Miracle Cure.
(Not for diabetes. What kind of a blog do I look like? Hang on ... let me stir up this cocktail of chocolate shake and cinnamon that's sure to kick my pancreas back into high gear.)My Dexcom rash started last August, soon after a business trip to San Diego. The rash was instant and seemed to crop up out of nowhere, with one sensor leaving behind nothing more than the wee pinprick of the sensor insertion to the next one leaving a trail of weeping, swollen skin in its wake. Not comfortable, and difficult to pinpoint the cause. "It's an allergy," said the Internet. And my doctors ...
Source: Six Until Me. - April 30, 2013 Category: Diabetes Source Type: blogs
Spotty Service.
I've spent the better part of the last week offline, and it felt good to take a break. I have the attention span of a goldfish at different points in my life, and the last week I couldn't pay attention to more than testing my blood sugar and making sure I at least knew where my shoes were. (Currently? On my feet. Although the TSA agent offered me rubber gloves to put on my feet during the screening at the Honolulu airport because I had to take my flip-flops off and was standing there in barefeet. Kind of gross. Which is why she offered me rubber gloves. I didn't take her up on it, but wi...
Source: Six Until Me. - April 29, 2013 Category: Diabetes Source Type: blogs
Cyborg Vacation.
The first time I truly tested the waterproofiness of my insulin pump, it was when I accidentally (almost, but mostly) dropped it in the toilet. That was fun, and embarrassing. The second time was when I went on vacation with my friends and we spent a few minutes (days) in a swim-up bar setting where removing the pump was way more trouble than it was worth. And the third time was the entire first summer at the beach after Birdy learned to walk, because I spent most of my time bolting in and out of the water in an attempt to keep track of the happily splashing (and very fast on her feet) kid.Today marked th...
Source: Six Until Me. - April 23, 2013 Category: Diabetes Source Type: blogs
From Abby: Yoga To Appreciate Your Dia-Friends.
Abby loaded this post into the queue, saying that she couldn't come up with a title for it. Which explains the crap title I subbed in, which is making me laugh but she'll probably hate it. Shhhh ... don't tell her. Abby's writing about diabetes and exercise, taking into account the days when she's the only PWD in the yoga studio, and when she's surrounded by her dia-friends.* * * I'm kind of into Yoga these days. It's taken me about seven years to really find any form of physical activity I don't hate and have to force myself to do. I was always involved in sports growing up, so I had set ti...
Source: Six Until Me. - April 22, 2013 Category: Diabetes Tags: From Abby Source Type: blogs
Sad Reality.
Sometimes the whole day is diabetes-fine and "controlled" and then I remember we have chocolate chip cookies and all of a sudden everything goes to shit. (Source: Six Until Me.)
Source: Six Until Me. - April 18, 2013 Category: Diabetes Source Type: blogs
Slammed.
So this was last night: Went to bed after a little bit of a spike, bolused it down conservatively because I was going to bed, but then woke up at 4 am and saw a steady, red line on my Dexcom graph, showing that I was not only in the blood sugar trenches, but had been there for a while.The problem is, it wasn't the low alarm on the Dexcom that roused me from sleep. It was the sound of my daughter yelling, "MOMMY AND DADDY!!!" through the baby monitor (which I will use until she's at least ten thousand years old) that vaulted me from the bed. This is a problem, and one I've always had with the Dex...
Source: Six Until Me. - April 18, 2013 Category: Diabetes Tags: CGMS Source Type: blogs
Diabetes Police: Revisited.
Sometimes crude animation, and the repeated mention of cookies, ends up stuck in my head all day long. This is an older video (good grief, it's from 2008?!) about the often-times well-meaning diabetes police, and how the support of friends (and a good iced coffee delivered by a cat) can make all the difference. (Source: Six Until Me.)
Source: Six Until Me. - April 16, 2013 Category: Diabetes Tags: Vlog Crap Source Type: blogs
Mark This As Certain, and Forever.
Dear Birdy,Today is your birthday. You're three years old, love. Over the weekend, we celebrated your birthday with some of our friends and family members, and at one point, you were out in the garden with your friends, running and laughing through a pile of raked leaves, your pigtails scrambling with each wild giggle. And I just stood at stared at you, wondering where the little baby went and how this little girl managed to sneak in while I wasn't looking. This little girl with all the opinions ("Can I wear this Thomas shirt? I know it has lunch and dinner on it but it's clean on this sleeve a...
