THE DAWN PHENOMENON

Hi, youse folks! Hope your week is going well.

As I started taking better care of myself and adjusting to the oral diabetes meds, I noticed something that seemed kind of odd. My fasting glucose levels (the measure of my blood sugars upon arising) appeared quite high---over 160---when they should have been much lower. I had no idea what was happening, so I went on the Interwebs and did a bit of research. Turns out that this is a common event for diabetics; it's called---you guessed it---the dawn phenomenon. What apparently happens as I sleep is that certain hormones come to visit my liver and make it shell out glucose so I can have some sort of energy to use for when I wake up. At the same time, these hormones hold my insulin hostage so it can't handle the excess glucose, and BAM!...up go the numbers.

There are different treatment approaches for the dawn phenomenon, including adjustment of meds, exercise early in the day and not later, and the one that appealed to me the most: a small snack before bed. Basically, I'd been eating my last meal of the day in the early evening and not eating anything after that. My rationale was that if I was trying to lose weight, I shouldn't consume anything after 7 PM. In this case, however, something to eat before I turned in could possibly be more helpful than harmful. I decided to try it out.

For the last five days or so, I have had one stick of lowfat string cheese right before sleep. And, wouldn't you know it---so far, so good. My morning readings have been in between 73 and 88. When I see my doc again in two weeks, I'll find out if I've solved the issue, or if he wants to tweak anything else in my treatment. I hope he'll just leave me with my cheese and call it a day.

There's another kind of dawn phenomenon I've been experiencing lately, too: during these last few days, I've awakened feeling much better than I have in a very long time; in years, it seems. After the alarm clock buzzes (and after I have swatted the snooze button twice, as is my normal morning habit), I turn it off and simply feel...grateful. Thankful. I can take care of my health, and I'm fortunate to still have some health for which I am able to care. I have health insurance, unlike so many others. I have supportive people in my life who teach me something each day. Matt is patient and always helps me. Even our three Qats (with apologies to B. Kliban!) are my own personal cheering squad, so I salute these three little purr-factories named Naima, Brooklyn, and Lerxst. Thank you, loveys, for all your comfort and cuddling.



Oh! Before I forget, my buddy Timmo thought it would be a good idea to tell you that I pronounce Tasia as "TAY-zhuh", not "TAH-zhah". I think this is because he called me "TAH-zhah" for a year before he figured it out (I just didn't have the heart to tell him, model of tact and politeness that I am).