I have clear memories of all the stuff I had to go through when I was first diagnosed with Type-1 Diabetes. Since my older brother had a wide variety of illnesses, junk food and sugary snacks were never really a staple in my household anyway, but I remember that certain things took a dramatic change nonetheless. I was no longer allowed to drink juice whenever I wanted. I was subjected to frequent daily shots for insulin and finger pokes for blood glucose testing. It was a traumatic time for a 4-year old who hadn’t even had the opportunity to grab life by the horns.
The irony is that all the traumatic stuff is the only reason I’m still alive, even if some of it was misguided, wrong and in some ways caused more harm than good. Back in good ol’ 1982, carbohydrate counting wasn’t a thing at my hospital. Maybe if I had lived in a larger centre, there would have been better Diabetes education available. But in my hometown, there was a singular mantra when it came to the control of Diabetes: Don’t eat sugar! That was it. In tandem with a morning injection of short-term insulin and an evening injection of basal insulin, my blood was tested once a day before bed and I was good to go.
Yes, you read that right! My blood was only tested once a day. Quite a far cry from the dozen times I finger poke myself these days, or the Sensor Glucose readings I get from my pump every five minutes. Not to mention that my first glucometer was roughly the size and shape of a brick. (There’s an illustration of that glucometer in my previous post: When Diabetics Get High… (but not the way you think) But Diabetes therapy has come a long way from it’s beginning, when a person diagnosed with Type-1 Diabetes usually considered it a death sentence.
A photo of the first insulin pump
Pump therapy, along with carb-counting and exercise, have made the life of a Type-1 Diabetic easier by scores from what it previously was! As illustrated above, the first insulin pump was basically the size of a large backpack and included metal parts and was cumbersome and impractical. It looks like something Tony Stark developed in a cave. Would I use something like this today? Obviously not, but back in 1963 when Dr. Arnold Kadish designed it, it would prove to be the launching pad for an insulin therapy device that would be widely accepted.
Smaller insulin pump. Source: Wikipedia
Smaller versions were developed by others roughly a decade later and they started being developed with wearability and accessibility in mind. But it wouldn’t be until the early 2000’s that insulin pump therapy would catch on as a common thing. One of the main obstacles is the overall cost. Although I don’t remember the exact retail price of my most recent insulin pump, I do know that it ran to the tune of about $8,500. If I didn’t have benefits through my work, I wouldn’t be on pump therapy.
That’s without taking into consideration that a box of infusion sets runs at about $200/month, reservoirs are about $50/month and the CGM sensors are about $400/month, making for a lovely total of almost $1,000/month when you factor in the insulin and test strips and anything else I may not have mentioned. Is it any wonder why people without solid medical insurance can’t take proper care of themselves? But I digress…
My point is that Diabetes therapy follows the very same trends as modern electronics and technology. When computers started becoming a thing, the average computer took up an entire room that had to be temperature controlled. Imagine trying to play Candy Crush on one of those bastards? The concept of a “personal computer” didn’t take hold until the 1970’s and even then they were boxy, clunky, difficult to move around and were pretty limited in what they could do. Today, the average smart phone has more computing power than what astronauts originally used to land on the moon.
The same can be said for insulin pumps. What started out as a huge, boxy, metallic backpack has now become a small, inconspicuous 3-ounce plastic box. Smaller than most cell phones. And technology is just getting better and better. There are different aspects being developed, including an artificial pancreas going through clinical trials, which could be promising for the future of improved Diabetes control. Who knows, maybe we’ll reach a technology that will allow for the wearing of a simple “insulin patch,” like a nicotine patch, and forego injections and needles altogether! We’ll get there, eventually. But getting there is the obvious problem and as the old saying goes, the waiting is the hardest part. ☯
Never, in the history of mankind has anyone ever calmed down after being told to calm down. Has this ever happened to you? There’s nothing I dislike more than being genuinely upset about something and having someone try and tell me to calm down. The same concept applies to bad moods. I’ve never understood why people feel compelled to assume that one’s bad mood is attached to an underlying condition. For example, have you ever tried assuming that a lady’s bad mood is because of a particular “time of the month?” How did THAT exchange go for you? You probably can’t answer on account of your wife/girlfriend/sister breaking your jaw for making the assumption…
This same concept can be applied to Diabetes. I know I harp on the pitfalls of Diabetes in a lot of my posts, but that’s because the list of symptoms and complications is almost endless. And mood swings are one of the worst. Although every person is different, there’s no denying that uncontrolled blood sugars will cause a change in one’s mood and emotional well-being. For myself, high blood sugars will turn me into the loveable care bear you all recognize into an angry grizzly hell-bent on destroying anything in his path. I’m usually the same before my morning coffee. But I digress…
There have been so many times in my youth when this phenomenon affected my position in life or my relationship with others. Since my blood sugar control was limited to testing about once or twice a day and treating when I “felt” a low, there were times when I was a mean grump and treated those in my immediate surroundings harshly. Most times I wouldn’t even be aware that I was being a total ass but that wouldn’t stop the damage from being done.
