OK, I KNOW that is a weird title! And don't get me wrong - hypos are dangerous, at least the very low ones. My point is this, we ARE going to have hypos so lets appreciate the good things about them! Here is what I love about them. I love the way they can make me perceive the world around me. During a hypo, the sky, blue with white tufts of clouds, is so AMAZINGLY beautiful. The perspective of the buildings jutting up into the blue above is so exagerated and never ending....The world around me looks SO VERY BEAYTIFUL! Secondly, magination just takes wing when my bg is low. Anything is possible. I remember writing a comment on Kevin's blog Parenthetic Diabetic. This was ages ago. In Kevin's blog post he was at a party where he works. There were so many tempting foods spread out there on the tables, and he was so STRONG and didn't just gobble everything up. I was having a hypo when I commented. I blabbed on and on about how he should try and add a new element into his already EXCELLENT log sheets. They let us note our blood glucose results, insulin amounts, exercise, and all the other elements that make calculating what to do to manage diabetes so complicated. What did I want added? Our emotional feelings! I am NOT talking about our level of stress. I am talking about how sometimes you see the numbers of a low or a high and you cannot really see how they correspond to our happiness, anger, frustration. For example, when Kevin saw all those delicious foods out there - of course it was really hard to say NO! Wouldn't it be cool if you could add that element of struggle so that it was visible on the graph. Then, when he was strong and didn't stuff himself with all those goodies, think if you could visibly see in the charts the happiness and the pride of success! All of this, is what I was blabbing about - or trying to explain. What is important is the following - not only does out imagination take wing but also all those wonderful ideas stay with us. Our imagination stays active in everything we do, in how we live our life.
The beautiful way we see things and our wonderful imagination stay with us. I have a particular street corner where I was having a hypo several years ago, and every time I am there I look up and clearly remember how beautiful the sky was!
I just thought this had to be said, since we ALL always gripe about hypos.
And since we have hypos there is absolutely no need to get drunk or take drugs!
I am good at some things, but oh so terrible at others. I hope it all evens out to make me average. I am so terribly terrible with computer stuff. Nicole at Curious Girl wrote about putting banners on our blogs for the United Nations' "Unite for Diabetes Campaign". Well, I DO want a big banner at the very top of my blog b/c this is SO important. I don't want another little button on the left side! I guess I chose the wrong template when I started this blog. Yesterday I called the people in Brussels working on this campaign and explained that I DID want to put a big banner at the very top, but couldn't figure how to do it. I AM a computer moron. In addition, I do NOT like sitting at my computer. I do like what computers allow me to do, but I want everything to go so very, very quickly so I can go out and do something FUN: take a walk, play with Skye in the park, read a book! I have so many books I just MUST read!
About books - are there others out there who just could not get through Melville's "Moby Dick", but wished they could? Are there others out there that love Nantucket, that little "far-away" island out in the Atlantic, beyond New Bedford, Massachusetts? Are there others out there interested in whaling? You others, you MUST read Ahab's Wife or, the Star-Gazer by Sena Jeter Naslund. Superbly written and so full of stuff about Nantucket's history. Such a lovely story! GREAT BOOK! When you read it you smell the rose covered cottages and the salt in the air. You feel the mist as it envelopes you.
I am sick of talking about diabetes. So much of my time is occupied with managing it that I MUST get away from it and think about other stuff. I still have low-range ketones (0.3-0.6mmol/l) all the time. My insulin to carb ratio is still very elevated. And I just have to say it - I don't know why! My brain is constantly mulling this question. Both the ketones and that my weight continues to decrease very slowly could perhaps be the cause. I now weigh about 43.5kgs, which is 95.7lbs (43.5x2.2). A healthy BMI index (kg/m²) is 18.5 to 24.9. My BMI is 43.5/1.49² which equals 19.59. I have calculated that the lowest healthy BMI index of 18.5 says that I should not go under 41kgs. I don't have to worry unless I go under 41kgs. I have to admit - I really do like being thin FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE!!!!!! All my life I felt chubby or fat. My insulin pump definitely helped me loose weight.
ONE more thing - I SO love Kevins's version 3.14 logsheets!!!!! You should see my wonderful pie diagrams. I am VERY proud of them. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH, Kevin ! I have chosen your original "in-range values" of 80-140mg/dl!
