Dealing with Diabetes

My Festive Season In 7 Adjectives

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I don’t particularly believe in “rules” or “secret plans” when it comes to diabetes and the festive season. I don’t “prepare” my diabetes management for big events. For me it’s simply about good food, lots of insulin and regular blood glucose testing. After all, it’s only a few days of the year, and I feel better that I’m not missing out on anything because of diabetes. Well, except for the finger pricks, insulin injections and the part where I have to think about those things…

In 7 adjectives, my festive season looked something like this.

No Breakfast. I have breakfast almost every day, and yet I don’t remember having it once inbetween Christmas and New Year. I was eating way too much at lunch and dinner (and desert afterwards, of course!), that I simply wasn’t hungry when morning came around. Correction: breakfast consisted of iced coffee, biscuits, and even leftover desert on one or two occasions.

Lazy. According to the Health App on my iPhone (which isn’t accurate because I don’t always have my phone in my pocket), my average daily step count over the 4 day Christmas long weekend was 1,290 steps. On a normal working day, I would average between 15,000 to 20,000 steps. Lazy.

Night Owl. I can’t remember a single night during the break where I didn’t go to bed after midnight, and wake up after 9am. Which is a stark contrast to my very regimented 10pm bedtime and 5.50am morning alarm (thanks, work!).

Single Digits. According to my meter, my average blood glucose level over the 108 finger pricks in the past fortnight is 9.7. Single digits during Christmas – I’ll take that as a win!

Non-Existent Hypos. I can’t be bothered scrolling through my meter for concrete evidence, but hypos were almost non-existent during the break. This was, of course, because my blood sugar levels were running higher than normal thanks to festive activity! Correction: there was one nasty night of hypos at the movies, story coming soon.

More Insulin. That’s a given, considering what I’ve just described. I’m also a firm believer in upping my Lantus dose when I’m eating more than normal. My Lantus dose hovered between 14-18 units during the break. When I’m active and eating well, it normally sits at around 11 units. Considering I’ve had to use more than 20 units during previous festive seasons, I’ll take this as another win!

Food. And lots of it. From Christmas Day, New Years Day, and various family gatherings. There was prawn skewers, stuffed chicken thighs wrapped in prosciutto, cannelloni, mediterranean baked snapper, pasta bake, roasted veggies, cannoli, biscotti, cheesecake, trifle, panettone, glazed pudding and Baileys Irish Cream. And chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate.

There was also time spent at the beach, trips to the shops, walks with our adopted dog who was staying with us, a night at the movies and multiple episodes of Downton Abbey and Mr Bean.

 

In a nutshell, it was a break.

I hope you had a great festive season.

Dragging Diabetes Through the Christmas Season

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It’s definitely starting to feel like the end of the year. And I, for one, am feeling plain exhausted. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just that end of the year, over-it-all exhaustion.

I’ve had a lot of late nights recently. I’ve often sat down in front of the laptop with the intention of surfing the web for Christmas gift ideas. That’s often ended with me at the eBay checkout at midnight, after hours deliberating over goodies for myself. Last week it was a new phone case, a longer iPhone charging cable and some headphones with an extension cord. I was also hunting down an iPad, a new Medic Alert bracelet and a few diabetes books.

Work is beginning to feel plain monotonous. I don’t feel like I’m a human being during the mornings as I’m getting myself up and ready. I can no longer be bothered bringing my lunch from home. I feel about half as motivated than normal during the day. I stubbornly told myself that I’d work through it and save up my annual leave a few weeks ago. Now I feel like I am well and truly in need of a break.

I have zero motivation towards managing my diabetes well at the moment. There are get togethers and festive meals planned over the next couple of days. Boxes of chocolate, shortbread, Pannetone and candy canes are beginning to pile up at home. And there’ll be plenty of leftover food and deserts in the fridge to indulge in during the aftermath. I’m giving insulin injections my best guess, and closely monitoring my blood sugar levels about twice as much than normal.

Yet amidst all of this, I still somehow look forward to this time of the year. Going to the Christmas tree farm and cutting down our third real, live Christmas tree.

Seeing the suburbs light up in colourful Christmas lights in the middle of the Australian summer.

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Making the most of the sunshine and cool Summer weather before the heat sets in for the rest of the season. And yes, I can even spend Christmas at the beach!

Seeing family (some of them, at least!). Good food. Collapsing on the couch feeling stuffed and happy. Post Christmas bargain hunting (although I think I’ve already started on this one!)

