10: The Serendipitous Results

Today was the moment of truth. After six months of working on things with my sugars, I get to see if my A1c went up, stayed the same, or came down. I was claiming that it went down.

Claiming is something you can do with God. Beyond all measures, you believe that God will provide. November 2023 could be the first time my A1c went down instead of going up. For the previous two November, my A1c was 5.8. The first time that led me to having to increase my Glucophage. The second time, I had to make diet adjustments. Despite my A1c coming down each May, I really wanted to have one be "normal" for an entire year. That hadn't happened since at least 2018, the last time I had a "normal" A1c without any medications or lifestyle changes.

It was normal then because I was taking better care of myself. Back in 2018, I was still running a good bit, my diet was better, and I had only just begun my dissertation. Life was honestly good then, and I felt good about many things. No dreams had occurred then. In fact, my grandfather, Paw Paw, who appeared in one of those dreams, was still very much alive. Then, the struggles came.

Struggling with my mindset at work. Struggling with the dissertation. Struggling at home with children that were becoming pre-teens. Struggling with anything and everything all at once. My mindset, in general, could have been better, even when things went well. When that happens, you turn to comfort measures to help you cope, like food. From the end of summertime 2018, until the first dream occurred, I had gained nearly 20 pounds. I couldn't run well anymore, and the one image I had of me running from March 2019, I looked like I was about to die, crossing the finish line. What a difference a year made from March 2018 to 2019 when the A1c was last checked before 2021. I actually skipped having my bloodwork done in 2019 because I just didn't feel like it. That was a mistake for me, as I likely would have learned I had at least a pre-diabetic A1c back then. I could feel something was off, but I attributed it to just getting older. That's when Niney's dream came in May 2019.

That was the first warning that something was impending. I took the dream as me missing my grandmother at that time, who had passed away 21 years earlier at that point. I didn't see what my body was doing to me because of my bad habits that had taken over due largely to stress.

I was putting my body through the wringer and letting everything get to me in overt negative ways. It didn't get any better after March 2019, either. Negativity abounded to the point I even thought about quitting a number of things. I wasn't happy, but I was most unhappy with myself.

By 2020, I honestly felt like the rest of the world had caught up to my negativity, especially after Covid hit. Once again, I didn't get my A1c checked in March 2020 because Covid limited things. Most likely, I was a full-blown diabetic by that time, with an A1c at least over 6.5 or greater. Sitting around at home didn't help, and I did try to curtail my diet and help my exercise some, but not going much of anywhere meant I was sitting a lot more in my home. I had the next two dreams that were much more terrifying and made me wonder if something bad was coming for me.

The negativity in the world did nothing to help as societal unrest propagated more issues. I actually did lose some weight from March 2020 until October 2020, but then I started losing weight for the wrong reasons. I wasn't even trying to diet through the holidays, and my weight went down. I thought I had a urinary tract infection because of using the bathroom so much, and that turned out to be false. My blood pressure was up. My heart rate would go as high as 130 beats per minute when I was angry sitting there. I was in a very bad place. 

Then March 2021 happened, with the final dream and the A1c of 10. I was now an uncontrolled diabetic. How did this happen? How could I let this happen? Why did it have to happen?

It would have been very easy to go down the rabbit hole of despair even more that day. But instead, I prayed to God to help me, and He did.

He restored my positive mindset and shed all negativity as much as possible. He helped me change my lifestyle to something more sustainable, healthy, and hopeful. These were things I wanted to do in the past but never would do on my own. I needed Him more than ever, and He was providing me with the ability to claim I could overcome diabetes. And I did, through Him.

The only thing I still needed to accomplish was having two normal A1c results in a row. I claimed it with God before that day, somewhat nervous about it but peaceful in believing it would be so. Then came November 29, 2023.

