World Diabetes Day

What Type 1 Diabetes Is Really Like

2 Comments

“How’s your diabetes going?” “Are you managing it alright?” “How are your levels?”

These are the questions that I am most often asked about my diabetes. Don’t get my wrong, I love fielding questions about diabetes. However, being asked about my diabetes so generally is so difficult for me to answer. I’m often left lost for words. Speechless.

Diabetes is so much more than just “good” or “not good.” “Pass” or “fail.” It’s never a simple answer. Diabetes in itself, is never simple.

Diabetes is one of the most unpredictable conditions to live with. Trying to mimic a healthy pancreas, while trying to live my life at the same time, is never easy. Two days with diabetes are never the same. Two identical days with diabetes don’t guarantee you the same results.

Everything affects diabetes. Everything and anything.

A good night’s sleep can be the difference between steady, or skyrocketing levels after waking. Physical activity that isn’t carefully planned for will send me low, and then high in the aftermath. Stress, and illness are enough to make my blood sugar levels as stubborn as hell. A plate of pasta is digested at a much slower rate than a plate of mashed potato.

To remain on top of this condition, I have to be on top of my game. Being on top of my game means living in anticipation of all of these things. Second guessing how accurate my carb counting was at dinner. Wondering if I will need a square of chocolate, or a couple of skittles, to keep me steady over the next couple of hours. Anticipating the timing of my insulin dose to match the food I am eating. Stressing about where my blood sugar levels will settle before I go to bed. Wondering whether I am doing enough to keep myself healthy, and free from long term complications.

After six years, diabetes has become somewhat of a second nature. Yeah, it frustrates me. Yeah, I don’t always get it right. Some times are tougher than others. I get burned out from time to time. There are days where I close my eyes, and bury my head in my hands.

But I don’t feel burdened. I don’t spend my days dreaming of a cure, or wishing it away. It hasn’t stopped me from doing whatever I set out to achieve in life. I will have type 1 diabetes for the rest of my life, and I’ve made my peace with that. 

Type 1 diabetes has made me a stronger, healthier, passionate and more confident person. Type 1 diabetes has shaped the person that I am today, and I wouldn’t trade that guy for anything in the world.

img_5000

dsc02064

img_0933

Wishing you a Happy World Diabetes Day.

***

There’s a 24 hour chat happening over on Twitter for World Diabetes Day. For those of you in Australia, it kicks off at 1pm WST/4pm EST. All you need is a Twitter account. Join in by following/tweeting with the hashtag #WDDChat16.

I will be hosting the 5am hour, which is 6pm WST/9pm EST for those of you in Australia.

Hope you can join me.

Advocating Long, and Hard, and Always

2 Comments

Throughout November, I’ve certainly felt an increased level of energy, and activity in the diabetes community. Over the weekend, this community came together from all over the world for the occasion of World Diabetes Day. To advocate, to speak up, to raise awareness and to share.

One of the “events” to mark that occasion was the World Diabetes Day Chat over on Twitter. For 15 straight hours we shared our experiences, we tackled hard hitting issues, we bounced our advocacy efforts off of one another and we raised our voices. It was a twitterstorm of diabetes talk. It was one of the most inspiring, and empowering moments of advocacy. I feel so much more motivated and focussed towards my own advocacy efforts as a result of that chat.

When I finally put my phone down at 11am on Sunday morning, I felt kind of fizzled. I wouldn’t say that I feel burned out, but I certainly feel as though I could use a breather. And when it was time for our weekly #OzDOC chat on Tuesday night, it seemed that I wasn’t alone.

Advocacy is not easy. Advocacy is not always within our comfort zones. And advocacy does not stop. I kind of feel like Chris when it comes to advocacy.

So while I’m taking a breather here this week, advocacy, or the thought of advocacy, certainly has not stopped.

Following on from my letter to the Australian Health Minister Sussan Ley, I want to get in touch with my local Member of Parliament on Continuous Glucose Monitoring, and broader diabetes issues in general.

I’m still paying attention to the news, and to social media morning, noon and night (inbetween the occasional tweet about The Walking Dead, and my afternoon coffee and cannoli). I am truly invested in the condition that I live with, and that does not ever stop.

Diabetes Daily has offered to syndicate some of my old blog posts, which is an honour. I’m pretty excited to be able to extend the reach of my writing. Getting a professional looking profile photo, and writing a few professional sounding sentences about my purpose in this community is actually a lot harder than you might think!

This afternoon, I’m paying a visit to the Type 1 Diabetes Family Centre in my local area. Hopefully more on this in the next couple of days.

I’m thinking about how I could possibly promote the wonderful Oz Diabetes Online Community a bit more in my local area.

And I’m still thinking about #insulin4all, and how we can make change happen for those who are less fortunate. I’m feeling a bit stumped on this one…

On top of all of this, I’m still living with, and managing my own diabetes (which I don’t feel like I’m doing too well at the moment, to be honest).

