Month: October 2015

Night Time Blood Glucose Monitoring Mishaps

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It was 10pm on Tuesday night, and I was getting ready to go to bed. We had Pasta for dinner, a family favourite in our house. Pasta usually produces really good blood sugar levels by bedtime. However, being a low glycemic index food, Pasta also tends to have somewhat of a delayed effect on my glucose levels. Once I fall asleep and the majority of my rapid acting insulin wears off, my blood sugar levels tend to creep up. And I’ll wake up the next morning with something crazy like 15.

I was a perfect 7.3 at bedtime that night, but I wasn’t confident that my blood sugar levels would settle there. So I decided to set the alarm on my phone for 12.50am, so that I could test and correct later on. I turned out the light, and went to sleep.

The next thing I knew, I began to stir as my Dad came and opened the door to my room. I could see light streaming in from behind the closed vertical blinds, and the clock on the side of my bed read 6.38am. I was convinced it was Saturday. I was still lying in bed at 6.38 in the morning because it was Saturday. Until Dad asked me if I was going to work that morning. And I realised that it was, in fact, Wednesday.

What the hell had happened? My mind was foggy, and for the life of me I couldn’t even remember hearing the alarm go off. Which was unusual. I hate my alarm. It’s one of those awful buzzer-like sounds that startles me awake in the morning. It’s so startling on a sleepy brain that I usually scramble to silence it each morning. But I also love it for the fact that it has never failed me. Until now.

I didn’t even hear that alarm go off at 12.50am. Well, at least I couldn’t remember hearing that alarm go off at 12.50am. As I tried to put the pieces together, the only reasonable explanation that I could come up with was that I had hit snooze at 12.50am. And in doing so, I hadn’t been able to re-set the alarm for the morning.

I angrily got up out of bed to test my blood sugar. I knew it would be high, but I was hoping for a miracle. The last thing I wanted to deal with that morning was a high blood sugar and the shitty mood that would inevitably go with it. But, as expected, diabetes gave me a lovely 15.6.

I furiously threw the covers on top of the bed and got dressed. I began swearing, and throwing every curse word I could think of at diabetes. I jabbed in 8 units of insulin. A couple of units to cover my usual morning requirements, and a couple to combat that stubborn 15 that I’d been sitting at for the past 8 hours.

I was so furious with myself that I decided I would go straight to work. I didn’t deserve breakfast with such a high blood sugar level. I didn’t deserve that coffee that I so enjoy relishing in the morning either. And the last thing I wanted was to go into work later and let diabetes take my afternoon away from me.

I clocked on at work at 6.58am, just in the nick of time.

And I added a second alarm to my iPhone, to ensure that this would never happen again.

How Can We Change Attitudes to Glucose Monitoring With Limited Subsidies?

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I recently completed the yourSAY (Self-management And You) study, where I was invited to give my insights into diabetes self management and glucose monitoring behaviour here in Australia. As I was answering the questions, it became evident to me that the survey was trying to hone in on people’s attitudes and behaviour towards blood glucose monitoring.

One of the survey questions asked me to identify when I would check my blood glucose levels. Would I check when I wake up? Before meals? 2 hours after meals? Before bed? When I feel unwell? When I feel my blood glucose might be high or low? Before I drive a motor vehicle? Before I exercise? During the night? Or “just to check?” Naturally, I ticked all of the boxes.

If you’re a long time reader of this blog, you’ll know how strongly I feel about blood glucose monitoring. How it helps me to feel grounded and in control over my diabetes. How it gives me a sense of certainty, and peace of mind over this rollercoaster of a disease. And how lost I would feel about it. I have never, ever needed any motivation to check my blood glucose levels in the years that I have been living with diabetes. But as I was completing this survey, it became apparent to me that many people might not be as motivated to do so (no judgement either way).

I might be wrong, but it seemed to me that this survey might have an end view of encouraging people with diabetes to check their blood glucose levels more often. And when I think of this issue, one thing comes to mind. 

How am I supposed to check my blood sugar levels that often when our test strip subsidies here in Australia are so limited? How am I supposed to check my blood sugar levels when I get behind the wheel, when I exercise, when I feel unwell, before a meal, after a meal, when I feel low, when I feel high, when I’m unsure and during the night – when our National Diabetes Services Scheme only subsidises 5 blood glucose tests a day? How am I supposed to check my blood sugar levels when I am being told that I consume too many diabetes supplies? (You can read more about this in the column I wrote for Insulin Nation in July).

If this is indeed the end game that our diabetes regulatory bodies are seeking, then surely the sensible approach would be to re-evaluate our healthcare policies.

