5 Myths about Diabetes

 This is a blog post I have been wanting to do for a while, it something I could see fun writing and coming up with, but in the end I ended up using the most common misconceptions that people have about diabetes.I wanted to avoid these but maybe I can email this to some people that I know that are completely clueless about the 'betes.

                                                          You cannot eat sweets....
No.... I eat sugar like no one business plus have you ever tried to avoid sugar? That crap is in every thing, you try and avoid it. All you have to do is give the correct amount of insulin and hope you did everything right.

                                                       You cannot exercise.....
Umm... no. Have you ever heard that for type 2 diabetics,  sometimes a healthy diet and exercise will help control blood sugars. That is really a way for all diabetics to control blood sugars to exercise, so like for all humans exercise benefits us too. The way to prevent low blood sugar is to check before during and after and make sure your blood sugar is above 120.

 The shots hurt...
Ok so they do I mean it is impossible not to hit nerves and vessels but most of the time the needles don't hurt and they are very thin and short and almost always pain free. The same with the inserters unless you use the old medtronic one, that thing hurts. 

You cure it with a pill so it's not so bad...

Nada, there is no cure and even though many wonderful people are looking for a cure we are still always in danger of severe complications. Our hope is that one day we can have a cure; there still is no magic pill.

Only Children can get it....

Even though it most commonly occurs in children it can happen in adults too. Now they call it LADA or type 1.5. It still has to be  treated with insulin and they must take it for the rest of their lives.

I hope this answers some of you none diabetics questions and breaks some of your stereotypes about diabetes. I hope this is your thing you learned today now what do you think readers? What are some more common misconceptions you run into a lot: does Aunt Susie refuse to let your child anything but veggies and meat when your hild is at her house, do people think that all you do is wave a wand over hand to check your blood sugar, I want to know which ones you run into.

A Google Doodle for World Diabetes Day

     Have you heard about the petition for Google to make a doodle for World Diabetes Day? Can I get a "HALLA" from my fellow type 1,2,3! What a great chance to educate the world about diabetes what this blog is about, what so many other diabetics I know are about EDUCATION.

      We as a group should put our efforts together and educate the world about diabetes so maybe we can get rid of the stereotypes, the fears, the ignorant comments, and maybe help other know the signs and symptoms of diabetes to catch it early. We all are here and so is our diabetes and it ain't goin' no where so lets do this thing!

Sign for a Doodle on Google

Also for my fellow diabetic out their who don not take their insulin (like me) sometimes: I found this letter from one of the first patients to receive insulin who's name was Teddy Ryder, his uncle begging for insulin for his five year old nephew. It really made me think about how I take for granted the gift of insulin. Read here.

Have a great weekend poeples.

Lovely Numbers

What is a lovely number? What number has magical power to you? To me it is 104 a perfect number which means I am good. I am free to not worry about my body or how I feel, in fact I don't feel I just am, I'm happy. This is a photo of me from 2007 if you look you can see my pump in a ell phone ase on my pants. During this time I had a a Cozmo and I still miss that thing and I still have it, besides how throws away a couple of thousands dollar pump :o)

Lower A1c and a warning

I have really been missing my pump lately. I know it was my decision over a year ago to go off the pump but now I am ready for my pump-cation to be over. Last week I had my endo appointment  and I was not looking forward to it. I mean that those doctors are scary and I feel like I'm just going to be told that I am doing it wrong, I really cannot be the only one who thinks that. Well I was right they did tell me everything I was doing wrong they told me I wasn't checking enough, I had high blood pressure myA1c was down a little and no pump fo me. As much as I wanted to I knew they were right. I am scared of whats to come. I will let you know about my yearly tests soon.
 By the way my A1c was brought down from 12.9 to11.5 whoop whoop!

A diabetics challenge!

I love to do challenges, competiions, and win stuff. I especially love to enter contests. Ihave never won one before but I still like it. So I decided to do one in my blog  and that is to make one day a month a themed diabetes day and everyone can email me their photo of  how sucessful or awesome or a flop it was. I want to do this because lets face it; it is hard to be positive all the time. I want your feedback from this and I will give you about two weeks so you can plan. are you ready for the September Happy diabetes day theme? Drum role please .............. are you ready.... I hope..... it is...... Blue Friday (pun intended).
So what are you supose to do for blue friday? Well silly you are supose to dress in your bluest bes and get all your friends and family to participate.
Then take a picture of you and your family and friends shot me an email and I will post my favorite pics to the blog and the  rest will be in a special slide show on a new tab soon to join the family o tabs.This month their will be no prize but I hope inthe future I can arrange that for you all. So are ready, get set and go!!!!! The Day of Blue Friday is September 14 so arrange your plans accordingly! I hope to recieve a ton of emails. ( P.S. You can do this any day you want but the picture will be posted  the saturday after.) Happy diabetes day peoples!

