This post is part of the Second Annual D-Blog Week. To take part, check out the details on Karen’s blog! And thanks, as always, to Karen for organizing such a great advocacy effort.
Today’s Prompt: Having a positive attitude is important . . . but let’s face it, diabetes isn’t all sunshine and roses (or glitter and unicorns, for that matter). So today let’s vent by listing ten things about diabetes that we hate. Make them funny, make them sarcastic, make them serious, make them anything you want them to be!!
I decided to do this one as a video blog (in my pajamas):
This post is part of the Second Annual D-Blog Week. To take part, check out the details on Karen’s blog! And thanks, as always, to Karen for organizing such a great advocacy effort.
Today’s Prompt: Whether you or your loved one are newly diagnosed or have been dealing with diabetes for a while, you probably realize that things can (and will) go wrong. But sometimes the things that go wrong aren’t stressful – instead sometimes they are downright funny! Go ahead and share your Diabetes Blooper – your “I can’t believe I did that” moment – your big “D-oh” – and let’s all have a good laugh together!!
Last week I went on a blind date. He wasn’t blind…although have you seen Love, Valor, Compassion? I’d totally date a blind guy. Not to be insensitive to blind people, but I worry a lot about wearing the same outfit twice while dating. Additionally, I believe that some of my best assets are not things that people can see, but rather things that they can hear. I’ve got a stellar vocabulary and usually use words like “capricious” and “pellucid” to make people listening feel inferior. I do however see a few drawbacks…I’d always have to drive, he wouldn’t notice if I got my haircut. Tangent. Sorry.
Back to the blind date with the guy that can see.
A friend set us up…and after a very brief Facebook conversation, we decided to meet up at one of my favorite local restaurants for dinner. This was Mother’s Day.
So I spent the morning and afternoon with my family. I injected insulin for what I thought to be a normal Lawson Family Lunch: tons of food, and a little dessert. Well my parents have been carb-counting…they’re doing what I’d call Atkins-Lite. They still have carbohydrates from time to time, but they’ve cut out a lot of the starchy foods that were in their normal diets. So for lunch we ate grilled vegetables and steak. Dessert was fresh fruit (sprinkled with Splenda).
I drove home and showered to get ready for the blind date with the guy that isn’t blind. During the shower I felt like my glucose level had dropped a bit. So I tested and I was at 76mg/dl. Blerg.
I was on my way out the door. Did I really have to stop to get something sweet? Ducking Fiabetes…right?!
I decided instead to just rush to the restaurant. I live about five minutes away. When I got there I realized that I had given the blind date that isn’t really blind incorrect cross streets for the restaurant. So I tried texting him…but my hands were shaking so much because of the low blood sugar.
I thought to myself, “I need to correct this low or else he’s going to think that I’m some sort of nervous chihuahua or something.”
I sat down and put two packets of sugar in my mouth. And I tested again. 53mg/dl! Damn. Damn. Damn.
At this point I started to panic a little. Not only is my glucose level really low, but I’m about to start a blind date with a guy that can see.
When I’m really low I get a little loopy…like a drunk person. I say strange things and I act a little weird. But in my head everything makes sense. When the un-blind guy showed up we had what I only hoped was good conversation. I don’t usually tell people, “I have type 1 diabetes” within the first ten minutes of meeting them, but in this instance I kinda felt like I had to explain just in case I had to reach out and suck down another packet of sugar, or if I face planted into my hummus.
I guess the low didn’t drastically effect my mojo. He wants to see me again. When we go out next Tuesday I’m going to do my best to have a better number walking into it.
This post is part of the Second Annual D-Blog Week. To take part, check out the details on Karen’s blog! And thanks, as always, to Karen for organizing such a great advocacy effort.
This post is part of the Second Annual D-Blog Week. To take part, check out the details on Karen’s blog! And thanks, as always, to Karen for organizing such a great advocacy effort.
Today’s Prompt: In February the Wego Blog Carnival asked participants to write letters to their condition. You can write a letter to diabetes if you’d like, but we can also take it one step further. How about writing a letter to a fictional (or not so fictional) endocrinologist telling the doctor what you love (or not) about them. How about a letter to a pretend (or again, not so pretend) meter or pump company telling them of the device of your dreams? Maybe you’d like to write a letter to your child with diabetes. Or a letter from your adult self to the d-child you were. Whomever you choose as a recipient, today is the day to tell them what you are feeling.
Dear People That Love People With Diabetes (PTLPWD),
You love us. And we love you. Let’s start by putting that out on the table. I don’t want you to interpret this letter as anything mean. I know that you have only the best intentions and you want all of us to be happy and healthy for a really long time. And that is wonderful.