Kevin, have the twins arrived?!!!!!
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19 comments:
When I was 7 years old, I liked hypos mainly because I got to eat something sweet and not have to apologize for it! Today, however, I find them to be more annoying, dangerous and usually happen at the most inconvenient times, so its interesting that I never looked at the bright side of hypos!
You're right that when blood glucose levels drop (but before they go too low), we tend to notice things that ordinarily would not be noticed, whether its the color of the sky, or for me, I notice the background vocals and instruments playing in music, and that IS an unusual opportunity to notice these things that we normally take for granted.
Recently, in the U.S. JDRF had a lobbying day with Government representatives intended to have these elected officials live life as a person with Type 1 diabetes does for 1 day. Unfortunately, unless they can experience a hypo firsthand (and most people without diabetes, and many with type 2) have counterregulatory function, so even if they go low, they still don't experience what its really like. I'd like them to experience that, and then wake up from the experience being confused, embarrassed and frustrated, THEN they can say they lived life like someone with juvenile diabetes has!
Scott, huh so you HEAR stuff psychadelically - that has to be misspelled!). You know me and spelling...... Cool! For me is is how I SEE stuff and how I SMELL stuff! And yes, it is so terribly embarsassing afterwards! The things I say. ALSO, since all these crazy thoughts stay with me, I have trouble sometimes keeping straight what exactly is real and what is totally imaginary. Am I making any sense here?! Oh, I would SO like for those representatives to FEEL what a hypo is like...... I HATE the utter confusion and the need to work so dam hard to figure out how to do simple things. To have to figure out how to go up stairs, how to lift first one leg and then the other. To think that maybe one should always use the right leg, or should I alternate the right and then the left leg?! Or what exactly must you do with the key in your hand to open a locked door.... Scott, I assume you have been to Nantucket! If tyou haven't, you MUST. It is the very most beautiful place in the whole world! Don't just see Nantucket town. Sconset is THE BEST!
Wow, you have lost weight with your pump!? I have GAINED ABOUT 40 pounds with mine. I eat the same or less than I did before I got the pump. But I have never made any sense. LOL! I hate to exercise, other than walking. So I guess I'm going to have to buckle down & really exercise. Too bad we can't combine our weight & divide by 2 - then we'd have a nice sized person, huh? But seriously, I hope you don't lose too much. I did that a few years ago & my doctor threatened to put me in the the hospital. So I stopped losing. Too bad I don't have that problem now. Good luck!
Hi Donna, I think it is very important to let people know that one does NOT have to go up in weight when you get an insulin pump. It all depends on how you use it. If everytime you have a higher bg value you remedy it with insulin, and you no longer spill insulin in your urine, then of course you will go up. Some people see it as a means to eating whatever they want, if they just count the carbs! I saw it as a means of carefully balancing my bg values, but at the same time I did NOT increase my food quantities. Exercise is extremely important. It doesn't matter what you do. I walk - but I walk FAST. When I have a high bg value I both walk and take a correction bolus. You will need a much smaller correction bolus if you get exercsie at the same time. The exercise also makes the insulin that you took for the correction bolus work more quickly. Another thing I do is NEVER eat a meal if my bg value is above 100mf/dl. I will take the meal bolus, add on a correction bolus and run up and down the stairs, walk quickly around the park or in any other way just get some ewercise. No food until the bg is down! I will need more insulin for a given X-amount of food if I start at a high level. Oh, and I am definitely not skinny! No way! Remember I am short too (149cm=58.6in). Did YOU think you were too skinny, when your doctor threatened to put you in a hospital? How did you feel, were you peppy? We diabetics have to remember to acknowledge and give value to what we know and feel is going on in our own bodies!
Thanks for the information, Chrissie. It is quite a balancing act, isn't it?
I also don't eat a meal if my BG is above a certain level. When my doctor threatened to put my in the hospital when my weight was down, I was very happy with how I looked, but I was definitely not peppy. I was going through some difficult families situations & I think that had a lot to do with the weight loss. So I had very little energy - plus my BGs were not that good.
Now that they're better, I was hoping I would feel better, too. But because of the weight gain, I don't feel like doing anything. Got to work on this.
I eat the same amount of food as I did before the pump, too. So that's a little frustrating. My husband doesn't think I eat enough, but apparently, I do. I really watch what I eat so it must be the lack of exercise for me. I know I just need to buckle down & do it.
