FW*Telegram..DD's health problems

[OldTimer]

Football not only tough battle for UNT coachBy TROY PHILLIPS

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

SPECIAL TO THE STAR-TELEGRAM/MICHAEL FUENTES

Darrell Dickey: "In life and in my profession, I'm trying to make sure everything is covered."

More photosDENTON -- University of North Texas football coach Darrell Dickey could barely get from his car to the bedroom Jan. 29 after returning from his last trip of recruiting season.

For more than a year, Dickey's body had been telling him something. Now, he could hear it screaming in the form of pain shooting up and down one side of his body.

"I could tell he was not right," said Dickey's wife, Tory, who remembers the coach collapsing on their bed minutes after arriving. "I told him I really thought we needed to get him to the hospital. When he agreed with me, that's when I got scared."

It wasn't a heart attack, as the Dickeys had feared, but a malfunctioning gall bladder. Days later, doctors removed the organ, and Dickey felt better within weeks.

By late spring, Dickey again didn't feel well. He had chronic dehydration, tingling in his feet, rapid weight loss despite a ravenous appetite and blurred vision.

More tests followed, and on June 19 Dickey was told he had Type 2 diabetes, the treatment for which includes medication, diet, plenty of exercise and a significant change in lifestyle.

That last part has a way of scaring football coaches. Like many, Dickey was stressed, ate high-calorie, high-fat foods, exercised sporadically, smoked, drank and consumed caffeinated drinks -- lots of them.

"Looking back, I was not feeling good, pretty much the whole year," Dickey said of a year in which UNT slid to a 2-9 record after four Sun Belt Conference titles. "Run down, almost kind of lethargic."

Dickey's weight loss, from 215 pounds to a sickly looking 172, began before his gall bladder was removed. He's now at a healthy 190 pounds (he played at 185 at Kansas State) and keeps weight off with treadmill sessions and a regular meal plan that regulates his blood sugar.

His medicine regimen is in its early stages. Doctors say that if Dickey attacks the disease, he could avoid insulin injections. Type 1 diabetics are insulin-dependent. Dickey tests his blood sugar four times daily.

Dickey, 46, no longer smokes and hasn't consumed alcohol since the diagnosis. His caffeine consumption mostly entails morning coffee.

"I've steered clear [of alcohol], but I'm just kind of on hold right now," he said. "I want to find out what my final medicine plan is. I'm charting everything I eat right now."

Dickey believes that the painstaking attention to detail required of diabetics for a long life will make him a better coach.

"In life and in my profession, I'm trying to make sure everything is covered," he said.

"And, that I do my job to make sure [my players] have the best chance possible to be successful for 12 games."

Dickey said he doesn't remember cutting any corners last season on bad days. He first felt sick during the Mean Green's trip to the New Orleans Bowl in December 2004. Doctors theorized it was then that his gall bladder began acting up and affecting his pancreas, which produces insulin.

"You never know if it's stress or if something's actually wrong with your body," UNT offensive coordinator Ramon Flanigan said.

"That kind of masked [Dickey's condition] from all of us. After 2-9, we all felt sick."

Dickey misses his chicken-fried steak and dessert binges. His assistants try not to tempt him, and Dickey tries to set a good example.

"I need to lose a few pounds, so I hope it rubs off a little bit," assistant head coach Kenny Evans said.

About diabetes I am a type II diabetic, taking 5 insulin shots daily plus testing blood sugar twice daily, so I understand some of his problems. Oldtimer

Diabetes causes the body to fail to produce insulin (Type 1) or improperly use insulin (Type 2), which breaks down sugar, starches and other food. Insulin allows glucose to fuel the body's cells. The cause of diabetes is unknown, although genetics and environmental factors such as obesity and lack of exercise seem to play roles.

Approximately 20.8 million Americans, or 7 percent of the population, have diabetes. An estimated 14.6 million people have been diagnosed with the disease, leaving an estimated 6.2 million unaware that they have diabetes.

It's estimated that 5 to 10 percent of those diagnosed are Type 1 diabetics, but most are Type 2. Type 1 diabetics must receive daily doses of insulin. Type 2 diabetics are insulin-deficient but still produce the hormone in small levels. Their bodies often act as if resistant to insulin, but patients can be treated with medication, diet and exercise.

Source: American Diabetes Association