Am I My Husband's Keeper? Does a Diabetic Need a Keeper?

My husband is a diabetic, but you know that because I have told you that before. Bud was diagnosed with diabetes 23 years ago. There have been good days and there have been bad days. Click Here!

Probably the worst days we have ever had were when he was first diagnosed with the disease. It is like everyone, the medical staff, the doctors, the dietician, and my husband all expected me to be Bud's caretaker.

It is true I do prepare most of his meals when I am home. However, when he was first diagnosed I worked out of town 5 days per week. He had to fix his own meals, check his blood sugar and keep records of his blood sugar levels on his own. It was up to him to do what he had to do to maintain blood sugar levels. Click Here!

He was perfectly capable of doing all of this by himself. As the years went by and bud grew older, it has become increasingly harder for him to keep tabs all by himself. It has become a family affair. That, however, does not give me the right to boss him around.

I wanted to! I wanted to tell him what to eat and when to eat. I thought being the caretaker gave me the right to bawl him out when he ate something he should not have eaten. I found myself screaming at him for doing things he should not have done! He knew better!

Bud would eat a whole apple pie n 2 days. Every time he went to the store, he would go straight to the desserts. He was constantly looking for something sweet to take home and eat! It was like he was addicted to sweets. Nothing I said made any difference.

Our home became a battle zone! It was an all out war. He wanted sweets and I got mad ever time he ate them. Click Here!

When we went to see his doctor or his dietician, and they quizzed him about his blood sugar levels, and why they were high, or why they were out of control, or how much insulin he took, they would look at me for an answer as to why he could not follow their directions. They acted like they expected me to make Bud do what he should do to take care of himself. Click Here!

Finally, I informed them that I could cook the healthy meals for him to eat, but I could not make him eat them!

For example, every time Bud had to go to the doctor or the dentist early in the morning, he would take his insulin before he went, even if he could not eat before seeing them. By the time we got through at the doctor or the dentist office, he would have an insulin reaction from not having eaten.

Have you ever seen a diabetic have an insulin reaction? They start sweating profusely. They get very weak, and they can pass out. It would make Bud sick every time. Well, I got wise and I told Bud if you do not eat, you do not take our insulin shot! He would still do it. He said that he could not remember to take his shot unless he did it at the same time everyday! So I started carrying peanut butter and crackers with me. If I saw the sweat break out on his forehead, I made him eat the peanut butter and crackers and it would stop the reaction.
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Even though they are adults, they hate being forced to abide by rules they have no control over. They hate being told what they can and cannot eat. They love certain foods and they do not want to give them up.

Bud loves to quote the old saying "man cannot live by bread alone."
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I always counter with "Man can live without any bread."

Find a happy medium. The important fact here is do what has to be done to live as normal a life as possible even though you have diabetes.