Is it just me or does it seem like getting sick when you have Type 1 Diabetes is the worst? My kids get a cold and they bounce back in a day or 2 tops. I get a cold and I fee like death. It starts with feeling blah and ends up with a 27 day coughing my brains out episode that makes me want to do nothing but sit around and vegetate. If I do try to do anything physical the coughing gets worse. I am bored to death and trapped In my house and guess what happens….. that’s right sugars start to go up. I try to carefully to be diligent about taking my insulin, I am honestly barely eating but as soon as I do, it’s a high rise affair. Up up and away goes my sugar. I bolus and bolus again and it seems it won’t come down. For 2-3 days it does this then all of the sudden, boom it crashes.
When we are sick with a cold, the normal rules of diabetes don’t apply. Nothing that normally works seems to be efficient in keeping numbers under control. I am even more diligent about eating low carbs because I know I am not going to be burning much off (you know because I am like curled up in a ball in bed wishing I was dead or at least that I was not sick). Seems like it doesn't matter what I do though, I will still go high. And once I go up it doesn't want to come back down. My steps are maybe 2000 a day if I am lucky. I feel awful and I wish I could go out side and swim or do something, anything but the fever and the chills suck away my will to live. I know we have sick day management, stay on top of sugars, and blah blah blah, trust me the beeping won’t let me escape them. But is there anything to make it go away faster or make it suck less?
In addition to the sugar spikes, you just don't feel good. You are tired and your body hurts and you want to sleep, but guess what, NO SLEEP FOR YOU!!! That’s right, sleep is interrupted by beeping sensors and urges to pee and the incessant need to drink. Maybe it’s just me but the coughing also keeps me from sleeping. A stinking minor cold turns into a 4-5 day vacation to your worse nightmare. On a plus note I guess we get to catch up on Netflix right? Or maybe read that book we started 3 months ago but never got to finish.
What do you all do when you are sick? Does anyone have any trick for the rest of us? Any tips to get over a cold faster or to keep your sugars down in a semi-normal non beeping zone while the virus works its way through the system? Does anyone have some tried and true sick day management they want to share? Hoping you all stay germ free and healthy!!