Insulinked Blogic

Diabetes Diabetes enough ! Lets talk about hair baby.

2019-04-16T08:31:00.001+02:00

I know I have not been a regular Blogger or anything. But I thought today that Diabetes actually sucks and it seems to effect you in many ways I don't even know about let alone other people.

After looking at YouTube and Pinterest I thought hell lets think about some thing totally different we think about the Big D as much as I want to these days so let me do something else.

I recently had my hair cut and even for these no hairdresser skilled hands I have noticed that I can do different styles so I am going to try challenge myself (even if just for my enjoyment) to make my hair into something different every day and post the pictures. I have also decided that just like Diabetes I am going to post both the good and bad day style cause really you can't tell me that any one has perfect hair every day.

If there is any one out there who wants to join in the different hairstyle every day challenge feel free to join me to make it easier I will post the picture daily on my Facebook page as well as update the blog.

Just for the love of all things I am not going to talk about any thing DIABETES. Hair , Hair products, ways to make my hair look better , Like my hair , hate my hair but for now please don't say that your hair has been falling out since your diagnosis.

Love everyone that bothers to read this blog when I get around to writing it.

Stay healthy

Kim

Covering the ears, clipped on one side (cause a girl can't work seriously with a crazy piece of hair in her face.) You will notice also my favorite gloss.

I tried to make the side swoosh bigger and I tucked the hair behind my ears.Going for a meeting at my sons school in the centre of Boksburg so this will fit right in.

World Diabetes Day - 14 November

2018-11-14T11:36:00.000+02:00

A quick history lesson - World Diabetes Day is celebrated on the 14 November which is the birthday of Frederick Banting, whose work with Charles Best led to the discovery of insulin in 1921.The day was created in 2006 to support a campaign for a United Nations Resolution of Diabetes as a response to the growing global diabetes pandemic.

Well I have made it through another year to see in World Diabetes Day. I know I have not posted any blog posts for ages but I am alright and living, surviving , fighting and putting my worrior pose on everyday, I hope all Diabetics are achieving and celebrating all victories how ever small they may be.

It came to my attention lately that some of my family members, friends or acquantinces don't really know what Type 1 diabetes is. There is so many blurred ideas and confusion between Type 1 , Type 2 , Type 1.5 ect. I was thinking does my cousin or in law even clearly know what Type 1 Diabetes is. They might know I am Diabetic but I don't go around offering any information about my disease regularly, I just carry on like I am as normal as possible. This little picture might clear a few things up in a brief way.

I was diagnosed at 10 years old and it is an Auto Immune Disease meaning the body attacked part of my pancreas so it does not produce insulin anymore like normal humans do. It was not caused by eating too much of anything or bad lifestyle choices or being over weight. It has no cure and injecting insulin is the only way to stay alive.

This world Diabetes day I want to thank my Family. You should know who you are. My husband is my number 1 Diabetes Supporter as well as my children for being the biggest motivation to keep on trying and keep on doing the best I can. Thank you to all you special people.

Lets try be stronger this World Diabetes Day , lets start by celebrating the small things you do right. I will never forget reading somewhere that a fellow Diabetic found victory in being able to throw the remains of a dounut out the car window when her child had had enough of it and even though it smelt so divine she managed to man up and kept her Sugars stable. Lets try and find inspiration from ourselves by giving us a pat on the back for all the small things next thing we know this continual self encouragement might lead to a bigger victory Umm maybe a better A1C result.

This is the year I will be stronger, braver , kinder and unstoppable. This year I will be fierce.

Glucose Meter- Fora Diamond Mini Review

2017-03-31T11:34:00.002+02:00

Before I get down to the nitty gritty of a review I would just like to say that it feels like I have a new "car". My previous "car" don't get me wrong was a very trusted and reliable brand but it did not go very fast and it required far more petrol than this new "car."

The Fora Diamond Mini Review

Appearance

The Fora mini is mini,slick and quite funky looking. It comes in the not so funky generic black meter case which has been branded by Discovery Health. Granted the material does look like it will last a bit longer than the last one. The elastic that holds this all in place is a bit tight and annoying especially around the lancet device and the test strips but it does hold it in place.

Testing

My fingers are thanking me ever so much , there is no more squeezing to get a large enough drop of blood as the drop that is needed is tiny. I have tried to get an error during testing, I tried 1/2 a drop, a very big drop and there was never any error.

I takes an outstanding 4 seconds to get your reading. When the reading shows there is a smiley or sad emoji next to it, I think that this should be something that you can opt to have showing or disable it. I rather like it but there are sometimes you think oh I don't want a Sad face so I wont test silly I know but the mind is a strange thing.(My Son challenged me to get all the days reading with a smiley face) It might be a nice idea for Kids, but as I said if it reduces testing in any way rather leave it off.

The information shown on the meter is easily readable and I like the back light for those crazy 2 am readings. The lancet devise was surprisingly nice (or was it now that I had a new lancet inserted?) It also has an attachment for Alternative testing sites such as your palm or arm. I did read on their site that there are many reasons /occasions when they don't recommend using an alternative site so I am not so keen to try. I have since reverted back to my other lancet devise only because of the cases elastic issue and my other pricker is smaller.

The blood test using the same blood was slightly higher than the reading on my previous devise but after looking in to it I believe it is probably more accurate due to it being newer technology. (I think the best way to test this is to go to a Lab get them to test and you test and then you can compare the accuracy if I get this done I will update the post)

The Bluetooth/App and Charging

First I like not having a battery, the charging time is very short and it keeps it's charge for literally forever.

The App and Bluetooth - - Although there is both an Android and an IOS App, I could never get the Android App to work. The App works well on Apple devices though , I use my Ipad. When Searching for the App on the App Store make sure to select the search option for Iphone as well as I could not find it when it was searching only for Ipad. The App has graphs, diaries and % accomplished pie charts. It could have looked a lot prettier but it is functional.

The pairing up via bluetooth with the meter and the App is effortless and works well.

It does not let me export the information or save to the cloud. I did request them to contact me on their website about this but no reply has been received yet.

Overall - Keep the meter - It is fast, accurate and easy to read the screen.
Only keep the lancet devise if you can make yourself a new meter case (any avid sewers out there or when is something like Myabetic coming to SA). The App is nice but I am not too inspired to look at it daily maybe once a week. Would be far nicer if I could figure out the exporting of the Data.

Sidebar - When I got this meter Dr X told me I had to run my readings slightly higher to reduce the hypo unawareness. - Then he gave me a meter that red every test higher (go figure)

PS - The usual spiel - I got no financial reward or any other reward from writing this review.

Carb Counting and how to get started.

2017-02-20T14:46:00.001+02:00

Carb Counting

First things first remember that the formula for this again is not going to be magic and work immediately you are going to have to put in a lot of work to figure this all out but once you do figure this out you will have far better flexibility in your diet and far better Blood Glucose control.

What you need (Ingredients for success)

You need to first of all down load a carb counting app. I have tried a few and have found that MYFITNESSPAL is one of the better apps for Carb counting Android APP link APPLE APP LINK Here you can add a recipe, as well as add your food (there is plenty of South African brands)
A scale I have a small electronic one but you can get a simple Weight Less type one as well. Don't worry I don't carry this around in my handbag on occasions that you have not weighted your food you get better at making an educated guess. It even has a name SWAG (Scientific Wild Ass Guess) counting. Use your weighting tools at home so that you will get better at SWAG counting.
Plenty of Blood Glucose Test Strips (You are going to need a lot to start.)
A calculator or a calculator APP ( it does not need to be fancy)
Hand cream for the lancet attacked fingers. Hint Try and rotate your fingers used. This is my method I am left handed so Right is odd and Left is even (that helps me remember) On Monday you will look at the date if it is an Odd number I will be use my Right hand each day go through each finger and on Saturday and Sunday use you 2 favorite fingers. If Even I use the Left Hand.

Formula Time

Once you have all of the above you now need to work out your Insulin Carb Ratio there are 2 steps

The usual calculation for insulin you require is your weight (KG) x 0.55 = total daily insulin.

E.G 70 kg x 0.55 = 40 units (Short and long acting insulin)

You can use this formula to check or add up what you are currently taking as your total daily insulin dose.

2. The next part I used a formula that is most often given out. Personally if it works first time for you , you are very lucky. It is called the 500 Rule - They are assuming that the amount of carbs you eat plus the amount of glycogen your liver secretes is equal to 500g not always the case but this is where you start.

