One Great Thing

Diabetes Blog Week Post #2

Today’s topic: One Great Thing. I’m supposed to give myself credit for doing something well with my diabetes management.

I’ve mentioned that I’m a perfectionist before. I feel like that helps me keep on top of things overall.

• I never leave home without my diabetes bag
• I test regularly
• I count carbs or guess as accurately as possible
• I keep my work emergency kit stocked
• I never let myself run out of supplies

I may try hard to be perfect, but I sometimes fail. The one thing that I’m great at though is driving with diabetes. By that I mean that I will not leave the house if I’m low or going that direction. I’ve been known to work late because I can’t get behind the wheel until my blood sugar comes back up.

Driving while low is incredibly dangerous and it hurts every time I see a news story about a erratic driver and they release that the driver was having a “diabetic reaction” or “diabetic emergency” because there’s always some idiot commenting that people with diabetes shouldn’t be allowed to drive or that they know that person wasn’t taking care of him or herself because a “good diabetic” wouldn’t have that problem. It spread ignorance and I have absolutely no desire to be that news story. (I probably have more to say on that topic, but we’ll save it for another day.)

Testing before driving can’t prevent your blood sugar from dropping while you’re behind the wheel, that sometimes means pulling over to do another finger stick. That is one reason I like the CGM that I’m trialing, I can check it at stop lights and see if my numbers are climbing, falling or holding steady.

Give Yourself Some Credit

I really like this topic because sometimes we have to remember that there are things we do well. Giving yourself credit where credit is due is important with any chronic medial condition.

Diabetes Blog Week

Post #1: Find a Friend