I woke up yesterday morning feeling like a dried piece of beef jerky left out in the sun for too long. Since this isn’t a NEW experience for me, it didn’t surprise me. I have this weird thing where my face swells up when I get a cold. Yes, you read that right; I will usually get a small swelling of the upper or lower lip (usually upper) that inflames and doubles by the next day.
And yes, I’ve already had it checked by my doctor on a previous occasion. Apparently it’s totally normal for your face and neck to swell when you catch a cold. This is because a cold will make it easier for your sinuses to infect, causing swelling around the face, eyes, forehead and base of the neck. Fun, eh? Not least of which to mention that it plays hell with the blood sugars. I woke up with 15.7 mmol/L as a waking blood sugar level. Brutal.
It’s already bad enough that everyone is limited to their homes due to quarantine measures, but somehow catching a cold on top of that seems to add insult to injury. I’ve relegated myself to the basement so that I hopefully don’t pass it on to my wife and kids. The part that sucks is that getting some fresh air occasionally helps with swollen sinuses and makes me feel a bit better, and it’s quite cold and windy today. Hmm, if only there was something to help cheer me up a bit… Oh, wait!
I started on this new bad-boy this morning. All pretty and shiny, but it felt weird to load up a pump that wasn’t my usual one. I’m certain that once I get my in-person training (IF I get my in-person training) and start on Continuous Glucose Monitoring, it will make a world of difference in how my blood sugar levels are maintained. High hopes are the best ones, right?
Hopefully everyone is staying safe and healthy. Remember that sitting at home presents a number of problems for someone with Diabetes (doesn’t everything?). Get some exercise, even if it means crushing out a batch of push-ups, squats, sit-ups and jumping jacks in the living room. Stay well hydrated. People have a nasty tendency of neglecting that aspect when sitting quietly at home, but sipping water or fluids consistently throughout the day is still important.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to grab some cold meds and unceremoniously curl up in the fetal position and pass out (No, I do not have “man flu”). ☯