Add up all the insulin you take each day (or use the formula in step one to calculate this) (include both the short acting as well as the long acting insulin) Insulin before breakfast, lunch and Supper as well as your Long acting insulin at bedtime. EG 40 units total
Do the sum 500 / 40 = 12.50 ( Round it off to 13)
This means that for every 13g of carbohydrate you are going to need 1 unit of insulin.

This is what you will start with. Write this down so you don't forget this number.

The next step is very important . You need to work out your insulin correction factor.
A formula again 100/TDI (40 units) = 2.5
so in our on going example 100/40 = 2.5 this means that 1 unit of insulin lowers your blood sugar by between 2 and 3. So if your blood sugar is 7.5 and you want it to be 5.5. (7.5-5.5 =2 therefore you need to take 1 unit of insulin to reduce your blood sugar by 2 mmol/l. NB This is used if your BS is high or low if it is low -(minus) the dose if it is high +(Plus) to the dose

To summarize you now know that for every x grams of carbohydrate you eat you need 1 unit of insulin. You also know that if your blood sugar is not in a good range you need to take 1 unit of insulin to lower your blood glucose by X mmol/l.

(Word of warning this is where you start the process that comes next is to get it right. You need to make this testing phase your priority in the next week)

When you are ready you will need to use your MYFITNESSPAL app and your scale.Often you will be able to find the carb count per serving on the packaging you can use that but putting the info into the app first of all adds it up for you and you can copy previous meals to todays diary. Often you will eat the same thing for breakfast and you will soon know what insulin to take for this meal. Maybe you want to get a notepad to jot important information down. The beginning is tough but it gets easier and the rewards are great.

I am ready to count and experiment.

If you want to have a bowl of Bran Flakes you need to search for this on MYFITNESSPAL you can change the serving size and everything once you have found what you are looking for.

40g ALL Bran Flakes - 26g Carbs
0.5 Cup of 2 % Milk - 6g Carb

Total Carbs - for breakfast all added up is 33g

Now Mr Example guy thinks his Insulin Carb Ratio is 13g so he will do the sum 33/13 = 2.5 so he will inject 3 units of insulin.

You might be like me and see this and say hell no then drop or up the ratio straight away (say down 4 )in Mr Example guy's case he will then do 33/9 = 3.6 and take 4units

Before I did this I had been eating bran flakes for Breakfast as a diabetic for 30 years so I must have certainly known roughly what to inject.

I would certainly do the formula above but your first calculation try and stick to something you eat often and sort of know what dose works for it then you can say I usally inject 4 units for those all bran flakes so 33/8 = 4.125 so the new factor to try is 8.

You have now worked out the insulin to cover the carbs you are eating, now you need to test your BS if in range you will inject the amount you worked out above Mr Example Guy will inject 4 units.If he tests and his BS is 7.5 and he wants it to be 5.5. 7.5-5.5 = 2 x0.5= 1unit this will be added to the 4 units so he will take 5 units. If it is 3.5 and he wants it to be 5.5 (3.5-5.5=2x0.5 = -1 unit - reduce your insulin by 1 unit.

TOTAL CALCULATION

CARBS /insulin carb ratio = units insulin to cover carbs (33/9=4)
BS reading - required BS = BS variance x 1/mmmol/l 1 unit insulin reduces by (7.5-5.5 x 1/2(0.5)=1)
Carb calculation = 4 + correction dose 1 (if high) - correction dose (if low)= 5 units

Now you will have to test 2 hours after each meal to check if the ratio is correct if you are high you will have to lower the ratio so If Mr Example tests 2 hours later and it is high next time he should try lowering the ratio so if the 9 factor did not work he would next time use 8.
33/8=4 that works out the same so make it 7 33/7=5. If you are low you need to increase the ratio 33/10 = 3 try 10.

Eventually you will get it correct.

To complicate matters even more you might have different ratios for different times of the day. You will find that there is sometimes a certain time in the day when your hormones and your liver decide to dump a load of glycogen for a lot of people it is in the morning (see articles on the dawn phenomenon) so the ratio will need to be lower in the morning than at lunch time and night time. Remember also that exercise can change this and if you are going to exercise you need to reduce your insulin or eat more carbs (that you don't inject for.)

These sheets might help you:

My Formulas

3 Day Glucose Log Sheet

Remember these 12 points.

1. Starting is the hardest part.

It's getting past that initial 'I can't do it,The first days and weeks are the hardest. Anyone can change.

2. Know what you're counting.

Count total carbohydrate grams not only the sugars.

3. Your meter is your best friend.

"The only way you can really know what your blood sugar is doing is if you have a reading. Checking before a meal and about two hours after the first bite shows you how what you eat affects your blood glucose.

4. Try an app.

Use an app like MyFitnessPal for carb counting and reviewing data in chart form. "It is probably the most valuable free thing that any person with diabetes can possess.

5. Read the nutrition information.

"Look at labels to check out the carbs, the calories, and the fiber content," says Walker. Other nutrition facts you might want to consider: total and saturated fat grams and sodium.

6. Some things are out of your control.

You can eat the same meal at two different times, and your blood sugar might be different each time.

7. Plan ahead.

"When we go out to eat at a regular restaurant, you kind of have an idea of what you are going to order,You can then use the app to determine carb amounts

8. To fine-tune mealtime insulin, check after you eat.

Finishing a meal isn't when dealing with a meal ends," Checking before you eat and two hours after the first bite of food can tell you how well you "matched" your insulin dose to the meal, so you can adjust in the future as needed.

9. Go easy on yourself.

Don't punish yourself if your sugars aren't perfect

10. Your carb needs may change.

Additional exercise or the desire to lose weight may require a change in your eating plan. "Your diabetes changes over time, so you have to continually change your diet

11. Learn from your mistakes.

Don't waste time beating yourself up over mistakes "The more time you spend tearing yourself down, the less time you spend learning from it."

12. You'll get the hang of it.

"If you do it long enough, it becomes habit,It's like breathing. It becomes second nature.

Happy CarbCounting

Kim

Oooops

2017-02-10T12:49:00.000+02:00

Hi

Any one who received my last post via E-mail would not have seen the embedded table that was on the website with the Exercise formulas on it.

Please click on this link if you would like to view this.

The whole post

That is a pain in the butt.

Kim

You learn something new in dealing with Diabetes every day.

2017-02-10T10:01:00.000+02:00

Part 1

Here are a few things I have learnt while I have been away from this blog:

Exercise is good for a Diabetic or anyone really we could spend so much time doing close to nothing physical every day.

Exercising is not always easy for a Diabetic , a Non Diabetic can just decide I am going to exercise , get into exercise gear and go work out. Us as Diabetics need to calculate, plan, calculate again and still sometimes we do not get it right.Here are some scenarios : Decide it is time to do a workout , get dressed into top selling workout gear , find any other equipment you might need (this all seems very regular) time now to test your blood sugar before the workout that you are now fully prepared to take. Here then can come your first curve ball Scenario # 1 too high over 13.9 /250 and they recommend NOT to exercise due to the possibility you might have ketones and then are at risk of Ketoacidosis. Workout on hold. Scenario # 2 Under 5.6/100 and they recommend you need to now go and eat a fast acting 15g carb snack (But I am trying to loose weight here ???) Another step to take before you can start that workout. That is just a few immediate hiccups.

I love a good formula but be careful this is just a guideline, no two Diabetics are the same so the formula does not always apply and a lot of tweaking needs to be done to get YOUR formula. These are 2 exercised related formulas I love and am now in the process of tweaking.

The first one is perhaps your better option it is always better to reduce the insulin rather than to feed the insulin. I have this printed out and stuck to the the cover of my iPad along with my carb ratio for the different meals of the day.

I have also found that it helps a lot to log your readings and other Diabetes related information, but to find a good App is next to impossible that was of course until recently. In the US they have just bought out a product called One Drop this is a subscription service for a meter and unlimited test strips. How does this help me in South Africa? They have also bought out an App that is so amazingly cute and functional all in one. There was some issues with Android (I believe the dev. team is working on it.)but I loved it so much that I now carry my iPad around for logging stuff . So do yourself a favor and load the One Drop App this valentines day you can set your goals and it even has some nice hearts that show your progress. I have a bit of a fear of failure issue but as my dear husband pointed out to me this app can easily be a case of "Bull S**t In Bull S**t out" so in other words log every reading good or bad this can help in so many ways - You see a trend of highs and you start analyzing am I stressed , could I be getting sick, am I eating badly. Someone said recently that there are studies that show people that log their readings even if they aren't really doing anything with the info they subconsciously start making some form of change to achieve better readings.

