The Extra 10%: Useful Knowledge For Anyone Who Knows A PWD

This is for anyone searching for insight, perhaps into someone they know or themselves. Diabetes, on the surface, is simple. Deep down, it’s full of complexity. This isn’t breaking news. The 10% rule has held true, time and time again, through various meanings in my life.

Meaning #1: No matter the day, the hour, or the minute, our mental load consists of an extra 10%.

Given that my experience is limited to my own mind since the age of nine, the exact percentage shouldn’t be trusted completely. Just a guess. I suppose any given person has their worries. For me, minute by minute, I am checking in with my vision, tongue dryness, mouth taste, leg strength, thought patterns, and mood, all in the predictive goal of tracking blood sugar continuously. Why do we do this? Well, because it’s nice to be yourself. Not being yourself happens when your blood sugar moves out of range, resulting in the aforementioned symptoms. Now’s the perfect spot to move into the next meaning.

Meaning #2: 90% of the time, I’m me. 10% of the time, I’m not so much me.

This is where a person without diabetes ponders, “Don’t we all have moments where we’re not ourselves?” Good question. Yes, we all get emotionally trapped. For sure. Those moments, the stress and anxiety of a human life, I’m throwing into the 90% for us. I consider that normal in my life. The other 10% is the part of my life where blood sugar brings about specific changes in being. Low blood sugars change brain chemistry. Take away the brain’s primary fuel, watch out. This is where the negative thoughts enter, in my experience.

Meaning #3: Our fuel tank contains an extra 10%.

When adversity strikes, we’re ready. We’ve got reserves. We’ve been training for this our entire lives. When the going gets tough, we say, “Okay, this isn’t so bad. Let’s do this shit.” I’ll take a person with diabetes in my foxhole anytime.

==Is that weekend adventure calling? Pick up what our team uses when we hit the road, trail, or mountain.==