Category: Health & Well Being

A Little Touch of Life…

With modern life’s fast-paced requirements, sometimes it’s good to take a moment and stop to appreciate some of life’s beauty that may be right in front of you. We don’t always recognize it and even when we do, we often fail to take time to appreciate it. This is a shame, because one should never go through life doing nothing but working and dealing with struggle and strife. This morning, I’m taking my own advice to heart and appreciating the beauty of life as it sits right outside my window.

In previous posts, I’ve joked about having an angry pigeon defecate against my window, birds smacking into the glass and even the sun’s rays turning my office into a makeshift sauna, despite my best efforts to stem that effect through air conditioning. But this morning, I was able to find a few moments of relative peace and tranquillity, despite the fact that I was at work. Sound hard to believe? It’s not. Sometimes, it’s what you make of the situation.

I was reasonably on the ball this morning and managed to be out the door and walking into my office an hour earlier than usual. This put me in there at almost an hour and half earlier than everyone else. No, I’m not an overachiever; I’m simply the type who doesn’t enjoy sitting idle at home during the early hours of the morning. As a result, I arrived at the office early. My typical routine involves using the first hour to catch up on emails and phone calls, followed by a plethora of other duties that quickly consume my morning. But there’s coffee. There’s always coffee.

I have a small coffee machine in my office and on this morning in particular, I brewed a cup of chocolate raspberry truffle coffee. Absolutely wonderful stuff; makes my whole office smell like a chocolatier’s shop. I’m usually working at my computer while coffee brews. But on this morning in particular, I stood at my window and looked out at the horizon. My office is located on the fifth floor of a 16-floor building, so I don’t have the highest view in the city, but it can be a beautiful one nonetheless. My coffee finished up (it’s a Keurig) and I grabbed my cup and stayed at the window.

As I looked out at the horizon, I noticed the sun was rising into a clouded sky. This meant I had a sliver of morning sunlight peeking through, between the ground and the cloud coverage. It was truly a beautiful scene to behold. I tried to take a photograph of it, but the reflective properties of my office windows wouldn’t allow a clear shot without revealing the inside of the office as well. So, I sat there for a few moments and calmly sipped my coffee. As I did, I found a moment of calm as I watched the cloud movement mingled with the morning sun.

It dawns on me that in recent years, I’ve fallen prey to letting time dictate my life. Meditation has taken a back seat to the hustle and bustle of daily life, which should never happen. Finding some balance and inner peace is integral to a happy life, despite the obstacles that are in the way. Although this wasn’t meditation in the traditional sense, it served the same purpose and gave me some focus to get on with my day. All I need now is my next cup of coffee to get through the rest of it…☯️

Don’t Force It…

Sitting at over 900 posts (over 500 of them in a row without missing a day), I’ve had a number of people asking me where I find the inspiration provide content on a daily basis, And yes, that’s a bit of a brag, and rightfully so. Finding moments to write posts while working full time and having a family with two young children vying for constant attention isn’t easy, by any means. Throw in working out and Diabetes-related issues, and you’ve got yourself some effort!

But to answer the question, some of the content writes itself. Considering that Diabetes affects every aspect of a person’s life, all one needs to do is write about all the shit that goes down with Diabetes. As I write this, I’ve had to switch up my CGM. Since it takes a couple of hours to warm up, followed by a couple of calibrations over the hours that follow, it can be DAMNED inconvenient. And as most of you know, I tend to write about this stuff.

The same goes with karate and some of the basic concepts behind Zen Buddhism. When you write about something you know, it makes providing daily content pretty easy. Especially when you’re passionate and committed to what you’re writing about. Not only does this make it easy, it makes it damn hard to shut up. And I’m sure some of you may have noticed that I can be a “little” long-winded.

For the rest, it’s important to develop the ability to observe life. If you pay attention to the world around you, it will help to jog one’s inspiration. I never go out to work or to run errands without seeing something, hearing something or having something inspire a thought process that ends up becoming a post. This is what’s important; being able to draw on life to provide inspiration.

