Tag Archives: lows

Almost Bachelorhood

February 21, 2013 – 10:00 am

The Great Spousal Unit is staying overnight with a client’s pet this week. And The Live-In Niece has been away for most of this week too. That means almost bachelorhood for me. The good part, where you can eat what you want, watch what you want on the tele… not the bad, lonely part. As long as they don’t stay away too long.

It’s nice generally, because absence sometimes does make the heart grow fonder, and because it’s nice to have a break once in a while, even though we’ve been together for almost 20 years.

But there’s no denying the fact that it means I’m alone all the time. Not a big deal… I was on my own for the first two years or so with this disease. But what does it mean to be on your own when you’re usually not? It means two things.

First, it means the obvious: Getting through the night without my BG going low. I can’t say that I do anything that’s way out of the norm. Except that I try to go to bed with a higher BG than normal. So instead of say, going to bed at 150-160 mg/dL, I’m going to bed at around 170-180 mg/dL. The flip side of that safety measure is that I’m usually higher in the morning than I would like (138 mg/dL this morning). And of course, there’s no guarantee that my body’s metabolism wouldn’t kick in harder during my sleep and cause me to go low anyway. But it’s something I know I can do. I can’t bring myself to set the alarm for the middle of the night so I can check how I’m doing. If you’re doing that, I admire and respect your vigilance.

Second, it means that I have to acknowledge the fact that I sometimes rely on my spouse too much to help me through those hypoglycemic moments. And it’s not even those moments when it happens—What Maureen does really well is making sure that I have everything I need to fight off a low wherever, and whenever, it happens. She lets me know that “Hey, you do ______ when you’re going low. Watch out for that.” It’s the general feeling of “someone’s got your back”. It’s a quality that’s incalculable, and I’m lucky to have it.

So even though I have my dog and my second dog (also known as my cat), I’m reminded this week of what it’s really like to be alone and managing the diabetes. And I’m reminded how lucky I am that it’s not the norm.

How about you? Any strategies for when you’re away from your significant other? How does it make you feel?
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Diabetes | Also tagged , , | Comments (2)

Watch out demon.

February 19, 2013 – 10:49 am

I’m looking for it. Looking for that demon. The one lurking out there somewhere, ready to strike when I least expect it. I have to constantly be on my guard to keep the demon at bay.

There’s a semi-predictable arc to my exercise regimens. I start out easy, just trying to get used to working out again, trying to get my stamina to a higher level, trying to burn a few calories. That usually takes a couple of weeks to a month.

Then I’ll start to kick it in a little. I’ll get to the gym or out on the road a little more frequently. At the same time, I’ll ramp up the intensity or my workouts… a lot.

It’s usually during this time that the demon comes out from the depths of wherever the demon lives. The demon takes the form of a super-quick, super-low hypoglycemia event. One of those bad ones. The kind where you pass out, or nearly pass out, and sometimes someone has to call 911 for you.

The demon rears its ugly head around two weeks or so into this more intense workout regimen. The low happens so fast that one minute, I’m walking, or I’m on the phone, or I’m cleaning the house, and the next minute I’m on the floor. Almost that fast. Without warning. Sound familiar?

The worst part is, this demon-low thing sometimes makes me back off on the workout routine. Once or twice it has even made me give up on the workout routine entirely. I know that if I’m going to accomplish my goals and participate in the events I have planned this year, I’ve got to get through this stage and keep on going. Even if I do experience an awful low again.

And guess what? Over the weekend, I hit the two week mark in this more intense workout stage. So now I’ve got to be more vigilant. I’ll probably be checking the BGs a little more often. I may even give in to a mid-afternoon snack, despite the fact that I’m never hungry in the middle of the afternoon. Am I willing to work on the high side of my glucose just to keep the demon at bay? No… because the demon doesn’t care if you’re generally high for two or three weeks before coming down into a good range. When you hit that range, it will be waiting to strike. So I would just be putting off confronting the demon for a little while.

