Diabetes Blessings Week

(Thanks to Mike over at My Diabetic Heart for coming up with this one...I feel like I am running out of steam here at the end of NaBloPoMo!  Topics are incredibly helpful.)

Yesterday, I had to rant and rave about things which I'm NOT thankful for, but today, I have decided to pitch in my two cents for Diabetes Blessings Week.  I know, it's probably a foreign concept to most people to come up with ways something debilitating can bless your life.  It takes a little soul-searching to say, "You know, Diabetes, I don't always think you're an a-hole."

But here are some ways diabetes has been a blessing-in-disguise for me:

1.) I visit a doctor multiple times a year.  Whether it's an endocrinologist, an opthamologist, an OB-GYN, or just my family doctor's office, I have always been encouraged to stay up on my health.  I've always tried to speak up when something is not right with my body.  Do I slack off sometimes?  Yes.  But I always know where to turn, and whenever I move, I end up searching out a whole new team to work with me.

2.) I eat healthier than I might have otherwise.  Lately I've really been fixated on getting enough fiber in my diet and drinking more water.

3.) I try not to take things or people for granted.  You never know who you may need to lean on in a tumultuous time of your life.  You could be perfectly fine one day and horrible the next.  I am often ready to embrace change!

4.) It's made me smarter in odd ways.  I am terrible at algebra, but pretty good at working on my correction formulas.  I can tell you what's a sugar in the ingredient list of a packaged food, and I can probably tell you what artificial sweetener they've used as well.  I've rigged up MacGuyver cooling packs for outdoor days in the summer.  I can talk at length about the Glycemic Index, and I've never been to nutritional school.  That time we did a blood-typing lab in my college biology class, I was the most popular girl in the room because I could prick my own finger and bleed without fear.

5.) It makes me think.  What time are we eating?  What kind of bolus should I take?  What kind of correction do I want?  How much alcohol do I plan to drink at this party?  Who are the empowered patients?  What can I do to make my blog look better?  How many grams of carbs in this salad?  What will I write about tonight?  Do I call the endo or the CDE?  Pizza or subs?  When will I be ready to do this damned basal test?  Do you think I should get a Dexcom?  Diabetes questions run through my head ad nauseum. 

6.) I understood the importance of decent health insurance from a very early age.  I also learned how to navigate health insurance earlier than a lot of my friends.

7.) On a similar note, it's helped me figure out how to get through to a real person on most automated phone lines! 

8.) It's made me even more self-aware.  I need to question if I'm being cranky because I'm low, or perhaps high, or perhaps I'm just genuinely cranky and need some sleep or a cup of coffee.  Like now.  Now is a good time for me to go to bed.