Diabetic Support Dog Training - Training My Dog Bree To Be My Diabetic S...

This video is about Diabetic Alert and Diabetic Support Dog Training - Training My Dog Bree To Be My Diabetic Alert Support Dog

fixed1t Pet Dog Tips

There is much in the press about Specialist Diabetic Alert Support Dogs and the years it takes to train them, but unless you need very specialised support you and you have a dog then there is a lot your own dog may be able to do to help.

If you have Diabetic in the family and a Dog they could and will love helping you.  Here Is My Lurcher Bree, Helping Me!

Malcolm aka #fixed1tDIABETICsupport

#Diabetes - How My Dog Warns Me Of Hypos

Picture From Harvard Medical School Literature

I have had Type 1 Diabetes for Over 35 years and currently take 6 injections of various insulins per day. despite what some people and physicians may feel is a high level of insulin use, I currently have none of the life limiting complications associated with long term diabetes.  I used to think it was luck! but as a disability support assessor and assessment centre manager for 10 years I came to realise that it was not luck, I don't need a medical degree to realise that my insurance to good health has been a solid understanding of my body, its needs and my Diabetes.  I have attended many different Diabetic Clinics in local Doctors Surgeries and hospitals, but I have never been hospitalised due to my diabetes.

Please Note:

I Have Never Suffered From Diabetes

Like Any Killer, I Give It Respect And We Co-exist

The views expressed here are my own and an aid memoire to myself in how I manage my own Type 1 Diabetes,  I do not prescribe anybody do what I do and recommend they make up their own minds and control their own Diabetes.

#Diabetes - How My Dog Warns Me Of Hypos

One of my Lurcher (cross between a Greyhound and a Saluki) rescue dogs 'Bree' is very sensitive to smell and taste and I have written about her strange bathroom habits in a previous #Diabetes #Mentor blog posting:

My Dog Bree And My Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Over the last few months Bree appears to have become particularly sensitive to any low blood sugars when I am in or on the bed. 

Skippy (light) And Bree (grey)Asleep On The Bed Just Before Biscuit Time 

If I start to have a low blood sugar she stands over me and prods me to get out of or off the bed.  She is extremely persistent and will even start yelping at me if I don't move.

As soon as I move she gets up on the bed and licks where I have sweated, as Diabetics often do when the blood sugar goes low. I have been trying to understand when this began to occur and I think I have cracked the case. I may have turned Bree into a Diabetic Alert Dog by accident rather than design.

Out of guilt from eating something and not giving Bree and Skippy anything, I started to give them a small biscuit, each time I had a biscuit between meals or if I had woken in the night in a cold sweat.

Therefore what has occurred is that by Behavioural Training my dogs, and particularly Bree have associated my regular biscuits times, my hypo biscuit times and my low blood sugars with a food reward. So now when it reaches my biscuit time they come to me, If I'm asleep they wake me and if during the night I start to get a low blood sugar (which they can smell the pheromones of) they wake me to get a biscuit. In the process warning me of a low blood sugar which would otherwise have left me with an awful headache or worse.

Therefore, is you have a dog and you have diabetes, let them lick the crease in your arm when you are having a low blood sugar and give them a biscuit, also reward them when you have your regular biscuits and your dogs may just become a helpful, and happy to help as Bree is.

Please check out my other Diabetes Mentor blog posts, please be aware so contain references to adult content relating to sex and diabetes.

Malcolm

aka #fixed1tDIABETESmentor

#Diabetes - My Dog Bree And My Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Picture From Harvard Medical School Literature

I have had Type 1 Diabetes for Over 35 years and currently take 6 injections of various insulins per day. despite what some people and physicians may feel is a high level of insulin use, I currently have none of the life limiting complications associated with long term diabetes.  I used to think it was luck! but as a disability support assessor and assessment centre manager for 10 years I came to realise that it was not luck, I don't need a medical degree to realise that my insurance to good health has been a solid understanding of my body, its needs and my Diabetes.  I have attended many different Diabetic Clinics in local Doctors Surgeries and hospitals, but I have never been hospitalised due to my diabetes.

