Yesterday, for whatever reason, was one of those mornings that I left the house and forgot to brush my teeth. So, I had to go the entire day making sure I stood a safe distance away from everyone, horribly self-conscious, imagining my teeth rotting away. You know?
I used to keep these little pieces of "paper" made from Listerine in my wallet just in case this kind of thing happened. While I hated how they tasted, they would at least take care of the self-consciousness. Thing is, I rarely ever used them, and after a year in my wallet, they were more or less melting and infested with pocket lint. (Have you ever wondered how lint gets inside your wallet?)
Anyhow, I do have a point to this...and it relates to diabetes, actually, and being self-aware of BGL symptoms.
You see, one of the sure signs I experience if my BGL goes high is a sticky mouth. Now, just because I have a sticky mouth doesn't mean I have high BGL, but if I have high BGL, you can be sure I have a sticky mouth. (Well, high as in over 200 for more than a few hours.)
Trouble is, my failure to brush my teeth yesterday also left me thinking I had high BGL all day long. And quiz time here...when that happens, what is the first thing you should do?
That's right. Test. Problem was, my BGL really wasn't high most of the day. Regardless, it is another case of utilizing every change in the way your body behaves to keep tabs on your BGLs. Sticky mouth? Test! Because if it is sticky because of being high, it gives me an opportunity to bring it down quickly.
But in order for it to work, you've gotta brush your teeth, as I learned yesterday. So don't forget to brush!