Managing diabetes is hard work. I feel it more than anything at this time of the year, when everyone and everything else is taking time out to unwind at the end of the year. I would love to have the option for diabetes to shut up shop at this time of the year.

While that’s not a possibility for me, I am still proud to be able to enjoy this time of year. I can confidently say that diabetes hasn’t made Christmas too different since I was diagnosed. And in my eyes, that makes all the hard work and extra attention well worth the effort.

Merry Christmas. Wishing you a happy, and safe festive season.

– Frank

Three Hypos in One Night

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It was a cool, breezy Summer evening. That perfect kind of early Summer weather that never seems to last long enough.

We’d had a barbecue lunch that day. Steak, sausages, eggs, onion, salad and cherries. The kind of lunch that left me feeling like it was Christmas Day – stuffed, sleepy and happy.

I wasn’t particularly hungry by dinner time. I wanted to make sure that my blood sugar levels had stabilised before bedtime after that barbecue, and I didn’t want to spoil my appetite for breakfast the next morning. I had some leftover salad and cherries, and gave myself a small correction dose.

14 units of Lantus is what had been keeping me stable those past few nights. 14 units. I figured with that big barbecue lunch, 14 units would do the trick once again.

I sat down outside with my laptop after dinner, catching up on some of my dBlog reading. I started browsing for Christmas gift ideas a little later on, but somehow ended up comparing prices of items on my own Christmas want list.

My blood sugar levels were looking good during the course of that night, clocking in at 7.1 and 6.2. I had the best of intentions to settle in for an early night before the start of another working week. Little did I know, however, that my diabetes had other intentions.

I was 3.8 at 9.18pm. I figured that the majority of my rapid acting insulin had worn off. I thought 3 marshmallows would do the trick, but I gave 4 just to be safe. 20g of carbs, because I was about to go to sleep. I laid in bed, surfing on my phone for a while longer, until it was nearing 10pm. I was a perfect 7.6, but I was convinced that I’d given myself too much for that hypo. I set the alarm for midnight, ready to catch a rebound high in it’s tracks.

That was hypo number one.

I woke up a while later, and my pyjama pants were sticking to the sweat on my thighs. I knew that I didn’t need to test, but I needed to know how low I was. 3.2. I reached for the bag of Marshmallows beside my bed, carefully counting them out in my hand so my hypo induced brain wouldn’t forget how many I’d eaten. One, two, three, four, five. I shoved the 25g of carbs into my mouth and rested my head back on the pillow, feeling instant relief.

I finally noticed that it was 11.53pm, and switched off the midnight alarm on my phone. By this point, I figured that I’d given myself more Lantus than I needed. By this point, I knew that there wouldn’t be any rebound highs to catch that night. By this point, I realised that these hypos were a consequence of skipping dinner. I switched out the light, and went to sleep.

That was hypo number two.

By 4.30am, I was startled awake by my favourite sound in the world. I felt shaky once again. I wasn’t sure if it was another hypo, or if I didn’t have enough blankets on the bed. My meter confirmed that it was the former, clocking in at a very hypo 3.4.

I shuffled into the kitchen, my mouth tasting of dry sugar, and prepared myself the most refreshing thing I could think of. A bowl of Weet Bix, a sliced banana and lots of cold milk.

As I sat there relishing the cold, refreshing milk on my dry throat, I thought about what a great start to a Monday morning it had been.

That was hypo number three.

“How Do You Prepare For A Big Event Like This?”

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“So Frank, how would you prepare for a big event like this?” My aunty asked me from across the table.

You might not necessarily class a Sunday afternoon family function as a “big event.” However if you’re from an Italian (or European) family, or if you’ve ever been to one of their functions, you might have some idea as to the context of this comment.

Antipasto plates were first brought out that day, piled high with bruschetta, sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, arancini, priochutto, buffalo cheese, provolone cheese and bread. Followed by entrees of creamy ravioli filled with minced pork. For mains we had the choice of sirloin steak with roast potatoes, or grilled snapper. Then the trays of Dolce (sweets) were brought out, filled with biscotti, biscotti and more biscotti. That was followed by cake. Two cakes, actually, because we were celebrating a Christening and a birthday. Then there was Champagne for the toast, which I politely turned down, only to have another waiter come over and place a glass in front of me. This is pretty much typical of anything you refuse at a family function. And if you make a big fuss about it, then you’re obviously not feeling well. Finally, coffees were served (traditional Italian espresso, of course).

By now you probably think we’re crazy people.

And you’re probably expecting some strategic, well thought out answer to dealing with events like these.

I’m (reasonably) sensible when I’m at home. I eat breakfast every morning. I bring my lunch from home most days of the week.  I have home cooked meals at dinner time. I rarely drink alcohol, much to the disbelief of every healthcare professional who asks. I’ve never smoked or done drugs, either, for the record. Burgen bread, Weet Bix, multigrain crackers, fruit, water, nuts, eggs and muesli bars low in sugar form some of the daily staples in my diet. There’s also generous helpings of coffee, chocolate and the occasional cake, cannoli or other treat that tempts me throughout the day. I test my blood sugar levels ALL the time, and always remember to give my insulin accordingly. All in all, I’d say I’m pretty sensible.

So, when it comes to occasions like these, I honestly just enjoy myself. I don’t live by rules or restrictions. I’ll dial up a generous dose of insulin to account for what I eat. I’ll keep a close eye on my blood sugar levels in the hours afterwards. Normally I’ll need another shot a few hours later to account for the delayed effect of the fatty foods. And I normally increase my next long acting Lantus dose by 20 to 30%, because I find that it helps keep my levels more regulated against the increased carbs that I’ve eaten.

As I sat there explaining this to my Aunty, I could see the look of pity for me in her face. Unintentional, I’m sure, but a look of pity that I’ve seen all too often when talking about diabetes with others.

But I certainly didn’t pity myself that day.

The only thing that I did pity that day, was my aunt’s pity for me. Pity that was completely unnecessary.

Because I was still able to have a great time that day. I was still able to enjoy the good food. And I was able to successfully navigate my own diabetes through this occasion.

And I did it again, last week, when I enjoyed this delicious birthday cake that I never thought my sister would be able to pull off (not my birthday, FYI).

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And so did Grumps on the weekend. Seriously, love this quote.

Bring on Christmas.

Wednesday Hypo

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We were standing around the table in the warehouse, slicing open boxes as we do every morning at work. I was left in stitches after a hilarous moment that you had to be there to find funny. I laughed for several minutes, my sides in stitches and my eyes watering with tears of laughter. I haven’t had such a good laugh in a long time, and it felt so good.

As the laughter subsided, I focussed my attention back towards slicing open those boxes. I yawned loudly, several times, as I tried to get on with the task at hand. “Early night for you!” One of my colleagues exclaimed. I was all of a sudden devoid of energy, and couldn’t be bothered in the slightest to get on with the task at hand. I stopped and leant on the table. I so badly wanted to sit down and rest. And maybe not get up again. I told the guys around me that I was exhausted from laughing so hard, but I knew that couldn’t be further from the truth.

I had no doubt in my mind that I was hypo. I’ve had hundreds of typical hypos in my lifetime, but none are as unique as the ones that happen while I’m at work. And as I stood there, yawning, I pondered three possible options in my mind.

Option one: I was only half an hour away from my mid morning coffee and banana. My hypo can hold out for another half an hour, easily, I told myself. I bet I’m not even that low.

Option two: I could stop and have my morning tea break now, albeit earlier than usual. But then the rest of the morning will drag, I reminded myself. By then, I’ll really be yawning. 

Option three: I could duck out and grab a muesli bar from my locker. I hate eating in front of others, I thought to myself. Plus, I’ll probably spoil my appetite and won’t be able to enjoy the coffee break that I crave each morning.

I stubbornly settled on option one. I continued slicing open those boxes, lazily. I continued to yawn, over and over. My legs felt like jelly, ready to give up on me at any minute now. Every passing minute felt like an ordeal, and I could not believe that I still had the better part of half an hour to go.

I finally gave up, with my urge to satisfy that hypo overpowering my will to stay put. I ducked out of my work area, and quickly crammed a muesli bar into my mouth. Opting for that muesli bar was like having that piece of cake I’d been craving all day. All of a sudden, I was back to my normal self. I had the energy to stand up straight, rip open boxes, and get on with the job.

Shortly after, I was called upon to pull down some heavy items from up above. As I was standing there on the ladder, balancing an akwardly heavy box in my arms, I didn’t want to imagine what would have happened had I not treated that hypo.

Remember the ‘Humans of Diabetes’ blog post that I wrote for a company called AkibaH? Well, these guys are launching Glucase, a Smartphone case that is a complete Glucose Meter. There’s a nice visual of the product here, as well as an option to fund their campaign if you are interested.