Celiac Disease and Me

You want to know what; these past few weeks I have felt like crap, sluggish, depressed, brain fog, to list a few. These have really been going on for a long time so one morning my stomach was hurting and right before we left for school I jumped out of the car ran inside and threw up (tmi i know)
     So at this point my mom decided to get me tested for celiac. Yes most of us diabetics are tested for celiac at least once in our lives and I have only been test once and we went Wednesday right before school and the test said no celiac so whoop whoop! But I have also read about people who went gluten free felt so much better, so much better that they realized that they had be sick so long they didn't even know who good it felt not to be sick. So here I go lets see where this takes me. I am not saying good bye forever to buffalo chicken pizza or gigi's cupcakes but more that I want to see if this makes me feel better.

Little Crazy with Lizzie and me (I am on the left)

Highschool and type 1 diabetes

    I have always tried to do my very best in school. I imagine it my way of getting the things I want most out of life, college, awesome dream job, and just to know lots of stuff. I get scared at the thought that I could possibly do my very worst at school and fail miserably.
   I always push myself and though at times I feel inadequate with all the standards put on me by teachers, parents, other important people in my life I know I can do it. I can do this, I know I can do this, I will do this are words I frequently say to myself when I am given a test that by the end I am in tears and I know I have failed it badly. I have tried hard because I never want to be known as the dumb one the one who just doesn't have it, to have the permission to use my mind for more than just normal stuff. I love to think. So other than completely telling the whole world hat I am an absolute nerd who is better at studying than keeping up with facebook  I am also here today to tell about my experience, advice, and lists for surviving high school with type 1 diabetes.
    I went to a private school my freshman year, and even though this school had impeccable standards, I wore a uniform and walked in line they had no nurse. I was left to care for my diabetes on my own from 7 to 3:30. No one was ever there to help when my blood sugars were low and I'm pretty sure had I passed out due to low blood sugar I would have died before someone figured out I needed a glucogon.
   So in September of my sophomore year we moved and I started at my now high school. They had a nurse, most teachers knew what to do if I were to pass out, and I had a free pass to the bathroom and a locker in the nurses office to keep snacks and at the time I had an insulin pump. I really struggled that year, it was my first year ever in a public school, I knew nobody an I had to jump in a system I was partly behind in and partly ahead in and everyone thought I was either a missionary kid shipped over from a foreign country or from military school. I had to get use to reporting to a nurse and having a busy schedule. Lets just say my diabetes was walking on a tightrope that year my A1c was climbing, my hormones were slightly off balance and I needed some space to grow and stretch out. I live day to day taking for granted everything including my wondrous insulin pump, I guess you could say that this was my ultimate rebellious stage.
   So over that summer I decided to go old school and dig it with the shots. I began my junior year with shots and boy that made my diabetes easier to hide but way more unpredictable. I also carried my rebellion into this year and totally gave in to my poor me attitude and struggled with depression form what I later figured out was from very high sugars. Over my Christmas break I landed in the hospital with a virus of some very painful repercussions and the highest A1c ever 13.6. I hated what my diabetes had done to me and how it had made me into this sick person. I left the hospital and slowly began my recovery.
   One day I forgot my insulin at home and my sugars skyrocketed at school. I got terribly sick I couldn't even stand and for those of you who have never thrown up from high blood sugars it takes hours and hours of sitting with the feeling of " I am going to throw up any minute" to actually throw up. I went to dance class and felt fine and one my way to drivers ed went down hill quick. I remember looking around for the trash can, and then went to the nurses office for water and a minute to rest because it was a long and exhausting walk to the office. I tried to go to each class and ended up back in the nurses office when eventually against my will called my mom. Yep lets talk about a real crappy day I ended up throwing up in the car waiting on my mom to sign me out and made my brother throw it away (hahahahaha). In the end I went home and swore I would never do that again and keep insulin in the school fridge.
I am going to start my senior year again with out a pump again, I really miss that baby and I am nervous about the stress and the super hard schedule my friends in the registrar department have graced me with I predict my levels going through the roof baby! Yep I am preparing by keeping extra tabs on the bg's and keeping it down low if you know what I mean. So I am anxious but prepared including all things "d" wise
A diabetic high schoolers school list for MDI's and pumpers
two bottles of glucose tablets
Lance 4 pack crackers
gel tubes
Unexpired glucogon
extra insulin ( only if there is an available fridge for pumpers and MDI's)
2 bags of syringes or just a few for pumpers usually ten a bag
extra bottle of testing strips
ketone strip (foil wrapped is best)
extra meter set
lancets
nausea medication (pepto bismal)
pain medication (advil, tylonal)
money to by water or lunch
and any extra medications you take.
This is just a general list and it increases and decreases throughout the year. I would love to know what you or you send with your kids to school. I try to be prepared but I do forget stuff. I try my best not to freak out unless it is insulin :0). The other day I forgot my test strips and there forth I just had to not check at lunch and go with my gut with the high low thing.It worked out fine but I don't like doing that.