Well, I've been doing this for the past 43 years since I was diagnosed at the age of 7. Diabetes is part of me. I sometimes used to think of myself as a character in Eraserhead - a cult classic David Lynch film from the 70's. The things some of us PWD's (People with Diabetes) do to cope with living with this disease can have it humouristic/horror moments at times.
My day usually starts off with - "do I really have to get up?". Generally the cats are leaping around the room, due to being starved since they were last fed by their other slave, Mike (my main squeeze) at the ungodly hour of 4:30 when he gets up. By 8:00 they are skin and bone. If it's a good day for me, my BG (blood glucose) usually is around 5 mmol/l (90 mg/dl) - and I trot off to the kitchen for my regular double espresso with sugar (raw) and cream and if I can put some food into me - then toast / spread with whatever I have a hankering for. I've never been a big breakfast eater (and this seems common amongst some of my PWD mates).
Of course, inbetween this, I've injected myself with some NovoRapid for breakfast and/or correction, taken some Lantus (take this every 12 hours). I'm presently on a break from Salvador Dali (Animas 2020) - for the "scientific world" - or that's what I keep on telling myself since I do miss my pump, but not the tubing bit
Then it's off to work I go, either here in my home office in the dungeon or off to one of my "lick out toilet bowl" clients - aka housecleaning. Good exercise, despite the enhaling of some of their cleaning products, but I've made them change what they use over the years to more environmental products.
Inbetween I'm randomly checking my BG's every few hours. Take for instance, right now, it's 12:45. My BG reading is 3.8 mmol/l (69 mg/dl). This is actually turning out to be a pretty good day for my BG's with MDI (multiple doseage injections). Almost as good as the pump, but A1C in July will reveal the truth of course if pump is better then MDI.
So, basically, this is my typical day. Testing, dart practising on my body to keep my BG's at an even keel. Like many other PWD's that will be writing today, we do it all without much thinking. It's just what we have to do to stay ahead of the game.
I have to admit from time to time I've wondered "what would it be like to not be a diabetic for a day?". For diabetics like myself who have lived with it all our life, we don't really know what it's like to start a day off without having to think about our diabetes. Would it be any different then what our life is like today?
Questions, questions, questions! Off to make some tea, and have a bite to eat and contemplate this big blue marble of ours.
