A complicated problem needs a disciplined attack
Melissa Joyce is at least honest.
She had never heard of metabolic syndrome. She did not know that it could have contributed to her diagnosis of type 2 diabetes in 2002.
Now she knows that the cumulative effect of her weight, blood pressure and cholesterol are signs of an increased risk of having life-threatening diseases.
She also knows that losing weight and eating healthier are among the best solutions.
Joyce, a divorced mother of two teenaged children, admits that she was not the healthiest person.
“I’m not the best at getting my health checked,” she said.
Joyce, 43, did manage to attend community health fairs where she had her cholesterol, blood pressure and eyes checked. Her results seemed all right at first.
Her blood pressure was always within normal limits, but her cholesterol was always “borderline” high. She was told to follow up with her doctor, but she never did. Nor did she ever have her glucose level checked, but she suspects it was high.
That changed in 2002. She doesn’t remember all of her symptoms, but went to see her doctor because she was feeling like she had the flu and had been light-headed for several days.
Joyce’s doctor asked if she was urinating more often. When she answered yes, he did a blood sugar test. It was 250. He scheduled a fasting blood sugar test. The results were 140 — an official diagnosis of type 2 diabetes.
Other problems came to light. Her blood pressure rose and her cholesterol took off. At its highest point, her blood pressure hit 170/110. Her cholesterol soared into the high 200s. Even her triglycerides, which had held steady, began to rise.
Her doctor told her that if she managed her diet, medications might not be necessary.
But that was asking a lot of Joyce.
She started gaining weight during her first year of college. As she got older stress caused her to eat more. An extra 30 pounds became 100 pounds over time. Though she is 5 feet 8 inches tall, she weighed 247 pounds.
It was not for lack of trying. Joyce started eating healthier a number of times, and she was referred to a nutritionist at Joslin Clinic, a specialty clinic for the treatment of diabetes. But her attempts never lasted too long.
“It was hard to stay on the diet they prescribed,” she explained. “It was going cold turkey, and I just couldn’t do it. I never ate the kinds of foods they were telling me to eat. I never ate vegetables or fruit. I never had good eating habits.”
Her fasting blood sugar increased to 300. The medications were not controlling her diabetes well. She was also on medication for her blood pressure and cholesterol.
That’s when the doctor’s warnings finally struck a chord. Her doctor told her that at any moment, she could go into a diabetic coma or have a stroke and/or heart failure.
“You must take your diet seriously,” Joyce said the doctor told her.
“I didn’t know how dangerous diabetes was,” she said. “I guess I really didn’t understand it.”
But when people she knew started dying from diabetes — her uncle and even Luther Vandross, who she really liked — she began to pay attention.
The biggest factors were her children — they were about 14 and 15 at the time. “I am a single mom and have no family in the area,” she said.
She realized that she would leave her kids alone if she died.
That’s when she noticed the advertisements for Weight Watchers. She liked what she heard — “eat what you like and lose weight.”
She started slowly and followed a plan online before she graduated to classes. She wasn’t ready for a complete change in her eating habits. Fast foods were still high on her list. “I ate sugar and things that turn to sugar,” she said.
Eventually, she eliminated some of her unhealthy habits, especially when she noticed her healthy eating plan was working.
As it is now, she has lost 103 pounds and is down from a size 24 to a size 8. Her weight is now 145 pounds, her blood pressure, 110/70, and her cholesterol, 130, a far cry from when first diagnosed six years ago.
She said she still needs to watch herself from time to time.
“I’m an emotional eater,” she said.
She works out most days of the week before she goes to work, alternating between the treadmill, elliptical machine and weights.
Even better news is that she is completely off medication for her diabetes, blood pressure and cholesterol.
And she stays on top of her health. She tests her blood sugar once a week.
“I feel so much better,” she said. “I feel as though I have added 10 to 15 years to my life.” |
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Through lifestyle changes and the support of Weight Watchers, Melissa Joyce no longer requires medication for her blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol.
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