If there’s something I really don’t like about → being a diabetic, it’s the constant measuring of my blood sugar level. It’s simply annoying. Diabetes isn’t a tough disease – of course, it sucks like every other disease, especially because it’s chronic and you have to deal with it for the rest of your life, but it’s an illness that is completely manageable. It doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t stop you from doing anything and it won’t kill you – if you take care of yourself. The injections are no problem, wearing the pump is rather cool than something bad (because it’s an absolute improvement!), and as I like to say: I probably know even more about food and carbs than someone who actually wants to go on a diet or so. But there’s one thing that really sucks: measuring your blood sugar. Pricking your finger, pressing it a bit to get enough blood for the device and waiting. And then writing it down. Sounds easy and yes, it is, but after a few years this becomes something you’ll really hate from the bottom of your heart. You’ll start to forget it on purpose (well, sometimes you actually don’t do it on purpose) and enter the zone of frustration. I had this when I was 18, I just didn’t want to do it anymore. Diabetes doesn’t hurt but it’s absolutely annoying and you just can’t get rid of it, it’s always there and you can’t ever say “hey, today I’ll just spend the day like a healthy person!” because you’ll totally regret it. And even if you do this, there’s always these thoughts like “I should be measuring my BS”. You can’t switch it off.
But – and that’s the positive part of today’s blog post: there’s something new on the market. Well, it’s not totally new but still something great and I think I’ve waited way too long to get it. The FreeStyle Libre. It’s not a CGMS (Continuous Glucose Monitoring System), but a FGMS – a “Flash Glucose Monitoring System”. Means: you put a sensor on your arm and whenever you reach for it with the measuring system, it shows you your current BS – plus (and that’s an enormous plus!) you can see how your BS has been acting around it. Seeing that chart helps a lot when you want to work on your treatment – cause that’s also something you learn and have to do a lot. Your doctor isn’t always around, sometimes you just need to change some small things by yourself and if you see where the problems are, you can do it and keep an eye on it.