That’s all I got. There’s no big secret to it. If you’re riding on the bus, pay attention to the environment and the people in it, as opposed to having your nose buried in your phone. Be sure to write about something you’re passionate about and it will be reflected through your printed words. Then, give yourself a goal. Mine was to post daily. I had almost reached a full year before missing a day and pissing myself off. My new goal became posting for a straight year, which I’ve long surpassed.

Bottom line, make certain to write because you WANT to write. Make sure that whatever you write about, be sure it’s for you. If you do that, you’ll definitely be successful. But lastly, don’t push it. If you throw up a post simply for the sake of throwing up a post, the quality just won’t be there and won’t hook your readers. Let it come to you, naturally. ☯️

Try To Stay Awake As You Read This…

I’m actually pretty dozed as I write this, so it’s an appropriate post for today, I think. Sleep. It serves quite a number fo handy and necessary functions for the proper health of one’s body. Sleep is thought to contribute to overall brain health and allows a better focus and concentration when awake, among other things like letting your body rest and recharge after a long day.

There are quite a number of benefits and functions that take place while we sleep for the night, which I’ve covered in previous posts so I won’t delve into those too deeply here. Although a lot of what I‘ve read and researched tells me that science can’t confirm without a doubt why sleep is necessary for the functions it provides, I CAN say that I like it. A lot. Sleep rocks. I only wish that I had recognized this at a younger age when I could have gotten more of it. this is a lesson I struggle to impart on my 6-year old son. But I digress…

If you have Type-1 Diabetes, you may find yourself having difficulty sleeping at the best of times. In fact, depending on how well your blood sugars are controlled, sleep may be as elusive as trying to grab that stray hair down the back of your shirt that has you squirming and drives you batty. Of course, I don’t have that problem, being bald and all…. Did I mention I was a bit tired, this morning?

On average, sleep helps with energy conservation, elimination of bodily toxins and waste and helps with the body’s immune responses. Not to mention that lack of sleep will lead to lack of concentration and alertness, and will likely leave you moody and cranky. Ever try to deal with someone who hasn’t gotten a full night’s sleep? They usually aren’t all rainbows and sunshine. Add some chaotic Diabetic symptoms into that mix, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. Here are my top 5 ways that Diabetes usually disturbs my sleep:

1. Diabetic Neuropathy: If you or someone close to you has Diabetes, you’ve likely heard this term before. For Diabetics, neuropathy is nerve damage that can develop over time. Although there are a number of things that can cause it, such as damaged blood vessels due to high cholesterol, the cause for Diabetics is usually attributed to high blood sugar levels over a long period of time, which can damage nerves and cause something known as “restless leg syndrome.” This is usually the bad boy that keeps me up at night. Basically, your limbs feel unsettled and one gets the urge to move and adjust them in order to gain relief. That relief is usually short-lived as the unsettled feeling returns within moments. It can be an excruciating pain in the ass, especially in the middle of the night when you’re trying to sleep.
2. High Blood Sugar Levels: The thing about Diabetes is that multiple sources will site certain symptoms for high blood sugar (like my favourites, WebMD and HealthLine.ca), but symptoms are subjective to the person. For example, most sources will cite aggression as being a symptom of low blood sugar. But I’ve always experienced the bad moods and crankiness when my levels were high. Anyway, if you hit a high in the middle of the night, you can potentially experience cramping, nausea, dry mouth, thirst, urge to urinate frequently and a partridge in a pear tree! Not to mention that annoying “hot but not” feeling where you kind of sweat but aren’t really warm. SO annoying…
3. Low Blood Sugar Levels: If you thought highs were bad, lows can be much worse. At least in my opinion. At least highs will sometimes make you sleepy, which can be handy if it’s the middle of the night. So long as you don’t mind little issues like ketoacidosis or the various damage you’re doing to your eyes and other organs. But you may sleep through the night and wake to correct and bring your blood sugars down. But when you’re low, it requires immediate action. If you’re lucky enough to have a “tell” (a symptom that will wake you due to a low), then you get the pleasure of crawling out of bed to grab some fast-acting carbs to get you back to normal. For me, my body will feel numb and I’ll feel off in general. It’s usually enough to wake me from a deep sleep. the hardest part is the lethargy that accompanies a low, as it urges you to just close your eyes and keep sleeping. But even once you treat the low, it’ll usually take some time for your body to start feeling normal so you can drift back to sleep.
4. Dehydration: Here’s the thing; dehydration isn’t JUST a Diabetes thing, but we’re prone to it. And dehydration will cause a lot of the nasty symptoms that fluctuating blood sugars will: thirst (obviously), pains and cramping, discomfort, nausea, dizziness and confusion…. And of course, dehydration will affect one’s blood sugars. Oh, and blood sugars will affect your level of hydration. Fun, right? That’s why it’s so important to keep your fluid intake steady and drink plenty of water.
5. The Insulin Pump: Last, but certainly not least is the insulin pump. this one is obviously subjective to whether or not you use one in your therapy. But never in my life has an electronic device been such a light-send while simultaneously being a pain in my ass. Blood sugars are steady and normal for more than 2.5 hours? Better beep incessantly and request a BG check, JUST in case! Been micro-bolusing for more than an hour? Better set off an alarm, even if blood sugars are sitting at 9.5 mmo/L! Although I have the best A1C’s I’ve ever had in my life, the pump has disadvantages as there are some alarms that can’t be silenced. And the pump doesn’t discriminate against what time of day (or night) that it may be, so I get woken often even if things are smooth and normal. In fact, often BECAUSE things are smooth and normal. And people wonder why I get testy against technology; even when it helps, it also hinders.

