Changes

Hello DOC

It's been a long time since my last post back in May and a lot has changed, some for the better and some... well not so good.

Firstly the good! I have now officially flown the nest and have been for a few months now, my better half and I are slowly adjusting to being 'responsible' adults and so far I think we're doing alright :) I have surprised several family members with my home cooking (surprised as is wow that tastes good, not holy crap I'm dying...!) and am even swapping recipes with my sister. It's like Mary Berry and Nigella* 

*wishful thinking, and I'm Nigella obviously!

I also started refresher lessons to build my confidence with driving, and I'm now driving all over the shop. Something I never thought I'd be able to say. Diabetes and driving terrified me, however my instructor was brilliant and after only a handful of lessons I was putting the peddle to the metal. I'm pleased to say that there have been no hypo's/hyper's at the wheel so far.

A disappointing conversation with my consultant at my last HbA1c appointment in July actually turned out a lot better than I thought. After a lot of time being interested in reading about people with pumps and their stories, I finally plucked up the courage to ask him about the possibility of getting one. I was shot down fairly quickly, not enough 'severe hypo's' apparently... Luckily for me, one of the ladies from the healthcare team wasn't having any of that when I told her how my appointment went. She made me an appointment with the dietitian, which I had last month and went really well. We had almost an hour talking through my food diary and I can't tell you how amazing it was for her to say 'I think you're doing really well, and if I could give you a pump I'd give you one tomorrow'. They have regular meetings to put cases forward, so at my next appointment in December/January I should hopefully know more.

As for my love/hate relationship with D, we're currently on the hate train. The last few months have been both exciting and stressful meaning that D has well and truly taken a back seat, and boy it's let me know about it now things have calmed down! The last few weeks in particular have been very rough, lots of unexplained highs/lows and lots of tears and feeling like a failure. John has been amazing throughout, supporting me and offering me the reassurance (and cuddles) that I need. He now gets all the jargon and gets frustrated with D almost as much as I do.

The dreaded lurgy going round has hit me like a truck so I'm currently trying to fend it off by resting and popping the cold & flu pills. Watching cooking on Food Network is keeping me happy and it means I can still enjoy food just without the faff of carbs!

Snap Happy - DBlog Week Day 6

Today it’s time to share some pictures for Saturday Snapshots.  Back for another year, let’s show everyone what life with diabetes looks like!  With a nod to the Diabetes 365 project, let’s grab our cameras again and share some more d-related pictures.  Post as many or as few as you’d like.  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.

Diabetes Hacks - DBlog Week Day 5

Our Friday #DBlogWeek topic is one I find really fun - Diabetes Life Hacks.  Share the (non-medical) tips and tricks that help you in the day-to-day management of diabetes, everything from clothing modifications, serving size/carb counting tricks to the tried and true Dexcom-in-a-glass trick or the “secret” to turning on a Medtronic pump’s backlight when not on the home-screen. Please remember to give non-medical advice only! (Thank you Rachel of Probably Rachel and Kelley of Below Seven for this topic suggestion.)  

I don't think I have a lot of Diabetes Hacks.. in the grand scheme of things I'm still very much a newbie learning Hacks from the DOC so here's a combo of mine and others I've learnt. Bet you can guess which are mine! :)

• Carbs & Cals - Both the book and the app are a godsend
• Flavoured glucotabs (for me personally its the Raspberry ones) are nicer than plain
• Always keep a snack on you (or two if your other half is always peckish like mine!)
• Don't be afraid of injecting in public, people really don't notice! I've injected in the middle of London and no-one's batted an eyelid..
• If anyone does say anything rude about you injecting, tell them to shove their ignorant opinion up their jacksy as far as it will go :)
• Mysugr -  app is also a godsend, records your BG's and any notes relating to your results. Provides analysis and reports too, plus you get to name your own Diabetes Monster! (Mine is Jabba..)
• If you get a result that you don't quite trust, wash your hands and try again. I've had some cases where I've not done this and ended up hypo :(
• Tweet chats - these go on all over the world, they put you in touch with some awesome peeps!

Mantra's and More - DBlog Week Day 4

Today we are getting back to the positive with our topic Mantras and More. Yesterday we opened up about how diabetes can bring us down. Today let’s share what gets you through a hard day? Or, more specifically, a hard diabetes day? Something positive you tell yourself, or mantras, or what you fall back on to get you through. Maybe we've done that and we can help others do it too? (Thanks to Meri of Our Diabetic Life for suggesting this topic.)

Sometimes I take Diabetes was too personally, I can be a bit tough on myself if I'm stuck high or low, if I get emotional over the slightest mishap or if it's getting a bit much on top of everything else.