Please Note:

I Have Never Suffered From Diabetes

Like Any Killer, I Give It Respect And We Co-exist

The views expressed here are my own and an aid memoire to myself in how I manage my own Type 1 Diabetes,  I do not prescribe anybody do what I do and recommend they make up their own minds and control their own Diabetes.

My Dog Bree And My Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

I have two rescue dogs, the breed are called "Lurchers" and mine are a cross between 'Greyhound' and 'Saluki'.

Our first rescue dog was Bree, a trully beautiful grey with sphinx like eyes who like to cross her front legs.  

Shortly after we got Bree she gave me one hell of a scare with a very odd behaviour:

I actually considered training her some time ago and bought some urine testing sticks to detect the level of sugar in my urine, but after complaints about the efficacy of this and the video I decided not to do it. However, despite my efforts to deter her if ever I forget to close the toilet door she is there in a flash. So I think I will try and train her over the next few months.

If I can train her to distinguish between the sugar levels by using a set of different objects this could be extreme useful. Not only to me but to countless others, as diabetes test sticks and blood testing kits are expensive. 

Please check out my other Diabetes Mentor blog posts, please be aware so contain references to adult content relating to sex and diabetes.

Malcolm

aka #fixed1tDIABETESmentor

#Diabetes URGENT Diabetic Hypo Warning Lucozade Original

#Diabetes URGENT Diabetic Hypo Warning Lucozade Original

fixed1t Diabetes Mentor

I have used High Glucose Sugar Original Lucozade regularly for over 35 years to treat the early onset of Diabetic Hypo or to drink before I do any exercise of manual work.  Last week I went to purchase some more ORIGINAL LUCOZADE and discovered a new variety call Original Lucozade... but it wasn't what I new or expected had I purchased this whilst feeling hypo I'd have been in serious trouble.  I am therefore making this video as a warning.

If you are a Diabetic Type 1 or Type 2 Or You Know A Diabetic Or A Parent Or Carer Of One They Need To See This Urgently

LUCOZADE ORIGINAL Is Used To Treat Diabetic Hypos Due To Its High Glucose Sugar   If You Don't Give A Confused Hypo Diabetic

Sugar They Will COMA And May Die!

You don't need to be a Diabetes Consultant, Diabetes Specialist Nurse, have a medical degree or be a Diabetes Mentor to know that carrying Lucozade High Sugar provides a level of insurance and comfort to diabetes patients.

#fixed1tDIABETESmentor

#Diabetes Managing My Type 1 Diabetes - Things I Do

#Diabetes Managing My Type 1 Diabetes - Things I Do

Picture From Harvard Medical School Literature

I have had Type 1 Diabetes for Over 35 years and currently take 6 injections of various insulins per day. despite what some people and physicians may feel is a high level of insulin use, I currently have none of the life limiting complications associated with long term diabetes.  I used to think it was luck! but as a disability support assessor and assessment centre manager for 10 years I came to realise that it was not luck, but a solid understanding of my body, its needs and my Diabetes.

Please Note:

I Have Never Suffered From Diabetes

Like Any Killer, I Give It Respect And We Co-exist

The views expressed here are my own and an aid memoire to myself in how I manage my own Type 1 Diabetes,  I do not prescribe anybody do what I do and recommend they make up their own minds and control their own Diabetes.


I have decided to add my Diabetes Mentor blog to my fixed1t blogs account as I have neglected it for a number of years. The main reason for the neglect was that it had a different logon and google+ account which meant logging out of fixed1t on Google then logging back in again as vis-versa. Sadly for me this was like keeping a guitar in its case rather than having it on a guitar stand by your favourite chair, the effect is that after a small number of times you do nothing with it.

fixed1t tip: If you have a guitar in a guitar case you are most likely not using it (too much set up hassle) so get a cheap guitar stand and set it up where its accessible when your waiting for the kettle to boil etc and you will start using it again and love it.

I have also moved all of the my diabetes related and medical self help posts from my various fixed1t blogs into my Diabetes Mentor blog.  Why? well all of them relate to me and are therefore relating to my 36 years of living with Type 1 Insulin Dependent Diabetes.

