DSMA May Blog Carnival - Type Awesome!

As a PWD you soon find out who your Type 3 (Type Awesome) people are. Unfortunately you'll get some surprises along the way as the people you thought you could rely on, aren't so awesome after all. It can get pretty lonely but hang in there because you'll then find the truly awesome ones!

My parents have been pretty awesome since my DX, but especially over the past couple of weeks during our holiday (which I'll be blogging about soon). I struggled a lot with the D and they were great despite the snapping and crying. They were particularly great even when I asked them to hit me over the head with a shovel and have done with it! (I'd given 2 corrections and was still over 15mmol).

My BFF Amy is also 100% Type Awesome and our funniest day with D was definately the forum meet back in April. Amy has always been very inquisitive about D and everytime we're out she always looks at me and says "what you on?". So in a room full of people testing their blood sugar I could see she was dying to ask. Not wanting her to feel left out I said do you wanna test yours. She got the result of 4mmol and said "Ooh I think I might need a jelly bean!" :D

This post is my May entry in the DSMA Blog Carnival. If you’d like to participate too, you can get all of the information at http://diabetessocmed.com/2011/may-dsma-blog-carnival/

#7 What I've learned

Last year, Wendy of Candy Hearts made a suggestion for this year.  She commented “I think Day 7 should be a post about stuff we've learned from other blogs or the experience of coming together online...”  Today, let’s do just that!!  What have you learned from other blogs - either this week or since finding the DOC?  What has your experience of blogging the DBlog Week topics with other participants been like?  What has finding the DOC done for you?  If you'd like, you can even look ahead and tell us what you think the future holds!

I have to be honest and say that I haven't read nearly as many blogs from this week as I'd like too but I'm working on it and probably will be for a number of days!

I'm so glad I found Bitter~Sweet and took part in Diabetes Blog Week, I've been introduced to so many new blogs over the past few days and now I feel like a proper member of the DOC!

About a year after my diagnosis I was googling information about Diabetes forums (fully intending to be a lurker and just read) and found the Diabetes Support Forum and I haven't looked back since. Until I went on the forum I hadn't spoken to anyone else with Diabetes and felt increasingly alone and isolated. It was brilliant talking about D and Non-D things with other people in a similar situation to me.

I soon found myself joining in, trying to help other younger people who'd just been diagnosed and last month I attended my first meet! Granted I wasn't 'Ahhhh' OTT crazy when I got there but considering a few years ago I never ever would have done something like that, I was pretty pleased with myself and have already planned the next one to attend! :)

From the forum I found that some of the members wrote about their D via blogging and I thought I'd create my own and here I am almost a year later! I then found the DOC through my blog and through Twitter and have learnt a hell of a lot over the past few months.

Diabetes can be incredibly frustrating and lonely at times and the DOC is just the cure for it! So many people have commented on other people's posts showing support and praising them for their openness and honesty. People this week are even Vlogging for the first time because they want to share their experiences and thank the DOC for the help and support which is great. Maybe one day I'll be brave and do a Vlog :D

The DOC should be available on prescription to every PWD out there!

Thanks soooooo much to Karen for organising this Blog Week, count me in for next year ;D

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So this is my last blog for a little while as I'm going to be off on my holiday soon! Wish me luck and I'll see you on the other side..

xx

#6 Saturday Snaps!

Today is the only day I’ve brought back a fun topic from last year.  Inspired by the Diabetes 365 project, let’s snap a few more d-related pictures and share them again.  Post as many or as few as you’d like.  Be creative!  Feel free to blog your thoughts on or explanations of your pictures.  Or leave out the written words and let the pictures speak for themselves.

#5 Awesome Things!

In February the #dsma blog carnival challenged us to write about the most awesome thing we’d done DESPITE diabetes.  Today let’s put a twist on that topic and focus on the good things diabetes has brought us.  What awesome thing have you (or your child) done BECAUSE of diabetes?  After all, like my blog header says, life with diabetes isn’t all bad!

