Diabetes is one of the most widely-known illnesses in the world. For all the resources out there on how to treat it, though, there are very few that discuss how to live with it. Furthermore, it seems that type 2 diabetes has become the crowd favorite. Most articles and books today talk about diabetes from the type 2 perspective by default. Not only is this a letdown for type 1s, but it could potentially be dangerous if the wrong type takes those steps. This article focuses on the type 1 diabetic situation, and how to live with diabetes instead of live in fear of it. Here are three easy steps to not only lowering blood sugars, but making sure they don't go rogue again.
Know your tendencies: Most type 1 diabetics notice when their sugar levels are as little as ten or twenty points below the norm. When it comes to high blood sugar, however, they could be a hundred or even two hundred points above normal and think they're perfectly fine. This is because, before being diagnosed, most diabetics spent their entire day above 300 or even 400 points. The best way to counter this is to get paranoid. Be aware of when things feel too perfect, and backtrack the past few hours in your head. This is especially useful when first waking up in the morning.
Be wary of sugar levels during and after exercise: This is a tricky subject. First of all, your body can produce hormones that raise sugar levels. It's not a good idea to take insulin right away after this because the effects are usually short (around twenty to thirty minutes sometimes) and your sugar levels will crash in the next few hours. Then, there is also the issue of dehydration. The less water that's in your blood and skin, the more concentrated sugar levels will be. It's also a bad idea to take a corrective before drinking some water because your sugar levels might actually be a lot lower than you think. Thirdly, it's possible that, while exercising, the body had low blood sugar and glucose was released into the blood to stabilize it. Taking all three of these things into account, it's best to wait a few minutes before taking a corrective or eating after exercising.
Label your supplies: People will mistake blood sugar kits and insulin pumps for phones, ipods, and anything else that's popular. If you leave them out in public places they will be stolen. Don't assume that thieves will check their loot to make sure they got the right thing. Also, don't assume they'll know what it is even if they do check. For those of you who think that, once someone realizes they got the wrong thing, they'll return it because it's someone's medicine, you're wrong once again. It'll end up in a trashcan, or on the street, or in the corner of a locker room. If some other nice soul finds it after that they might turn it in, but don't rely on such poor odds. Label your supplies with information on what they are and who owns them and save yourself a lot of grief.
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