Eventually, some relationships ended and some were forever altered into something less special. I mean, who wants to be around a cranky bastard all the time, right? But I’ve had times when my increasing bad mood has caused friends to avoid me and relationships to be damaged or lost. And this is not even including the fact that badly controlled blood sugars will usually make you sluggish and lethargic, making people believe you’re lazy or unmotivated. There have been days when I would just sit there with no energy, while friends and associates would try and convince me to go do something, anything other than sitting like a lump.
Knowing what I know now (say THAT three times fast), I understand that the frequent testing of one’s blood sugars and proper control of one’s Diabetes could have prevented those symptoms and I likely would have had a much happier adolescence. Hindsight is a hell of a bitch. At least I understand and have a much better control now. Life in general is the only thing that makes me cranky now, hahaha… haha… ha (cries a little while laughing). ☯
My eye injections came and went yesterday, as they do every 8 weeks. I’ve written about this before… I receive injections of a prescription medication called Lucentis. In case you’re just now joining the show, Lucentis is used to treat a condition known as Diabetic Macular Edema, which involves the accumulation of fluid in the tissues of the eye. Lucentis dries up the fluid, reducing the swelling it causes and overall improving my vision. The condition is basically permanent, and requires scheduled in-hospital injections every two months or so. All caught up? Good! Moving on…
As I recently posted, I sold my car. There were a number of reasons behind this move, but it was for the best. As such, our home is now down to only one vehicle. This shouldn’t be a problem in theory, since I grew up in a household with only one vehicle and I turned out fine (as my jaw twitches imperceptibly). But the timing of this eye injection appointment came at the worst possible time. My son Nathan started his first full week of 1st Grade yesterday.
My wife and I had concerns that if something happened, such as a bathroom-related accident or heaven forbid, he coughs at school, she would have to go get him. Something not so easily accomplished if I have the vehicle up in Saskatoon while she’s stuck down here, juggling a cranky infant and trying to find a way to pick up our five-year old. Boring and routine as my eye injection appointments had become, I decided to branch out and go on a little adventure. I took the bus…
The time, at the city bus stop
It turns out that Regina does have a bus line that runs from here to Saskatoon and back. Since my appointment was at 3 pm, I could catch a bus from Regina to Saskatoon at 7:30 am, arrive around 10:30 am, walk to the hospital, get my injections and catch a return bus at 6 pm. Sounds reasonable in theory, right? Since the bus terminal is a little over 5 kilometres away, it would take a little over an hour to walk there. And waking the entire family just to drop me off and come back home is a definite no! Especially since once you wake an infant, you’re pretty much screwed.
I checked the city bus schedule, and the bus that ran downtown passes in front of my house at 5:40 every morning. When I woke up at 5 am, the temperature was only 4 degrees Celsius and there was a chill in the air. So I dressed with a thermal shirt and my wool fleece shell, wool hat and gloves. I packed a t-shirt and a light Under Armour jacket for the later afternoon. I was quite glad I did, since I made plans to hop on the city bus during this frigid time.
An empty bus in the early hours of the morning
The bus was running a few minutes late, which in retrospect I wish I could say was reasonable and I understood. But my chattering teeth demanded justice, and since there was no one ON the bus, I couldn’t quite understand why the delay. But there’s no telling what the route may have been like, up the road. So I left it alone, paid my fare and sat down.
I was immediately greeted by the conductor’s voice over an intercom asking me to put on a face mask. Of course… Good ol’ COVID-19… I didn’t see the point, since the driver is wrapped in what is effectively a plastic bubble and I was alone on the bus. But fatigue and lack of caffeine rendered me silent and I slipped on a mask. I overestimated the time I would require, since this was my first time getting to Saskatoon this way. I arrived in the downtown area at 6 am, an hour and a half before the departure of the Saskatoon bus.
I’m Batman!
I walked along 11th Avenue in Downtown Regina feeling like that one lonely hospital patient who wakes up during the apocalypse. The streets were empty and quiet, except a couple of city buses, and there was even a token grocery bag floating by on a light morning breeze. Since I was far too early and uncertain what to do with myself, I decided to fix one problem and stopped in at a Tim Hortons, which conveniently opened at 6 am. It was a downtown location without a drive-thru and isn’t open 24 hours like most locations.
