Tuesday, June 30, 2009

"Don't You Get Tired Of Eating????"

Last night at about 11:15 pm I flicked the bedroom light back on to test. Kim asked what's up and I said, it feels like the room is spinning so I thought I should test. The meter flashed a "51" so I went to my stash of clif builder bars and began to munch away. That prompted Kim to ask "don't you get tired of eating?"

She's not the first person to ask this question and certainly won't be the last but it is one of the most frustrating things about diabetes. Not the question, the fact that sometimes you just can't eat enough to keep glucose levels high enough. Her second question, "well isn't there something else you could do besides eat?" Was also a very valid question and brings up a huge dilemma. I told Kim, I could turn off the basal rate in my insulin pump and hope that my blood sugar rebounds in 30 to 60 minutes but the downside risk with that is huge. At 51, if there is still insulin on board even with a 0% basal rate one's blood sugar level could continue to fall to very dangerous levels (which makes me question the ideology behind the new minimed pump). So in that I have always found the best thing to do when faced with a low is to eat.

Of course I have other options besides clif bars of any variety but have found the blend of protein, carbohydrates and organic goodness is a great healthy way to fight lows or eat in general - I swear I have to be one of clif bar's largest non-corporate consumers. I place a $125 to $250 order through drugstore.com about once a month. I'm not a huge fan of glucose tabs as I don't really like sugary things and gels do some interesting things to my gi tract, fine when you live alone but when your girlfriend is already sick of living with a zoo animal one has to try and keep those things to a minimum.

So to answer the question - yes I get sick of eating but sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm type 2 and only on oral meds and I get tired of eating too!!LOL I just get tired of having to monitor EVERYTHING that goes into my mouth. Sometimes I don't have the foods that I need on hand and then there is the guilt trip of eating what's in the apartment. It's definitely a minute to minute disease!

Anne Findlay said...

I have heard of people using mini-glucagon shots but I don't know if that is safe and wouldn't necessarily recommend it... I've never tried it because I figure I don't want to mess around with yet another hormone in my body. You are essentially forcing your liver to release glycogen; at least that is the basic understanding.

Kim said...

it's a good thing you train as hard and frequently as you do then right? thank you for being a considerate roommate keeping your bodily functions in check...somewhat.

PJ said...

My fiance might give you a run for your money for the Cliff Bar consumer award -- and he doesn't have diabetes to qualify the expense.

Yeah, eating does get old sometimes. The middle of the night stuff is the worst as it's hard to even enjoy food at 3:00 a.m.

jpnairn said...

I like juice boxes to treat lows... fast-acting and I feel like I'm getting real food, unlike glucose tabs.

Jennifer Harrison said...

yes, when training for the IM I get tired of eating OR thinking about what to eat too. otherwise, notsomuch! :)