A Few years earlier

I wonder what would have happened if I'd been diagnosed earlier sometimes. I figure the insulin resistance really kicked in when I was in university, in the late 90's. That's when the PCOS symptoms really began to show up - though I didn't realize it, of course.

It was masked during my marriage as I was on the pill. When I got off the pill after my marriage broke up and found I was still irregular, I didn't worry about it. Then I moved and didn't see a doctor for a good year or more. Then I go from 'I really should get a checkup' to 'Diabetic-but-not' in a few short months.

I remember reading a billboard about diabetes, back in the day on the way to class. One of those checklist ones. Sedentary lifestyle? Yes. Overweight. Yes. But I didn't have any history of diabetes in my family (I know differently now), I was young - far under 40, and I'm Caucasian. So I had two out of five, and those two were really just being out of shape. I never seriously considered I might have diabetes! And I certainly wasn't going to ask my doctor about it - I'm no hypochondriac!

Of course, I'd never heard of PCOS, or it's connection to diabetes. I figured at worst my irregular cycle meant I might have some fertility problems - and as I've always planned on adopting if I have kids, that wasn't a concern. I had one doctor mention that if it continued, I should get it checked out because it could mean 'something serious', but I assumed that was a reproductive 'serious' not a overall health one.

Hindsight is always clearer of course. And I enjoyed a lot of fine carbs in those undiagnosed years. If I'd taken my first trip to Georgia and not been able to enjoy the fabulous biscuits and creamed potatoes... And I had a lot going on in those years too - having to adjust my diet and test my blood sugar would have been an emotional and financial blow.

Instead, I was diagnosed at a time when I was in a good position to change my diet, I could afford to pay out of pocket for meter supplies, and I wasn't in any big emotional upheavals. I doubt I could have picked a better time to get diagnosed if I'd tried. And as I'm still at a pre-diabetic stage with good numbers, not too much damage was done in those years of minute rice and pizza pops.

I guess, looking back, things worked themselves out pretty well after all.