Diabetic Dais

D-Blog Week: Diabetes Thankfulness

2014-05-18T13:58:00.003-07:00

Diabetes Blog Week 2014 is coming to an end and I can't help but feel like it's gone super fast. They say that happens when you're having fun! With my University exams starting next week, I thought the past few days would have been pretty stressful as I attempt to learn and memorise an entire semester's worth of content. However, thanks to the DOC, my week has been anything but. To summarise why the past 7 days have been so special for me, here are some of favourite things from this D-Blog Week:

I have smiled, giggled and even had a lump in my throat trying to swallow my own tears, as I've read posts from all of the wonderful bloggers who have taken part this year. The best part is that I haven't even read them all yet and I've got even more to look forward to!

Every participant in D-Blog Week reads the same prompt daily, yet each person's post is completely different! D-Blog Week highlights our similarities and differences - this diversity, for me, makes the DOC an exciting and beautiful thing to be a part of.

I know I talk about this a lot, but I love how D-Blog Week allows me to be creative. The themes for each post encourage me to think and write about aspects of my diabetes I may not normally give much thought to, or inspire me to do it in a completely different way.

This year, Friday's 'Diabetes Life Hacks' prompt was so helpful for me. Other blogger's hints and tips about the things that make their lives with diabetes easier, reinforced to me how some little things can make such a huge difference! There were definitely a few 'I wish I'd known about that years ago!' moments, but I know now thanks to you guys :)

Karen Graffeo. Not only has she brought Diabetes Blog Week to the Diabetes Online Community for 5 years and writes posts that are a treat to read, but she also reads other's posts, comments on them and gives so much encouragement to so many people. Thank you for bringing us together!

Finally, it means so much to me how, every year, D-Blog Week gives me the boost I need to pay more attention to my diabetes. Sometimes we all need to turn the page and start afresh. Diabetes Blog Week, for me, is like putting new batteries into my life with type 1, and pressing the 'reset' button. Well, you know you're ready for a new start when you clear out all of the used, bloody test strips from your kit-bag...

(Is it bad that I think this is actually quite good going?! Haha)

I hope there will be plenty of annual D-Blog Weeks to come, as they make me thankful. Thankful for the internet, thankful for my health, thankful for my life and, would you believe it, thankful for my diabetes. Without it, I might not know some of the wonderful people in my life who I have met through the DOC. It's amazing how something negative can bring about so much positivity, and I have you magical people to thank for that!

D-Blog Week: Saturday Snapshot Of My D-Heaven

2014-05-17T00:45:00.000-07:00

For as long as I can remember, I've struggled with very high morning blood sugars. This has had a huge impact on my daily life, because waking up feeling sick, with a headache and a dry mouth means that you never start your day feeling like the best version of yourself. As my bedtime blood sugar levels were always stable, and mid-night hypos had also been ruled out, there was speculation about whether the Dawn Phenomenon (the Somogyi Effect) was the cause of my morning highs. However, my doctors were pretty sure that there was something else having an effect on them.

Maybe it was a hormone thing which has started to settle now I'm out of my teenage years, maybe it's a miracle...I don't know! But what I do know is that for the past couple of months, my morning blood sugars have been good. I can't pretend I have even the tiniest hint of a clue as to why, because I haven't changed anything about my diabetes management. Still, I couldn't be happier as I can now wake up and actually feel ready to start my day! There still seem to be 'anomaly mornings', but at least it's the high blood sugars that are now the odd-ones-out.

My Saturday Snapshot is my blood sugar level from this morning...

...I couldn't wish for a better way to start my weekend! :)

D-Blog Week: The Little Book Of Carb-Counting Tricks

2014-05-16T03:51:00.001-07:00

For a long time, I put up a lot of barriers towards carb counting. When I was diagnosed with diabetes 18 years ago, my parents and I weren't taught about the importance of knowing how much carbohydrate you're eating, and how much insulin to take for it. Instead of altering how much insulin I'd inject depending on what I was eating, I had set doses for each meal and that was that. It was only when I was about 15 years old that I was encouraged by my doctors to attend a DAFNE course but, as far as I saw it, there was no need - I thought everything was just fine the way I'd been doing it.

Thankfully, I eventually realised that carbohydrate counting not only made a lot of sense, but it's also essential to balanced blood-sugar levels. My lifestyle, and the amount of food I'd eat, would change significantly from day-to-day and administering the same amount of insulin, regardless of whether I was eating one piece of toast or a whole plate-full of pasta, was a recipe for disaster.

When I finally started to learn how to carb count and began to realise which foods had carbohydrate in them (it had never occurred to me that a lot of meat products like sausages and burgers are packed with bread-crumbs!), it took me quite a long time before I had the hang of it. The book 'Carbs & Cals' acted as a bit of a lifeline for me during this time. Each page has photos of different portion sizes for so many different carb-containing foods, and it tells you how many grams of carbohydrate are in each one - it is genius!

Although I either weigh my carby food, or look at the nutritional information on the back of packets to know how much insulin to give myself, I still find Carbs & Cals really useful. When I go out for a meal, when I can't find out the weight myself, I know that I can flick through the book and compare the portion size to the photos on the pages. I've also found that, nowadays, I don't even need to carry the book with me as I know instantly what 60g of pasta, or 70g of rice looks like on my plate, because I've seen it so many times in Carbs & Cals.

So if I could give one tip that makes life with diabetes easier (aside from not wearing all-in-one clothing, after my injecting difficulty when wearing my floral playsuit a few weeks back [read here]), it would be to buy a copy of Carbs & Cals. You'll never be left guesstimating again!

D-Blog Week: The Tasty Treat Hypo-Treatment

2014-05-15T09:21:00.001-07:00

As I wrote yesterday about the main thing that keeps me smiling through a bad diabetes day, I've decided to pick the 'Diabetes Dream Device' wildcard today. As we know, hypos are horrible. They can make you shake, give you headaches, make your lips and tongue numb and make you seem like a completely different person. Maybe it would be easier to deal with if treating hypos was easy, but unfortunately that's not necessarily the case!