I sat down with my coffee and a Wheel of Time book and let the hot cup of caffeine breathe some life into me. About half an hour later, I was asked to vacate my seat as the location had a “no more than 30 minutes” policy in relation to their lobby. I was a little miffed, but it didn’t surprise me. It’s become the way of the world for most businesses. I half-heartedly objected, but I packed up and shuffled on. I made it to my intercity bus stop at 6:40 am. Now, we wait…
Mmm, coffee…
There was one other gentleman (besides the bus driver) waiting at the stop, and upon seeing my coffee cup, asked if I would watch his bags while he walked to Tim’s to grab one of his own. I was a little taken aback by how trusting he was to allow a stranger to watch his bags, until I realized he probably assumed I had nowhere to go since I would be taking the same bus as him.
The bus ride itself was uneventful and I took advantage of the fact that I could still see clearly to do some reading. We arrived on 2nd Avenue in Saskatoon at about 10:30. My appointment was about a 15-minute walk away and was scheduled for 2:55 pm, so I had some time to kill. This is where I discovered something important about Saskatoon: their downtown core has nothing! Oh sure, there are office buildings and businesses, a couple of convenience stores… But I was looking for a place to hunker down for a while and get out of the chill. The nearest place I found was a restaurant that only opened in half an hour.
My chariot awaits
I made my way down to Midtown Plaza, which is a two-story shopping centre I knew would have a food court and hot coffee. I got there fine, despite some douche-canoe’s attempt to grab my backpack (a story for another day) and enjoyed my second cup of coffee of the day and did a bit of reading. I got bored pretty quick and after a couple of laps of the stores in the centre, I walked over to the hospital. I figured I could sit on the bench outside the main entrance and relax until my appointment.
By 12:30, I was starting to get cold and decided to try and get inside. The hospitals are pretty controlled at the moment and for the most part, you can’t even get inside unless you have an appointment. My name was on a list but they obviously didn’t have an appointment time as they told me to go right in. I got to the Eye Care Centre and checked in, since I didn’t assume they’d let some random person lounge in their waiting room.
The first thing the employee at the admitting desk said was that I was booked in for 2:55 pm and that I was too early. I played it off as though it was a mistake and said, “2:55? Not 12:55? That’s my bad, I must have read the appointment slip wrong. Should I just sit and wait then, or do I need to leave and come back?” Since I had arrived on a bus and had nowhere to go, she agreed to let me sit in the waiting room and she would “put a note on my file,” which resulted in my getting in early and being seen by the doctor almost right away.
I should have felt guilty at being passed so far ahead of schedule, but considering the times when I WAS on time and still had to wait an hour beyond my appointment, I took the win and left the hospital just shortly after 1 pm. Now I had a different problem. I needed somewhere to go for the next FIVE HOURS!!! My bus was only scheduled to leave at 6 pm.
I spent the afternoon randomly walking around the city and looking at different shops and things. I walked by the river and I even did a few more laps of the mall. Considering my vision was impaired and I couldn’t read, I was pretty limited so I ended up sitting on a bench at 2nd and 23rd Street and settled in for a long wait for the bus that would take me home. At one point, some city worker (or at least I assumed he was, since he had an orange vest on) tried to tell me to move along since that particular corner had signage stating that loitering was not permitted. I explained why I was there and was basically left alone afterwards.
At 5:30 pm, I walked to the actual bus stop and was checked in for the trip. At 6 pm, which was supposed to be our departure time, we were advised the bus was running at least 15 minutes late. Of course, it is! When the bus finally arrived, loading and check-in for everyone had us leave a half hour later than our scheduled departure. At this point, my head and my eyes were killing me and I was too tired to care. As long as somebody drove the damn bus and got me home.
When I got back to Regina, I stepped off the bus and started walking to wards the only city bus route that ran up to my street. As I walked, I checked the online bus schedule and realized that the next bus would leave the stop I was heading towards at 9:15 pm. It was 9:13… I was over a block away, but I ran. I had to reach that bus, otherwise I would be stuck waiting an hour for the next one. The downtown mall was closed and so was the Tim Hortons I had used that morning. If I missed the bus, the best I could hope for would be a local pub, which wouldn’t be the worst thing but I ultimately just wanted to get home.
My saving grace is that there were four buses lined up to use the stop, and the one I needed was last in line. I had never been so happy about a delay in my life. In actually, a delay had CAUSED the panicked rush. If the intercity bus hadn’t left Saskatoon 30 minutes late, I would have made it to the stop in plenty of time. But the bottom line is I made it, got on the bus and sat quietly, all the way home. I walked into the house and took all of ten minutes to unpack a couple of essentials before unceremoniously crashing on my bed.
Over the course of the day, I walked about 15 kilometres in total. I got cold, then I got too warm. I was found with too much time on my hands and I was at the mercy of someone else’s driving. And as those of you who know me are aware, if it goes faster than I can walk, I just as soon be the one driving. I had a person attempt to steal my backpack, watched some “colourful” people shouting and acting erratically in the street, and experienced the pulse of the neighbouring city.
