I hadn't been feeling up to par, tired all the time-you know the feeling. My wife "convinced" me with loving nagging to see the doctor. I did and was knocked out of my socks when he told me I had Diabetes. I really don't know why I was so shocked because some of my relatives had died of complications from having this silent killer. But to actually have the doctor tell you that you have it is a shock!

I didn't want it! I was just a little tired plus a few other "minor" things but otherwise strong and healthy. I was angry! This couldn't be happening to me! Other people maybe, but not me!

The first thing I did when I got home was hit the Internet and look up the symptoms of Diabetes. Yep, there was everything I had and some I didn't.

· Being thirsty all the time

· Frequent urination

· Increased hunger

· Feeling tired all the time

· A change in my eyesight

· Scrapes and cuts that took forever to heal

· High blood pressure

· Low blood pressure

· Numbness in my toes and feet

· Hair loss

The next thing I did was to check out what Diabetes actually is. Yeah, Yeah, I know-it's from eating too much sugar. Well, sort of but not quite.

Blood sugar levels are controlled by insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas. Insulin lowers the blood sugar level (BSL). When the BSL goes up after eating, insulin is released from the pancreas into the blood to normalize the sugar level.

When you have Diabetes, your body has trouble absorbing the sugar in your blood. Things start to work like normal and then because of conditions called insulin resistance and insulin deficiency, the blood cells become less sensitive to insulin and your pancreas doesn't produce enough insulin to allow the sugar into the blood cells. The sugar that should have been absorbed by the cells stays in your blood and causes BSL to rise. Because your blood cells can't absorb enough sugar, they don't get the energy they need. That's when your pancreas tries to make extra insulin to force the cells open to take the sugar. Eventually, the cells in your pancreas that make the insulin begin to wear out and they are no longer able to make enough insulin to make everything keep working. After a period of time too much sugar and high BSL's leads to Diabetes and some major health problems that can last a lifetime.

My blood sugar level (BGL) was pretty high and so was my blood pressure. I was put on a balanced protein-carb diet, some medication for both and told to lay off the sweets, Coke, caffeine, and fast foods (and why the minute that you're told you can't have this stuff, do you start craving it?)

Well, balancing Diabetes and "life" has been a struggle over the years. I was in denial most of the time and that is one of the most dangerous things that can happen to a Diabetic. I "fell off the wagon" many times because I didn't want to accept what was happening to me. Maybe, to many times.

Because I ignored my Diabetes for so long, in the span of only 4 years I developed heart disease (emergency double by-pass) and Diabetic neuropathy (sky-high priced meds) that's left me legally disabled and unable to do many of the things in life I used to enjoy.

I know everything I've gone through has been just as hard on my wife and family as it's been on me-maybe harder. They've had to watch me go through all this and couldn't stop it from happening because they couldn't stop me and make me listen to the things the doctors were telling me.

If you have Diabetes or know someone does, please try as hard as you can to get help. I wish I had known about and followed the breakthrough information found here when I was first diagnosed. Don't hesitate! Do something about your Diabetes today!

RON WALBY