oops

jaba - why did you delete your post ? I was going to reply to it seeing as no one else had - I have had no internet for three days and only got back on-line last night when we installed the new modem, and before that was away - but am back now ! I was actually going to say that I had no idea about what you posted but that maybe someone else had some idea ......

Hugs, Maggie x

Maggie,

I was in panic mode. This really wasn't the place for me to post it at, so I deleted it. I am sure I will find out my answer once I see my doctor.

Jaba

Hi Jaba, I wanted to tell you that about 6 years ago, (in another time and universe) when Mr. Truffle first stopped drinking, he saw a great psychiatrist who was very into nutrition. He hadn't had a terrible diet but he was overweight. He began to eat really well, lots of superfoods like kale, blueberries and steel cut oats, etc. he walked our dog a couple of hours a day. He lost about 30 lbs and felt great. I asked him how he managed to be so disciplined about diet and staying sober, and he said that whenever he was tempted, he thought about how much better he felt physically. (It was a good time and I naively thought he was fully recovered, doh.)

Anyway, AFTER he'd lost the 30 lbs, he was diagnosed with diabetes! We were shocked. For a short period he was on diabetes medication, but he renewed his diet and exercise efforts, lost another 35 lbs, and by this time he and the dog were hiking mountain trails at 8k elevation at the age of 65.

When he was tested after losing the further weight, which put him at the low end of normal for his height, the diabetes had gone away.

I wish the whole story ended there, but as my presence here indicates, it didn't. He went back to drinking far worse and became a physical wreck. Now he can't even walk a quarter mile without stopping.

But so far the diabetes has not come back, at least. I think his diet, which still includes a lot of superfood, could be some of the reason, because otherwise I don't know why it hasn't!

I just wanted to tell you this because even though he had gone a long way, losing 30 lbs, his body apparently needed him to lose more. This may not be welcome news but type 2 is kinda like alcohol, it's something that can indeed be "cured" by lifestyle change.

PS - I just realized that your original post was about vision changes, but you did mention worry about diabetes, right? That's what caught my attention and I'd meant to write this yesterday.

Truffle,

Thanks for responding, and sometimes once that switch has been flipped, diabetes is there and unavoidable. It can be controlled with diet, but it will always be there, lurking in the background just waiting for you to slip.

I do not fit the profile of the normal type 2 diabetic (I am a pear not an apple), and that is why I was in a confused state of panic. My diet is not the normal american diet, for I do eat lower carb and stay away from processed and fast foods. I do work out, lift heavy, and cardio to make sure my heart rate is up. My weakness is alcohol, and dark chocolate and now that I have been on the nal. both have been within moderation.

Could my diet be cleaned up more, of course, as well as losing those last 10-15 pounds. But going through menopause has my hormones in such a flux it has been a battle (like any women in their 50s).

I am hoping that my eyes were affected by the long flight I had just before my eye exam, and with time will balance out.

Truffle, I'm not sure if you are Mr. Truffle or Mrs Truffle from your post but in either case I'm terribly sorry to hear a story like that. I saw my brother go sober for about ten years and build his life into something spectacular only to start drinking again and immediately lost everything. It's so tragic it's hard to put in words. He's back and sober again for a long time, longer the ten years now and I know now that if he slips again there is something out there that can help.

Also my mother was diagnosed with diabetes and she too took it very seriously and with exercise and diet had reduced the symptoms down to where it's like she doesn't even have the disease. But like our alcoholism and TSM you have to always be vigilant.

Jaba, I did not see the original post. I hope everything is ok.

It was a medical question, and it shouldn't have been posted here, I was in panic mode.

Well, I hope that you are panicking no longer and everything is ok.

I pm'ed you