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Category: Living Normally with Diabetes

“Liv-abetic” As Opposed to Diabetic

Chris Stocker

I was saying the word diabetic a lot over the past few days.  Well a lot more than normally.  Probably because I was having a few conversations with people about diabetes and my life of a diabetic blog and my insights on diabetes and healthcare.  After saying it a lot I thought, I never realized how much the word “die” is in this word.  And with the ignorance that is out there about diabetes, most people think that it is a death sentence and they are scared of it.  So I started to say I’m not a diabetic, it’s more like a “live”-abetic.  Because that is exactly what I am doing I am living, not dying.  The life of a diabetic is no different than anybody elses, we just have to do a few more things.  I’m just a high maintenance person I guess, my blood sugars require a lot of attention and my supplies are expensive.

Many newly diagnosed type 1 diabetics that I have met and spoke to are scared that they are on a clear path to living a shorter life.  Absolutely not is my first reaction.  I suggest that they be careful where they read their information on the web.  Too many articles, newsletter, and diabetes information or dis-information as I feel, have a negative tone to them.  They may or may not be done purposely like that, but they still are.  For instance, there could be two articles about diabetes and heart disease.  One will talk about how diabetes increases the rate of heart disease and risk of death.  Or you can have the same issue talked about in a way that explains, watching your diet, managing your blood sugars and exercising will decrease your risks.

Now these two things sound almost exactly the same, and to you maybe they are, but to me they are not.  I am a firm believer that you can control your diabetes, your diabetes doesn’t control you.  So, for this exact reason, I believe information should be written in the fashion that the author should explain what you can do to lower risks (you controlling your diabetes) as opposed to explaining what diabetes will do to you if you don’t do these things (diabetes controlling you).  I hope this all makes sense, because it makes great sense in my head, but it doesn’t always come out correctly.

I hope you all have an amazing day and wish you all the best in keeping your blood sugars at good numbers.

A Relaxing Weekend with Diabetes

Chris Stocker 4 Comments

This weekend was filled with a lot of excitement, well at least I think so.  What I mean by exciting is a relaxing weekend with diabetes.  I don’t even know where to begin, but I guess I will just start on Friday.  Friday night may have been boring for most people, but to me it was great because I had a chance to relax and catch up on some reading and reviewing certain things, mainly healthcare reform debates, and not have to worry about being anywhere in the morning or at night.  The night started out a little rocky because at football practice my infusion set had fallen out.  No big deal though because there was only about 20 minutes left of practice and when it fell out I checked my sugar and it was 75, so I didn’t need any insulin for a while anyway.

After I got home and showered, I sat down and reviewed President Obama’s speech from last week again, but this time with a little more detail and not just taking it all in like I did the first time.  But more on that later on in the week.  The rest of Friday night was spent researching the options in creating a business in the state of Florida.  A lot of paperwork and dumb fees, that’s what I concluded!  Finally the night ended with a refresher course on basic HTML.  I know how boring this night sounds, but it was so damn relaxing for me.  And the whole time my blood sugars were at great numbers.  Just to stress this point, a Friday night life of a diabetic is not much any different than a Friday night of someone who isn’t, so take that diabetes!

Saturday morning did not start off too well however.  I volunteered to help out with the local JDRF at a sidewalk sale where all profits went directly to JDRF.  I drove down to Boca and when I got there, I was getting out of the car and riipppp.  My infusion set tubing got caught on the door and it pulled my infusion set out.  Two infusion sets gone in 2 days, not a bad pace.  I had to go back home and by the time I did all of that, there was really no point in going back down to the fundraiser, so I had to miss out on this one.  Saturday night came and it was a little like the night before.  I didn’t do as much work because I decided to just relax and watch the USC-OSU game all night.  I did very little work.

Sunday came which means my Philadelphia Eagles.  I made myself a promise that I would not allow myself to get all worked up and make my blood pressure and blood sugars go crazy anymore. I would not allow these 5 reasons to affect me this week.  The game was pretty much wrapped up after the first or second quarter, so I was not on edge like I normally would be, but my blood sugars were perfect.  I tested before I went into the sports bar and then again 3 hours later after I left.  It was 175 when I entered and 106 when I left, and that was after French Onion soup and a chicken quesadilla.

So, that was my exciting weekend.  Not much to it, but just a normal day living with diabetes.  Now it is time to enjoy some Monday Night Football (Brady, Moss, Pats Defense all on my fantasy team) and watching this incredible match between Federer and Del Potro.

Have a great day and night everybody.