In all of that ranting, I forgot to outline my plans for world domination. These include:
1. Apply to the Guinness Book of World Records to develop the world's longest awareness ribbon.
2. Ask people across the country to knit metre-long scarves
3. Make these into a ribbon
4. Sell the scarves to raise money for the Canadian Diabetes Association
And all this by November, diabetes month. Yikes!
A little odd? Perhaps. Fun? Hopefully!
My goal: 2200 scarves. Enough to beat the old record, and enough to have 1 mm of scarf for every person with diabetes in Canada.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
A delightful rant
One of my current irritations (well, long standing irritations) is when people say, "Oh, you have diabetes, but you manage it so well. You'll be fine. I mean, I know that some diabetics have problems. In fact, one of my aunt's nephew's cousins had Type 1 diabetes and he drank/smoked/didn't exercise/ate potato chips and he went blind/had kidney failure/had his leg amputed/died. But that won't happen to you."
Yeah, right. I eat a good diet. My doctor tells me that I eat an unnaturally good diet, actually. And I am becoming heavily addicted to running. But you know what? The last 2 weeks my blood sugar has been lousy. Super lousy. All because of this rotten cottonwood.
Allergies make my blood sugar go up. I get up in the morning feeling bad because my blood sugar was high all night. I struggle all day to keep it down, taking nutty amounts of insulin and going for walks when required. I eat less. I eat low carb. Gah! I do it all, and I still get rotten results.
After a couple of weeks of this, last night my pump site failed (stopped working) and my blood sugar rose to a delightful 14. Normal is 4-6. 14 feels foggy, icky, and as if I need to go for a long wade and drink in a desert oasis. Blech. So I was up a lot of the night.
And that's why this "But you manage it so well" is so annoying. I do manage it quite well. But life is rough, and random events happen that send my blood sugar off on an adventure of its own. And I am dragged along with it, growling irritably.
Yeah, right. I eat a good diet. My doctor tells me that I eat an unnaturally good diet, actually. And I am becoming heavily addicted to running. But you know what? The last 2 weeks my blood sugar has been lousy. Super lousy. All because of this rotten cottonwood.
Allergies make my blood sugar go up. I get up in the morning feeling bad because my blood sugar was high all night. I struggle all day to keep it down, taking nutty amounts of insulin and going for walks when required. I eat less. I eat low carb. Gah! I do it all, and I still get rotten results.
After a couple of weeks of this, last night my pump site failed (stopped working) and my blood sugar rose to a delightful 14. Normal is 4-6. 14 feels foggy, icky, and as if I need to go for a long wade and drink in a desert oasis. Blech. So I was up a lot of the night.
And that's why this "But you manage it so well" is so annoying. I do manage it quite well. But life is rough, and random events happen that send my blood sugar off on an adventure of its own. And I am dragged along with it, growling irritably.
Monday, May 21, 2007
I've been running for 2 weeks now, three times a week. I run after work - on the way home, I head up a local trail. Last time, I got right to the end. I am rather enjoying it, in an "ouch" kind of way. Soon, I will start to wean myself off of the "run 2 minutes, walk 2 minutes" thing, into the "run 2 minutes, walk 1 minute." Aieeeee!
Why am I doing this? What are my evil plans for world domination?
Well, none of the latter, actually.
I hate the thought of any kid growing up with this disease. Of course, 100 years ago none of us would have been here. Not for long. Insulin was invented in 1922. Without that, on a nourishing lettuce and broth diet...well, I wouldn't be here for long. So I am happy that I am here, but this disease is a royal pain, and more.
I get told all the time that "all you need to do is keep your diabetes in control, and you'll be fine." Right. Sure. Tell that to my body. My body with all of its infinite little hormonal variations due to stress, illness, and what have you. My body that reacts to exercise so intensely. Diabetes management is an art, and like any art, it is messy. Fine-tuning is possible, but perfection, impossible. And to fine-tune, I need to listen to my body for signs. Every day, all day, without respite. Or else there are consequences, both long-term and short-term.
A man who was an important advocate for diabetes research in Canada died last week. He was in his 50s, and he slipped into a coma from a night time low. This is one of my greatest fears - it is difficult to realize that your blood sugar is going low when you're asleep. I fear that I will not wake up.
I'm also finding that running is a challenge. It's a good way to eat raisins, though, I've got to say. I love raisins and haven't eaten them since my diagnosis 2 years ago. When I run after work, I still have enough lunch time insulin in my system to bring me low really quickly, if I don't eat. That's where the raisins come in. I think that I am going to be the first person to GAIN weight jogging.
So, where was I - world domination? Ah, tune in next time for an outline of my plan to take over the Guinness Book of World Records. Clue: it involves knitting.
Why am I doing this? What are my evil plans for world domination?
Well, none of the latter, actually.
I hate the thought of any kid growing up with this disease. Of course, 100 years ago none of us would have been here. Not for long. Insulin was invented in 1922. Without that, on a nourishing lettuce and broth diet...well, I wouldn't be here for long. So I am happy that I am here, but this disease is a royal pain, and more.
I get told all the time that "all you need to do is keep your diabetes in control, and you'll be fine." Right. Sure. Tell that to my body. My body with all of its infinite little hormonal variations due to stress, illness, and what have you. My body that reacts to exercise so intensely. Diabetes management is an art, and like any art, it is messy. Fine-tuning is possible, but perfection, impossible. And to fine-tune, I need to listen to my body for signs. Every day, all day, without respite. Or else there are consequences, both long-term and short-term.
A man who was an important advocate for diabetes research in Canada died last week. He was in his 50s, and he slipped into a coma from a night time low. This is one of my greatest fears - it is difficult to realize that your blood sugar is going low when you're asleep. I fear that I will not wake up.
I'm also finding that running is a challenge. It's a good way to eat raisins, though, I've got to say. I love raisins and haven't eaten them since my diagnosis 2 years ago. When I run after work, I still have enough lunch time insulin in my system to bring me low really quickly, if I don't eat. That's where the raisins come in. I think that I am going to be the first person to GAIN weight jogging.
So, where was I - world domination? Ah, tune in next time for an outline of my plan to take over the Guinness Book of World Records. Clue: it involves knitting.
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