Last night I was thinking what a crazy American tradition it is, building an entire holiday around consumption of sugary sweets. Of course, it didn’t start out that way. Originally, it was simply a fall fest to drive away evil spirits. Sugar was introduced later with the Trick-or-Treat tradition.

A few days ago The Diabetes Blog posted a bit about “what features do you shop for in a meter?” And I was all set to reply today with a ranty post about “who actually shops for these things?” I mean, don’t most of us get the free or discounted models that our doctors provide at diagnosis, and then just get attached to them? I don’t know anyone who actually went out meter shopping. But maybe I’m just sheltered.

I’m grinning. Can you see me? Via a tip from Simon of Power and Control I’ve learned that cannabis (yep: pot, grass, weed, ganja…) can be used to treat diabetes. But no, really. This is legit! Check out a new research paper from the American Alliance for Medical Cannabis (AAMC).

(I’ve always loved that line.) But seriously, here’s something that blew my mind: my friend has a diabetic cat. She tests its glucose levels once a day with a standard-issue BG meter, and she gives it insulin injections twice a day. She says she can tell when it’s having a low because its paws splay out and it stands there looking idiotic, like a steer with Mad Cow Disease. She also says the hardest part is getting enough blood for testing through that thick hide. She has to poke the poor cat’s ear, which requires a vigorous chase and wrestle. (The cat’s name is also “Chaos,” but that was pre-diagnosis.) Can you imagine caring for a diabetic pet?

Here I am whining about how difficult it is looking after my own diabetes, and there’s this! An 11-year-old girl dead because her mom withheld her insulin. Besides being hugely disturbing, it’s unclear whether the mother was abusive or simply incapable of dealing with this disease.

Can I say “crap” here? Well, seeing as I’m the senior staff reporter, managing editor, and publisher all in one, I suppose so… And any of you PWDs (people with diabetes) out there who’ve experienced the Sudden Unexplained Surge (SUS!!) certainly understand my frustration.

It has been a week of highs.

I am honored to host this week’s Grand Rounds, the weekly roundup of what’s happening in the health and medical blogosphere, going strong for over a year now.

Hmm, I realized I haven’t been saying much about myself these days: Me, My Diabetes, How’s It Going? And that’s what it’s all about for each of us, isn’t it? Staying focused on ourselves — our BG control, our exercise and diet, our well-being.

Just a note to say that Dr. Bill Quick, a 30-year veteran endocrinologist himself, and editor of the excellent online resource DiabetesMonitor, has been diagnosed with diabetes! He came in with an A1c of 11.1 and initial BG of 293 (!)

I’m horribly behind in the MailBag Department. Here are some wonderful, sad, and interesting bits recently passed along that I’d like to share: