The Ritual of the Needle

The diagnosis hit me like a blow in 2016: HbA1c level 11.0%, type 2 diabetes. After a hospital stay due to Metformin side effects, I decided to stop the medication – and plunged into a radical experiment. Suddenly, it was no longer the alarm clock that dictated my daily rhythm, but the beeping of the meter. Five to ten times a day, I pricked my finger, each time a small prick of truth. What initially seemed like an annoying chore soon transformed into a structure-giving ritual. Before breakfast, after training, before going to bed – these moments of self-observation became anchors in my new everyday life. Every drop of blood told a story: sometimes it confirmed the success of a keto meal, other times it warned of hidden carbohydrates. Over time, I developed an almost intuitive relationship with these values. The initial monitoring became a dialogue with my body. Ten years later, this ritual has remained, even though the frequency has decreased. It reminds me daily that health is not a coincidence, but the result of conscious decisions – a lesson I wouldn't have found in any medication brochure.