Real people sick

I don’t mind diabetes. Most days, my routine is second nature. If it weren’t for Jerry keeping such excellent records, somedays I’d forget if I gave insulin for a meal. My emotional therapy is my advocacy. By sharing my diabetes struggles and triumphs with others, I find peace and understanding. While spending time with families dealing with type 1 diabetes in my community, I feel welcomed and normal. And thanks to amazing friends and family, I have more support than I could ever ask for, so I have very few days where diabetes gets me down.

There are still days when I have unexplained highs and lows which make me angry, but I don’t hate diabetes on those days because the highs and lows often pass quickly. But the one time when I truly hate diabetes, I mean truly loathe it, is when I get real-people sick. For anyone unfamiliar, real-people sick means the cold or the flu or anything else a typically healthy person gets. Real-people sick has nothing to do with diabetes. But unfortunately, diabetes has something to do with real-people sick.

For diabetics, our bodies work a little differently. For starters, it takes diabetics longer to heal. It’s why many pay special attention to even the tiniest of cuts, especially in places like our feet. I have several diabetic friends who don’t walk around barefoot, don’t wear sandals and don’t get pedicures. (I’m not one of them although I did have an endo once who made me quit wearing a toe ring.) But I digress. No matter the ailment, it takes a diabetic body a little longer to heal. So a typical cold may last three days, but for me, it’s more like five or six. A typical flu often means a few days of puking and fever at home, but for me, it’s often a hospital visit and overnight stay. (Not being able to keep food down doesn’t mesh well with insulin.)

So as if an extended visit from << this guy isn’t enough to look forward to, there’s always the blood sugars. Typically, my sugars run higher than normal while I’m sick. And when blood sugars are high, ketones show up. Ketones make you sicker. Do you see the cycle? Fortunately, I don’t get sick often. But when I do, I get really sick. It’s the only time I consider throwing a pity party for myself over having diabetes.

Last Wednesday night — the night before Thanksgiving — I began to feel sick. Fortunately, I perked up in time for our family lunch Thursday, and I continued to show signs of improvement on Friday. My fever and chills only lasted through the night Wednesday and didn’t return. I never got ketones although my blood sugars ran higher the majority of the time I was home visiting. But Saturday morning, I woke up hoarse as … well, a horse. I could barely speak. I sneezed, coughed and wheezed the entire day, cursing diabetes in between Kleenex runs. But I didn’t have a fever or ketones, so I was actually thankful. This was one of the weirder colds I’ve ever had — feeling good one day and like death then next and so on and so forth. Saturday afternoon, I mustered enough voice to cheer for Auburn, but apparently, it wasn’t enough. 🙁

Sunday, I could barely speak, to which Sara frequently laughed. And on top of that, I woke up with a stye in my eye (to which Sara wishes I could say out loud for you in my Southern twang.) Monday, I stayed home from work, and I was grateful I did. With even more yucky green stuff spewing from my body, I fought more high blood sugars while trying to sleep sitting straight up. The only time I left my couch was to take the dogs outside and to fix tea and soup. (Why is soup soooo good when you are sick?)

I’d been sick with a crummy cold for five days. Five. Days. By Monday afternoon, I was angry. It’s not fair that diabetes does this. So I went into bitter, hateful mode silently stewing over my disease. I barely got online, and I only tweeted in response to others. I was angry at diabetes, and I felt it best to stay away from people. Am I the only one who ever feels this way? It happens every time I get sick. I begin to loathe diabetes and everything that comes with it. Why does it have to make the already bad even worse?

Editor’s note: Today, I’m feeling much better. I still sound like a man, but other than an occasional cough and sneeze, I feel pretty great. And I’m back to my normal attitude regarding diabetes. 🙂