InspireInspire
40 DI ABETIC LI VING / S UMMER 2 019
STOMACH PAIN PROMPTED A
DIAGNOSIS “In 2014, I went to the
doctor because I had persistent abdom-
inal pain. I had so many tests, but the
doctors were unable to tell me what that
was about. Six months later I went back
for a follow-up. The pain was gone but
my A1C was 11 [percent] and my blood
sugar was 500 [mg/dl]. My brother has
[diabetes], my mother had it, and yet I
was still so shocked—but so thankful
that they did that bloodwork.”FIGURING OUT DOSING WAS A
LIFESAVER “I was immediately put
on metformin and joined a study that’s
supposed to go on for a decade. The
goal is to find out what medicine goes
best with metformin, so I’m also taking
Victoza. I take 1,000 mg of metformin
in the morning and 1,000 mg at night.I recently figured out that if I separate
my doses, I’ll feel better on the medica-
tion. [At night] I set my alarm, take my
metformin and go back to sleep. I also
separate it from my coffee intake in the
morning to help my stomach.”LOSING WEIGHT WASN’T THE GOAL
“I’ve lost 60 pounds since my diagnosis
and my A1C is now 5.8 [percent] but
I’ll always be a very positive-body-image
person. Weight loss was never important
to me—I’ve joked about this a ton in
my stand-up. Sure, I’m happy I lost the
weight, but it’s more because I needed to
versus how I look. I’ve always been sexy!”PLANNING ALWAYS HELPS “I don’t
eat much most days because I don’t
have much of an appetite, but I always
keep hard-boiled eggs in my fridge. I’ma planner. If I’m out with friends, let’s
say it’s brunch, I’ll have the bubbles—a
mimosa without orange juice—eggs and
maybe bacon or sausage. If I haven’t had
a lot of bread that week, I’ll have a slice
of wheat toast. Dinner is protein-based
with lots of green vegetables—I plan
and I don’t cheat on food. That’s the deal
I made with myself.”GIVING UP SWEETS WAS AN EASY
CHOICE “I don’t give an eff about a
cupcake. I know that sugar is addictive
and people struggle with this all the time.
I’m not shaming [others]—I know it’s
hard—but I don’t want to eat cake. I’d
rather have 10 years of my life. When I
got this diagnosis I took control. I said to
myself, ‘I don’t want to die young.’ I’d like
to make it to my hundreds. Why can’t I
be the lesbian George Burns?”WHAT I KNOW NOW
Lea’s RulesWhen I got this
diagnosis I took
control. I said to
myself, ‘I don’t
want to die young.’
I’d like to make it to
my hundreds.