Diabetes Blog Week Day 4

(Note: I can't believe I forgot to post this! I even wrote it last night! I'm such a goob.)

Diabetes Blog Week Day 4

Today let’s tackle an idea inspired by Bennet of Your Diabetes May Vary. Tell us what your Fantasy Diabetes Device would be? Think of your dream blood glucose checker, delivery system for insulin or other meds, magic carb counter, etc etc etc. The sky is the limit – what would you love to see?

Oh my good gravy! We can have some FUN with this one!

I already know what I want! And my birthday's coming! (in June, so it's really close!) I would like a device that is about the size of my Kindle Fire, and I want it to do ALL of the following:

• Integrated glucometer for measureing my blood sugars
• Integrated logging so I only have to check it and it shows up in the log (oh that would be nice)
• User friendly logging, for adding in my insulin and carb counts. I use dbees.com for logging and I love it. LOVE IT!
• OH! And a carb counting app that really has everything in it! No more SWAGging then looking it up online when I get home!
• Along those same lines, an app that figures out my boluses for me! I hate math.
• And since we are dreaming anyway, I want it to still do everything my Kindle does and have a slot for a memory card!

I suppose if I was a pump user (working in that direction, believe me I wish I was...) I would probably add a remote for controlling a pump and ability to read a CGM on it. BUT since I don't have, I don't know what I'd want.

Diabetes Blog Week Day 3

Diabetes Blog Week Day #3

Yesterday we gave ourselves and our loved ones a big pat on the back for one thing we are great at. Today let’s look at the flip-side. We probably all have one thing we could try to do better. Why not make today the day we start working on it. No judgments, no scolding, just sharing one small thing we can improve so the DOC can cheer us on!
I have to apologize for waiting until late to make this post. I wanted to wait until after my appointment with my doctor (who is AWESOME) before I wrote this. OK I really just wanted to get my latest A1c before I wrote this, if I'm gonna be honest.

We all know there is something we need to improve on. As I waited to be called back to the exam room, I "cheated" and read the first 33 blogs posted on the Bittersweet list. What a familiar refrain! Get back on the wagon after falling off, exercise more, test more, change lancet/infusion set more, be more positive, relax more, etc. More, more, more. All things that we as diabetics struggle with on a daily basis.

I've been mulling on this topic all day, because, frankly, I think I'm in the catbird seat with control (more on that later...), I've actually changed my lancet three times since Friday (unheard of I know!), and for three days I have bolused for literally everything crossing my lips! So with that and my MD visit in mind, I have decided on what I need to improve on. Here it is:

CONNECTIONS

LINKS

REACHING OUT

 

I need to keep my eye on this prize, my control, but reach out and help others attain theirs. The best way for me to do that right now is this blog. I hope to keep up the momentum and add to this every day! (OK, every other day, or at least twice a week.) I'd like to become more involved in my local diabetes community and perhaps even my state! Big dreams I know, but if you are gonna dream, I say you better dream big! I've pretty much been keeping to myself on this, but I am feeling empowered after today's visit and want to reach out to others. That is what I can improve on.

Waiting for the details on my doctor visit and why I am so DAMN PROUD of myself? A year ago, I was struggling with my dia-dragon and he was winning. By December my A1c was a whopping 10.7%! That was when I made a determined effort to slay the beast. By mid-February, I had dropped it to 8.7%. I've made a few changes in the last two months and today, I was rewarded for all my hard work with an A1c of....

I know, I try not to let the numbers define who I am, but I have to admit getting that thing down almost 4 points in 5 months feels pretty damn good. Time to pay it forward!

Diabetes Blog Week Day 2

Diabetes Blog Week Day 2
Living with diabetes (or caring for someone who lives with it) sure does take a lot of work, and it’s easy to be hard on ourselves if we aren’t “perfect”. But today it’s time to give ourselves some much deserved credit. Tell us about just one diabetes thing you (or your loved one) does spectacularly! Fasting blood sugar checks, oral meds sorted and ready, something always on hand to treat a low, or anything that you do for diabetes. Nothing is too big or too small to celebrate doing well!

Oh. My. Gosh. I'm sitting here wracking my brains trying to come up with the one thing I do well. I don't feel like I do aything well. Or, more exactly, each day it's only one phenomenal thing and never the same from one day to the next. Crap. What is there?

• Change lancets - Nope. Wait, that's once a week, right?
• Regularly check BS level - no where near as often as I should
• Bolus for everything that enters my mouth - not so much, I'm still in the injection stone age and, frankly, it hurts!
• Make bad jokes so I don't feel so bad for NOT being "perfect" - SPOT ON!

There it is! I'll be the first one to admit that I'm not perfect. In anything, let alone dealing with the Dia-dragon. But I do have a sense of humor to help keep everything in perspective. The humoristic sense is necessary to keep dealing daily with a disease that makes no sense. And I guarantee if I ever think I have MY dia-dragon slayed, he will get up and politely tell me the rules have changed. That's just the way he rolls.

In the meantime, this is how I feel:

Diabetes Blog Week: Day 1

Diabetes Blog Week: Day 1
WILDCARD: Creativity comes in all shapes and forms, so take this where ever it leads you. Write a diabetes poem. Create some D-Art. Record a vlog. Write a diabetes song parody. Scrapbook, collage, sew, knit, crochet . . . . use your favorite creative outlet to create a diabetes project!

OK, so I'm a day late. But definitely richer for it. I spent my evening creating this piece of art.

Took me about an hour and a half and I had to do it primarily one handed because of the beautiful cast on my left arm. I was inspired by a mess created my my loving, four legged kids. They have a "no fail" way of letting us know that we should have taken them with us and on Mother's Day, they left me a pile of nearly 5000 puzzle pieces right in front of the door. Perhaps intended as a gift? I had been grappling with what to wrote for Day 1 of Blog week when it hit me, playing 5000 piece pick up and sorting out the shredded pieces of box and plastic bag, that I could wild card Day 1 with some art.

This is my first piece of D-art and I hope you all enjoy it. I promise to write more on the future posts!


For more on Diabetes Blog Week please visit Bittersweet Diabetes.