{#everydayreality}

November is American Diabetes Month.

“For the diagnosed, diabetes can affect every decision – what to eat, wear, do and other decisions about how they’ll take care of themselves.”
American Diabetes Association

July 19, 2018. A date we will never forget.

The mister was seen for a well checkup the day before and after his routine blood work he got a call saying he needed to get himself to the ER. His blood sugar was 457. A normal fasting glucose should be around 100 or less. We made it to the ER where his blood sugar was repeated, and it was 754. By all accounts, he should have been in a coma. For reference, his A1C level was also “off the chart” at “greater than 14.”

Needless to say, the mister found himself in the ICU on an insulin drip overnight. He ended up spending two nights in the hospital and his life hasn’t been the same since.

Diabetes is an #everydayreality for our whole family now. The foods in our house are different, there are insulin pens in my refrigerator, the cookbooks are different, we have testing kits as part of the decor. We read so many labels now. We compare everything. And my refrigerator is FULL of sugar free Jell-O.

The mister is an IDEAL diabetic. He checks his blood sugar daily, takes his medicine, and eats like he should, which is hard for a man who doesn’t like seafood or vegetables. He eats a LOT of chicken, salads, and green beans.

But it still hasn’t been easy.

Medications have side effects. And they are sometimes awful.

Most days he comes home from work and can hardly walk because his feet hurt so bad. We are working on a solution for this.

Diabetic diets are designed to help a person lose weight – my mister is THIN to begin with. Gaining weight has been a challenge.

We are on a first name basis with the pharmacy tech at CVS these days. Test strips and lancets are not cheap. We have a used sharp container in our bathroom.

The mister HATES needles. And he gives himself a shot every night.

He is figuring it out. It hasn’t been easy, but it’s reality now.

Diabetes. We had no idea. But we are learning. Are you at risk? Click here for the American Diabetes Association’s Risk Test.