There are lots of misconceptions about the correct and most efficient way to treat a hypoglycaemic attack. It's not just about eating anything with sugar in. There are lots of foods with high sugar content, but the amount of fat and other ingredients in them significantly slows down how fast our bodies absorb the sugar to bring our blood sugars back up. Also measuring how much sugar you have to eat to make your blood sugars rise, but not go too far and end up at the other end of the scale, is pretty much an art in itself.

I don't only hate hypos because of how awful they make me feel, but also because of how much I dislike the types of food and drink that makes the best treatment for them. When my blood sugars are low, I can't help but crave all the food that wouldn't be a very fast solution in an emergency. The most useful existing treatments like drinks like Lucozade are ones that I don't like the taste of, and glucose tablets only make my mouth feel like a desert. Instead, all I want to eat or drink when I'm having a hypo is chocolate and milkshakes and other sugary, yet very fatty, treats that would take a lot longer for the sugar to take effect.

This is why my diabetes dream device would be the 'Tasty Treat Hypo-Treatment'! You would have a small electronic device into which you would input how many grams of fast-acting sugar you require to bring your blood sugars up to the desired level. You would then choose whichever food you fancied and the device would transmit the sugar to the food. This would take the place of any existing sugar or fat that was already in it. Then you can enjoy a very yummy hypo-treatment that gets into your system quickly, and not have to suffer a raging high-peak later in the day...ta-daaaaa!

Okay, so there are definitely a few practical issues as it could never actually be made but still...I can dream, right!? :)

D-Blog Week: What Brings Me Down & What Keeps Me Up

2014-05-14T09:44:00.000-07:00

Today, the theme for Diabetes Blog Week posts is 'what brings me down'. Talking about the moments, days and, for some, weeks when diabetes is making you want to scream, cry or hide away is really important.

During the majority of my teenage years, I went through a lot of times when I would completely ignore my diabetes and never talk about it. There would be many meals eaten which I wouldn't give any insulin for and my body would be flooded with ketones. There were whole days when I wouldn't test my blood sugars at all. At one point, my HbA1c hit 12%. I wasn't in contact with anyone else with type 1 diabetes, and I attempted to deal with that by pretending that I didn't have it either.

Things only began to change when I started blogging 3 years ago and I attended a DAFNE course. I finally felt like I was surrounded by others who understood exactly what I was going through. Most of the time nowadays, the reasons why I'm irritated by diabetes are because I'm putting all my effort into looking after myself, and sometimes what I see on my glucose meter doesn't reflect that. For me, however, this is a better result than the exhaustion and illness I suffered when I paid no attention to my diabetes at all. At least now, when I'm feeling down about it, it shows that I care about my health.

There are numerous aspects of diabetes that get to me, for example like when I'm covered in bruises from injections, or my blood sugars seem to make no sense at all. There will probably always be times when diabetes will try to get the better of me but, when it does, I know where to come. So thank you to the Diabetes Online Community - you have been crucial to my physical and mental health. Because of you guys, I know that whatever aspect of diabetes is bringing me down, I'm not alone.

D-Blog Week: The Positive Diabetes Poem

2014-05-13T08:24:00.001-07:00

The prompt for today's post is to write a poem about diabetes. In 2012 I wrote a poem for the 'Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge' called Bad Diabetes Day, which I loved writing! I'm always excited about opportunities to do something a bit creative and different, so I really enjoyed writing this one too:

The Positive Diabetes Poem

As a little girl I'd never tell,

That I had type 1 D.

I was worried what people might say,

And what they would think of me.

Did her parents feed her too much sugar?

Did she used to be fat?

I was embarrassed of my diabetes,

Didn't want to answer questions like that.

I just wanted to be normal,

Eat whatever I liked for tea,

Not have to think about my blood sugars,

Be injection and blood test free.

But as I got older I realised,

No one can be blamed.

I didn't 'make' myself diabetic,

I shouldn't feel ashamed.

Sometimes bad things happen,

But they make you who you are.

Focusing on the positives

Can get you really far!

Now when I inject in public,

Where other people might be sat,

I remind myself I have diabetes,

And there's nothing wrong with that!

D-Blog Week: Change The World

2014-05-12T15:24:00.000-07:00

Diabetes Blog Week 2014 is here! This is my fourth year of taking part and it's fair to say that if there's one thing that diabetes does make me excited about, it's this! Thank you to Karen Graffeo at Bitter~Sweet for the opportunity to do this every year. I'm currently in the latter stages of revising for my first year university exams, but the real test will be finding out how to tear myself away from reading all of the wonderful D-Related posts over the next 7 days.

The topic for the first post of D-Blog Week is to share something that we're passionate about. I'm completely with my friend Vicki from Vicki's Notebook on this one. I have a fire in my heart for a lot of causes and the right for all people with diabetes to have access to the insulin, test strips, needles and technology they need is one of the ones at the very top. It sounds pretty awful now I think about it, but it wasn't something I remembering thinking about until last year when I received this tweet on Twitter:

I took a look at the website for Marjorie's Fund and my outlook on my own diabetes changed significantly. Marjorie was born in Uganda and was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 3 years old - the same age that I received my diagnosis. She died when she was just 29 years old from kidney failure, caused by her diabetes. She wasn't much older than I am now when she passed away, yet Marjorie was considered to be 'one of the lucky ones'.

Although diabetes can be awful for anyone who has to live with it, reading about the lack of resources and care available to those with type 1 in other parts of the world definitely made me feel very blessed. I have entire drawers packed with needles, test strips, ketone sticks, spare injection pens and old glucose monitors and a whole compartment in the fridge full of insulin cartridges. Other people with diabetes, like Marjorie, are battling to stay alive and living on as little as one insulin injection a day, if that.

However, the amount of medication a person has for any health condition should not be about luck. A person with type 1 diabetes needs insulin, test strips, glucose monitors and diabetes education. They have the right to those resources, irrespective of what part of the world they live in. This is why organisations like Marjorie's Fund are so important - they help to give people the life they have a right to.