There you have it; my top 5 reasons that Diabetes wakes me up at night. Let’s not forget, as negative as my sleep-deprived perspective may be this morning, that outside factors such as stress, illness and weather will affect blood sugars and cause most if not all of the above-mentioned scenarios. Therefore, this is the part of our day where I remind everyone to eat a proper diet, get regular exercise, stay hydrated and test your blood sugars often. You’ll sleep better at night. Pun fully intended. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need a nap…☯️

A True Warrior’s Bike Runs On Muscle…

Last year, I managed to log almost 1,100 kilometres, over 850 of which were on the bike. The remainder was walking and some foolish attempts at jogging. I hate jogging. It’s bullshit. Prove me wrong… Seriously though, I absolutely hate running. But I lOVE cycling, and thanks to all the free time I had during the pandemic, I logged quite a lot of time on two wheels. Since the snow has disappeared, I’ve been a little slow on starting up this year, but I’m slowly starting to catch up and I’ve decided on some pretty fun goals.

I had grand ambitions to be out of bed by 6:00 am and hit the road after some brief preparation, but as you can see from the time stamp in the image above, it didn’t quite work out that way. Caffeine was singing its sirens song and I couldn’t resist the pull of my arm chair as I sat and sipped while doing my daily crossword puzzles. By the time 10:00 am struck, I recognized that if I wanted to use this particular day to get some mileage in, I would need to get at it.

I should point out that this was last Monday, which was a statutory holiday in Saskatchewan. This meant that my wife and I both had the day off, facilitating my ability to take off on the bile for a couple of hours to try and get a solid sweat in. I peddled my way down to Wascana Lake, one of my favourite spots for cycling. The reasons are quite simple: there are paved paths that allow for a smooth and measured ride. there’s also a lot of trees and water, lending a small reminder of my home Province of New Brunswick.

However, with the recent lessening of restrictions and conditions in regards to the pandemic, the walking path has become less than ideal. During the pandemic, foot traffic was restricted to one direction AND social distancing was required. Now, not only is there two-way traffic, making it more difficult to navigate, but people are walking and filling the paths with impunity. You wouldn’t believe how easily two people can take up the entire width of a public path and seem oblivious to the words “excuse me.”

