Hello! Thanks for visiting my blog! I’m so excited to have you here to share on this incredible journey to health and wellness after being diagnosed at 32 years-old with Type II Diabetes on February of 2015, just a few short months ago. No one should have to suffer from this terrible immune disease, let alone a 32-year old mother of a 17-month old!
My name is Sarah. Up until December of 2014, I thought I had been in relatively decent health. Aside from a strange condition that caused me to have bouts of vomiting at random (more about that later! It’s connected!), I thought I was in pretty good shape. At 5’5″ and around 135 lbs., I wasn’t what would be considered “overweight.” I was more “curvy.” I was at my lowest weight just before getting pregnant in July, immediately after getting married in May so I was feeling pretty good about myself physically. Things seemed to start off very well with the pregnancy– I felt fantastic and had no morning sickness for about the first 6 weeks. Then, once it began, it was a never-ending cycle of vomiting and dry-heaving until I passed out from exhaustion that lasted about 6 months.
At around the 6-month mark, I FINALLY started feeling better. I was able to wake up and tend to my self and my business without needing to keep a vomit depository on hand at all times! However, when I went in for my 6-month check up, I was immediate sent to a specialist and on to the hospital for an emergent delivery that very night. Between my previous check-up and this one, something had changed drastically to my placenta and I would need bedrest until my son was delivered. *ENTER DIABETES*
I knew absolutely ZERO about diabetes before I was diagnosed in the hospital with gestational diabetes. I knew it had something to do with insulin and sugar but didn’t know any of the symptoms, effects, or treatment until I was square in its grips. I was adamant about being put on any medications while in the hospital, so I was hyper-vigilant about my diet and consumption because I knew they were there waiting with with a blood-sugar monitor and insulin injection in hand 2 hours to the minute after each of my daily meals!
To make a long story very short, I was miraculously able to remain pregnant with my son for an additional nearly 8 weeks and was even able to be discharged from the hospital over Christmas! I went into the specialist’s office for Doppler ultrasounds every other day for about a week until finally on January 4th, my dopplers finally began to show indications of stopped and reversing blood flow through the placenta which meant, this time, I would NOT be leaving the hospital without having given birth!
My son was delivered via C-section on the morning of January 9th– as the universe would have it, he was delivered immediately after my cousin’s son (healthy and scheduled for delivery that morning at 6 am) by the same doctor in the same surgical wing. We actually passed each other in the hallway, but not close enough for that high-five I wanted to happen 😉 After he was born at 3 lbs at 33.3 days gestation (and was supposed to be born the day before my husband was on 3/3), he was perfectly healthy other than very low birth weight. He also showed signs of insulin-resistance through the first few days, which was terrifying to me. Luckily, his blood sugar evened out nicely and all we needed to concentrate on was getting his weight up.
When I was discharged from labor & delivery, I was given the standard glucose test to make sure my GD had dissipated. Lucky me, I tested within the “normal” 70-160 range and was told I was diabetes-free but to test myself at home on occasion to make sure it hadn’t returned. Today’s statistics show that a woman that develops GD in her pregnancy is over 50% likely to re-develop full-blown type II diabetes within 5-10 years. THIS FIGURE IS ABSOLUTELY MINDBLOWING TO ME!!
Now I’ll be honest– I did check my blood sugar after I returned home. A FEW times. But I never saw any alarming numbers so, baby-brained me assumed I was probably in the clear. I maintained this deception for a good year and half until I ended up waking up in the hospital after spending two days in a diabetic coma.
My DKA (Diabetic Ketoacidosis) luckily happened while our son’s nanny was home. I was found at the bottom of my shower in a fetal position with a core body temperature of 77 degrees after spending hours in ice cold water. When they found me not knowing if they were responding to a drug overdose, a stroke/ heart attack, allergic reaction, etc. they tested my blood sugar to find my blood sugar so high it wouldn’t even register on their EMT equipment. They immediately began trying to straighten my contorted body out so I could be put onto the stretcher to administer fluids and insulin and had to heat me up gradually with a thermal blanket. After I got to the hospital, they told my husband my A1C was an alarming 14– my blood was SO acidic that my ICU nurse told my husband he had never seen such a high level of acid in anyone that was still living. Needless to say, I was really, really, REALLY sick.
Since being discharged from the hospital, I’ve been on a twice-daily regimen of 12 units of insulin and 500 mcg of Metformin. Guess what? Being on medicine on such a young age sucks!! I’m desperate to try anything to help me get off pharmaceutical-grade medications and back to living freely– well, except all the sugar this time! Since being introduced to Javita just 4 days ago, I have just received my first shipment and have tried the sugar-control instant green tea and just had my first cup of weight-loss coffee this morning. So far, I feel pretty great! I was a little nervous at first forgoing my regular cup of HEB San Antonio Keurig Cup coffee, but surprisingly I didn’t even miss it! I’m enthusiastic so far so I’ll definitely be keeping this blog updated with my experience with Javita! Hopefully someone else might find my story helpful 🙂
The Javita Experience 