Source: Six Until Me. - April 15, 2013 Category: Diabetes Source Type: blogs
Not Zelda, But ...
... Links? :) We're prepping for a third birthday party up in this piece (no one says that - I realize that) and so brain power is limited. This limited brain power is not a new thing, but at least I have an excuse today.Onward! Things of note this week that are diabetes-related, not-diabetes related, and everything in between:Ida Skivenes is from Oslo, Norway, and her Instagram account brings me unadulterated joy. I wish she made breakfast every day at my house, because starting the day with a bowl of adorable pig yogurt would be a bonus.I can barely handle how horrible this is. But I also ...
Source: Six Until Me. - April 12, 2013 Category: Diabetes Source Type: blogs
From Abby: Lab Freak.
Diabetes and stress seem to go hand-in-hand (or white-knuckled fist in white-knuckled fist?). Today, Abby is tackling the stress of dealing with labwork results that are - what? - normal? * * *I'm a nurse, right? So says my name tag at work. When other people call me with their questions and concerns, I'm quite level headed. I can think through things, and tell people what they need to hear. I can see a potassium of 6.4 and not freak out (well, I do freak out, but I keep my cool at the same time). I can talk to a patient who took 5 units of Humalog for "funsies" before bed and ...
Source: Six Until Me. - April 11, 2013 Category: Diabetes Tags: From Abby Source Type: blogs
Guest Post: The Reason I Jumped.
Would you jump out of a plane in support of your loved one with diabetes? This guest post, from Julie McMahon, talks about her daughter, fundraising, and free-falling into hope for a better life with type 1 diabetes. * * *On October 16, 2012, our six-year old daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. With a simple hospital blood test, we gained instant membership into a club that is expanding annually worldwide. And as any parent will tell you, the feeling of helplessness when your child falls ill can be overwhelming. I hated that sense of helplessness. I hated how she had received the &ldq...
Source: Six Until Me. - April 10, 2013 Category: Diabetes Source Type: blogs
Firsts.
Exercise isn't something I'm shy about, but doing it in front of other people scares the hell out of me. I don't know why - I think it's because I've been blessed (?) with such a high level of extreme awkwardness that the concept of doing anything in front of people makes me freeze up. I didn't want to walk down the aisle at my own wedding for fear of tripping and falling (I wanted to furtively rise up on a platform from underneath the floor, like an elevator, and just appear at the front of the church to say, "I do!"). I am nervous about going from my table to the podium when I speak at events....
Source: Six Until Me. - April 9, 2013 Category: Diabetes Tags: Fitness Source Type: blogs
Inkless Diabetes Tattoo.
If you wear your insulin pump turned in, flush against your skin, in a dress for too long, you'll end up branded. For real, branded:It's my inkless diabetes tattoo? I think I should have given my pump and my skin a little more breathing room. (Source: Six Until Me.)
Source: Six Until Me. - April 8, 2013 Category: Diabetes Source Type: blogs
A1seagulls.
Late evening talks with CSparl about the stupid diabetes things. "A1C goals. It's a focus that eclipses standard deviation, or how a person actually feels - just A1C goals, A1C goals, A1C goals.""A1C goals. A1C goals.""Heh. If you say it too many times in a row, it sounds like A1 seagulls. Like steak sauce birds." Exactly. (Source: Six Until Me.)
Source: Six Until Me. - April 5, 2013 Category: Diabetes Source Type: blogs
Here. A Big, Ol' Glass of ...
Overheard ... mostly:“My grandmother had both her legs amputated as a result of diabetes.”“A kid I went to high school with had diabetes but he didn’t take care of himself. He is blind now, but he brought it on himself.”“Didn’t they cure it in mice?”“Did you eat a lot of sugar as a kid?”“I read that you can reverse diabetes with acupuncture. Have you tried that?”“I read about a chocolate shake that cures diabetes. Have you tried that?”“I read about an herbal supplement that cures diabetes. Have you tried that?&...
Source: Six Until Me. - April 4, 2013 Category: Diabetes Source Type: blogs
