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Why is it when I have to get up early, when I have so much to do, that diabetes decides to mess me up.

Last night I went to bed early knowing that I have a busy day ahead of me at work. There is a big food show this week and today is the day I have to have it all ready to go.

And that is not all.

Tomorrow I have a presentation I need to prepare for.  Speaking in front of a group of School Foodservice directors is not something that worries me. What is on my mind is making sure I have my presentation ready to go and hand outs and such. It is kind of a large account so if this goes well it could mean a very nice order for our company. Always a good thing but especially right now, it is very good.

And that is not all!

I have a meeting this afternoon with the owner of the company. The big boss! He wants to talk to me about a promotion or should I say, I want to talk to him and he set the time for this afternoon. Knowing that meeting will take time, require some sharp thinking, and good delivery made me want to have a good nights sleep and be “Johnny on the spot” today.

It turns out I was woken up by a low at around 4:00 AM and after treating could not fall back to sleep thinking about all the stuff I needed to get done. I was so tired but my brain was wide awake.

I finally fell back asleep when the alarm went off. It royally sucked and still does. I am tired and foggy and need more sleep.

Keep your fingers crossed that I pull today off. With the way it started, I may need a miracle.

I have already read a few posts about the Oprah show that aired yesterday. Here’s my take.

EPIC FAIL!

Here are the fail moments and why they are fails in no particular order.

FAIL - Oprah shows a clip of a lady who has to have dialysis and who has had several amputations due to diabetes complications. After they go back to the O’s (how I will refer to Dr. Oz and Oprah) Oprah asks if she is type 1 or type 2. I did give a snap up for Oprah for asking. Dr. Oz said that she was a type 1 and her pancreas did not make enough insulin but that there were going to focus on type 2’s.

WHY – Two reasons. First, being type 1 does not mean you pancreas is not making enough insulin, it means NO insulin. NONE. ZIP! ZILCH! Get it? And why show all of these awful complications to scare us and then say, oh we are not going to talk about that type of diabetes. So a type 1 was humiliated, probably embarrassed and ashamed to show the possible results of neglect in hopes, I would imagine, that Oprah was going to tell about her disease and it is flipped and used as a tool to scare type 2’s. Which could be the third fail here. I know that fear motivates some, but not most.

FAIL – Diabetes is going to bankrupt the healthcare system. The O’s talked about how expensive diabetes is and how it is the most expensive disease to treat.

WHY – They needed to say that dealing with diabetes complications is the most expensive thing to deal with. Not just diabetes. Diabetes causes all kinds of problems that with preventative care, which is not where most of the money goes, would be lessened. That was never the focus. It made me think that non-diabetics are going to say, just let them die, they did this to themselves. That is how it was presented.

FAIL – No Endo.

WHY – How can you talk about diabetes,want to educate, and “SAVE MILLIONS” Oprah and not have a specialist on your show? You wouldn't have a show about the dangers of cancer and not have an Oncologist as a guest, right? I don’t understand. To make the diabetes picture complete you should have had an Endocrinologist, CDE, Podiatrist, Dietician, Ophthalmologist, and even a therapist to discuss every angle of this “SILENT KILLER.” (I could probably add more people to the list)

FAIL – The focus on Sugar. They kept showing teaspoons of sugar to measure how bad foods are. They showed Ranch Dressing, Ketchup, and other sauces.

WHY – Carbohydrates are the issue. Sugar is a carb but looking only at sugar content is not correct! It makes Sugar Free products seem safe and also a stack of French fries if not covered in ketchup. Wrong! Wrong! And WRONG!

FAIL – Dr. Oz said that the more insulin you take, the worse your diabetes is.

WHY – This royally pissed me off. I personally know several type 2’s that think if they take insulin that it is all over. That insulin means they have failed. That is not true at all. Insulin can be just the thing they need to save those eyes, kidneys and limbs. Shame on you Dr. Oz.

There are still more issues I have with this show, like why they didn’t have a diabetic who has had the disease for a very long time and who was healthy. There was no positive at all in my book and I am deeply saddened that the O’s didn’t do the job I hoped they would.

I am still hopeful that someone will get it right some day.

Hey Ellen, I have an idea for a show.  

I am sick and am just resting today. Thank you all for the comments yesterday, they really helped. 

I should be back at it tomorrow.

It all started yesterday.

I realized I was not going to have enough insulin in my pump to make it through until I got off of work so I left a little early, or I should say I tried to.

As I was heading out of my office but boss. The big boss. The one whose name is on the building said, “I need to speak to you before you leave.” I asked him if we could please meet that moment and he said sure.

After about 30 minutes we were done and I was rushing out the door.

Traffic was living up to Southern California standards so the ride home was much worse then normal. I was reminded by my buddies on Twitter that Minimed pumps have a back up reserve but I am pretty sure I went through that since when I finally got my set changed and checked, I was 297. Blah. It could have been stress so I cannot rule that out. Anyhow, moving on.

Last night was band practice at church so I inhaled half of my dinner and took off to rehearsal. That ended around 8:30 so I knew I would make it home for the Lost premier. Sweet timing.

When I got home I checked my BG. 568!!!!

I bolused and waited to see if it came down before I yanked the site. Sure enough I checked about an hour later and was down to 417. Nice, although I felt horrible.

When the show was finally over and I was ready for bed I checked and I was 244. My pump suggested a correction which I did and promptly fell asleep with visions of smoke monsters in my head.

At 3:10 I woke to a loud moaning and someone had turned the heat on so high in the house that I was sweating like mad. I had no clue who did it but someone must have put extra blankets on my because I couldn’t move.

“You’re low honey. Here’s your machine.” She handed me my WaveSense meter that I keep on my dresser. She put in a strip and handed me the lancing device. It took all I had to lift up my arms to punch that plunger. Blood made it on the strip but no reading came up.

“Oh crap, the battery is dead. Let me grab the other and find some glucose tabs.” She left the room. I closed my eyes and thought to myself that this was it, it was over. She was not going to make it back in time and this is the end. So. Be. It.

“HERE!” She handed me some glucose tabs and got my meter ready. I chomped down the powdery tabs and pricked my finger. My hand dropped to my side but Jasmine already had a strip in the machine and grabbed the drop just like a pro.

“53.” She knew I felt bad because I rarely have trouble sitting up in bed. She made me something to eat and I went back to bed as soon as my BG read 79 but still I felt extremely dizzy.

“It’s 6:45!” My wife took our son to school and typically when she gets back I am getting out of the shower. I tried to hop up and out of bed but it took a lot of effort to even stand up.

“It’s 7:15 honey. Are you alright?” I woke in the shower standing under the hot water trying to make myself move but I hurt everywhere. I checked my BG and I was 258.

I called work at 7:40 from my driveway to tell them I was on my way. I am supposed to be at work at 7:30 by the way.

When I got here I slid into my office as quietly as I could. I hate explaining how diabetes screwed up my morning.

I opened my vial of strips and saw only 3.

I forgot to grab an extra vial of strips this morning.

I closed the vial with a snap and dropped my head into my hands. I lost it. The tears were not stopping and I felt like a little kid. I felt hopeless, tired, fed up, frustrated, and just plain sad.

When I finally got it all out I figured I would do my best today and just see how it goes. It’s all I can do. 

This clip is Ninjatastic! I have seen several "Ninja" videos before but this one is one of my favorites already.

Enjoy!