Do I regret taking the bus instead of the family vehicle? Let’s consider the pros and cons… On the pro side, the cost of my transit was less than half of what I would have paid for my usual hotel room. Once you factor in meals and fuel for the vehicle, I saved a few hundred dollars. Although not an earth-shattering amount, that makes a savings of just shy of $2,000 after a full year. Not too shabby. I also didn’t have to drive and could focus on scenery and reading for a change.
The cons? I had a lot of downtime on my hands with nowhere to go and nothing to do. That’s partially my fault as I overestimated my timings since it was my first time travelling this way. But COVID-19 also take the majority of the blame, since I really had nowhere I could go to simply grab a coffee and chill. In pre-Corona days, I would have sat with a coffee and read for a couple of hours.
I’ll definitely need to fine-tune my timings and work something out, as I don’t plan on spending HOURS outdoors during the winter months. Will this be my new normal? Probably. But the savings involved can’t be ignored, neither can the biggest pro of them all; the fact I was able to sleep in my own bed that night. ☯
If you’re anything like me, having Type-1 Diabetes has the lovely effect of having me catch just about every little sniffle, bug and/or flu that may come floating my way. With an immune system that doesn’t seem to know enough NOT to attack the insulin-producing cells of my body, it stands to reason that whoever is manning the immunity train in my body is drunk at the wheel. This is one of the reasons why the upcoming season is one of two of the most difficult seasons for me to get through…
The autumn season has always been the most difficult for me, despite the fact it’s one of my favourites. The temperature turns colder and inclement weather becomes the norm. These weather phenomenons have the effect of making you sick more often. Unlike the common misconception, it’s not the cold itself that causes you to become sick but rather the fact that cold viruses travel better and spread faster when temperatures are cooler. Not COLD, but cooler. There’s a bunch of extra fun stuff, like colder temperatures making your sinuses less likely to block a virus and your immune system being less effective in the cold. But I’m not a doctor and I digress… Moving on!
Normally, none of this is a problem and I suffer through the colder seasons the same way as the rest of the world does… By cranking the heat and bitching about it. Some colds and illnesses have required me to take the occasional sick day, although this has been pretty rare. But the advent of COVID-19 has changed a great many things, and having a cold is no longer a simple thing.
Don’t think it makes a difference? Step onto public transit, like a bus or a train, and cough. Take a quick look around and take stock of how many people are giving you a look akin to thinking you carry the bubonic plague. The past year has fostered the belief that a cough means COVID-19, and I’ve seen people avoid, walk away and even become aggressive against others who may have had nothing but a dry throat or the common cold. This is a concern for me, as I’m the one in my family who faces the front lines to do groceries and run errands so that my family is the LEAST exposed.
There are a number of things that you can do to mitigate these issues, including washing your hands frequently, coughing and/or sneezing into your elbow and avoiding places where people gather in large numbers. You’re probably thinking, “But Shawn, aren’t those things we’re supposed to be doing anyway?” Ah, very good, Grasshopper! These are things that you should have been doing, even in pre-Corona times. Considering my immune system and the fact I have year-round sinus issues, my throat often gets dry and sends me into the occasional hacking fit, which has always been fine.
Now, it’s a guaranteed way to clear the crowd in front of me, since most people associate coughing to COVID-19 and not the fact that I’m simply an idiot who can’t seem to breathe and swallow his own saliva at the same time. So, let’s discuss the newer steps that should be taken. In addition to all of the above, staying home when you’re sick is also expected/required, depending on your area’s laws and policies. The next is the wearing of a face mask. And we’re gonna talk about THAT one…
Depending on what source you lean on, the effectiveness of face masks have been disputed since the beginning. Some people fall on the side of wearing them and others feel they’re useless and make no difference. Considering that hospitals and first responders have been using them for decades, you’d think the message would already be clear. But people aren’t always so great at getting the message. Some areas are starting to require the wearing of a mask as soon as you step out of your home, which in some respects may be a little over the top. I certainly don’t want to start wearing a face mask when I’m cycling, for example.
But even here in Regina, many businesses, including large-scale retail chains, have made the wearing of a face mask mandatory in order to enter their locations. Since people LOVE to be unique, many people have opted for wrapping their face with bandanas or wearing custom, homemade masks as opposed to purchasing masks at their retail locations or medical outlets. Although this is fine, not all masks are created equal, and there are significant problems with wearing a mask that falls short of what’s required.
According to an online article posted by ScienceDaily, any facial coverings that you wear “need a minimum of two layers, and preferably three, to prevent the dispersal of viral droplets from the nose and mouth that are associated with the spread of COVID-19 […]” This means that if you wrap a repurposed layer of an old t-shirt around your face, you’re not preventing much. Some studies have shown that although two layers of thick cotton or other recommended materials obviously prevented the spread of droplets from a cough or sneeze much more effectively than a single layer, three is the optimal choice.