There is tons more I have learnt recently so I will make this a 2 part post so don't forget to stay linked.

In closing it will soon be Valentines day and I want to share a link to a Diabetes Daily article called 5 great Valentines Day Gifts for people with Diabetes. I really like the 4th idea. This costs no money but would be a great and supporting way of showing your love for your PWD.

5 Great Valentines Day Gifts for people with Diabetes.

Have a Love filled February.

Kim

The Fit with Diabetes Challenge

2016-09-19T08:51:00.000+02:00

The Fit with Diabetes challenge

I am learning so much I wish I knew years ago on the Fit With Diabetes challenge. Sorry about no blog posts at present. But please go check out http://thefitblog.com/ you will learn so much I can guarantee it. It is worth so much more to your health and management than my stories, so if you go check it out and better still start it my goal has been achieved.

Helps that this fit and fantastic looking lady is a Type 1 Diabetic as well.

You can do the challenge in your own time just start at Day Number 1 and go from there. Hell I would even recommend this to non diabetics that want to get into shape. #Justkeepmoving

Happy Birthday to me, I made it through another year.

2016-07-14T09:06:00.000+02:00

I am sure you have noticed a lack of posts, I think in my past life I was a bear that went into hibernation during the winter period but I did managed to poked my head out from under the duvet today considering it is a very special day.

I can't remember when the exact date of my Diaiversary is,(Shh sometimes I also don't remember my Anniversary.) but I do remember that I was 10 years old.So on my Birthday I also celebrate living another year with Diabetes.

I have been a Diabetic for 32 years Wow. Still relatively healthy apart from the frozen shoulder which from my internet research would just magically disappear in 2 years time, unfortunately I was talking to my Uncle about a month ago and he said he had, had a frozen shoulder for over 5 years now but that is another story which I don't want to think about today.

I am healthy and I thank God for that plus as my Doctor always says you have some good genes and I always think , hell these genes are what gave me the Diabetes but the rest are good ones.(Levi's or something.)

I would like all my readers today to remember that you are in control of whatever life throws at you. This can apply to a variety of situations but lets take the Diabetes , you have many options when being diagnosed -

You can deny it and act like you don't have a life threatening disease.
You can blame every one else , My Doctor is no good , my medical aid is no good , my Spouse is no good.
It is too expensive to follow a healthy diet. (One of the best things to lower the GI of a meal is Baked Beans please)

You can probably come up with more of these reactions but the only one that you need to set in your mind is this.

I am in control of this disease,I make my own life choices, I need to educate myself about this disease, I need to know and acknowledge when I make the wrong choices and try and correct these as soon as possible, I want to live a healthy long life

Having said that, today I am going out to dinner with my wonderful husband to "Piccolo Mondo Week"the only time us plebs can eat in style at Sandton's Michaelangelo hotel at a reasonable price. Looking at the menu for tonight I will probably make the wrong choices but I will correct them as soon as possible, you don't turn 42 more than once.

It is very funny that Google had their Birthday Doodle for me of cakes and sweets.(Here it is.)

Here's to healthy living.

Stay Linked

Kim

Eyes, Feet, Diet, HBA1C

2016-05-19T12:57:00.000+02:00

I am alive!

So I have had another session of doing all the requirements for being a Diabetic on the managed health care programme the CDE.

I have been to the Dietitian, the podiatrist, the ophthalmologist and had the vampires test my blood.

What have I learnt from all these visits?

My employer always jokes that I am worse than my kids when it comes to Doctors appointments but luckily I am the one with the chronic disease and not them. Although he says this there is never any problem with me going so a big thumbs up to awesome employers.

The Dietitian had nothing new to say except that Sweeto is sugar free and helps make water taste better as I need to drink liters more than I do now. Coffee is made with water isn’t it?

The podiatrist poked my feet spoke about unrelated things was happy I had hair on my toes and told me to dry between my toes after washing.

. The ophthalmologist told me my eyes where fine granted I am as blind as a bat without glasses and earned my respect by testing my blood sugar before testing my eyes which is the first time ever someone has done that.

The HBA1C was good again. Dedicated blood drawers at the labs are far better and painless than a doctor drawing your blood.

All results from these experts where good. So in summary what I learnt was I have good employers ,I must drink more water and less coffee, I must make sure I keep the hairs on my toes, I am not going blinder and I should keep up the good work.

I also learnt that there are some people with far greater problems Diabetes wise and sadly they have a lack of willingness to do anything about it.

All the tests and examinations hopefully will catch anything bad happening before it gets worse.

Thanks to the professionals that-

Look at stinky feet all day long

That gaze into a strangers eyes day in and day out

That try endlessly to change lifelong bad eating habits

That do something as accurate and dangerous as drawing a vile of blood.

Here goes to another 32 years of living life with Diabetes.

Stay Linked

Kim

Putting your Diabetes first.

2016-04-15T13:15:00.000+02:00

Towards the end of this year I would have been a Mother for 13 years it sounds incredibly long but also feels short at the same time.

(I will write a post one of these days about my experience of being a Pregnant Diabetic not once but twice so keep a look out if you are at all interested.)

I am blessed with 2 healthy boys of 12 and 9 years old. I am so grateful that God allowed us to have the responsibility of caring for and loving these 2 young boys. They have both enriched my life in so many ways, each with their totally different personalities and all though their looks are pretty much the same they are so very different in their characters and personalities.

Lately I feel like I am going from one check up to the next, First the PT for my shoulder, then the annual Doctors Check to talk about the blood test results, then the Eye Doctor to check the eyes , then the Dietitian and then later it will be the podiatrist. I was complaining about it as I always seem to be asking for time off from work to go to yet another medical appointment.

But the thing is I need to do all of these things and manage my Diabetes and take the insulin and check the blood sugars (Often). God entrusted us with not one but 2 children. But what kind of a good job am I doing at achieving all of these lifes responsibilities if I don't manage my Diabetes correctly.

I might say like so many other Moms that I want to put my children first but after awhile as a Diabetic you need to alter you mind set and say that part of putting my children first is putting my Diabetes first.

If I don't I might not live to see my boys graduate from university. I might not see them married or having kids of their own. That might be a bit harsh but if I do live to see future awesome things with my boys I want to be able to experience these moments not in pain or being any kind of unfit,unhappy complicated Diabetic.

My oldest son said to me the other day.(Referring to my Shoulder) Mom you can't go on holiday so I looked at him a bit confused and said why not? So he turned to me and said you won't be able to sit like this and he raised his arms and clasped them behind his head and smiled at me.

Something like this.

He was joking with me but I want to be able to once again go on holiday with my Family and say lets relax and do that exact pose.Amazing what little things can motivate you.

Thank you Matthew and Jared for understanding and accepting that by putting my Diabetes first I am in a way putting you first.

Love to every parent out there.

Stay linked

Kim

April Fools Day Diabetes funnies

2016-04-01T09:13:00.000+02:00

Just a few funnies for Friday since it is April Fools day.

Hope you enjoy.

So what do Ibuprofen,caffiene,and restless dogs all have in common?

2016-03-25T01:49:00.000+02:00

I have never been one to suffer from insomnia quite the opposite actually. I was always quite proud of my sleeping abilities. I sleep very soundly. I used to laugh at people who said that caffeine kept them up until all hours of the night, what I can drink coffee all night and still sleep soundly and no I don't drink that stuff they call decaffeinated who ever invented that stuff. That was all what I used to say mind you. Until tonight, I went to bed as usual with my coffee nightcap and I took a 400mg Ibuprofen downed down with the coffee of course. My trusty Lab,Bitsum(our special name for our x everything breed dog) and Border Collie all joined me as well as my snoring husband.So I lay there 5 minutes to fall asleep was all it usually took anything over that and something was wrong. That bloody bird outside was calling no actually screeching to be precise. Mr P says it is a nocturnal bird the only birds I know that are nocturnal are owls and it was not hooting or nightingales and according to stories I have read they sing beautifully. At about 11pm the nocturnal bird shut up , died or went to sleep. Okay it was the dogs faulty they where doing laps and what sounded like somersaults on hardwood floors. They where fast asleep at 11:05. Now it was the husbands faulty why wasn't he snoring as usual. " Hay Mr P are you all right." "Um yes " okay now he was snoring. So to cut a long night or story short I had now run out of things to blame and I had to start blaming myself so I am blaming my shoulder,and the combination of Ibuprofen and caffeine on my lack of sleep. So that is it people and I am posting this at 1:35 am. So if you can answer the title question good for you as I can't and I am to tired to even try so good night or good morning.Luckily it is a public holiday today so no work . Happy Easter everyone. All editing will be done post posting so apologies for any errors.
(∩＿∩) ╰_╯ Cross eyed , and yawning oh crap best I take a blood sugar reading Good night all.

