Are you a bad diabetic?

Take a deep breath everybody! I can just picture the steam coming from all of your ears, but let me tell you that in this instance, where I was asked this question, the only purpose it would serve would be to accelerate global warming!

I have never been asked this question before in all of my 22 years living with type 1 diabetes and it really caught me off guard.

Firstly, the person who asked had a number of alcoholic beverages taken so any worthwhile, educational response from me was going to be a complete waste of time! So frustrating!!

Secondly, this person was a very young, public health nurse! ($%^@*#%!!!) A little more frustrating.

How did I respond? Well! I first made faces as if I had swallowed a wasp while my brain tried to figure out how to respond. I think I may have scared her and she would have run away if she wasn't trapped on a bus with me.

I was trying to figure out if she meant if I was a bad diabetic because I didn't manage my diabetes well? Or bad because I had the "worst" kind of diabetes?

So after I made my faces, I said "I don't understand the question?" She probably thought I was the dope:-) Then, she asked if I was a insulin dependant diabetic? Now we're starting to make sense... just not enough for me to invest my time with her on this occasion.

At some point, I will sit down with this child and explain some diabetes etiquette and a few other pieces of information about diabetes.

For now, I will give her the benefit of the doubt and assume that she knows a little more about diabetes that alcohol would allow her to express.

Keep calm, they're only words!

My CGMS Awesomeness! My First week.

Disclaimer: I am not a scientist, nor do I have anything close to a medical degree. The views and opinions expressed are my own interpretation of the information and training I have received with my diabetes over 20+ years.

What is a CGMS?

CGMS is Continuous Glucose Monitoring Sensor. It consists of a sensor pod, which contains a very thin needle-like component inserted under the skin. It's about an inch long, the width of two strands of hair and just as flexible. The sensor reads how much glucose there is in the liquid between the cells called interstitial fluid. And it take this reading every few minutes.

This is the glucose sensor with the transmitter attached.

The CGM has a transmitter attached to the sensor pod which sends the data from the sensor to the receiver. In my case, the receiver is built into my Animas Vibe insulin pump.

A finger pricker blood glucose test on a Blood Glucose Meter measures the amount of glucose in a drop of blood.

It has taken a decade (or two) for the technology in a CGM sensor to match the accuracy of a Blood Glucose meter but in my opinion it was worth the wait.

The Awesomeness!

I can press one button on my pump and have an indication of where my blood sugar is.

I was driving to visit my Mother who lives an hours and a half away - I tested before leaving and I was fine to drive but my CGM alarm went off about 45 minutes into the drive alerting me that my BS were less than 4.4. There were 4.1 and dropping and as the saying goes "don't drive under 5". I wouldn't have caught that low until I was well into it.

A couple of days into sensing, I figured out how to view the 6, 12 and 24 hour graphs. I was so surprised to see that my overnight blood glucose readings are not AT ALL like what I thought they were!

I have done basal rate testing occasionally but was never surprised at the results. I go to bed in range and wake up in range but according to the CGM data there is a LOT of bouncing in between! I had been catching the in range readings every two hours. But in between those two hours was an up-swing. I never would have suspect that.

Whoa!

My sisters hen night was two days into wearing the CGM. So with a couple of beers in my system (and only a couple), and a restaurant meal the predictable happened. My CGM alarmed every 30 minutes to remind me that my blood sugars were in the high teens. But it told me if they were still rising or if there were holding steady which meant that I had more information to address the highs (or high, as it was one long continuous high).

The Meeh!

So, I'd been wearing the CGM on my upper arm for a few days and apart from hitting off a couple of doors I had no huge problems. Just one minor issue, my arm where the sensor is placed is a little tender. So, if I get lucky enough, to be able to use this device again, I would explore other areas to place it.

The layers of tape trying to keep it secure are getting a bit itchy.

My one big concern, at this moment, is that the weather has gotten warmer (finally) and the CGM is visible if I wear a short sleeved t-shirt. I wore a light cardigan over my T the first day. The CGM makes my diabetes visible and I know it's going to be difficult to explain this device when I'm still learning about it myself. But I shall embrace this when I'm ready.

Overall, having the extra information from the CGM is great - I can't deny that. I would love to have one permanently. However, and this is an important however, I would never rely on it explicitly as what my blood sugar reading is. I still do my 8 finger pricker tests daily.

New NovoRapid Package

Anyone notice the change in the NovoRapid Insulin packaging?