R.I.P Marjorie

World Diabetes Day 2013: The Invisible Condition

2013-11-14T06:17:00.000-08:00

Happy World Diabetes Day, everyone! :) In true WDD style, I awoke this morning with a blood sugar of 3.6 - a true reminder of the fact that I have diabetes and, along with the other 382 million people with the condition, this day is partly for me.

Diabetes is so often referred to as the 'invisible disease', the 'invisible disability', or the 'invisible condition' (I prefer the latter terminology!) It's true, diabetes is invisible. No one would ever know, when they see me on the street, that I've already checked my blood sugar and injected myself with insulin at least once that day. However, sometimes, it feels to me that diabetes isn't invisible at all.

I see my skin when it's covered in sore patches of blue and purple - bruises from my injections. I see the remainder of unhealed wounds everyday - permanent scars, because of the poor circulation my diabetes causes. I see hundreds of pin-prick holes on the tips of my fingers - the proof of regular blood sugar monitoring. I see a ghost in the mirror - pale and drawn from unstable blood sugars.

It's at times like these, when it feels like I have 'diabetic' tattooed on my forehead, that I have to remind myself that not everyone knows diabetes like I do. In fact, some have never heard of it at all. To them, my bruises and scars could be from sporting injuries, my face pale as a result of late nights and, as for the pin-prick holes, they would probably never be noticed at all.

I realise that because diabetes is invisible, it's so important that we let people know what it is. For me, World Diabetes Day is always about raising awareness. It's about making people aware of the symptoms of undiagnosed diabetes and the symptoms of hypo/hyperglycemic episodes. It's about letting people know the differences between the types, how it is treated and how it affects those dealing with it on a daily basis.

If we can all go out today and learn something, or tell someone one thing about diabetes, we are contributing towards a future where an invisible condition becomes one which is understood. If we can fall asleep tonight, or any night for that matter, with one more person in the world knowing something about diabetes that they didn't before, we should be proud! :) So today I go out in the world, wearing blue and taking the invisibility cloak off the shoulders of diabetes - hopefully I'll learn something too!

D-Blog Week: Diamonds of The DOC

2013-05-19T04:07:00.000-07:00

There are several reasons why I love D-Blog Week but the main one is that it invites people living completely different lives, in completely different parts of the world, and brings them together through writing about one thing we all have in common - diabetes. Seeing as this is the final post of this years D-Blog Week, it's time to shed some light on some of the superstars of the Diabetic Online Community. Thank you to the following people in particular, some being new discoveries and some old favourites, for providing me with lots of quality reading this week:

The Tangerine Diabetic

Dave's posts are fantastically written and his ability to make the D seem humorous is so uplifting. I'm so glad that he decided to take part in D-Blog Week as reading the musings of The Tangerine Diabetic the past few days has been a treat!

1 type 1

Kim's blog is one of my exciting new discoveries, thanks to D-Blog Week! I love how her posts are so heartfelt that they manage to have me on the verge of tears one minute and then sporting a smile from ear-to-ear the next. I hope my attitude towards my diabetes is as great as hers after 26 years of living with it. Really looking forward to reading more from 1 type 1 after this week!

Vicki's Notebook

Vicki's writing is truthful, inspirational and absolutely beautiful. Through D-Blog Week her posts have been first point of call for me to read before writing my own, as her ability to make you see the positive side of diabetes is a daily necessity. Vicki's Notebook is consistently wonderful and enjoyable to read and Vicki's spirit is consistently contagious!

Teapot Diabetic

Emma's blog was one of the first that I started reading when I started writing about my diabetes 2 years ago and I've been addicted to her posts ever since. Her down to earth approach to diabetes is admirable and the Teapot Diabetic is a very honest account of living with type 1. Keep writing, Emma - I love it!

Thank you Karen Graffeo at Bittersweet Diabetes for organising yet another amazing opportunity to get further involved with and meet other wonderful members of The DOC. It's because of the people in The Diabetic Online Community that diabetes feels less like a burden and more like a blessing. Also a massive thank you to those who have read my posts this week and beforehand - as always, your acknowledgement and support means so much!

I have a 2 hour train journey today, so I plan to spend it all catching up on the posts from the last week and I can't wait! It is with sadness that I say goodbye to D-Blog Week 2013, but I am looking forward to seeing you all again next year. Wishing everyone in the DOC happiness, health and heroic blood sugars! xo

D-Blog Week: Diabetes Art Day

2013-05-18T10:27:00.000-07:00

I always really enjoy diabetes art prompts, but I've got to admit that I was feeling a little bit felt-tipped out after yesterday's post! However I remembered a style of D-Art I've seen circulating the DOC since I started blogging and always wanted to have a go at, so here she is...the Type 1 Diabetes Supplies Girl!

D-Blog Week: D-Thanks Fairy Does Diabetes!

2013-05-17T12:04:00.000-07:00

I've opted for the wild card prompt of 'design your dream diabetes device' today, simply for an opportunity to bring back an old favourite of mine. The first year I participated in D-Blog Week, and actually exactly 2 years ago today, I chose to use a wild card and wrote a story called 'Weeping Daisy and The D-Thanks Fairy'. Since then, good old D-Thanks Fairy has made a couple of other appearances on Diabetic Dais and so I thought it would be a shame for her not to show her face again this year.

She used to be a whisper of encouragement in times of need but, as of now, D-Thanks Fairy is so much more! When you are low, she sprinkles her magic dust on you and your blood sugars rise to them to a perfect level without a peak. When you are high or you've just eaten a meal, she injects your insulin for you with super-soft needles so they never leave a mark (she may be only small, but she's wondrously strong!) She never forgets to pick up your prescriptions for you and when you are about to run out of insulin in your cartridge, she senses it on the tips of her wings and flies to the fridge to bring you a new one. She's an expert carbohydrate counter and she knows everything there is to know about diabetes, so you never need to see a clinician again if you don't want to - just ask her!

She lives inside your glucometer and some people think she answers to the name of 'NOT AGAIN!', but she doesn't really. More often than not, she appears when she hears you say this because she knows it's when you need her most. Her real name is D-Thanks Fairy and she's called this because she makes you thankful for the important things, like life itself.

D-Blog Week: Timeline of Diabetes Accomplishments

2013-05-16T10:47:00.000-07:00

Most of the major breakthroughs and achievements I've had in my diabetes management have occurred in the last couple of years, which is great for my memory's sake! My biggest accomplishment, which I wrote a post about a couple of months back, was reversing the diabetic retinopathy I'd been told I'd developed a year before. It was probably the happiest day of my diabetic journey so far, but now I realise that there have been lots of smaller achievements that led up to that day and the wonderful emotions I felt because of it.

March 2013: Reversal of diabetic retinopathy

November 2012: 16 year Diaversary! 16 years of being on the diabetes rollercoaster and I'd finally stopped screaming.

October 2012: HbA1c of 7.7%, down from 10.2% in July 2011

July 2012: 'Diabetic Dais' was featured in an article about good health blogs, in the national magazine 'Take a Break' (read about this here)

March 2012: I started taking care of my diabetes as well as I could. I stopped skipping injections completely, started testing my blood sugars before eating and in between mealtimes and vowed to carbohydrate count to the best of my ability.

September 2011: I moved away from home for the first time to start university. This meant taking full responsibility for not just my diabetes, but my health and body in general. Eating right (which starts with remembering to go to the supermarket and buy food!), remembering to put in and pick up prescriptions before running out of insulin and getting in from a student night out in one piece!

August 2011: My results for my A Levels came in and I achieved higher grades than I required to get into my chosen university. Considering that I took most of my exams with ridiculously high blood sugars, this was a massive achievement for me.

July 2011: I took part in the DAFNE course, which my doctors had been trying to get me to participate in for years. As it turned out, I absolutely loved it and it just happened to be the turning point in how I looked at my diabetes management. It also provided me with the information and support I needed, as well as introducing me to some wonderful people living with type 1 diabetes too! (Read about this here)

September 2004: The amount of insulin injections I was taking increased from 2 to 4 a day, which I hated the thought of at 11 years old, but I realised it was something I had to do.

August 2004: I went on my first children's diabetes camp with my hospital. Before this I had never seen another child do an injection or test their blood sugars or go hypo. Previously I'd only ever done my shots in my legs because I was too scared to do them anywhere else, but I was inspired by what I saw and actually asked my nurse to teach me to do my injections in my tummy whilst I was there. It was one of the most eye opening experiences and I hope I never forget it!

August 1998: At the age of 5, and a year and a half after being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, I started administering my insulin independently and doing my injections and blood testing myself.

November 1996: Being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, dealing with it and moving on with my life.

D-Blog Week: My Memorable Day with Diabetes

2013-05-15T11:45:00.000-07:00

Trying to think of my most 'memorable' day with diabetes has proved itself to be a challenge. I reckon this is probably because when you've lived with it for 16 years, it begins to feel like every day blends into the next. Diabetes feels like the norm and nothing more than a tedious concoction of highs, lows, prescriptions, appointments, blood tests, injections and so on and so forth. Still there are times when diabetes surprises me, for the better and otherwise.

A few years ago I went to stay with a friend who lived almost 80 miles away from me. Things were different then and I was at a stage with my diabetes where I tried to act as though it didn't exist. I rarely tested my blood sugars (unless I thought I was dying), attempted to delay telling anyone I was diabetic and make up my blood sugars to write in my log book before an appointment with my clinician. I remember absentmindedly taking an injection on the train, completely guesstimating how much insulin to administer, and not giving my diabetes another thought for the rest of the journey. In all honesty I probably wouldn't have let it cross my mind for the rest of the weekend, had it not been for what happened that same night.

It was exciting! I hadn't seen my friend for a couple of months or so and had really been looking forward to it. We'd had a really nice evening, catching up and spending time. There had barely been a moment of silence since we'd been reunited, until duty called and my friend nipped to the toilet. I recall feeling tired and weak all of a sudden, although somehow it felt like I was barely even there at all, and decided to lay down.

The next thing I knew I was in a dream, at least it felt that way. It was like something pulling me between two states of being and that 'something' was the person frantically rubbing my feet. They were shouting "Daisy!" and, every now and then, I'd open my eyes a little and I'd catch a glimpse of unfamiliar faces. I remember obediently sipping the orange juice from the glass that was being held to my lips and chewing jam on toast but forgetting to swallow.

When I came back to the waking world, I was told that I had a hypo which caused me to become unconscious. My friend had called their grandfather, who just happened to be a type 1 diabetic and a doctor and luckily lived only next door, and he gave me a glucagon shot. Not only did it put a complete downer on the rest of the weekend, but it was also one of the most terrifying and not to mention embarrassing evenings of my life (being fifteen years old and waking up surrounded by strangers with your socks off and strawberry jam all over your face is not fun!)

It's perhaps a little bit ironic that I don't actually remember the majority of one of my most memorable days with diabetes, but I do know that it changed my attitude towards my diabetes and made me more responsible for it. That was the first time I have ever become unconscious because of my diabetes and I hope it will be the only time. I genuinely owe my life to those who helped me that night and it's them I remember.

D-Blog Week: Demanding Difference

2013-05-14T10:31:00.000-07:00

I find that I sign quite a lot of petitions nowadays, simply because I think that if a policy needs to be altered then people should come together as a force for that change. With regards to writing a petition, there are quite a few things that I would like to change about diabetes in general; the most obvious being the fact that I have it in the first place, but I get the feeling that my pancreas has made a firm decision on that one.

Sometimes it's the little things that make living with type 1 diabetes that tiny bit easier and, seeing as demanding my pancreas to reboot itself might be considered a little far fetched, I've decided to ask for change in the more subtle areas of D-Life...

Accu-Chek Aviva Nano; I like you. You look all cute with your fancy, pebble-shaped exterior and you're so small that I can fit you in my smallest handbag alongside all my other bits and bobs. However, I would like you to change just one thing for me...will you please give me a little longer to get my blood on to the test strip before you go and error on me?! Some days my fingers are actually tired of having your good old friend MultiClix stabbing the tips of them, and they need a couple of seconds more than what you seem to be willing to give. When my doctor asks me how I'm getting through as many packs of test strips as I am and I reply 'because my monitor is impatient' he gives me strange look, but he doesn't understand your nature like I do.

