OCDiabetic

If you have type 1 diabetes, finding ketones in your blood or urine can be a reason for concern. Ketones, also called ketone bodies, appear as the body switches from burning glucose to burning fat for energy. It can happen because you enter ketosis, a harmless state where you run out of stored glucose and…
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When you inject insulin, it’s tempting to hit the same sweet spot. Mine is lower abdomen, right-hand side, which I’ve abused for a long time. You need to be careful because repeatedly hitting the same injection site can cause lipodystrophy. In this condition, fat either builds up or breaks down under the skin. The result…
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There’s a joke amongst people with diabetes. It goes: Don’t use your index fingers to draw blood, you’ll need them to read braille. It’s implied that you’ll at some point lose your eyesight to the diabetic retinopathy or macular degeneration that can develop as a complication of diabetes. It’s gallows humor at its best. As…
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For the first time in years, I wasn’t drunk on New Year’s Eve. Instead, I was in bed with a fever, reading Calvin and Hobbes. I’ve got covid-19. Again. Perhaps it’s not that strange. I work in a bar with an international clientele, so you could compare it to spending your days in a busy…
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There’s an old Confucian teaching, hara hachi bu, which instructs people to eat until they’re eighty percent full. It’s still practiced in Okinawa, the Japanese island with one of the world’s highest proportions of centenarians. The average BMI in Okinawa lies between 18 and 22. It’s significantly lower than in the US, where the BMI for…
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Back at work again on the weekends, I’ve noticed something interesting. When I get stressed my blood sugar spikes. I work in an Irish pub, and like most places in the hospitality industry, we’re understaffed, which makes work a bit more stressful than it used to be. Waiting a few minutes extra for a beer…
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Your insulin requirements change due to many things, so from time to time, it’s important to do a basal test to check that your long-acting insulin is set right. In my case, my insulin needs have changed a few times. First, when I exited the honeymoon, then when I started exercising, and when I stopped.…
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Insulin is the poster child for high drug prices in the US. I’ve written before about diabetics crossing the border into Canada to pick up affordable insulin, even though the original patent sold for $1 when the marvel was first discovered. Several stories about diabetics dying after rationing their insulin have garnered a lot of…
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