When I go to my pharmacist, or chemist as we say here in Ireland, I always watch as they pack my one month supply into a bag. Sometimes I get it wrong and order the wrong thing or sometimes they get it wrong.

Recently, as Catherine was packing my bag I saw something "foreign" looking. Is that a 100ml vial of NovoRapid?, I asked. So we both examined the package and determined that it was. But why does it look different? Catherine asked me to open it and, sure enough, it was the same on the inside.

I was happy to toddle off home and stock up my fridge.

The photo on the right shows the difference between the old and the new. The old is the smaller box on the top. Both bottles are the same size. The new allows the vial to rattle around in there noisily.

The new box is easier to read, so maybe that's why the product has been repackaged? Either way, I'm thinking 'is it still going to fit in my compartment in the fridge?The answer is just about and that's what's important to me;-)

Reasons to be EXCITED!!!

This past week has been a little bit mental, what with children on mid term, a bit of a raffle going on, some wedding invitation making and a bathroom demolition (*%$#@@).

I really didn't think I would have time to write a blog. However, I just had to write a quickie for this. Thanks to Animas, I am starting my trial of a CGM with my Vibe tomorrow!!! It's been a year in the determination. 

I don't know if it will make a huge difference in my life but I will let you all know. I have been using the "wizard" features of my Vibe a lot more and this has smoothed out my numbers quite a bit.

The "wizard" features are "Our pumps can: > Calculate a bolus amount to cover the carbs in food (ezCarb) > Automatically calculate a correction dose of insulin based on the latest blood sugar reading and incorporate the insulin on board (ezBG)"  from http://animascorp.co.uk/animasvibe/animas-vibe-and-cgm-system

I am also looking forward to a very much needed holiday with my hubby's family in Minnesota, where I will get eaten alive by mosquitoes but will not have to worry about the weather.

AND, if that wasn't enough I have received my itinerary for the Diabetes Advocate's MasterLab conference. 

Taking Care of My Diabetes and My Family

I was extremely honoured to be asked to speak about "Looking after my family and my diabetes" at the Diabetes Ireland National Diabetes workshops and exhibition last November. I was one of three speakers who were asked to talk about their lives with Type 1 Diabetes.

Brian spoke about his love of running which has developed into a love of Triathlons. Brian was diagnosed 4 years ago and only took up running as a way to help manage his type 1 diabetes.

Niamh spoke about her recent inter railing trip across Europe and how she planned for it and managed her type 1 diabetes during it.

Both speakers did a fantastic job.

This was my presentation;

I have lived 22 years with Type 1 diabetes. And in those 22 years, I have been lucky enough to meet my soul mate and marry him. In 2002, we moved abroad, where I went back to college as a mature student. While a student I had my first child who is now 11. 

In 2005, we moved back home to Ireland and I had my second child now 8. This is when I became a stay at home mum.

Both of my children are now in primary school, and I dabble a little bit in freelance graphic design as well as volunteering with Diabetes Ireland as much as I can.

Looking after my family means looking after me first.

I believe that I need to look after my diabetes before anything, or anyone else, first. I feel I need to do it this way otherwise I won’t be able to look after my family. My family is more important to me than life itself and that's why I put them second.

That's probably not what I'm supposed to say and It probably sounds selfish that my family, especially my children, are not an absolute first, but let me explain.

I had this realisation one day when I was having a hypo while I was feeding Ciara, who was an infant, at the time, I realised that I didn't have any glucose handy. So, I had to put her lunch on pause for which she was not happy about and go find some glucose in the kitchen. I realised then that all our lives would be so much easier if I was more organised with my diabetes first and baby second. Once through "Itsy, Bitsy Spider" is all I would need to grab my glucose meter and a glass of juice before I sat down to feed her.

Another time, she was screaming for her next meal and I knew I needed to test my blood sugars because I was feeling a bit low. My options were that I could pick her up and try to test while holding her, which was going to be tricky if she continued to scream and wriggle. Or, I could let her cry for less than 2 minutes longer, test quicker but feed sooner.

Awful photo of me. But I was just out of hospital & malnourished.

It was very difficult not to pick up my screaming hungry baby. But I felt I was safer not to, and so was she. What if I did pick her up and then collapsed on top of her?

Putting me and my diabetes first has gotten easier as my children have grown. Now,at least, I can explain to them what’s happening and they understand that sometimes the fun has to go on pause while I check my blood sugars just like it does when they have to go to the bathroom.

They also ask me questions about my diabetes and we talk about why we all eat healthy foods in our home.

It takes a village to raise a child!

But I don’t take care of me or my family all by myself. There are other people in my life who help me do all that I need to do to take care of us.

I have a good medical team. I moved around a bit over the years and so have had a number of healthcare teams. And I know now, that the health care professionals I am most successful with are the people who ask how I'm doing before we launch into the medical stuff. The people that I don't mind showing warts and all to. Meaning that when I'm struggling with my diabetes or just life in general, that I don’t mind admitting to it and asking for help. The people who actually consider me to be part of my team and my input valuable.

And "No!" we are not always that sickening.

I have a great team mate. My hubby is the best parenting team mate I could have ever asked for. I couldn't do either family life or diabetes management well without him. He recognises the times of chaos in our house and steps up to ease that chaos. He often has a look at my record book to help me figure out patterns. And he wants to know as much about diabetes management as I do. It may be my diabetes but my whole family lives with it, especially Phil. Whatever happens to me affects him hugely. And, I look forward to grand parenting with him, should I be lucky enough to be a grandparent.

I have MASSIVE Peer support. Peer support, for me, is one of the most important ways of how I try to manage my diabetes well. I attend a type 1 diabetes support group and subscribe to a number of diabetes Facebook groups because I need to have other people around me, who understand what it’s like to live with type 1 diabetes.

I recently watched a video of Kim Vlasnik from a blog called Texting my Pancreas. In the video she says "Peer to peer support fosters resilience and confidence. It turns our shared vulnerability into empowerment and we can gain strength from the place we normally feel weak”.

I definitely gain strength from my type 1 support group, I always leave those meetings feeling like it is possible to manage my diabetes well and that I'm not the only one who struggles with staying on top of it. There is definitely strength in numbers and the more people I know with diabetes the stronger I feel.

Because I'm worth it!

Taking care of my diabetes first, means my diabetes very seldom gets a chance to interfere with my family life and that my family has a wife and mother for as long as possible.

I take care of my diabetes because I feel that I deserve the right to not miss a second of it.

The Diabetic Diet Thingy

I came across a piece called "What is a Diabetic Diet?" on Diabetes Daily in the last couple of days and thought it was worth sharing.

The question of "what can I eat?" comes up  a lot at our local Type 1 and the Type 2 support group meet ups. And even though, we would reply to our group members that nothing was off the table, the explanation doesn't end there.

The author of the piece says:

One of the biggest questions for anyone with diabetes is: what can I eat? The real, honest answer: anything!

That’s right. People with diabetes can eat anything that people without diabetes can eat. 

But, and this is a very important but, you must be aware of how it will impact you and take that into account. You can’t eat large numbers of carbohydrates and get good results (unless you are a serious athlete). But by checking your blood sugar strategically, you can learn how much of a food you can safely enjoy."

I wonder about all those people out there, without diabetes, who have no idea what they're putting into their bodies? I used to be envious of them as they just ate, and ate, and ate, for years, before it caught up with them. For me, the results of that kind of eating would be seen in less than 4 hours through my blood glucose testing.

My next thought was about how I'm not jealous of those people anymore. And how did that happened?

I used to consider the idea of a coffee and a dessert as a treat, or as the phrase goes; "being good to myself". 

In one five day period, this "treat" nearly happened three times, I felt that this went WAAAY beyond the scope of "occasionally" or "now and again". 

I said to myself; "You know, woman! The coffee is enough of a "treat"! Why don't I be good to myself by NOT having a dessert?!" After all, I wouldn't put petrol into my diesel car, would I? So why would I put fat and masses of sugar into me?

I thought this was a rather novel idea and was a little proud of myself for thinking of it! I chose to overlook the fact that it took me 40 plus years to figure it out. :-S

My whole ethos about desserts has changed because of this new (for me) way of thinking. I'm being good to myself by investing in my health, by only putting the healthiest food into it (mostly). I feel that my body deserve it! And because I'm worth it! (Thank you LÓreal!) And my family is worth it!

Yes, this is me write now - NOT!

I'm finding that this mental attitude makes it easier to resist all those temptations. And, to be quite honest, the temptations are not always that good. Some are, some aren't but I'm not missing out on anything. I'm gaining so much for my health. Plus, I get to feel a little pious over all those people without diabetes who don't treat themselves well.

These days, my "treat" mostly consists of a high quality glossy magazine with my cuppa:-D

I might let myself enjoy a home baked dessert on an occasion but it has to be really, really, seriously, REALLY, good. But it's not a treat - it's to satisfy a craving.