This was my original answer to the February blog carnival...

"The most awesome thing I have done in spite of diabetes is...."

yet to come! i've only had diabetes for around 18 months (officially) and yes i'm still here, not totally insane, getting used to the appointments, carb math, testing etc. i'm going to florida in may this year which will be my first holiday away as a diabetic, as i've mentioned before my last holiday was a few weeks before my diagnosis so it wasn't a great time :(

i'm hoping to do lots of awesome things in the future, some of them little like injecting in public or some of them big like going abroad for 2 weeks or going to a My Chemical Romance concert in 2 weeks time ^.^

who knows what the future holds? :)

I'm going to change/edit this a little bit because one of the comments on my post pointed out that I'd already done lots of awesome things, like getting through the past 18 months or so without having a meltdown! I'm still learning about D and I imagine I still will be until I'm a wrinkly but I'm going with it and hopping on the glucoaster!

The awesome things that I've done this year so far are going to my first gig (sugars did shoot up after with the adrenaline but totally worth it!) and going to my first forum meet last month. I'm also a bit more confident with my jabs, I actually did it at a restaurant in front of everyone and it felt pretty good :) My holiday is also coming up soon which will be my first one with D but I'm going to take each day as it comes and test, test and test again!

#4 Ten things I hate about you, Diabetes

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!!

As PWD well know, Diabetes isn't always a barrel of laughs, cupcakes, glitter and Sprinkles! In fact it can be a complete pain the arse when it wants to be. Here are my top ten things that I hate about Diabetes:

1. There probably won't be a cure in my lifetime.

2. A bad low/high can wipe me out for hours on end.

3. The majority of people in the world have no idea about Diabetes and the various types.

4. People will always say 'Oooh can you eat that?' Shut The Fudge Up Diabetes Police!!!

5. I'm now a human pin cushion (keep saying one day I'll turn into an insulin sieve)

6. I'll never be able to enjoy a guilt-free/insulin-free jam doughnut again.... *sobs*

7. Travelling abroad is now a mahoosive faff!

8. Not fully trusting my meter.

9. Not knowing if a blood sugar reading is coming down or going up.

10. There aren't Diabetes camps etc. in the UK :(

#3 Diabetes Bloopers

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!!

There's only a couple of 'bloopers' that I can really think of. I haven't had any funny hypo stories or weird conversations whilst low just yet, just blonde moments..

I work one in four Saturdays from 9am to 5pm and usually sleep in a little later on the weekends (not too late as the BS creeps up). So I did my blood sugar, had my breakfast, got my keys and headed off to work.

Anybody spot the part I missed?

NovoRapid!

Yes I'd completely forgotten to do my injection and didn't realise until about an hour later. *facepalm* There's only a manager and a telephonist on Saturdays so I couldn't leave to nip home and grab my pen.. I had to phone home and ask my mum to come bring it in for me.

Plus I've done it twice!

The second time my very lovely and helpful friend Amy ran outside to my Mums car to go grab it for me, came back looking like she'd sprinted the entire way! Gotta love D-Mama's and D-Friends :)

#2 Letter Writing - Dear Pancreas

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 Diabetes

Well you've graced me with your presence for nearly two years now (officially) and it's been a rocky ride. You're kinda like a newborn baby except without the cuteness and much more crap.. You've changed my life forever, need checking every few hours, can't cope with certain foods and sometimes give me a cracking headache!

Why did you come into my life now? Why couldn't you have dropped in when I was younger and could have grown up with it, right now I could be a pro rather than a newbie. Or maybe when I was older, so I could have enjoyed a few more 'carefree' years.

You keep trying to remind me that you're still here by pushing my sugars too high or too low, but you're not going to stop me from doing things if I can help it! However you have brought me some good things.. Thanks to you I've met lots of other awesome PWD both on and off-line, and I've also discovered who my real friends are :)

I can't say I won't be ecstatically happy if you decide to sod off before I'm old and grey but until then I'll continue to attend to your every whim and look after you.

