Journaling

It's been far too long since I updated. Yes still Diabetic after 15 years. Yes still going to a Free Clinic. Looking into another Free Clinic nearer to my home. A1C still in same range and basically taking same medications at top doses.

I have had to get glasses. Bifocals to be exact with another pair of just magnifiers for computer work. I now have some neuropathy and of course, in winter, arthritis gets me.

Journaling is my new personal record to document anything related to my condition.  It can also be a “sounding board” where thoughts and emotions can be expressed on paper.

These are the things I want to document:

• Activity during the day: Note the type of activity, duration, and intensity.
• Foods and fluids consumed: Anything that goes into your body should be documented.
• Medications and natural remedies
• Pain: Time/date, location, duration, description (stabbing, aching, etc.), what helped/didn’t help to alleviate it, and what it does to blood sugar. 
• Rate the Pain: An easy and effective way is using a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the worse pain 
• Other symptoms: Sometimes other symptoms may be related 
• Illness and what it does to blood sugar
• Weather for each day.
• Things I have done since the last entry
• Does pain interrupt anything like sleeping or working?
• Non-drug therapy used: yoga, meditation, or other interventions; were they effective in reducing pain?
• Were there any emotions connected to pain, high blood sugar, or low blood sugar?