A New Course

October first was a strange day, one I'll remember for a long time. I had a cortisone shot in my left knee. No big deal, I thought at the time, but that needle changed my life. At first, I thought, for the worst. My blood sugar went through the roof. My eye sight went fuzzy, feet ached, I got very fatigued, my energy was gone. Gloom and despair ensued. I called the diabetes nurse and got hooked up with some Novolog insulin. It worked well in getting my glucose down in a few days. As soon as I stopped using it, my glucose went sky high. So I'm on it full time.

Most people would probably react to this differently than I have. A lot of my friends and family seemed to say things like "sorry to hear that" or "bummer". From my point of view, it's the best thing that could have happened. I've had up and down control since I was diagnosed. Every bite of food was an uncertain adventure in futility. Any amount of carbs, unless followed by intense exercise, was a trigger for an unpleasant experience in many ways. I got guilty over even taking a glance at anything tasty. Pasta. Potatoes. Rice. Bread. All banned from my plate. I was causing problems with my home life. The mood swings and anger were ruining my social life. Something had to give.

Taking the insulin changed all of that. I can actually eat most anything in moderation without severe blood sugar spikes. Just estimate the amount of carbs I plan on eating, inject the proper amount of insulin, and go. So far, my readings are below 100 most of the time upon waking up in the morning, and stay steady all day. It will be really great as soon as I get the Omni Pod pump. I wont have to carry around the Flex pen and needles any more. The Byetta had quit working, so that's gone. Two less shots a day doesn't bother me at all. Plus, my digestive system will go back to working as designed, instead of being artificially restricted. This all is adding up to putting a smile back on my face and living a much more normal life. Cool.