Our journey

We started out hoping to manage Charles' diabetes with diet and exercise. He took oral meds for a while, but we hoped that would be short-lived. He had some success, but then something would get out of whack and a new medication had to be used. This was the pattern for a while. Then one medication was recalled, so the doctor prescribed new ones- the recalled medication was a combination of two, but somehow taking the same doses of the two medications separately didn't work.
Shortly after our son was born, and less than a year after we found about diabetes, Charles went on insulin. Another blow. Another struggle. But we figured, okay, we'll get this to work and that'll be the solution.
Charles was relatively young when he got his initial diagnose- he was 26. Too young to be typical Type 2, too old to be typical Type 1. So he has many years of potential complications to develop. We wanted and hoped to get his blood sugar levels under control to push back as long as possible the complications that would come.
Eventually, even the oral medications had no effect and Charles was completely insulin dependent. So we figured, hey, no oral meds to remember. Just pens and needles!
Finally, a couple years ago, his blood sugar levels were over 500, sometimes 600, and the doctor put Charles on a pump. It has helped some, but has been like our experience from the beginning. The current solution works for a while, then, out of nowhere, craziness ensues. I've always joked that it's like his body is saying, "Oh, I see what you're doing. Think that will work? Ha! Try this!" And we get another curveball.
But, a step at a time.
Our steps have led us off the path of healthy habits we had been trying to follow, and I hope to get us back on track once again. Other health and life issues have been interfering. Now it's time to get serious again.  We have two children whom we want to teach and model healthy eating habits, not to mention that the other health issues that have cropped up will certainly be improved with good food choices. Sometimes it's actually easier preparing healthy meals for the kids. I find myself eating the unhealthy stuff I won't give to anyone else. (And since I'm the one doing the shopping..... hmmm... what's the solution there? I wonder.) Knowing what we're supposed to do is easier to do for someone else. Go figure.