So this letter really is more about advice. Let me tell you a thing or two about what people with diabetes feel when their blood sugars aren’t what they are supposed to be. And perhaps let me give you a few strategies on how to best interact with us during these highs and lows.
For starters, please realize that we want our glucose numbers to be perfect. We want what you want. So we should act as a team. You don’t need to feel like you’re in a battle against us. We want what you want. We want what you want. We want what you want.
Maintaining “good” numbers is freaking tough. And we are going to, from time to time, under perform. We’re going to have high glucose levels or low glucose levels and there are a million possible explanations for these less-than-good numbers. Some of the reasons are because of mistakes that we made (injected too much, under-estimated the number of carbs, etc) and some of them are just the stupid things we deal with when we have this chronic illness.
When our numbers are “bad” we are already really self-critical. Usually when I’m high, I’m beating myself up. I’m getting mad because I know that I shouldn’t have had that banana or Why did that waitress bring me regular Coke. I’m mad…and I’m ready to throw-down with anyone that gets in my way.
Is it right? Of course not. But I’m not in the most logical place right now. Let me ride out this high/low and we can discuss it later…like tomorrow.
Even nice and constructive suggestions should be held off until after the high/low is long gone. If my (super sweet) blood is boiling because of a “mistake,” suggesting that I avoid fruit or skip diet soda is only going to fuel my diabetic rage.
And once I level off, we can have a very logical talk about my diabetes management. I love talking to people about what I do to stay healthy. And if you have any suggestions to make my life easier, I will take them. But remember that the time to give me these suggestions is not when I’m experiencing a high or low.
Something else to remember is that every person with diabetes is different, and each of us has a team of healthcare professionals that is creating a plan to keep us healthy. This plan will be unique to the person. It would be a good idea to keep the “I know someone who tried that…” talk to a minimum. My plan is unique to me and my body. Just because you know someone who failed to maintain their BGLs on a plan like mine doesn’t mean I will fail. Similarly, comparing me to your Great-Aunt Betty who had her leg amputated because she couldn’t give up the See’s Candy every time you see me eating something sweet will only make me avoid being around you.
And the last “don’t” of this letter, PTLPWD, is simple: don’t treat us differently. It’s embarrassing when you offer everyone at the table a piece of cake but then say, “well not you because…you know.” Just ask everyone if they want cake. Or when you bring a small sugar-free bowl of jello to the potluck. I hate that kind of attention. I totally love that you thought of me, but I really dislike getting called out in front of people. You just focus on living your life regularly…and I’ll focus on mine. I’ll say “no thanks” to the cake offer and I’ll plan on eating what I can at the potluck.
We love you. You love us. (Remember paragraph 1?) Just keep on loving us…without being critical or making suggestions when we’re high/low and without comparing us to other people with diabetes. Treat us in the same way you treat all of our other loved ones. And let none of us forget that our goals are the same.
This post is part of the Second Annual D-Blog Week. To take part, check out the details on Karen’s blog! And thanks, as always, to Karen for organizing such a great advocacy effort.
Today’s Prompt: Admiring our differences: We are all diabetes bloggers, but we come from many different perspectives. Last year, Diabetes Blog Week opened my eyes to all of the different kinds of blogs (and bloggers) out there – Type 1s, Type 2s, LADAs, parents of kids with diabetes, spouses of adults with diabetes and so on. Today let’s talk about how great it is to learn from the perspectives of those unlike us! Have you learned new things from your T2 friends? Are D-Parents your heroes? Do LADA blogs give you insight to another diagnosis story? Do T1s who’ve lived well with diabetes since childhood give you hope? Pick a type of blogger who is different from you and tell us why they inspire you – why you admire them – why it’s great that we are all the same but different!!
I read a lot of diabetes blogs. My Google Reader is clogged with about fifteen daily reads and then another 20 occasional reads. And there are definitely different types of d-blogs. There are mommy blogs, type 1 blogs, type 2 blogs, video blogs, I-use-a-pump blogs and I-eat-low-carb blogs. And I read them all. And I could easily turn this list into lessons learned from my blog buddies (lesson: you can re-use syringes; lesson: carb-counting; lesson: sign-up for a free meter and get a free vial of test strips; etc). But instead I wanted to focus on one particular lesson I’ve learned from my blog buddies: Humor is a particularly effective medicine to use for diabetes management.
