What is diabetes like?
Two visual representations of the big D
Lernaean Hydra
The first? Diabetes is a monster.
According to the Britannica encyclopedia, the Hydra is a gigantic water-snake-like monster with 9 heads and maybe more. This mythological beast hung out in the marshes of Lerna, Every time you tried to kill it by chopping off its head, two more heads would grow back in its place.
This is somewhat what diabetes is like. You think you have one thing down, you've managed to figure it out, and other issues spring up in its place, and sometimes you have no idea what caused those issues. Blood sugar is like that. What goes up must come down (with insulin, of course) but there are so many things that could affect a blood sugar. Forty-two to be exact.
If you're not into watery snakes with multiple heads, I understand. That’s why I have another visual representation.
Battling the Hydra
Whack-A-Mole
There's always whack-a-mole, that fun game at the fair where you try to hit characters popping up out of holes. You try to get them, and you have to be fast, but every time you whack one another one or two pop their heads up.
Why does it all have to be so violent? Diabetes is a battleground.
The arcade game Whac-A-Mole was created back in1975 by the Japanese company TOGO. In Japan, it was originally known as Mogura Taiji (モグラ退治, "Mole Buster") or Mogura Tataki (モグラたたき, "Mole Smash").
Basically, there’s a waist-level play area and display screen, and you pick up a large soft mallet. Your goal is to whack the moles that pop up out of the eight holes as they pop up randomly. The faster your reaction in hitting the moles, the higher the score.
How is this like diabetes? Well, again, like the Hydra, whacking one mole one day might work, but another (or multiple moles) will pop up. One low blood sugar dealt with in one moment may lead to a higher blood sugar the next or other considerations about what to eat when.
Let me know if you have a better way to illustrate the day-to-day realities of diabetes! Feel free to send a message or, if you’re a paid subscriber, leave a comment!
Until next week, dear reader.