Wearing a single layer can actually makes things worse, as the single cotton layer will cause what’s called “aerosolization” of droplets and make them easier to spread. So if you’re being a jack ass and simply wrapping a single-layer bandana over your face so that you can get into your local Walmart, you’re definitely defeating the purpose. It doesn’t help that most people are aware that the wearing of a mask doesn’t necessarily protect them from the spread of COVID-19 but is intended to prevent THEM from spreading their own germs.
This gives them a sense of entitlement where they feel they don’t need the mask, since it doesn’t help them anyway. This concept is right up there with people who don’t believe in vaccination. It’s about society as a whole and not necessarily just for you. It’s become a sad state of affairs when you see people yelling and arguing with retail employees because they refuse to wear a mask. Medical workers and first responders have to wear that stuff for eight to twelve hours, sometimes more. Wearing a face mask for twenty minutes while you get your favourite brand of cheese puffs and your tube of Preparation-H should be the least of your problems, snowflake!
We’re a long way from the end of this pandemic. So it’s important that everyone does their part in order to help get us past it. Even I’ve jumped on the face mask bandwagon, with my custom Batman mask! The best recommendation I can personally make, is to wash your reusable masks frequently. Most people don’t realize that you’re exhaling into that thing for long periods of time and your breath is expelling bacteria into the material. Failing to wash your masks frequently can result in causing other health problems.
There are worse things in the world than the proper wearing of a facemark when you go shopping or run errands. And it’s important to know the symptoms and recognize them, in yourself and in others. For example, sneezing and sniffles are NOT symptoms of COVID-19, despite the reaction people have when someone sneezes in public. Although some would argue it’s for good reason, we’ve developed a paranoia against any and all symptoms, which doesn’t bode well for my weakened immune system throughout the colder months. It’s gonna be a long winter…☯
I remember training for my black belt in karate, and doing my very best to prepare for it in a Rocky-style format. I used to get up at five in the morning and run five miles, followed by an hour of intensive shadow boxing and forms. Without getting into the specifics of the test, I knew that I would be facing the challenge of my life, and I wanted to do everything I could to ensure I would be successful.
The last class before the weekend of the test, I attended class and tried to blend into the background, which wasn’t easy considering I stood at the front as one of the senior students. I didn’t speak to anyone about the upcoming test I would be subjected to, over the weekend, as was the custom in our dojo. Test dates were kept private until the student walked into the next class with a new belt colour around their waist.
After that last class, Sensei and I took an hour together and discussed the test and what would be involved. We went over some of the material that I knew I had some mild difficulty with, and I made a point of explaining that I planned on having a light meal and getting to bed early, in order to get some extra rest. Sensei smacked me in the back of the head and spoke three very important words: Don’t. Change. Anything.
Essentially, Sensei explained that despite being faced with a very important and very physical test the following day, I should have the supper I’d usually have. I should follow it up by having the evening I would usually have and go to bed no earlier than I usually would. The idea was that altering my usual routine would cause a disruption in my rest as opposed to helping it, and potentially increase my test anxiety.
Change and variety are good. Of this, I have no doubt and there is no question. But when it comes to facing something out of the ordinary, it’s important to remember that we shouldn’t alter our routines. We need to trust our gut and follow our usual routine. trying to do anything out of the ordinary will only stress and tax your body further and increase one’s anxiety. Stick to what you know. It’ll serve you better in the long run. ☯
It can be pretty tough finding the motivation to get moving. Light knows, it takes me several minutes for the signal to go from my brain to getting a response from my body when it comes to waking up in the morning. And if I didn’t start my day with a pinch of caffeine, I believe that the world would be in genuine danger. Which is likely a problem, since being that dependent on coffee can’t be a good thing, but I’ll tackle that problem some other day.
My point is, it usually feels “easier” to sit still than to get going. This is a natural inclination, much like choosing to go through a tunnel as opposed to climbing over the hill. But all things in life require a balance, and sitting still can be as harmful on the body as pushing yourself too far. This is why frequent and even daily physical activity is an important part of daily life, whether you have Diabetes or not.
According to an article posted by the Mayo Clinic (one of my favourite websites), a person should aim to achieve 150 minutes of moderate exercise or at least 75 minutes of intense exercise, with about two workouts a week contributed to strength training. I like how the article describes mowing the lawn as a moderate aerobic exercise. I’ll definitely start adding those sessions to my training log.
But those are American sources and since I’m in Canada, it would be nice to lean on a source from my home turf. An exercise guideline chart posted by the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology outlines pretty much the same basic requirement of at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise per week in adults, with at least two days contributed to some sort of strength training. Although the “minimum” should include 10 to 20 minutes of physical activity or more, you should aim at hitting that 30-minute mark in order to reap the greater benefits.
