Diabetes: Defying Reason and Logic On a Daily Basis.

Diabetes makes no sense. Seriously.

I've had some of crappiest diabetes months in the history of diabetes-dom these past three months. For the first month we were trying to figure out what was wrong with my heart and I was wearing a heart monitor and not exercising because the monitor was really hard to exercise with and I was afraid my heart was going to explode when I exercised. (Turns out it was just SVT, which is not dangerous but feels very dangerous). The second month I was adjusting to medication for said heart condition which made me SUPER tired and I did not have the energy to exercise and basically laid in a heap on the couch all day. (I ended up switching medications and it was so much better!)  And this last month I've had a combo-pack of pump-site failures, bottles of insulin that went bad on me, realizing my insulin action time is a lot longer than I thought it was, and a very tasty Easter holiday with a visit from family that resulted in a lot of fine, yet carb-heavy, dining.

And I just got my labs back and my A1C was 6.5.  SIX POINT FIVE!

What the what?!

I mean, it's great, don't get me wrong. I'll take that number any day. But seriously, after months like this, why do I even try?

Am I the only one who feels like the harder I try and the "better" a diabetic I am, the less I understand diabetes?

Sometimes you just have to shake your head and laugh.

Ode to Cereal

So, cereal may seem like a pretty ordinary thing to most people. It's a staple of the college student diet (cereal, ramen, cup o' noodles), what most people eat for breakfast, and lets be honest, what a lot of people eat for dinner.

Cereal is not an ordinary foodstuff for a diabetic.  Most of us simultaneously detest and worship cereal.  See, cereal is one of those foods that is notoriously hard to bolus for. Normal carb ratios don't often work even if you measure it precisely, or even if the cereal is low in carbs and high in fiber.  It's just plain magical. (The devil's magic, that is.) But, we also worship cereal because 1) it tastes so damn good and we don't get to eat it very often and 2) because it is THE cure for a marathon low.

The other night, I had been low for HOURS, no matter what I did. Glucose, juice, glucose, juice, repeat, over and over and over again. After hours of this, I had finally had enough. It was in the wee hours of the morning, and I'd been up dealing with this low for so long, and I was desperate to sleep. So, I did it. I walked my bottom down the stairs, poured myself a bowl of corn chex and milk, and ate it. Consequences be damned.  I went to sleep with confidence and serenity, knowing that I wouldn't go low again that night and could get a good few hours in.

 Aaaaaaand the next morning I woke up at 353 (very high).  Sigh.


CEREAAAAAAALLLLL! (shakes fist in air)






(For a good illustration of what I mean, I will direct you to this diabetes comic.  That's right, folks, we have our own humor.)

How Low Can You Go?

As I'm sitting here, my blood sugar is 59. This is probably the 3rd or 4th low I've had this day.  Multiply that by  7, and you get what I've been dealing with for the last week. Actually it's probably been the last 2 weeks. I can not freaking get my blood sugar to stop plummeting! 

This is what diabetes is like. It's fickle.  I have really done nothing different in my life. If anything, I should be higher, because I haven't really worked out in more than a month.  To combat this recent can't-keep-myself-from-going-low-phenomenon, I've lowered my basal rates, my I:C ratio, and my correction ratio--and still nothin'.  Maybe I'm suddenly cured?! (Nope. Seeing as if I over treat my lows, I spike up really high, so I think we can safely rule out a miracle). 

Usually I can handle diabetes adjustments on my own, but if this keeps up, I might actually have to call in some help in the form of an e-mail to an endo (gasp!).  But, because I'm horribly prideful, that might not happen. And, let's be honest, after 18+ years of this disease, is the endo really going to do anything that I'm not already doing? Doubtful.

 . . . And I'm off to down some more glorious, chalky, orangey glucose tabs. Seriously, I should buy stock in those things with the way I'm going through them right now.