Living with Diabetes

Some of the folks around the world might not be interested in this post, but then this blog is about me. The elections for 2008 are fast approaching and candidates all over the place are out there talking about all sorts of things. I am beginning to wonder what their positions are relative to my diabetes. Will their policies and ideas help my life going forward. I plan on running through their websites and look for things. I wonder if anyone else has analyzed the candidates for their type2 diabetes policies.

The sugars are sure coming out better these days. In the month of Aug, my average fasting sugar was 148. Last week my average fasting sugar was 118. A 30 point reduction, I am happy. What am I doing - 1) I am doing moderate amount of exercise each day. 2) No carbs in the night. I am only filling up on vegetables and protein. 3) No food after dinner. Even if I am hungry, I tolerate it and sleep on water. Lets see how long this keeps up.

Sometimes I catch myself living in fear of my diabetes. It tends to occur after a couple of days of higher sugar numbers. The task of checking blood sugar becomes a small anxiety. I fear the results I will see on my meter. Curiously in this fearful state I end up wanting to eat more to pacify myself. And the desire is not to obviously eat things that will keep the sugars down. After a couple of days of being in fear, I finally get it, tell myself to be brave and face the challenge head on. I start eating more responsibly. Become more active through the day. Check blood sugar regularly. Morale goes up, days seem to be brighter and waking up in the morning is no more a painful process. I would like to be strong enough to never end up in the fearful phase. But got to deal with this weak brain as it is...One day, I will be stronger. I am sure making myself mentally stronger will help my whole life, not just the diabetic part.

A couple of months ago I put on about 10 pounds of weight. I did this during the height of summer, go figure. When I should have been out taking walks and mowing my lawn, I was sitting inside eating goodies. Now trying to lose this weight is such a hard thing. Every step is painful and the numbers just do not show up. Eating better is hard since you end up feeling hungry. I am thinking it is better to just starve myself. That way I can stay hungry but loose some weight. Some amount of exercise has moved into my daily life. Now I need to add more and do it regularly. Trying to keep in mind - No pain no gain.