Danger!

I forgot to pack my meds when I left for work yesterday. I don't forget often (perhaps a half-dozen times in the three years I've been on them), although yesterday was still out of the ordinary. Normally, when I forget my meds, I only miss one of the two daily doses. After I get home, I remember to take the second dose with my last meal of the day. Yesterday, however, I ate my last meal prior to returning home from work. So, for the very first time, I went an entire day without medication.

I can't say I felt any different than any other day... no symptoms I can put a finger on. But something strange happened during the evening (I don't want to post details here) that made me decide to take a reading first thing this morning.

To say I was horrified would be a gross understatement. My reading was through the roof. An average reading from a "healthy" individual (using the U.S. scale) would be 60-120. Over 140, you're considered diabetic. I have had only one reading above 140 in over three years. This morning's reading was 193. That's going only 24 hours without meds.

Doctors talk about diabetes being the great silent killer... saying that most people live with diabetes for years before the symptoms get serious enough to recognize. The day I was first diagnosed, my doctor took a blood-sugar reading of 490. At that time, I had been exhibiting all the classic symptoms of the disease. Within days of starting my meds, the blood-sugar readings were back in the normal range (aren't drugs wonderful), and the only lingering "symptoms" I experienced were vision-related. Ironically, I needed to get new glasses because my vision had improved after starting on the meds.

Shortly after starting on my meds, my blood-sugar readings were consistently in the 70-90 range, with "eating binges" knocking me as high as 120. Now, my average readings are in the 90-120 range, with binges taking me to the high 130's. Yesterday was a binge day, and with no medication whatsoever to mitigate, I got a glimpse of what my life could turn into if I forget my meds and ignore sensible eating rules.

I'm going to get back to sensible eating once I am back home (though, with this warning, I will do something to improve my ways during the last six weeks in Toronto). I enjoy my life and my family's company too much to let this get me without a fight!