Fast acting hypo treatment; I find you a little tiresome. Dextrose tablets are the worst, especially the orange ones. Trying to eat you during a hypo is like trying to feast on sand in the desert. Glucotabs you're a little better, seeing as I don't have to consume as many of you to raise my blood sugar, but the truth is that I'd much rather be eating a bar of chocolate. Lucozade reminds me of being unwell and fruit juice feels like a very unappetising option when all I want to do is binge on all the unhealthy, fatty foods that aren't going to help one bit. I'd like you to change your taste and texture, become more exciting for the palate as well as continue to raise my blood sugars at a rapid pace. I hope this isn't too much to ask. P.S. Just as an afterthought, thanks for saving my life of numerous occasions - I owe ya' one!

D-Blog Week: 16 Years of Effort in 20 Minutes

2013-05-13T13:27:00.001-07:00

Firstly, I just need to express that I am super duper excited for this year's Diabetes Blog Week! I participated in D-Blog Week 2011 just a couple of weeks after writing my first post for Diabetic Dais and, not having really met or spoken to many people with diabetes before, it was amazingly eye opening. Last year's D-Blog Week came at a time when I needed it, as I had recently been told that I had developed diabetic retinopathy and was struggling to focus on my diabetes care. However, connecting with others through Diabetes Blog Week gave me the much-needed support and boost to motivate myself to get on top of my management. So, in my third year of taking part in Diabetes Blog Week, it's fair to say that I'm really looking forward to what the next 7 days have in store for me and the rest of the Diabetic Online Community!

Over the 16 and a half years that I have had diabetes, there have been times when it's felt as though my diabetes care team don't fully understand what being a type 1 diabetic is actually like. The purpose of today's prompt is to express what we wish our doctors and nurses knew about what it is like to live with diabetes on a daily basis, but also admit the aspects of our D-Lives that we're glad they can't see.

Hey doc! Just a note to say I guess it's easy to make presumptions about how well someone attempts to take care of their diabetes based on the results of a few tests that appear on your computer screen, after they've had their blood drained from them and urine bottled. I also realise that when you compare my HbA1c percentage to what a medical textbook says a perfect HbA1c is, it's easy to assume that I'm doing something wrong.

What you don't see is that before I make my journey to see you, I've already spent a good few hours dreading the 20 minutes I spend with you. I know what your computer screen shows you because I feel the results of those blood sugars and I know what you're going to say about my lumpy injection sites because that's my body we're talking about, remember? However what your screen doesn't show you is my effort and how much I try.

Effort can't be shown in a number. I can't bring you a logbook of how much I've tried, nor can you put my blood in a tube and send it off to the lab for me to be tested for it. I understand that all the solid information you have is on your database, but I wish you could see how much I do to attempt to make my numbers on your screen match the 'acceptable' ones in your textbook.

I'm the first one to admit that my diabetes management isn't always the best that it could be; sometimes I forget to check the amount of carbs on a pack of tortellini so I guess how much insulin to take and I sometimes I forget to change my needle until it feels blunt against my skin. Some days I'm so annoyed with my unexplained highs that I feel like packing it all in and not bothering to carbohydrate count, because what difference does it make anyway when my blood sugars won't come below 13mmol!? Some days I'm annoyed with myself that I didn't check a blood sugar before bed, or that I ate that extra biscuit and didn't bolus for it, and some days I wish I could go back in time and take some of your advice earlier.

I don't expect to able to explain to you exactly what it's like to live with diabetes every day of my life in the 20 minutes we spend together every year, but sometimes I just wish you'd acknowledge that I do and maybe it's not as easy at it seems.

Diabetic Dais' 2nd Blogging Birthday!

2013-04-28T10:12:00.000-07:00

Today marks two years since I wrote my first post for Diabetic Dais! A lot has changed in two years in my personal life, in terms of my diabetes and at the point where both intertwine. At 18 years of age, and when I started Diabetic Dais, I had a HbA1c of 10.2%, I couldn't carb count and I thought the only way I could manage my weight was to skip injections. Now I have completed the DAFNE course, I feel dreadful if my blood sugar goes above 9mmol and my last HbA1c was 7.7%. This blog and the amazing people I have met through it have been such an incredible support system and I doubt I would be managing my diabetes in the way I am doing had it not been for them.

A few special mentions go out to Vicki Gibbs and the other wonderful people at Student Diabetics UK, Meagan Esler, Karen Watson, Simon Shaw, Ant Brown and Nicola Maude. Thank you for being part of my diabetes and blogging journey so far. Also, of course, thank you to everyone who continues to read my posts; your support means more to me than months of perfect blood sugars! xoxo

JDRF Guest Blog Post: Could Garlic Help People With Diabetes?

2013-04-19T10:09:00.000-07:00

With over 2.35 million people affected by type 2 diabetes in the UK the race is on to find a way to prevent deaths caused by diabetics complications such as kidney failure, heart disease and stroke. Indeed, heart disease is the leading cause of death in diabetics who are up to four times more at the risk of death from heart disease as non-diabetics. Used as a traditional treatment in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East for centuries and growing in popularity as a health supplement in the West, garlic is well known for its ability to purify the blood, regulate the bile ducts and activate gastric juices. In recent trials and studies findings have singled out garlic as the number one miracle food.

Rich in active biochemicals, it is thought that consuming garlic could offer metabolic benefits to those suffering with type 2 diabetes. Garlic is also helpful for diabetics as it helps to lower cholesterol levels by preventing the formation of cholesterol by the liver. As a fermentable carbohydrate, garlic is good at stabilising blood sugar levels and recent research has shown that these carbohydrates trigger the release of gut hormones that enhance insulin sensitivity – reducing blood sugar levels and controlling your weight.

