Saturday, April 21, 2012

The story of my life

I understand diabetes is a subject that is on my mind on a daily basis. After all, diabetes is a lifestyle and it keeps you (well, me since this is my blog..) busy 24/7. A long time ago, my first endocrinologist told me the diabetes controlled my life. I had to step back and loosen the ties a bit. But how do you do that? I poke my fingers 8 times a day, on an average day. Do they expect me to check my blood glucose only 4 times a day? I count carbs around every mealtime. Should I skip the counting for breakfast or lunch and only count my dinner carbs? Yes, I have quite a few friends with diabetes and yes, they are important to me. Because they relate. They don't need you to explain over and over again what it means to have low blood glucose or to be exhausted after a day full of fluctuating numbers. They help you get sugar when you are too distracted by a low episode. They know how intense good treatment is. They understand that the possible future complications are a big deal and not something to mess with. You can't really understand if you're not in the same situation. Talking to my D-friends gives me hope. It calms me down and it motivates me to go on. My numbers aren't always the best and that is so exhausting. It takes courage and effort and a whole lot of energy to keep going. You don't always want to nag about your diabetes at home. It's of no use to them if you fluctuate or not. There's nothing they can do to make you feel better or to get better numbers. Those are subjects I prefer to discuss with my diabetes nurse or my diabetic friends. Without scaring each other, we can talk about almost anything. It feels familiar.. some of my D-friends have become family. I love them like I keep my family in my heart. They are important to me like I matter to them. We stand by each others side. I'm grateful for my family like I'm grateful for my friends. Life would be a whole lot harder if I would have nobody to turn to.. It's not easy to find the right balance between family and friends, home and going out...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

*knuffel*