StripesI’ve always believed that when you’re onto a good thing, stick with it.

The other day, I was shopping with the kiddo (she is definitely my daughter – loves a good afternoon of shopping!) when I picked up a striped dress. ‘More stripes, mum?’ she said.

In my cupboard, I have no fewer than 10 striped dresses, countless striped tops and several striped skirts. There are scarves, bangles, bags, purses and even underwear with stripes. Our kitchen contains stripy cups and mugs – all the better from which to drink a morning coffee! And my phone cover is also a fabulous clash of red and hot pink stripes. Admittedly, the situation has gotten a little out of hand – I have a friend who refuses to let me buy another striped t-shirt when we are shopping together.

But I love stripes – I love the way they look and I feel good in them. I can team them with jeans for the weekend or high heels for work. Easy!

So is it a matter of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’? Or is it more of a rut?

I’ve been feeling like I’m in a diabetes rut at the moment. The days are the same and the results pretty average, to be honest. I’m feeling unmotivated and if I’m being completely frank, I’ve been like this for almost 12 months. In fact, since I miscarried.

It’s not that I’m not ‘taking care of my diabetes’, it’s just that I’m doing as little as possible to get through the day. I have bursts of micro-managing where I step up a little and do more. I look for patterns and contemplate basal rates. I do more correction boluses and focus on post-prandial numbers. But these periods have been short lived.

My A1c hasn’t been dealt too hard a blow, and if that was how we were measuring my diabetes, then I guess no one should be complaining. But I know (and you know) it’s more than that. The average means nothing.

But for this is it a matter of if it ain’t broke don’t fix it? Is this rut a problem that I should be looking for ways to overcome, or is it enough for the moment? And what will it take for me to decide that I need to step up and do more?

One thing I recommend to people who are feeling they need some motivation, is to invest in some new tech. If it’s time for a pump upgrade, get onto it. Or call your diabetes educator and ask for a new (FREE!!) meter. I’ve always found something new tends to inject (not funny) a bit of energy into my diabetes management. Maybe that’s what I need to do.

Or, maybe I just need to accept that this is one of those times when plodding along is enough.

Or perhaps it’s as simple as getting a new purse to house my existing meter. Perhaps something with stripes…