VERY VERY DRAFT - don't bother reading (YET)....
Would you like to be me, a person with type 1 diabetes (T1D), for a day? Toss a coin.
Heads - You would! Crazy person! Roll up roll up and play the game! You're going to need patience, a dice and a sense of humour.
Tails - You wouldn't! I don't blame you, it sucks!
ROUND 1 - BED TIME
It's bed time! But before you go to sleep you need to inject your basal insulin. Wait, what's basal insulin? It's the insulin that you will need for your body to function properly, and you will need this insulin no matter what you eat or drink or do. Without it you will be ill. Or worse. But this is supposed to be fun, let's not think about nasty things like hypos, comas, complications etc, let's play..... "How much basal insulin do I need?!?"
Get your dice and roll it.....
1) You did no exercise today, so inject 15 units
2) You did no exercise today, so inject 15 units. No, wait, you went for a swim yesterday, remember what happened last time you did that? Inject 14 units
3) You're in the middle of a cold/infection, so inject 16 units
4) You're in the middle of a cold/infection but you walked to the shops. Inject 15 units
5) You went out for a bike ride with friends, so inject...
14 units if it was less than 25 miles
13 units if it was less than 50 miles
12 units if it was less than 75 miles
11 units if you're still cycling
The smallprint - these values are indicative, and can change at any time. Oh and it's different for different activities
6) Oh, you're really tired and just want to go to sleep. Think of a number between 10 and 16. Then doubt yourself until you fall asleep.
ROUND 2 - WAKE UP!
It's first thing in the morning/afternoon/whenever time it is when you wake up. Don't move! Before you even think about doing anything, it's time to play.... "Test your fasting blood sugar levels"!!!
First of all, learn what is normal. And why. (But if you haven't got a spare month or two, assume normal is somewhere between 4-7 in the UK, unless you're under 16 years old. It's different in different countries too. You still haven't figured out why yet)
Get your dice and roll it.....
1) 5.5 Wahey, it's normal! Just like you hoped!
2) 7.8 Wahey, it's normal! As long as you're under 16 years old or come from Belgium.
3) 3.2 What?!? Why?!? Eat some carbs and test in 15 minutes. Repeat until it's normal. Then sleep for a few hours because low blood sugars make you tired.
4) 12.2. What?!? Why?!? Prepare for incoming complications. As they say in Casablanca - "Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon, and for the rest of your life"
5) 4.8 Wahey, it's normal! Brilliant! You did something for the first time yesterday and you weren't sure how it was going to affect your blood sugars today. Seems you injected exactly the right amount of insulin last night. FISTPUMP!
6) WHERE'S MY METER?!?! Panic! You can't start the day without knowing your blood sugar! Calm yourself. It must be here somewhere..... Look under the cat and roll the dice again.
ROUND 3 - BREAKFAST! (And LUNCH! And DINNER!)
You're hungry! Or you're not, but you have to eat. Let's play the EATING game!
You carb-count to try to keep your blood sugars as close to normal as possible. You've discovered through years of trial and error that you need approximately 1 unit of insulin for every 15 grams of carbohydrates that you eat. You've learned that ratio doesn't always work but it's a good rule of thumb.
You are about to eat.... wait for it..... throw the dice!
1) Something you've knocked up yourself. You'd be surprised how quickly you learn how many carbs are in a bowl of porridge/baked potato with cheese/chicken chasseur with rice/multipack of curly wurlies/I mean something really healthy
2) Something out of a packet. No, it's not ideal and yes you feel a bit guilty, but you've learned that it is so much easier to control your blood sugar if you know EXACTLY how many carbs you are about to eat from reading the packet, and sometimes life is just too short
3) Something that someone else has prepared. Just quickly check - no gluten, yeah? It's just that since you got T1D you have also developed Coeliac disease which means that all sorts of things like bread, pasta, biscuits, cake, anything with wheat in it are off the menu. Oh and rye. And barley. Wait, can you have bulgar wheat? What is bulgar wheat? Hope they don't think you're being rude for asking. Guess the number of carbs in the food that your friend has prepared.
4) Wahey! You're in your favourite restauarant! They know that you're T1d and Coeliac, and they don't look at you all weird! You know which things to eat and which to avoid. You order the salmon with roast potatoes. You LOVE this place. You order your favourite drink too!
5) You're in a restaurant that you didn't choose. Check for gluten again, and probably order the salad just to be on the safe side. You hate salad.
6) Oh hell, part II. You're out and about, but your insulin is still at home. DON'T EAT ANY CARBS! Oh well, never mind, you'll get something later. Watch other people eat their lovely sandwiches/hamburgers/pasta and pretend not to hate yourself.
