This morning I woke up because the alarm on my husband’s insulin pump was vibrating. It sounds alarms for several minutes prior to vibrating so I knew my husband had slept through it. The alarm can mean he’s having a high or a low, but I suspected low because he was very physically active yesterday which almost always causes lows. I shook him and told him to check his blood sugar, and he answered that he already had and started laughing. I knew that was not his normal response so I got up and checked it myself, found it was low and went to get him a sugary drink. He kept thinking everything was funny and was uncooperative about drinking the drink. He spit is dental mouthpiece at me and started into a fit of laughter again. After getting no cooperation, I got my daughter up to help me out as sometimes he’s more cooperative with her. He finally started drinking so we tried to get him to chew a couple of glucose tablets. The dog was delighted when he started spitting those around the room. We were having difficulty helping him because of our own fits of laughter. Ultimately, he came around. He usually doesn’t remember what he said or did during the lows and today was no different.
In truth, diabetes is no laughing matter. More so than Type II, Type I diabetics (insulin dependent) walk a tightrope when it comes to sugar. Too much and you can have highs that lead to complications, too little can lead to lows which can be deadly. During both of my pregnancies I was on insulin and briefly got to walk in my husband’s shoes. It gave me insight into what my husband faces on a daily basis to manage his blood sugar level, and I came to understand that even the well managed diabetic will have unforeseen highs and lows. I learned what an insulin reaction feels like and what it feels like after you’ve come out of it. I learned what is meant to manage your diet. I learned that it’s not a disease that you can just take a medication for and forget about it until the next dosage. It’s there, in your face every day, all day. I was lucky because after my children were born, I no longer needed the insulin and needles, but my husband still does. He’s had it since he was seven and I’ve rarely heard him complain, but I’m sure he wonders what freedom feels like.
Love your picture - great colour, composition and motion. --- Someone in my family had a late onset of diabetes (Type I) and I saw how it changed her. It can be scary. Good that you all kept your sense of humour :-).
I very much like this picture - I have great difficulty getting a decent photo of something that is being poured. And about your husband's diabetes, I have always found it amazing how people can cope with it on a daily/hourly/all the time basis. You'd think that some genius somewhere would invent something that could monitor and replace the needed insulin/sugar without the person having to mess with it (or get the sugar highs and lows). Maybe someday.
Wow! Great picture for the day...and you are right about it being both friend and enemy. It sounds like you had a scary morning. It's good that you know how to handle it.
Great shot! I have difficulty capturing anything in motion in a close up shot. I am glad you were there to help your husband through this particular low sugar episode. I am glad you are able to deal with his diabetes with a sense of humor.
This is an awesome shot - the diabetic association should use this. I understand about diabetes. My best friend had it for years. It's a scary thing. Your husband is lucky to have you watching out for him.
love the picture, the red background is great. i'm so sorry that your husband has to deal with diabetes. thank goodness for the modern devices that are available......like the alarm. Thank goodness you get a warning!
It can be a very tricky situation if not controlled too well. My Mother-In-Law is haviong problems controlling hers, but then she doesn't always follow her diet, and just palys with adjusting her insulins. I try to tell her, but she doesn't listen.
First of all, great photo, Lisa! I have a lot of trouble with such up-close photos of things in motion... yours turned out well! Secondly, I'm quite certain I take a lot for granted with regards to my health. I am consistently amazed at how people with a condition that requires constant attention just get on with it. I am glad that Bill has you, and that you guys handle it with such grace under pressure. :)
A sweet reminder to us who don;t have diabetes of how fortunate we are
I've have so many friends and family that live with Diabetes When my father was diagnosed about two months back and i was talking to the doctor he said apart from diabetes being the most common disease worldwide..he also mentioned that more money is spent annually on diabetic research than the USA spend on their annual military budget
@steeler Wow, more than the US spends on military? That's a lot! I don't know if a cure will ever be found, but it has gotten a lot more managable. My husband's pump has given him so much more flexibility, and continuously monitors his glucose levels so he is aware when they they're out of whack (unless of course he sleeps through the alarm!). In the long run that helps prevent complications which so far my husband has managed to avoid.
Wow, so powerful. I am sorry that he has to deal with that. It makes me think I take my health for granted. Great photo and great story. I am glad he is okay.
Yes, having diabetes is difficult and makes day-to-day life more complicated, but a lecturer and endocrinologist told me a few months ago that (in her opinion) it's better to have Type 1 than Type 2. She said that with Type 1, you manage it and can live a pretty normal life. With Type 2 you have lots more restrictions and unless you can change the habits of a lifetime, it just gets worse and worse and affects your life expectancy and life quality quite dramatically. So I guess that's the bright side for you and your husband. Hope it makes things seem a little better.
@wormentude It's funny you should mention this because I am type 2 just because it runs in my family. (Although I'm barely over the glucose levels that qualify me as a type 2, so I'm a bit in denial.) Anyway, I was telling my husband that with this pump, he really does have more options. If he wants to eat a little more on Thanksgiving, he can just make adjustments to his insulin while I can do nothing with an oral medication. Fortunately, my husband has always been very controlled so he has suffered no complications, and his endocrinologist said the those that control it well generally don't suffer complications. I hope I didn't seem like I was whining. I don't really think about it much unless he's going through a period when he's suffering some scary lows. Sometimes they just happen no matter what you've done right. Thanks for commenting. I actually do feel better.
November 30th, 2011
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I've have so many friends and family that live with Diabetes When my father was diagnosed about two months back and i was talking to the doctor he said apart from diabetes being the most common disease worldwide..he also mentioned that more money is spent annually on diabetic research than the USA spend on their annual military budget