But I’m armed with a few new tools to help me now, and a lot more information. I read your blogs people, and I pay attention to what works for you and how you try to keep the demon out of your own lives. I read from experts in the field, be they a blogger or a medical professional.

I’m hoping that this kind of information gathering and vigilance will make things different this time. To be honest, I’m ready to punch the demon in its face this time. And even if the demon gets out, I will do my best to remain mentally strong enough to not let it bother me too much. Let’s face it… sometimes, the real victory is in getting up and starting again after you’ve been knocked down.

So watch out demon… you will not get the better of me this time.
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Exercise | Also tagged , , | Comments (2)

A new favorite.

December 28, 2012 – 9:57 am

I have a new favorite juice:

DSC00513

I was treating a low last night and opened this bottle of Ocean Spray® 100% Juice Cranberry-Pomegranate juice. It‘s been made by the Ocean Spray® people since 2009. And it’s delicious.

Don’t let the label fool you though… this “Cranberry-Pomegranate Juice” is actually a mixture of grape, apple, and plum juice from concentrates, plus cranberry and then pomegranate juice from concentrates. In that order. At least here in the USA, that means there’s more grape, apple, and plum juice in there than cranberry or pomegranate. But it still has the cranberry-pomegranate taste, and for me, it’s still all juice (with a little fumaric acid and ascorbic acid—vitamin C—in there). It’s still tasty, and that’s what matters in these moments.

It’s got a higher carbohydrate count than the average orange juice from concentrate. OJ generally has about 29 grams per 8 ounces. This stuff has 34 grams per 8 ounces. So if you can stand to have just about 7 ounces instead of 8, you’ll get right around 30 grams of carbs.

Whatever. I like it. Ocean Spray® makes a point on the FAQ page of their website that “Ocean Spray® Light Juice Drinks are appropriate for people with diabetes”. Well, maybe, but not if you’re treating a low. When I need to get my BG up in a hurry, this stuff is my new favorite juice.

I’m Stephen, and I approved this message. This just means that I like the product, not that anyone is giving me anything for saying I like it.
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Lows | Also tagged , , | Comments (0)

Juice Discussions.

October 26, 2012 – 1:57 pm

I was a little low the other night when I got home from work. So, after staring at a 60 mg/dL, I opened the refrigerator door to find… no juice. We ran out before I could get out to the store for more.

That’s okay. We always have some backup in the form of the old, reliable juice box. Doesn’t matter which brand. I’ll drink it if I need it. So I grabbed one of the boxes we always keep in reserve.

But wait… this juice is awful. The taste is not good at all. I started looking for a reason why. And then I found it:

The dates on the box said “Best if used by Oct 17 2010”.

In other words, “Worst if used two years later”.

We did a little more searching, and found some new juice boxes that weren’t so far past their prime. But I’ve got to rethink how much I buy of these things when I see them on sale. I need to restock on a more regular basis.
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Lows | Also tagged , | Comments (0)

Low Redux.

August 30, 2012 – 7:05 am

This Sucks! Sucks!

As if it happened because I wrote about my Saturday night low, I was low twice Wednesday. This does not happen often.

Once at work, about 4:00 in the afternoon. Typical symptoms… shaky, sweaty (always appealing in an office setting), trouble focusing. No one noticed. That’s okay.

Then again, about 2 hours later, after walking to the train (it’s about 1/2 mile from my office). By the time I get there, I’m sweating again and very, very tired. I shut my pump off and reached for the candy in my pocket. Just then, my nephew walks up. He works nearby and rides the train too.

We rode together to my stop. I couldn’t put two intelligent words together for about half the ride, but by the time I got to my stop, I was fine. Of course, on the way home from there (it’s only a mile), I get a phone call from The Great Spousal Unit.

“How are you feeling?”

“You’re kind of late, and I was getting worried about you.”

“Yes, Brian called and told me you were low.”

How nice is it that I have great, caring family around me?

There is that.
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Lows | Also tagged , , | Comments (0)