Sick Day

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1

I have always been very determined to not let diabetes interfere with my professional life. Other than D, I am (thankfully) rarely sick. While my D management hasn’t always been the best, I’m usually able to hold things together well enough to stay functional and relatively healthy. I also have a job where teleworking is an acceptable option, so when I’ve had bad D times in the past (like wacky BGs), I’ve usually been able to just telework around them and not have it be a big deal.

But this week I actually had to take a day off. I had a bad overnight low, one where I don’t remember anything and the paramedics almost had to pay a visit. Bad and scary. I woke up the next morning feeling absolutely horrible. There was no way I could go into the office. I was barely able to text my boss to let her know that I was going to be out sick. So I took a sick day and then felt really guilty about it for the rest of the day.

I know I shouldn’t feel guilty because my coworkers take sick days all the time. But for me, taking a sick day because of D feels like defeat. I’ve always prided myself with being able to work around D, and not let it get the best of me. But this week it knocked me on my butt. Hard. I think my guilt is tripled because of the amount of time off I’ve taken recently for doctors’ appointments. I am trying to catch up on all the things I should have been doing over the past 2 years (eye checks, endo visits, etc). Also, my basal rates suddenly seem to be all over the place, so I spend a lot of time on the phone these days with my endo adjusting and discussing my numbers in an attempt to stop the wacky highs and lows. It seems that half of my day at work is now filled with D management. Sometimes I’m amazed I actually get anything done!

Does anyone else ever feel this way when taking a sick day because of D? How do others manage D and their professional life?

2

I’m a young professional, and throughout my college career I’ve had plenty of issues with my glucose levels. For some reason, my sugars are very brittle and hard to control. You should feel accomplished by handling things so well thus far in your professional life. Don’t feel guilty about having to take a day for you. Even though we, as diabetics, try to live a completely full and normal lifestyle- fact is we still have daily struggles. Don’t let them beat you down. Something I’ve learned over the years is not to feel self pity, but realize when you need to take care of yourself. In my life, I must put myself and my disease first before anything else. That may seem selfish, but if I don’t then I feel like crap from highs or lows that hit in no pattern that I can trace. Keep your chin up. Don’t try to work around your diabetes, try to work with it. :slight_smile:

3

I have dealt with lupus most of my adult life and have only been diagnosed diabetic for two months. Maybe it’s just that I can’t remember what it was like way back when I first began battling rashes, muscle and joint aches and photo-sensitivity, but I don’t remember it running my life in quite the same way. Sometimes I find myself becoming completely obsessed with ridiculous things just to escape thinking about it for awhile. My philosophy has always been, “It is what it is! Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.” Sometimes, I wanna slap myself! :wink: