When do you go?
Growing up with diabetes in the 1980’s a lot of the “motivation” for sticking to your doctor’s plan was fear based. “Do you want to grow up and lose your legs?” or “Keep cheating and you will end up being blind from your diabetes.” My all time favorite was when my mom was instructed that any blood sugar over 180 was to be written in red and placed on the family’s refrigerator. Although pretty shocking now, it seemed to work for me and a few of my diabetes cohorts from camp.
Anyway, in part because I was so warned about dreaded complications, I tend to look for them. I often wonder if what I am feeling is because I hurt/strained/bruised something on my body or if the pain/itch/burn is caused by my diabetes. While I generally have a positive attitude, I pretty much assume that every physical change in my body is diabetes related.
Case in point, a few years ago, I started wearing flip flops to work. It was a pretty casual place and it just seemed to be the thing to do at the time. After a while my feet started to ache. They would get so cold that they would actually be quite painful. I brought it up to my doctor at one of my checkups. He was perplexed that I was feeling anything out of the ordinary, and was sure it was not nerve damage. He checked my feet said they were just like any non-diabetic and to just keep and eye on things. He also suggested that perhaps I try different shoes.
Long story short, my feel were painfully cold because it was May in New England and I was wearing flip flops. There was an air conditioning vent blowing on my feet! It was all fixed when I started to wear closed toed shoes. Duh. In my head I was adding a wheelchair ramp to my house and figuring how I could get around when my feet were taken away.
As of late, I am seeing a lot more floaters in my eyes. Mainly when I am at work. Is it the sun coming through the windows? Is it really worse than it used to be? Is it because my control is assumed to be tighter now that I am on the pump. (Although my A1c when I started was 6.8, so I can’t imagine it’s changed that much.) I feel like I should go get them checked out, but am scared. I was just there in January and everything was fine. It’s not any of those black spots or flashes that they always ask me about. I know, I know, I should go and check it out. But, you see, I am already figuring in my head when I could schedule laser treatments to resolve whatever mess they may find.
It would be my first visible complications of having diabetes, and I don’t think I am ready for that.
Anyway, in part because I was so warned about dreaded complications, I tend to look for them. I often wonder if what I am feeling is because I hurt/strained/bruised something on my body or if the pain/itch/burn is caused by my diabetes. While I generally have a positive attitude, I pretty much assume that every physical change in my body is diabetes related.
Case in point, a few years ago, I started wearing flip flops to work. It was a pretty casual place and it just seemed to be the thing to do at the time. After a while my feet started to ache. They would get so cold that they would actually be quite painful. I brought it up to my doctor at one of my checkups. He was perplexed that I was feeling anything out of the ordinary, and was sure it was not nerve damage. He checked my feet said they were just like any non-diabetic and to just keep and eye on things. He also suggested that perhaps I try different shoes.
Long story short, my feel were painfully cold because it was May in New England and I was wearing flip flops. There was an air conditioning vent blowing on my feet! It was all fixed when I started to wear closed toed shoes. Duh. In my head I was adding a wheelchair ramp to my house and figuring how I could get around when my feet were taken away.
As of late, I am seeing a lot more floaters in my eyes. Mainly when I am at work. Is it the sun coming through the windows? Is it really worse than it used to be? Is it because my control is assumed to be tighter now that I am on the pump. (Although my A1c when I started was 6.8, so I can’t imagine it’s changed that much.) I feel like I should go get them checked out, but am scared. I was just there in January and everything was fine. It’s not any of those black spots or flashes that they always ask me about. I know, I know, I should go and check it out. But, you see, I am already figuring in my head when I could schedule laser treatments to resolve whatever mess they may find.
It would be my first visible complications of having diabetes, and I don’t think I am ready for that.
posted by caren at 2:09 PM
2 Comments:
Hey, it's vital you go get them looked at. It's probably nothing at all but if it is, best to get treatment before it goes really bad.
I wake up with tingling in my hands and get funny tinglin in my feet sometimes. I'm so convinced it's my diabetes.
It's so scary.
get them looked at, of course. It will be reassuring, regardless.
And I am the same way. It took me a while to adjust to summer in VA because it's just plain buggier here - I kept thinking those blips in my peripheral vision were bleeds!
Post a Comment
<< Home