Author: Frank

Diabetes Themed Christmas Gifts?

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What do you want for Christmas? is one of the most difficult questions in the world for me to answer. Perhaps it’s because I’m extremely indecisive. Or because I’m simply lucky enough to have a lot of the stuff that I want already.

This week, I feel particularly proud of myself for having completed all of my Christmas shopping on December 4. I get to go home in the afternoons contemplating nothing further than a walk, and perhaps a trip to the beach on Friday.

Strolling through the shops at this time of year reminds me of how I honestly couldn’t think of any Christmas gift worse than a mug and cocoa set, a spice rack, jam jars, candles, toiletry sets, or character shaped tins of cheap biscuits.

So when it comes to the subject of a diabetes themed holiday gift, I actually don’t think it’s such a bad idea. There are so many awesome diabetes accessories online that I spend more time than I’d care to admit looking at – adhesives, stickers, bags, tees, jewellery, phone covers, mugs and so much more.

I totally get that a diabetes themed holiday gift won’t be for everyone. Not everyone wants to wear their diabetes loud and proud, or be reminded of their condition on Christmas morning. There are definitely diabetes themed gifts that would equally insult me (please don’t ever put a box of anything sugar free or ‘diabetic friendly’ inside my Christmas stocking. Unless you’re joking. But even I wouldn’t test me on that one). But equally, I’m sure there are people out there who would appreciate those gifts. So ultimately, knowing the person who you are buying for is key.

Diabetes is an extremely expensive condition to live with. I am forced to spend my hard earned money on supplies that I’d rather spend elsewhere. So for the most part, I can’t really justify spending money on cool accessories when looking at the bigger picture.

However it does make my task of answering that dreaded Christmas question much, much easier. Last year, I asked for a Myabetic bag. This year, I’ve requested FreeStyle Libre sensors. I’m planning to trade in my Christmas cash for some more Libre sensors. I also wouldn’t be offended by the likes of a diabetes book, t-shirt or other cool accessory.

Managing my diabetes is one of the most monotonous tasks in life. Every day I stare at the same devices, perform the same tasks and take the same actions with the aim of keeping my blood sugar levels in check. I don’t get a break over Christmas and New Year, nor at five o’clock or on the weekend.

I personally couldn’t think of a better Christmas gift than one that might help me to feel a little more enthusiastic, less burdened or reenergised in the daily grind.

If that doesn’t float your boat, I don’t think you could go wrong with a donation to one of these charities supporting people with diabetes in Australia and beyond.

Road Trip.

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When I go travelling (and that’s a very loose term, given I have never ventured beyond Australia), I spend a lot of time thinking about whether I have packed enough supplies to last me the distance. I give a lot of thought to how I will manage if I get stranded, lost, delayed or even robbed. I pack for the trip through airport security and the plane, in an attempt to make my load as light and convenient as possible.

What I don’t really give a lot of thought to, however, is how I will manage my diabetes on the trip. Travel tends to be a break from the daily grind, and diabetes management unintentionally tends to go onto the backburner. It’s also full of spontaneity which, for me, includes a lot of unplanned carbs (read: Cannoli) and physical activity.

This weekend, my travel plans were a little different to what I was used to. I wouldn’t be travelling by air, with the luxury of being able to sleep, write or watch Netflix from the comfort of my seat. I wouldn’t be sightseeing or walking a lot, either. I would be seated behind the wheel of my car, making a road trip three hours south of Perth to spend some time with family.

This time around, I was increasingly conscious of looking after my blood sugars while I was making my way through country roads at 110 kilometres per hour. I didn’t particularly want to be sharing screen time with my insulin pump, pricking my fingers or thinking all that much about blood sugars.

Even though I would inevitably be eating out, I was increasingly conscious of ordering something that would be simple to carb count. I chose bacon and eggs at a local Dome along the way, with an iced latte. I gave a small bolus for the coffee and half slice of toast that I ate, and ran an extended bolus to cover the protein over two and a half hours.

I might have pulled my Libre reader out three or four times during the drive home, which came back with a number that remained fairly steady the entire time. The most eventful moment was me needing to pull over to take off my jacket as the overcast south western skies transitioned into warm Perth sunshine.

I didn’t spend too much time thinking about my diabetes during the road trip, and the spectacular drive was a surprisingly nice mental break.

During a conversation over the weekend, one of my family members suggested that I must know my body really well, and how it reacts to all of the variables that affect blood sugars. It couldn’t be more spot on.

I have so much accumulated knowledge when it comes to managing my diabetes, and I definitely need to channel some of that into a better game plan next time I hit the road (which is more likely to be a plane).

Review: Two Months with the Tandem t:slim x2

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It’s hard to believe that I’ve only been using my t:slim for two months, because it already feels like much, much longer. In the short time we’ve been together we’ve enjoyed pizza nights, springtime basal adjustments, travel, work and will soon be celebrating our first Christmas together.

I thought I’d follow up on my last post (initial impressions here) with a few more thoughts now that the enthusiasm has waned.

The biggest adjustment from my late Animas Vibe has been the insulin cartridges. There were times over the first couple of weeks where my blood sugars felt like a struggle to manage – the kind of difficulty that can only be explained by spoiled insulin. I also had a lot of paranoia after learning that insulin is at greater risk of spoiling inside those uniquely designed black cartridges.

