The 'betes: November 2005

The fear

After reading Sandra's post about her son's uneasy feeling a few mornings ago, even though his blood sugar was okay, I started thinking about my own reactions to my body. After being diagnosed I listened to everything my body was telling me much much more. This has brought me to the fear.

This isn't just something that happens after a strenuous workout when I'm sweaty and shaking and the possibility of being low is quite possible. No, the fear occurs when I feel off. When I'm walking down the street and for one split moment feel dizzy. Or when I'm at work and I drank too much coffee and am jittery from caffeine. Or (my personal favorite) when I am wearing my glasses and my vision is fuzzy. Oh no! My blood sugar is so messed up right now that my vision is messed up! Oh my god I must be at 20 or 30 or something horrible! Fear! Oh, or that's just a finger print on my lens...

Anything, and I mean anything, out of the norm with my body can turn me into a fearful, irrational person. It's interesting how much has changed. Before being diagnosed I managed to ignore SO many things, especially when I was so so sick before being diagnosed. I can't fathom how I ignored that now.

The aftermath

I survived Thanksgiving. With 12 people, one turkey, two varieties of potatoes, the best stuffing in the world, fresh rolls, veggies, two pies and many bottles of wine, the day was a success.

My blood sugar before dinner was perfect, about 1.5 hours after it was 60. Oops. Not a problem though since I was ready for some pie & whipped cream. The rest of the evening it was just fine.

I am looking at a crazy busy week coming up. I just got hired at a cooking school part time. I'll be working twice a week after my day job assisting the demo chef with classes. I'm excited about getting to attend all the classes and reap the benefits (knowledge and FOOD!). And after a certain amount of time I get a 40% discount on all the kitchen supplies we sell. Too bad it's not in time for the holidays. :)

Thanksgiving

This will be my second Thanksgiving not at home with my family. The first was in Flagstaff, Arizona. My brother flew out to visit me that time and spend the four day break with me, so I had at least one member of my family with me. This year he's going with his girlfriend to her family's house in Missouri.

I decided to stay in Chicago since I would have to pay extra for a rental car (being under 25 years old) and have to drive by myself in the worst travel all year. I'm so excited about it! I'm having about 10 friends over tomorrow. I'm in charge of the wine (got it!) and rolls, my good friend Christine is cooking the turkey (at my place) and everyone else is bringing all the extras.

This will be my second Thanksgiving with the 'betes. The only way I changed my behavior last year was to not eat that second piece of pie. But normally I don't eat a huge amount of food on Thanksgiving day, I just eat small amounts all day long. Let's see how I do this year!

Happy Thanksgiving, hope you all are able to spend the holiday with your loved ones and favorite foods. :)

Amazed!

Just wanted to say that I am amazed with the new Accu-Chek multi-clix that I bought on Friday. After having an extended conversation with the pharmacist at Walgreens(No, I need the MULTI-clix lancets, they're different. Yes, that's the whole point, they have several in the barrel. NO, I can't use the regular lancets in the machine, I need THAT box! *thinking: shouldn't she know more about this than I do?*) I paid my $10, took it home and opened it up.

It's almost like a new toy for me. And I must admit that I was doubtful of those people who were adamant about how it hurts less than the regular lancets. I mean, I can turn my lancet down, so it must be the same. Wow! It's not. I barely feel it and find myself wondering if I actually broke skin. I am just amazed.

So thank you (Sandra!) for posting about your success with this little device. I love it.

Blog Poll

So I'm a diabetic novice. I've had this for about 1.5 years now and there are a lot of things I haven't had to deal with yet. Ketones for instance. This got me thinking about how I've never been really sick (since diagnosis that is) so haven't had to deal with sick day ketone management.

Here is my question: When do you check for ketones? I have the strips! I just need to know when it's important for me to check. Let me know what you do!

Side Note: I took a massage basics class on Sunday and loved it. I'm going to apply and hopefully start the 15 month program to get certified and licensed in the spring! I'm so excited. :)

The day to post

As today is the day to post, here I am!

Favorite meter: The one and only meter I've ever owned - One Touch Ultra Smart. It holds all my information and has a larger screen that shows me graphs and averages and all that good stuff. I haven't had any problems with it so far, but I've also heard great things about the FreeStyle Flash.

Favorite pump: Minimed model 512. Again, this is the only pump I've owned. It has no name, although it's been confused for a pager, cell phone and (my favorite) a can of mace. It's not failed me yet.

Favorite Online Support Group: Why, the O.C. of course!

Favorite ID jewelry: My soon to be created custom bracelets! Or in theory they're my favorite. :)

Favorite DIABETIC MOMENT: When I was diagnosed my dad flew out to Arizona immediately (my mom stayed home to work/watch my younger sister). He was in the hospital with me and with me when I was released. The first morning in my house after diagnoses I was on the couch and my dad was in the bathroom looking in the mirror. He said "gah! *sigh* I'm going bald K. It's time I face the truth, I'm going bald." I look up at him with a straight face and say "oh yeah? Well I've got diabetes." We both looked at each other and burst into laughter. I think it was the first time I laughed for real after diagnosis.

Making things pretty

I have a medical id necklace that I never wear. I know I know, it's really stupid not to wear it, especially since I travel all around Chicago on the bus and L by myself. But that thing is so damn ugly and my limited fashion sense forbids me from wearing it with many of my shirts, so that means it must be REALLY ugly.

That's why I purchased a new bracelet. Currently it has a metal bangle that's pissing me off. Whenever I turn my wrist the thing constricts my movement. I have requisitioned my brother's girlfriend to make me several interchangeable bands to go with it. She makes jewelry sometimes so was pretty excited about it. I've asked for three kinds. 1. Exercise band. 2. Casual, Everyday, Wear to work band. 3. Pretty dress-up band. She most excited about the last one, but I'm just excited to have some options. These things are just so ugly, but very very important. My parents paid for it. It's my Christmas present. I'll have to wrap it up on Christmas eve and be surprised...

This Sunday I'm dropping $110 to attend a one day class at one of the best massage therapy schools in Chicago. It's a basics class for those who are interested in learning the very basics to give massages to their friends/family, and for those who are looking into the 12 or 15 month program. I'm of the later. I'm so excited for this class. Massage therapy is something I've been interested in for many years and I've finally started looking into it seriously. Currently my two concerns are finances (as always) and health insurance. Most massage therapists work as independent contractors and pay for their own health care. Ha ha ha ha ha! I don't see that happening anytime soon. But there are some large spas that provide coverage, as well as massage therapists in hospitals and sports clinics. So there are options... At this point I'm just excited to go to the class and see if it's something I'm really interested in.