Diabetic since 1971

I was chatting to someone a few nights ago and muttered that my blood sugar was running a tad low. He asked what it felt like. Despite a life of writing, of trying to describe issues exactly, I could not quite get the description right.

I mean, how do you describe to somebody who has only the vaguest notion of what a blood sugar is, that you know pretty exactly where yours is at any time? How do you describe that you do not do anything, ever, without first doing a mental calculation that kinda goes like this:

• What is my blood sugar right now?
• When was my last insulin injection, because that pesky fast stuff hangs around for 4 hours?
• How much insulin did I take, and how much effect will it still have?
• When did I last eat?
• What did I last eat?
• How much of that food is still being digested?
• What am I about to do?
• How much effect will hat have on my blood sugar?
• How far will I be away from sugar? From insulin?

And that's just the simple calculation! Get sick and it gets a quantum more complex.

This is my effort to try and share some thoughts and feelings about this disease that has so impacted my life (for bad and good) and to try and share some of the stuff that I do not see being shared.

It's non-commercial, so I won't be selling anything, or advertising anything. But if I am able to add value to someone battling down this road, then it will be worthwhile. I am not a doctor (although I did spend two years at the University of Cape Town medical School way back in 1976/7) and nothing I write should be remotely construed as medical advice. I am simply sharing my experiences.