People with diabetes reside their lives with numbers; HbA1c, glucose meter readings, weight, lab outcomes, and so forth. It sucks, to be trustworthy. But I seen one thing this morning that made me cease and assume, that in a means, these numbers can mislead us.
Have you ever had a kind of days once you simply felt “thin”? I’m removed from skinny, however generally I simply really feel skinny. I’m not bloated, I’ve vitality, my garments aren’t tight and I simply really feel good! One of the worst issues I can do on these days is to step on the dimensions, however I usually do. If the quantity on that scale doesn’t jive with how I’m feeling then I can start to really feel unhealthy. My thoughts tells me, “Who are you fooling? You’re not thin!” Well, duh, I assumed we’d already established the truth that I’m not skinny! But that darn quantity can start to niggle at my good temper and produce me down.
This morning I really feel skinny and I didn’t step on the dimensions! (Yeah me!) I began my espresso and stumbled into my workplace to examine my blood glucose, like I at all times do. 151 WHA??? I ate moderately final evening, my fasting numbers have been barely higher than my regular currently and now this? My good temper from feeling skinny at this time vanished once I noticed that quantity.
“I guess I’m not doing as well as I thought. Maybe I should step on the scale and see for myself. Maybe I’ll eat ice cream and potato chips today. Why not?”
Those might not be the precise ideas I had this morning however I’ve positively had them earlier than. One silly, sudden quantity on my meter or the dimensions or a lab report may cause me to doubt my capability to take care of this frickin illness.
I’ve been studying a bit about melancholy and nervousness currently and one of many issues I’ve seen over and over from individuals who reside with these circumstances is that they lie. Depression lies (not the individuals who have it). It tells your mind issues that simply aren’t true and might trigger you to sink deeper into melancholy. I really feel as if the numbers we reside with as individuals with diabetes mislead us as effectively.
These numbers are essential and we have to take note of them, however we shouldn’t allow them to management how we really feel about our progress. Our numbers are signposts. (Here’s the place I shout out to Christel . She used this concept of numbers as signposts on the Las Vegas UnConference this previous spring. Brilliant.) What does that imply? It implies that the quantity in your meter is only a signal of how issues are going this minute. It’s not a judgement. It’s not any indication that you simply’ve finished one thing “wrong”. It’s only a quantity that helps you make choices about your diabetes care shifting ahead. The 151 on my meter this morning shouldn’t taunt me and make me really feel as if I’ve screwed up. It simply tells me to eat low carb at this time and drink plenty of water and go for a stroll. That’s all. I nonetheless really feel “skinny” and I gained’t step on that scale!!
Think about this state of affairs: A newly identified PWD has an HbA1c of 10. Three months later that quantity has gone down to eight. Wow! That’s fantastic information! However, if somebody who knew nothing about that particular person’s journey noticed an eight they could assume that particular person wasn’t doing very effectively. That eight was mendacity to that outsider but it surely’s a fantastic signpost for the affected person. They’re doing a fantastic job!
They’re simply numbers; numbers on a scale or glucose meter, it doesn’t matter. Just. Numbers. Don’t allow them to mislead you and trigger you to really feel any in another way about the way you’re doing. Go forward; really feel skinny!
