"Trick or Treat" came early this year.

Perhaps I should clarify. While Saturday, October 29 was the designated day for many children's Hallowe'en-themed activities — including costume contests, mall Trick-or-Treats, and the costumed American Diabetes Association Step Out to STOP Diabetes Walk, Mother Nature had other plans for us — plans that included snow shovels, flashlights, streets full of wet, slushy, ice-snow, and not a microwatt of electric power to be had for three towns' radius around us.

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The most recent heat wave may have passed, but summer is still in full swing -- which means heat-related health alerts. While these issues are not directly related to diabetes, diabetes can confound a heat-related health issue, making it harder to recognize and treat. Heat-related symptoms can mimic sugar-related symptoms and vice-versa, so it is in our best interests to know our normal ranges and reactions to the greatest degree possible.

The most basic heat issue is hydration. For some of us, dehydration will cause our blood glucose levels to drop; for others, it will cause those readings to rise. For some of us, the physical stress of dehydration will, at one point or another, trigger an adrenaline response and its associated glycogen release, leading to u-shaped curves (think "Dawn Phenomenon").

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I've worked really hard the past few months to lose some weight. I've been eating better (cutting out fast food, "extras" like dinner rolls or second servings, and leaving the snacks on the snack aisle at the grocery store). On top of that, I'm working out about three times a week either at the gym or on the treadmill at home. And I'm proud to say that I've lost six pounds and several inches.

But the past week has thrown a major kink in my progress. I'm too scared to even step on the scale to see how these low and "lower" blood sugars are affecting me. I know my calorie intake has increased between the cokes, snacks, and extra carbs I'm consuming to offset these things.

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