I also plan to be more active on this Diabetes Mentor blog, in an effort to 'give back' for the 36 years of relatively good health I have had despite my diabetes and not following all medical instructions after working out myself what was best for my body and my life.

I Have Never Suffered From Diabetes

I have always worked with it and around it to manage the obstacles the condition could have applied to my lifestyle,  in this way my Diabetes it has:

Not Prevented Me From Doing Anything I Wanted To Do

Please be aware there is some adult content in this blog.

I hope you find it useful, feel free to ask questions about diabetes and I will try and give you an honest answer as to how I deal with such situations.

#Diabetic Hypo Treatment Urgent Warning - Lucozade High Energy

#Diabetic Hypo Treatment Urgent Warning - Lucozade High Energy

I have had Type 1 Diabetes for Over 35 years and currently take 6 injections of insulins per day and currently have none of the major complications associated with it.

I Do Not Suffer From Diabetes

But Like Any Killer I Treat It With Respect

The views expressed here are my own and an aid memoire to myself in how I manage my own Type 1 Diabetes,  I do not prescribe anybody do what I do and recommend they make up their own minds and control their own Diabetes.

This video is an Urgent Hypo Treatment Warning to Diabetics and carers 

I am doing this video to make people aware that all the Lucozade Glucose / Carbohydrate drinks are no longer the same.

The New Lucozade flavours no longer contain the High Glucose levels of the Original Lucozade and are therefore ineffective at treating Diabetic Hypo's where a small glass of the original orange coloured clear Lucozade, was enough to alleviate the Hypo Symptoms with 5 - 15 minutes.

Also, these low energy Lucozade drinks are ineffective in stacking carbohydrates prior to diabetics undertaking heavy work, a technique I have always used before exercise, sex or in the event of illness.

Please read each bottle carefully before use.



#fixed1tDIABETESmentor

#Ganglion #Cysts - How I Aspirate My Painful Cysts To Regain Hand Function

#Ganglion #Cysts - How I Aspirate My Painful Cysts To Regain Hand Function

I got another painful Ganglion Cyst on my index finger knuckle, these are so painful when knocked that I've know people give up type and doing things due to the pain and lack of mobility in their hands.  Sod That I like doing things with my hands.   I had been to the GP before with one of these, it took me a while to get an appointment, he said that it may be removed by squeezing it, with the caveat "how are you with pain" it did ****** hurt. He then said to come back and he would aspirate it.

I finger prick my fingers many times a day to test my blood glucose, aspirating blood from the veins,  so I decided to use my finger pricker on it, and it worked. As the knuckle was bruised I wasn't sure if finger pricker went too deep, so the next time I got one I decided to use the Lancet on its own, with great effect.

I have to say  "Don't try this at home" to cover myself.  I do this whenever I get one of these.  Being a Type 1 Diabetic having had the condition for around 36 years, I seem prone to these minor problems.

Despite taking insulin for 36 years I currently have none of the usual complications and have led a very active life and sometimes bonkers active life.  I have never been hospitalised for my diabetes and in 35 years never had a hypo that I couldn't treat myself, using common sense.

#fixed1tDIABETESmentor

#Dyshidrosis #Dermatitis Month 2 Update - How I Prevent It

#Dyshidrosis #Dermatitis Month 2 Update - How I Prevent It 

I have been asked on Google+ if Acrylic gloves are okay, and these are the type of gloves I wear the most.  I like the One Size Fits All, Non Slip cotton and or acrylic gloves.

I tend to buy them in bulk from cheap stores when I find them, or from eBay or Amazon if I can't.  Here are some links.

Click Here To Search From Them On eBay

Or on Amazon

Month 2 - And the hands are still clear of Dyshidrosis and Hand Dermatitis just by

wearing driving gloves, I hope this helps you if so please come back and leave a message.


Thanks #fixed1tDIABETESmentor

#Dyshidrosis #Dermatitis How I Prevent This Painful And Unsightly Condition

#Dyshidrosis #Dermatitis How I Prevent This Painful And Unsightly Condition

As spring approaches, now is a good time to start looking for and wearing the cotton or acrylic gloves before the irritants start affecting my hands.  Had a warm and sunny trip back from Cornwall, and I'm glad I had some of the non slip acrylic gloves with me, so no itchy swelling hands, thankfully.

In my case this simple prevention is as good as a cure, as long as I remember to have the gloves in the car and my pockets.

I have been asked on Google+ if Acrylic gloves are okay, and these are the type of gloves I wear the most.  I like the One Size Fits All, Non Slip cotton and or acrylic gloves.

I tend to buy them in bulk from cheap stores when I find them, or from eBay or Amazon if I can't.  Here are some links.

Click Here To Search From Them On eBay

Or on Amazon

I hope this helps you as much as it helps me.

Regards fixed1t

#Diabetes #Urine #Testing - Can I Train My Dog To Indicate My Urine Sugar Levels?

#Diabetes #Urine #Testing - Can I Train My Dog To Indicate My Urine Sugar Levels?

My new dog likes to sneak up on me in the bathroom for a sniff of my diabetic urine, but could I turn this into a medical test with appropriate training?

Over the next few weeks and months I will collect samples and begin training her, I will do update videos of the progress.

#fixed1tresearch

My Diabetes - How I Became Interested in the Psychology And Physiology of My Hypos part 2

Long before Diabetic Dogs became available, I had a discussion with one of my specialist doctors and nurses about smelling the hypo before it happened and therefore being an early warning system. They look sympathetically at me with that 'well if you think thats true thats fine'.
I was still a student and we were studying the so called 'mystic' branch of psychology called Phenomenological Psychology.  It was joked about being 'mystic' because is a branch of psychology not based on external experiments (how I remember it) but on monitoring internal processes. i.e. how do I feel about this.

My Diabetes - How I Became Interested in the Psychology And Physiology of My Hypos part 1

As a 12 year old, we had an interesting Religious Instruction teacher, who covered not only the biblical teachings, but if we were all attentive and behaved he'd spend some at the end of lessons on what we referred to as weird stuff.  Some Old Testament stories of Ezekiel and his description of the 4 propeller 'Lancaster Bomber' and other weird stories from the popular Astronauts from space guru Enrich Von Daniken. He also told us about dowsing and other old mystic type stuff and we'd bring and bend metal coat hangers and search for hidden copper coins in one of the 32 desks to learn how to dowse.  


He also told us about prophets and indian fakirs and ancient and modern mystics and yogi's. He also had a great old book on meditation and showed us pictures of a yogic masters sitting with his legs crossed balancing on their hands, controlling pain and various bodily functions and explain he warned that these took years to perfect, so don't try them at home.

After I discovered I was very good at finding copper coins in desks, a friend and I went to the library for books on yoga.  After some practise I learned to be able to slow my breathing and heart rate and being a thin child I could easily do the half and full lotus.  I discussed with friends how great it would be if you could learn to control things our bodies body and set about doing it, then some years later I discovered it was a new pseudo science called Bio Feedback.

Years on from this, I found a number of  articles in a number of hobby electronics magazines for Bio-Feedback machines and Galvanic Skin Response meters, so I built a couple.  Using the machine I quickly discovered that I actually could do what I thought I had done as a child, slow my heart and respiration, relax very quickly and deeply and the electronic gismos confirmed I was indeed popping in and out of relaxation at the drop of a hat.

So when I became diabetic whilst studying Behavioural Sciences degree, I knew physiological things were indeed happening to me and the effects on my body and from the psychological perspective also my mind. So I decided to become my very own lab rat. I also discovered there was a branch of Psychology that attempted to gain great insights not by doing experiments but by internal personal observation.  It had fallen into disrepute by being a sort of  'mystic' branch of psychology called Phenomenological Psychology.  

It was shunned about being 'mystic' because is a branch of psychology not based on external experiments (how I remember it) but on monitoring internal processes. i.e. how do I feel about this.  Now I had machine that could review my physiology and feelings, tastes, smells and behaviours I could comment on, so I set about using what tools and observations I could make to understand how my hypos affected me and how to prevent them from overwhelming me and rendering me unconscious.

And what an interesting journey it has been.

TBC

My Diabetes - A Great Night Out Clubbing Ends in Accidental Coma

In the eighties when we were both young students, D was visiting her relatives and I decided to go out on a Friday night drinking and clubbing with a friend.  I promised D that I wouldn't  drink too much and would be careful.

We had a really good night but I got just a little greedy and when offered one of the road I took it.  I got home feeling a little worse for ware, tested my urine which didn't seem too bad, so I took my insulin and had my supper and went to bed.  Then the room began to spin slowly then a little quicker. It wasn't long before I realised that I was going to be sick.

I got up and was sick, and went to lie on the bed and rapidly began to realise I was going hypo, so I went down stairs and drank some lucozade and went back to bed, only to have to visit the bathroom again.  I realised that I was alone and potentially in trouble and repeated the cycle a number of times.  The last thing I remember it was around 3 am and I was sitting on the kitchen floor, so I didn't fall over, and eating a biscuit.

When I woke I was absolutely frozen and shivering violently.  I looked up at the clock and it was around 11 am.  I was a little annoyed with myself for not foreseeing what would happen if I got sick and making plans.  I realised I'd missed my 8am insulin so the whole day would need to start from now, but I was hungry and my head was killing me.

So I decided I'd go over the road and get some fresh bread from the shop and a paper.  I asked the guy for the fresh bread and he said they only had yesterdays, which was a little unusual, and I then started rummaging through the papers.  But as I did so I got increasingly confused as the papers were not the Saturday papers I had expected, they were Sunday papers.

Then it hit me like a brick, on a winters day I had been curled up on the kitchen floor unconscious for over 32 hours in what must have been a coma, luckily the low temperature and the few carbs I had consumed must have reduced my metabolic rate and thankfully I suffered no longer term damage or worse death.
D coming back and finding me dead on the floor would not have been good.

Normally my body would have broken down the glycogen etc in liver and muscles and then the fat, but alcohol inhibits this process from happening until it has been dealt with.

Learning Points

• I realised that my youthful drinking days would have to be moderated
• I realised that a simple night out partying can rapidly develop into a medical emergency if I wasn't careful
• I realised that I was in control of the drinking, the offer of one for the road however kindly offered had to be balanced with the potential outcome
• I learned over the next few months that I didn't need to get blind drunk to have fun
• I realised that after a few drinks, any more I drank did little but to pee my money away
• I realised that the less I drank, the easier it was to get the enjoyment part of it with very small qualities, a cheap night out ;-)
• In deciding to moderate my drinking early in my diabetes,  I had accidentally prevented myself from getting some of the major diabetic complications in later life made worse by excessive drinking with diabetes
• I realised that each day was a new adventure

TBC

Exercise, Blood Sugar and Blood Pressure

Even before I was diabetic I knew that after a long run, I would look pale round the eyes despite having a red face and my hands would tremor.  This is hypoglycaemia in a non diabetic brought on by my burning of all of the bodies reserves too quickly for my body to break down its fats and other substances in the liver and muscles into usable glucose.

If I was not diabetic my body would reduce its insulin production and releases glucose for the remaining insulin to use when I start to exercise.  Insulin is like a catalyst your body needs it to break down sugars.  However as a diabetic on insulin my insulin level will be constant so if I do anything that requires extra energy, and I need to balance it with extra sugars.

Playing Squash

Before I became diabetic I liked the occasional game of tennis or squash.  I'd arranged to meet somebody, book a court, turn up with a bottle of water and play and afterwards I would have a sweet snack.

As a diabetic I can't do this:

1. To play squash I must either reduce my insulin (to prevent me burning to much carbohydrate), this requires forward planning. 
2. Or I drink a high carbohydrate drink before, during and after the game.

Okay thats seems simple enough, choose 1 or 2.  Unfortunately its not that simple.  In both cases diabetic control depends heavily on the reliability of your partner and the time of day of the game,

In both case if my squash partner doesn't arrive on time then I will have to begin exercising myself, i.e. go for a run in order to make up for the lack of a game.

All of the doctors have always told me to reduce my insulin before sport or heavy work that brings me out in a sweat.  I do this only very very occasionally, the reason is quite simple people are unreliable and get caught in traffic, forget or possibly decide not to bother to play.  I may also decide not to do the heavy work if the weather is too bad.  With little insulin in my blood my sugar will go high, and stay high for a long time.

So I tend to have a small mouthful of lucozade just before a game or heavy work and another just as it progresses.  For squash I am ready, if they don't turn up I have a modest bit of exercise to do, to get my blood sugar down.  If they do turn up i'm ready to play.

I also noted from observation, that with the reduced insulin plan it took me longer to recover and I noticed little in the way of physical benefits.  Whereas taking my normal insulin and topping up with high carbohydrate drinks to exercise, feels like watching a Popeye cartoon with spinach (if you don't know about Popeye type it into youtube).  My muscles swell and become more toned and my recovery time is vastly improved and my stamina lasts for days.

Warning, playing with my insulin level is not for the faint hearted and I acknowledge it can be dangerous, so I always have carbo's in my pockets and check my blood levels before and after sport for the some time.  Also tell the other person what you are planning to do and what to do if you start talking nonsense and falling around.

Learning Point

Reducing my insulin allows me to do exercise without lots of extra carbs

Eating or drinking extra carbs allows you to do extra exercise

Doing neither can lead to hypo if you exercise, or high blood sugar if you don't

TBC

My Diabetes - Riding my hypoglycemia 'hypo' bicycle

I view learning to become an Insulin Dependent Diabetic is like learning to ride my first bicycle. When I got my bike I thought I just get on and ride like everybody else, but this is not what happened.  I remember being frustrated that I couldn't ride a bike like my brothers and everybody was giving me advice and telling me how to do it:

sit on the seat and peddle you'll be fine (oops crash)
just peddle and move forward and you'll be fine (oops crash)
try sitting up straight (oops crash)
keep you hands tight on the handle bar grips (oops sideways crash)
going down hill will help you get your balance (oops crash)

Eventually my mother held the back of the seat just enough to stop me leaning too far on one side or the other.  Suddenly I had balance and was peddling and moving forward safe in the knowledge that she was holding me.

Then she shouted out I looked round realise she was no longer holding me (oops crash).  Then over time it became second nature, I can even ride without your hands, then get really cocky.. oops crash.

Controlling my diabetes was like this.  The professionals were very matter of fact.  They said if I:

1) Test my urine for sugars and write it in the diary
2) Inject the prescribed amount of insulin at the set time
3) Ate the right quantity of food
4) Exercise

Then everything would be okay and fine.

I did exactly what I was told to do and some days it worked and my blood sugars were low, and other days my blood sugars were high.  If I took the bus up the long hill to home I would be fine, but if I walked up the hill I'd be shaking like a leaf.

The real question for me was how to square this diabetic circle.  Like all medical instructions they seemed to be very rigid and inflexible.  It may sound incredibly straight forward to a dietician, or a specialist nurse or and doctor but real life is not that straight forward and simple.

TBC

My Diabetes - My First Hypo

My first hypo occurred just over an hour after the nurse left.

As she had not explained the warning signs and symptoms of a hypo and it caught me by surprise.  I had assumed that as my blood sugar was so high it would take ages to come down, but it didn't as I'd been starving myself for days.

I got up to go to the bathroom a felt a little unsteady on my feet.  Then I began to notice, what I have become to realise, are my warning signs of a hypo:

1) A cold sweat was breaking out on my arms and hands
2) The my back and my neck were soaked with this cold sweat
3) My hands were trembling and sweating
4) My lips began to tingle and my chin began to go numb
5) My penis had apparently disappeared to who knows where and was so tiny and cold it was a fiddle to urinate.
6) I began to get more light headed and feel like I was going to faint.
7) When I got back to the room Debbie asked me how I was and I said a bit faint.

Luckily, we were sharing the house with nursing colleagues who took one look at me and said, wow matey your looking very hypo.  One of them ran over to the nearby shop and bought a large bottle of lucozade(high glucose drink) and gave me medium size glass to drink and a 4 bar kitkat which I miraculously place in my mouth and devoured in a few bites.

I felt awful for around 15 minutes, and then suddenly like a switched had been switched back on I was fine, like nothing had happened.