As the morning wore on, the temperature began to increase. The day was blessed with a light overcast, a combination of clouds and smoke from recent wild fires in neighbouring Provinces. The result was that I wasn’t TOTALLy exposed to the sun, but the heat was still mounting enough that I was dripping onto my handlebars. Luckily, I brought along a bottle of sugar-free electrolytes and my glucometer, so I was set in terms of hydration and ensuring my blood sugars were level. Insert a PSA here about how extreme heat can affect insulin pumps and CGM…

By the time I got home, my legs and arms were killing me, my shirt was soaked to the point you could almost see through it and I looked like something the cat dragged in. The mileage shown above is what I managed to complete by the time I got there. I took a short period of time, sitting in my garage and sipping the remainder of my electrolytes and some water before hammering a half-dozen jellybeans to regulate my blood sugars.

Remember in the opening paragraph when I mentioned that I was working on some pretty fun goals? I’ve decided to try this app called The Conqueror Challenges. Basically, (and I’m not endorsing this app, I’ve simply installed it for personal use) these are virtual marathons that you can sign up for, pay a fee and it tracks your distance until you’ve reached the goal. You can choose a package where they issue you a completion medal when you’re done or a package where you get the completion medal as well as a t-shirt. They have some pretty cool ones, like climbing Mt. Everest or crossing the English Channel.

Just about anything can be virtual, nowadays. So, why would marathons be any different. I’ve completed a couple of challenges already, so I’ll keep y’all posted when I receive a completion medal. But for someone try to set goals and achieve them without getting involved in something according to someone else’s schedule, this can be it. And that’s pretty much where I find myself; between work and home life, I don’t really have the time to sign up for scheduled marathons or join public events. I’m just waiting on baited knee for karate to open up again. I don’t know, it’s something different and helps to keep me on track. There’s one medal that’s 4,000 kilometres! That’s crazy! I could basically cycle my way home to New Brunswick! That would certainly be a strange and wonderful adventure. ☯️

Let Time Be The Judge…

If you walked into a karate dojo today, it would be pretty fair to say that you wouldn’t be proficient the following week. If you joined ballet or dance today, you wouldn’t be able to stand on point or start competing the following week, either. Important things take time and this is especially important as it relates to one’s health.

People these days are all about the right here, right now. Immediate gratification is often the expectation, and we live in a society where everyone is plugged in and always looking for something that will help them melt fat, slim down or build muscle. But like endeavour, the results won’t appear quickly. And even when do appear, it’s important to keep at it.

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of getting home after a long day and flopping down on the couch with a cold drink and binge-watching something on television. It’s easy, right? Humans as a whole will usually prefer to take the path of least resistance, much like the course of a river. But health and fitness REQUIRES that you step off the path of least resistance and persevere on the harsher path.

Recently, I started to dislike the way I looked. This can be attributed to a number of things, including indulging in a less-than-favourable diet, consuming beer and alcohol and allowing my fitness trends to slide off the rails, where I would go full weeks without working out. It’s okay to take the occasional break, but not when it’s to the detriment of your overall health and fitness. And not least of all, is the constant adjustment to my system from exercising consistently to being more sedentary and vice versa…. It plays hell on the blood sugars!

My point is, I took a few very simple steps to start doing something to slim down a bit. I don’t think I need to explain that as I get older, weight becomes harder to shed and Diabetes control becomes more important. But all I’ve done is chit back on my carbohydrate intake and alcohol consumption, increase my intake of fluids and have started working a few small fitness challenges. It’s taken a while, but I’ve managed to shed almost ten pounds over the past couple of months, the results of which I’m starting to see (in small doses).

A pair of pants I purchased four months ago that fit decently are now loose enough that the waist band folds over when I cinch my belt. A golf shirt that six months ago pretty much drew the eye directly to my gut now fits comfortably and I’m wearing it right now, as I type. It’s small difference that come from persevering and not giving up. There will always be days when the couch is calling, but if you push through and get that workout in to maintain your consistency, you’ll eventually start to see the difference. Slow and steady wins the race on this one…☯️

Shared Responsibility…

I found something while cruising through Facebook, something I do very rarely nowadays as it seems to have become a forum for people to argue about their respective opinions. But one of my long-time friends posted an image that I know has been circulating, and it felt important enough to warrant my sharing it here. Here it is…

It’s a pretty short read, only a few paragraphs, but it illustrates an important point. The past year and a half has created a rift in society. Not that there hasn’t always been rifts, but this is something special because it’s world-wide. I’ve seen people first-hand, who have refused to wear masks when REQUIRED, not requested but required by law to do so. The constant debate from anti-vaxxers is becoming real old, especially when paired with the fact that a certain level of the overall population needs to be vaccinated in order to stem the spread of the virus.

