When resources are scarce, it is human nature to try to prioritize and cut back until the situation improves. Usually, these are either short-term or seasonal shortages, giving us some idea of how long we will need to endure -- a sort of "countdown" calendar to work against. When we don't know how long the shortages will last, when necessities such as food, water, and medicine will return, we hunker down into what is called a "siege mentality". The problem with a siege mentality is that it can lead into a downward spiral, with the shortages getting more and more pronounced, until it seems impossible that there will be an outlet or that it will arrive in time... or until the besieged die.

  (READ MORE)

There are enough issues with the data from our diabetes devices to make the average PWD's head spin.

First off, there's the sheer volume of it. Consider that the average glucometer burns through 1500 readings a year -- which hikes up somewhere closer to 6000 if you have type 1 diabetes and don't have a continuous monitor you can rely on. Then there are the carb counts, food data bases, multiple basal rates, special basal rates, bolus wizards, special bolus calculations, and the smartphone calendar alarm to manage them all. Those of us with type 2 diabetes may not have all the insulin data to collect, but we have instead the blood pressure data, and along with the caloric impact of the foods we eat, we have to capture the fat distribution and the sodium levels. For all of us who exercise regularly, there are the heart-rate monitor data, the treadmill, elliptical, and cyclocomputer statistics, and the rep charts for weights. (READ MORE)

Every morning, I weigh myself, check my blood pressure, and test my blood glucose. The latter two measurements are checked on various occasions throughout the day -- moreso the glucose than the pressure, even though my only prescription medications are for my blood pressure rather than my blood glucose. There is a range for each that I consider "safe". When the ambient temperature drops, Raynaud's kicks in, and with it, the risk of hypothermia. Unfortunately, three of those parameters -- blood pressure, blood glucose, and body temperature --
have a common symptom when they drop below the safety zone. That symptom is shakiness.

  (READ MORE)

As people with diabetes, we are told time and again to make sure we schedule regular oral care visits, as diabetes makes us both more susceptible to oral disease (cavities, periodontal issues, etc.) and makes it more difficult for us to recover from the procedures needed to treat that disease. "Why," you may then ask, "have you never sought out dental care as an adult, even when preventative care was made available to you, free of charge?" My answer to that can be summed up in a single word.

Orthodontia.

  (READ MORE)

These changes I wrote about recentlyare going pretty well. I'm choosing better foods to eat, only having human sized portions, and even cutting back on the soda.

I cannot believe I just typed that.

Soda. Diet soda is a vice I am not ready to give up entirely. I love soda in almost any flavor as long as it's diet odds are I'll like it.

But I drink a lot of soda. Way too much to be honest. And although diet soda doesn't seem to affect my blood glucose levels, the salt in it is not good.

  (READ MORE)