Guest Post: Brought Together by Baby Ruth.
I love this post, and the fact that candy bars can be used for good. Today, Tracy Friend, a fellow person with diabetes who travels and brings along her diabetes goodies by the purse-full, shares a story today about the power of meeting another PWD in the wild, and the compassion found therein.* * * We love to travel. And being a PWD, I am always excited when I see someone with that tell-tale tubing, another ‘borg’ like me. Like Kerri has posted before, there’s an instant connection – a shared organ or something like that that just draws me to these other unknown (but soon to be ...
Source: Six Until Me. - February 22, 2013 Category: Diabetes Tags: Guest Diabetes Bloggers Source Type: blogs
A Real A1C.
Last week, I had lab work run to review with my new primary care physician (my previous one, after only a year, is leaving the practice, which sucks because she was great, but thankfully, the new guy seems cool, only he wears a bow tie and I'm not sure how I feel about that, or how I feel about this massive run-on sentence). It was standard stuff, including an A1C, and my new doctor and I reviewed all of the results at my appointment this week.And for the third time in a row, my A1C is at a level I'm happy with. It could drop a small bit, but if it stayed where it is for the rest of my life, I'd sleep fine.&nbs...
Source: Six Until Me. - February 21, 2013 Category: Diabetes Tags: Blood Sugar Source Type: blogs
Dexcom Rash: Alternative Solution.
The Dexcom rash is under control, but still not gone. So I'm still on the hunt for something that makes this rash feel less like I'm developing a skin-peeling, borderline-chemical burn looking mess underneath each sensor adhesive ring. The inhaler solution works really well, but there is the risk of putting a steroid on top of my skin. (My doctor yesterday and I had a long discussion about the adhesive rash, or "contact dermatitis," as he's fond of calling it, and he cautioned me against long-term use of the inhaler solution because it could cause permanent discoloration of those patches of my s...
Source: Six Until Me. - February 20, 2013 Category: Diabetes Tags: CGMS Source Type: blogs
Not Even a Minute.
Not even a full minute after inserting this infusion set into my arm did a frigging door knob reach out and YOINK it off with such fanfare that it flew across the room. Infusion Set No. 2 on tap. Along with a renewed hatred of door knobs. (Source: Six Until Me.)
Source: Six Until Me. - February 19, 2013 Category: Diabetes Tags: Insulin Pumping Source Type: blogs
Guest Post: The Ginger.io Effect.
I've seen mentions of this Ginger.io service in different parts of the DOC (like over at Scott's blog house, and Kim's, and then over at the New York Times). I've done some research on their company, and for people who don't mind having the location services, etc. turned on for their phones, it's an interesting way of collecting data to provide insight on health habits (although for me, I'm not so much about sharing every data point of my day). So when Peter (the account manager for Ginger.io) contacted me to see if he could help spread the word about this data-driven service, I was happy to help. Mostly beca...
Source: Six Until Me. - February 18, 2013 Category: Diabetes Tags: Diabetes Tech Source Type: blogs
Thirty-Four.
To my BirdFriend,It wasn't until we were halfway through our drive home from your "school" that I realized you had been dominating most of the conversation. "We played in the play house and I waited my turn but Jackson didn't wait his turn so he had Miss Emily tell him 'no!' and I waited my turn but then when he took to long I just went by him and then went to the reading center and read a book - have you ever read a book about a bear, mama? I did that today and it was a brown bear, brown bear, what do you see? I see a brown bear looking at me!" You do not even take a break between sen...
Source: Six Until Me. - February 15, 2013 Category: Diabetes Source Type: blogs
Valentine's Day: Make it Count.
Shamelessly stolen from the Connected in Motion site, because this image is precisely IT. Spare a rose this Valentine's Day, and save the life of a child. Happy Valentine's Day!! xo (Source: Six Until Me.)
Source: Six Until Me. - February 14, 2013 Category: Diabetes Source Type: blogs
Down the Stairs.
It was a weak alarm, but I still heard it. I forgot to take the Dexcom receiver out of its case before I went to bed, so the vibrations weren't directly against the wooden nightstand, but the repeated BEEEEEEP!ing was enough to rouse me, after about fifteen minutes. "LOW BLOOD SUGAR UNDER 55 MG/DL GET THE HELL OUT OF BED" the screen screamed at me."Sure, yeah." I clicked my pump (aka 'my watch') to see what time it was - 2:32 am - and I tried to run my hand through my hair to get it out of my face, but my fingers ended up stuck in the mess of sweat-matted, tangled hair.The lamp switche...
