Thursday 16 January 2014

Diabetes OCD.

Generally speaking, I've always been an organised person, in all aspects of my life: my school (now uni) work has always been dated and filed, all of my belongings have a "place" so I know exactly where it is, my DVDs are ordered alphabetically and I can't live without my diary (years of moaning about the school planners I used to receive and within a week of starting my first year at uni I went out and bought one!)  The other day, I organised the kitchen cupboards (well the two that Shep and I have), wait for it, for fun! (Hi, there Monica Gellar!)

Since my pancreas decided to enter into early retirement, more "quirks" have become apparent, such as:

Diabetes supplies, medicine box and my hair straighteners!
1. Diabetes supplies: everything is kept on the top shelf of my wardrobe, and organised by expiry date. The same goes for the insulin in the fridge. 

2. Sweetener: I tend to do a "sweetener steal" when I go to coffee shops, so if I'm ever at a friends house and I have a hot drink, I have sweetener in my bag. However, acquiring sweetener from different coffee shops means different brands. My sweetener sachets have to match. I can't have one Sweet and Low and one Splenda. No, no, no!

3. Always prepared: living in the moment?! Not my thing. Preparing for said moments and then having a blast? Yep, that's me! I like to know that I have enough insulin/quick-acting sugar/test strips/needles/batteries for my meter. It keeps me safe to then enjoy the aforementioned moments. 

I have no control over the fact my pancreas no longer produces insulin, but I can control these other aspects of my life. Although still a novice when it comes to exercise, I make a point of going to the gym because my attendance there is something I can control. Same goes for my attendance at uni, my finances, and several other aspects of my life.

I call it compensating for what I can't control. My family call it diabetes OCD. They're one and the same as far as I'm concerned!  

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