So what happens if you don’t get enough exercise? The reality is that with everyone working from home and even before the pandemic, the average person finds themselves sitting far too much for far too long. This can have a number of nasty side effects on your heart, your weight, your back and even your mental health. But with all of us cooped up in our homes, many are tempted to flop down on the couch and binge-watch their favourite streaming services for days on end. This doesn’t just lead to the above-mentioned complications, but will also undo any physical conditioning you may have been doing prior to that.
Balance, people! Find the happy medium. If you’re doing work, especially in front of a computer screen, it’s important to get up out of your seat, stretch and move around. You should be doing this a minimum of at least once every hour. Although I wasn’t able to find a source for that interval, this is what has always been suggested to me. And if you have a boss that gives you hell because you’re getting up from your seat too often, check with your HR department on what your organization’s health policies allow you to do.
Since this is related to your health, your boss may be required to provide certain little benefits like a stand-up desk, floor padding or an ergonomic office chair in order to help alleviate any complications of sitting all day. And moving away from your computer screen to allow your eyes to adjust and focus on something else can also be very important. But I’m getting off topic, here. We’re talking about physical fitness…
From a Diabetes standpoint, maintaining your physical fitness will have a number of measurable benefits, including but not limited to better blood sugar control, improved insulin resistance and better blood circulation. Combine that with a reasonably healthy diet and most of the “pain in the ass” symptoms become manageable instead of lethal.
I can attest to that one myself, since insulin resistance was the main issue threatening my life when I was a child. Increased physical activity is what got me through. This would have been right around the time I joined the martial arts. Granted, even though this worked for me doesn’t necessarily mean it would work for everyone. But maintaining some level of physical fitness can lend nothing but benefits, if done properly.
When it comes to fitness, the sky’s the limit and I can almost guarantee that everyone can find SOMETHING that they enjoy doing that constitutes exercise. And at only 10 to 30 minutes per session, there’s little reason or excuse to claim you can’t find the time. I know a lot of people at work who would take walks over lunch, hit the gym and even meditate! Anything you can do to, as they say, get the blood flowing is a good idea and will help to eliminate or lessen unnecessary complications down the road. ☯
It’s no secret that I’m not a big fan of extreme heat. The closest I can get to actually “enjoying” higher temperatures is if I’m in a hot tub and have an air-conditioned environment to retreat to, when I get out. So I’ve been in a “do nothing” state for the past while since the city I live in has been the subject of a heat wave that’s shown temperatures in the high 30’s. It’s made it difficult to breathe outside, and the heat has been more than my air conditioning unit has been able to keep up with.
The extreme heat broke about four days ago, and I’ve been spending my nights sleeping on the spare bed in my basement. It seems to be the only place that’s cool enough for me to actually get any sleep. Makes me a touch jealous of the friends I have who have basement apartments (you know who you are!). But the heat plays all sorts of hell on the life of someone with Diabetes.
I wrote a post on that very subject about two months ago, but with the extreme heat of summer in full swing it doesn’t hurt to provide some mild reminders. I reviewed an article posted by the Centres For Disease Control and Prevention that lists the following reasons why Diabetics are affected by the heat much worse than others:
Nerve damage makes it more difficult for our bodies to cool, which can lead to heat exhaustion and stroke;
Diabetics are prone to dehydration for a variety of reasons, including greater loss of fluids and frequent urination due to high blood sugars. Extreme heat will aggravate these symptoms and cause further dehydration, causing further blood sugar issues. Wash, rinse and repeat;
Your body’s ability to use insulin will be affected by the heat, which means that you may need to alter your dosages and sensitivities based on this.
Obviously, the important preventative measures include sipping plenty of water consistently throughout the day and check your blood sugar often (unless you’re wearing a CGM, in which case just keep a close eye on it). Try not to work out in the extreme heat, at least not outside. And follow all the usual summertime protocol: wear a hat, apply sunblock and wear loose-fitting clothing in light colours. Whatever you can do to help beat the heat.
Last but not least, it stands to reason that high temperatures will affect most of your Diabetic equipment. This is especially true since most Diabetic equipment is powered by batteries, and they don’t do so well in the heat. High temperatures will cause batteries to work harder and can lead to leaks, failures but not least of all, dying quicker. Something to keep in mind, if you aren’t in the habit of carrying spare batteries. And if you use an insulin pump or carry around extra vials, bear in mind that insulin begins to break down when exposed to higher temperatures. This basically means that your insulin will turn into very expensive water, after a while.
Having Diabetes doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the summer. It simply means you need to pay closer attention to your health and well-being. And let’s agree that this would be the case for most people anyway. Stay hydrated and test your blood sugars frequently. And get some shade when you can. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go book an Alaskan cruise to get out of this heat… ☯
This may be a question you’ve never asked yourself before, but take a moment to think about it. To be clear, I’m not talking about someone who has lost their sight at some given point in life. I’m referring to someone who was born blind and has never actually set eyes on another human being. How does this person know how to smile? And how do they know and acknowledge that this is a sign of happiness and/or contentment?
