freitag favorites + moving forward

A lot has changed about my life in the last few weeks, and I’m happy to say that all the little positives of the last few weeks, along with all the love and support from all of you, are really helping to outweigh the one big, life-changing negative that is diabetes.

DSC02539-5

You see, at least I ended the summer in the sun listening to gentle waves, reading a good book on the beach next to the man of my dreams (see above). At least I returned home to weather just warm enough that I’m still able to leave for work with damp hair, thus drastically shorting my morning routine. At least dark chocolate is generally low in sugar, and at least diabetes means that I may have to eat a few gummi bears every time I go for a run to keep my blood sugar more stable along the way. Really, it’s the small things that matter.

Perhaps it is also somehow helpful that the overpowering sinking feeling of shock I still have when I really remember I’m diabetic that makes even little negatives–like getting attacked by more than 20 bloodthirsty Turkish mosquitoes in one evening–much more manageable.

I don’t want to live my life defined by this diagnosis, nor do I want to be the person that always looks at food and complains about what they can’t have, but it is going to take me some time to get there. In the meantime, I still feel a little sad when I think about how easy it was to just live my life without wondering how many grams of carbohydrates/sugars were in everything that crossed my lips.

I guess the only other good news about my diabetes diagnosis is that I have late onset type 1 diabetes (LADA) and so far it seems my pancreas is still sort of functioning and producing some insulin which will make this transition period a little easier. Right now my time is mostly absorbed in lots of finger-pricking in order to learn how different foods affect me, the impact of exercise, and what my body can still do. Who knew so much math would be required to read the side of a box? Well, I can already tell you that one Turkish delight (ha) contains about 3g carbs and that two Turkish Delight is just a little too much fuel for a 5km run.

So, on that note, I have one critical question I need you to help me answer: what kind of sugary candy should I have available on runs, or in my purse, in order to prevent hypoglycemic moments? The answer is certainly not the Medtronic-labeled mysteries currently floating around in the bottom of my purse.

While you think about the answer, I hope you enjoy some of my favorites from around the web over the last few weeks…

2 replies
  1. taxicat53
    taxicat53 says:

    Kate – You are an amazing inspiration to me. Keep up the great attitude. Things will get better. I can't wait to learn all the math when you come home for Christmas. Love you, mom

    Reply
  2. Doree Fuller
    Doree Fuller says:

    Hi Kate! Don't know if you remember me, I'm Cindy's friend, we meet when Cindy and I were in Seattle for a girls weekend several years back. I remember at the time thinking that we had a lot in common. I would have never thought that one of the biggest things that we would have in common would be Diabetes. In the end of July, as an early 40th birthday gift my body decided to give me Type 1 Diabetes! Nice right! So I can very much relate to all the changes that you are going through. Running was a big challenge for me. My blood glucose would severely drop during my runs. What we discovered works best for me was talking glucose tabs before my run. How many I take depends on my readings. I then take some tabs with me and check mid run. So far I have been able to go on over 5 mile cross country runs without problem. I know that everyone is different so this might not work for you but any additional info is helpful. One of the nice things about the tabs verses candy or a snack is less calories and doesn't feel you up. I hope this is helpful. I know there are so many things that are changing for you right now. If you ever need to vent to someone who is going down the same road let me know know. Here's to good readings

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *