So I finally got COVID. After more than two and a half years of quarantining, masking, hand-washing, disinfecting, and worrying it finally got me. Of course, it happened the first time I decided to really let my guard down and go out and live like I used to. I went on a real vacation where I saw lots of good friends. I had gone on vacation before over the last two and a half years, but previously it was to warm places where I hung out with only a few people and where we could eat and spend most of our time outside. This time it was a little colder, I was with more people, and we went out in groups and ate and drank indoors. We hugged each other when we said hello and goodbye and I don’t regret a single minute of it. It felt wonderful to be a social human and spend time laughing and loving and having fun with large groups of people again.
Of course, I am double vaxxed and multi-boosted and my doctor says it is because of those shots that my symptoms were not that bad. Thank you, Science!! It mostly felt like a moderate cold, but one that came with a bit more fatigue. I had a bout with the Flu a few years back that was much much worse. Like most people I know, I am only two-degrees separated from someone who got COVID early in the pandemic and then was suddenly and tragically gone. His wife and son and family are still reeling from the experience. I count my blessings every minute of every day. We all need to remember how far we have come and how lucky we are that we are now able to withstand this horrible disease that has killed so many as if it is just a moderate cold that comes with a bit more fatigue. Please get your shots and your boosters and remember to thank science whenever you get the chance.
What I did not expect was that the most difficult part of having COVID for me was going to be managing my diabetes while I was sick. I am used to my blood sugar readings going up when I get sick and I was prepared for that to happen, but it didn’t. I had also heard about people losing their sense of taste and smell with COVID but that didn’t happen to me either. What did happen was that I completely and totally lost my appetite. When I say completely and totally, I mean completely and totally. If I didn’t remind myself to eat, I could have gone an entire day without eating. No hunger pangs would have reminded me to grab a bite. The only thing that caused me to eat at all was a recognition on my part that as an insulin-dependent diabetic I had to eat for my blood sugar not to get dangerously low. I almost started a fire at one point because I put a steak in the broiler and completely forgot about it. If my oven hadn’t started beeping at me in distress who knows what would have happened.
Now as an experienced insulin user, I know I can adjust my doses here and there to protect myself from lows. I did lower my short acting insulin doses before lunch and dinner a little, recognizing that I was eating less. But I was in new territory without even realizing it. One night I woke up in the middle of the night with a feeling that something was off. This has happened to me before. In fact, it happens about four or five times a year. Sometimes I will have the symptoms that I have learned to recognize as symptoms of low blood sugar – a drenching sweat, an elevated heartbeat, a headache – but not always. Sometimes I just wake up from a deep sleep and just feel that something is off. I have programmed myself in those circumstances, like the way you would program a “rule” for your computer or emails, that when I wake up and feel that way I’m not allowed to think, I must get up out of bed and test. I guess I am lucky that my body wakes me up and I am lucky that I can program myself that way because nearly every time that I have gotten up and tested in such circumstances, I have had an extremely low reading. With COVID though, I had my lowest reading ever. You generally want to be at around 100 mg/dL. I consider anything between 80-120 mg/dL to be within range. That night (it was 3 AM when I tested) I was at 44!
I know what to do in these circumstances. I keep fast acting glucose tablets and protein bars by my bed. I had a bunch of those and retested 15 minutes later and was able to get my numbers back in range. I also have a great internet-connected meter that coaches you and offers to have a diabetes coach call you when you get a reading that low, although I declined the service (nice to know it’s there though). The next day, I had an already scheduled virtual appointment with my endocrinologist and when he heard this story, he immediately lowered my insulin doses and gave me very specific instructions on what dosages to take as long as I still had no appetite and how to go back to normal once my appetite returned.
But this was a learning experience for me for sure. I am very regimented about taking my insulin and sticking to my doses – which I believe is a big part of my success in controlling my diabetes – but in this instance it got in the way of taking care of myself. Instead of taking my usual doses and then trying to eat more to account for the insulin, I should have simply reduced the amount of insulin I was taking. If I was unsure, I should have called the doctor right away rather than wait till my appointment (something he stressed to me the next day). But I also learned that I really can trust my body to wake me up when my blood sugar crashes and that the “rule” I programmed for myself of “don’t think, just test” really does work. I don’t know if other people wake up when their blood sugar crashes or if they are able to program themselves like that, but I am very grateful that I can. I think if I was ever unsure about it, I would start testing every night before going to bed or else I would switch to a continuous monitor. It would just be too scary otherwise. The other lesson is to always keep fast acting glucose tabs and something more substantial like a protein bar not only next to your bed but with you at all times in case your blood sugar drops too low. I have experienced drops not only at night but at other times like after exercise or if I had a light lunch so it’s always good to have some food on you just in case.
But this aspect of COVID was one I had not heard people talk about. I had heard about losing a sense of taste and smell, but not about a loss of appetite altogether. My appetite is back and I’m feeling fine now. I am back to my normal doses and blood sugar readings. Unfortunately, the weight I lost that week is back too, but that’s ok.
I don’t regret for one minute having emerged from my pandemic cocoon to get out and have fun again with my friends. While I am wearing my mask again a little more indoors it was worth it to feel more normal again. I learned some lessons along the way, so I guess all’s well that ends well. The most important lesson? Please make sure to get your boosters and remember to thank science!