There’s a lot to be said for human instinct and we often take it for granted. Smiling is just one of those instinctive forms of expression that humans know, and it’s universally recognized around the world as a sign of positive emotion, even if it’s not necessarily taught. This like explains why my 1-year old son smiles his biggest smile, right around the time he’s filled his diaper for me. Kids.
What this teaches us is that humans have the ability to use aspects of themselves that are instinctive. Or in simpler terms, sometimes you gotta go with your gut. It takes a lot of effort to trust yourself enough to make tough decisions and hope for a positive outcome. And the truth is that your outcome may not always be positive. Sometimes, you may fail more often than you succeed. But you need to trust yourself and be comfortable n your choices. This is truly the only way you WILL succeed.
We all doubt ourselves, sometimes. But self-doubt is what usually leads to failure. Trust your instincts. They’ll bring you farther than you may think. And even if they sometimes lead you astray, always remember that failure also helps you to learn and grow. ☯
I had a recent appointment where I shared a laugh with the person receiving me at the fact I was carrying a backpack to said appointment. The irony is that the location wasn’t all that far from my home and the appointment would likely only take about an hour but as a responsible person who has Diabetes, it’s up to me to have everything I need in order to ensure I don’t run into issues.
For the most part, unless I know that the outing/errand I’m running will literally only take five minutes (for example, going to my 7-11 convenience store on the corner) I bring a bag with me. This bag contains AT LEAST the following: nasal spray, hand gel, blood sugar meter, cereal bars and jelly beans, a book, my iPhone’s earbuds and business cards for my blog. Yes, I have business cards for my blog. It’s much easier than trying to give someone the website address…
If I travel to any great distance, for example flying back to New Brunswick, my carry-on bag will contain all the above-noted items as well as reusable insulin pens that simply require me to step into a pharmacy and purchase insulin over-the-counter should my pump fail or I run out of pump supplies. I started taking that last precaution after an issue I ran into last September when I returned home for some job interviews.
Usually, I’ll calculate my equipment needs for all my absent days, plus three. This means that I should have enough supplies to last me three days longer than my intended trip. That way, should there be flight delays, equipment issues or problems along the way, I’m all set. But last September, I flew to Fredericton, New Brunswick for a full week on a job competition. This meant I would need at least three pump change-ups with a fourth set to accommodate any failure or delays, and about 600 to 800 units of insulin for those seven days. Sounds reasonable, right?
During the second or third day that I was in Fredericton, I received an email from one of the other agencies in New Brunswick I had applied with and they required that I attend in person for an interview the following Tuesday. This meant that my seven-day trip would be extended to twelve days or more to accommodate the interview. I discussed what I should do with my wife and it was agreed that I should stay. All of a sudden, I scrambled to change my flights and cancel my hotels as I would simply stay with my family for the added days in between.
I still had plenty of Humalog (short-acting insulin), so I went to a local pharmacy and purchased disposable syringes as well as a bottle of Lantus (long-acting insulin) in anticipation of my pump running out and no longer having access to an automated basal rate. In the end , I was able to stretch out my pump sets to accommodate the additional time and I made it home to Saskatchewan under the wire. But it makes me wonder: what if I were isolated someplace where I didn’t have the option of buying added supplies?
In my late teens and early 20’s, I went on a number of nature treks where a friend and I would canoe or kayak down the Restigouche River. We’d get a ride west to where we would “ship off” and time on the river would usually see us locked away from civilization for at least three days. I was pretty cheeky in my late teens, early 20’s and not always cognizant of the danger I may have been putting myself in. I always brought plenty of insulin and test supplies, but I’d be lying if I said I had plenty of fast-acting carbs to shore me up if I dropped. I had SOME, but probably not enough for a multi-day excursion that required me to paddle a canoe for hours on end.
So this begs the question: how does one deal with a situation where one has run out of supplies with no ability to obtain replacements? What if my insulin spoiled in the summer heat while I was out on the river? What if I dropped my pen and smashed the only remaining vial I had? These are possibilities that I would have to deal with. I’ve always been pretty careful have luckily never had to deal with such situations, but being two days or more away from civilization would throw a serious damper on the trip.
I wrote a post last April entitled Don’t Fear The Reaper, Kick His Ass Instead, which covered off some of the issues that one could face and how long a Type-1 Diabetic could live without insulin. You can click the link to give it a read, it’s pretty bleak. The reality is the average Type-1 Diabetic has a life expectancy without insulin of about 7 to 10 days at most. Nice, eh? And that’s under some pretty particular conditions. Having an adequate supply of water to stave off dehydration is a great start, since most adults can only survive three or four days without. And bearing in mind my scenario involves being on a fresh-water river, I’d likely be okay in that regard (barring bacterial contamination from drinking river water).
