{"id":17494,"date":"2011-06-28T09:45:17","date_gmt":"2011-06-28T13:45:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=17494"},"modified":"2015-12-27T15:44:24","modified_gmt":"2015-12-27T20:44:24","slug":"whos-a-diabetes-slob","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=17494","title":{"rendered":"Who’s A Diabetes Slob?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The choice is yours.\u00a0 You can be clean about your diabetes, or you can be a diabetes slob. \u00a0\u00a0That’s vague, I know, so let me put it into specifics.\u00a0 You can be like me, or you can be like my husband, Mike.\u00a0 You can keep your glucometer safely zipped away in its little black pouch when not in use, nestled beside the lancing device and the bottle of test strips.\u00a0 Or you can have a glucometer pack that always looks like it has just been burglarized- with nothing in its designated compartment and test strips strewn in every direction and on the floor beneath it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>My glucometer pack gets burglarized regularly.\u00a0 Mike runs out of test strips and goes for mine.\u00a0 He unzips my pack. (OMG- Am I writing diabetes porn?) He takes what he needs and goes back to his own diabetes pack, his own lancet, his own glucometer.\u00a0 But he doesn’t remember to return my pack to the way he found it- neat, organized, and zipped.<\/p>\n

The closing of my glucometer pack is important to me not only because I’m neurotic, but because I have feline stalkers.\u00a0 The cats go where I go.\u00a0 At night they’re in bed with me.\u00a0 During the day\u00a0 when I work, one sits on my desk chair, the other on the desk, often rubbing his cheeks on the edges of my computer screen.\u00a0 If my glucometer pack is open on my desk, the cat will sit on it.\u00a0 He will feel very content at the thought that he’s participating in my diabetes care by keeping my glucometer nice and warm and making it hairy.\u00a0 I will feel very frustrated as I look all over the house for my glucometer, knowing I never took it off the desk, forgetting that I must always lift the cat whenever it is missing.<\/p>\n

“Sorry, sorry, sorry,” Mike said the other day when I confronted him about leaving the pack open.\u00a0 Then he said, “If you checked your blood sugar more often, you’d be messy, too.”<\/p>\n

I do not like being told to check my blood sugar more often- not by my doctor and especially not by my husband.<\/p>\n

“The only place you’re neater than me is in your diabetes stuff,” Mike claimed in his defense, not realizing that almost every day I must tread carefully when I step out of the shower, and navigate my way around his dirty running socks and shoes.\u00a0 It is true, however, that the clothes in Mike’s closet are folded so neatly they could be on display in a store while my closet looks like it’s been struck by a tornado.\u00a0 Why doesn’t Mike’s closet neatness carry over into his diabetes care?<\/p>\n

“You squirt insulin on the floor!” I shouted.\u00a0 This was the way he checked to see if a new insulin pen was good- by squirting a little insulin onto the floor before injecting.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Recently, after switching from injections to an insulin pump, Mike spilled insulin while trying to fill a cartridge for the first time.\u00a0 I wasn’t home when it happened.\u00a0 But an hour later when I sat down at the table to eat lunch, I smelled it.\u00a0 The whole area reeked of insulin- the band-aid smell.\u00a0 I assumed the insulin had spilled on the floor and that Mike had cleaned it up.\u00a0 It’s a strong odor and I figured it was just lingering.\u00a0 I opened the windows.\u00a0 I thought about taking my plate to another room because the smell was nauseating.\u00a0 It was so strong I felt like I was sitting in a bathtub full of insulin.\u00a0 “How much did you spill?” I asked.<\/p>\n

“Not that much,” Mike said.<\/p>\n

Evening arrived.\u00a0 Dinner time.\u00a0 The smell was still there.\u00a0 “I don’t think you cleaned very well, Mike,” I said. I was clearing a few things, including an old napkin, off the table.<\/p>\n

He didn’t respond.<\/p>\n

“Mike!” I snapped.\u00a0 I felt like I was going to throw-up from the smell.<\/p>\n