And yes, we can debate the issue of whether it prevents you from catching the virus and how it works in relation to the variants and all that good stuff until we’re blue in the face. But ultimately, it doesn’t change the fact that as responsible, civilized people, we have a duty to not only ensure our own safety and well-being, but doing what we can to ensure the safety and well-being of others, as well. This reminds me of this other image I found, posted by one of my other friends on Facebook…

I’m ashamed to admit that my personal view has led me to unfollow people online that I’ve been friends with for a decade or more. Sometimes, the negativity, conspiracy theories and arguments simply get to be too much. And obviously, the choice to get vaccinated and wear protective equipment, masks or otherwise, is a personal choice. But when the the choice of whether you do or don’t affects the people and world around you, can you ever, truly say that it’s ONLY personal? And can you live with the choice if you know you’re affecting the rest of the world? I don’t have an answer; I’m just one voice among billions. But it’s definitely food for thought…☯️

Let The Energy Flow Through You…

There’s no denying that keeping your energy levels up throughout the day can be challenging. Diabetes makes that challenge even greater, since uncontrolled blood sugars and Diabetes complications can lead to sleepiness, grogginess and apathy. But Diabetes aside, there are a number of things that one can do to boost and improve their energy levels throughout the day. And just to be clear… I don’t mean “energy” as it relates to what makes you a person and keeps you alive. I mean one’s ability to keep on trucking when the afternoon slump gets to you.

In order to gather an appropriate list, i consulted articles from two of my favourite websites: HealthLine.com and WebMD. After consulting these articles, I picked out my top five as it relates to what’s easiest and manageable in what I consider to be a typical day-to-day existence. These are subjective of course, so take these with grain of salt. Alright, here we go…

  1. Drink More Water And Cut Out Booze: Considering I’m a guy who likes his wine… In fact, I enjoy my “adult beverages” a fair bit after a long day at the office and after my workouts. But the reality is that hydration plays a key role in keeping one’s energy levels up. Dehydration can leave you feeling tired and lethargic. In fact, drinking cold water has shown some promise in helping with weight loss, since the body has to work to warm itself if you drink cold water;
  2. Sleep More Or Improve The Sleep You Do Get: If you’re anything like me, your 8 hours of sleep can often leave you feeling drained and that fuckin’ alarm seems to go off right about the time I manage to fall into a deep sleep. Some common practices include avoiding screens and doing something relaxing as part of a good pre-bed routine. And don’t be afraid to take a nap. Naps are underrated. Just remember not to let it linger too long, as it can interfere with your actual sleep patterns;
  3. Eat Healthy: This one is pretty subjective, since every person is different in terms of how their body responds and functions based on diet. I’m not a big believer in fad diets. They work for some and not for others; same as any other diet. The problem is that you only typically hear about the positive outcomes. The bottom line is if you include plenty of vegetables, of different varieties and lean proteins, you’re good to go. Keep your total carbs down (not eliminated, just reduced) and you’re off to the races. Ever feel exhausted after having a plate of pasta? Those carbohydrates are absolutely horrible…
  4. Exercise More: If you’re exhausted, get up and do something. It probably seems counterintuitive, but doing something physical will increase blood circulation, which will absolutely pull you out of your funk. Exercise will also help with your blood sugar levels and overall well-being. As I’ve written about on previous occasions, living things move. Movement brings energy. Energy promotes life. Wash, rinse and repeat. You can’t live without movement. Sedentary people who sit on the couch all day with always seem lethargic, and for different reasons. Anything is something more than nothing. Start by stepping away from your desk and taking a ten-minute walk. Have a routine where you work out for 20 to 30 minutes of intensive exercise, every day; and
  5. Calm The Hell Down: This one should be pretty obvious, but reducing or eliminating stress will go a long way towards helping you boost your energy levels. Experiencing constant stress will usually sap your energy and leave you feeling drained at the end of the day. This is where the other side of my life kicks in… meditation, exercise and martial arts can go a long way. But whatever works for you in reducing your stress is gravy! Work out on a punching bag. Cross-stitch. Whatever.

