingtonian who became a foodie, and I would consume large portions of it too every chance I got. I had discovered I had an emotional attachment to food, and our relationship had to change. As I continued to do my research everything started to make sense as to why I was having some of the symptoms I was having which I kept ignoring.
I started to notice I was having vision problems, especially at night while driving or reading something. I brushed it off. I just assumed I needed new contacts and glasses. I changed my contacts lens and everything seemed to be fine. Another symptom I had was fatigue. I was always tired, all I wanted to do was sleep. This had a major effect on my daily life, because I wanted to do nothing else but get off work, and go to sleep. I was too tired to tend to my motherly routines, or house duties. I was always tired at work, and I would sleep my weekends away.Although I was getting enough sleep, I wanted more sleep. It was never enough, because I was always tired. I thought nothing of it and was tempted to figure out a better sleep schedule and went on with my daily life. Lastly I would have horrible migraines that would not go away. This was out of the norm for me. Working with kindergarteners can be a stressful job sometimes. I’ve always had bad allergies, and I wasn’t getting an adequate amount of sleep on a daily basis so I just knew that was the cause. I came up with more strategies to make my days easier at work, and got more intune with my selfcare. I wanted to cut back on coffee and I figured lack of caffeine played a role as well, so I started to consume coca-cola everyday to help with my migraines, and make up for my lack of sleep. Once I started experiencing the frequent urination I stated before I knew my body was begging for my attention and something was wrong. Diabetes can have so many symptoms, and sometimes none at all.
I’m blessed to have not been in a diabetic coma with sugar levels over 500. I have aunts who are insulin dependent, and a mother who has to take metformin medication everyday. I didn’t want this for me. I was so emotional, but I knew I had to pick myself up and get ready to fight. I was fighting for my health, my mental health, my physical health, but most importantly for my kids. I always put my kids first in everything I do. I didn’t want them to see me depressed and unhealthy. I also want to set a good example for them too. I’ve always said I’m glad I face life trials and tribulations so that I can teach my girls how to avoid them when they grow up. I got myself together emotionally and I was ready to fight!! My life was not over, I wasn’t in food jail. I was determined to go cold turkey with food, especially anything with sugar, and Dr. Wills was right he told me I would be so miserable if I tried that. I had to be real with myself. Cold turkey is not a good idea, but there are other alternatives. Besides making healthier eating decisions, how can I still enjoy my relationship with food and still be healthy?
I love spaghetti, one of my favorite foods. So instead of eating regular spaghetti noodles I replaced them with spaghetti squash. This was a delicious replacement, and I still got to enjoy my favorite dish. I started drinking green tea unsweetened as a caffeine replacement. With tea not only are you getting caffeine, but it’s providing you with tons of antioxidants that are beneficial to your health, and your blood sugar studies have suggested. I replaced white potatoes with sweet potatoes. I increased my intake on dark leafy greens such as kale, and spinach which is a great supplement to add into smoothies. Consuming more protein such as chicken breast, fish, and eggs. Portion control is important too. When dressing your plate you want bigger portions of protein and vegetables, and smaller portions of carbs.. When craving something sweet, fat free yogurt topped with fresh berries, and granola is always delightful. I finally put my gym membership to use. Exercising is the key to really staying on top of your health. My favorite machine is the stairmaster. I really noticed a difference in my glucose numbers once I started using the stairmaster. This machine comes with so many benefits toning your body, strengthening muscles, burns calories, core muscle strengthening, bone health, improved balance, and hearth health. In less than 30 days with a positive mind set, healthier eating habits, exercise, and more rest I was able to turn my glucose numbers around in less than 30 days. In less than a month I took my glucose numbers from 500’s to no higher than 130 after a meal daily. I realized my life wasn’t over nor my love for food had to end. Although I have not completely reversed my diabetes yet, I am only a stairmaster step away. I’ve never been more motivated in my life to achieve a goal. After all these are some of the keys to feeling great, and overall longevity.