THE HIGH SUGAR BLUES

by Karen Devaney

Tired of feeling tired? Down in the dumps and cryin' the blues? Well pick yourself up, baby, and start to move! You heard me. Dust off those shoes. Shake those tangled cob webs from your brain, you've just got a case of those "high sugar blues"! That's right, I know! I've been there and back! But I've gleefully returned, wiser and stronger. How did I overcome, you ask, this insidious burden? By rescuing my body and soul from that monster called "hyperglycemia"—the "high sugar blues."

I have cried those blues many times in the past. Being a diabetic for most of my "thirty-some" years, I know the havoc of hyperglycemia. Diabetes will attempt to control you physically and emotionally. I shouted out, though, and the monster retreated. What is the secret behind my debonair tune? EXERCISE—Pure and simple. Get up, everybody with diabetes...and move!!

Oh yeah, it has been documented in research throughout the country—for all you skeptics. Exercise helps put the threat of lurking diabetic complications in their place. A regular exercise program takes power away from diabetes and places it back in your hands. Be the dancer of life. Stop this prowling disease. Find a passion that serves you:

Dance, walk, ride, cycle, skate, do yoga, kick karate, run, step, lift, swim, ride! There is a colorful menagerie to choose from.

Am I touting exercise as the "cure all" for this chronic disease? No—but it can be the aspect of your treatment you have control over. Let's face it, diabetes can be a mind trip. There are times when you do everything you are supposed to: Multiple injections, frequent testing, careful diet, and still high blood glucose attacks. This leads to anger, frustration, and feelings of vulnerability. With a chronic illness, that is life's reality sometimes. Unless you live in a monastery, everyday changes can tailspin your efforts at euglycemia, normal blood sugar levels.

Perhaps you have had an argument with your significant other, or your mom called and your dad hasn't, or you have a deadline at work, or you forgot to pack lunch—and junk food beckons? Whatever! Life is a dance that dips and swirls. When those "high sugar blues" start to croon, the burden they add can be enormous. I know. But this, my friend, is where exercise can help. Take that 200mg/dl blood glucose reading, and reduce it to a comfortable 120--with regular exercise and your medications.

Take time to know your body. Familiarize yourself with you. I know that when I am on the high side, I feel like a slug, and if I dip too low, I feel faint. Not pleasant! This is why I follow frequent testing, along with my exercise program. They bring me freedom! I teach step aerobics five times a week, take African dance once a week, do regular strength training, and for kicks, roller blade or ride my bike through the gorgeous countryside. O.K., I'm a bit extreme, but I feel healthy and strong despite my diabetes. I am blessed with two fantastic girls with whom I'm able to share and explore life. I owe much of this to exercise.

Let's take a quick peek at the specifics of how exercise produces these exciting results. First of all, I am a type 1 diabetic, meaning I am insulin dependent. We are only ten percent of the diabetic community, but we have the more immediately dangerous form of diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes, with its insulin resistance, is more gradual, and strikes later in life. Many type 2 diabetics are overweight, inactive and middle-aged. Exercise and proper diet can really help these people! Movin' and groovin' and munchin' on the right foods will increase their bodies' sensitivity to insulin—and improve their control. GO type 2s go!

Exercise has a long list of credits to its name. It benefits all diabetics, and all people in general for that matter. By increasing your activity, you utilize blood excess blood glucose—literally cleaning out the system, which, is why you were cryin' the "high sugar blues" to begin with.

D.M. Klachko, MD, from the University of Missouri, conducted a project examining the effects of exercise in diabetes. He measured the average drop in glucose ranges after a brisk walk—in both diabetics and non-diabetics. To us folks with the "high sugar blues," the results are exciting. The average response to exercise in the diabetic group was a drop of 24.5mg/dl--30.0/dl. In the non-diabetic individuals, the average glucose drop was 11.7mg/dl. Exercise is better for us than for them!

So there you have it! EVIDENCE. Of course there are other studies I could discuss, but I don't want you to fall asleep. You need to be fully awake! Back to the other credits. Exercise is a powerful tool. Not only does it chop glucose levels, but it also lowers blood pressure, decreases cholesterol, increases circulation, and decreases triglycerides...

I have overcome diabetic retinopathy. Many days I battle fatigue or hyperglycemia. I still wince when my kidneys are tested! But with exercise, I've developed strength—both physically and emotionally. It provides my life with a sense of balance, and a healthy feeling that I can take care of myself. I remember all too vividly my fears and isolation, frightened that my dreams would be stolen from me by diabetes. But after a good workout, my optimism and hope are rekindled.

Don't give in, and don't fret over intermittent days of discouragement. Pick yourself up, walk yourself around, and soon those blues will take flight. And when they do, sing out a loud song of victory!