I’ve learned this lesson from every “type” of diabetic blogger. People like George “Ninjabetic” Simmons and Bill “1HappyDiabetic” Woods (and many others) have taught me that if you can’t laugh at Diabetes, it will consume you.
After my diagnosis I felt very alone. I was depressed and had a rather pessimistic outlook on life. “You have diabetes” to me felt like a death sentence…and not just a normal death, but one that involved sugar-free pudding, ugly diabetic socks and weekly doctors appointments.
It wasn’t until I found TuDiabetes and the amazing online community that I started to feel optimistic about the life that was ahead of me. And that’s when I truly started to see the humor in dealing with a chronic illness. It was then that I realized that I needed to laugh about Diabetes (even when I didn’t really feel like laughing) because it boosted my spirits and made it possible to get through those tough days.
And that’s how I deal with my Diabetes now. I laugh. I watch videos like this one. I read twitter feeds like this one. And sometimes I can’t find anything to laugh about so I laugh on credit. It’s totally cheesy, but sometimes smiling and laughing (whether it’s genuine or not) will improve your mood.
Saturday Night Live‘s Gilda Radner died from cancer, and in her autobiography It’s Always Something she wrote:
“The important thing is that the days you’ve had, you will have lived. What I can control is whether I’m going to live a day in depression and panic, or whether I’m going to attack the day and make it as wonderful a day as I can.”
I’ve gotten beat up on the Internet for comparing diabetes and cancer…and I’m not trying to compare the two now. But what Gilda says about her cancer…and how she knows there will be something to deal with every day is transferable to anyone with a chronic illness. Additionally, Gilda knew that her sense of humor was something she could use to help live each day to its fullest. And so can I.
So in April I’m going to Salt Lake City to speak to a group of diabetics. Totally exciting. The organizers found me and basically want me to do a live version of my YouTube video on the Diabetes Police. What’s cool about this is that it opens the door to some more speaking gigs.
So as things are coming together, I’ve had to write a bio and send in a face shot. Blerg! I always make stupid faces in my photos see:
So luckily I my friend Michelle met up with me this weekend to take some new photos for me to use. Here are a few of what she’s done:
Totally pro, right?
If you’re in the PHX area and need photos taken, hit me up and I’ll get you in contact with Michelle. She’s awesome.
Back in 2005, D-Blog Day started on November 9th. So today is the 5th annual. Basically it’s a day where bloggers create awareness about Diabetes by all blogging on the same topic. You can see the list of all the D-Blog Day entries here.
The topic for 2010 is: 6 things you want people to know about diabetes. And here’s my list in no particular order.
1. This shit is constant. It might get tough being my friend or lover because of this disease. I know that it’s always in the back of your mind…but it’s in the frontof my mind day in and day out. It’s the hand that I’ve been dealt and if you can’t deal with that, I’ll find better friends and better lovers.
2. Your diagnosis isn’t a death sentence. I’ve seen too many people on blogs and other internet forums writing about how devastating their newly diagnosed diabetes is. It’s life altering and totally rocks the boat of life…but a d-diagnosis isn’t a capsize. Millions of us are coping, and so can you.
3. Every diabetic is different, and every doctor will help us manage our diabetes differently. Just because your diabetic great-aunt Trudy was told to steer clear of cashews doesn’t mean I can’t have a handful of mixed nuts. I’m doing this my way, and your great-aunt is doing things her way. Our approach to managing our D is between us and our doctors.
4. If our blood sugar is high, we’re going to be cranky and self-critical. Proceed with caution. If I’ve done everything I could to keep up good glucose numbers and failed or if I’ve made some mistakes that pushed my glucose levels higher than desired, I’m already really self-critical…and probably cranky. It might be a good idea to let me be for a bit before I start imagining you as a human-sized Easter Peep and take of your head in one swift chomp.
5. I’m human. Just because my pancreas has decided to stop functioning properly doesn’t mean I’m not human. I’m going to make mistakes. I’m going to put off seeing the doctor. I’m going to cry when I get frustrated. And I’m going to celebrate when I’ve done something well.
6. I can booze it up. I’ve been told plenty by the Diabetes Police that I need to cut out all alcohol consumption. Which is false. I do need to take it easy and perhaps avoid super sugary drinks, but drinking alcohol won’t necessarily make my glucose levels rise. In fact, when you drink your liver slows down its ability to release sugars it can focus on cleaning the alcohol from your blood…because glucose production is shut down, I could get low blood glucose levels. So unless you’re buying me drinks, leave me alone at the bar.
Today is the inaugural Diabetes Art Day (I’ve learned that it’s improper to call something The First Annual…)!!
