resonance imaging (MRI); ultrasound of my arms, shoulders, legs, eyes, ears, nose, throat and thyroid glands; urinalysis and cholesterol to discover the causes of my aches and pains and possible undiagnosed illnesses.
Those exams revealed no organ damage. However, my diabetic specialist concluded that my aches and pains were due to nerve damage in the periphery of my legs, brought on by my diabetes. Neuropathies are difficult to treat, much less prevent when patients don’t fully cooperate. “There she goes again,” I thought ruefully, biting my lips to prevent myself from arguing.
I knew what she meant. She meant that my aches and pains or nerve damage were because I stopped pricking my fingertips 4 to 6 times daily. She argued against reducing those prickings as allowed by Dr. Scuderi to once a day even when my logbook consistently showed a stable glucose.
I believe that these aches and pains had been with me for a long time before I was diagnosed as diabetic.
How can these neuropathies be prevented now by pricking my fingertips?
Why won’t she just remedy my problems?
I just suffered in silence morosely.
CHAPTER II Exercise
My family physician and diabetic specialist could not overemphasize the importance of regular exercise, light or moderate, and especially walking even only 20 minutes around the block to prevent leg muscles from stiffening and to avert nerve damage to the periphery of the legs.
How did nerve damage affect my legs before I was diagnosed with diabetes if exercise would avert it? I did a lot of walking from the house to the bus stop and back home three blocks away while commuting to work. There was no public transportation near Hazlet, where I live. People in neighboring areas catch the New Jersey Transit train in the next town. Trains that stop at the Hazlet station pick up passengers from every little station. One cannot ride these trains and arrive on time for work. There were buses that went mostly to New York City, but they pass the highway one mile away. I used to work in Newark, New Jersey. Going there by bus was very cumbersome. From New York I had to take a bus to Jersey City which came every half hour, then wait twenty minutes in Journal Square for the bus to Newark.
To avoid this hassle, we commuters from Hazlet petitioned the Academy Bus Company to provide service to Newark. A single bus was provided from Hazlet at 6:15 A.M. and from Newark at 5:45 P.M.
In Newark, the bus dropped us near the Public Service Electric and Gas Co. From there I walked four blocks, taking the shortcut through Military Park to my office. To me, this was a lot of walking, especially during winter and bad weather. Inside, I negotiated three flights of stairs instead of riding the ancient, creaking elevator which made me fear for my safety. If walking 20 minutes daily would prevent my leg muscles from stiffening, yes, I would do it. It should be easy. But was it?
Since I was prematurely retired from employment when I was diagnosed with uncontrolled diabetes, and suffering severe aches and pains, I hardly had to walk any more. I rode everywhere with my husband to go food shopping, to run errands, to shop at malls, and everywhere. To my surprise, the recommended 20 minute walk was a struggle. It was shocking to find that my feet wouldn’t carry me. My legs were stiff as a walking cane that wouldn’t bend. My feet hurt inside the softest walking shoes while attempting to negotiate the paved surface of the sidewalk.
It pricked my pride to realize that I couldn’t walk straight any more. In my younger days, I walked an imaginary straight line that gave bounce to my gait. Now, every step seemed to throw my legs off balance. It was ridiculous just trying to do what was natural and inborn. I had to stop and rest every few minutes and pant for breath. What was so natural since birth, like breathing and walking, was now frustrating. I could hardly negotiate, let alone walk, on uncarpeted surfaces.
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