Perspective and Mindset: I Take My Life Seriously #29

Hello everybody, and welcome to another episode of DiabeticReal. And I'm your host, Deborah Anderson. I am often inspired by television episodes and it just so happens that this time it was an episode of Matlock.And I'm not talking about the 80s Matlock, although I love that show with Andy Griffith, by the way. I actually passed Andy Griffith in one of what was, you know, other than our Black Beauty Jag. I'm not a car person.I understand our Black Beauty Jag because I published that podcast featuring our Black Beauty Jag. So I don't know exactly what the car was, except it was a white convertible. And bless his heart, he held up his hand, he smiled at me and he waved.Of course, I'm sure he does that to everybody he passed. But such a Southern gentleman, I just have to say about Andy Griffith.But anyway, this isn't about an episode of that Matlock, even if the actor is a Southern gentleman and may he rest in peace, but this is about the new Matlock starring Kathy Bates.Anyway, there was something that was said in, of course, it's season one, it's the first season and it was episode 15 and it was about 10 minutes, 30 seconds in. And there was something that was said that made me, I think she made some reference to taking her life seriously.And I don't want to spoil the show, so you'll have to like watch the show to, to get a feel for it. But it got me thinking about my own situation. We have been talking about diabetic ketoacidosis and there was something that I was reading.It was a note, I think it was between my mother and my mother in law.And this also, ironically, this fits in because I was actually being interviewed on two different podcasts just this week and I was being asked questions about, you know, what is it like living with diabetes, growing up and things like that. And so other questions related to family, things like that.So it was really interesting how the whole thing about diabetic ketoacidosis fit in with, you know, this Matlock episode. It's like everything all fit as if the topics were all interrelated.It just, it's always interesting to me how things kind of come together timing wise, but I'm fascinated by things like that. So these notes, my mother was referencing something where it was like, oh, hey, the.And I think I may have mentioned this on the podcast, one of the podcast interviews where the belief was that I had never been under better diabetic control than when I lived at home. Yeah. In fact, I did mention that in one of the interviews. And one of the things was that good, bad or otherwise, in fact, I'm actually thankful.It may not have felt very loving, but she. Well, both my parents, but in particular my mother basically said, okay, you know, you're eight years old now. This is your disease.I was diagnosed at six, but it's like, this is your disease, you need to manage it. You're the one that needs to talk to your teachers about it. It's your disease, you handle it, blah, blah, blah. And she took hands off.I did my shots myself. I did the food measurement. I think maybe a couple times she might have scooped up the mashed potatoes in a measuring cup kind of thing.Back then, everything was old school. I won't go all into it. I think I've discussed that before. As far as old school or as Ken mentioned, and I'll give a link to his podcast.That was back in the dark ages. I loved the reference to those the dark ages as far as diabetes management, but everything was about managing the diabetes myself, even if I was 8.But that's not the point that I'm trying to make here. The point was her reference to the fact that I was under better care when I was in her household, in her home. Well, as I said in the podcast.Yeah, but did we forget the part about that? I was told to manage it myself. It wasn't being managed by anyone else. In fact, it was all about me managing it myself.So in the note that between the women, it was like, oh, hey, this isn't being managed well when she's out on her own as an adult. It was managed better when she lived with me in my home. I'm thinking, wait, you really can't have it both ways.You can't say, hey, little kid, you have to manage this all by yourself and then say, oh, but it was managed better when you're in my home, even though I told you you had to manage it all by yourself without my help. You see what I'm saying? You can't have it both ways.Either the parent manages it and then gets the credit for having managed it, or they say to the little kid, you manage it, and then you can't take the credit for saying it was under better care when I managed it as a parent, if you said the little kid managed it. But even that is not the point. And here's the point. Yes, I am finally getting to the point.Yes, the point is, and this is where the mindset is, and this is where it Fits in with the diabetic ketoacidosis. And this is the part that I want diabetics and those who care for diabetics to really understand.And this is where it fits in with the Matlock episode. It's perspective and mindset. Okay, here we go. Ready? Ready? Okay, I know you're ready. All right. It is as if.Now this is just my perspective on what the two ladies are discussing.It is as if the perspective was that because I didn't go to the hospital as frequently as a little kid, even though, side note, I should have and I needed to, but because I didn't go to the hospital.Oh, second side note, the management was in the dark ages, meaning it was urine testing of, quote, unquote, blood sugars, which weren't blood sugars, they were just sugars. Two hours after eating, they weren't blood sugars at all, they were urine testing, dark ages of testing and not blood sugars at all.So, yeah, I needed to go in the hospital. It was completely different world.So, yes, I should have gone to the hospital several times because I was in DKA several times as a child and needed the hospital.But anyway, the measurement stick was because I didn't go to the hospital as a child, that meant that I was healthier as a child and therefore under better management as a child, again, giving herself credit, presumably as a parent, even though the management was me. Well, now I just insulted myself as a little kid. But you have to compare all the factors. Dark ages.I didn't have access to blood testing because they didn't do blood testing back then. Not yet. Until the technology came about.Now, the way I look at it, and this is where, if you listen to the last few episodes, my rule of thumb is if I am going into diabetic ketoacidosis, I don't let three days pass where I make sure I am down there at the hospital. In other words, you know, I didn't word that correctly.If my blood sugar is high, high blood sugar for three days or low, too low for three days, I am there at the hospital getting checked out because something is wrong. Something I may be going into diabetic ketoacidosis, and a diabetic can die from that. So that's my rule of thumb.And I have been told that that is the right rule of thumb for a diabetic, for type 1 diabetic like me. So my view is that that is taking my life seriously as a type 1 diabetic.And I look at it and say, hey, doing it right, that if I'm going into the hospital now, maybe not, you know, ICU every other week, then. Then there might be some. There's some room for improvement on the diabetes management.Not judging, just saying, hey, there might be some areas where you could be tweak. But if you're going into the doctor because you're having some. Some lows or some highs and you need some help, hey, kudos. You're asking for help.That's a good thing. But the key thing here is you should not be judged and said, well, hey, you didn't go to the. You didn't go to the hospital at all for 20 years.So that means you have perfect health. No, no, no, that's not the right way to look at it. That just means you didn't ask for help. But does that mean that your blood sugars were perfect?How would you know if you didn't ask for help? Bit of a brain teaser there, but my view is that you need to be checking in to make sure you're on the right track. Just a little perspective check.And at the end of the day, we want you healthy. Okay? Type 1ers. All right, this is Deborah E signing off on DiabeticReal. Stay healthy, guys, and know that you're loved.