I had linked an article posted on Healthline.com that explained thatwithout insulin, your body can’t use glucose as fuel and begins to break down fatty tissue as a replacement, which causes those fats to turn into acids called ketones. These ketones build up in the bloodstream and eventually get expelled through one’s urine. However, when these ketones accumulate in the bloodstream, your body chemistry begins to change and the blood starts to become acidic. This causes a condition called Diabetic Ketoacidosis.
Any of the even moderately serious side-effects of Diabetes could kill you, including dehydration or hunger, but if you manage to make your way through all of that, DKA is what would do you in. What to do if you’re in a life-or-death scenario where you don’t have access to a hospital or extra supplies? There isn’t really a happy answer. The reality is that you’ll likely expire, unless you’re some sort of super-human Diabetic who can stave off all those symptoms for a longer period of time.
Situations are much easier to deal with nowadays with the common use of cell phones. Back when I used to travel the river, cell phones weren’t a commonality yet. At least in the modern age, you could potentially call for help so long as you can find a cell phone signal. But even cell phones can fail, get dropped in the river, lack a signal, etc…
IS there a perfect solution to any of it? Unfortunately not. Diabetes makes for an imperfect life. But you can ensure that you take every precaution and make certain that you pack/bring/include everything you need with multiple extras. Having Diabetes absolutely doesn’t mean you can’t do any particular thing. You simply need to be prepared and take the precautions necessary to prevent finding yourself in a bad situation. Hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst. ☯
For the most part, I’m a firm believer that most people and things deserve a second chance, even when things didn’t work out the first time around. Unless we’re talking about someone who has done something truly horrendous that’s damaged my life, of course. But today, we aren’t talking about anything quite so dramatic. I’ve been taking a second crack at CGM, or Continuous Glucose Monitoring.
For anyone who doesn’t remember, I wrote a post about five weeks ago entitled, CGM Is A No-Go where I described the various issues I had been dealing with in regards to the sensor set-up involved with CGM. Although I had decided it would be in my best interest to step away from CGM, a quick video chat with my Medtronic Representative was all it took for me to give it another go. Plus, Medtronic replaced the box of sensors that I had burned through at no cost.
My Guardian Sensor, tucked safely underneath my adhesive patch (yes, I know I look exhausted)
When a company is good enough to go above and beyond in that way (box of 5 sensors is $399.00 in Canada), I owe it to at least TRY and make the damn thing work. So I’ve been hammering through. The photo above is the fifth sensor I’ve been on since that last post, and it’s been going reasonably well. I had one sensor give out after five days instead of seven, but that’s an error margin I can live with.
One of the main recommendations that my rep provided was that if I was used to having my Freestyle Libre on the tricep and it was working for me, I should do the same with my CGM. And to be honest, it’s been WAY better. Because of the steps required to properly install the sensor and transmitter, I can’t get it all done one-handed. So I enlist the help of my wife to get everything set up and in place.
The large, black adhesive you see covering everything is an after-market adhesive called Patchabetes that my rep recommended. I ordered mine through Amazon, but you can click the link to go right to their site to have a look at the various products they carry. I ordered a pack of 20 patches for about $25 Canadian, which means they’re costing me about $1.25/week to use. That’s definitely a cost I can live with. I shell out more money on that in caffeine every DAY!
One of the big problems I was having with the adhesives that come with the sensor is that after a rigorous workout followed by a hot shower, the adhesive would dry out and start to lift. I was shoring it up with band-aids and pretty soon I looked as though I was a badly-designed mummy out of a B-movie. On top of that, the sensor tube would usually end up slipping out of my arm and I’d have to replace it within days as opposed to after a full week. I’m fortunate enough that my medical insurance covers my sensors, but it still feels horrible to be burning through expensive supplies that quickly.
Since switching over to Patchabetes, I can work out, shower and spend all afternoon in the hot sun and it still stays firmly in place. The size of the adhesive and the fact that it’s one piece, ensures that the area is waterproof and I’ve had no issues since starting back on the whole thing. And let’s be honest: it’s kind of nice to have an updated blood sugar reading every five minutes. It’s been making the overall daily control a little bit easier.
Technology can be wonderful and can be very helpful in making the life of a Diabetic much easier. As with most things in life, there’s a steep learning curve involved, especially when it involves your overall health and well-being. So the lesson here is that sometimes you have to push through and give things a second chance, once you’ve had the opportunity to learn the proper way. Even in a fast-paced world, not everything can happen quickly. Now I just need to get over my cowardice and activate the AutoMode again… ☯
The Blogging Buddhist 