Author: Frank

My Wish For the Diabetes Community In 2019

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Let’s have more collaboration and less disconnect. Organisations, healthcare professionals, researchers, pharmaceuticals, industry, people with diabetes and people connected to diabetes. We are all doing amazing things. We all want the same thing, too! Imagine how much more we could achieve if we put our minds together and joined forces?

Let’s respect each other’s differences in the way that we choose to manage our diabetes. Two people will never be exactly the same, so why do we expect two people with diabetes to be? I don’t subscribe to the notion that one size fits all when it comes to managing diabetes. Whether that be pens, pumps, meters, sensors, needles, syringes, Twitter, Facebook, carbs or no carbs, we are all unique and can peacefully co-exist together.

Let’s remember that no one issue is more important than another. Whether that be insulin pricing, insulin for those less fortunate, funding for CGMs, funding for better healthcare services or greater awareness of diabetes. If it’s important to one person, then it’s important. Full stop. But by turning it into an ‘us against them’ scenario, we are marginalising other groups campaigning for equally worthy causes.

While I’m there, let’s put an end to the calls for greater distinction between type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Yes, there are two (well actually, many more) types of diabetes. And yes, it’s important to know the differences between the two. But let’s also remember that nobody asks to get diabetes. This need to separate ourselves from people with other types of diabetes only serves to stigmatise people with different kinds of diabetes than us. We’re all in this together, right?

Let’s bring the voices of more people with diabetes to the table. Let’s see more people with diabetes talking to those in the industry. Let’s see organisations who are representing us, engaging with us. Let’s involve people with diabetes in all aspects of the research and development process, and not just at the launch phase. After all, how can people with diabetes not have a place in discussions that are about us?

Let’s celebrate the small victories (I’m the first to admit to being a glass half empty kind of guy…). Many of us don’t appreciate, for example, the research and development that goes into a product, or the advocacy that goes into securing funding from the government. Good things take time.

Let’s never give up on striving for more. Whether that be talking to your local Member of Parliament to advocate for better outcomes for people with diabetes, or challenging yourself to reach new goals in your own diabetes management. Energy spent complaining (and I’m the first to admit to being a serial whinger) is energy that we could be putting towards something productive.

Let’s never lose sight of why we all joined the diabetes community in the first place. To connect with other people just like us. To raise each other up on the tough days. To bask with us in the glory of our small victories. To know that we are never alone in what we are dealing with. Let’s continue to amplify the peer support that this community does best.

Waking Up With My Sleep Cycle

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The one problem that I have been trying to solve for the better part of last year is why I often find myself feeling so tired.

Despite getting a solid 7-9 hours of sleep each night, I was waking up most mornings feeling like I had gotten a lot less.

Part of me wondered whether it was just the relentless nature of managing diabetes, on top of everything else going on in life, that was taking its toll on me. This culminated a few months ago when I lost my appetite, and just sank onto the couch after work one afternoon feeling run down.

Of course, my subconscious jumped to all sorts of conclusions. Is it anaemia? Another autoimmune condition? I’m overdoing it. Or maybe it’s just the relentless nature of diabetes management on top of life. Stop being stupid – you’ve been managing your diabetes quite well and besides – you haven’t even had it for that long!

I did pay a visit to my doctor expressing my symptoms in a bid to put my mind at ease. He organised some bloodwork, which all came back fine.

After turning to Dr. Google, the words how to wake up feeling refreshed eventually led me to an app called Sleep Cycle.

No sooner than I had started using it, it truly changed my life.

The concept is pretty simple. During the night, the body goes through several cycles of roughly 90 minutes where it transitions from light sleep to deep sleep and vice versa. Case in point below.

While I’m in bed and the app is running, Sleep Cycle analyses my sleeping patterns using the microphone on my device. Sleep Cycle wakes me up within a 30-60 minute window set by me, when I’m in the lightest phase of my sleep.

I have used this app almost every morning for the past two months, and it has been a true game changer. Waking up is much, much, much easier than it once was. Sleep cycle is waking me up earlier than my alarm clock once did, and I’m feeling far more refreshed with less sleep than before.

One of the more surprising things I noticed almost instantly was an improvement in my mood. I don’t think I realised just how snappy I was getting until I wasn’t anymore. I also found I had far more concentration and focus during the day.

I’ve been running Sleep Cycle on my iPad so that I don’t drain my phone battery come morning. I’ve also been trying to get to bed at the same time each night, and trying not to sleep in longer than an hour on the weekends.

After two months, I feel that Sleep Cycle has definitely helped me to ‘re-calibrate’ my sleep. I often find myself waking up more naturally, anticipating Sleep Cycle’s gentle alarm. I’ve recently stopped using the app on weekends and I still find myself waking up fairly easily. Once I settle into a bit more of a consistent bedtime routine, I think I could make do without it for good.

It’s definitely easy to overlook sleep when my diabetes management feels far more important. I know that sometimes, my blood sugar levels have other ideas come bedtime. But when I’m managing a condition that demands a great deal from me, I need to be able to function at my best.

Combined with more substantial eating to match my energy expenditure and ongoing self care efforts, this is where my focus has been over much of the past year.

I can honestly say that I physically feel the best that I have in some time.

Holi-daze

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I’m back home this week after some much needed time out in Melbourne, and unfortunately back to the grind tomorrow. I didn’t really believe that Melbourne was capable of producing so many nice days (sans an icky 44 degrees at the Australian Open on Thursday), but it was nice to spend so much time outdoors. 

