I came across this article recently from the BD Newsletter and it got me thinking about how Olivia behaves when her blood sugar is high.

Normally, she's your average teen-ager. She's sometimes sullen, sometimes goofy, sometimes talkative, all in a five minute span. But when her blood sugar is high, she can become weepy, rude, argumentative and very, very unpleasant. The really high highs make her feel sick, but it's the somewhat high highs that I loathe.

If she's floating around 200, her mood becomes just about impossible. Nothing pleases her, she pouts, she mopes and she generally behaves as though she's lost her last friend. The drama! Oh, the drama. That's usually when I come out with the "You'd better be high" phrase. And boy, do you get weird looks from people when you say that in the grocery store or mall. I admit to having very little patience for this type of behaviour. Olivia's a rather moody child at the best of times, so these moderate highs seem to bring out that side of her even more than usual.

I try not to snap when she acts like that, but I do think she needs to bear some responsibility for her behaviour. She's not a baby any more and she's had diabetes for long enough to know what a high blood sugar feels like and what it does to her mood. I always suggest that she check her blood sugar when she starts acting snotty. I get rolling eyes and heaving sighs, but she always complies (ooh, dig that rhyme, man) and when she comes up with a high number, I smirk. I do refrain from saying "Told you so." Magnanimous of me, huh?

This process of allowing her to figure this disease out on her own is difficult. I'm very eager to jump in and fix it and to explain away her behaviour with her blood sugar readings. But as she becomes more and more independent, she's going to have to start taking on that responsibility. I want her to learn to not use diabetes as an excuse. I think that may be a trap it's easy to fall into and one I want to avoid for her, if at all possible.