I must say that completing the yourSAY survey was rather stimulating. It certainly made me reflect on my diabetes management strategies here in Australia, and I’ll be sharing some more of my thoughts here in the days to come.

If you are a person with diabetes living in Australia, you can complete the yourSAY survey by visiting yoursay.org.au.

Dealing With Diabetes Blogging Burnout

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Two weeks ago, I wrote my 100th post here on Type 1 Writes. It still felt so unreal to me. That I had accomplished something I had put off for so long, and kept at it. Something that had seemed so overwhelming and so complex was actually just as simple as writing from the heart. Something that I had only ever imagined in my wildest dreams was now a reality. I felt so proud and accomplished, but at the same time I couldn’t help but feel that it was the right time to succumb to my growing exhaustion.

I guess in the past month, I’ve been pushing myself a little too hard. In these past few weeks, my brain has been exploding with ideas to write about. From things that happened during the day, to some super dooper #OzDOC chat topics, to other good reading within the Diabetes Online Community. There seemed to be no shortage of ideas, and I was pushing myself to get these ideas into blog posts. I was churning out more writing than normal, and it got to the point where blogging stopped being fun.

To top it all off, the peak of my burnout just happened to be on the #DayOfDiabetes that I was so looking forward to participating in. The #DayOfDiabetes where the Diabetes Online Community would partake in a day of live tweeting their condition. It pained me to Tweet this, but I had absolutely no energy or motivation to take part in #DayOfDiabetes (or to even read your Tweets like I promised).

So, how does one deal with, and hopefully overcome, blogging burnout?

I stopped.

I logged out of Twitter, I logged out of WordPress and I put my foot on the brakes.

I took some time to do some of the other things that I enjoy. Like watching the new season of Survivor Second Chance that I’ve been looking forward to ever since it was announced. Finally finishing my 877 page book that I’ve been reading for several weeks. And spending some time in the sunshine and fresh air.

I reminded myself of why I write. Because it helps, and motivates me. I reminded myself of why I love being a part of the Diabetes Online Community. Because you inspire me, and help me feel less alone. And I reminded myself of all of the good things that have come from this experience.

Two days later I finally felt inspired to write again, thanks to a compelling #OzDOC chat topic that week. I brought my laptop outside and wrote for a while in the sunshine, before switching off again for much of the weekend.

And going forward, that’s what I intend to do. To keep writing when I’m inspired. To keep writing from the heart. And to keep having fun. I won’t push myself to write when I don’t feel like it, and I won’t write more than my usual four posts a week for the time being.

Also for fun, I’m taking on the #DOCtober photo challenge this month thanks to Kerri at Six Until Me. I will do my best to post a diabetes related photo each day with the hashtag #DOCtober – follow me on Instagram to keep up!

https://instagram.com/p/8VXj1fg_QVEDvRc9IE8v0unsIyvPIjc58eFfc0/

 

I Can…Still Hurt Myself At Work Like Anyone Else

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At the moment it seems like every piece of equipment at work is causing problems. From the sewerage pipes that have been spewing litter into our loading area, to the broken air conditioning, to the noisy speakers that the boss refuses to turn down, to the broken dock leveller and to the cardboard press that is always getting blocked up. There is also a lovely swarm of bees that have made a springtime return to their familiar little hidey hole just outside of our roller door where we accept deliveries.

And the swear words that come out of my mouth during the day seem to be multiplying because of all these problems.

It was lunchtime on Thursday. It had been a crazy busy morning. We had the roller door pulled about one third of the way down in order to keep those bees out of our warehouse. I had just finished accepting a delivery, and our dock ramp was elevated. I walked up onto the elevated dock ramp, so that my weight would bring it back down to ground level. And in doing so, I smacked my head hard onto the roller door that was pulled one third of the way down.

I was pissed off. I swore. If my Mum was there, she would have told me off for not looking at what I was doing. I walked over and sat down for a few moments to rest, until one of my work Mums noticed that I had a small gash on my head and was bleeding. It was nothing serious. The cut was not very deep, and a once over with some alcohol wipes did the trick. Except for all of those “oh, what did you do to yourself there?” questions that followed for the rest of the day.

I always pride myself in the fact that diabetes doesn’t affect my job. Diabetes hasn’t stopped me from doing the things that I want to do. And even though I hurt myself that day, it was a nice reminder that I am still able to hurt myself like anyone else. In a weird way, that smack on the head made me feel normal. Diabetes hasn’t stopped me from doing the same job that my colleagues without diabetes do each day. Diabetes hasn’t confined me to a job of restricted duties and being over-precautious. And I might even daresay that I get more work done that some of the other people there who don’t have diabetes. Just saying.