The lead up

Like everyone else in central PA, I contracted a mild case of Covid in October of 2021. I couldn't get out of bed for a day and then felt like I had a cold for about a week or so. During this time, I had to sit at home, send in my lesson plans daily for the substitute and watch online as my volleyball team played (and lost a game they should have won) without me. My husband slept in the basement. My kids had to stay home with me but were permitted to return to school before I was. Only my dogs kept me company yet mostly I felt fine. Once this passed and my life was allowed to return to normal, I got a cold. Just as we were traveling to Pittsburgh for my daughter's 10th birthday, it crept in. Sore throat, super congestion, the works. 

Pittsburgh 2021

Finally, by Thanksgiving I was feeling normal. I had lost several pounds and was really thirsty and hungry but assumed this was from the viruses I had just endured. In December I lost more weight and started having some leg cramps. My sister came to visit for Christmas, and I was frustrated with my lack of energy trying to keep up with our combined families. I noticed that my vision was getting blurrier, sleep was difficult with the cramps, and I struggled to maintain focus. (We don't even have pictures of Christmas because it is usually me taking them and I forgot!) This was shrugged off as "long Covid" and I pressed on. 

By mid-January I was down nearly twenty pounds. (Mind you I am 5'9.5" and at my heaviest not 150 pounds of mostly lean muscle.) My muscle composition was gone, I felt weak, looked weak, and couldn't wear any of my clothes anymore - even my leggings seemed to be falling off of me. I was eating nonstop, drinking gallons of water, and had no energy. The nighttime leg cramps had become so bad that I wasn't sleeping at all and if I dozed off would jump out of bed in pain to try and walk them off. Finally, my husband had had enough and made me call the doctor. My appointment was a few weeks out, so I kept on pressing on. 

I asked the PA to check my thyroid and mineral levels. The cramps had to stop, and I thought it was strange that I was eating so much yet losing so much muscle mass. Vials and vials of blood and a week later, I am messaged via my patient portal (no phone call, a message that isn't really responded to) that my Mg and Ca levels are low and more urgently that I have diabetes. WHAT?! The blood glucose levels were 450. In July my checkup blood work showed normal levels of around 95. I was sent for more rounds of blood work to check A1C, insulin production, and other markers. 

I have eaten Keto-ish for years, workout and lift regularly. My resume includes personal training, group fitness, and coaching. Friends and students ask me for nutrition and wellness advice. This was a fluke. Who gets diabetes in their forties other than overweight men or depressed housewives with a sweet tooth? 

All tests come back positive. I am a type 1 diabetic and will need to immediately begin glucose monitoring and insulin injections. This answers many questions but only leads to countless more.