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Level2 Member Janet: ‘I Believe in This Now’

Woman smiling

Janet’s Level2 Story

I was introduced to Level2 right after I’d gone through rehab. But I was already changing so much that I was apprehensive about the opportunity. My attitude was kind of like “whatever”.
My doctor told me that I have to take my diabetes seriously. I’m like, you know what, there’s so much going on in my life, diabetes ­–– it’s not real for me. I was not taking it seriously. I was afraid. I’d already been struggling with trying to prick my finger to see what my blood sugar was and thinking about when I should check my levels. Do I do it before I eat or after? If it’s after, is it two hours after or one hour? I didn’t even know what I should be eating, let alone when to prick my finger.
When my co-worker Christy told me about Level2, I was doubtful that it would help. But she convinced me, and we started it together. Christy was the guinea pig with putting the continuous glucose monitor (CGM) on. The first thing I asked her when she applied it was “Did that hurt?” She said, “I didn’t even feel anything! Is it even on there?”
When I got my CGM, I questioned everything. Can I shower? How can I go swimming? I will never forget thinking ‘you mean my glucose levels have to be between 80.0-180.0?!’ That just freaked me out. When I started wearing the CGM, I didn’t like my numbers. I thought it wasn’t true. There’s no way. There were times I was way up there, like close to 400.0.
It took me a while to accept it, about 6 months after joining Level2. I wasn’t consistently checking my CGM.
In December I noticed that when I did check, there were times when I would finally get below that 180.0. I thought to myself, ‘I am below 180.0. . .what have I been doing?’ I had asked my coach, Erin, who has been very, very positive and patient with me, what I should eat for my morning snack. She gave me suggestions like trying cheese sticks or celery with cream cheese. I thought to myself, ‘Ew, who eats cheese sticks in the morning?’ Well, I do now!
I realized that I needed to be serious with my body. I understand now. When I go above my levels, I’m hurting my liver and hurting my kidneys. I’m aging myself. I have a lot of life left to live.
Now I’m making a lot more time to learn about carbs. Especially how carbs affect my sugar!  I’ve heard that over and over again. I just didn’t own it. There’s hearing things and then there’s learning things and actually doing it. Now the CGM is my partner; my friend that’s going to hold me accountable. I’m using it to my advantage.
What Level2 has helped me realize that my type 2 is real. It’s real but it’s also fixable. It can be managed, and I can manage it. I really do believe in this now.
Level2 has helped me see that I am doing it right. I may have type 2, but I can keep it under control.