I hear ya Lisa and have quietly stood by her for years, knowing she was hurting herself but knew she was in deep denial in her 20's. I remember the days (about 8 years ago before I was sick) when I'd make peanut butter pie and she would come over and BEG for a piece of it. She would have it and then IMMEDIATELY fall asleep and I could barely wake her up - used to scare the HELL OUTTA ME!!!
I stopped giving her any sugary things when she came over after two episodes like that.
I know first hand what it is like to not come to terms with a disease - I have a chronic fungal infection in my gut (which can lead to diabetes) and wasn't dealing with it through my diet. Atkins gave me the control over food that I've been needing for a long time (whew).
I feel it may be time a friend told her it was ok to control her weight and her life. Case in point, her parents helped her to buy a house last year and she confessed to me that she didn't even own it - they did and they did not let her pick out anything about the newly built home in the subdivision - not even the paint color.
I really worry because in the year I haven't seen her these health conditions became known to me or were glaringly obvious:
-she admits to being sugar/carb addicted (in the past it was fats)
-her hair has thinned
-she mentioned being on an ace inhibitor
-she has had her large toe on her foot amputated and was hospitalized
-she has a huge hole on the bottom of her foot currently because she
was at a bbq, barefoot (what is she thinking?) and stepped on a
burning coal (odd story, I know).
-she has gained roughly 50-100 lbs
-she is self-medicating her foot wound and taking antibiotics she got
from a friend who is an RN (I urged her to see a foot doc and she
finally did to have the CALLOUS removed and have him give his ok).
- she had a kidney infection (mild? I dunno) about 3 or 4 years ago
- she smoked a pack a week about 3 years ago and had such high
blood pressure that a friend who was a nurse told her she better stop
or she'd surely die (she stopped).
I honestly believe she has been in denial to some degree the whole time. It is just that now, I feel time is running out for the mismanagement of it and the health issues are catching up with her. She is smart and I know she can successfully control it.