My Frozen Shoulder story (Adhesive Capsulitis)

2016-03-09T12:03:00.001+02:00

I am sure you will remember that I was complaining of a sore shoulder and I have said in my last post that I have got one of my first Diabetes related Complications.

Here is my shoulder saga.

Last year I complained of a really (insert curse word ????) sore shoulder. So at the beginning of this year I went to the GP not the usual one I see but someone else in the practice that Mr P had seen before and he said he liked him. He checked my range of motion and said I had a rotator cuff tear. (Even showed me a shoulder model to explain it.) I had to have a cortisone injection and if it did not improve I had to see a Shoulder Specialist as I then definitely had a tear. Good but he forgot that I sometimes refer to myself as a part time google researcher. After he injected cortisone which had no effect I did a bit of research. I came across other Diabetics with Frozen Shoulders I even chatted with one on Reddit.

I did a quick check list.

Affects more women than men - þ
Injecting a shoulder with an anesthetic (done to me when the cortisone was injected) in a person with Frozen Shoulder this will not improve mobility, whereas in people with other shoulder conditions it will. þ

Can have a link to Diabetes - þ
People over the age of 40 -þ
There are more symptoms that I checked but I can't remember them all now but one was that it is painful when moved by yourself as well as movement assisted by another person. þ þ þ
Tick Tick Tick Tick Tick I was nearly convinced I had a Frozen Shoulder.

I had to see the GP again because that is what he told me to do. So I did.Here was basically how our conversation went:
Me : "Are you sure I don't have a Frozen Shoulder."
Doc : "No this is definitely not a Frozen Shoulder."
Me : "But the cortisone and anesthetic injection did not help?"
Doc: "Oh well then it must be torn." Got shown the shoulder model again.
Me: Will Physio Therapy help?
Doc : Only if you want to waste your money.
Me: I wanted to see the best shoulder specialist (this was confirmed by many people who had fallen off speeding bikes) I want to see this guy - Dr B.
Doc: I don't know him but here is a note you can make your own appointment.

The waiting list for the best was also one of the best I had seen but I waited. You didn't even have an option to talk to him before X Rays where done. I had to have X- Rays in hand when I arrived at his rooms. Now the thing with a Frozen shoulder is that your X-rays look wonderful nothing wrong perfect joints. That was me and now this is my final diagnosis. R1,025.00 for the Doctors 10 minute appointment alone and we are back at what a non - medically trained patient had thought and yes you guessed it months and months of Physio hopefully not to waste my money.

This is a couple of comparison pictures to show what I am experiencing: (Please note that is not me, I like to believe my bingo wings aren't quite that bad yet.)

The ABC are with the buggered up arm, DEF are the other arm.C is the worse one for me oh the pain. As you can see this will restrict a lot of things like Putting on a bra,zipping up a zip on the side of your clothes,Shaving underarm,scratching your back,throwing a ball for the furbabies,catching a ball. I am sure you can think of a ton more.

I have exercises I must do 3 times a day. These hurt but I am hoping we are cutting months or even years off the fixing of the shoulder. Frozen shoulder usually fixes itself after +/- 2 years but you might not regain full motion. You are basically doing stretches. It seems to be a bit of a hit and miss situation as experts do not know for sure what causes frozen shoulder, but they think that the joint becomes inflamed and scar tissue forms as this forms the tissues inside the joint shrink and harden make the shoulder harder to move.

The recovery is a slow process as this is a chronic condition.

Because of 20 to 30 % of Diabetics getting this condition it has gained a bad rap, with it being said that it is due to bad sugar control. Umm think of it, they don't know what causes this condition but if you are a Diabetic it is due to bad sugar control. I have even seen notes of people saying that it is because sugar has collected in the joint and now you have to break away the sugar. Yes maybe bad sugar control increases the chances of you getting it. Yes most definitely (as with most ailments) if you have it and your sugar is out of control it will take longer to fix it.

I will admit I was very worried with my diagnosis. Maybe all I had been told about my good control was untrue and here was the proof. Maybe this was just the start of worse to come, Maybe I was on a slippery slope downward and I could not stop myself. (It is not really easy to stop yourself slipping down that hill with a bloody Frozen Shoulder), I could carry on and on worrying about what Diabetic thing was to happen next but is this going to help. I could be just as unfortunate and die like Mike Edwards from the band Electric Light Orchestra when a large bale of hay rolled down a hill and collided with the van he was driving. Anything could happen.I like to relate it to this "No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow your progress, you are still way ahead of someone who is not trying." I can certainly say that I must be better than some Diabetics who don't try at all.

Yes even though I have HBA1C's of 5.7 , I still want to get a CGM ( a continuous blood glucose monitor.) So I can be sure and be more confident in my results. And who knows maybe this will lead to a pump too. (Don't forget us Diabetics don't like change.)

Oh and don't be caught like me remember this - People with Frozen Shoulder very rarely need imaging tests such as X Rays, MRI's or Ultrasounds.

Sorry Discovery Health Insurance I think this medical condition is going to cause you some increase in expenses this year. No really don't worry I pay you over R8,000.00 per month and I will still have to worry about a self payment gap this year but that is a whole other conversation.

Keep health and keep Linked

Kim

What doctors forgot to tell us about Diabetes complications.

2016-03-02T13:28:00.001+02:00

When I was diagnosed with Diabetes we where told that if you did not control your blood sugars you could get Diabetes related complications these where:

You could go blind - (Retinopathy)
You could loose feeling in hands and feet etc. - (Neuropathy)
Your kidneys could pack in - (Kidney damage leading to dialysis)

Nobody said but wait if you really want to know what you are in for here is a more extensive list, no siree, that was it Eyes,nerves and kidneys.

Now if you do a basic Diabetes complications search on the internet you get this list:

Eyes
Kidneys
Nerves
Heart and blood vessels
gums
feet

Don't be fooled people! Although these might be the worse things, the list of Diabetes related complications is very much longer.

On my 30 year Diaversary I gave myself a slap on the back and said "Well done mate,you're not blind,you're not on Dialysis and you still have all circulation and feeling. But.......

I was diagnosed with my first Diabetes related complication a few weeks ago. Here is a list of some Diabetes related complications that a lot of us didn't even know existed but when you research any of these you always see the key point - Diabetics fall with in XYZ% of developing this condition.

Gastroparesis - It's believed that the vagus nerve, which controls the movement of food through the digestive tract, becomes damaged and causes food to be digested slowly or not at all. A common cause of damage to the vagus nerve is Diabetes.

Digital Sclerosis (Diabetic Thick skin) - We all have Diabetic Thick skin but that does not necessarily affecting our skin. I took the best pic of this condition. Do yourself a favor and don't search pics of this on the internet.

Vitiligo - Loss of skin pigmentation, it is also an auto immune disease and 7 % of type 1 Diabetics will develop this condition.

Hypoglycemia Unawareness - all though this can be reversed it is still a complication.

Limited Joint Mobility - This includes a number of problems. Trigger Finger Syndrome - This condition affects 2 to 3 % of the population but 10 to 20 % of those with Diabetes.

Frozen Shoulder - (Adhesive capsulitus) a painful and disabling disorder of unclear cause in which the shoulder capsule , the connective tissue surrounding the glenohumeral joint of the shoulder, becomes inflamed and stiff, greatly restricting movement and causing chronic pain. Frozen shoulder affects 10-20 % of people with Diabetes , women are more likely to get it than men and it more frequently occurs in people aged between 40-60 years.

These are but a few of the scary things that could happen due to you just being Diabetic and your sugars can be controlled and you still might get one of these. Statements like "affects 10-20 % of people with Diabetes."Would that not mean that this should be listed on some Diabetes Complications list somewhere.

I wish I had a book that was titled "All the diseases/Syndromes and ailments that could be connected to having Diabetes" What an encyclopaedia that would be. It might be so big you could literally kill someone with it.

Stay linked as in next weeks post I will reveal which one of these strange but true Diabetes health problems I have been cursed with and my start on the road to recovery.

