Do you ever wonder if someone feels like you do about diabetes? I met a really great guy who also has type 1 and he wondered if anyone else knew what it felt like to have to do the math in your head, every time you ate food. Do other people have to calculate the carbs and then how much insulin to take, before they even consider if it’s even worth eating? He was sure everyone else just chowed down and enjoyed themselves.
The grass is always greener. Anyone who’s ever counted points in any nutrition program has had to stop and calculate before indulging. Diabetes, isn’t hard for a day or even a week, it’s the day in and day out, that can make you crazy.
When I was first diagnosed, I actually carried around a calculator to help me do all the math and figure out how much insulin I needed to take, based on the carbohydrates I was about to eat. I was such a fanatic, I even carried around a postage scale, so I could weigh my protein, to eat the exact amount I was supposed too. One man at a table across from me in a restaurant asked if I was going to mail my meat? HA!!! Now my insulin pump calculates my dosage for me when I enter how many carbs I’m eating. I know many a Weight Watcher has counted points. Hey, I was pretty impressed he COULD calculate everything in his head! Before the pump and cool cell phones, I used to also carry around a calculator. I know, that proves I’m old. Let’s go with I’m wise instead.
With diabetes, it’s EVERYTHING you deal with that can get to you. In fact, as soon as my pal posed the question, “I wonder if anyone else knows what it feels like to...” It didn’t take me long to remember just the day before, I declared indignantly to my very sweet husband, “You’ll never know what it feels like to hate these (glucose) tablets but eat them anyway, so you know exactly how much your sugar will go up.” Barf, just the thought of those grainy sweet tablets disintegrating in my mouth makes me cringe. I use them to avoid overeating after low blood sugar and then going way too high and being back on that dreaded roller coaster of first your sugar is too low, then too high and back again. No thanks!
With diabetes it’s never hard to find a crowd. At least my friend ASKED if anyone else has to do what he does. I was SURE I was the only one! I know it sounds dramatic but I was really wallowing. Of course, all I really needed to do was think about all the millions of people who have type 1 or type 2 on insulin, they get it.
We all struggle to keep doing what works and stop doing what we keep proving doesn’t. Oy vey, human beings are a riot. And we are the same. We all have crap we deal with, whether it’s diabetes or counting carbs to try and please God loose weight, or any of a ba-zillion things we try to do repeatedly to get and stay healthy.
I love the phrase, support is more than a bra. It’s true. Read more blogs and listen to It’s a Sweet Life NOW podcast to hear me rant, sing and joke about living with diabetes. Anytime you feel Little Ms or Mr Cranky coming on, play an episode. Together, you got this!!
What do you wonder about? What do you ponder about diabetes that you want to know if anyone else feels like you do? Do tell... I bet there are millions of people right there with you. Share, we get it and then we can all connect.