Even eating moderate amounts or taking garlic supplements can help to regulate blood glucose and aid blood flow. Foods such as garlic are the key to helping in the war against diabetes by enhancing the body’s sensitivity to insulin. Scientists believe that the 400 chemical components found in garlic including allicin, allyl propyl disulfide and S-allyl cysteine sulfoxide work to raise insulin levels in the blood by regulating the liver’s activity so that more insulin is available in the body.

In terms of countering heart disease, garlic is believed to have significant potential for preventing cardiomyopathy a common form of heart disease that inflames and weakens the heart's muscle tissue. But how does it work?

Like onions, leeks and chives, garlic is rich in sulphur compounds. It is the presence of sulphur which provides its distinctive smell that is so very important in keeping the heart healthy. Garlic’s sulphur compounds combat the vessel inflammation associated with cardiomyopathy, easing the damage caused to heart valve linings caused by oxidizing free radicals. These sulfur compounds also lower blood pressure in the course of their conversion to hydrogen sulfide. This process dilates the blood vessels and lowers blood pressure. Furthermore, garlic has been shown to lower the risk of blood clotting by preventing blood platelets in the blood from becoming too sticky.

For those not fond of the herb’s unique taste, most experts agree that there is no need for garlic to be eaten in its raw form to benefit from its wonderful properties. Indeed, cooked garlic or garlic extracts and oils can likewise provide good protection against free radical. The charity Diabetes UK is now funding research into the health benefits of the herb which, if proved to be effective, could revolutionise treatments for obesity and type 2 diabetes for future generations around the world.

Written by Alexa Downing

Visit the JDRF website: Diabetes

Small Changes Make Big Differences

2013-03-21T05:51:00.001-07:00

In the 16 years I've had type 1 diabetes, I can't honestly say that there's been a lot I can be proud of regarding it. Sometimes I feel like living with type 1 diabetes is kind of like watching the news; the information you're fed from it can be pretty negative. A few times a week my glucose meter shows me a blood sugar reading I don't like. When I was 12 years old I had to increase the amount of injections I was taking from three a day to four. Once I had a virus which caused ketoacidosis so I had to spend a night in hospital and, this time last year, I received a letter informing me that I had developed background retinopathy.

It's probably fair to say I was sad about it, because sometimes knowing that you've damaged yourself and caused your own pain is equally as upsetting as feeling like you don't deserve the circumstance you've found yourself in. I cried about it, blogged about it and eventually came to the realisation that things needed to change.

I started carb counting when I knew that I could, completely stopped skipping injections altogether and started testing my blood sugars more regularly. To begin with it felt like a battle and I just wanted to cook my potatoes without having to weigh them first and some days I wanted to leave the restaurant without having to give my insulin before I could get on the bus home, but I didn't. After a while the changes were no longer changes, they were the norm and the battle was no longer a battle, it was a healthy routine.

Three weeks ago I went for my first diabetic retinopathy screening and yesterday I came home to a letter. I opened it cautiously, as though something was going to jump out of the envelope, and took a deep breath before beginning to read the text. To my absolute delight, I discovered that my retinas appear completely normal and they have healed to a good standard! I flung my arms around my boyfriend, who has been so supportive with all aspects of my diabetes management, and cried tears of complete and utter joy.

In the 16 years I've had type 1 diabetes, I can't honestly say that there's been a lot I can be proud of regarding it, but this is one of the things where I can say that I am. Sometimes living with type 1 diabetes is like watching the news, but I suppose that only makes the good things seem even better!

In Memory of Todd Newton

2012-11-12T14:09:00.003-08:00

This post is to commemorate Todd Newton - a fellow diabetic, an unforgettable human being and a truly wonderful friend.

Living with diabetes every day of your life becomes the norm after a while. Amongst the routine of injections and blood testing, it's easy to forget that diabetes is a potentially dangerous disease. Insulin has to be respected and understood - it saves lives, but it also has the power to take them away.

Last year Todd did a guest blog post on 'Diabetic Dais' about his diabetic story. Last night, at the age of 22, Todd passed away as a result of his type 1 diabetes. Despite having a chronic illness, he lived his life to the full. I don't recall a single day when he wasn't full of energy and his undeniable enthusiasm for life was almost contagious. So many things will always remind me of Todd: the song 'RiverSide' by DJ Sidney Samson, apple sourz shots, lollipops and red wedged heels to name but a few. Our diabetes brought us together but, in the end, it was trust, appreciation and uncontrollable laughter which created our friendship. I will miss him, I will never forget him and I will always love him.

A quote Todd uses on the 'about me' section of his Facebook profile is: "If we could live without passion, maybe we'd know some kind of peace, but we would be hollow. Without passion, we'd truly be dead." I can honestly say that, with the amount of passion Todd had in his heart, he will always live on.

Rest in peace, Todd ♥

If you wish to leave a message for Todd or his family, please feel free to do so by commenting below.

#4: Learning From Mistakes

2012-09-04T16:22:00.001-07:00

Unfortunately some things have a way of repeating themselves. I was rudely awoken by Diabetes shoving 2.9 in my face, at 3am. Luckily I had learnt from yesterdays mistake and had taken some hypo treatment up to bed with me, so it wasn't too bad. What wasn't great, however, was realising that I was low enough that my mouth had gone completely numb so I'd managed to chomp away not only through my chocolate bar, but also through my tongue. Ouch.

Have felt pretty stressed today, for one reason or another. I feel like I'm struggling with my energy levels quite a bit - I'm tired pretty much from the moment I wake up, to the moment I go to bed. The irritating thing is that I can't really figure out why I feel so lethargic. My blood sugar levels aren't bad, I'm definitely getting 8 hours sleep and I'm eating pretty nutritious food too (if we don't include the chocolate bars for hypo treatments and my slight addiction to Diet Coke). A visit to the doctor probably will be the way forward if it doesn't improve soon.

My second day of training at work went well! I don't have much to report apart from the fact that I really enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to starting on a more full-time basis next week.

What is really cool is that my lovely friend asked me today if I knew any good, diabetes-friendly cake recipes because she wants to make one for her uncle who has type 2. So it will be nice to ask around a little and find out the sorts of ingredients to use. Anyone have any ideas?