As I was on the plane home over the weekend, I came to this realisation that I hadn’t once given a thought to work throughout the week. Nor e-mails. Nor meals. Nor agendas or general life admin. 

It was a stark contrast to the (very limited) time that I had off over Christmas. I spent my time clearing out my filing cabinet. Catching up on the magazines and newsletters that I hadn’t gotten around to over the year. Clearing some virtual space on my Macbook. Vacuuming the dust from the floor and wiping away the coffee and bloodstains from my desk. 

I was still thinking about the daily grind. The time was over before I knew it.

Going away is truly amazing in its ability to pull me away from my environment and take my mind away from the grind. No morning alarms. No work. Nothing to think about except for what I wanted to do today. By the time it was over, I felt as though I had been gone for ages. 

The only thing that I did have to bring with me, unfortunately, was diabetes.  

Holidays are always a bit of a fine balance. There are lots of extra carbs (read: plenty of coffees and trips to Brunetti). But there’s also a lot of extra walking, which has the potential to send me low. 

Overall, I was pretty happy with my BGs while I was away. I was more generous than usual with my insulin guesstimates, thinking about the greater likelihood of going high after the carbs rather than low. There were a couple of lows, but all of the walking around mostly helped to keep things level. There were a few stubborn blips, particularly in the evenings, but overall I didn’t spend my nights battling sustained highs. 

Now, reality has sunk back in. But I feel somewhat refreshed. And ready to tackle what this year has in store for me. 

Turn of the Year

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I snapped this photo as I was walking on the evening of New Year’s Day.

It was a quiet evening. The carpark a little further ahead at my local IGA was desolate. A cool and rather grey change had just swept through after a warm day.

It just summed up the general vibe of January perfectly.

After the craziness of December and the festive season, things have finally wound down. The world is back to normal once again, seemingly somewhat quieter. For me, this turn of the year seems to trigger a great deal of reflection on the year gone by, as well as ideas for the year ahead.

I’ve been mulling over the fact that I’ve been a part of the diabetes community for four years now. My life, my outlook on diabetes and my level of knowledge has changed for the better thanks to the sense of community I’ve found online since I began writing this blog.

I’ve been mulling over how much better I feel, physically, over the course of this past year. A combination of eating more substantially to meet my energy expenditure, and improving the quality of my sleep have left me feeling the best I have in a long time.

I’ve been mulling over how I need to shift gears and give more focus to my blood sugars this year. I feel that BG management has become a little too stagnant, and that I’m spending more time than I’d like coasting toward the upper end of my target range.

I’ve been mulling over how lightning fast some of the developments in diabetes technology are moving of late. I fully expect that we’ll see more exciting diabetes tech hit Aussie shores this year. More competition and more choice for people with diabetes is always a good thing, but at the same time I wonder how many will actually have access to these new tools.

I’ve been mulling over how relatively affordable insulin and other medications are here in Australia. No matter how much I whinge about missing out on government funding, or how many concerns circle my mind over money, it really pales in comparison to people in other parts of the world.

I’ve also been mulling over trying to focus more on the now. Not letting those little nagging doubts or what-ifs take over. Reminding myself that while self improvement is not necessarily a bad thing, I also need to acknowledge all of the little things I’m doing today and the achievements I already have behind me. (Thanks for this timely reminder, Rachel…)

So while I’m at it, Happy New Year.

I hope that 2019 is everything that you want it to be.

The Silly Season.

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It’s nearly Christmas.

I guess everywhere I look at the moment, I feel like I’m seeing a lot of ‘rules’ that I need to be following as we head into the silly season. Undoubtedly followed by the barrage of New Year, New You stuff.

To be honest, I don’t really have much of a strategy heading into the next couple of days.

It’s Christmas, and to be honest, I want to celebrate Christmas like every other person around me. That will undoubtedly involve food that contains carbs, and drinks that contain alcohol. There will likely be chocolate. And shortbread. And bailey’s. And plenty of other good stuff.

As much as I would love for diabetes to shut up shop over Christmas and New Year, I will have to keep on keeping on. I will be monitoring my blood sugar with a little more ease thanks to the FreeStyle Libre sensor I’m wearing, and giving insulin doses my best guess with the help of my trusty insulin pump. I don’t expect it to turn out perfect, but then again diabetes never is.

The one thing that I will be avoiding when approaching the Christmas dinner table is the food coma that comes after it. Over the years I’ve learned that I don’t need to try everything from the smorgasbord, and would much rather just choose some of my favourites that I might not have so often. Waking up to high blood sugars, insulin resistance, extreme thirst and sweat in the middle of the night is definitely not pretty. This post sums up the experience quite nicely…

I guess one of the more challenging things at this time of the year is being asked questions around how I will manage my diabetes as I sit down to the Christmas dinner I’ve so been looking forward to. Super helpful, right? A few days ago, I was so happy to have a conversation with someone who wasn’t asking me if I had to be careful or if I had to check my blood sugar levels over dinner. Instead, I got to talk about my involvement in the diabetes community.

As I talked about some of the amazing things that have been happening around me this year, I couldn’t help but be reminded of just how much of a highlight continually connecting with people in the diabetes community really is.

To my diabetes family near and far, thanks for sticking around this year.

Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year.