All of this goes hand-in-hand with monitoring and maintaining good blood sugar levels. Even if my intention was to provide a list outside of the Diabetic realm, I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least mention that high blood sugars will usually leave you feeling exhausted and sleepy. And suffering a low will have you craving a nap once you correct it. Especially if you over correct. But whether you have Diabetes or not, the above list is guaranteed to help you maintain or boost your energy levels and help you get through the day without needing that second cup of coffee. or in my case, the fifth or sixth… ☯

I Regret Nothing…

Oh, yes. I regret nothing. I’ve written several posts on this topic because I feel that it’s important. And it keeps coming up in some way, shape or form. The most prominent question I get asked is if I ever wish I hadn’t been diagnosed with Diabetes. Really? One would think that asking me if I would have preferred to grow up without a dangerous and difficult to manage auto-immune condition would be redundant. But the question has been posed more times than I can remember. Sometimes, I think people lack content to discuss and ask questions just for the sake of asking them. But I digress…

It’s okay to wish for something. Do I wish I never developed Type-1 Diabetes? Of course. Do I wish my brother hadn’t passed away at the age of 18? Obviously. Would I have preferred not to go through the personal and professional difficulties I’ve dealt with in the past three years? Oh, you damn right! But as I’ve often said before, it’s important not to live a life of regret. One can easily spend all of one’s time looking towards the past and regretting some of the choices and situations that have happened to them. The problem one faces when doing this, is that they fail to live in the now; and there’s a lot of life you can miss when you’re busy dwelling on the past.

Another important aspect to bear in mind, is that every situation one has been through, good or bad, has ultimately contributed to the person one has become. And there’s really no negative aspect to this. If you believe in who you’ve become and trust that you’re a good person, then those events that you may otherwise regret have likely helped forge you into the strong, capable person you are. If you’ve become a bad person, there’s always the ability to make a change, going forward (unless you’re totally fuckin’ evil and don’t care. I know a few people like that).

“ I Am The Master Of My Fate, I Am The Captain Of My Soul”

– William Ernest Henley, Invictus

I’ve been an admirer of William Ernest Henley’s poem, “Invictus” for years…. Poetry is always open to the reader’s interpretation (unless you have a pretentious art teacher who feels she needs to force her perspective on you) but I always felt that this poem demonstrates how no matter how difficult or rough life gets, one needs to persevere and push through, keeping a firm control of one’s destiny. As romantic and hopeful a thought that may be, that’s rarely the case. As I’ve often said before, life rarely cares about one’s plan.

We may be the masters of our fate, but fate deals us the hand and we’re usually stuck playing the hand we’re dealt. That may seem a bit of a negative perspective and it certainly isn’t meant to be. But it all comes down to the old saying about sometimes you just got to roll with the punches. This is often the only way to be the “master of my fate.”

Do I ever look back and wonder how life would have been for me, had I not been diagnosed with Diabetes? Absolutely. Not a week goes by where it doesn’t cross my mind. And I would be lying if I said I didn’t tear up while reading about the medical researcher in Alberta who has found a promising treatment that could reverse Type-1. I’ll believe THAT when I see it, but I can’t help but feel that I may have grown up to be a significantly different person if I had never had Diabetes. After all, Diabetes forces one to develop perseverance, tenacity, an unwillingness to quit and a will (and need) to keep fighting.

I sincerely believe that those qualities would be lacking, if my life hadn’t turned out the way it has. Maybe with the ability to eat anything I chose as a child, I would have become obese. Maybe I would have developed an affinity for sports and become a jock, potentially bullying people much in the same fashion as the hated hockey players I had to deal with in high school. There’s no telling how different things might have turned out. This is why one can’t allow oneself to regret. You gotta learn from it all and keep going. ☯️

Booze Is Bad, Mm-Kay?

