I've recently fallen into a YouTube "rabbit hole". Having watched someone survive on £1 for an entire day, the same chap then went on to describe his favourite "cheap" meals. One of those meals was a fried banana sandwich - made from bread which he baked himself. It looked pretty good and, because I'm not surviving on £1 per day, I added some sugar and cinnamon to my own fried banana sandwich. It was really good! The cinnamon really brought it to life and I've made the same sandwich several times, since.
Cinnamon! Ah, yes the frequently touted and often mocked cure for diabetes! Of course, it won't cure your diabetes and that's why it's often mocked but it does taste pretty good on various things. Strange, though, that after recently eating a lot more cinnamon (I really like a fried banana sandwich) I've finally been able to stop taking medication which I've been on for around 10 years.
I've had to take eye drops since developing retinopathy and various other eye nasties in 2010. The drops have changed, based on my changing condition, a couple of times. The latest batch began in 2014 and they were prescribed to control pressure and irritation. Very successful they were, too! After my 2014 surgery, I have been stable in the peepers. I thought that was down to a combination of better T1D management and my 2 x 2 eye drops per day. I might be right in regards to the T1D management but it seems that things have changed in the eyes dept.
Earlier this year, my eye surgeon suggested that I should stop taking the drops to "see if anything changes". I did that for around a week in the summer only to find my appointment had been rescheduled. Frustrating! But, during that week, I never noticed any real discomfort in my eye. Encouraged, I tried again before the latest appointment in the world's hottest clinic.
If you've ever had ocular hypertension then you'll probably know the pain. Just like blood glucose levels, eyes have pressure levels that are given values. A normal value is in the teens, give or take a point or two. In 2014, my eye pressure was 44. I was immediately put on a drip to drop the pressure. I've suffered many pains in my life but eye pressure pain is by far the worst thing that I've ever felt. It lasted for 24 hours before I was able to get the drip into my hand and find relief. 24 hours of agony feels like a very long time, i wouldn't wish that pain on anybody. So, to be asked to stop the eye drops which help to control pressure was certainly a worry.
It's been over two weeks since I stopped the drops, 10 days since leaving the sauna ward, and all is stable in that eye. I don't know if I'll ever need to go back to the drops or if that's the end but I'm delighted. To just wake each day and do the T1D thing without reaching for two bottles and a tissue as well, to go to bed without fumbling around, late at night, for the same... it's less work! and it's less burden. This felt like life in 2009! only with better T1D management and no midlife crisis.
Was it the cinnamon, though?!
No. Let's not be silly. I've likely needed to stop the drops for a while. I have stability in both eyes and despite my visual impairment I consider myself to be very lucky and happy with my lot. Blessings counted.
To end this little blog post, I'd like to encourage you to always attend your eye screening appointments and any follow up appointments and to go for any treatments that you might need. I don't want any of you to go through the pain and darkness (physically and mentally) that I went through. If you do attend your appointments then you can reduce the chances of anything nasty happening to your eyes. Some of you will already be living with visual impairments and going through your own personal battles. Please don't ever give up on medical science, new treatments and new technologies. Ask about them, ask FOR them! and share your story without fear. There is no shame in having diabetes related eye complications.
Try the fried banana sandwich, too! :
- 2 slices of white bread, remove crusts
- 1 small sliced banana
- Some sugar (brown works best) and some ground cinnamon
Heat a tablespoon of butter in a pan, place the bread in the pan, add the banana to one slice while the bread browns and sprinkle your cinnamon and sugar on the banana. Flip the banana-less slice of bread on the top and flatten with a spatula. Turn a few times to brown evenly and sprinkle a little more sugar on each side.
You'll need insulin.