Coming from someone that does not have diabetes I really feel for your frustration. I am surprised there isn't more information on the web about reversing diabetes. I wrote some articles at www.all-diabetes-articles.com after talking to a councilman from the San Diego, California area who had diabetes for 20 years. He said, "I no longer DO diabetes".
He referred to a man who helped him reverse his diabetic condition and his name is Dr. Robert Young, author of "The PH Miracle for Diabetes". Apparently Dr. Young has had the same results with others who had diabetes, cancer, heart disease, MS. The list goes on. Dr. Young is not a doctor but a microbiologist who has spent 25 years studying the blood. He doesn't treat diseases, he simply helps people change their lifestyle habits to clean their blood. The body is then able to freely remove toxins, get the needed nutrients to the organs and tissues and lead a healthy normal life.
I personally believe that the reason there is not more information about reversing diabetes is because there is no profit in a healthy society. If people are healthy they don't need to buy expensive medications or equipment.
I will be adding some of Dr. Young's articles to the site and maybe they will interest you too. My real hope is that I can put the word about people who have reversed diabetes and provide that information so that others can investigate it for themselves.
Drug companies are predicting a 70% increase in diabetes. When you look at the American or western diet this is no surprise. Rutgers University did a study and found that high-fructose corn syrup may lead to diabetes. Next time you are in your grocery store look at the products you buy and see how many of them have high fructose corn syrup in them.
I do not diagnose anything but I do like to find information for people who want to be healthy naturally. I have been reading about health (not disease) and talking to people who have changed their health for many years now. I have finally decided to put this information into articles. If there is an article you don't see on the web site you can send an email at info@all-diabetes-articles.com and I will be glad to do some research on the subject and post it to the site.
I honestly don't like to see people live with chronic illnesses if there is a way for them to overcome it. Hopefully the information in this comment may lead someone on a path to better health!
Tom
Donna,
I swear by exercise - and I am not talking about "sports", I mean just plain moving all the time! I walk very fast at least 1hour per day and Per and I take a 2-3 hour fast walk once or twice every weekend! Oviously, if your weight goes up, you need less food! It is that simple. I eat very little food. I have always gone up on diets given to me by doctors. I believe in not varying food amounts, only drinking very small amount of coke for hypos, aiming for 80(not100mg/dl) and writing down EVERYTHIUNG in Kevins's logbook!. One has to find patterns. Even though I am currently using much more insulin than last February, I have lost more weight. Probably b/c I eat a smaller lunch of veg-soup rather than 4 slices of bread. I live on "free" vegetables, and I do have to bolus for them. I LOVE them! If you send to me an email with your email info I could show you how I use Kevin's logbook and what I really demand of myself. It is much more than what most doctors demand! Nobody is forcing this on me. This is my choice - that is the big difference. What do I get out of it? I FEEL MUCH BETTER! I have done so with Renée too, send her my logbook that is. I SO beleive in careful logging! It is HARD work, but I am the beneficiary!
Tom, I am a T1 - my body makes NO insulin. I am NOT a T2! I do NOT believe in miracle cures. I DO believe in the importance of maintaiining a very healthy life style - healthy, natural food and tons of exercise. I believe that is perhaps why I need small amounts of insulin! BUT I NEED THAT INSULIN! Please do NOT use my blog has an advertising billboard!
Chrissie
That book was excellent. I have to still to read Moby Dick, but Ahab's Wife was a superb read. And that first sentence "Captain Ahab was neither my first husband nor my last." How could you not be swept up by it.
Here's another book with Wife in the title that might be of interest to you The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. It took a little while to figure out how to read it properly. I found it hard to stop reading it, though I thought difficult times were towards the end of it.
For some reason, this verse from Patrick Kavanagh, the Irish poet, jumps into my mind about that book "I saw the danger, yet I walked along the enchanted way,
And I said, let grief be a fallen leaf at the dawning of the day."
Good to see you back online Chrissie.
Chrissie, thank you for your blog. It helps me to see things in a different light. My struggle has always been valuing myself enough to fight for a healthy lifestyle. I am coming around to it many years after initial diagnosis. Better late than never. Like you said, It is HARD work, but I am the beneficiary! I Love that line.
