My new insulin pump gets data from the CGM (blood sugar monitor) and adjusts the insulin rate accordingly. It is like I have a working pancreas most of the time. Some settings must be adjusted, and I must do my part by entering carb data. Until those things become routine, I have alarms going off day and night. That’s right—an alarm alerts me if my glucose is too high. I will give myself insulin to correct the high. Now, I get alerted to the fact that my glucose is dropping too quickly. OK.
The next alert is because my glucose levels are dangerously low. To treat this, I must eat/drink sugar. Then, the whole cycle starts over. My daily chart looks like the Himalayas. I don’t mind the alarms/alerts so much, but my puppy freaks out when she hears them. My hubby usually hears them before they wake me up, so he is annoyed. With me.
When anything beeps or buzzes in my house, everyone looks at me—like I am the only thing that beeps! The dishwasher, washing machine, computers, and telephones also make noise. Since the equipment is also new to me, I can’t be sure if it’s me or something else. I do know one thing: I’m exhausted.
I put the equipment on silent, so most of the alerts don’t sound. However, the critical ones bypass any volume setting and blare at max decibels. Since I must keep the sensor reading equipment within 20 feet of my person, this is quite jarring. Imagine how unnerving it is to sit next to me in a quiet meeting when my blood sugar begins to tank. It actually unnerves everyone in the building, but the closer you are to the source (me), the worse it is.
Technology has done wonders for diabetics to become more balanced and healthy. I have to wonder, though – is it eroding my mental health to live like this?
This is embarrassing to admit, but I feel I should talk about it so people are aware of my erratic behavior and memory issues. The wonderful half-day I enjoyed in my organized and neat office is not worth the aftermath that followed. It all started when I needed to make room to organize other things, and I wanted to use my office floor space. Well, after a week, the other things are not completely organized, so my floor is a mess, my lower cabinets are blocked, and my paperwork is piling up on the bookshelf.
How does this concern you? Most likely, it doesn’t. But if you recognize some of the issues I am having creeping into your own life, then you may be interested in hearing about this.
The best way to explain this is to walk you through a typical day. My to-do list included finishing laundry, working on my blog, and sorting through fabric donations for my quilt guild. While sipping my morning coffee, I went through my email. Sometimes, I get good or fun emails. Most of the time, I have junk, scams sent from other countries, or advertisements with bogus subjects. Today, I received an email from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). It said that an alert regarding my SSN being compromised had been posted to my account. Terrific! I spent over an hour on this and submitted a report of possible Social Security fraud to the Office of the Inspector General (OIG). I won’t go into specifics, but the alert found my SSN being used by someone else. The Nerve!
It is 11:30, and the sun has been drying up rain and snow for the past couple of days. You know what that means if you own a dog. With my boots and vinyl gloves on, I get my large trowel and plastic “pet bags.” This activity is called Turd Herding in our household, and because the dog is my dog, that means I clean up after her. It only took 30 minutes this time. It took me 1 hour and 30 minutes after the big snow we had in March. I would cross the chore off my list if it was on there, but it was not.
I came back inside and washed my hands. I see the dishes waiting to go into the dishwasher before they are washed. I stick all the dirty ones (that fit), which fill up the entire machine. The doorbell rings, and our Hello Fresh package has arrived. I unpack it and get it into the fridge. I need to pee, so I go into the master bathroom and see the pile of dried laundry that needs folding. I had dumped it on the bed an hour ago. It was there waiting, so I took care of it.
Next, I go into the kitchen to refill my glass of water, and I see the full dishwasher sitting there with the door open. Sigh. I run water and fill up my water pitchers, waiting for the water to heat up. The dishwasher will not start unless the water is hot. Who am I to argue? The clock on the stove says it is 2:00 pm. I would love to take a nap, but there is no time. The rate at which this day is going by is scary. Every day has been flying by me like this one. I am distracted by the slightest thing. It could take me hours to accomplish something that would only take me 20 minutes when I have my brain.
I cannot blame the phone and wireless carriers. Scientists and Engineers. Basically, everyone involved with technology breakthroughs.
It’s the programmers I blame. Writing all those applications for your cell phone. Oh, sorry – I meant to say “Apps”. Forgive my old brain that likes words and not abbreviations. I only appreciate shortened words when I have to text someone. I use the ‘suggested’ words often because it takes less time. And let’s face it – I don’t have all the time in the world anymore.
“Smartphones” no longer fit in your hand, or your pant’s pocket. They are closer to tablet size now and I have figured out why. They want you to download movies, TV shows and watch them on their “big” screen. The “Don’t Text and Drive” signs will soon say “Don’t Watch Your Soaps and Drive.” As if.
Remember “flip phones”? They were fun to pretend they were communicators from Star Trek, you know, Beam me up, Scotty!
I loved wireless technology from the beginning. When my clunky secondhand car would break down (as it often did), I no longer had to hike to the nearest phone booth. Hey, anyone thinking, ‘what’s a phone booth?’ needs to leave now – it’s past your bedtime.
It was so easy back then. Flip open the phone, punch in the phone# and call someone. Plain and Simple. No texts. No tweets. No internet access. No tiny keyboards that only a grade school kid could read and fit their fingers on, but buttons to actually push! Touchscreens seemed so cool and futuristic when they first came out. The novelty has worn off, at least for me, so please, bring back real buttons.
Kids immediately figure out how to download and play games, of which there are millions. Most don’t even have rules or how-to’s where you can get a clue from. No manual you can download from the iTunes Store to translate game apps either. I know because I have made many searches looking for one. All I want to do is figure out how to play Minion Rush with my granddaughter. I hate seeing that disappointed look on her face. Her “my grandma is not very smart” look.
My vehicle uses my cell better than I do! It will play music I have loaded on my phone through the speakers. Off the phone, the map app turns into a navigation tool. And guess what else? I can tell my car to call someone! I can answer the phone (or not) when it rings. I can text someone using my voice.
I will do all those things and many more – once I learn how to work everything in the cockpit, I will have a lot more fun. No, I do not have an airplane. I have a new car with 4 console displays, toggle switches, buttons – quite a few are even attached to the steering wheel. Others attach to my rear-view mirror, which hangs very low because buttons, etc. are above the windshield, and up to the roof.
On my way to an appointment this morning, a warning and a few beeps occurred. I wasn’t able to see what the warning was for because by the time I found the console it was displaying on – the words went off and the normal display was back. Another thing to look up in my manual. After I figure out the instructions on setting the Date/Time. All I know is that I have to connect my cell to the Bluetooth and do 10 steps after that.
I have had my car close to three years now, and every time I drive it, I discover more things I do not understand about it. Things I probably should know about, and I worry about not knowing them. The only thing valuable I have learned from the manual is that the manual is wrong. About everything I have tried to figure out. I learned how to set the Date/Time from a YouTube video. At the dealer, I learned what my tire pressure should really be set at and that the low tire message was not malfunctioning.
I did not realize getting a new car would be so stressful. Hubby bought an old car and the manual is spot on. Not only that, but there are no computers in charge of anything running the car. The car is all mechanical.
So, why didn’t I buy a simple car like his? Because it is a 1930 Ford Model A. That’s why.
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