I can’t imagine there is any. The only thing consistent about diabetes is how inconsistent it is. For two weeks straight all my morning sugars were between 250 and 300. The last two days 68 and 60. Usually if my morning is good I can usually get through the day not so horrible. Saturday was great. Today not so great. I started out fine this morning and either the insulin decided to take a coffee break or I was way off on my carb estimate. Low and behold a 280 after lunch. Why even bother? I mean really. Until they figure out how to treat this “right” prepare to swing between 50 and 300 on average for the rest of your life. I know this but I can’t stop complaining about it. Come Merck get the F******G ball rolling with Smart Insulin before I’m dead.
Alzheimer’s
Maybe that’s the only cure we have to look forward to?
I think that deep inside they know that some day, there isn’t going to be a tomorrow. There’s different ways to deal with that prospect but however you slice it, it always seemed pretty grim to me…
Any type of chronic cancer therapy, lupus, kidney failure, COPD, heart failure, reactive asthma, sickle cell anemia, hemophelia, ALS, MS, cerebral palsy, AIDS, immuno suppression following transplant and dozens of others.
I’d say Parkinson’s. My grandfather was battling parkinson’s until he passed away last month. Occasionally, he had small steps forward, but those times were few, and were in between giant steps back. It was just enough to give a small glimmer of hope, which would pass in a few hours. At least with diabetes, when you have a good day, I feel you can enjoy it.
So true Scott and thank you for pointing this out. My dad has Parkinson’s and he never has a good day. He has thoughts but cannot express himself. His day is spent sitting in front of the TV and navigating to the kitchen table and the bathroom. There are worse things than our diabetes, but as always Gary I feel and understand your disappointment at the same time.
My dad is also insulin dependent and he never feels horrible no matter where his sugars go. I believe there are many like him as well but I on the other hand weren’t so fortunate. I have a neighbor that has MS. He’s a cool guy and plays the drums so me and him get together and jam. Though he has struggles with his MS he doesn’t suffer with mood swing / bi-polar disorder like with the sugar swings do to me. I guess they all kind of suck. If you don’t have your health you don’t have much.
Pretty much any other chronic disease, really.
I think there are many chronic diseases that are like this. The difference is that T1D requires a high-degree of vigilance, which can be overwhelming at times. With other chronic diseases, you’re sort of at the mercy of the disease, whereas with diabetes, there is often something you can do to get your numbers to move. Little consolation, but I guess it’s the one positive thing that I can find about diabetes - if my numbers are bad, there is often something I can do to make them better. It’s a disease of complete self-management.
That said, smart insulin does sound really good right about now. The thought of giving myself just one or two injections of smart insulin a day and being able to go through my day without having to check my BG or anything is just…blissful.
I have lost 4 family members and a close to friend to cancer. My friend Dave just died this February. We met at work and his cancer was in remission when I met him. It came back several times over the years and finally took a very firm hold this year. He also lost his wife to cancer so knew in the beginning what a horrible disease that is.
Last fall after the doctors told Dave there was nothing else they could do for him, he sent an email to all his friends. I cried when I read his email. I knew it was coming but that still did not make it any easier. One sentence from his email struck me and thought I would share it here: “I am not planning on a funeral but rather a celebration of life.” If there is one thing that I could say about Dave, it is that he enjoyed life no matter what life handed him.
Dave was fighting for his life when I was going thru my foot infection. We kind of held each other up because he felt like what I was going thru was harder than what he was going thru and I felt like what he was going thru was harder. If I had a choice being dying of cancer or losing my leg, I would pick losing my leg so I could continue to live.
This morning I woke up in a grumpy mood – I accidentally shut off my alarm when it went off instead of hitting the snooze alarm. I fell back asleep instead of taking my Levemir so I woke up with high blood sugar. I was outside with my dog and my mood instantly turned around after I saw one of my neighbors walking across the parking lot. She didn’t even have to say anything to me for my mood to change. Her presence was a reminder to be grateful for the things that I do have. I might not have everything that I want but I have everything that I need. I have neuropathy and can’t drive anymore so rely on family members to take me places. I have to use a walker to walk. I might have some bad days, but for the most part, I am a happy person. I make the most of what I do have.
This particular person is a couple years older than me and to the best of my knowledge, does not have any health problems. She is like the Energizer Bunny and constantly moving. I would not trade places with her for all the money in the world and I will keep my walker over her energy. Why? She is one of the most miserable people I have ever met in my life. She complains about everything and everyone. She can’t say 2 words without complaining. Seeing her this morning reminded me to be grateful for what I do have instead of complaining about what I don’t have. Regardless of what I don’t have, I am happy. I am alive. I have the things that I need to help keep me alive.
I lost both my parents to the big C. My mom had pancreatic Cancer and my dad had lung cancer. I lost my g-father on my mom’s side to colan cancer. I always thank my God that I haven’t had to deal with it as of now. I also lost my g-mother on my dad’s side to breast cancer 47 years ago and my g-father on my dad’s side to lung cancer too. Cancer as far as I’m concerned is MUCH worse than Diabetes.