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John_Cillis

Sharing a personal cautionary tale

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18 minutes ago, n4gix said:

EDIT: Just for the record, I'll be sixty-nine next January, so I've got a few more miles on my odometer...

LOL....

Thanks for your advice.  The pharmacist told me he would be surprised if I need to take much insulin once the Metformin and the other drug you mentioned get my blood sugar under control.  I know it's still low because the symptoms I had just prior to all this, the thirst, the fatigue etc... were not present on my first day home from the hospital.   On average in the hospital they gave me 2-4 units but I was eating more carbs there.  At home I can control my diet a bit better, I am big on salads, deli meats w/o bread, and so on.

I kept dreaming last night that I was in the hospital being visited by nurses.....  LOL, makes me wonder how long before those dreams go away. 

John

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19 minutes ago, Cactus521 said:

....I kept dreaming last night that I was in the hospital being visited by nurses.....  LOL,....

Too much information, John! LOL! Oh, you meant real nurses... :biggrin: Thanks for sharing and take care.

None of us should drive/ride/fly faster than our guardian angel can fly!:cool:


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20 hours ago, Cactus521 said:

John

John,

I'm glad you're doing ok. That's scary.

Two years ago 57 years of age I had a transient ischemic attack (mild stroke) called 911. I was alone at the time. Lost control of my eye movements that left me unable to walk without falling down (not a symptom of a stroke that I was aware of) just before heading to work. Thank God It didn't happen while driving. Anyway I spent 10 days in hospital and had every test and scans known to medicine. Doctors discovered I have Congestive Heart Failure. Never did I have chest pains. I was not overweigh but lost 10 lbs. in one week due to fluid retention (too much salt in diet). Three clogged arteries 100%, 80% & 60%, enlarged heart, arterial fibrillation, arrhythmias. I now have 3 stents and an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) and on a low sodium diet and take 8 pills a day. My family history is my father had heart disease, (3 bypasses). Thing is I was physically active my whole life 1000's of miles bicycling. I asked the doctor what gives? He said heredity takes precedence over everything else no matter how active you are.

My advice is if you ever start feeling strange don't hesitate to get help immediately.

So, take good care of yourselves my friends.

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22 minutes ago, bills511 said:

John,

I'm glad you're doing ok. That's scary.

Two years ago 57 years of age I had a transient ischemic attack (mild stroke) called 911. I was alone at the time. Lost control of my eye movements that left me unable to walk without falling down (not a symptom of a stroke that I was aware of) just before heading to work. Thank God It didn't happen while driving. Anyway I spent 10 days in hospital and had every test and scans known to medicine. Doctors discovered I have Congestive Heart Failure. Never did I have chest pains. I was not overweigh but lost 10 lbs. in one week due to fluid retention (too much salt in diet). Three clogged arteries 100%, 80% & 60%, enlarged heart, arterial fibrillation, arrhythmias. I now have 3 stents and an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) and on a low sodium diet and take 8 pills a day. My family history is my father had heart disease, (3 bypasses). Thing is I was physically active my whole life 1000's of miles bicycling. I asked the doctor what gives? He said heredity takes precedence over everything else no matter how active you are.

My advice is if you ever start feeling strange don't hesitate to get help immediately.

So, take good care of yourselves my friends.

That's quite amazing that with all your activity, your heart can still have those conditions.  I walk a lot--my ex-wife actually asked me why I was walking Sunday when I collapsed and I told her I normally don't drive the short distance from where I live to the market I was going to.  Also--LOL--I hate the left turn I'd have to make across a busy 45mph thru road to get there.  When I was in high school and college I used to bike century (100 mile rides) that also would have 2000-3000 feet of vertical climbs.  I was thin and had a resting pulse around 60.  But as soon as I hit 30 I changed, my metabolism slowed down a lot.  Plus, I became a road warrior at that time so I was constantly eating meals on the go, mostly at airports and whatever I could grab, I did.  I gained weight.

When I was in Europe this May-June I gained at least 20 pounds from all the food they fed me on my tour.  As fast as I put it on I lost it.  I've been trying to reconstruct just when my serious symptoms might have started, and I'd say by the excessive thirst I had they started even before I went to Europe.  Had I not collapsed Sunday and gone to the hospital I would have just gone my merry way assuming nothing was wrong as my enemy (diabetes) worked in the background.  My ex-wife coached me that I can't afford to risk my eyesite.  But she also commended me for being cooperative in the hospital, her main goal is to make sure my eighteen year old daughter has a father as well as a mother.

