Recently I've been noticing, a lot more than usual, how my diabetes
makes me feel. In the last few days the highs have been making a big impact and
it wasn't until a few days ago that I remembered one of the biggest reasons for
why I used to purposely keep my blood glucose levels high - The hypos... I hate
them.
They crop up at
awkward moments (in a meeting, exam, during a date, important presentation etc)
but I always try to carry on as normal.
They mean I have to eat sugary snacks after exercising – this seems counter-productive to me.
They’re never the same – some are surprisingly easy to deal with and
some are just plain nasty, taking me down in every way they can.
They cover me, my clothes, my bed etc in
cold sweat. Having to leave the room so I can take off my top isn't always easy/appropriate/legal(?).
They give me the giggles at a time when I shouldn’t be giggling. This is usually during one of those awkward moments mentioned above. They also make me cry in public or turn into an angry ______ (insert word).
They make my legs turn to jelly and my head turn to lead - waking up with low blood glucose levels means a day of suffering from a headache that doesn't leave, no matter what you do. This is known as a 'hypo hangover'.
They put me on edge, making me overly aware of how I feel and what's happening. I start to be very careful about what I say or do. Even moving a cup requires all my concentration at times.
They give me 'hypo hair'. This is when you wake up from a low blood sugar with what resembles a birds nest on top of your head, usually with that lingering damp feeling (see cold sweat hypo).
They ruin a run of good blood sugars. Obviously, good blood sugars aren't appearing on my meter at the moment, but on the occasion when I do have a good run (and I feel oh so proud about it), a hypo messes up all that hard work I've done.
Ninjabetic x