Not to belabor the obvious, but the homeostatic range of human glucose is tight. Very tight. And I'm not just saying this as an individual with type 1 diabetes.
Normal people have highs(temporary) + lows too. Case in point: my fiance, who suddenly
needed to eat when were out shopping. I would have whipped out my meter to check his blood sugar, but he was already buying something and eating it. This is a guy who gets regular (yearly) physicals and is exceedingly healthy.(no D, or hypoglycemia problems) Probably nothing to worry about.(as a one time occurance)
You don't appreciate the fine tunings of the human body until something goes wrong.
When oxygen is like liquid gold, you just can't get enough.
When water is guzzled in gallons, to replete that 75% percentage body weight.
When various minerals need repleting, before body organs start malfunctioning.
And glucose, in its many forms, is no less essential. 20 mg/dl off, and the brain goes into fritz, the body starts shaking, and the urge to eat is stronger then beating of your heart. Conversely, 60 mg/dl in opposite direction and the kidneys start excreting the excess, dehydration creeps in and the excess sugar starts damaging organs,nerves,the whole enchilada.
If it were up to me, I'd make the "normal" range 60-250 mg/dl. That way, I'd be in range 99% of the time... It's such a fine balance, I wish it weren't. Attempting euroglycemia is like playing Russian Roulette between the brain(lows) and the kidneys(highs). Sometimes, you take a bolus + you know full well you'll be fighting hypoglycemia withing the hour but what else can you do, you just ate and gotta take SOMETHING. How much of that something depends on existing IOB, current exercise, bg, and sensitivity. Maybe I need overhaul my insulin carb ratio.
You just can't get away from it, just like breathing, if somethings not right the body lets you know it. It's great to be in range most- all of the time, mentally, it's so relaxing and a non-D just doesn't understand that but its just so wonderful. Having come down from Cloud Nine. Would be that this streak lasts awhile. When I get a CGMS, I will be a much more relaxed, energetic individual-normal bgs are so great.
Have a great Labor Day weekend, everyone!
(goodbye, 25, it was nice knowing you!)
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7 comments:
Happy Birthday?
Great post. And you are so right about it - the range is so incredibly tight! It is amazing how the human body works, and we often don't appreciate that until something doesn't!
Take care!
Happy Birthday!!!
I giggle on the inside when I see a non diabetic who is feeling "low" and they panic
I love your idea on the "normal" range! That would be great!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY HEIDI! You are right - it is so amazing how wonderful the human body works. It is a mind-blower!
Happy Birthday Heidi. May the coming year bring you good health.
Dear Heidi,
I am sorry that living with diabetes can be so overwhelming sometimes. I am sure it is hard when your body needs more attention than most. You seem to be handling it all very well regardless so keep it up!
Because of your blogs about living with diabetes, I thought you might want to take a few minutes to help out the International Diabetes Federation's campaign for World Diabetes Day.
We are in the midst of our preparations for the first UN-observed World Diabetes Day (www.worlddiabetesday.org) on 14 November this year, and I wanted to ask you if you would like to help us to spread awareness of this worldwide event and the theme we have chosen for it this year - Diabetes in Children and Adolescents.
It is estimated that over 200 children develop type 1 diabetes every day and there's no question that the disease often hits disadvantaged communities the hardest, and that children in the developing world can die because their parents are unable to afford medication. In many countries diabetes is still considered an adult disease and as a result can be diagnosed late with severe consequences, including death. Even after diagnosis many children experience poor control and develop complications early.
This is why one of our key objectives for World Diabetes Day this year is to double the number of children covered by the Life for a Child Program - http://www.worlddiabetesday.org/go/wdd-2007/life-for-a-child. We also want to encourage initiatives that can help to reduce diabetic ketoacidosis (diabetic coma) and to promote the sort of healthy lifestyles which can prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes in children.
A version of the diabetes circle, the icon we used for our Unite for Diabetes campaign http://www.unitefordiabetes.org/ has now been adopted for World Diabetes Day and we have produced a number of web banners that you can view and download here http://banners.worlddiabetesday.org.
The way in which you can help us spread awareness of World Diabetes Day is to add one of the banners to your own blog, which we would really appreciate.
The UN's World Diabetes Day Resolution (61/225) was really just the first goal of an ambitious campaign that we have been leading. This is the first time a non-communicable disease has been recognised as a serious threat to global public health and we are hoping now to further raise awareness globally of the disease that is predicted to contribute to 6% of the world’s mortality in 2007.
If you would like to know more about the UN Resolution and our plans for World Diabetes Day this year, just drop me a line at stephanie.tanner@idf.org and I will get back to you with more information.
Much thanks,
Stephanie Tanner
IDF - Communications Assistant
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