The SickyIckyBooBoos of Betes
Having had the betes for over 15 years now, I can (somewhat) proudly say that I have thrown up in almost every situation imaginable. Of course, the typical bathroom-toilet scenario (including but not limited to): gas stations, motels, strangers’ homes, RVs, restaurants, department stores, grocery stores, and quite literally every job’s bathroom that I have ever had. In addition: airplanes, trains, and porter potties have gotten the delight of meeting my face. We cannot forget the classic: “Pull over! I’m going to puke!” situations that I’m sure people love oh-so-much. And lastly, my infamous: yes-I’m-driving-and-yes-I’m-hurling-in-a-plastic-bag scenarios. Don’t-judge me.
When my sugar is high- I scout for the best way for me to toss my lovely sugar free cookies. Cute? Nah. Honest? Always. Why am I even bringing this up? Well, the other night was a bad night for me. Bad bad. While my head was inside the porcelain throne, I started thinking about the various places I’ve had to hurl because of the betes, how many times I’ve had to “puke and rally” at work, and how for 3/5 of my life have walked out of a bathroom, popped a mint, plastered on a smile and went about my day.
Actually, let’s forget the puking aspect for a moment. On a daily basis, at some point, I feel like crap because of the betes. In fact, I don’t remember the last time I had a full day of feeling “good”. Whether my sugar is too high, too low, rising too quickly or dropping too fast – something always seems to be going on!
“Laura, how are you today?” “Good, how bout yourself?” (( Insert smile here ))
When someone asks me how I am… I lie. 9 times out of 10 – I lie. Not to be shady, or deceitful but just because I’m so used to hiding it. Even people who I have known for years- I realize that I’ll act 5374x better than I actually feel. Those closest to me know when I’m not feeling well and will call me out on it, but most people have no clue about the daily struggle that we, as diabetics go through!
I can’t be the only one who, when a non-betic says they don’t feel well, wonders how it compares to how us betes folks everyday. It’s not like I want anyone to feel badly! Betes or not! BUT, when a non-betic says they’re lightheaded, I do wonder if they realize that’s how diabetics feel everytime their sugar is dropping or low. I wonder what a non-betic would think of how a betic feels on an average day if they could pop into a betic body. Hmmm….
In the past year, my A1C has dropped and so I haven’t had nearly as much facetime with any toilets. Woot woot! I’m hoping here in the next little bit I’m able to cut that time down even more. While I’m pretty proud of my ability to puke while driving…I’d rather not have to!