The Best Thing – Yesterday was “Black Friday” when many Americans shopped till they dropped, looking for the best possible gifts. What’s the best diabetes gadget, phone app, book, or other tool you have?
The single best thing that helped me the most when I was first diagnosed was the collection of books I ordered about the various aspects of diabetes. It was over a month between the day I was diagnosed and my first visit to the endocrinologist, so I was on my own for the most part in figuring out how to deal with the disease and all it entails.
I'm the kind of person that likes to know everything about everything. I've always had a hunger for knowledge, and loved most of my classes in school for that reason. Whatever stage of life I'm in at the time, I feel much more comfortable in any situation when I have background information on whatever it is I'm dealing with. I started researching colleges my freshman year of high school, and knew where I was going by the next year. As soon as my husband and I were engaged, I went out and bought bridal magazines and wedding planning books. Finding out I had diabetes was no different--when I was diagnosed, the first thing I did was have some books rush shipped to my door so I could start learning about it!
I've shared this before, but I thought I would include it again since it's pertinent to today's topic. It's an image of all the books on diabetes that I currently have on my book shelf:
Amazon.com: 101 Tips for a Healthy Pregnancy with Diabetes...
$5.88 - amazon.com
These books are all wonderful in their own right, and provide a wealth of information for anyone who has an interest in finding out more about this disease. After November, I plan to post detailed reviews on each of them to give you a better idea of what each one is about.
$5.88 - amazon.com
These books are all wonderful in their own right, and provide a wealth of information for anyone who has an interest in finding out more about this disease. After November, I plan to post detailed reviews on each of them to give you a better idea of what each one is about.
Other than books, the other best tool I have in dealing with my diabetes is my blood glucose monitor. In fact, it's much more important on a daily basis than the books are, because it lets me know where I'm at and how I'm doing in following the advice I read and hear. I've had my Freestyle Freedom Lite meter for a couple of weeks now, and I adore it. I've only wasted a couple of test strips since I've had it (as apposed to the five or six I sometimes went through at one time to get a reading with my other meters!), which is no small thing when they cost $1+ apiece!
The Bayer USB meter and the software it comes with were also helpful in seeing at what points my blood glucose ran highest, which turned out to be very interesting. I found that I ran higher in the evenings (no surprise there), and my day for highest blood glucose readings was consistently on Thursday, which I thought was very strange...I expected it to be highest on the weekends. I still haven't figured that one out, but the knowledge in and of itself is helpful.
Well, I'm battling a headache after spending the day putting up Christmas decorations, so I'm going to go now, but I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
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