Sounds Questionable To Me

Written May 19, 2009

I have a few questions that I continuously ask myself. I am pretty confident that other diabetics have asked the same questions and I’m curious as to what the answers are. Even if you aren’t a diabetic and you have a good answer, comment me. I’d really appreciate it!

1. Every 3 days I have a pile of pump garbage that I just toss into my trash can. This doesn’t concern me as much as the disposal of needles. When I used to give myself injections, I would simply break off the needle and toss it in the trash. This cannot be a good idea. What do you do with all the garbage? Can you recycle medical leftovers like tubing and cartridges? Should I have one of those big red ‘DANGER! DANGER!’ waste containers that they have at every medical facility.

2. I used to have great insurance that would send me free supplies in bulk. It was fabu. Every 3 months, I’d have a package at my front door. It was a diabetic goody box! Syringes! Test strips!! Alcohol swabs!!! Lancets!!!! I miss those days of having a stock pile of life giving items. However, since switching to the pump, I no longer need the syringes. I have boxes and boxes of them. It’s not like I can sell them on eBay and I wouldn’t go down to crack alley to sell them either. What do I do with unused supplies?

3. I have no sympathy for sick whiners. I can’t stand when people whine about things like being sick from a cold or being sore from working out. It literally makes me want to scream. What little sympathy I do have is reserved for children and elderly people. When a grown person whines about having a cough, or being sore from the gym, or bob loblaw, I typically say something along the lines of ‘At least you don’t have to shoot up every day.’ Or ‘It’s a good thing you don’t have to insert life saving tubing into your body.’ I mean if you are on the verge of death, my sympathy will appear, but not if you are being a big puss. Nope. No sympathy for you! Do all diabetics lose their sympathy or is it just me.

4. I have gained approximately 30 pounds in the past 2 years. I went to the gym 3-4x per week for hours for over a year, had a trainer, ate right and didn’t lose an inch. I paid too much money to join diets that didn’t work. I barely ate thinking that would help. I found out I had Hasimoto’s Disease and now have that controlled with Synthroid. I started taking Symlin hoping that would cause some weight loss. Nothing. Not one pound. I am at the end of my proverbial rope. I am now having destructive thoughts such as skipping insulin and having high bs for 3 months just to lose some weight. This is not good. Does every diabetic occasionally have self destructive thoughts.

5. Being single is hard. No doubt about it. Being single with baggage is worse. Side note: Who came up with that saying anyway? I don’t think kids are ‘baggage’ or disease is ‘baggage’ or a past is ‘baggage’ but whatevs. I’m using it. Dating makes me uneasy. Not because I am a single mom, my teenager is pure wonderful goodness. It’s my diabetes that makes me uneasy. I start to wonder about getting physical and having to explain the cyborg parts inserted all over my body. Or the reaction when I have to unclip my tubing to have sex. Or the scar tissue that is starting to appear all over my midsection. Or if I have a low bs episode while on a date. It’s torture. Does every single diabetic have dating distress?

I guess that's it for now. My head is starting to hurt. haha! To close this post off, I'd like to suggest the following fund raising event for anyone who is interested in helping find a cure. Tour de Cure will hold this event in 40 states to benefit the American Diabetes Association and it's starting at the end of this month running through June. To register, donate or volunteer, click below


Tour de Cure

Tour de Cure is a series of fund-raising cycling events held in 40 states nationwide to benefit the American Diabetes Association. The Tour is a ride, not a race, with routes designed for everyone from the occasional rider to the experienced cyclist. Whether participants ride 10 miles or 100 miles*, they will travel a route supported from start to finish with rest stops, food to fuel the journey and fans to cheer them on! Last year, more than 38,000 cyclists in 78 Tour events raised nearly $16 million to support the mission of the ADA: to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend!!

*Peace.