Diabetes: A day in the life…

Outwardly, people with diabetes make living with diabetes seem like nothing. We totally got this. Many people who are unfamiliar with diabetes think that all we have to do is occasionally test our blood sugars and have our injections or tablets. These people don’t get it, nor will they ever come close to understanding what it’s like to live with diabetes; a chronic condition that we face with every day, 24 hours, seven days a week, for the rest of our lives. We may not always show or talk about it but diabetes does have a huge impact on our daily lives. Here’s just what one of my days is like when it comes to diabetes with a very brief insight into the emotional aspects of it.

Morning

Wake up

Test BGL

Make mental note to buy test strips on the way home

Make another mental note to charge meter

Brush teeth + Get changed

Change sites if needed

Fight off cat who thinks pump lines is a play thing

Check site – no pain; no blood – winner

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Breakfast

Decide on brekkie

Count carbs in brekkie

Enter carbs and BG into pump

Check meter for last BGL cos I’ve already forgotten

Have brekkie while packing for the day and run out the door

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Gym

Test BGL

Decide whether to suspend or lower basal

Start workout

Not sure if feeling low or exercise effects

Check BGL

Rejoice at in range BGL

Finish workout

Test BGL

Treat low

Try not to head to the nearest cafe to demolish all their food

Check BGL

Stumble to showers in a haze

Not sure if exhausted from exercise or still feeling low

Shower and change

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Work

Head to work desk

Raid snack stash to stave off hypo hunger

Decide on eating handful of nuts

Start working

Decide to have another handful of nuts

Keep working

Accidentally polished off an entire large tub of nuts

(I have large handfuls?)

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Lunch

Test BGL

Analyse lunchbox contents

Guess carbs

Punch in BGL and carbs into pump

Avoid weird stares of people looking at my pump

Find nice quiet spot to eat

Play Candy Crush Saga

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Afternoon

Drink endless amounts of water

Test BGL

Recover from shock of high BGL

Backtrack and troubleshoot high BGL

Blame dumplings

Give correction insulin dose

Keep working

Home time!

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Evening

Chase cat around the house for fun

Set up for dinner

Do some chores

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Dinner

Find testing kit

Test BGL

Gloat at nice BGL

Analyse dinner plate contents

Locate and count carbs

Grumble at dinner gone cold

Reheat dinner

Chill with family

Clear dishes

Work on side projects

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Bedtime

Get comfy in PJs

Wonder about grumbling tummy

(seriously, I practically ate all day, how am I still hungry)

Ignore grumbling tummy

Prepare for next day

Get snuggled in bed

Test BGL

Make mental note to buy more test strips tomorrow

Curse at low battery warning on meter

Blink at weird number on meter

Sigh in annoyance at lowish BGL

Unsnuggle from bed

Make supper (strawberry nesquik yum)

Appreciate company of cat while having supper

Fight off cat from drinking my supper

Wash up

Resnuggle into bed

Bloody hell

Unsnuggle from bed…again…

Find charger for meter

Charge meter

Snuggle into bed…again…

Fight with cat for bed space

Dream