Juggling DiabetesHas it all gotten to be too much lately?Juggling diabetes: Often we get in the habit of juggling all the things (and thoughts!) that we need to do in a day. Let's call those things "life balls". Our juggling of those balls - work, family, diabetes, emotional responses to things - is not often perfect, but perfect enough to suit our expectations, our priorities. Let's say that new ball is taking on more responsibilities at work or with the care of a loved one, or with the purchase of a new house (yardwork - egad!), then that ever-so-precarious balance we had before of juggling diabetes and life is thrown out the window. Suddenly, you can't juggle diabetes and all those old balls the same way while adding in the "new ball". These are the times when diabetes often suffers, takes a turn and maybe never recovers. It drops from the juggling act. Sometimes this happens with other elements that we're juggling (our relationships, our sanity, or even just our laundry). Maybe even to all of them. Consider this: when change occurs in your life...When change occurs, enough change that you feel the tug of stress unbalancing your juggling act, consider taking the time to review all the things you're juggling. Which ones are the priorities that you have to make time for and what is the least you have to do to satisfy those responsibilities and still be happy? Decide if they all must stay...Do all your previous task, home jobs, work responsibilities have to stay? And if so, do they all have to be done the same way to the same expectations? Can you chat with your family. Maybe you can lighten the load of some of those "life balls". For example, the cleaning. Does it have to be done to the same standards or can you just focus on the MUST DO parts of it for while. Can you bring in a maid service once a week for a short term. Can you live with a dusty house as long as you vacuum, or vice versa. Can someone else in the family take on the responsibility? Can you change your expectations and identify what is the least that needs to get done to keep each specific ball juggling or can you pass off the ball to someone else?In diabetes, this would mean...As an example with diabetes, if you suddenly can't keep doing your noon walks, could you steal time from something that is not such a priority for you. In my life, that would be housework. I could skip dusting so I could go for a relaxing walk to manage my blood sugars and stress level. Or I could combine it with something that I absolutely must do - I could walk around the stables while taking my daughter riding instead of just sitting in the lounge waiting. If I can't do this, and my blood sugars rise, I could change my expectation of how to get my sugars in control and give more insulin. It's still blood sugar management but just an easier juggling diabetes act for me. If this is you, and you've dropped the diabetes ball...If juggling diabetes and life working well before, and things have changed with new responsibilities, can you talk with your doctor about your other options. Maybe taking diabetes medications or changing the doses until you do get your life back into juggling things better? When reviewing all those "life balls" that you're juggling, don't forget to include time once a day or week or whenever works for you, for those special people who are so important to you.Now, the flip side of the coin...If you only expect things to be off for a few weeks, you're not likely to be increasing your risk for complications by having the blood glucose levels running slightly higher. Discuss it with your doctor. As long as you are safe and not running lows or extremely high numbers, maybe your diabetes could drop in priority for a week or so with no problems.Good luck with juggling diabetes and your priorities! Leaving Juggling Diabetes to go Home: How to Lower Glucose
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