Living with Diabeetus (Diabetes), just like Wilford Brimley

As I touched on before, Cystic Fibrosis causes many problems throughout the body. Another effect of increased mucus can be scarring on the pancreas resulting in an insulin deficiency.  This deficiency and inability to control blood sugar levels results in . . . wait for it . . . diabetes.

Monitoring your blood glucose levels is key.  I test my fasting glucose level in the morning with a goal of 80-120. I follow every meal with a 2 hour monitor aiming for below 140. I test the levels is through a finger prick and a blood glucose monitor (just like the commercials).

How do I control my diabetes? Through diet, exercise and more shots than a weekend in Cancun.

Counting carbs is where I begin. Could I cut carbs to eliminate the need for insulin? Probably, but it’s difficult for CFers. When I learned of my diabetes, I cut carbs and controlled my blood sugar level for a while. However, a CFers struggle to keep weight on makes it difficult to maintain a low carb diet. Also, my desire to stay active requires more carbs as well. I decided on a healthy diet, eliminating unnecessary carbs, while keeping the good ones such as pasta, fruit, grape nuts, potatoes and my personal favorite - gummy bears. Okay, the last one doesn’t have much nutritional value but I gotta have something. Eating good carbs at least makes every shot count.

Exercise is next. Cardio helps burn calories and sugar. This lowers my need for insulin and stabilizes my blood sugar levels. Not to mention, I already need to get a healthy dose of exercise for my lungs.

Shots, Shots, Shots . . . And now for the inevitable portion of diabetes, the insulin shot. I need carbs to maintain a healthy weight and lead an active lifestyle. But, I also need to offset the shortcomings of my pancreas. So, I am on a sliding scale where I take 1 unit of insulin for every 18 carbs consumed.  Generally I run 125 carbs for large meals resulting in 6-7 units of insulin. I administer the shots directly into my stomach.

Funny story . . . Back in the ‘90s and early ‘00s, I had a stint of passing out every time I got a shot. Needless to say, I had to get over that really quick when I began taking one 3+ times a day.