'Tis the Season

I absolutely love the fall season. In Florida, this time of year is perfect weather, with it's still warm, loving sun blessed with cool breezes after a long hot summer. I love the colors of the leaves that I sweep into piles and jump and play in as they fall from the trees. I love being able to dress up in my jeans and cute brown and orange sweaters. It's a lovely season. The hardest part about this time of year is that fall seems to be my immune systems nemisis (that is, next to it's arch rival, the very body it exists inside of). It has been a hectic couple of weeks for my body, inside and out, my emotions and my d as I still work and learn how to be a succesful pump-user.

First off, this is the time of year I usually start getting sick. Every year, it seems that I catch some cold, flu or other virus that seems to stay with me all through the winter, in some form or other. This has been going on for many years, though I get a break every once in a while, and I've kind of gotten used to it. It still sucks when that time of year comes around, however. Two Fridays ago, I discovered that I had an abcess/ staff infection near to a "red zone" area that needed to be drained. If your not familiar with the red zone, just take a moment to imagine the place on your body it would suck the most to have an abcess...yeah, that one...mine was about four inches down on my leg from there. The lancing was awful, painful and disgusting. This is my third skin infection, the first being a large abcess on my hip after getting a tattoo, the second being on my ear after having the middle cartilage pierced, which concluded only after a piece of my right ear was removed. I still feel like Sloth from the Goonies sometimes. "Hey you guu-uuys...Baby Ruth..." I decided to give up on piercings after that. Not sure how this new one came about, really, but I'm also trying my best not to think about it. Needless to say, the weekend I had planned to spend with my new gf was kind of a bust. But that's ok. I had packing in for a few days, and was told to take it out myself at home in the shower. I took two loritabs before hand because I really hate pain. I got in the shower, and ran the water as hot as I could stand it. I was told to cough and pull out the packing. I didn't realize the packing stuffed in there was as long as my leg until I coughed, pulled, and there was still some inside of my leg. So it took a few more coughs for me to get it all out, and the prolonged forced coughing caused me to gag and regurgitate. Lovely, right? Anyways, double antibiotics and some steroid cream, and its already becoming just another diabetic scar.

However, a couple of days later, I found myself with the beginning of some kind of nasty sinus issue. I am prone to sinus infections, but I hope it hasn't gotten that far. Crazy congestion, ear aches, off-and-on again slight fever, chest-caving-in coughing and drainage...that kind of stuff. Every year! It's lame. But I'm staying hydrated, doing some breathing exercises, and trying not to think about it. I think it's getting better. Spent the weekend outside in fresh air at Jacksonville's River City Pride Festival playing roadie for my gf's band, and selling jewelry, which was awesome. I think fresh air definately helped.

Naturally, all of this yucky stuff has been affecting my bgs negatively. Running high, working to find a good sick day basal, overcorrecting, dangerous lows. Got the oppurtunity to show my gf and her roommates what a nasty low looks like, so embarassing! No matter how long I have to deal with this stuff, I still get so sick and kind of ashamed of having to tell people, "If this happens, I'm going to need help taking care of it." The behavior that comes along with a bad low is still so embarrasing: crying, making funny faces because my face and tongue go numb, shaking violently, sometimes acting defiant when people are trying to help me, while I'm in a drunk-like confused stupor. It's hard for someone like me to have to rely on people in the first place, for anything. I hate putting that kind of pressure on my family who have been with me since the beginning of this mess, so putting it on new friends feels like I'm being such a burden. In a new dating relationship it feels even worse. "I know we've only been dating a few months, but I just wanted to tell you, I might start crying, sticking my tongue out at you, then pass out at the weirdest, sometimes, most unprovoked moments and I expect you to learn and know how to inject a glucagon shot and save my life." I know that's extreme, but that's how it feels.

Oh, goodness, listen to me ramble! Quickly now, to the point. Despite being sick, I've been managing my sugars pretty well, checking a little more often. I'm getting tighter on my basal rate. Having trouble with pod placement still, clumsily knocking two off in the past two weeks. Discovered one pod that had a leak, thought I was experiencing illness-related highs until I gave a large bolus and smelled insulin. It all still feels very much worth it, though, so LIFE IS GOOD! I'll feel better as soon as I can get into those jeans and sweaters, and maybe even some boots. 'Tis the Season!