AWOL

2013 was going to be a fresh start for me completely, both with my personal life and also with my Diabetes. Everything was getting me down, I'd have a couple of okay weeks then the feelings of failure being unable to cope with D would get to me.

I'd love to say these feelings have gone completely, however I don't think they ever will. The thing that I find hardest about Diabetes is remembering that I have a lifetime to deal with it. Trying to get a HbA1c of 7 is a goal for down the road, any decrease is an improvement. Diabetes is a bloody long drawn out marathon, not a sprint.

Don't get me wrong this year hasn't been all doom and gloom at all, in fact the last few month's have been pretty damn good :)

I now have a new special someone in my life who knew nothing about Diabetes whatsoever when he met me... he's incredibly patient and understanding, trying to understand the ins and outs of having a Diabetic girlfriend. Watching him frown and trying to understand the quirks of D has been very entertaining! :) My first hypo in front of him wasn't exactly a barrel of laughs, and I kept having to tell him to stop looking so worried as it was starting to worry me, even though I knew I'd be fine in a few minutes xD

This year has also seen a change in my D gadgets, since my diagnosis 4 years ago (holy crap that's gone fast...) I've always had my NovoRapid and Lantus flexi pens. At my last hospital appointment one of the women I met suggested the NovoEcho pen which is a half-unit pen. I saw my GP a couple of months ago and was lucky enough to have it prescribed straight away, along with doubling my test strip allowance!!!

I've found that my hypo's have drastically reduced in the past few months and I think the Echo has helped a lot with that. I'm only having 3/4 hypo's a month at the most and they are only in the high 3's. On the downside, my meter average doesn't look brilliant at the moment as I'm still trying to get my post-meal readings down.. but you can't have a perfect balance all the time!

Last week I was explaining injections and pumps to one of my work colleagues, and afterwards I realised that the thought of a pump hadn't freaked me out as it once used to... Being attached to it constantly, tubing getting caught and pictures of messy sites were reasons that I wanted to stay on MDI but now I'm becoming more open to the idea. I don't want to be SWAGing with my pens for the rest of my days, I'd like to have better control. I have my annual Diabetes MOT later this month with my DSN so I'm going to bite the bullet and get some more information about possibly joining #teampump (OMG SCARY BUT IN A GOOD WAY!)

Finally, after at least a couple of years saying I wanted to do something to raise money for Diabetes UK I'm finally doing it!

Tomorrow! :O

I realise it's not Mount Kilimanjaro or running 10 marathons... however a 5k fun run is good enough for me to start with! My sister and I are both taking part and have almost raised £300 for Diabetes UK which is nearly £100 more than our original target :) If you would like to donate please go to www.justgiving.com/teapot8909 - every donation is hugely appreciated.

Lots of blue clothes and accessories for us both, hopefully pictures and a decent time to report back on tomorrow!

DBlogWeek Day 2 - We, The Undersigned

Todays prompt: Recently various petitions have been circulating the Diabetes Online Community, so today let’s pretend to write our own. Tell us who you would write the petition to – a person, an organization, even an object (animate or inanimate) - get creative!! What are you trying to change and what have you experienced that makes you want this change? (Thanks to Briley of inDpendence for this topic suggestion.)
We, the undersigned People with Diabetes (PWDs) and caregivers and loved ones of PWDs (Type 3s) do herby petition to increase the availability of pumps and CGMs in the UK:

Today the first ever insulin pump audit for the UK was published and surprise surprise we are 'lagging behind' the rest of Europe. Only 7% of Type One Diabetics currently use insulin pumps in our country.

Seven.

I realise that both pumps and CGMs are incredibly expensive both initially and also to maintain, but don't we deserve to have access to them like the rest of the world? Right now the thought of a pump is still a little scary to me, however if MDI doesn't doing the trick for me in the future I'd like to be able to go to my Dr without being dismissed. I read many blogs of people who use pumps and CGMs, who admittedly have their struggles but find in the long run their control is far better, leading to better BG/HbA1c results and less chance of complications.

Granted that any improvement on pump use figures is a good one, but when technology is rapidly evolving it just feels like we could get left further and further behind.

If a patient meets the necessary NICE criteria then they should be given every available option, whether it costs a penny or a thousand pounds.

Meters

Currently looking at getting a new testing meter - maybe an early Xmas present for myself? XD

Bayer Diabetes Care is looking like a popular choice, if anyone reading has one please let me know how you're getting on with it! :) So far on Diabetes Support Forum it seems quite positive so I'm wondering if I should buy one before my next hospital check up in December...?

Haha just googled it and Nick Jonas is all over it, surely other celebrities have T1 or T2???

There's also a lot about insulin pumps on the forum and how great they are. My DSN hasn't mentioned them at all but possibly if my HbA1c increases again (went from roughly 9 to 7 back up to 8, although I had been off for 2 weeks with no exercise..). The thought of it being with you 24/7 is a bit scary but all the comments I've seen are really positive, despite the initial knocks and bumps.

Still trying to get into carb counting, which wasn't successful earlier in the week =/
Found another recommended book which should be arriving soon Carbs & Cals - Carbohydrate Counting for people with Diabetes. Looks like it might be more useful than the Collins Carb counter book I got last week so we shall see.

My Sookie Stackhouse book 11 will also be arriving very soon (not that I'm developing an Amazon book habit...) so I need to finish book 7 asap!!!

xx