And the hypos, ahhhh yes. I hate them. HATE THEM. I hate taking food or sugar when I don't want it. I hate glucose tablets. I have come to hate orange juice. But it is true that my perception is heightened at times by a hypo. I like that you can put a positive spin on it.
You are an inspiration to me.
5:28 AM
Hi Bernard - OH SO GLAD YOU ARE BETTER!!! :.) My nose ended up kind of tilted there. I ASSUME you have been to Nantucket. Isn't it THE most wonderful place in the world. Sconset is where we use to stay years ago when I was a kid, with my red Schwinn bike..... I have taken Per and Eric and Ellen there several times. It is SO expensive now-a-days! Maybe we will be able to meet...... Per totally agreed that it would be fun to go to that "maybe-meeting" next spring!!!! Think to meet you and everybody else. I MEAN WOW! I will go now and check out that book you suggested, on Barnes and Noble. It is the Kirkus reviews that are the best to rely on. If they like a book, then it has to be good. They are very, very picky! You have to read very carefully what exactly they say about it.
Hi Amylia, glad you stopped by again and commented! When you say you use me as an inspiration, I think - "WHAT,! that is just so weird!" I am just like all the rest of us struggling with this dam disease. What is really nice is now knowing that I am not alone. Before I knew about blogs, I had no idea that the struggles I was going through were in fact common to lots of diabetics. I thought I was weird when I showed doctors that stuff thy are telling me to do weren't working. This disease iv ery individual. We all tend to think that what happens to me IS what happens to others. That is why I personally really have no hope for the "artificial pancreas". There is just too much we do not understand still. Too many questions remain un-answered.
Oh and Bernard I did check out "The Time Traveller's Wife" on both Amazon, your connection, and Barnes and Noble which had the Kirkus Review. I think it would be a light, fun book to read. You know I have lived in Chicago, actually a bit outside Chicago in Wilmette. I went to New Trier High School in Winnetka. I haven't seen any of those people again..... God, what memories! The thing that is so fabulous about "Ahab's Wife" is that in a fictional way she writes about the history of whaling, Nantucket, Emerson, Maria Mitchel, Maragret Fuller. I always like to feel I am learning something. Although I forget most, anyhow! AND I LOVE SCONSET. I chukle, you couldn't get through Moby Dick either! This was the same story but oh so fun to read. I have another book "In the Heart of the Sea" by Nathaniel Philbrick which is the true story that inspired Moby Dick. I have not read it yet!Pretty terrible what happened in the far South Pacific after the whale rammed and sunk the ship and left just a few in three teeny boats. This book is about that, the true story, the cannabalism and the courage and who finally survived. I still haven't finished "Ahab's Wife", Ishmael has entered the scene again.
I do not like anything about "Hypo's."
If you, Chrissie want to experience that out of body experience than I would suggest a few glasses of wonderful red wine or take one of the paths chosen by Aldous Huxley when he discovered that what we "see" is only a limited sight as to what really exists beyond our "confinement."
Hej Barry, I NEVER said I seek "the out of body experience". I just said it happens, and I am sometimes left with enjoyable memories. Why not enjoy what is pushed on to us.
Hej Chrissie......
"During a hypo, the sky, blue with white tufts of clouds, is so AMAZINGLY beautiful. The perspective of the buildings jutting up into the blue above is so exagerated and never ending....The world around me looks SO VERY BEAYTIFUL!"
Are you having an Out Of Body Experience now? lol
If this was a court of law in Belgium or anywhere else in E.U., you would be arrested for Low Blood Sugar.
NO, I was not having an "out of body experience" when I wrote that!!! NO, NO, NO! And that is exactly my point here. I WAS having a hypo when I saw the sky with that perspective, but the memory remains and that beautiful memory is very, very real to me NOW. Why can't I appreciate it? The thing is that sometimes I DO get confused over what is the CORRECT perception. Lots of the ideas I get in a hypo are definitely good, and I do NOT want to say that they are just stupid, silly ideas. This is my central point! WHICH IS THE CORRECT PERCEPTION? I don't really know!
It is like moving without traveling. An altered state of mind. I too have noticed these feelings - it is - what - it is.
HiXpaxsmith, you are new here ! That is nice! Do you also clearly remember the feelings. No way I like the confusion of hypos, but we might as well appreciate the fun parts! How did you find my blog - through TuDiabetes?
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