Today on my lunch hour I headed home and loaded up my 6-year old daughter in the car to take her to her first day of lego summer camp (fun!). Normally I would have checked my BG before driving at lunchtime but I’ve gotten kind of reliant on my CGM and it said I was fine at 87, so I didn’t bother with a finger prick. We’re half way there and I start to feel just a little funny, so when we hit a stop sign I whip out my kit just to be sure…53. Grr! Thanks for nothing CGM!
I suppose the appropriate thing to do would be to pull over, tab-up, and wait for my BG to rise. What actually happens is this: 
That’s an open container of glucose tabs I’m holding while also shifting gears (no, I didn’t actually take the pic while I was still driving…I’m not crazy!).
Why did I drive-while-tabbing instead of pulling over?
Because in my world a BG of 53 (being treated) isn’t terrifying or dangerous. In my world it’s just another, albeit wearisome, inconvenience. In my world you don’t pull over (literally or metaphorically) for the big D unless you really have to….you just don’t.
Instead you adapt, and learn to overcome new challenges. Dealing with D becomes part of life and you figure out how to get the job done anyway. For me, popping a few tabs in the car occasionally, while not ideal, has become equivalent to opening a box of crackers for my kid while driving or feeling around on the floor of the car for the baby’s pacifier while driving (you know we’ve all done that one!).
You adjust to how your life is different. Like when you have kids and your life changes. It’s still “your life” but now it’s also “your life with kids” and this change brings with it lots of wonderful and not-so-wonderful moments.
My life isn’t only “my life” anymore, now it’s also “my life with diabetes” and my life with diabetes happens at home, at work, on vacation, and yes…sometimes even in the car.
We have such similar stories & I’m interested to hear what you experience because diabetes is a very isolating type disease. No one understands unless they deal with it. (I’m Ben’s cousin by the way!)
I was diagnosed with Graves right after my first was born, I was 25. Two years later while pregnant with my second I was diagnosed with type 1. They caught it early because of comments I made that I guess alerted them to check me sooner. I miserably failed my 1 hour glucose and it was onto shots and then an insulin pump soon after. It turned my world upside down. I have learned to live with it but I hate it. I dream about what it would be like to wear clothing without worrying about where I’ll hide my pump or how annoying it is to wear dresses with a pump strapped to my leg. I am fighting to be as healthy as I can so that, Lord willing, I can be around for my kids a long, long time.
Hi Sarah, Nice to meet you! Wow, we sure do have a lot in common. I remember consoling myself after I got Grave’s disease that “It could be worse, at least I didn’t develop T1”. Jokes on me, obviously. Now I tell myself how fortunate I was that I got to live my whole childhood without it. I only hope my own children don’t ever have to go through any of this. Thanks so much for sharing your story too!