Her heart was already thumping, and she knew her blood pressure would shoot up the minute she walked into the nurse’s consulting room, if it hadn’t already. Why couldn’t they just increase her medication and be done with it? Why did she even need to see the nurse at all?
The consulting room door opened and a blonde woman of about thirty looked out, a bright smile on her face.
‘Alison Parker?’
A different nurse this time then, Alison realised as she got to her feet, giving an apologetic look to the woman who was still waiting. The woman shrugged and popped a Polo into her mouth as Alison headed shakily to the consulting room.
‘Take a seat, love,’ the nurse said, settling herself in front of the computer. ‘By, you’re harder to track down than the Scarlet Pimpernel! It’s been over three weeks since your blood tests.’
‘I’ve, er, had a lot on,’ Alison said, her throat dry with nerves. She eyed the blood pressure monitor with dread. Already she could imagine the cuff wrapped around her arm, and the panic building within her as it tightened its grip bit by bit. ‘I didn’t think it was that high,’ she added, thinking aloud.
The nurse looked up from the computer screen. ‘Sorry?’
‘My blood pressure. I didn’t think my readings were that bad.’
‘Oh, no, they’re not. I’ve shown them to the doctor, and he doesn’t think you need to increase your medication – at least not this time. He’d like you to come back in three months and we’ll see how you are then, and in the meantime keep an eye on it yourself at home. Don’t get obsessed though, mind. Don’t want you to get addicted to reading your blood pressure, do we?’ She laughed and Alison thought there was fat chance of that happening.
‘So, if it’s not my blood pressure, why am I here?’ she asked, puzzled.
The nurse swivelled round in her chair to face Alison fully, which she found deeply alarming.
‘It’s your blood tests, love. Well, your HbA1c to be exact.’
‘My what?’
‘Blood sugar levels. The test result shows you’re at 49, which just tips you into the diabetic range.’
Alison stared at her. ‘You’re saying I’m diabetic?’
‘Well, it’s possible it’s just a blip, which is why I’d like to do another blood test today, just to double-check. If the results come back the same, you’d need to make an appointment with the doctor to discuss medication, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Now, can you take your coat off and roll up your sleeve for me, please?’
Feeling dazed, Alison did as requested, barely feeling it when the nurse took yet another sample of blood from her arm. Diabetic? This was a whole other ball game and not one she wanted to play. It must be a mistake, surely?
All right, she’d gained a bit of weight since Drew’s death, and there had been a lot of comfort eating and microwave meals since she’d lived alone, and yes, she had developed quite a taste for sugary treats since looking after the twins… She remembered yesterday when she’d not only eaten the blueberry muffin at her parents’ home but had helped herself to two enormous slices of Elaine’s coffee and walnut cake at her aunt and uncle’s house.
Thinking about it all now, as the nurse labelled the tube of blood and threw her gloves in the bin before washing her hands, she realised it maybe wasn’t as surprising as she’d initially thought. Even so…
‘I don’t want more medication,’ she said faintly. ‘It’s bad enough being on blood pressure tablets.’
‘Well, like I said, we’ll get these blood tests done and then we’ll worry about what comes next once we know for sure,’ the nurse said. ‘Any other concerns you’d like to talk about today?’
She was already typing her notes up on the screen. Alison said, ‘And there’s nothing else showing up in the blood tests? It’s just the diabetes?’
Justthe diabetes. Like that wasn’t enough.
‘Everything else has come back fine,’ the nurse said cheerfully. ‘Your cholesterol’s a bit high, but not high enough to need medication. Basically, you need to take a bit better care of yourself. That’s what it boils down to. We do run a weight loss clinic here, you know. Would you like me to refer you?’
Alison mentally shuddered, memories of her sporadic attempts to lose weight by attending Lightweights’ meetings filling her with dread. ‘No. No, thanks.’ She considered for a moment. ‘I read somewhere that diabetes can be reversed. Is that true?’
The nurse looked suddenly interested. ‘That’s right. Well, it’s possible, with diet and weight loss.’
‘I’d rather do that,’ Alison told her. ‘I don’t want to take any more medication. If the results come back the same, can I ask the doctor if I can try to reverse it myself?’
The nurse considered. ‘These tests show the amount of blood glucose over a period of three months,’ she said slowly. ‘I can give you three months, if you like. Three months to lose some weight and lower your glucose levels yourself. Then you’d have to come back in for a blood test, and we’ll see what happens then. What do you think?’
Alison nodded. ‘Thank you. I’ll try that. So I should still ring for the results?’
‘Yes. Call the surgery in a couple of days and I’ll leave a message with the receptionist to tell her to give you the result, but that no appointment’s necessary at this time. Even if this was a blip – and to be honest, I doubt it – it would do you good to try to get your blood sugar levels down. Best-case scenario is that you’re pre-diabetic, and that’s not a good position to be in either.’
