The Sexy Diabetic

photo by Charles Earl I t's a few weeks until my next A1C test. As you may recall, the A1C is the test of blood sugar levels over three months. 6.5+ means diabetes. In March, mine was 9.5. In May it was 8.1. If it is 7 or higher in August, I will have to go on medication. I have completely changed my diet and increased my physical activity. I monitor with a glucose meter once a day now, as opposed to several times a day with the continuous glucose meter I was using to help me learn how my body reacts. I know now what causes uneven levels and how to even them out.  In the last while, I have been focusing on my emotional and mental health. On the advice of Adam Brown, the author of Bright Spots and Landmines: The Diabetes Guide I Wish Someone Had Handed Me , I have started to do daily gratitude journaling through The Five Minute Journal . At the start of each day, I note what I am grateful for, what would make the day better and write a daily affirmation. At the end of the day, I not

I am one month away from my next A1C test. I am trying my best not to feel too hopeful that I will have a blood sugar level below 7.0, the target my doctor set for my not having to go on medication. I try to bear in mind what she said: that my 9.5 result in March means it is pretty likely I will require some assistance in the form of medication, but fuck oh fuck oh fuck, I do not want to have to take anything. My brief fling with blood pressure medication was awful. The unsteadiness I felt all the time prevented me from doing as much physical activity as I wanted/needed: not only to lower my A1C level, but also because it makes me feel better now to do a lot of physical activity. I am at the end of the extra FreeStyle Libre 2 sensors we purchased after I tried the Libre 1 and Libre 2 sensors for free. While the trial versions seemed great and taught me a lot about how to manage my diabetes, the purchased versions were awful. Compared with the One Touch glucose monitor, which requires