I feel a bit better now that my medicine has kicked in and to celebrate I have a sim flight in p3dv4 in progress, flying my Cessna 310 from Napa to LA.  I am sure this will continue to be a learning experience.

Take Care,

John

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It is a silent killer and can start without warning.

I'm active, not overweight, went for annual physical medical exams and the doctor always said keep it up, everything is good. Not marginal, not average, but good.

Just a few years ago, shortly before I turned 40, I went for my regular physical and the results this time were not good. Not marginal, not average, they were now not good. My A1C was not pre-diabetic, it was definitely diabetic.

How could it be? Why? What can be done? Thankfully in my case it was derected early before it had time to cause damage to my body. It is at a stage where I can adapt my exercise and eating habits to keep it under control, but it is there waiting for me to slack off so it can slowly take me.

I know that it will get worse with time no matter what I do, but as long as I stay on top of it I can push that day back. It will be a sad day for me because I will likely have to hang up the helmet and goggles.

I monitor my sugar and know that a little bread or rice will send my sugar up to 300 when it will otherwise remain around 100.

One of the best things I did was attend a course on living with diabetes. It lasted several weeks and provided me with a lot of knowledge to help keep control.

The next and just important thing was to increase my activity level. It didn't take much, as a regular routine of body weight exercise helped me shed a little weight in the places that are critical for diabetics.

Take care, get check ups regularly and if you are at risk, get educated and take action!

Speedy recovery!

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57 minutes ago, Oracle427 said:

It is a silent killer and can start without warning.

I'm active, not overweight, went for annual physical medical exams and the doctor always said keep it up, everything is good. Not marginal, not average, but good.

Just a few years ago, shortly before I turned 40, I went for my regular physical and the results this time were not good. Not marginal, not average, they were now not good. My A1C was not pre-diabetic, it was definitely diabetic.

How could it be? Why? What can be done? Thankfully in my case it was derected early before it had time to cause damage to my body. It is at a stage where I can adapt my exercise and eating habits to keep it under control, but it is there waiting for me to slack off so it can slowly take me.

I know that it will get worse with time no matter what I do, but as long as I stay on top of it I can push that day back. It will be a sad day for me because I will likely have to hang up the helmet and goggles.

I monitor my sugar and know that a little bread or rice will send my sugar up to 300 when it will otherwise remain around 100.

One of the best things I did was attend a course on living with diabetes. It lasted several weeks and provided me with a lot of knowledge to help keep control.

The next and just important thing was to increase my activity level. It didn't take much, as a regular routine of body weight exercise helped me shed a little weight in the places that are critical for diabetics.

Take care, get check ups regularly and if you are at risk, get educated and take action!

Speedy recovery!

40 years ago I was scheduled to go on a high school trip to Europe.  Two weeks prior, a friend of mine, who knew I was a good cyclist, asked if I would ride for charity.  So we drove to Sacramento and they set up a mile course, and I started biking. But I did not feel well, so they stopped me, and took me to breakfast.  Then I went back onto the course and continued piling up miles, 83 in all.  I knew the people who sponsored me would be mad because I rode so many miles, LOL.

During the ride I felt warm as you would do in an athletic event. Did not think much of it, shrugged it off.  But on the way home I started feeling this odd fever and redness all over my body.  I could not go to school the next morning, so my Mom took me to the Dr. the next day.  I had the measles.  There was an epidemic in my high school.  My Mom said that was impossible, I had it when I was a baby.  I did, but they gave me a booster shot that did not build up immunity, so I got the measles twice.  The next day, I had a seizure, they put me in the hospital contamination center, measles encephalitis.

Boy was I mad.  I am supposed to fly to Europe, my first trip, and I am stuck in the hospital with my mother, father and brother coming in with masks on so they don't get infected.  Then some nurse starts jabbing a needle in me every hour to prevent the seizures.  I begged to go on my trip and they said no way, you are seriously ill.

You know what, by what means I don't know, probably heaven above I turned the corner and got out of there in three days, and I was able to go on my trip. 

So I have been blessed with rapid recovery in my life and I wish it on others.