Yours, begrudgingly,

Emma.

#1 Admiring Our Differences

It's D Blog Week!! If you'd like to take part, it's not too late! Just nip over to Bitter~Sweet and add your name to the Participant list then add your post to the post link page. Or just click the button below :)

It's my first time taking part in D Blog week so here goes nothing....

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 don't think I can pick just one type of blogger who is different from me that also inspires me, we're all so different from one another and manage to cope with everything that D throws at us with strength and determination!

I've only just started reading D-Parent blogs and it's interesting to see what D is like from a non-D person! A recent post I read over at Princess and the Pump really opened my eyes as to what D-Parents go through with their kidlings, and I had to grab tissues!

The thought of not being able to take this crappy illness away from your little one must be incredibly upsetting and frustrating. I struggle quite a bit with all of the various aspects of D and that's MY own body, never-mind another human being who's still growing and developing! Seeing posts like that makes me appreciate the fact that my parents didn't have to deal with testing me, injecting me and working out my diet. Although it would help if they understood it more, I wouldn't wish the worry and anguish on them. They do enough of it now and I'm 21!

D-Parents you do an amazing job kicking D's butt and trying to help your son/daughter lead as normal life as possible!

Maybe in a few years time they'll be taking part in D Blog Week and telling everyone that you inspired them to take better care of themselves :)

Ready for Diabetes Blog Week?

Its the Second Annual Diabetes Blog week next week! Set up by the lovely Karen at Bitter~Sweet last year, there are 50 (and counting) people taking part this year, myself included.

Here's a little more information from Karen's blog...

"Diabetes Blog Week will run from Monday, May 9th to Sunday, May 15.  It is open to anyone who blogs about diabetes - be it Type 1, Type 2, LADA, or gestational, and it’s also for parents, spouses and caregivers to someone else with diabetes.  If you blog about diabetes in any capacity, please join us!  If you don’t have a blog but have thought about starting one, now is the perfect time.  There are free blogging sites you can use (such as Blogger or Wordpress).  Also, members of sites such as TuDiabetes or Diabetes Daily have a blog built right into their profile!"

If you'd also like to take part just leave a comment on Karen's blog, or you can e-mail her at DBlogWeek@bittersweetdiabetes.com with your name and blog details!

Lots of people have signed up already so don't miss out!

xx

Going Across The Pond: The Exits Are Here, Here and Here

So it's not long till I go away on holiday now, not sure how I'm feeling about it all yet, bit muddled. I'm obviously happy and excited to go, the last time we went I was really ill so didn't enjoy it at all. Drank about 8 bottles of apple & blackcurrant squash (the one you add water to) and chocolate milk.

Thought of both of those just makes me wanna gag.

The last day of the holiday we went to the Magic Kingdon then back to the airport and I felt like shit. I can vaguely remember my mum trying to buy something from a crowded gift shop tipping out all her spare change which pissed off me off majorly to the point where I walked out of the shop. I was probably as high as a kite and just layed on the aiport floor for ages feeling weird and wanting to sleep.

Now I'll be feeling 100% better but there's soo much to think about without actually doing anything D related..

Copies of prescriptions, insulin boxes, letters from Doctors, where to put my insulin, where to put stuff so they can see/scan it easily, insurance, time difference, weather, exercise... it's a bit of a brain scramble!

I've been doing my research into the who, what, where and why but if you have any useful tips or advice please just leave me a comment, it'll be hugely appreciated <3

Our suitcases came down from the loft yesterday and I'm half-packed already! Found my SeaWorld drink bottle and my Disney poncho which me looks like Big Bird (it's big enough for about 2-3 people) BUT it keeps me dry! xD

Looking forward to no work, great weather, getting a tan(!), seeing all the new rides, trying proper cupcakes and (phone/time permitting) taking part in DSMA on twitter!

Not long now!!! I'm going to be such a pain in the arse at work for the next few days :D

xx