Don't take life to serious. Serious health scare and reality check

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J-MacsMopars

Shade Tree Vintage Auto on YouTube
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This crazy life we live, where we are more worried about our jobs than our life. Recently, I was more worried about loosing my job than I was my health. I was sick and I knew it. I just wanted to wait till my weekend before going to see the Doctor as I had already missed a few days for being sick and didn't want to risk loosing my job.

After spending some time in the hospital last week, I went to work knowing I shouldn't. it was a terrible day and I was not doing to great. I am newly diagnosed with type two diabetes and don't know much about it yet, and I had a skin abscess/infection on my groin. Little did I know that diabetes and infections feed off of each other. After the long miserable and very painful day at work, I came home thinking that I only had one more day left till I could go back to the hospital without risking my job. I knew my infected area had grown more painful during the day, but now could finely examine it. Upon examination, I knew I was in trouble. It had grown and was not looking or feeling good in anyway. I knew I needed to go to the ER yet still had to fight myself as I was worried about loosing my job. My Job has a very strict attendance policy and you can't get disability till six months after employment (that's in less than a week btw). After some hard thinking, it dawned on me that I can't work if I'm dead. So the real question should be how fast I can get to the hospital.


I hopped in my truck and went to the ER on Sunday at 12:20AM. Once there and checked in, the doctors decided it was more than they could do in the ER, they called multiple doctors in to decide what could and needed to be done. Due to the infection, my blood sugar was at 370. Far cray from the between 90 and 120 it should be. The infection was huge and in a very sensitive and dangerous location. I had emergency surgery at 6:00 AM and spent the following two days in the hospital only getting out today. Am I sure I will get to keep my job, no! But what I really find strange is that these days, we make our jobs more of a priority than so many other more important things. Our realities are so screwed up. I could have died, all because I was worried about loosing my job...

Stay healthy everyone. Enjoy life, spend time with your families, have fun with your hobbies, and live!
 
You hit the nail on the head, friend! After being struck with SSHL (sudden hearing loss) in April in one ear, I was told that this is an emergency situation that requires immediate emergency treatment, yet I put off going to the ER for 3 days due to work/family obligations.Thank God some hearing came back after steroid treatment...the majority of people who wait lose the hearing permanently. I was thinking the same thoughts as you after I found out...who the hell can work if you are deaf, or dead? (or blind, or crippled...) Take care of yourself first and piss on the HR department policies. Hell, they won't even send flowers to your funeral.
 
It's a tough choice.

companies are treating us as disposable and that's what keeps us going back. You have to support yourself and family, so you will try to make sacrifices to be able to do so.

The companies just use you and throw you aside when you aren't "productive enough" for them, then throw you to the curb and hire someone else...


They preach family first, but when it really comes down to it, don't mean it...


Good luck with your recovery and I hope you can find another job when you are better.
 
KK got it right. "It's a tough choice.

companies are treating us as disposable and that's what keeps us going back."
With such a high unemployment rate, companies love it because they are able to pick and choose who they want, more than during times of REAL low unemployment. Not meaning to be political here, but in my opinion it's higher than whats listed.
 
J-macs look the best thing you can do is get a dr who knows diabetes there is an Asian dr here that changes people's diet and will have them off most meds and doing very good I have a good friend he helped. Oh and exercise daily like walking 30 min. You will be surprised how well you can control it by just changing your diet and exercise.
 
Unfortunately for me it's "too late." The places I worked, generally, had pretty poor health care other than state mandated job related. Serious arthritic problems, for me, are now the norm. "It just might be" that my job(s) were not really the cause of this.
 
thats a huge problem with this country. they allow this to happen. companies don't give a ****. work you till ya drop and find someone else. pathetic that its allowed to happen like this. if ya don't agree with it and think it should different maybe like some other country that seems to do it right you're called a socialist... pretty screwed up if you ask me..
 
In my own experiences I have found that the Hr policies are to keep the slackers at bay. Voluntarily providing some documentation kept my job at the time over a hospitalization. Diabetes runs deep on my fathers side of the family, and have seen the related complications of neglect. Take care of yourself. Docs already have me on a diet trying to prevent it.
 
USPS....used to be if you were injured off the job the USPS would "create" a "limited duty" job. Injured on the job the USPS would create a "light duty" job. That was until the National Reassessment Program rolled out. When it did the PO cleaned house, eliminating all of the limited/light duty spots. Now if you get hurt off the clock you are told to burn your sick/annual leave. When you are out of that you take lwop. On the job...you have to do battle with the Federal DOL. Suppose to pay you...most folks never see a dime. I know of one person who was out over 5 years and never got a dime. When the NRP appeared damn near every person that was on limited /light duty applied for disability. Damn ed if you do, damn ed if you don't.
Take care of yourself, nobody else will.
 
Have you tried eating cinnamon? it helps control blood sugar and may help you with diabetes...

Eat foods that go good with cinnamon and sprinkle it on as strong as you can take it...
 
