Diabetes Blog Week

A day in my life with Diabetes

05/10/2010 /

D-Blog Week Day 1: A day in my life with Diabetes

I’ve heard it said time and time again that there’s really no such thing as a “typical day” for diabetics; no two days are ever the same.  And in the short year and a half that I’ve lived with the diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes, I found that sentiment to be quite true.

Some days, I feel great, my numbers are great, everything is just great. And the next day, well, not so much.  Ah hell, who am I kidding, the next day? Some days I don’t make it hour to hour, or even minute to minute without things going crazy.  I know I can speak for the majority of my diabetic friends, when I say that the only constant in our lives is uncertainly.  We never know what’s coming next.  And for me, as a diabetic with congestive heart failure, and other chronic medical conditions, that feeling is intensified exponentially.

My work schedule makes day to day management of my diabetes harder, simply because I work nights.  I can guarantee that I’d win the vote for who has the worst schedule. I work 6pm to 3am Sunday and Monday, and 3pm to 12am Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  Naturally, my sleeping and eating schedules are FUBAR! Which doesn’t help my blood glucose (BG) numbers are all.  I must be doing something right, though, considering my last A1c was a 6.0.

For all of the uncertainty, though, I will say that there are some things that do happen every day.  The most important of those things being that I wake up, get out of bed, and try to make the best of it.  I test my blood sugar a minimum of 3 times a day, I take at least 12 medications every day to stay alive, and there’s rarely a day that goes by that I don’t talk to someone in the diabetic online community (DOC).  Those AWEsome folks make living with diabetes a lot easier.

I’m concluding this post with a glimpse of the here and now; my blood sugar is 97, it’s time to eat. Ciao!

Living with a Confusing Pancreas and a Broken Heart at age 36 #Diabetes #LADA #CongestiveHeartFailure. #MakeDiabetesVisible Creator, #ALittleHeartCanDoBigThings Creator, Advocate, Blogger, Nature Photographer.

8 Comments

  • Fat Cat Anna

    05/10/2010 at 7:23 pm

    I’ve just learned another word – DOC (diabetic online community). I’m so out of all the lingo in these areas – but thru’ you Mike – my Yoda Dude – I shall learn (tho’ remember – I’m older – sponge brain burps sometimes without warning).
    I always wondered as an insulin dependent diabetic how shift work would work for me. One of the reasons I didn’t go into nursing, but sometimes I kick myself that I didn’t pursue it (didn’t help that I don’t speak fluent french – without that language I can’t work – sigh). Next life, I come back with a pancreas AND a sponge brain that can absorb a 100 languages and be fluent in them all.
    Great blood sugar and A1C. Thanks for reminding me – time to test my BG (blood glucose) – had pasta and hot Italian sausages – only about 1/2 a cup of pasta – but still – you know what that does to us diabetics.
    Over and out!

  • Karen

    05/10/2010 at 9:02 pm

    Yeah, it was pretty silly of me to use the words “typical day” and “diabetes” in the same post topic!! when does any person with diabetes have a typical day!! Extra points for pointing out how FUBAR it all gets!! 🙂

  • Rachel

    05/10/2010 at 10:29 pm

    The A1C is great considering that work schedule of yours. I’m sure your body has adjusted nicely to it, though, and that’s your “typical”.

  • Brenda W.

    05/11/2010 at 12:20 am

    You are definitely a trooper for working nights. I don’t think I would make it, even though I stay up late anyway. As soon as I would HAVE to stay up, I wouldn’t be able to. Thanks for sharing Mike, and GREAT JOB on the A1C, I haven’t seen that number since just after I was diagnosed. You are doing a great job 🙂