Worth It

So I'm a little behind on my blogging.  Life has a way of doing that, I suppose.

Back on August 11th, I went to Omaha for their JDRF Walk.  Why?  To help Kim with the You Can Do This Project booth, of course!  Kim wrote about this a while ago.  See her post here.

How much do I love this project?  Enough to get up at 5am.  On a Saturday.  Ew.

But it was so totally and completely worth it!  The weather was beautiful, and we met so many amazing people.  And once again, the response to the project was fantastic!  Most people I talked to thought it was a great idea, and will hopefully take a look at some of the vlogs.  The bracelets were a hot ticket item too.

There was one woman I talked to that I don't think I will ever forget.  I was down at one of the pump company booths saying hi to a rep I knew.  A woman and her son walked up to the table.  I recognized her as someone Kim and I had talked to a few minutes ago at the YCDT booth.

She smiled and said hi, and starting talking to the pump rep.  The rep had some candy out on the table.  The boy picked up a small box of Nerds, and asked if he could have them.

"I don't think so, hon," said the mom.  "I don't know what the carb count is for those."

The pump rep then proceeded to dig through her things until she found the bag that the candy came in, nutrition labels and all.  Well done, pump rep!

The rep then asked the mom how long her son has had Type 1.

"He was diagnosed three weeks ago,"  she replied.  My stomach sank, and my heart hurt for her.

"You must be feeling so completely overwhelmed,"  I said.

"That's why we're here," she said.  "We're not walking.  We're here to talk to people at the booths and see the different pumps."

At this point, I excused myself as she talked to the pump rep and ran back to the YCDT table.  Thankfully, I had some blog cards in my purse, and Kim had some of hers as well.

I ran back over to the pump table.

"Sorry to interrupt," I said, "but here's Kim's card and mine.  Our email addresses are on them.   Please let us know if there's anything we can do."

She took the cards and smiled.

"And I really encourage you to check out the YCDT site.  There are videos made by other moms, and videos of kids that he can watch.  There's a whole community of people out there.  You're not alone."

"Thank you," she said.

I apologized again to the pump rep for interrupting and went back to the YCDT booth.  I haven't heard from this woman, but I hope things are going ok.  That's the closest encounter with a recent diagnosis that I've had in a long time.  And it's something I won't soon forget.

So to that mom and her sweet 7-year-old son, please know that you are being thought of, that you are loved, and that you are never alone.

Two Things

Two things.

In case you were wondering after yesterday's post, acetaminophen won.  My sensor bit the dust after a good run, and I decided to delay putting in a new sensor and take acetaminophen instead.

I'm a bit addicted to my CGM.  Ok, a lot addicted.  I wear a sensor 24/7.  As soon as a sensor dies, I put a new one in.  I can count the number of CGM breaks I've taken in the last two years on one hand.

Sometimes I have to remind myself that I lived with diabetes for 17 years without a CGM.  And I did ok.  I have to listen to my body and trust my instincts.

Now, I'm off to the doctor to make sure I don't have strep.  Yay?

                                                                                                                                       

Completely unrelated, I've been updating my Diagnosed As Adults list.  When a local friend was diagnosed with T1, I was trying to find other people diagnosed with T1 or LADA as adults for her to connect with.  I got so many names, I decided to share them!

If you were diagnosed as an adult and blog or have Twitter, please comment or email me so I can add you to the list.  The more, the merrier!

Have a great weekend!

Cold Medicine Conundrum

Well, the school year is officially underway.  And as part of that yearly tradition, I've caught my first bug.  Today, I do not plan on getting up from the couch except to refill my water and/or tea and get more tissues.  But I digress.

It started with a small tickle in my throat, and the thought, "Uh oh.  I hope I'm not getting sick."

But my blood sugars decided to remove any doubt.  "Hey!  Guess what!  You're real people sick!"

Gee, thanks.

I LOVE my CGM.  Especially when I'm sick.  It allows me to be more aggressive in treating highs without worrying so much about going low.  The CGM helps me see if I've been too agressive.  Temp basal, FTW!

This is the first time I've been sick since switching from Medtronic to Dexcom.  Why is this significant, you ask?

I've discovered something I left out of my comparison post: pain relievers.  My first choice is typically acetaminophen.  I reached into the cabinet and got out the bottle, and then froze.

Crap.  I can't take this.  I mean I could, but then I'll loose my CGM.  I'm not sure about the science behind why, but acetaminophen throws off the accuracy of the Dexcom.  I've never experienced it myself, but heard from enough other people that I'm not willing to try it.

With the Medtronic CGM, you can take acetaminophen.  It doesn't affect the accuracy at all.

Have you ever looked at all the cold meds?  Almost everything has acetaminophen in it.  Boo.  So, I'll be sticking with NSAIDS for now, because I'm not willing to loose my CGM.