Lee Ann Thill at The Butter Compartment came up with the idea, and it’s spreading faster than HPV on a college campus.
Diabetes bloggers across the web are creating D-related art and posting it to their sites. Plus a few lucky artists will win a copy of the No-Sugar Added Poetry Book. Which is kind of an incentive to post your art.
A lot of people spent a lot of time on their creations, and I kind of feel dumb posting my lame-o piece of art, but a month ago when Lee Ann originally posed the idea, I said that I was going to give it an honest go.
I’m going to spend some time later this afternoon clicking around and finding some other people’s diabetes art. If you posted some that you think I should see, don’t hesitate to leave me a link in the comments to this post.
Ironically, today I went in to visit my doctor, and my a1c was identical to my last a1c. WTF, right? 6.2.
Anyway, happy Diabetes Art Day! Here’s the crayola crapola I created:
Testing your blood glucose levels sucks. Totally blows. Pricking your fingers and recording your numbers is a freaking chore. One of the few upsides of having diabetes is playing with all the gadgets and technologies that are made to make our lives easier.
My blood glucose meter is pretty lame sauce though. I use the One Touch Ultra 2, but I also use a One Touch Mini at times.
Here is a list of things that I wished my meter could do. Some of them are simple things that you guys could easily merge into the newest version, and other things are crazy dreams that might take some more effort.
LOG EVERYTHING – I know that “blood glucose meters” are really only responsible for logging my blood glucose levels…but I want a place to log how much I inject, how many carbohydrates I eat and the time I spend exercising. What a huge selling point it would be if my meter could keep track of everything diabetes instead of just my bgl. I want to be able to link my glucose levels to real events.
ADD AN ALARM – I’m not just talking about a ring-when-i-tell-it-to alarm. I want a smarter alarm than that. As stated above, I want my meter to keep track of my carbohydrates…and then two hours later beeps to remind me to do an after-meal test. And maybe this is going over board, but I want it to keep beeping until I’ve tested.
CONNECT VIA WI-FI – This might be asking too much. But I’d like to be able to sync the data on my monitor via wi-fi to an online spreadsheet. Any time I enter a hotspot I can choose to sync. No wires. Just a simple press of a button.
SMALLER – This is something that might take some time to perfect, but I’d like all the above features in a meter that was about the size of an iPod nano. Skinny and sleek, yet functional and useful.
COACH – If I were uploading my data regularly via wi-fi, all of my numbers would be easily accessed by a coach that could give me suggestions on how to perfect my levels. I know that there are bizarre laws about privacy and health care, and I can’t imagine any company that would dish out medical advice because they would fear getting sued…but this is MY dream.
CHEAPER STRIPS – Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the strips only cost a penny instead of a dollar?
DATA SORTING – I’m a graph nerd. I love seeing my numbers in a line graph. I really enjoy figuring out my average fasting BGL. And the dream meter of the future would do all that for me. Not just an average BGL…but more specific. For example: your average after-lunch glucose level is 109.
PRETTY PRINT OUTS – After I’ve uploaded everything, I want to hit a button and print a range of my glucose levels and activities for the doctor. Additionally, the print out should have a box of special events. For example: In the past three weeks Mike has had four readings below 40 mg/dl.
WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT – Diabetes is hard. I want my meter to recognize when I’m doing well and to tell me “wow…that’s three readings in a row that are right on target. Good job!”
I don’t care if you makers-of-meters use any of my ideas. Take them, please. But if you feel like you owe me something, you could send me a complimentary meter with a few strips.
And readers, what am I missing? Add in the comments any features you’d like to see on a glucose monitor.
When I was diagnosed with diabetes I knew almost nothing about it. In fact when I was diagnosed I kind of thought that maybe the doctor would tell me that I had some form of diabetes that a few pills and a little attention to my diet could cure.
Five years later, that’s not exactly the case.
I never thought that maybe I should write down the date of my diagnosis. Some of my online friends celebrate their diagnosis day (D-Day)…another year under the belt where diabetes didn’t get the best of them.
And I have no date to celebrate. I just don’t remember when I was diagnosed. I think that I was diagnosed around mid-August or early September. But I don’t know the exact date.
Should I care? Should I just make up a date and go with it? Or should I just live like I have for the past five years…just celebrating each day as an accomplishment?
I kind of think that there should be an e-card for this occasion. Something like this:
Dear People That Love People With Diabetes (PTLPWD),
Today is the inaugural Diabetes Art Day (I’ve learned that it’s improper to call something The First Annual…)!!
