Staycation

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I am often asked when my next holiday will be, or if I have any travel plans in the pipeline. As much as I do love going on a holiday, they are equally exhausting by the time I return home. AND they cost money.

I’m not the kind of person who goes on a holiday to sit on the beach. I can easily do that at home. I want to go somewhere that I can explore and sightsee and be a tourist. But that is exhausting in itself. So ideally I’d love an extra week up my sleeve when I return home just to sleep in and catch up with life. But with a full time job, no lotto wins and only four weeks of annual leave, it rarely happens.

Throw diabetes into the mix of work and life, and after a while it feels like you’re just pulling it along, struggling to keep up. It’s monotonous. It’s always there. It never ceases to throw curveballs my way. 

Towards the end of last year, I definitely drew back a fair bit from my blog and from social media. I was feeling a lot of frustration towards my pump, which I’ll write more about soon. I felt like I was venting my diabetes frustrations all the time, without anything of value to say. 

I had a lot of other things going on at home and at work, leaving me with little enthusiasm for much else. It had been ages since I’d binge watched a good TV drama, or even gone to the beach. But I was exhausted.

So, after working through most of December, I decided to take a much needed Staycation. You know, being able to sleep in, make breakfast at 10am, go to the beach, binge on a good TV drama at midday, go to the shops without being in a hurry, stay up late into the night and recharge the batteries. 

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It began with all of this seemingly endless time stretched out in front of me, and before I knew it I was wondering how it could be over so soon. I guess that’s a good thing…

Staycations are awesome. They’re cheap. They’re a good way to charge up the batteries quickly. And they kind of let me catch up to diabetes a little, so that I’m not lagging behind for too long.

Cheers to Two Years!

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*blows shortbread crumbs off the keyboard*

Happy New Year!

I can’t help but feel like saying “WE MADE IT!”

We made it to the finish line of 2016, with a New Year and the promise of a fresh start ahead of us.

I hope you had a wonderful festive season, and hopefully some time out to recharge the batteries. With the reality of heading back to work tomorrow starting to sink in, the festive season is well and truly over for another year.

This little corner of the internet also happened to mark its second birthday last week. It’s been two years since I began blogging here at Type 1 Writes, and since I first entered into the fray that is the Diabetes Online Community.

As often as I am thanked for my blog and it’s helpfulness, I’ve needed this space just as much as you. This space started out as the pet project of a university graduate, and I never really knew what would become of it.

I struggled with managing a very demanding and isolating condition that is type 1 diabetes. I wasn’t satisfied with the state of my management, but I lacked the knowledge and motivation to do all of the things that added up half decent blood sugar levels.

The past two years have brought a wave of peer support, knowledge, learning, inspiration, empowerment and “me toos.” Although diabetes is an impossible condition to manage at the best of times, I feel I have a far better idea of how to tame it than I once did.

I really owe it to all of you.

The supportive comments that have come from my blog posts. The conversations that happen on Twitter. The support from people on my own Facebook page who I didn’t think would care less about diabetes. The e-mails that arrive from the contact page on my blog. Your articles and blog posts that provide me with insights and inspiration to apply to my own diabetes management. To those of you who are kind enough to check in when my blog is quiet. To my family at home who I couldn’t have done this, and diabetes, without.

2 years, 313 posts, 1,110 comments, 5,000 odd tweets, 100 or so OzDOC chats, and thousands of coffees later, I can’t thank you enough for the past two years.

Having diabetes absolutely sucks, but you guys make it suck just a little bit less.

Scruffy and I wish you nothing but the best for 2017. Make it a good one, friends.

(P.S. Scruffy, I’m still waiting for that guest post you were going to write for me months ago…)

Cheers to two years!

 – Frank

The What-ifs of the Festive Season

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It’s that time of the year. Food, festivities, end of year exhaustion, and the promise of a fresh start come January 1. Add to that a nasty throat infection that I’m only just getting over, and the unpredictable glucose levels that have come with it.

This is a time of year where I have traditionally cruised along with my diabetes management, pushing all of my “priorities” back to January 1. It’s during this time, as I’m cruising along, that the diabetes what-ifs begin to cross my mind.

What if I had eaten less junk this year?

What if I had been motivated to count my carbs, and weigh my food more often?

What if I had been able to keep my blood sugar levels stable through the night more often?

What if I was able to log my readings and doses and look for trends more often?

What if I’m never able to get this right?

These feelings of guilt cross my mind moreso during the festive season, when I’m likely to be found ho-ing into plates of leftover desert in the days after Christmas and reflecting on the year gone.

This year, I do feel massively lighter. I still feel exhausted, but it’s more of a normal person exhaustion than diabetes exhaustion. It’s weirdly refreshing. It’s been a good year for my diabetes. I have made some impressive strides in my management. I’m in a place that I thought was impossible this time last year.

No, things are not perfect. There are still highs. There are still lows. And I’d be lying if I said that there aren’t still some what-ifs crossing my mind this year. I think we all feel that there is always more that we could do for our diabetes.

So, I’m challenging myself not to think about the what-ifs over the next couple of weeks. I’m really just looking forward to putting my feet up this festive season, and appreciating all of the things I have been able to accomplish in 2016. Diabetes, and otherwise.

I’ll likely be dialling up big doses of insulin, and using temporary basal rates on my insulin pump to help me cruise through the Christmas eating a little easier. I’ll be monitoring my blood sugar a little more often, but the focus will be more on enjoying myself than the numbers themselves.

If you’d like to spare a thought for those who don’t have the luxury of insulin this Christmas, consider making a donation to T1International or Spare a Rose. Both organisations advocate for, and provide insulin to people with diabetes in need all over the world.