In the mean while post some comments if you have had experience with any of these or any other strange Diabetes related problems. I would love to hear from you.

So what did Doctors forget to tell us? Simply that there are another ton of conditions that you can get that are some how related to us having Diabetes.

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Kim

5 Diabetes related problems that could be buggering up your love life & relationships.

2016-02-09T12:41:00.000+02:00

This weekend it is going to be Valentines Day. So I was racking my brain on what kind of post I could do related to this occasion. Everyone is posting stories about the ones they love that help them with their Diabetes and I have mentioned this before Here and Also here and I hope that Mr P. knows by now how very lucky I am to have him by my side not only for Diabetic related things.

So it came to me to post the opposite.(hay???) 5 Diabetic reasons that could be ruining our relationships. I don't have neuropathy but a lot of these points can be brought on by poor control which can lead to Neuropathy.

Lets get too it shall we, in no particular order.

1. Your Sex life

Neuropathy can damage tissue in a man's penis that makes it hard to achieve or keep an erection.Women can get Vaginitis this word covers problems with different causes but it all boils down to painful intercourse. Neuropathy (there is that bloody word again) can lead to woman not having any feeling in their clitoris. So guys and gals this I am sure can be very stressful on any relationship basically sex can't happen or it isn't fun anymore. Furthermore it does not effect your hormones so your brain is saying I still want to get it on but it isn't like it used to be, very difficult for your healthy partner to understand. So here is a word of warning if you want to still enjoy SEX you need to CONTROL your BLOOD SUGARS. That is quite a big carrot at the end of that stick I would say.

2. The Energy meter

Not only can your energy levels be effected by poor BS levels,but it is sometimes so exhausting being a Diabetic. Testing, calculating, injecting, remembering (did I inject already?). Now take this scenario - you are having one of those roller coaster Blood sugar days(this also means more calculating,more testing,more swearing (energy meter already dropping), you have gone to do grocery shopping so you can make healthy lunches next week (energy meter drops some more), you have helped your children with their homework (another few dips in the energy meter.) We are now on the verge of sleep walking and your partner asks you if you want to go walk the dogs at the dam and have a picnic. Some nice relationship and family bonding time but some days you just can't a minus on the energy meter as well as on the relationship meter.

3.Moods

This might be closely related to the energy but I have put it in a class of it's own. Also can be a by product of bad control - We don't feel so well so we get cranky and have breakdowns and a bad temper. (Not conducive to a good relationship).

4. Routines

We should be keeping things pretty much regular when it comes to eating. This I think can be a big thing especially in a new relationship- Sleeping in and not getting up until about 10 on a weekend (Oops what happened to breakfast and that all important first injection, next you are going out with your mates that believe that night life only starts at 9 the earliest (Oops on the diner as well). Us Diabetics can't be so carefree and the sooner your partner understands that the better. Yes we are bound by certain routines but it does not mean you can't mix it up a bit. Who said you can't set an alarm get up and make breakfast to be had in bed. You can still eat supper with mates at 10pm but you need to think out the box with your blood control methods. You can party until 3am but just don't forget to inject your night time insulin at the usual time. The biggest thing I would say in this routine problem is to try and stick to it as much as possible.The sooner you feel comfortable injecting and testing where ever you are the easier it will be (I think this is worthy of a complete post of it's own). This is a valid problem in relationships but I would say easier solved than the others.

5. Low Blood Sugars

There is a T-shirt that is funny but also scary when you are looking at your relationship. It says on it "I am sorry for what I said when my blood sugar was low."

I have been told I have said some bad things and maybe some hurtful things as well. I have also slapped, bit and kicked my love ones. You need to talk about the low when you aren't low with the ones you love so you can get across that it was not you. I know people think that you wouldn't of said it unless it had been on your mind.I can talk the biggest load of rubbish at 1.5 and these things most likely would never ever have been on my mind. It is all down to controlling your blood sugar so they are not high which can effect some of the points but then when you have them perfect one slight slip in the calculation can lead to a low blood sugar. Oh my.

Feel free to add other problems you have encountered in the comments, I would love to hear from you.

It definitely is not easy loving a Diabetic and being in any relationship with a Diabetic but don't loose faith.

Thanks once again for the love shown to me by all the people I have relationships with it.

Happy Valentines day for the 14th.

Stay Linked and loved

Kim

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The Park Run/Walk

2016-01-18T11:50:00.000+02:00

So this year our family wanted to participate in more Park Runs, actually we are still in the Park Walk phase.

It really is an outstanding community project that is free to all and you get your time after your Run sent via e-mail. It is a worldwide thing and also is supported by Discovery Vitality so you earn Vitality points for each "Run" you do. It has a few other sponsors but is mostly run by the great Park run volunteers in your community.
Park Run SA Website

The weekend before last we went with 2 of our 3 dogs. So this weekend I said to Mr P that it was unfair to leave only one behind. He said that the third dog tugged and pulled and did not behave so he wasn't coming. Well I got my way and the 3 dogs,2 children and their parents all jumped into the car at 7:30 on a Saturday morning. Actually I think the dogs had jumped into the car way before we where ready to go as we had left the boot open while packing the car. If they had known how they would have been hooting the hooter. (If they had done that Mr P says they would have all been left behind.)

We arrived at the Run a bit early and had to wait at the start with all other types of dogs. (Great Dane's,Beagles,Labs,Dachshunds and other mutts.) Our Lab and Border Collie waited patiently but the dreaded third dog whined and whined and had no manners whatsoever. I started to believe that Mr.P was right about him. The time arrived and off we went pulling,dragging,fighting with said mutt. This boy did not give 2 hoots about the injured shoulder. At about the 3 km point one of the volunteers overheard me say to the dog that he was never coming again and he said aw shame he will be better next time. Ha Ha Ha. Now this mutt is thin and fast we have always said that in any race he would either come first or be the "rabbit". Sadly for him we where far from coming first. On this revelation I decided we had to go at a faster pace for him, we at least had to make him think that he was winning so we over took the group of people in front of us and went faster, well then he wanted the whole family to go faster if we got to far ahead of the pack he kept on looking over his shoulder. He was either teasing the Lab or checking where the family was. As this was a loop section we past the same volunteer again and this time he said look he is much better now. Yes he was but if we went any faster he would have to pull his owner up the last hill.

I want to post this ad on the ParkRun Website:

Speedy Dog looking for volunteer runner to run with him. Current owners are too slow. All runners with previous or current first place positions will have the honour of running with Charlie. He might even help you improve your current time.
Look how cute he is:

We did survive but the question is will Charlie get to come again. I am still undecided about that one.
The advantage is that we did try a bit harder and worked up a bit more of a sweat but I am not so sure I enjoyed it or even if the dog did to be honest the other dogs sniffed and did all the dog usually fun things but Charlie's sole purpose was to go faster where is the fun in that?

To Park Run SA and especially Park Run Boksburg thanks for helping us get fitter in 2016.

Stay Linked

Kim

Happy new year,Diabetes resolutions and more

2016-01-11T16:15:00.000+02:00

Happy 2016

Once again we are starting a new year and one more year to add to the number of years I have lived with Diabetes.

I started off the new year going to the doctors. I know I have talked about my onsie on this blog before See the post here but in winter last year I put on the God forsaken onsie and in doing so injured my arm. I then proceeded to leave it hoping it would get better. Well it did not and my doctor said I had damaged the muscle in the rotator cuff of my shoulder or something like that. Once again this required that terrible stuff called cortisone injected into the joint. My Doctor said no don't worry as it is going into the joint it should not effect your blood sugars. HA HA by the end of the day my sugar was at 23.5 mmol/l or 423 mg/dl. The effects of the cortisone have now worn off but the shoulder does not seem to be fixed. I refuse to believe that I have torn the muscle (Requiring Sugery) there by putting on a onsie so I am forever hopeful.

Last year I also did a post about other Auto immune disorders See the post here. to try and point out that Diabetes is not so bad and to give us some inspiration. Well another Auto-immune syndrome has been in the news - Guillain- Barre Syndrome and Andrew Tucker, Andrew Tucker was diagnosed with this disease in January 2015 and this was the year that he was to write his Matric. He was out of school for 6 months of the year and passed as one of SA's top achievers. Here is an almighty thumbs up to you Andrew Tucker you truly do inspire other people living with a chronic condition.

http://www.news24.com/Live/SouthAfrica/News/watch-top-sa-matric-says-his-rare-disease-motivated-him-to-study-medicine-this-year-20160108

Lately I also heard a story about a student trying to get into university for 2016 she did not get accepted into the university as all the allocated places for White people had already been filled,but she was accepted due to her Diabetes Disability.Now there is a chance to prove to them how disabled we all are.