Hey everyone. Been on the phone this morning with HR and whatnot and it seems they are going to help me as much as possible. I really like the company I work for and the benefits are really good. I have missed a bit of work this year being sick and spending time in the hospital and I understand that a company had to do what they have to do. But it is scary as the employee too. My point wasn't to bash corporate America, it was more that we have gotten ourselves into a state of mind where we put our job ahead of everything else and that sometimes we really need to think about other things. I can't remember the specifics, but it's ridiculous how many paid vacation days go unused. Even if you don't have the money to go on a vacation, take a day or two here and there to relax and spend a little bit of time with family, friends, or even just spend it with yourself NOT worrying about work. There's way more to life than just work. I do care about my job. I do want to work where I work. I like my managers and co-workers. It's a stressful job, but it pays well and I have great benefits. Unfortunately the timing of my getting sick was poor, but there's never a good time. Things will all work out.


As for my diabetes, it was the middle of March when I was diagnosed. I was going to go to a three part class, but had a vacation to see my family in Utah and introduce them to my fiancé that conflicted. So I haven't started that and didn't know a lot about what to eat or what not too. I have a somewhat better knowledge of it now, but will be learning for years.

I have heard about cinnamon helping actually, but haven't tried it yet. Friday I am going to get lots of diabetic friendly groceries and it is on my list.

Thanks everyone
 
Probably the biggest no1 thing with diabetes is to get exercise if you can, and watch what you eat. It's easy to get lazy. In my younger years, I was hypogycemic. Nowadays I'm leaning the "other way."
 
Take care of yourself, no one else will.
If you don't have time right now to see the specialist and take the classes, then google diabetes and do as much reading as you can.
A friend of mine has been struggling with it for almost a year now and is finally coming to grips with it and modifying his life style more.
My wife has type 2 and she does very well now, she lost 50 lbs and watches her diet. That's over 8 years and she takes Metformin.
You can cheat a little with your diet, but that's after you have it under control and know what your body will take.
It's very tricky until you understand how it works for you, your medications, and your lifestyle.
Good luck, and let us know how it goes......
Tom.
 
Probably the biggest no1 thing with diabetes is to get exercise if you can, and watch what you eat. It's easy to get lazy. In my younger years, I was hypogycemic. Nowadays I'm leaning the "other way."


Yes, diet and exercise are the best way to postpone/prevent diabetes. My uncle is in a study on this and so far hasn't gotten diabetes yet. It seems to be working for him.


Sometimes it can reverse the diabetes, but not always...

I like to refer to it as Diet-betes.... As you have to watch your diet so closely...


My mom was trying the adkins diet, as it also can help control diabetes, but I don't know all of the details...
 
Been type 2 for a long time, for years could con roll with diet alone, now take metformin 2x a day

It isn't that bad. Sure lots we shouldn't eat, but lots we can. I do not DIET, I changed my eating habits. On a diet you cannot have this or that, changed eating habits if you really want something it is in moderation, maybe a small bite.

Also recipes can be modified to be better for you.

I take a 1000 mg cinnamon caplet daily after breakfast, also eat oatmeal a lot of mornings with walnuts, cinnamon, fruit a little spends brown sugar and sugar free syrup. Don't eat as much meat as I use to, started eating some peanut butter (jif has a lower sodium and reduced sugar SIMPLY JIF) for the protein

Watch the carbs, get your veggies and watch portion size.

Have stopped drinking OJ and many other fruit drinks. Don't eat bananas or large oranges since they spike my blood sugar.

GET TO THE CLASS, read about what you should eat. Use your test kit and try and keep fasting under 100 and 2 hour after eating under 140

Once you see what causes your sugar to go high try and limit them.

Glad your company is working with you this is something you can control. My doctor said at last visit I should go on a vegan diet and might get off the metformin. Told him no way in hell was I going to be a vegetarian.

Now my morning fasting is usually higher, have read this is common, so a little snack before bedtime seems to help
 
Probably the biggest no1 thing with diabetes is to get exercise if you can, and watch what you eat. It's easy to get lazy. In my younger years, I was hypogycemic. Nowadays I'm leaning the "other way."

Exercise....the key to feeling better for damn near everything. Sadly the bulk of us don't get nowhere near enough...
 
Good post Jeremy. Glad to hear things are getting handled. You've got a great attitude. That goes a long way! I've told my kids a hundred times, attitude is everything! I hope everything works out well for you.
 
if we don't have out health we have NOTHING! so yes we have to take care of ourselves, seldom will the company do it. if one does, that's great!!

whats interesting to me is a statement a co worker made. he said we are slaves! now think about it. think about the slave days, then if you are from the rural South, think about after the civil war, the freeing of the "slaves". they remained on the same farm, plantation, still a slave to the man but free. are we, the lower class worker, a slave to the man, the system. most times we are so busy working we have no time or energy to figure a way out of the economic hole they keep us in????????
 
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