Seeing with new eyes

On the day I found out I was diabetic, I remember telling my doctor  that I had experienced no symptoms. Upon further reflection, I realize this wasn't exactly true. I had symptoms, but they were so vague that I simply wrote them off as something else, such as a sign of just getting older.
 About three years ago, for instance, I had my eyes fixed through Crystal Lense replacement surgery. It was a miracle that allowed me to see for the first time since early childhood without glasses. In recent months, though, I had begun to wake up in the morning with slightly blurred vision. It would usually clear up, though, after a few minutes and a quick eye rub. Or consider the fact that I was urinating more often. I gave up soft drinks about two years ago and started drinking more water. A lot more water. So, of course, I attributed the increased number of bathroom visits to my increased water intake. It made perfect sense to me.
   Or here's a big one. After giving up those soft drinks, I dropped almost 50 pounds. Fast. I simply assumed that my healthy lifestyle change (drinking more water) was the cause. It never occurred to me that this kind of weight loss in this short a time frame wasn't normal. It wasn't natural. In fact, upon doing some research, I now realize that it is a classic symptom of diabetes. But I was so busy congratulating myself on finally losing weight without having to make a radical lifestyle shift that I missed a major red flag that should have sent me to my doctor sooner.
   That's the problem with diabetes. It's early warning signs are so vague that it's easy to write them off as something else, anything else. Unfortunately, by the time it's caught, a lot of people are seriously ill and are experiencing major health consequences. It doesn't have to be this way.
   If I had it to do over, I would definitely have gone to the doctor sooner. In fact, I would have gone years sooner. I know it can be scary. I, for one, have always been "doctor-phobic". I figured as long as I was feeling OK, there was no reason to waste time or money on doctor's visits. My doctor tells me that there was probably no way to avoid this diagnosis eventually. But what might have happened if I had gone earlier? Might I have caught it while I was pre-diabetic, before it became full-blown diabetes? Could making the necessary diet changes earlier have avoided this whole thing? I know that I shall never know the answer to these questions. But here's my point: Don't ignore the symptoms your body is giving you. If you begin to notice things about your physical health are changing -- no matter how vague the symptoms are or how easily they might be written off as something else -- don't ignore them. Get to a doctor and get checked out. Diabetes is manageable, but the earlier it's caught, the easier it is to manage.