Source: Six Until Me. - February 13, 2013 Category: Diabetes Tags: Blood Sugar Source Type: blogs
A Book You Should Read: Islands and Insulin.
The day before I headed out on flight to Nashville, TN, I received a package in the mail. "Mommy, that has sunshine all OVER it," my daughter exclaimed happily, running her hands over the bright yellow paper that covered the package."I know, right? Let's see what's inside," and we tore open the box to find, among other beach-esque trinkets, a book written by Erin Spineto, titled Islands and Insulin: A Diabetic Sailor's Memoir. A note from Erin, author and fellow PWD, encouraged me to take some time away from my schedule. Part of her note read: "You deserve a break. So sit back, fe...
Source: Six Until Me. - February 12, 2013 Category: Diabetes Tags: Diabetes Products Source Type: blogs
Fun with Injuries: Plantar Fasciitis.
And I was doing so well ... or at least for me.When I started running back at the beginning of the fall, a half mile was an accomplishment. I wrote about this before, and I also hit on this topic over at Animas, but I've always considered myself to be too awkward to do anything athletic that required any stamina. I could go for long walks or hikes, but challenging myself to actually run, and to keep running, was something I always shied away from. Lots of reasons, but the main one was a lack of confidence in my ability to not tip over and/or fall into a ditch.However, I've made good strides (terrible pun)...
Source: Six Until Me. - February 11, 2013 Category: Diabetes Tags: Fitness Source Type: blogs
Spare a Rose, Save a Child.
Valentine’s Day is coming up, and we, as a community, have a chance to show some love for people around the globe with diabetes. A small group of us – Kelly Close, Manny Hernandez, Bennet Dunlap, Adam Brown, Jeff Hitchcock, and I – with the support of some friends at Johnson & Johnson, got together recently to see how the diabetes community could use social media for social good, and a wicked cool and powerful idea was born. We want to help the Life for a Child program, sponsored by the International Diabetes Federation, which aims to take “contributions from donors [to] go to establ...
Source: Six Until Me. - February 9, 2013 Category: Diabetes Tags: Diabetes Advocacy Source Type: blogs
Blue Friday.
Rocking a little CWD Blue Friday action for my birthday. And spending the rest of the day making bread-and-milk soup for today's blizzard. (Also known as French toast. Also-also known as a little bit ridiculous, but this snowstorm is shaping up to be a massive one, so maybe the panic is warranted this time around.)Happy snow day! Keep yourself warm, and your insulin cool. (Source: Six Until Me.)
Source: Six Until Me. - February 8, 2013 Category: Diabetes Source Type: blogs
Elsewhere.
Due to a technical snafu, many of my columns at Animas from 2012 were published in 2013. Which means that some of the timelier content looks anachronistic, but the sentiment remains the same (see also: that time it looks like I wrote about the Friends for Life conference in January). As New England waits for the winter storm Nemo to find us this time, I wanted to share some of these new links while I'm searching for our snow shovel:"There was something about NOT being able to do something that made me want to do it even more. I don’t like feeling limited by my body. I don’t wa...
Source: Six Until Me. - February 7, 2013 Category: Diabetes Source Type: blogs
Context.
Out of context, this early morning Dexcom graph looks like things are all figured out, with barely a bite into the hypoglycemic range. It makes diabetes look easy. It makes blood sugars look like they are something you don't even have to think about. Until you see the whole picture, in context:Yesterday was miserable, blood sugar-wise, with numbers cruising around in the high 200's and not budging for hours, despite rage-bolusing. I felt sluggish and exhausted, my brain cells thick with sugar and every word in my mouth swiped by hyperglycemia. Hours with high blood sugars are The Suck. It took...
Source: Six Until Me. - February 6, 2013 Category: Diabetes Tags: Blood Sugar Source Type: blogs
Pants Off.
I travel a lot, so I’m very used to the airport patdown (aka “free massage”) and lots of scrutiny about my insulin pump and continuous glucose monitor. Usually, the TSA agent has seen a pump before and just needs a little background on the Dexcom, which I’m happy to give. I don’t mind pat downs in public areas. (When asked if I’d prefer a private screening, I say no thank you. And when they tell me they are going to use the back of their hands for sensitive areas, I say that I can’t wait. This usually makes them laugh, which one time made the TSA agent...
Source: Six Until Me. - February 5, 2013 Category: Diabetes Source Type: blogs
