In His Own Words: Bret Michaels Tells Diabetes Forecast The Inside Story Of His Health Crisis

Main Category: Diabetes
Article Date: 25 Nov 2010 - 5:00 PST window.fbAsyncInit = function() { FB.init({ appId: 'aa16a4bf93f23f07eb33109d5f1134d3', status: true, cookie: true, xfbml: true, channelUrl: 'http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/scripts/facebooklike.html'}); }; (function() { var e = document.createElement('script'); e.async = true; e.src = document.location.protocol + '//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js'; document.getElementById('fb-root').appendChild(e); }()); email to a friend ? printer friendly ? opinions ?

Musician and reality-TV star Bret Michaels has been through a lot this year, from an emergency appendectomy to a life-threatening subarachnoid hemorrhage, followed by a mild stroke that led to the discovery of a hole in his heart -- all within six weeks. Michaels, who has lived with type 1 diabetes since he was six years old, took time to open up to Diabetes Forecast, the consumer magazine of the American Diabetes Association, and share the details of his experience. The December issue of Diabetes Forecast also includes an interview with Michaels's brain surgeon, Joseph Zabramski, MD.

Michaels stayed strong through the appendectomy and through the subarachnoid hemorrhage (bleeding at the base of the brain) -- even when his doctor told him that his chance of survival was about 50-50. It wasn't until the discovery of a hole in his heart that he started to feel down about his health. "Now I'm a guy who fights, fights, fights," Michaels says, "but that one took the wind out of my sails... Normally I deal with pain by laughing at a lot of it, but this one depressed me."

But Zabramski told Michaels that the heart defect could be corrected (surgery has been scheduled for January), and Michaels regained hope about his future. "When I got back from the hospital," says Michaels, "I went out on my property and took a walk and got straight with God and with myself. I said, 'Listen, I'm going to make every effort to get better, just give me a chance.' That was it. I just mentally got myself positive, and that is exactly what helped me get through it."

Several times throughout his hospital stays, Michaels found his blood glucose levels higher than he liked. "I literally wrote down, on a legal form, 'I will take my own injections,' to release the hospital from any liability," he tells Diabetes Forecast. "I just knew I needed to take responsibility for whatever was going on with my blood sugar, and I finally got it down, with enough insulin, to the 140, 150 area."

It wasn't long before Michaels appeared on Oprah and the Celebrity Apprentice, and even performed on American Idol. "I didn't decide to make a comeback," he tells Diabetes Forecast. "It was all already planned; it was just a matter of whether I could make it or not."

From his goal for A1C tests to his musical, TV, and book projects for 2011, this is Bret Michaels, in his own words, and this is the inside story of just what happened in all those hospital rooms, what he did when things hit rock bottom -- and how his diabetes, paradoxically, helped him pull through.

There are many heroes in the world of diabetes, so the December issue of Diabetes Forecast also features "Doing Well and Doing Good," more success stories about people living with diabetes who actively give back to the diabetes community. These heroes range from age 9 to 70, have either type 1 or type 2 diabetes, and are making a difference in their own way.

This issue also includes:

- A New Shine on an Old Medication: The story of metformin's past, present, and possible future
- How to Craft a Casserole: A step-by-step guide to updating this retro comfort food
- A Victory to Celebrate: An Atlanta event promotes prevention in the African American community

Diabetes Forecast has been America's leading diabetes magazine for more than 60 years, offering the latest news on diabetes research and treatment to provide information, inspiration, and support to people with diabetes.

Source:
American Diabetes Association

Please rate this article:
(Hover over the stars
then click to rate)

Note: Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional. For more information, please read our terms and conditions.

All opinions are moderated before being added.

Please note that we publish your name, but we do not publish your email address. It is only used to let you know when your message is published. We do not use it for any other purpose. Please see our privacy policy for more information.

If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.

Contact Our News Editors

For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:

View the original article here