Anyway I'm home, fed and ready for bed (I'm a poet and I didn't know it!) By the way, I've decided that I'm going to turn the Diabetic Dais Diaries into a blog in itself, 1. because I thought it'd be pretty cool and 2. because then I can use Diabetic Dais for all of my more specific posts. I'll let you know where to find it tomorrow :)

#3: Good Morning Diabetes!

2012-09-04T06:28:00.001-07:00

I can't even believe Blogger deleted my post yesterday! But I'm soldiering on, so here it is again :)

My morning yesterday didn't get off to a great start. I awoke at around 5.15 am, went to the bathroom, got back into bed and tried to go back to sleep. It couldn't have been any more than 2 minutes before I realised I was feeling a bit odd. I tested my blood and surprise, surprise - 3.4. I didn't have any hypo treatment in my bedside drawers (always a big mistake) which meant I ventured, reluctantly and weary eyed, downstairs to get some. I ate a chocolate 'Rocky' bar and went back to bed. By the way I'm aware that my choice of hypo treatments needs some serious reconsideration, but when I'm faced with a chocolate bar or dextrose tablets, I know which one I prefer. Definitely not the 'right' decision to make in terms of the welfare of my diabetes, but I know it's something I need to work on.

A few hours later I woke up feeling thirsty, agitated and like my head was about to explode. I pricked my fingertip and apprehensively watched my meter counting down, expecting the worst...13.4. This came as a surprise as, considering how rubbish I felt, I thought I would be much higher. I suppose this is a good sign because it might mean that my body's getting used to my blood sugars being within a more 'normal' range, so it recognises it more when they're slightly out.

I didn't get overly nervous about the first day of my new job, which was a good thing seeing as I didn't start until 5.45pm! I spent my first shift 'getting to know the ropes' a little. My boss showed me around the head office (I took extra notice of where the toilets, food and drink areas and first aid room were located!) and explained to me more about what my role will entail. I'm working as a Fundraising Representative for a global charity, so I was also given some more detailed information about the organisation which was really interesting. I met some of my new colleagues too and they were lovely, which is always a good thing!

When we went over the health and safety regulations and I was asked if there was anything I wanted the rest of the team to be made aware of in terms of my diabetes. I said I'd have a think about it and get back to them but I don't think there's much anyone else needs to know, mainly because I manage my diabetes myself. Maybe I'll just mention the 'just in case of a real emergency' stuff. Any advice?

Anyway considering the not-so-good start to the day, I ended it on a complete high (emotional, not diabetic!) Now, I'm just hoping that this post saves!

#2: Overestimating A Chocolate Brownie

2012-09-02T13:53:00.001-07:00

Today has been lovely! First of all, I'll let you all know that my cocktail from last night didn't seem to affect my blood sugars too much at all which was a nice surprise. I gave myself 2 units of NovoRapid to cover what I estimated to be about 20g worth of carb in the Raspberry juice and that seemed to be enough.

I got up this morning and, admittedly, missed breakfast because I was in a bit of a rush to get ready. It was ok though - I tested my blood sugar and I was 6.7, so just injected my Levemir as normal to (hopefully) keep it balanced! Ant and I went to meet my dad and my step-mum Jane in Oxford city centre, who had come to visit for the day.

We spent some time walking around 'The Ashmolean' which is a museum of Art and Archaeology. I didn't learn an awful lot by looking at the actual museum, because my favourite bit was going to the gift shop at the end, but it was so nice to spend time with my loved ones.

For lunch I had a delicious Sunday Roast, with pork, new potatoes, cabbage, carrots and pork crackling which was really tasty but a bit embarrassing to eat in a quiet restaurant, as every bite I took made it sound as though my teeth were cracking.

Now, for anyone who thinks a diabetic can't eat dessert, I'm about to set the record straight...I chose chocolate raspberry brownie, covered in white chocolate sauce (now that's a dessert and a half!) This doesn't make me a 'bad diabetic' by any stretch of the imagination 1. because I can cover the carbohydrate in it by taking my insulin and 2. I don't do it often either! Anyway, it was lovely!

After lunch I wandered off to the bathroom to take my insulin. I've discovered that this is a diabetic topic for discussion in itself, as in the past I've had other people with diabetes ask me 'why go to the bathroom to take your insulin!?' My answer for this is that I, personally, would rather not inject when other people are eating because it would put some people off their food and, also, I'd rather have a bit of privacy to inject into my thigh too! Each to their own.

I took 5 units of NovoRapid for the brownie, which was a complete guess because I didn't have any way of working out how much carb was in it exactly. Three hours later, when I was home and my hands were trembling and I was 3.3, I began to realise I'd probably over estimated the chocolate brownie. A problem arose when I realised that, although I was hypo, I just wasn't hungry at all. I was still stuffed from lunch so the last thing I wanted to do was eat. A glass of milk was the answer! In hindsight the raspberry juice, had we not used it all for our cocktails last night, would have worked just as well.

A light dinner; baked salmon (very salty because I had a habit of overestimating more than just the brownie today) and spinach, rocket and mozzarella salad. No carbohydrate, no insulin - wonderful!

Tomorrow I start my first day of training for my new job...eek! In these sorts of situations, you can usually guarantee that Diabetes will be affected by nerves/excitement so we'll see what my good old Glucometer has in store for me...

#1: Introduction to 'The Diabetic Dais Diaries'

2012-09-01T15:37:00.000-07:00

Introduction:

Today I am beginning 'The Diabetic Dais Diaries'! What this means is I am going to be writing here, every day letting you know the ins and outs of the time I spend with my good old friend, Diabetes.

In this 'diary' I plan to confess my blood sugars, carbs I've eaten and how much insulin I've taken, as well as how much exercise I've done, how I feel in terms of mood and physical wellness and lots of other non-diabetes related stuff too.

If I'm being completely honest, I'm a teeny-weeny, itsy-bitsy bit nervous about the prospect of this! It's obviously quite personal and I rarely share what my blood sugars are with anyone. I usually like to keep most of my diabetes management, on a daily basis, to myself, so this is a pretty big step!