My learning points:

1) Always have at least one bottle of high glucose energy drink or glucose tablets or chocolate with you or within reach.
2) Always make sure that you have appropriate levels of carbohydrate food available before you inject any insulin.
3) If you start to feel faint or dizzy sit down immediately, do not wait to fall over or faint as this could lead to serious injuries or may incapacitate you.
4) Always tell others if you start to feel unwell.

TBC

My Diabetes - My Diabetic Diagnosis

From 1977 - 1980, I trained as a Registered Mental Nurse, and had come into contact with people with diabetes, I had learned something of the history and I knew a little about the signs and symptoms. In September 1980 I became an undergraduate of Behavioural Sciences at a UK Polytechnic.

The summer of 1981 was warm, and therefore I did not immediately notice that I was drinking more than usual.  However, as the summer turned to Autumn I realised that I was beginning to look thinner than normal after having a flu jab and was drinking a lot.  I'd also found a local store that sold 'Cream Soda' a sweet drink from my youth and had begun drinking it in the summer heat to quell my thirst, but it appeared to make it worse.

By early October I really felt like I was 'dying of thirst' and it came to a head when I was in a local cafe that specialised in very large pots of tea. Shortly after it arrived on the table and without thinking I picked up the milk jug tipped it into the pot and started drinking from the pot. Debbie my partner was with me, and she looked at me and asked what was I doing and was I going to leave any for her?

I looked at the jug, looked at her and said, I have no idea what I am doing but I think I have must have diabetes mellitus.  Suddenly it all made sense.

In the school of nursing we'd been told that in the old days before urine test reagents (tablets), certain nurses and patients would taste a sample of the diabetics urine, and the sweeter it tasted the more severe was the patients hyperglycaemia 'excessive sugar in the urine'.  Knowing this trinket of knowledge, I excused myself and went off to the bathroom placed my finger it my stream of urine and tasted it. It was sweeter than the sweetest Honey and smelt heavily of the sugar puffs breakfast cereal.

I came back to the table and told Debbie I have diabetes. It was a Friday and we went straight to the Polytechnic doctor and told him what had happened and said I have diabetes mellitus.  He was polite but dismissive and said it was most likely an infection or reaction to a recent flu jab.  After some discussion he agreed to take blood or urine sample and said I was to come back the following week, and it was nothing to worry about.

By time we got back home I had urinated an embarrassing number of times and I noticed my legs felt literally like they were filled with treacle and my eyes were a little out of focus.  I said to Debbie, I don't like this I need to flush the sugars out of my bloodstream and so ate very little in the way of carbohydrates over the weekend and drank lots of water.

By Monday I was still urinating a lot, due to the large quantity of water I was drinking.  As I had very little in the way of carbohydrate intake, my urine was tasting less of sugar. When I went into the Behavioural Sciences department there seemed to be a bit of a panic on and asked a member of staff what was going on.  She informed me that they had been looking for me since Friday, that they didn't have my address and the doctor needed to see me urgently.

In the Doctors surgery, he informed me that my blood sugar on the Friday was way past coma levels and he was amazed I hadn't collapsed into coma.  I explained to him that I'd eaten virtually no carbohydrates all weekend, that I'd drank nothing but water and it was a three hike up hill from the surgery to my residence.

He took some more blood and urine, and arrange for a nurse to visit me that afternoon to give me Insulin.

My Learning Points:

1) My excessive urination without excessive drinking was an early warning sign that me kidneys were trying to flush something out of my body.

2) My excessive thirst on a cold day when I hadn't eaten lots of salty things or taken any anti-histamine tablets meant my body needed the fluid.  As my thirst was accompanied by excessive urination then it told indicated to me that I may have diabetes.

3) Tasting my urine is a quick, simple and not at all unpleasant test.  Urine is mostly sterile unless you have urine infection.  Also due to the sensitivity of the tongue to salt and sugar you need only the tiniest amount.  Normally urine is salty and insipid and never sweet if its sweet it shows the presence of sugar.

4) Had I not taken immediate action of reducing my carbohydrates to virtually nothing and drinking water, my blood sugar when have continued to rise causing me serious problems.

5) My prompt action prevented me from needing to be hospitalised with the condition.

TBC