He started to laugh.\u00a0 And laugh.\u00a0 And laugh.\u00a0 “That napkin in your hand,” he said,\u00a0 “there’s a 180 units of insulin on it.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":53098,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1501],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nWho's A Diabetes Slob?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Does your glucometer pack look like it's just been burglarized, with test strips strewn in every direction? Do you ever squirt insulin on the floor?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=17494\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jessica Apple\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=17494\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=17494\",\"name\":\"Who's A Diabetes Slob?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=17494#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=17494#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ASL-Social-Big-Square-3.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-06-28T13:45:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-12-27T20:44:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/1f33fe649de04a31a493d746b6e72607\"},\"description\":\"Does your glucometer pack look like it's just been burglarized, with test strips strewn in every direction? Do you ever squirt insulin on the floor?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=17494#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=17494\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=17494#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ASL-Social-Big-Square-3.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ASL-Social-Big-Square-3.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":1280},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=17494#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Who’s A Diabetes Slob?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/\",\"name\":\"ASweetLife\",\"description\":\"The Diabetes Magazine\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/1f33fe649de04a31a493d746b6e72607\",\"name\":\"Jessica Apple\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c10409e04c60ee9e1a01fbe9c4a704b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c10409e04c60ee9e1a01fbe9c4a704b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jessica Apple\"},\"description\":\"Jessica Apple grew up in Houston. She studied Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at the University of Michigan, and completed an MA in the same field at the Hebrew University. She began to write and publish short stories while a student, and continues to write essays and fiction while raising her three sons (and many pets). Jessica\u2019s work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Financial Times Magazine, The Southern Review, The Bellevue Literary Review, Tablet Magazine, and elsewhere. She is the diabetes correspondent for The Faster Times. In 2009 she and her husband, both type 1 diabetics, founded A Sweet Life, where she serves as editor-in-chief. Jessica loves spending time with her sons, cooking with her husband, playing with her cats, reading, biking, drinking coffee, and whenever possible, taking a nap. Follow Jessica on Twitter (@jessapple)\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?author=8\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Who's A Diabetes Slob?","description":"Does your glucometer pack look like it's just been burglarized, with test strips strewn in every direction? Do you ever squirt insulin on the floor?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=17494","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jessica Apple","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=17494","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=17494","name":"Who's A Diabetes Slob?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=17494#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=17494#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ASL-Social-Big-Square-3.jpg","datePublished":"2011-06-28T13:45:17+00:00","dateModified":"2015-12-27T20:44:24+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/1f33fe649de04a31a493d746b6e72607"},"description":"Does your glucometer pack look like it's just been burglarized, with test strips strewn in every direction? Do you ever squirt insulin on the floor?","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=17494#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=17494"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=17494#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ASL-Social-Big-Square-3.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ASL-Social-Big-Square-3.jpg","width":1280,"height":1280},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=17494#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Who’s A Diabetes Slob?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/","name":"ASweetLife","description":"The Diabetes Magazine","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/1f33fe649de04a31a493d746b6e72607","name":"Jessica Apple","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c10409e04c60ee9e1a01fbe9c4a704b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c10409e04c60ee9e1a01fbe9c4a704b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jessica Apple"},"description":"Jessica Apple grew up in Houston. She studied Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at the University of Michigan, and completed an MA in the same field at the Hebrew University. She began to write and publish short stories while a student, and continues to write essays and fiction while raising her three sons (and many pets). Jessica\u2019s work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Financial Times Magazine, The Southern Review, The Bellevue Literary Review, Tablet Magazine, and elsewhere. She is the diabetes correspondent for The Faster Times. In 2009 she and her husband, both type 1 diabetics, founded A Sweet Life, where she serves as editor-in-chief. Jessica loves spending time with her sons, cooking with her husband, playing with her cats, reading, biking, drinking coffee, and whenever possible, taking a nap. Follow Jessica on Twitter (@jessapple)","sameAs":["https:\/\/asweetlife.org"],"url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?author=8"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17494"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17494"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17494\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/53098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}