If none of you have ever watched South Park, you may not get the reference in the title. There’s a character called “Mr. Mackey,” and he’s big on using the line, “Drugs are bad, mm-Kay?” If you have time to Google or go on YouTube to hear how he says it, you’ll get why it’s funny. But i digress…. Today’s post is about alcohol, as it relates to Diabetes and the difficulty that can be associated with trying to enjoy an adult beverage without sending blood sugars and one’s overall system into fits.

I don’t usually endorse specific products, services or items here, besides talking about my pump and the fact that it’s manufactured by Medtronic. It’s a little hard to hide that fact and STILL talk about it, which is why I allow it. But in general, my blog isn’t a platform to advertise for others. But when it comes to my personal use and review of something, especially if it makes Diabetes easier for me.

As most Type-1 Diabetics are aware, consuming alcohol can be a difficult concept for a number fo different reasons. If you’re a beer drinker, you need to consider the amount of carbs you’re consuming and be able to bolus accordingly for them. The biggest issue is knowing how many carbohydrates are in any particular alcoholic drink. For example, the average 355mL can of beer contains between 6 to 12 grams of carbs. Interestingly enough, “non-alcoholic” beer contains anywhere between 9 to 17 grams of carbs, as well.

Wine is certainly a better option, considering some of the anti-oxidant aspects and the fact that an entire bottle of red wine is only between 10 to 14 grams of carbohydrates (not that I’m suggesting you drink an entire bottle at once, mind you). And keep in mind that pure spirits that haven’t been mixed with anything else have absolutely no carbohydrates. There are some exceptions, of course. Because why would life be simple? Here’s a chart by Diabetes.ca for some basic reference.

This brings me to the product I tried last week…. While visiting my in-laws last week, my mother-in-law introduced the above-shown product as “something new” for my father-in-law to try. He had a can, but preferred his beer. I decided to try one, since it boasts zero sugar and zero carbs (a discernment that ins’t always made). I tried a can and I have to say that considered its ingredient content, it was pretty good. It became my vacation go-to beverage for my week away.

Sitting at 5% alcohol content, this is a vodka-soda drink that’s light, refreshing and easy to drink. There were a variety of flavours that included lime, lemon, raspberry and grapefruit. I tested my blood prior to drinking the first one and was sitting comfortably in the 5’s, and was still sitting in that range after two cans and a couple of hours’ elapsing. I was tickled pink (the vodka MAY have had something to do with that) and it was nice to find something that ACTUALLY allows me to enjoy a drink without affecting my blood sugars.

The can you see above is one of a case I purchased once we got back home to Regina. Sitting at 7% as opposed to 5%, these come in three flavours: black cherry, blackberry and raspberry. they’re pretty good and the added 2% DOES make a difference. But I once again, they seem to have no measurable effect on my blood sugars, which is nice. While looking for a case of this stuff, I realized that there are a few of these drinks that fall into the same category. I’ve spent so much time getting on the “making fun” bandwagon against White Claw, I never stopped to recognize that a can of the stuff is only 1 gram of carbs!

Anyway, I wanted to offer up this brief review of this product. As anyone with Type-1 Diabetes is aware, enjoying a drink is painful at the best of times, so this is definitely a helpful aspect that allows T1D’s as much normalcy as possible. One simply needs to remember all the other fun details, such as the consumption of booze ties up your liver as it processes the alcohol, so it can cause your blood sugars to drop, carbs or not. No matter what your plans or what you’re drinking, remember to make certain to check your blood sugars regularly and have a safe plan for administering some fast-acting carbs if needed. ☯️

Pain Is All In Your Head…

No, really. That’s not just a title…. Pain really IS all in your head! That’s not just me, trying to act like a tough guy. Pain is basically the body’s way to let you know that something is wrong. Either you have a visible or unknown injury, you’ve caused damage or something has caused damage to you, or you’ve been exposed to something that causes damage to you tissues.

According to an article by Medical New Today, pain happens when a signal travels to the brain for interpretation. Once there, the brain sends back a signal telling the body to respond. I’m paraphrasing there, but you can read the article. The point is, something hurts you, a signal is sent to the brain, the brain says, “that’s not good, stop doing that” and your body respond by feeling the unpleasant sensation we know as pain.