I went to my provider and had a great discussion with them. My vital signs for the day were:

BP: 110/84

Pulse: 81

Resp: 16

Weight: 205 lbs

BMI: 27.8

I had lost 12 lbs since my last visit in May 2023. At one point that summer, I was actually 221 lbs and creeping up just before Afib hit due to Covid. The previous 5 months had forced me to alter some things because I needed to. So, my diet was better. My exercise routine consisted mostly of walking. Besides, running had not helped my A1c go down the two previous November. My lab work was also amazing.

Glucose SerPl-mCnc	102.0 mg/dL	74-106
BUN SerPl-mCnc	14.0 mg/dL	7-18
Creat SerPl-mCnc	0.960 mg/dL	0.60-1.30
BUN/creat SerPl-mRto	15.0 (calc)
Bilirub SerPl-mCnc	0.60 mg/dL	0.20-1.00
AST SerPl-cCnc	20 IU/L	15-37
ALT SerPl-cCnc	42 IU/L	14-63
ALP SerPl-cCnc	74 IU/L	34-138
Calcium SerPl-mCnc	9.10 mg/dL	8.5-10.1
Sodium SerPl-sCnc	141.0 mmol/L	136-145
Potassium SerPl-sCnc	4.50 mmol/L	3.5-5.1
CL	105 mmol/L	98-107
CO2 SerPl-sCnc	27.90 mmol/L	21.0-32.0
Anion Gap SerPl-sCnc	13 1	9-15
Prot SerPl-mCnc	6.60 g/dL	6.4-8.2
Albumin SerPl Elph-mCnc	4.10 g/dL	3.4-5.0
Globulin Ser Calc-mCnc	3.0 g/dL
Alb/Glob SerPl-mRto	1.60 (calc)
eGFR (2021)	>60	>60

11/29/2023
Cholest SerPl-mCnc	180.0 mg/dL	50-200
Trigl SerPl-mCnc	70.0 mg/dL	30-200
HDLc SerPl-mCnc	54.0 mg/dL	40-60
LDLc SerPl Calc-mCnc	112 1	0-130
Cholest/HDLc SerPl-mRto	3.0 Ratio
RISK	3 Ratio	4-5

11/29/2023
TSH SerPl DL=0.01 mU/L-aCnc	0.870 uIU/mL	0.358-3.740

11/29/2023
WBC # Bld Auto	6.10 x10E3/uL	3.3-10.5
RBC # Bld Auto	5.340 x10E6/uL	4.35-5.90
Hgb Bld-mCnc	16.30 g/dL	13.7-16.7
Hct Fr Bld Auto	48.70 %	40.5-49.7
MCV RBC Qn Auto	91.0 fL	80-98
MCH RBC Qn Auto	30.50 pg	26.1-33.3
MCHC RBC Auto-mCnc	33.40 g/dL	32.2-35.0
RDW RBC Auto-Rto	14.10 %	11.6-16.5
Platelet # Bld Auto	263.0 x10E3/uL	150-450
PMV Bld Qn Rees-Ecker	7.70 fL	5.2-9.5

Prot/Creat ratio
11/29/2023
UCREA	131.68 mg/dL	13.00-400.00
Microalbumin, Urine	5.30 ug/mL	<20.0
Protein/Creat Ratio	0.04	0.00-29.00

Everything was "normal," healthy, perfect! Then, one last result came through, my A1c:

For the first time during this journey through diabetes, my A1c went down in November. I was now "normal" with my sugar control for an entire year. Despite all of the hardships of the summer. Despite all of the stress of the year. Despite my anxiety, fear, self-loathing, and negativity that tried to creep back in, God brought me to the place I had claimed. Thank you, Jesus, for this. This was truly serendipitous as some awkward and hard things had happened, but in the end, it worked out with God's plan. 

My provider was thrilled and thought I had done so well. Keep up the great work, and return in 6 months. That was the same thing my cardiologist had said a few weeks earlier. It truly was the most wonderful time of the year!

Now it was time to start the holiday season leading up to Christmas. A truly stressful time of year, to say the least. This time of year would test my anxiety for sure, but I had help, unlike anything I had before. It was time to enjoy the holidays in peace and happiness.

Tune in for the next segment 10: Holiday Season.