Sicko

I had been looking forward to the Thanksgiving weekend for a while.  Two days off work plus the weekend!?  Awesome.  A well-deserved break, in my eyes.

I have been working really hard and I was ready.  Plans were made.  Family dinners, hunting with the hubby, wistful dreams of Black Friday shopping, Christmas decorating, and special holiday eats.  You know, general "happy-holiday"ness.

I left work (at which I have been experiencing allergies for way more than a few weeks) with the phrase “I’m just looking forward to not sneezing all weekend”.  Famous. last. words.

Enter: plague.  Or at least a hefty man-cold.  Suddenly everything went from great plans to great nap.

Black Friday shopping? Nope, sleep.

Hunting? Nah, sleep.

Christmas Decorating?  Uh-uh. Sleep.

Family Dinners?   Well, I’d have to be dead to pass those up.

Enjoying holiday goodies?  No way.  Instead of inhaling treats, I 'enjoyed' saline rinses and facial steams.

The frustrating thing was that I really started to feel better after a solid sleep on Saturday night, but the glucose goblins showed up.  For no reason that I could humanly comprehend, my blood sugar went up, and it refused to come down, regardless of rage bolusing.  So all the headway (yes, pun intended) that I had made over three days, was undone in one afternoon.

My husband came into the kitchen Sunday night (after he had been out hunting) and found me - eyes-bloodshot, nose stuffed and cough thriving – faithfully making our favorite holiday treats.  

“We are celebraiding Chrisdbas wedder we wand to or nod, danggid.”

‘Tis the season for aloe infused tissue.

Day 15. #diafail

I used to be a college rep and I would see catchy slogans on swag everywhere when I was working.

One, in particular, caught my eye.

I have spent most of my days basing who I am on what I do and what I accomplish.  I was always waiting for something, or someone, to deem me worthy of love and acceptance.  But constantly striving for perfection and aiming for a flawless performance takes a toll.

In fact, it's downright exhausting.

Enter diabetes.

Every number felt like a grade of how well I was doing - would it be an A+ or an F?  With every blood test and Doctor's visit I was anticipating a "you're not good enough" lecture.

 Guess what?

I will not allow diabetes, or what other people think, to define me or confine me.

There is so much more to who I am.

Letting the 'D limit me?  That's a #diafail.


(That lecture never came, by the way, my Doctor is phenomenal).

World Diabetes Day 2012

November 14th.  Dr. Frederick Banting's birthday.  His birthday is the day we take a moment to recognize an invisible disease.  He and his comrade, Dr. Charles Best, found insulin and figured out what it was good for.

For this, good sirs, I am grateful.

But be reminded, insulin is not a cure, it is a treatment.  This month is dedicated to bringing diabetes out into the open, dusting off the cobwebs of misinformation and myths to reveal the truth.

No one deserves this.

It's not just about "not eating sugar" or losing weight.

It is a complex disease that affects every part of daily life and the effects are felt in innumerable ways.

We hope for a cure.

Day. 14. #today

#NDAM - Days 10-13!

So . . . I have been posting pics on my personal facebook page - but forgot to post them here!  Here we go!

 

 Day 10. #lowtreatment

I have not enjoyed juice as a non-emergency beverage in a long, long time.

 

Day 11. #cupcakes

Need I say more?!

Day 12. #love

I'll hit the "cheesy" button and post M&M's m&m wedding favors :D (It was an incredible day, maybe a touch on the snowy side!)

 

 

 Day 12. #love

'Nuff said.

Day 13. #meter

"Glow-in-the-dark"er, tiny tester, auto-vacuum arm sucker, pump communicator, light beamer, low-copay stand-in, and "back-up for the back-up" tester. 

#NDAM Day 1 - #struggle The Remix

Every day.

Every hour.

Every minute.

Diabetes never takes a sick day (which would be ironic).

It never goes on vacation.

Diabetes never rests.

#NDAM - A Little Tardy to the Party

Inspired to give people a snapshot (pun intended) of life with Diabetes, I am participating in the #NDAMphotoaday challenge.  You can find the month's worth of topics here : https://twitter.com/AbbyBayer/status/264139958279864323/photo/1

 

Day 1. #struggle

There are a lot of things to struggle with regarding diabetes. The day-after-dayness of it all, the monitoring everything that affects blood sugar, or the general deliciousness of chocolate. Everything in moderation.

 

 Day 2. #prescription

Over $10,000/year for healthcare.

Day 3. #fingers

3528 days of diabetes x an average of 8 tests a day= 28,224 drops of blood and 28,224 finger pricks.

  Day 4. #oops

A 24-hour period where the first drop was reminiscent of the Superman coaster.

 

 

Day 5. #bullseye

Love a good "100".

 Day 6. #feet

Always told to protect our feet - but my fav shoes have a hole in them :(

 Day 7. #gear

I carry a ridiculous amount of stuff in my purse - or within arms reach all day. Add "diabetes" to "just-being-a-girl" and purse contents multiply exponentially. Juice boxes, extra meters, and sugar stashes are everywhere, extra testing supplies, extra pump supplies, an ID bracelet and medical information, plus my must-haves, below:

1. Dexcom Receiver

2. Phone/alarm clock

3. Animas One Touch Ping insulin pump

4. Ping Meter/Remote

5. Fitbit Ultra (crazy cool "more-than-a-pedometer" pedometer)

6. Mp3 player (featuring Audrey Assad).

 

 Day 8. #sparkle

It would be a lot harder to face this everyday and succeed if it weren't for the best teammate.

 

 Day 9. #blood

See, also, day 3.

Great Expectations

My motto is "Go big or go home".  The kicker is that I usually go home.

I have a tendency to consistently set the unachievable as my goal.  Don't get me wrong, the whole purpose of setting a goal is to motivate yourself to surpass your current abilities.  However, for me, goals that are set so far beyond a reasonable conclusion often result in an overwhelming sense of failure and zero desire to press on.

I want perfection or nothing (no surprise that perfectionism is known to be a cause of procrastination).  Case in point - excersize. 

My goals, generally, go something like this:

"I will look like a supermodel the next time I see my family"

"I will exercise for 1 hour everyday and 3 hours on Sunday."

This is usually how they play out:
1. Set crazy goal.
2. Go hard for a month or a couple of weeks.
3. Miss one day.
4. Feel defeated and deflated.
4. Skip a few months.

In light of wanting (and needing) to integrate exercise into my daily activities, but also taking in to consideration that life is unpredictable and the fact that I am not superhuman, I have set a new goal.

"I will excersize for 10 minutes a day."

Ugh, sounds wimpy and uninspiring, eh?

But there are perks.

1.  I know I have 10 minutes everyday that I can exercise.
2.  When I have more than 10 minutes, I exercise for much longer (oh, finding that sweet groove!).
3.  I have set a goal that is achievable and sets me up for success.

I believe that the motivation gained by achieving daily success will breed a more ferocious attitude toward my long-term goal of maintaining a daily exercise regimen date (regimen sounds bland; dates are far more exciting).

In fact, during the small amount of time that I have been doing this, I have already seen how well this works.  On the nights after a grueling work day and multiple interruptions - I do 10 minutes.  I don't feel guilty, I don't feel defeated.  I feel successful.  On the days where I get home early, dinner is already made (read: microwaveable leftovers) I put in a 1/2 hour or more. I still feel successful.

Win, win.

Sometimes shooting for the attainable is better than shooting for the moon.