I hope each one of us gets to achieve all we want to in 2016.

This is my funny take on what actually happens to those Diabetes Resolutions lets try to at least get a pass mark in some of these resolutions.

Diabetes Resolutions for 2016	What usually happens in 2016
More exercise	Eat More Chocolate
Improve HBA1C	Marry the lab tech and get him to forge your blood results
Change lancet	Only change lancet when someone else uses your test machine.
Diet diet diet	Search for new pancreas on OLX
Have no lows or highs all year	Try be nice to people when you bg is low
Throw away all used test strips	Buy carpet that blends in with test strip colour
Count all carbs	Forget how to count carbs.
Run the park run don’t walk the park run	Injure yourself at park run and never return
Check bg more often	Test bg often until the battery runs out then keep on forgetting to buy a new battery.

Please please please use the comments section of this New Years post to add suggestions of what you would like to see on the blog anything goes here so all suggestions will be considered.

Lantus is now Optisulin but really why?

2015-11-20T09:38:00.000+02:00

I went to the doctors yesterday to pick up my Diabetes supplies and the lady there told me that Lantus had changed it's name to Optisulin but it was still exactly the same thing.

I studied the box , looked the same just a bit of green on the label, same with the pen, exactly the same looking pen except for a touch of green. I looked on the internet no logical reason why they changed the name, it looks like there has always been Lantus and Optisulin made by the same company.

So now here is my dilemma. I have been on Lantus for a very long time to me it is the worlds greatest long - acting insulin and I love it.

Sometimes if I go low we call out the paramedics (thankfully not for a while now.) lets set the scene, in the worst case scenarios I am totally out of it still talking but not even the best linguist could figure out what I was saying. So they try to give me glucose gel, seriously this stuff tastes really bad even the paramedic says the taste is awful (so logically give an argumentative T1 Diabetic this stuff until she refuses to open her mouth or start gagging on the stuff, that makes no sense.) After this failure they try to set up a dextrose drip now I don't know why but if I am low my veins run away, my husband says he can see them moving a bit of a freaky show. So they poke and prod and eventually set up the drip now it gets better but I am still a bit confused so while the drip is dripping they bring out the forms and one of the questions is what insulin are you on, in this state I can guarantee you that I will only remember Lantus so I will say Novorapid and I don't know. This will not work so I am still going to tell everyone I am on Lantus to me it is like saying Hoover but you have a Bosch vacuum cleaner. Either that or the paramedics could be trained to look on the bedside table where I probably have about 10 empty pens (I know bad.) and one current pen I am using.

Now Sanofi have apparently bought out a new extra long acting insulin better than Lantus oops Optisulin but wait for it wait this one is called Toujeo, I think this is relatively new so a while before it gets to SA but just as I get used to Optisulin my doctor will change it to Toujeo heck I can't even say that now let alone in a hypo situation.

To Sanofi-Aventis Solostar what ever you are called remember this- Most Diabetics don't like change and what you think is a minor thing can be pretty big in our lives. What about Lantus version 1,2 and 3. Might look bad on your marketing campaign but will make my life a lot easier.

Lantus / Optisulin is one of the worlds most prescribed insulin with sales in 2014 in the region of $7.2 billion. Proof that you make the best so we will just have to get used to it.

Have a great weekend all,

Stay Linked

Kim

Married for 14 years.

2015-10-27T14:35:00.000+02:00

I have been married for 14 years. Yes I said it FOURTEEN years.

Lets do a quick whirl wind break down of some of the major events in those 14 years.

Saturday October 27th 2001 : Guests got lost because only a very few people back then had a bloody GPS devise of any description and my husband's directions printed on the invitations had one major highway off ramp incorrectly named, the next off ramp was Daveton so quite a major error.

I was also late not because I wanted to be or needed to be but because someone said it is unlucky to be early or on time for your wedding and another person said that it was good luck if it rained on your wedding and we had that in vast supply it stopped raining for the lady formally known as Miss Jones to enter the church and the now Mrs Patience to leave the church and that was about it on the clear skies front.

We had planned for a slightly earlier wedding because another person said we still needed good light for our photos ha ha due to the rainy weather it was pitch dark for the photos.

Quite frankly I did not give a Sh*#! as I was getting married and not even the slightest think could spoil that day, also my soon to be husband had stocked the limo with some very nice champagne and my Dad and I had to open it to calm the nerves. I don't recall being nervous at all must of been my Dad that was nervous after all it was his youngest daughter getting married.

The priest also forgot the wedding register at home and sent his wife about 17 kilometers back to fetch it. So good thing I was late.

All that happened 14 years ago.

Lets skip forward a bit to December of 2002 I had thought it would take a while to fall pregnant so we would start trying for a child. I think the night we decided that I fell pregnant. Oops, I am a Diabetic with no Endocrinologist as we did not like the local quake the CDE had appointed us. Also we had no Gynecologist. In all fairness I had been a few months earlier to a Gynae that on hearing that I was a Diabetic had told me he was not taking on anymore confinements, anyway who wants to see a Gynae that in these days still calls a pregnancy a confinement. Now is the time to panic for me yes,not for my husband he says the only way to solve this is to phone the woman that knows what is going on. (No silly not my Mother in Law) He phones our nearest hospital and asks to speak to the Matron of the Maternity ward. He tells her "My wife is a Diabetic and she is pregnant who is the best Gynae you know." He was told by her that the only one to see was Dr J as he was the best and she thought that he lived in a caravan in the parking lot as he was always so quick to arrive in emergencies.This Gynae then gave us the name of a physician who helped with the Diabetes side of things. It was a long 9 months well he was 3 weeks early and next year he will be a teenager where does time go.

14 years even in abbreviated version does not fit easily into a quick blog post.

So now we need to get into the eye of the storm and go a bit faster.

3 years later I went through this pregnancy thing again. It was slightly easier and as always my husband was right by my side, never missed a gynae appointment, never missed a endo. appointment. Got right into a strict low GI diet and never complained.

All I can say is that it has not always been easy but you know what there are more good times and even grand times and these are easier to remember than the crap.

Thank you Glenn for all the support,love and perseverance you put into our marriage.

Glenn always says the piece of paper we signed on the 27 October 2001 doesn't give us an excuse to stop working hard at our relationship.

And being in love makes it a hell of a lot easier too.

Thank you Glenn for putting up with this Diabadass for 14 years. You deserve a medal.

Cheers for now,

Kim

Mother - refusing child insulin treatment for Type 1 Diabetes.

2015-10-14T10:31:00.000+02:00

To start of this post I would like to thank Insulin nation they often have a large amount of interesting blog posts that keep us up to date with the latest stories, advances and advise. You will often see that I put a link in my posts to one of their stories that I believe is worth reading and that I wish to talk about further.

This post is shocking and down right abusive, it also makes us aware of how easily incorrect stories available on the internet can lead to people believing that there is natural cures for Type 1 Diabetes.

Here is the link to the article

Parent Refuses Insulin for Teen with Type 1

http://goo.gl/A4r6a3

Lets be bold here and say the absolute truth that all of us reading this already know because with out this life saving invention none of us would be reading this article anyway:

There is only one treatment for Type 1 diabetes and that is daily insulin.

There is most certainly and at least not yet any way any other treatment.

Treatment for type 1 diabetes is a lifelong commitment of monitoring blood sugar, taking insulin, maintaining a healthy weight, eating healthy foods and exercising regularly. The aim is to maintain blood glucose within normal limits. Tighter control of blood sugar levels can reduce the risk of diabetes-related health complications.

I decided to search the web to possibly see what these parents where seeing that could honestly make them believe there was any other treatment or even a cure for Type 1 Diabetes, I know the truth so it was a bit hard being suckered in to this:

This one sounded quite convincing - My first concern though was that it was on a website called Cancertutor so what makes these guys experts on Diabetes I really don't know. Their cure was the following :

First, use a special nutritional protocol to kill the microbes and parasites (e.g. pancreatic flukes) identified by the consultation.

Flukes are flatworm parasites not what I was told caused my diabetes.

Second, use electromedicine to re-energize the cells in the organs which were weakened by the microbes/parasites.

