Mar 29, 2007

Get Thee to a Doctor's Office!

Andy Stuckey

This week, I’ve been thinking about why it took me so long to go back and see the doctor. I realized after scheduling my appointment that it has been almost two years. I feel like I’ve been taking good care of myself for the last two years—I just haven’t gone to the doctor to get proof.

The more I thought about this, the more I realized why I was not active about scheduling an appointment. I guess I started looking at trips to the doctor as more of a hassle than a perk. Not that a doctor's visit is ever a waste of time, but if you're doing what you need to do, it can be a little difficult to schedule an appointment.

I get the feeling that there is not a ton of new advice or issues for people that have had diabetes for a long time; it's constant battle with the same old issues. How many times can you hear exercise, eat right, and check your blood glucose often? Is it really that easy?

The short answer is: yes. If you are doing these three things, it's very likely you're taking good care of yourself. I think that diabetes is the most difficult when you are first diagnosed and you change your life, diet, and pretty much everything except your personality—if you're lucky. After a few months, you get into a groove, and by your first year you're coasting. (It's probably more accurate to say roller-coasting, as you still experience highs and lows but they become much more recognizable.) You get a little more comfortable with your diabetes.

But as the years go by and you get more comfortable, you also get more frustrated with the day-in and day-out routine of your life. I think that this is also when a doctor's visit is avoided. You know how you've been taking care of yourself, and if it's badly then it's just as easy to stall as when you think you've been doing a good job.

I guess there is no way around it—you just have to go. I'll let you know how my checkup goes on the 19th of April. I hope to hear something new.

In other news, I'm shooting my third video for heavy.com this Thursday and Friday, and it's a grueling 80's power ballad. We will be in snakeskin pants, tank tops, and (of course) the big hair. We are filming all over Brooklyn and NYC and, yes, I own a fog machine now. We hope to combine the skills of Warrant, Dokken, Winger, and Journey to achieve a video that outshines this Journey video, which will be hard.

One of the scenes is going to require some fake cocaine, and it has been proposed that we use powdered sugar. Will sugar raise your blood sugar if you snort it? I'm kidding, I'm not snorting anything when I can cook it in a spoon and put it in my insulin syringe. Until next week!

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