Dear Dexcom, it would be lovely if you could figure out a way to protect your sensor from the effects of acetaminophen.  NSAIDS are not nice to my gut, and I do not prefer them.

In the grand scheme of things, is it that big of a deal?  Probably not.  But I feel like crap right now and am extremely grumpy, so I'm rather annoyed.  Sometimes the devil is in the details.

Making It Their Own

There are many things about the Diabetes Online Community that I love.

But this week, one thing in particular has been making me #furiouslyhappy.

The DSMA twitter chat has been going on for a couple years now.  The chat happens Wednesdays at 9pm EST.  Use #dsma to participate.

This chat is one of the highlights in my week.  I have met so very many wonderful people from all over the world, and learned a lot.  It's just so fantastically crazy and fast and fun!  And sometimes we even break twitter.  We're cool like that.

Because of the timing of the chat, it can be challenging for people from countries outside the US to participate.  Oh hey, people in London, you don't want to get up at 2am and chat?  No?  Yeah, I wouldn't do it either.

But now, there are other diabetes-centered twitter chats happening.  The DOC in Australia now has their own twitter handle (@OzDiabetesOC) and their own chat, Tuesday at 8:30pm AEST (#OzDOC).

Next, the UK got in on the action with @theGBDOC.  Their next chat will be Wednesday, August 22nd at 9pm London Time (#GBDOC).

And just when I thought it couldn't get any better, I saw this twitter handle pop up: @theCANDOC.  Hey there, Canada! Their first chat will be Monday at 8pm EST (#CANDOC).

I am so, so very excited to see people taking the fabulous twitter magic that Cherise found and making it their own.  I know that the global DOC will be able to reach even more people now.  And I hope to see more chats pop up in more countries.

Group hug, everyone!

Nineteen

Nineteen years ago yesterday, I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.  Friday, August 13th, 1993.

Last year, I wrote about the memories of my diagnosis.  I also wrote about getting cupcakes with my family to celebrate.  And my mom shared her thoughts and memories.

This year, I planned on celebrating as well.  But then Friday looked like this:

And Saturday looked like this:

It didn't matter how much I bolused, with multiple sets, syringes, and new insulin, those blood sugars would not budge for hours.

Saturday night, I had a bit of a meltdown.  Enough already!  I balled my eyes out, and called my mom. I hate this stupid disease!  I don't want it anymore.  I'm done!

My sugars are back down to earth now, but I was still dreading yesterday.  I didn't want to celebrate, I didn't want to acknowledge my diaversary at all.

I was so very angry at diabetes, and wanted to ignore it.  But someone (ahem, Sara) tweeted that it was my diaversary.  And my twitter stream was flooded with well wishes and congratulations.

And you know what?  It helped.  It helped a lot.  Because I knew these weren't empty wishes.  They were sincere, from people who know exactly what it feels like.  Who've felt the anger and frustration that I was feeling. People who get it.  And that means a lot.

My mom also got me a diaversary card.  Well, a congratulations card, since they don't make "happy diaversary" cards.  And I went to dinner with Scott, Babs, Bob, and Charli.  More people who get it.

So thank you, DOC, for reminding me what's important.  That I am never alone.  And that diabetes doesn't get to steal my joy.

I Hate Exercise

I hate exercise.

I don't like to be hot.  I don't like to sweat.  I've never played any sports, or been athletic in any form.

But I know that in order to be healthy, I need to exercise.  Ugh.

When the weather's nice, I go for walks with my mom.  But the excessive heat this summer has made that impossible.  But I need to get some exercise, for the sake of my blood sugars and my sanity.  I've belonged to a gym before, but I never went.  So I don't want to join one again.

I decided to take a risk.  At the recommendation of some fellow DOC ladies on twitter, I (gulp) purchased Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred DVD.

Double gulp.

Day 1, I thought I was going to die.  The next day, I was popping ibuprofen and could barely move.  Everything hurt.

Day 2, thought I was going to die.  Everything still hurt.

Day 3.  Hey, maybe I'm not going to die.  Only some things hurt.

Day 4.  Wow, I just did the whole 20 minutes without stopping.  And I'm only a little sore.

I didn't expect to feel stronger after only four days.  But I am.  My muscles are already getting stronger. Getting through the routine is still really difficult.  And I am so horribly out of shape.

But I think I can keep up with this.  Losing weight is not my goal.  Exercise is.

I can do this.

Please, please, please check with your doctor before beginning any exercise program!  I am not a medical professional, nor am I endorsing everything Jillian Michaels does.  This DVD is helping me meet my own personal exercise goals.  And it's hard!  Again, please check with your doctor before exercising.  Thanks!