To make this aviation specific, on my first trip to Europe the equipment was:

A DC-10 from SFO to JFK

A DC8-63 to Milan, via Munich

A DC8-63 from Munich, to Vienna

Then to Shannon

Then to Gander

Then a 707 from JFK to Dallas

And finally a 727 from Dallas to SFO

John

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18 hours ago, Oracle427 said:

It is a silent killer and can start without warning.

<snipped for brevity>

How could it be? Why? What can be done? Thankfully in my case it was derected early before it had time to cause damage to my body. It is at a stage where I can adapt my exercise and eating habits to keep it under control, but it is there waiting for me to slack off so it can slowly take me.

The day I found out how diabetes can truly cause massive and irreparable harm to one's arteries is the very day I drove myself to the VA Clinic for help.

Consider what happens when one's blood sugar level increases to the point that the liver can no longer process it.  Excess amount in the liver is stored in the form of triglycerides, a type of fat that can cling to the artery walls as it travels through the blood stream. High triglyceride levels contribute to the formation of plaque in blood vessels. Increased sugars promote oxidative stress that can damage blood vessels.

Also,  sometimes excess unprocessed sugar re-crystalizes and those little crystals begin scarring the arteries as they circulate.


Fr. Bill    

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Well, I've now been giving myself insulin injections in my abdomen for three days and they help immensely.  I don't even have to draw my blood sugar to tell when I need them, if I get tremors in my legs I know.  Today I walked to the market where I fell.  I changed my route slighly to avoid the curb and rocks where I fell.  The clerk there saw what had happened when she saw the fire department arrive on Sunday, she said she wondered who was hurt.  She advised me to quit drinking diet coke and to switch to coke zero or water instead.  Still a road ahead until I am fully recovered.  I am sleeping a lot, but fewer symptoms overall.

I call myself "Doctor John" now, LOL.

John

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John, do invest the time to read the labels on any food you buy. Watch out for not only sugar, but carbohydrates. I now keep a fold-up walker in the trunk of my car in case I need it while out and about. I also hope your doctor has advised you to visit a podiatrist to help prevent nerve damage in your feet. I see mine at the VA Clinic quarterly where he also trims my nails.


Fr. Bill    

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Type 1 diabetic here too.  Since I was 17 years old and I'm now approximately three times that.... :biggrin:

The key to diabetes I've found is very regular monitoring.  This helps prevent the long term problems with high blood sugars and the acute risks of a hypo (low blood sugar).   I've had to have two rounds of laser surgery on my left eye, for diabetic retinopathy but have excellent vision.  The retinopathy is a risk to fluid (leaking from diabetes-damaged blood vessels in the eyes) damaging the optic nerve (and killing off sight) rather than causing a progressive sight deterioration.  

Apart from that I'm in good shape and my docs tell me my 'numbers' are great.  The key is very regular blood monitoring - I test at least 6 times per day.  (Sometimes up to 10, depends what I'm doing).  Before every meal is a must, as is before bed and on waking in the morning.   And perhaps most importantly, before driving.

Bill's comment about the podiatrist is a very wise one too - nerve damage can progress quickly if blood sugars run too high. The feet are the furthest 'extremity' of the body and thus get the least blood flow and are highest risk for nerve damage.


Bill

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I've been watching this thread, but not wanting to get involved, for reasons that may become obvious.

About 7 years ago I had a heart attack after flying all night on Air Canada from Prince George BC to Vancouver to Toronto and then to Moncton NB. Got home and to bed about 3:00 am and up at 7:30 and WHAM. I knew what it was because there was a certainty of dread and death.

I live alone so I picked up my phone, leaned against my front door because I was too weak to open it and called 911. An ambulance was passing by (right in front) on the way back to the Firehall, so was at my door in under a minute. I unlocked the door and fell into their arms. Needless to say, they saved my life. 

After going on a ton of heart procedures, medications, stents and increasing chest pains and tests, I was given something like 17 medications a day. I became confused, and sometimes disorientated (I mean who wouldn't be?). I was heavily involved in AVSIM as Forum General Manager and a member of the BOD under Tom. Besides having considerable responsibilities professionally and putting in some 100+ stressful hours a week I found it increasingly difficult to handle everything and everyone.