For most pains, like touching a hot surface, our body has a reflex system that forces us to pull our hand away from the heat source. This can apply to a number of different sources of pain, but I don’t want o dive too deeply into this aspect. Like I said, you can read the article. The article describes the types of pain as acute or chronic, with the former being sharp, intense pain that goes away shortly and the latter being long-lasting in some way or another. Both types have sub-types of course, because nothing is ever simple.

According to another good article that I found on HealthLine.com, the types of pain can be described as acute, chronic, nociceptive, neuropathic and functional. The articles describe all of those types in detail, so once again, I won’t get into it, but you can read the article. The important ones to remember are nociceptive and neuropathic, especially if you have Type-1 Diabetes.

Nociceptive pain is the one that’s caused by injury. Cuts, bruises, tissue damage… that fun stuff. This can be important for someone with Diabetes because those wounds need to be treated quickly and may have difficulty healing, depending on how well your Diabetes is controlled. Since folks with Diabetes are also prone to infections, treating and caring for nociceptive injuries becomes doubly important, from a health standpoint. It’s important not to ignore these types of pain.

Neuropathic pain is particular to folks with Diabetes as well, since it’s caused by nerve damage, which can be a side effect of Diabetes. Neuropathic pain is particularly unpleasant and since it’s associated with tissue damage that the patient generally can’t test themselves, almost always requires medical intervention. Other conditions can cause it, as well. My father has a degenerative spine, which causes neuropathic pain that’s also chronic, meaning he is in a constant state of pain. To add insult to injury (no pun intended) he’s also Type-1 Diabetic.

But now that we have the science stuff out of the way, let’s discuss the types of pain that you CAN ignore… Are there any? Since pain is the body’s way of telling you there’s something wrong, should you really ignore any of them? My thought is that there are forms of pain that you can work through. For example, if you’ve had a particularly rough workout, you’ll feel “the burn,” or an aching of the muscles.

When you workout, you cause micro-damage to your muscle tissue. As this damage is healed, you can experience passive aching and bruising and that fun feeling of being unable to use those muscle groups to do little things like, oh, I don’t know… get out of bed gracefully without looking like your limb has been lopped off in a bad Monty Python sword fight. Have at thee! This type of pain is temporary and will usually pass on it’s own, but you can certainly help it along by maintaining good blood circulation to those tissues, eating an appropriate diet containing protein and fibre that help heal and build muscle tissue and even icing.

If it’s particularly bad, you can wuss out and take something over-the-counter, like ibuprofen or acetaminophen. But those are bad habits you don’t want to start unless you really have to. If any pain resulting from fitness is sharp, debilitating and isn’t going away, you may need medical attention. Muscle and ligaments tears are no joke and can sometimes be mistaken for an after-workout burn to some people. Whether internal or external, an injury requires medical attention is there’s blood involved, seeping out or pooling beneath the flesh.

Other situations that would require immediate medical attention are bone protrusions, whether they break the skin or not, hanging appendages (like an eyeball popped out or something) or paralysis of a body part. Learning and recognizing the acute pain associated with things like a heart attack, or “referred” pain. This means something like sore neck and arm when experiencing a heart attack.

Hopefully, your workouts aren’t extreme to the point where you’re dealing with protruding bones and heart attacks, but knowing the difference between these types of pain can mean the difference between maintaining one’s health or facing some serious problems. Different people deal with pain in different ways, as everyone experiences pain differently. What seems like a passive after-workout ache to one person may seem debilitating to another. So, it’s important to know your limits and how you experience things.

Pain is all in your head. Literally. This doesn’t mean that certain levels of pain can’t be managed and others should be ignored. The healing of injuries can be difficult for Diabetics, so it’s important to pay close attention, clean and bandage any injuries you get and get to your health professional if they don’t heal within days. Eat well, exercise regularly and keep your blood sugars in check and healing will be all the easier. Have you ever noticed that those three things (diet, exercise and blood sugars) are repeated through most of my posts? It’s almost like they’re important, or something…. ☯️