While many Offices and workplaces have the luxury of a break over Christmas and New Years, spare a thought for those in industries such as hospitality, retail and health care who sacrifice time with their loved ones to serve us during the festive season.

Finally, dear readers. Merry Christmas. Thanks for reading Type 1 Writes this year. Wishing you a very happy, and safe festive season. See you in 2017!

– Frank

Is There Room For More Voices in the DOC?

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Wednesday’s #dsma Twitter chat discussed the issue of inclusiveness in the Diabetes Online Community, inspired by my hour of the World Diabetes Day chat last month.

As I caught up on Wednesday’s #dsma chat, I was surprised at how different the response was compared to the hour of identical questions I hosted on World Diabetes Day. While World Diabetes Day highlighted alienation by type, access, technology and opinion, Wednesday’s chat went into feelings of alienation by things such as race, religion and sexuality. I felt that in Wednesday’s chat, I saw more people actually stand up and say that they did not feel included in the DOC. It definitely surprised me.

When I think about the importance of diversity in the DOC, I think the answer is simple. If we were all the same, the DOC would be boring and we wouldn’t hang around so much! If we all agreed on everything, we wouldn’t feel stimulated or challenged to think beyond our own needs and concerns. For me personally, connecting with organisations like T1International has really opened my eyes to more pressing issues of access in less fortunate areas of the world.

When asked if the DOC was inclusive of different voices and opinions, there were two very good points that resonated with me.

Firstly, the DOC is heavily weighted by those with privilege. Those who have access to the very best tools available to manage their diabetes. Private care, Continuous Glucose Monitors, Insulin Pumps…the list goes on. Count me guilty. The latest tech and gadgets receive a great deal of attention and enthusiasm online, and it’s easy to see why those without would certainly feel left out. I always lament the sad fact that the mostly privileged DOC is not representative of the diabetes population. There’s all these exciting developments and advancements in diabetes care, and yet how many people will be able to get their hands on it? I suspect those facing basic access issues would hardly have the ability to Tweet or blog about it, but I would personally love to see more of these stories brought to light. I do applaud T1International for giving these groups a voice.

The second point raised was the heavy skew of type 1 voices in the DOC. Many questioned whether type 2s felt alienated because of stigma…you know, diet and exercise shaming. Some suggested raising up the type 2 voices that are heard, and fighting or not contributing to stigma. I no longer feel the urge to get angry when I see a politically incorrect statement about type 1 diabetes, because I realise I probably end up shaming or stigmatising someone with type 2. Nobody asks to get diabetes, let alone be told why they got it. We’re all in this together, and we need to raise each other up.

Cherise, operator of the #dsma community, stated that her goal has always been to support everyone touched by diabetes. Judging by the strength of the #dsma community, she’s clearly doing something right. I would hope that I am inclusive. But, naturally, we all have different goals, needs and areas of interest. So where does that put someone who is sitting in a minority area of interest?

I think of my friend Laura (@KidFears99) on Twitter. A few months ago when everyone was talking about the right to their choice of insulin pump (aka #DiabetesAccessMatters), she felt that nobody else cared about the rising cost of insulin in the US. She was passionate about her cause. It mattered to her. So she kept talking about it. She went to the media with her story. Today, she has drummed up a great deal more interest in this issue that there was several months ago.

So if you do feel in the minority, I encourage you to speak up. I guarantee that there is at least one more person out there who will be interested in what you have to say. I don’t really think it matters whether you have the support of 1 person, or 1000. If its important to you, then it’s worth sharing. I will always be willing to listen.

The DOC constantly challenges my thinking, and that tells me that we must be doing something right. We just need to make sure that we keep making room for more. There will always be room for more voices.

Pump-less in December

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I was staring at the infusion site on my stomach that needed to be changed on Friday night, and all I could think to myself was I really don’t want to do this. 

I thought about the stressful week I had just had. I thought about all of the running around I’ve been doing lately, and the hypos that accompanied the running around. Spontaneous activity is so friggin hard to plan for. How can I possibly guess when I’m going to get the urge to vacuum my bedroom floor, fiddle around with the Christmas lights that have fallen, or water the garden – and set a temporary basal rate an hour in advance to stop me from going low? This was hardly an issue on Multiple Daily Injections.

It was 37 degrees on Friday, and the pump just added to the hot weather discomfort. That lump in my pocket was a cozy comfort during the Winter, but now it just annoys me. Every time I sprawl out on the couch, or lay down in bed, its there. Every time I have to stop and tuck the excess pump line back into the waistband of my shorts, only to have it emerge again soon after. Every time it weighs down my shorts with all of the other crap I carry around when I leave the house, and I’m left pulling up my pants every five minutes.

I’ve definitely been cruising a little more than I would normally allow myself. Hello, December. I had two iced coffees last week. At 69g of carbs a pop, it’s not something I can usually justify consuming, especially being in liquid form. I’ve been treating myself more often than I would usually allow, and carb considerations cross my mind less often than they usually do. Maybe a break would give me time to refocus?

I love my insulin pump. I love the added precision, and extra flexibility that it allows. Having an insulin pump has really motivated me to more actively manage my blood sugar levels and count my carbs. In seven months, I don’t think I’ve ever seriously considered abandoning my insulin pump.

But I was already daydreaming of being free from my pump. I was excited by the idea of shaking things up and doing something different, in the same, refreshing way that going Libre-less was.

I have learned so much about my insulin dose requirements since starting out on a pump, and I couldn’t help but wonder if I could apply this logic and newfound diligence into Multiple Daily Injections a second time around.

With Christmas just around the corner, I doubt that this pump break will last very long. But for a few days at least, I will savour the freedom of not having to feel for a flying pump every time I get up off the couch, and the extra space in my pockets.