To sum it up, insulin gets drawn into a syringe, and then injected into the black cartridge. Little did I know that the cartridge also contains air, which also needs to be drawn out prior to filling (I partly blame myself for not properly watching the videos that were sent to my inbox…). So this explained the harder to manage blood sugars.

I’m also finding more air bubbles pop up during the fill process than I did when filling my Animas cartridges, while using room temperature insulin as instructed.

The cartridges can’t be reused as easily as my Animas ones, either. I don’t think I’m game enough to try refilling the cartridges, given that I can’t exactly ‘see’ what’s going on in there. I’ve been filling with the recommended 3-4 days worth of insulin, and am slowly working my way up to filling the cartridge with more as I gain confidence in the fill process.

My other issue is that the pump is WAY more alerty and annoying than Animas. (Speaking of, I really appreciated this post from Laddie at Test Guess and Go last week). Some of the pump’s alerts are just an insult to my intelligence and years of lived experience. Incomplete bolus alert? That’s because I decided against doing so. Temp basal that has dropped below half my normal rate? That’s because I know that my blood sugar is going to drop during my walk.

There are also SO many different screens to flick through when swapping out an insulin cartridge.

Change cartridge. Tick. Stop insulin. Tick. Is the set disconnected from your body? Tick. Changed cartridge. Tick. Fill tubing. Tick. Fill cannula. Tick. Finished. Tick.

Just yesterday, I received a vibrating alert well after a site change because I had tucked my pump away before reaching the ‘resume insulin’ screen. When factoring in my prior shower, I had been without insulin for some time.

Gripes aside, I still maintain that the adjustment from my late Animas has been fairly seamless. The t:slim has some much needed upgrades and modernness, while not asking me to change everything I know about pumping insulin. More on that in my earlier post here.

For me personally, my favourite thing about the t:slim is its wearability.

A mere few months ago, I was feeling really frustrated when it came to dressing with my insulin pump. Moreso when I was dressing for work and just wanted my pump out of the way. It was far too chunky to wear on my waist, but kept getting in the way every time I wanted to reach into my pocket.

Today, my new pump is so slim that I can simply ‘tuck’ it into my waistband with my shirt, and it doesn’t bother me there one bit.

I’ve been dreaming of this pump coming to Australia for a long, long time, and I’m happy to say that it is indeed everything I had ever hoped for.

When it comes to a device that is attached to my body 24 hours a day, it’s nice to finally have a sophisticated pump that looks and feels great to use.

Disclosure: Aussie distributor AMSL Diabetes bumped me to a priority upgrade to the t:slim, because, #TslimForFrank. As an existing customer using an in warranty Animas Vibe, I was eligible for the free upgrade as per their transition program. This included no agreement from me to write about the pump, and as always these thoughts are my own.

The Pizza Bolus.

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This is what I woke up to at a little prior to 1am this morning.

It was the result of, you guessed it, pizza.

Pizza is one of those foods that I wouldn’t be able to bolus for if my life depended on it.

Despite trying to recall Gary Scheiner’s Think Like a Pancreas and Dr Kirstie Bell’s research findings prior to the meal, the pizza (and the company) was so good that once I had started it was hard to stop.

I started out at 15g per slice, which was the consensus among a table of type 1s. I think I should have gone for closer to 20g.

I didn’t use a dual wave or set a temporary basal rate.

I clearly didn’t get my insulin in quickly enough, and the insulin resistance had set in by bedtime.

I woke up to the graph above at 1am, sweating. I gave a full correction and set a temporary basal rate of 150%.

I ran to the kitchen, and skulled down two glasses of water to rid the salty aftertaste from my extremely dry mouth. Followed by a dash to the bathroom.

As I laid back down in bed and switched on my phone, I smiled as I saw notifications from some of the friends who I’d had dinner with.

We were all in it together.

I think that was the most well received 17.9 I’ve ever seen.

Not What I Planned For…

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16:22 I arrive home. Blood sugar is 4.6 with a downward arrow and around 1 unit of insulin on board. Little guy has not yet been for a walk today.

16:33 I prepare a milky coffee and grab one of the Walkers Shortbread Festive Shapes from the cupboard. 15 grams of carbs. Enough to course correct the hypo, with a little extra glucose for the quick walk I’m planning.

16:54 Almost ready to walk and my Libre is still reading 3.4 and steady. A finger prick reads 4.3. I figure I’ll need a little more glucose for my walk, but I really don’t feel like glucose tabs today. I open the cupboard, delighted to find a packet of pretzels there. I measure out 15 grams of pretzels and chew them down.

17:01 I have the little guy’s attention before I’ve even grabbed his lead from it’s little drawer. Just before I’m about to head out the door, the phone rings. I pick it up, and decide on a quick detour to the train station to collect my sister from work since I’m heading out anyway.

17:06 Today’s walk will probably be lighter than usual, given that I have the little guy in tow who’s still recovering from surgery a few weeks ago. I bolus for half of the pretzels I ate as I’m sitting in the car driving towards the train station, figuring I’ve overestimated my glucose needs.

17:15 My sister asks if the little guy has been for a walk today as we’re heading back from the station, and I explain that I was planning on doing so prior to this detour. She then says that she is going for a walk with a friend, and offers to take him with her.

17.19 Back home. Blood sugar is 5.3 and trending upwards. Too polite to explain how much of this afternoon’s groundwork hinged on me taking the little guy for a walk, I convince myself I have other things to do and bolus for all of the insulin I missed. And then some.

Exercise with diabetes is so damn hard.