dLife - Oral Meds

(Lack of) Money Changes Everything

Brenda Bell — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 14:47:29 +0000

One of the themes I harp on with respect to type 2 diabetes is that it disproportionately strikes people in lower income brackets, and that people whose racial and ethnic profiles put them at higher risk for type 2 tend to be in those lower income brackets. It's a double-whammy that affects access to diabetes-friendly foods, medication, and even basic medical care.

I Feel Free

Lindsey Guerin — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 21:14:10 +0000

Happy Independence Day! It's the Fourth of July, which means we get to celebrate our freedom with fireworks, BBQ, and family. Today is a day to be thankful for the freedoms that we have and the men and women who got us here. Not only our soldiers, but the men and women who took the plunge to leave their homes and create a new life in a foreign land. Without them, July 4th might be just any other summer day.

In diabetes, "freedom" can be a four letter word. It's hard to have freedom in a disease that affects so much of our lives. True freedom, at least. We talk about being "independent" but at the root of everything, we are the exact opposite. We are entirely "dependent" on insulin, medication, exercise, or whatever treatment plan is helping us live.

What's in a Survival Kit?

Lindsey Guerin — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 00:26:32 +0000

The part of Texas that I live in is known for tornadoes. I'm not used to that particular feature of Mother Nature. I grew up in a place with hurricanes and severe storms, but never much else. I've never lived in a place that had no notice for these types of events. With hurricanes, you get a few days, sometimes more, to prepare, evacuate, and stay safe. Tornadoes are fast and furious.

Even though I've lived here through two tornado seasons, I still haven't gotten an emergency kit together. (Despite frequent conversations with my mother about the necessity and strong urging from her to throw things in a bag NOW.) For one, I'm not really sure what goes in an emergency kit. I've never required one other than the normal diabetes things. So how do I go about doing this?

If I Didn't Have Copays

Lindsey Guerin — Tue, 29 May 2012 21:22:38 +0000

At 23 years old, I feel that I make a decent salary for my experience, location, and position. It's a competitive market out there right now and I'm thankful for a full time position at this point. I live a nice life on my non-profit salary and don't usually "want" for more.

I also don't usually live in the "woe is me" mindset because I know I have a nice life despite my troubles and things could always be worse. I was taught this mentality growing up and it's what's gotten me through a lot of dark days. When I think my life is falling down around me, I just need to look at the families that I work with or drive down a particular street in town to count my blessings. Life isn't bad.

They Need to Know

Lindsey Guerin — Fri, 18 May 2012 15:47:49 +0000

Today's DBlog Week Prompt: Today let’s borrow a topic from a #dsma chat held last September. The tweet asked “What is one thing you would tell someone that doesn’t have diabetes about living with diabetes?”. Let’s do a little advocating and post what we wish people knew about diabetes. Have more than one thing you wish people knew? Go ahead and tell us everything.

Educating

Michelle Kowalski — Wed, 16 May 2012 20:34:03 +0000

I was standing outside the other day talking with my neighbor. She was sitting in a chair and I was leaning against her car. Our kids were running around burning off energy before they had to settle in for the night.

We are at a point in the season here in Phoenix where the temperatures are hot during the day (in the low 100s) but nice enough in the evenings where you can sit outside and not feel like you're melting. Since I don't wear a watch (who needs to between my pump and my phone having clocks) I reached for my waistband, pressed "OK" on my pump to show the home screen (which has the clock) and saw that it was about time for my rugrats to go inside.

"What do you have there?" A asked. "What is that?"

"It's an insulin pump," I said as I unraveled the tubing from my waistband. "See my tether?"

Extreme Makeover: Diabetes Edition

Lindsey Guerin — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:19:31 +0000

Today's DBlog Prompt: Yesterday we gave ourselves and our loved ones a big pat on the back for one thing we are great at. Today let’s look at the flip-side. We probably all have one thing we could try to do better. Why not make today the day we start working on it. No judgments, no scolding, just sharing one small thing we can improve so the DOC can cheer us on!

Isn't it sad that this post is so much easier to write than yesterday's praise post? Of course, none of us are perfect when it comes to management (show me that person and I'll show you a person who's lying through their teeth). But we're also facing a lot of challenges that make perfection an unreachable goal. Life throws curve balls every day that diabetes thrives on and makes our efforts often futile.

Pat on the Back

Lindsey Guerin — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:23:10 +0000

Today's DBlog Week Prompt: Living with diabetes (or caring for someone who lives with it) sure does take a lot of work, and it’s easy to be hard on ourselves if we aren’t “perfect”. But today it’s time to give ourselves some much deserved credit. Tell us about just one diabetes thing you (or your loved one) does spectacularly! Fasting blood sugar checks, oral meds sorted and ready, something always on hand to treat a low, or anything that you do for diabetes. Nothing is too big or too small to celebrate doing well!

The Mole

Michelle Kowalski — Tue, 08 May 2012 17:32:37 +0000

No. 1 has had a mole on his lower back -- right on his pants line -- for as long as I can remember. It started as a freckle and gradually got bigger. Like the size of a nickle big.

A couple years ago we took him to a dermatologist to see if we should be concerned about it and/or if there's anything we should do about it. It didn't look suspicious and the doctor said the only reason to take it off would be if it was bothering him. As she described the procedure to take it off the blood drained from No. 1's face. He was totally not interested.

May Day

Brenda Bell — Tue, 01 May 2012 21:36:59 +0000

The phonetic syllables /mey dey/ are rife with meaning.

As a child, I envisioned "May Day" much in the manner in which Renaissance Faire players open and close the faire day: with costumed dancers weaving around a flower-and-ribbon-festooned pole, creating intricate patterns in both ribbon and step as they pass over and under each other, turning around and around and around. At some point along that axis, the vision of morris dancing entered the picture, as well as hunting, flower gathering, and so on. In short, May Day had entered the common vernacular as a more meaningful celebration of spring than the vernal equinox itself. (Then again, how many buds, leaves, blooms, and blossoms do we see around St. Patrick's Day?)