I’m going back to New York City this week for a meeting with my JDRF co-workers. I will be there, at the National Office on Wall Street, for Thursday and Friday. I always enjoy going to NYC. NYC is all that people say it is and more. It is, from what I’ve gathered and experienced, an unbelievable experience for any human being.
One of the reasons why I am so blown away by NYC is that it is COMPLETELY opposite of what my regular lifestyle and routine represent here at home.
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How can you tell when you've tried too many different diets? When you can't keep the rules of them straight any more. This month, I'm following the Atkins diet. I'm doing it because my doctor took me off meds and I know from experience (and trial and error) that I cannot keep my blood sugar in healthy ranges without meds if I eat any carbohydrates. It isn't right, it isn't fair and there isn't anything I can do about it.
So Atkins it is this month. I started out the year on Weight Watchers. I've always considered Weight Watchers to be one of the healthiest, sanest, most practical diets. Unfortunately, it wasn't working for me this time around. The leaders keep saying the Core plan is great for people with diabetes, but I couldn't lose weight on it. Besides, I was eating mostly whole grains, fresh veggies and lean proteins. I think my portions sizes were too large. I did better counting points, but still that was a struggle to keep my blood sugar in line.
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Charlie has been on the pump for one year. What do you get a person with diabetes and their pump for their first year anniversary? Is it something made of wood? Paper? I can never remember.
Charlie never wanted to name his pump like so many others do. He turned down many of my recommendations such as Pumpy, Bluey, PumpBot, Slumpy the Pumpy, Mr. Beeps, Insulindiana Jones, Pumpio, Alan Pumpstein and Cheryl.
Maybe he's right not to name it. He doesn't name his sneakers or his ears. It's not a pet. Though he does keep it on a leash of sorts. He has been known to name his poop, but let's not go there, uh, girlfriend. Anyway, everyone names their poop.
Right?
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I am a writer. At times, I fancy myself an artist. I create things. With pen, paper, a camera, paint.
My mother says that I ate the world up as a young girl. That I couldn't get enough. I would stay up into the wee hours, watching the shadows on the wall or examining the shapes on the wallpaper from top to bottom and then bottom to top. She also says I didn't care to sleep. She felt I was afraid I'd miss something. I think she's right.
I still spend a lot of time looking at things. Feeling light, color, and texture with my eyes. Scrutinizing the world around me. I suppose some of this is the artist in me. The need to really SEE things before I can include them in the art I'm making.
And some of it is how afraid I am of losing my eyesight.
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Because I was diagnosed at age 14, I can only speak about not
having diabetes from the perspective of a child. I lived 14 years free of diabetes. As a young kid, I did experience a few random episodes of hypoglycemia, but never did I imagine myself becoming a person with diabetes. I didn't even know what the word was. I remember one distinct conversation that I had with a friend's mom. She was talking to me about a guy that we both knew named Curtis. Curtis was a soccer referee and before I knew about my diagnosis, I remember her telling me that he was, "a diabetic and that he had to take shots everyday". Looking back I can remember my exact feelings and reaction to this.
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I had a very curious and unexpected conversation at work recently. An amusing person that I work with, who I'll refer to as "The Random Talker", will pour out mouthfuls of directionless information at the drop of a hat. I'm talking about a totally un-sequestered menagerie of anomalous comments. This time, however, something struck home with me and we had a more meaningful, if not still awkward conversation.
Random: "Sometimes I get really angry and confused when I don't eat enough"
Me: "Oh really, I know the feeling,"
Random: "I become
hypoglycemic, but I bet you don't know what that is, do you?"
Me- (Sounding like a know it all): "Ya, your blood sugar drops, and you can get sweaty, hungry, nervous, jittery, not a good feeling"
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