Tuesday, November 8, 2011

I'm no beta cell...


Have you ever had a moment where it seems like everything is hitting you all at once? How about a day that was just "off". For the most part I have handled (at least I think) Clifford's diagnosis as best as one can handle a diagnosis of a chronic lifelong illness. But there are days where I get more than frustrated at the disease. Just when you think you've gotten a little bit of a "handle" if there is even one with D, on it, BAM! You are smacked back into your place of the "unknown". There is no consistency whatsoever with Diabetes. NONE. Period. Seeing as it's Diabetes Awareness month perhaps it's best to vent my frustrations at D now, here for everyone to see exactly at some point what we all go through. I read, and read, and read, and even read some more to try to grasp a bit of an understanding at what is happening in my son's body. To try to understand as best I can how certain foods affect him. I measure his blood sugar, count the carbs and give what I think from my training is the best dosage of insulin to keep him with a good stable blood sugar. But I'm no "beta cell". In case you are not familiar with exactly with what a beta cell does, here it is. A beta cell is located in the islet cells in our pancreas. They constantly measure the blood sugar, and produce insulin as needed which helps us "Non D'" to maintain a stable blood sugar. Our pancreases are so awesome in fact when say we haven't eaten for awhile, our blood sugar will start to drop, but the pancreas senses this and shuts down the production of insulin and will begin to produce glucagon, which helps to bring the blood sugar back up. It's a perfect machine of balance.

Really there is no point to this post except there are times that I am very unhappy that I cannot function like the perfect little machine of the pancreas. I'm just no beta cell...