Category: Type II Diabetes

My Apple Watch

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If you’re of my generation, do you remember when your family got your first microwave? And do you remember what a luxury it was? Now you probably think nothing of it. It’s no longer new and exciting. Indeed, most new houses come with one built right in the kitchen.

That’s what my Apple Watch was at first—a luxury. Yet here I am, less than two weeks since purchasing it, and it’s no longer the luxury it was two weeks ago. I won’t go so far as to claim it’s a necessity, but it comes close.

Here’s What I Use It For

  • Tracking my Blood Glucose Levels (BGL)
  • Monitoring my exercise: it reminds me every hour to get up and walk around for at least a minute
  • It reminds me 4 times a day  to just stop whatever I’m doing and simply breathe for a minute. I can change how often I want a reminder, as well as the length of time I breathe
  • It monitors my Blood Oxygen levels, as expressed by a percentage
  • It’s slow going, but if I need to, I can send texts

I like taking close-up pictures of flowers. I can put my iPhone on a tripod, set my focus and aperture and then, to keep the camera steady, I can use my Watch to trigger the shot remotely.

I’m still finding more uses for it every day.

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My Diagnosis Was A Complete Shock

Do you know what Diabetic Keto Acidosis (DKA) is? The Mayo Clinic describes it like this:

Diabetic ketoacidosis is a serious complication of diabetes that occurs when your body produces high levels of blood acids called ketones.

The condition develops when your body can’t produce enough insulin. Insulin normally plays a key role in helping sugar (glucose) — a major source of energy for your muscles and other tissues — enter your cells. Without enough insulin, your body begins to break down fat as fuel. This process produces a buildup of acids in the bloodstream called ketones, eventually leading to diabetic ketoacidosis if untreated.

I had been diagnosed with Type II diabetes some 10 years previously and had been treating it with diet, medication, and exercise. But a misunderstanding with my Primary Care Physician (PCP) led me to stop checking my Blood Glucose Levels (BGL). So when I was admitted to hospital for an unrelated infection, we discovered that my blood sugars were all out of whack. This led to me remaining in hospital for about a week while we managed to get my BGL within normal limits.

The result was my diagnosis of Type I Insulin-Dependent Diabetes, and a drastic change to my life.

And Now For Something Completely Different

Here’s something I like when my BGL allows: a cup of dark-roast coffee (Green Mountain Dark Magic is my current favorite), a packet of Swiss Miss White Chocolate mix, and a splash of French Vanilla creamer. And if my BGL doesn’t allow? That’s just the thing: both the Swiss Miss and the creamer come in sugar-free versions, so my BGL always allows!

Stay tuned for my next post, where I recommend a couple of diabetes-related mobile phone apps. Until then, I’m