During this time I travelled to Pennsylvania to run a (church) convention. The second morning there I just stopped functioning. I could hardly walk or talk, answer questions or communicate rationally so was rushed and admitted to the Lancaster hospital to try and save my life, since everyone thought it had to be another heart related matter. It wasn't, at least not directly. I had a blood sugar level of (slightly) over 1000 on the American system of measurement, and nearly 550 on the imperial - a dead man walking....

We found out that I may have been a diabetic all my life, and despite the best doctors and hospitals from two countries (I lived in both), no one had taken my high sugar levels to be what it really meant. Just too high to be believed (for none of the other symptoms seemed to be there! Can you imagine that? I now take a hugh load of medication, the maximum possible dosage of Metformin plus six different large injections of fast acting and longer acting insulin shots daily. BTW, my dosages were all increased this week by my doctor after somewhat of a mysterious relapse (perhaps a week bottle of NovaRapid, not sure.

Anyway, that was it for my AVSIM service, although I did try to hang in there despite it all. Tom made it my decision, but as he said, AVSIM was going through its own problems at the time, and I needed to try to get well. He spent a lot of time on the phone and exchanging emails with my assistants and closest friends to try to do what was best. Yes, I know he was rough, grouf and tough and sometimes impossibly difficult, but seldom to me, and I will always count him as a friend, mentor and a mad genius I had the privilege of working with.

Apparently, after a few years I have my life lent back to me, but he had lost his in the mean time. Very sad that, very sad. Three years ago they gave me my New Brunswick driver's license back as a full recovery is made, and am able to do a full day ministry's work (although seldom do), fly online and swap yarns with you all.

I forget some from those times, just like my memory was partly wiped out. After all a sweet and sour sauce being pumped around the body is going to pickle something! So, I thank you so much for reading, being tolerant if I miswrote history from a different viewpoint than expected and maybe got a part or two a little skewed here and there.

Bottom line: I am most thankful to God and some of the very best American and Canadian specialists, I am here to tell about it and expect to be around for as many years as it takes for VR to come into it own, and to brag about how many FPS I am getting on the way up to see the sun at 60,000 in some new jet fighter.

SPECIAL NOTE:

A few friends that never left me hanging alone and unsupported, salt of the earth, that I have confidence in to the end of the earth: Chase Kreznor, Jim Young, Maury Pratt, Bill Leaming and Jean-Paul Mes, and a few others who helped cover for me when I needed help. and my two best flying buddies who know who you are but may not want to admit it! I owe them much. I made a few enemies, and to those I say my regrets and beg their pardon, no matter who was at the most fault. Sometimes circumstances just dictate such things, and it is better to drop them than to carry such heavy loads on wobbly wings...

Thank you AVSIM, and all it's ownership (Tom's family who I did not get to meet), and the wonderful strong and talented leadership running it today. All things worked together for good, didn't it? Thank you John for making this subject acceptable to tell. It has been kept to myself for so long it was vey hard to let it out.

Thanks for reading and the Kindest possible regards,

 

 

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Your post is much appreciated, Stephen. I remember all your wonderful input to these forums in past years, was vaguely aware of some of your tribulations, and am happy to see you've gotten back on track with your life. Always a joy to see your posts here.

John 

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few years ago I collapsed at a gas station from kidney stone pain. my body doesn't like pain and it just froze. muscles spasmed, couldn't breathe etc. I denied an ambulance (broke) as I started feeling better once on the ground. drove the 2 miles home to take some meds (not the first time ive had a similar episode). passed the little nasties soon thereafter.

 

been ok ever since, at least with that. its odd how your body behaves under duress. you think you have control but you really dont

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On 10/6/2017 at 1:24 AM, Cactus521 said:

Then to Shannon

 

So you've seen our green and pleasant land... :)
 


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14 hours ago, SpiritFlyer said:

Thank you John for making this subject acceptable to tell. It has been kept to myself for so long it was vey hard to let it out.

Thanks for sharing Stephen. I've found over the years that it is very cathartic to share one's burdens with others. I have a memory of sharing our stories of diabetes during the conference in Kansas, but perhaps my memory is faulty.

In any event, I'm delighted to hear that you seem to be stabilized now and are able to enjoy life once again!

Take care old friend and may the Lord's blessing continue to give comfort.


Fr. Bill    

AOPA Member: 07141481 AARP Member: 3209010556


     Avsim Board of Directors | Avsim Forums Moderator

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