You’re Always On My Mind: Questions and Thoughts About Diabetes

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Yesterday, I went to the pharmacy to get some new test strips. I have come to embrace the fact that, even though you can see the 100 strips behind the counter and have no idea what harm they could possibly cause anyone, you are still told that it will take 30 minutes to get them. Thirty minutes for the pharmacist to walk three yards and print out a label.

I’m still not sure why test strips require a prescription. I’m aware there are fake ones, and that is quite a moneymaker as I pay almost 90 cents per strip. But what goes on at the pharmacy while the test strips are sitting on the wall right in front of me?

Does coffee ever raise your blood glucose level, even if you don’t put sugar in it? This has happened to me a few times recently, and I’m just curious to know if it happens to others. I typically have a cup of coffee in the morning and usually add a little milk, half a packet of Splenda (sucralose), and a dash of cinnamon. I sound like a real man, right, cinnamon in my coffee with half a Splenda? There’s an old saying the men in my family have passed down for generations: “The Stuckeys like their coffee like they like their women—instant.” Zing.

Another thing on my mind recently has been that I’m often asked how something affects my diabetes, and what the doctor says to do. This is very common when I’m drinking alcohol or eating high-fat foods that everyone knows are pretty bad for you. I always say that, with drinking booze, moderation is the key. I’m sure you’d be hard-pressed to find a doctor who said one glass of wine was going to do you real harm. However, it would be even harder to find a doctor to say, “Son, you have Type 1 diabetes—I recommend you drink at least two bottles of red wine a day and start smoking.” The same goes for healthy eating—no one is recommending an unhealthy diet. It’s just all about being aware of everything you put into your body and knowing how it affects your body.

My final thought revolves around one thing I’d like to get better at, and that is shortening the life of my lancets. Now, I think I’m not going out on a limb when I say that I don’t do a good job of changing the lancets in my finger-pricker, or whatever you call the device in my kit that breaks blood vessels daily. I think that there are probably a lot of others out there who also don’t take the time to remove the little needle. I can tell that it’s been a while when the needle gets dull. I’m pretty sure there’s no serious risk involved, but a new lancet sure does break the callous on my birdie finger the first time I use it.

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