Luckily for me, most of the time when those thoughts creep up on me I have John by my side cuddling me and wiping away my tears, telling me that it's not my fault and we can do it a day at a time. I never really truly broke down about Diabetes until I'd been with him for a couple of months. I'd had a shitty day and was stuck low, had a couple of glucotabs and wanted to raid the kitchen (he did stop me from going overboard). I ended up sobbing my heart out on my kitchen floor repeating "I don't want it anymore, I just want it to go away".

So my mantra is to just take it a day at a time.

We all know every day is different no matter what you eat or how hard your try to keep it on an even keel, I guess it's just how we deal with it. 

John and I are #TeamAwesome and we're going to make Diabetes fit in with us, not the other way round :)

What Brings Me Down - DBlog Week Day 3

Our topic for today is What Brings Me Down. May is Mental Health Month so now seems like a great time to explore the emotional side of living with, or caring for someone with, diabetes. What things can make dealing with diabetes an emotional issue for you and / or your loved one, and how do you cope? (Thanks go out to Scott of Strangely Diabetic for coordinating this topic.)


Where do you start with a topic like this huh? :)

I don't think I've fully come to terms with my diagnosis (despite nearly spending 5 years with D), which is the first time I've actually admitted it other than to my other half... I got diagnosed after a whirlwind of weight loss and excessive thirst, spent less than 24 hours in hospital and with that I was injecting insulin and part of the club. 

Just thinking about how quickly it all happened can still easily get me misty eyed, and the fact I can't remember what my life was like with food before my diagnosis is a sad one. People ask how it feels having it. I tend to say , it's like applying the same level of concentration when you're driving, but 24/7/365 for the rest of your life.

What gets me down more than the highs/lows, feeling like a constant failure or a burden to my loved ones, is the fact that I will more than likely have to cope with this until I die. For me that image brings up a tiny little me stood in front of Mount Everest, or as I described it yesterday 5 years out of my jail sentence. 

I've had co-workers say to me, oh they'll find a cure in a few years I'm sure :)
... I'm sure people in the 60's/70's/80's/90's were all told the same thing!

On a lighter note.. One thing that always picks me up is John. He is always there to cuddle me and tell me it'll be okay, that we're the double act and D is just a pesky tag-along... Just wish the pesky tag-along would piss off! :)

Poetry Tuesday - DBlog Week Day 2

This year, Diabetes Blog Week and TuDiabetes are teaming up to bring out the poet in you! Write a poem, rhyme, ballad, haiku, or any other form of poetry about diabetes. After you've posted it on your blog, share it on the No Sugar Added® Poetry page on TuDiabetes, and read what others have shared there as well!

Tick, tock,
Time to stop.
Time to test,
Tame the diabetes pest.

Tick, tock,
Time to stop.
Can't do my jab,
Pop in a glucotab.

Tick, tock,
Time to stop.
Try not to get too sad,
Get cuddles from my Dad.

Tick, tock.
Time to stop.
Diabetes is a pain,
Makes my head insane.

Change The World - DBlog Week Day 1

Thanks to the lovely Karen at Bitter~Sweet, we are now in the 5th year of DBlog Week. You can still participate (after all I'm a day late already...) by visiting Karen's site and filling out the form.

Yesterday's topic was:

Let’s kick off Diabetes Blog Week by talking about the diabetes causes and issues that really get us fired up. Are you passionate about 504 plans and school safety? Do diabetes misconceptions irk you? Do you fight for CGM coverage for Medicare patients, SDP funding, or test strip accuracy? Do you work hard at creating diabetes connections and bringing support? Whether or not you “formally” advocate for any cause, share the issues that are important to you.

I must admit when I saw this topic I thought I would end up writing a hefty list of moans and groans that you have to get to grips with when you join the D club... However a couple of weeks ago a segment on a certain Channel 5 program caused a wave of uproar over the handling of information regarding Diabetes and Easter.

I don't pay a great deal of attention to the media in Britain, a lot of it is made up or blown out of proportion, however when dealing with medial information I believe that the correct research should be undertaken well before the show is broadcast.

This show in particular (who I won't name as I don't want to give them any more publicity than they've already had) made ridiculous comments about giving children "a tooth-rotting, diabetes triggering chocolate egg this Easter?". As if this wasn't bad enough, the presenter of the show then argued with many an angry follower on Twitter, rather than apologising for the ignorant and misinformed segment. When a parent asked this presenter (please note I use the term loosely) to consider how he would feel if his own child had to live with this condition and had to deal with comments like that, the response was "I can think of worse".

There are indeed many conditions in the world 'worse' than Diabetes, some of which destroy families every day. Does that mean that this presenter has the right to insult people living with the condition day in and day out? Hell no! He hasn't the faintest clue what it takes to live with it, the anguish of taking care of your levels or watching a loved one exhausted by a day of highs/lows.

People whose lives are touched by Diabetes go through enough on a daily basis without having idiotic comments made on National Television.

Next time DO YOUR RESEARCH!!!!