What is electromedicine ? could find lots of places selling certain devices but no down right definition something to do with sending electricity through your body. Bob Beck sells a Diabetes Zapper devise.

My Second thought is do us Type 1's identify that we are Type 1 early enough to re-energize our beta cells, my understanding was that the body saw the beta cells as bad guys and fought against them so they became useless (Talking like a 5 year old.) One of the problems we might encounter , if there was a way to replace Beta Cells in our bodies,is we might start the process again and reject these cells. This has actually been tested I quote from a more reliable source: "Over the past several years, doctors have attempted to cure diabetes by injecting patients with pancreatic islet cells—the cells of the pancreas that secrete insulin and other hormones. However, the requirement for steroid immunosuppressant therapy to prevent rejection of the cells increases the metabolic demand on insulin-producing cells and eventually they may exhaust their capacity to produce insulin."

So they are saying energize the cells even if that worked there is more chances than not that you will still fight these cells off in a vicious cycle.

Lets look at it like a 5 year old again - The Beta Cells are like Anikin Skywalker a heroic Jedi Knight they then decide to cloak themselves in Black wear a mask and appear to have moved to the "Dark Side" So your body - "The Resistance" fights against them for the good of the body. Only to find out too late on the Beta Cells death bed that they are actually "good"(Luke I am your Father) but the resistance does not believe them and they continue fighting. (I have had an over dose of Star wars lately, oh you can tell.)

This two-step process first gets rid of the “root cause” of the diabetes and then re-energizes the weakened cells so the immune system will again become fully functional.

I would not rush out and buy your Diabetes Zapper just yet.

Please use your common sense. There a hundreds of people claiming to have the cure or a better treatment. If you are too overwhelmed with the diagnosis and you common sense has taken a short vacation remember this.

THE ONLY TREATMENT FOR TYPE 1 DIABETES IS DAILY INSULIN TAKEN SUBCUTANEOUSLY (INTO THE FATTY LAYER BETWEEN THE SKIN AND MUSCLE)EITHER BY INJECTION OR INSULIN PUMP.

There are no tablets for Type 1 Diabetics, there is no herbal cure, and as we have seen Electromedicine can't help. (Tablets can help get better control,a herbal additive can help get better control,maybe even the Electromedicine has it's place but all are there just to help with control while taking a daily dose of INSULIN.

My best advice is go see an Endocrinologist do what he/she says and soon too you will be a believer that Insulin is the only way to go.

Thank you Dr. Frederick Banting your grand invention saved my life.

Stay linked.

Bye for now,

Kim

How do we stay motivated? and who can inspire us.

2015-10-09T10:24:00.000+02:00

Some times it is really hard to stay motivated and put on the brave face and keep up with the everyday never ending grind of being a diabetic.

We never seem to get a break sure we can decide today I am going to act like I don't have Diabetes but where does that leave us the next day trying to get back on track and feeling crap.

On these days we need to troll the internet and get some great stuff to try and motivate us in this quest to remain healthy and in control.

I have done some of the hard work for you.

We will start with some quotes:

Feeling a bit better. I always remember that kids story - "The little engine that could" I think I can, I think I can, I know I can, I can. Here is a nostalgic look at the books cover.

WE CAN !!!

Famous people with Diabetes.

Myself - Should always be number one on the list. (Only joking)
Halle Berry - Actress
Nick Jonas - Singer " The Jonas Brothers"
Gary Hall - Olympic Swimmer
Larry King - Talk show host
Winnie Mandela - Oh a South African enough said
Meat Loaf - Singer
This is my favorite - Ray Kroc - Entrepreneur that started the MacDonald food chain.
Ron Santo - Baseball player for the Chicago Cubs
Phil Southerland - Biker/ Author of Not Dead Yet - My race against disease from diagnosis to dominance.
Miss America 2014-Miss Idaho - Sierra Sandison - She wore her pump on her bikini during the Miss America competition.
Another South African - Mark Koekemoer -Formed the online community Rock your Diabetes.

Now you are saying so the hell what. Well a lot of these PWD's have done really good work for Diabetes and have helped inspire us not so famous people out there. Lets look at a few.

How they inspire us.

Ron Santo - 3rd Baseman for the Chicago cubs he was born way back in 1940.He was diagnosed at 18 years old in 1958 not a great time to be a diabetic. He had read that he had 25 years max left to live. He died at age 70 wow he knocked that figure out of the park. My favorite from him is "There is no reason this disease should prevent you from utilizing your god given gifts that is why he gave them to us"

Please do your self a favor and read his story or bookmark it for a day you what a little bit of encouragement even if you are not a Diabetic. Here it is : https://goo.gl/Cd3Jou

Just a word of warning although it worked for Ron don't play baseball when you are going low. He must of had serious talent cause I can't even play the game when my BS is fine.

Phil Southerland - A cyclist and a great advocate for Diabetes and exercise.

He has set up a team of cyclists all with Diabetes here is a part of the article:

"Today, Team Type 1 has grown to become a multifaceted athletic initiative, with seven programs and 70 athletes with type 1 diabetes who regularly race in events across the world. The Team continues to expand, adding new team members and striving toward the ultimate goal of reaching the sport’s grand stage, the Tour de France.

“Team Type 1 has become a global movement to show the world that anything is possible with good control,” Phil describes."

For more on Phil Southerland click here http://goo.gl/bHXvvu

Mark Koekemoer -Formed the online community Rock your Diabetes, he also tweets about Diabetes. (he is way more famous than me.) First follow me on the right hand side and then you are free to like Mark on facebook ,here is some more about Mark- Click here http://goo.gl/zPDE2L

If you read these 3 articles I can guarantee that you will at least pick up that test kit again and try and reach for the stars.

Don't suffer in silence speak up tell someone before you know it you will have your own little support team. Not a sympathy team that is the last thing us stubborn Diabetics need but a little bit of support is always great.

Thanks to my support team (in no particular order):

Mr P

My kids Matthew and Jared

My Dad (Sorry you where also born way back in the same year as Ron Santo)

My Unofficial Official Step Mum

My Mum

My Mother in Law - By the way you are a contact for the kids on the emergency list only one in JHB that has a level head.

My sisters - Miss you lots

Keep linked

Have a great Diabetic Weekend.

Kim

Seasonal Changes and your Diabetes control.

2015-09-30T12:25:00.000+02:00

I have researched this subject on Google and there does not seem to be any definite medical reason or advise on what to do when you blood sugar is doing strange things in the move from Winter to Spring and visa versa.

I decided to look at it logically and try and account for some changes and how they can affect your BG control.

Winter to Spring

The warmer weather triggers a want to get outside and participate in more physical activity- Lower blood sugar.
You have not yet started on the oh gosh I must drink more water plan - This can lead to dehydration which increases you BG which increases your need to pee, which increases your dehydration. Also when dehydrated your blood supply to your skin is less,so this will affect your insulin absorption. - Higher Blood Sugar
The heat (29 c at present) makes us eat less and healthier foods like a salad if you are not doing a correct carb. count it will - Lower blood sugar
Your body is not using the same amount of energy to keep warm, have the same meal on a warm day that you had on a cold day in winter and inject the same - Higher blood sugar

I have tried to think of more reasons but I am hitting a blank wall. I wish there was an easy fix or a formula for this but there is not. (Let me know if any of you find it.)

What we should do?

Test more get back to the 6 or so tests a day. (Pin cushion time.)
Because you are testing more you can now adjust your insulin as need be.
Drink more water. (I always find this hard.) Maybe get a soda stream to make some sparkling water and add some fresh fruit or lemon to make it more appealing.
Re stock your at home, in the car and in the handbag low kit. (The other day I went low and I looked in the handbag and all I could find was mints from a restaurant outing. Need to restock.) What to have in these kits - First of all the kit should be off limits to the children.

Car kit - Nothing that will melt. Nuts are good so try a nut and dried fruit trail mix. Woolies has small lunch box packets get more than one.(From past experience some sweets also melt.)
Handbag Kit - You car glove box has more space than your hand bag so limit the bag to one item that has about 15g of carbs. That is all you need. (I know it sounds crazy at the time but be patient.) Non Melty, Some thing different to the Car kit. Woolworths has vegetable chips a packet of these will be nice. I like these maybe too much and might eat them before a low takes place so be careful.
Home Kit- This is where you can pack a nice variety of emergency goodies in a tin or box but remember that 1 small Liquifruit box should be enough to save you. At home you should be able to find something and not be stranded but keeping it readily available in a tin will be useful when you are stumbling around at 2am trying to make a peanut butter sandwich while the government are load-shedding your electricity.

