Wouldn’t it be nice if you could pull that “sweet tooth” – taking with it craving for sweets and other carbohydrates foods that can fatten you up and send your blood sugar out of control? We know there is no such thing as a real sweet tooth. But closely monitoring what you eat and drink is crucial for persons with diabetes.
King found out she was diabetic over 20 years ago while on vacation in Utah with her family. ‘Old school’ family vacation travel by car was B.Y.O.B. – and other family on the trip trailed in another vehicle. When you checked into your location where you were staying, the adults would have a sip or two with family or friends before dinner.
She also remembers her last drink – Tanqueray and tonic, in Kansas.
“By the time we got to Wyoming, I knew that something was wrong – I just didn’t know what,” King said.
She even remembers having a little sip before a meal at a cafeteria in Utah before dinner.
“I remember the lady taking the order and everything, and I kept looking up at her, but then all of the sudden, I felt a dizziness coming, and I could hear her say, ‘Oh my God!'” she said.
The next thing King remembers is waking up in a hospital in Salt Lake City after a 12-hour snooze caused by a diabetic coma.
The doctor advised her that she was diabetic and sent her with a letter to give to her physician at home and a “Do Not” list to adhere to until King visited her own doctor.
“My first thought was the needle, and I was afraid of the needle,” King said. “I said, ‘This won’t be a problem and I did not drink anymore that trip; in fact, that drink was the last drink I had.”
She was already physically active, dancing, playing baseball, running in the subdivision with her late husband, Jim.
There were other behaviors that has been keeping King “tipsy” over the years – fluctuating blood sugars from too high to too low – from stress-induced inattention to self; eating whatever she wanted whenever she wanted because “this didn’t seem important because I was feeling okay,” King admits.
And there is the issue of keeping forbidden edibles uncomfortably close at hand, you know – “just in case.”
Just in case she has company visit.
Just in case they would like a piece something sweet to eat or a sugary drink.
And, just in case her blood sugar drops too low.
“I know that’s a shame and I hope no other diabetic does that, but actually, I do a happy dance sometimes when my blood sugar gets to 80,” King admits. “Sweet – I want something sweet.”
She’s now been on insulin injections for 13 years and in the greater scheme of things, diabetes is not a condition that depresses this bubbly lady.
“Really with my diabetes, I have not let it interfere with my lifestyle,” she said.
But it has come with a price over the years – a stroke during carotid artery surgery, a heart attack last year, and diabetic neuropathy in her feet; not to mention COPD following 40 years of smoking.
She did kick this unhealthy habit, and is thankful she did.
A refresher from a diabetes nutritionist may soon be on the agenda for King to help her get better control blood glucose levels.
“I know if I do the right thing-and there are many things I can do to make it better – eat right, exercise, make sure I do my finger sticks every day three times a day; take this insulin on time; eat at the right time instead of waiting two hours past the time; then it’s going to drop automatically,” King said. “I’ll be okay.”
