I want to talk about what it’s really like to live with Type 2 diabetes. It’s not just about avoiding sugar. It’s like having a full-time job that you hate, that you can never quit, and that you don’t get paid for. My life, for years, revolved around numbers. The number on the glucometer after I pricked my finger. The number of carbs in everything I ate. The number of pills I had to remember to take with every meal. And the most important number of all, the A1c number every three months, which felt like a final grade on a test I was always failing.

For a long time, my doctor had me on metformin. It helped a little, but it never really got my numbers under control. My blood sugar readings were always inconsistent. They would be too high after a meal, and then I’d feel that awful, draining fatigue in the afternoon where all I wanted to do was sleep. It was a constant, exhausting cycle. I felt like I was doing everything right – I was watching my diet, I was taking my pills – but my body was still fighting me. It was a discouraging way to live. I felt trapped by my own health.

The real turning point was my last check-up before I made a change. My A1c came back even higher than before. My doctor sat me down and told me that what we were doing just wasn't enough. He said we needed to try something different. He mentioned the injectable medications, and I’ll be honest, the idea of having to give myself a shot every week was something I really did not want to do. That’s when he brought up Rybelsus. He explained that it was in the same class of drugs as the injectables, but it was a pill you take once a day. That immediately got my attention. A pill felt manageable. A needle did not.

He was very specific about the instructions. I had to take it first thing in the morning, on a completely empty stomach, with no more than four ounces of plain water. Then, I had to wait at least 30 minutes before eating, drinking, or taking any other medication. This seemed like a strange and inconvenient routine, but I was willing to try anything. The first week was not great. I felt a persistent, low-level nausea for most of the day. It wasn't enough to make me sick, but it was an unpleasant feeling. I almost gave up, but I had read that this was a common side effect that often went away.

I’m glad I stuck with it, because after about two weeks, the nausea faded. But something else became very clear. My appetite had changed completely. I wasn't constantly thinking about food. When I did eat, I would feel full much faster. The desire to snack between meals or eat something sweet after dinner was just gone. It wasn’t a mental struggle of willpower; the physical urge was simply not there anymore. At the same time, I started checking my morning blood sugar levels, and for the first time in years, the numbers were consistently in a healthy range.

I’ve been on Rybelsus for six months now. The results have been significant. My last A1c test was the best it has been since I was first diagnosed. The daily finger pricks show stable numbers, not the spikes I was used to. The afternoon fatigue is gone. I can get through my entire day without feeling that overwhelming need to rest. As a side effect of the appetite change, I have lost over 30 pounds without really trying. My clothes fit better and I have more physical energy. The 30-minute wait in the morning is just part of my routine now. It's a very small inconvenience when I consider the amount of control it has given me back over my own body.

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