I don't know maybe we are so happy that the warmer weather is finally here that we forget to start doing these things at the beginning of the change of seasons. I think I am going to save a calendar entry on my phone for next year.

My Non Scientific ,Scientific reason for all this- in Spring we are over producing endorphins and are happy and all smiley so we think we are untouchable. In Autumn we are getting depressed and going into hibernation mode so the last thing we want is someone to remind us we are Diabetics.

Lets all do this it is the most important advise to Diabetes control I can give you.

Finally some good news Google are teaming up with Sanofi to help out us Diabetics. (See article below.)

http://goo.gl/YnpPku

Stay strong,

Kim

Do your children know what to do in a Diabetic emergency?& Free Emergency Call Printable

2015-09-17T13:41:00.000+02:00

The blog post today was inspired by this article( http://goo.gl/PQwr1V) "Dad with type 1 investigated by child services."

It is a story about a Dad who went into a Diabetic low and collapsed and his 5 year old son phoned for his Mum who sent for the paramedics. The attending Paramedic reported the Dad to child services for not looking after his children correctly.

The part of the story I wanted to bring attention to was this " The older son, according to an interview the father had given, had been taught how to respond to a diabetic emergency. The father had been diagnosed at age nine and by all appearances had been taking proper care of himself, and was equipped, and had equipped his loved ones, with knowledge sufficient to help him recover from his low and to prevent risk of harm to his children."

This made me think if my children had the knowledge to call the emergency services and although I don't want to test it I think not. My boys know the symptoms of a diabetic low and have on occasion asked me to check my blood sugar. These are incidents when I have gone low but can still talk to them. Most times my low to near coma state happens over night and my husband is usually there to deal with these problems.

There was one situation that happened on a weekend not so long ago.(I am going to tell it to you so that you can see the problems that only half educating your children on dealing with emergencies can have.) It was a Saturday and my darling husband had gone bird hunting so he had left before the first bird even awoke at about 3 AM. To keep you in the picture on the Sunday following this we had a busy day with a child from schools birthday party and we where going for lunch with my Mother in law, bear in mind that this busy schedule was for the next day.

My children are older than the boys in the article at 8 and 11 years old so they woke up, made themselves a bowl of cereal and proceeded to play games and watch TV.

Sometimes when you go into a hypoglycemic coma your bodies adrenaline is still fighting to try and raise your blood sugars. Well my body must have been fighting really hard because I eventually managed to get out of bed at 1 o'clock in the afternoon.

When I found the kids quite happy in the lounge doing their own thing I asked them where their Dad was, I don't recall if we told them what Dad was doing on Saturday but my youngest told me that he had gone to Granny (my Mother in Law). I am still obviously a bit out of it cause now I start to panic - "But he never woke me" , "But Matt was supposed to go to a friends party and I told her at school he was coming and she was so excited......it is already 2 hours past the start to the party time". I am still panicking so I try to phone Mr.P no answer (obviously) , Try to phone the Mother In Law she also does not answer.( in hind sight I am glad she did not I would have sounded crazy.) I think my oldest told me don't worry these things happen. (He is a very laid back kind of child.) He then must of thought Mum is acting ultra weird and gave me a plate of biscuits.I ate these in between still trying to call Mr.P.

I then think I decided there was nothing we could do about the party. (Still worried as hell because why doesn't Mr P answer his phone.) So I went into the kitchen to prepare some lunch. While we where sitting at the table eating lunch, the penny dropped and I realized that it actually was Saturday and all these activities where for the next day oh my.

This story might be slightly funny but really it is not what if something had happened to one of the kids or the house or the dog or the cat and I was totally out of it until 1 PM.

My boys both know what to do in a Diabetic emergency but not in a don't wake up Diabetic Emergency. I have since told them that if Mum does not wake up by X time there most probably is something wrong and they must try and wake me. If I don't wake up and get out of bed they must follow the steps on an emergency steps and phone numbers sheet that is on the fridge.

I realize this is a lot to ask of two young boys but I think they will follow these steps and get a professional out sooner than they will want to endure another long scene of their Mother freaking out about a party that wasn't even scheduled for that day.

I do feel like a terrible Mother for this incident but I have tried to make sure it does not happen again and if I continue beating myself up about this I will mess up all the other special moments that my children and I still have together on a regular basis.

We need to equip are children with the information to solve problems.When Mum does not get up until 1 PM this is a problem.

I have included a Free printable of Emergency steps and numbers to put on the fridge or near the phone.

Free printable of Emergency steps and numbers -https://goo.gl/qu5BAu
Here is one with Call your Mum on it encase you are a Diabetic Dad - https://goo.gl/zI0TX4
(The emergency numbers on here are South African numbers.)

Thank you March Le Fey for making us more aware of educating our children about Diabetic emergencies.

The weekend is in sight and it is getting more and more like Spring here in South Africa.

Stay tuned next week for a post on How the change in weather and seasons can have an effect on your Diabetes control.

Stay Linked

Kim

Friday funnies ...

2015-07-10T12:48:00.000+02:00

This last week I went to the Podiatrist. My feet are great and she says they are in good condition. This of course is no thanks to my youngest son. This morning I got out of the bath and he had placed a toy pirates catapult under a towel on the bathroom floor. Ouch and a couple of swear words later. At least I can still keep walking...

Some other diabetes funnies.

Have a great weekend.

Stay Insulinked.

Kim

My One Direction onesie and other more serious stuff.

2015-06-30T10:36:00.001+02:00

I must confess,I brought myself a One Direction onesie , not because I am a crazy 1 Direction fan or that I even know one of the band members names but because Edgars must of been misguided and thought that many adults had to have one! So these warm and cozy onesies whereon sale at half price. My husband says I look like a big red tomato in it. I prefer to say I look like a bottle of tomato sauce sounds a bit thinner.
So now this warm bottle of tomato sauce is going to cuddle up on the couch in this freezing winter weather and read this book in order to try and redeem myself.

_________________________________________________________________________________
How I told my children about Diabetes.

I recently read this blog centering around how to tell your children that you have Diabetes.
http://insulinnation.com/living/daddy-whats-a-pump/?utm_src=HseEmail+00073

This got me thinking- How did I tell my kids about my Diabetes or did I?

I didn't have a sit down talk with them. It just happens during the everyday happenings of life,
I had to tell them not to play with the insulin pens but every parent should tell their kids not to take ,use or play with any form of medicine besides if they forget Mum's instructions and they think Mum bought a cool new highlighter, on taking the lid off they will see a sharp silver needle and quickly leave that pen alone.

Words children in a Diabetic family know and use that other kids don't:

Novapen
Test Kit
High (My youngest son has a hearty appetite and he has even tried saying if you eat all that you will go high in hopes that he will score the leftovers.)
Low
I need something to eat (They know that this does not just mean that I am hungry.)

Unlike this previous blogger I also never told my kids that the blood testing doesn't hurt. I remember my first finger prick and it was sore. (Granted the nurse did not have a softclix devise in those days. She just wielded this lancet from a dizzying height like she was trying to draw blood from a bull.)

I knew that one day I would want to check my son's blood sugar and I didn't want to come across as a liar in their eyes. I did tell them that sometimes it does hurt a little but I have done it so often now I don't even notice it.

All that said before school going age 6/7 they should know that if you look after your Diabetes and take all your medicine you can have a normal life and live as long a life as anyone else because at school it is very easy to be given incomplete information from other children. Like "My Gran died from Diabetes."

However you do it children learn best from observation.
If Mum is always injecting that medicine in a pen then that is important special stuff for Mum.
If Mum has sweets in her test kit bag those are only for Mum.
Mum is more or less like any other Mum.

" My Mum takes us to school,goes to work *,comes to my school concert , comes to my soccer match,walks the park run with us and oh she is also a Diabetic and has to take insulint.(Not a spelling mistake this is how they used to say it.) and she bit my Dad once when her blood sugar was too low."
I don't think that is all that different from a non-Diabetic Mum's activities.

* I work as a bookkeeper and my Son thought I was something like a Librarian for years until he came with me to my work one day and saw no books what a let down.

I love my children dearly and they are a miracle. If I had been born even as soon as when my parents where born. I probably would have been told not to risk having babies and thank God I wasn't.
Would have really loved to be at a Beetles concert though.

Cheers for now.
Stay Linked

Kim