Holidays

I always find holidays, birthdays, and vacation to be the most difficult, but not this one. It was a great weekend for my diabetes management and I finally got some time to relax. What I wasn't expecting were two sizeable diabetes related disappointments. My first yearly eye exam; I've always wanted lasik and talk to my eye doctor about it last year. When I told him I had been recently diagnosed with diabetes he told me that I'm no longer a candidate for lasik.....which I guess I can understand why, but still disappointing. My second disappointment came when I went for a much anticipated hot stone massage...the massage therapist said I could have one because I have diabetes! This was a huge surprise and disappointment. I had a hot stone massage recently after being diagnosed and there was no issue, but why now? They therapist couldn't give me a reason why, but he did teach me that there are some forms where I'm not going to check the diabetes box anymore!

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Comment by something_exotic on July 5, 2011 at 11:12pm: So heat and diabetes are funny things. Ever notice when the temperature rises, your blood sugar drops? My theory is that heat increases circulation which thereby increases insulin uptake/efficacy. All of this leads to... Low Blood Sugar. The added benefit of loss of sensation from nerve damage means that sometimes diabetics cannot correctly detect extreme temperature.

All of these things lead to warnings for diabetics on all sorts of things due to fear: Hot Tubs, Dry Rooms, Saunas, Steam Rooms... All it really means is you have to watch out. I don't normally wander into a hot tub or sauna unless I have someone with me who is aware of the diabetes to sort of keep an eye out. I also time it for no more than 15 minutes. Some places make you sign a waiver. Some don't. For most places it's just a liability and insurance thing and sometimes they just don't want to take the risk.

I've done all sorts of things that have warnings for persons with diabetes. Sky Diving (didn't check that box). Hot Tubs (jumped right in). All of it depends on you and your diabetes. The better you know yourself, the safer you are.

Comment by latvianchick on July 6, 2011 at 12:16am: You probably are not a candidate because your eyes have been improving and not bleeding any more! Pat yourself on your back!

As for the hot stone massage, apparently diabetics cannot have direct heat applied - including hot wheat bags, hot water bottles etc, in case your nerves are damaged and less likely to give pain, therefore causing burns. You are asking for trouble if you do not tick the form box! There would be no way you could claim for compensation should something go wrong!

Comment by The Diabetic Camper on July 7, 2011 at 10:48am: I had issues with a foot warmer this feb and I can see 100% why you should not get the hot stone therapy. I now have a nice scar where the foot warmer burnt a nice ulcer on my foot and several podiatrist trips later. My feet have been great so this was a huge difference because the foot warmers are not that warm at all. www.thediabeticcamper.blogspot.com

Comment by squirrelly on July 7, 2011 at 6:48pm: Wow..I guess I never thought about that! I just assumed that the therapist would know if the stones were too to too touch and would let them cool a bit before using them. Its good to know this is one situation to not ignore the box! I'll have to save that for our skydiving trip (its our reward for meeting our goal weights :) )