I appreciate that many diabetics across the world will being thinking (or shouting at their computer screen) 'WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO DO THIS!? ARE YOU CRAZY!?" The answer to the first question is I'm hoping that other people with diabetes, and those without it, will find it interesting and will be able to relate to some of the stuff I talk about. The answer to the second question is 'yes, quite possibly.'

I plan to start small with this...I'm going to begin with writing 2 weeks worth of diary posts, but I'm hoping to stretch it out for the whole month and possibly even longer - we'll see how it goes! To be honest, I've never been particularly wonderful at writing a diary, or keeping a log-book of my blood sugars so combining the two together could be a recipe for disaster, but I'm determined it won't be!

Please leave comments, let me know what you think, get involved and if you fancy giving it a go too then tell me about it! Scary stuff, but we'll give it a shot (no diabetes-pun intended, honest!)...

It's Saturday so everything's happened a little later than it would on a week day, mainly because in Daisy language 'Saturday' translates to 'lie in'. This means waking up later, getting the day started later, eating later and therefore injecting my insulin later.

My day consisted of pet fish hunting (as in looking for a new pet fish to buy, not literally hunting down peoples' poor pet fish!) My boyfriend's and my first ever pet fish Dawn died on Wednesday morning which was very sad. Our other fish Leonard has been looking very lonely the past few days and, so he doesn't die of a broken heart, we decided we should go and find him a new friend to swim with.

I grabbed 30g worth of porridge before leaving the house, covered in probably a little too much artificial sweetener, and headed to catch the bus with Anthony. It took us a while to actually navigate ourselves towards the right bus stop for where we wanted to go (we moved to a new city a month ago, so we're still getting our bearings!) but we finally did it.

We spent (believe it or not) 2 and a half hours in the pet shop searching for the 'right' fish, strolling past the same fish tanks over and over again. I must admit that this was mainly my doing, but I didn't want to get the 'wrong' one, did I!? We finally found a little, cute baby Lionhead goldfish and bought her. We have named her Lola.

On the bus home, I tested my blood sugars because I felt really high. I was wrong - 3.9! This has happened a couple of times recently, where I've felt high and my blood sugars are actually quite low. It's worried me a little because I don't like it when my body's giving me the wrong signals. However it's just reinforced to me how important it is that I check my blood sugars instead of doing something drastic like just injecting a couple of units of insulin.

Anyway we stopped at Tesco and bought some doughnuts, so I ate one to raise my blood sugars until we could get home for lunch. I'm aware there are better hypo treatments, but I was 3.9...that's not hypo. They did the trick nevertheless!

I haven't done a great deal since getting home. Ant and I introduced Lola to her new home and to Leonard. They seem to like each other.

Diabetes has been pretty well behaved on the whole which is always nice! However Ant and I are about to make some lovely alcoholic cocktails which contain puréed raspberries, raspberry fruit juice and gin, so we'll see how well good old D is behaving after that little concoction! I'll be sure to let you know tomorrow.

Do you inject your own insulin?

2012-07-26T11:55:00.000-07:00

Whilst clearing out my room at my mum's home, I came across this...

At first I thought it was pretty funny and my mum and I had a laugh at it, especially considering it was hidden amongst more commonly found certificates, such as dancing awards and so forth. I couldn't actually believe they gave out certificates for being a 'fully qualified self injector of insulin'...it just seemed funny.

However when I saw the date I had been "awarded" with the certificate, I began to realise that it was something to be proud of. 6th August 1998 - I was 5 years old and had been a diagnosed type 1 diabetic for just over a year and a half. Whilst most children my age were learning to tie their own shoe laces, I was successfully giving myself life-saving injections on a daily basis - pretty impressive!

So if you've ever been given one of these certificates, or even if you haven't but you had to learn how to self-inject your insulin, don't play it down! You save your own life every day. As the certificate says...I offer you a "Hearty Congratulations. Very well done"!

Functioning Pancreas Envy

2012-07-05T08:58:00.000-07:00

Last night I asked my boyfriend Anthony if I could test his blood sugars immediately after he'd eaten a good 60g or so of sultanas. A little while ago I wrote a post about how I was having ridiculously high peaks after eating muesli for breakfast, because of the dried fruit in it, and so I gave it up. I wondered if a non-diabetic person's bg would peak too. Reluctantly, as no one particularly wants to have their finger needlessly stabbed with a needle, Ant let me test his blood.

Five minutes after he'd finished eating, his blood sugars were 15.8mmol. Considering the normal range for a non-diabetic is usually between 4 and 8, that's pretty high! After I'd forced an admission out of Anthony that the finger prick really doesn't hurt at all, we decided we'd test again an hour or so later. We did and...8.1 - now that's what you call a functioning pancreas!

Although I was obviously over the moon that he clearly wasn't a diabetic (I must admit, the 15.8 scared me a little!) I was a teeny weeny, itsy bitsy, bit jealous that my body doesn't work that way. Somedays I'd like someone to just give my pancreas a jump start or something, you know, a bit like a car battery. In the 15 years I've had diabetes I can't say I've ever been envious of a functioning pancreas, although I suppose it's not exactly a common, diagnosable disorder. Even after meals out with friends when I've had to wander off to the bathroom to inject and others haven't, it'd never really bothered me. As Audrey Niffenegger wrote, 'everything seems simple until you think about it.'

I asked Ant if he'd felt any different when he was high and he said no. We reckon it's probably because his bg probably didn't stay up there long enough for his body and mind to register it properly. I suppose bodies are kind of amazing, whether they're working 100% properly or not. It's amazing that Ant's body manages to keep a constant blood sugar balance, always releasing insulin from the pancreas and glucose from the liver. It's also sort of amazing how much control I have to try and maintain, simply because one part of my body doesn't work properly.

Alright, so I can't go and eat an entire pizza or sandwich or tub of ice cream without injecting insulin - darn, I can't even eat fruit without doing it! - but my body still does a lot of amazing things. Hey, I can touch my toes without bending my knees! Amazing, right?! :)