ROUND 4.... DRINK!
No, wait, we're still in Round 3!
You've worked out how many carbs you have eaten, now how much insulin do you need to inject? Ah, that's easy, you learned earlier on that you need 1 unit of insulin for every 15 grams of carbs.
Not so fast! What is your blood sugar now?
1-3) Normal. Excellent! Inject the number of insulin units using the formula "total carbs eaten"/15. Don't forget round up. Or is it down?
4) Low. OK, reduce the insulin by a bit. Wonder how much is a "bit"
5-6) High. Right, increase the insulin by somewhere between a bit and a lot. Wonder how much is a "bit", and how much is a "lot".
All this is thirsty work, can we PLEASE have a drink now?
ROUND 4 - DRINK!
You really like diet coke. It's your favourite drink! It has no sugar in it, so doesn't affect your sugar levels, and, despite what the papers say, has absolutely no link whatsoever with T1D.
Unfortunately coke has around seven teaspoons of sugar in it, and it will make you ill. And you can't taste the difference.
Where are you when you fancy a diet coke? <roll dice>
1-3) At home or near a shop. Yay! Grab a can or a bottle, and drink away!
4)
5)
6)
You decide to live a little and order a diet coke anyway.... <roll dice>
Subsection iii) BAD DIABETS DAY
Note - you may or may not feel bad for the rest of the day, or during random parts of the day. Who knows. A dice isn't going to help you with this one.
1,2,3,4) Yes, diet coke is your favourite drink, but coke will make you ill, and unfortunately you can't taste the difference. You then argue amongst yourself for a while about whether it's worth the risk. It's your favourite drink after all, so it's worth it. But wait, you've learned from bitter experience that people don't think, or forget, or get confused, and bless you, you need to make sure that you're getting what you have ordered. And in order to make sure, you may have to "come out" about being diabetic. And then have to deal with the consequences of being given coke instead of diet coke.
1) You get a bottle/can of diet coke.
3-4) It was a really easy really fun ride so reduce insulin to 14 units
5-6) Hmmm, it was sort of inbetween. Lucky 13?
Odd number - You're going to be exhausted, grumpy and feel hungover for the rest of the morning
Even number - You're going to be exhausted, grumpy and feel hungover for the rest of the day
Except if it's prime - You feel normal! Wahey!
2) Test again, still in the 12's. Maybe you didn't inject enough insulin last night?
3) Or is it because the insulin has gone off?
4) Or is it because the needle is blocked?
5) Or is it because you're coming down with an infection?
6) OK, honestly, you don't have a clue. Spend the next few hours trying not to feel a failure, and hope you don't get ill again
5) Very high
6) Very low
5) Someone will tell you that diet coke caused your diabetes and although you will patiently explain that diet coke doesn't cause diabetes, you secretly don't like it when ignorant people think that you deserve this horrible disease
6) Someone will tell you that sweeteners in diet coke are really bad for you, and that you should have a coke instead. Score extra points if this person is telling you this whilst rolling their next cigarette.
2) You get a bottle/can of diet pepsi (or another brand). You're not fussed. In fact you prefer diet pepsi, but for some reason always ask for a diet coke. Temporarily think about that, and try to remember this next time. Immediately forget.
3) You get something indistinct squirted out from a gun. Your heart sinks a little bit. Squirty gun things don't taste as nice, and wait, which button did they press? This is where you have to come out as a diabetic. They may give you an odd look as they make internal judgements about you. But they may not. Only one way to find out! No, wait, you'll never know what they're actually thinking. Why should it matter what they think? Well some days it doesn't matter, but other days it does, because you're having a "Bad Diabetes Day". Go to Subsection iii) BAD DIABETES DAY.
4) You don't know what you've just been given because your friend ordered the drink for you. It's OK, your friend knows that you have diabetes, understands how much you love diet coke, isn't ignorant, and doesn't make internal judgements - she's your friend after all! But they're not an expert in ordering diet coke, bless them, they haven't needed to be, and you hope they will never need to be. Quietly pass the drink to someone who can tell the difference between coke and diet coke, preferably someone who understands why you are making a bit of a fuss and who is able to test the drink in a very subtle way. Try to avoid going to Subsection iii) BAD DIABETES DAY.
5) You get a bottle/can of diet coke. You remember what it's like when you roll a 2,3 or 4, and are eternally grateful for getting what you actually ordered. And they've remembered the lemon and no ice too! Fistpump!
6) Actually, no you'll just have water. It's just not worth it today.
