h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Life is good, but weird, at the moment.

I seem to be in the midst of a wave of hypos. They seem to come in waves - when you start having them, you have a few before they settle down again. I had another this morning at the gym. It was a ‘quiet' hypo - I wasn't thrashing around as I so often do - but it was a hypo nonetheless. I had just ridden back from the city where I'd met my brother's wife (who was in town for a conference) for an hour or so to have a chat and catch up, and stopped at the gym for a cup of tea with many sugars in it. I was doing OK, shivering from the cold of the ride, but conversing all right, warming up and well aware of my surroundings, until I leaned back to have a stretch, and found myself on the floor being cradled by a couple of gym-goers. I must have passed out, briefly, but unlike the last time, I was aware of my surroundings. I could hear everything that was being said to and about me, but responding was very difficult. The people around me asked me whether they should call the ambulance, as I had previously told them to do, and I indicated assent as concisely, and non-verbally, as I could. The ambulance people showed up, tested me, fed me, asked me whether I wanted to go to hospital (to which I replied ‘no' - not unexpectedly, it seemed) and advised me to take it easy before heading back to wherever it is that ambulance people go when they're not dealing with an emergency.

The gym staff were remarkably cool about all this, but I had previously told them about how to deal with me in this type of instance, and in spite of this being the first time I'd ever done this sort of thing there they responded perfectly. I'm glad I'd already gone to that trouble! I spent the rest of the afternoon reading 'The return of the King' again, which was diverting, but didn't make the afternoon any less unsettling.

Apart from that, today was a bit of a weird day, anyway. Various people weren't where they said they'd be, various others who I wanted to see weren't there at all, and some others who I didn't want to see were in my face. The weather was indecisive all day. It started off rainy, then the sun shone through the blowing clouds, then the clouds blew over the sun and it rained again. The wind was always up, and it was always cold, until this afternoon, when the wind slowed briefly and the sun shone consistently for about an hour. I got the feeling the tone of the day itself reflected the weather.

I'm not sure what I want to do, and making myself do anything is difficult. Tonight I'm listening to Peter Gabriel and trying to get a handle on the weirdness of life at the moment. I want to be with Sophie...

Do you find that emotional intensity can influence the occurrence of hypos?

My theory (and this is what it is) is that ambulances prowl under the streets in tunnels, like at theme parks, and pop out when invoked by the Dispatch Fairy. People tell me that they drive around aimlessly or hang out at fire departments, but I've never seen them.

Emotional intensity might influence the occurrences, but a lot of other things 'might' as well. It's a bit hard to tell sometimes, and the situational factors or circumstances are always changing. It's a difficult call, that one.

I like the theory... I'm not sure who spent all the money on tunnels in Canberra, though, nor am I sure where the tunnels might be. I am sure about the dispatch fairy, though - I've heard a few while riding in the backs of ambulances...

My insulin-challenged lodger said the same as you. It's more art than science.

Yeah, people with the same difficulties often think in the same ways - the lack of artistic predisposition does depress a lot of people, though! I suspect that this is why I'm so attracted to Taoism as one of the best rationales for supporting diabetic management, the combination of 'art' and 'science' in its particular discipline being more natural and relevant than many others...

And also because, with a Taoist outlook, it's much more difficult to get really depressed about how you're doing...!