In the words of my friend Ally at Very Light, No Sugar, advocacy is keeping the faith. Advocacy is advocating long and hard, and always. And we advocate because #weneedacure (as difficult as that last part is for me to believe).

My First World Diabetes Day, Twitter Style

Leave a Comment

This weekend, I celebrated World Diabetes Day for the first time in the whole five years that I’ve lived with this darn disease.

It was my first World Diabetes Day because, prior to this year, I’ve shied away from my diabetes a lot, which you can read about here. Blogging and connecting with others in the Diabetes Online Community this year has given me a great deal of confidence in the condition that I live with. The Diabetes Online Community has sparked a real interest, and a passion for the disease that I live with. So, a big part of World Diabetes Day for me was being able to join this community for a 15 hour Twitter chat and speak up.

Throughout each hour, a guest host tweeted five questions relating to a particular diabetes topic that we would discuss. There were many thought provoking topics brought up, experiences shared and issues discussed throughout the 15 hours, many of which I’m sure I missed.

It was really great to have one day where the Diabetes Online Community came together to speak, listen, advocate and support each other. I also forged some new connections along the way, some of which I’ll share with you.

First up, Cayla. Cayla is a young college student in the States, and I really admired the enthusiasm that she maintained throughout the chat. At one point I talked about how I would love to fundraise for my Public Hospital Diabetes Clinic, and Cayla told me to go for it. There were many more.

Next up was Kristin. Kristin is the mother of an 11 year old type 1 girl. It was inspiring to hear how Kristin’s daughter leads the diabetes discussions at home, as well as setting the boundaries of what she doesn’t want to talk about. Kristin, I’m sure your daughter has a bright future ahead of her.

Next up was Kate. Kate and I found some common ground chatting about how we both find a lot of support from our families and the Diabetes Online Community, but not as many in real life.

Then there was Karen, who has lived with type 1 diabetes for 49 years. Karen told me that she didn’t feel that a lot of people understood her diabetes. Karen, I’ve felt exactly the same way many times in the past.

Finally, hats off to Chris for a marathon effort for the whole 15 hours of chat.

We’ve actually been following each other for a while, but we haven’t really chatted before. Chris is a freelance writer and owns his own SEO business.

We had a good laugh at the fact that both of our respective school teachers hated our writing, and yet now it is a significant part of each of our lives. You can also check out Chris’ blog, The Life of a Diabetic.

If the sense of diabetes community is something that appeals to you, I strongly encourage you to create a Twitter account. People in the Diabetes Online Community are very friendly, and there’s always somebody around to help you day or night. The diabetes community also comes together every Wednesday night from 9-10pm ET (US) to chat, and you can join in by following the #DSMA hashtag.

Thanks again to all of you who joined in and made my first World Diabetes Day a bright one!

Healthy Eating on World Diabetes Day

1 Comment

wdd-logo-date-en-2048px

Tomorrow, November 14, is World Diabetes Day. This year’s theme centres around healthy eating as a management tool for both types of diabetes, and as a way to prevent some cases of type 2 diabetes.

Eating well has always been a core part of my diabetes management, particularly since I’m not a big “exercise” person.

I’ve learnt a lot about my food, over the years. When I first started out, I thought that brown bread was automatically better for my blood sugar levels. I religiously stuck to low fat foods, overlooking the other nutritional content that was good or otherwise. And, there was a lot of frustrating times spent writing things down and trying to look for patterns.

Today, I do my best to adopt a diet of low glycemic index (GI) staple foods. A low GI diet ensures that my blood sugar levels rise slowly and steadily after eating, rather than spiking rapidly and then crashing. This includes Burgen bread, Weet Bix, Plain Oats, fresh fruit, crackers that are rich in wholegrains, eggs, nuts and fruit free muesli bars during the day. And home cooked meals with salad or veggies at night time. I’ve also invested in a copy of The Low GI Diet Shopper’s Guide, which is my GI bible.

DSC01401

I’ve also become extra cautious of the hidden sugars in my foods this year, particularly after watching That Sugar Film. Generally, I look for something with less than 10-15g of sugar per 100g, which is 10-15% total sugar in a product. Muesli bars with choc tops, berries and yoghurt drizzle are generally a no go. Fruit free and nut bars are generally my pick, but there’s very few decent choices on the supermarket shelves here in Australia.

dsc03685

Ditto for yoghurt. I can’t stomach natural yoghurt no matter how good it is for me, so I usually opt for a plain vanilla. The biggest craze at the moment seems to be those colourful, sugar laden berry glazes on the bottom of the tub that you stir through when you go to eat it for the “visual” effect. I’d be better off having a block of chocolate or bowl of ice cream instead.

Then there’s the sugar in my coffee and tea. Prior to watching That Sugar Film, I had my coffee and tea with two sugars, in the form of artificial sweeteners. Today, I’m down to half a sugar in my coffee at home, and I drink my tea straight. How did I manage this? Commitment. First cutting down to one and a half spoons, and getting used to the taste. Then cutting down to one. And then down to half. And finally, none. Even if that meant chopping my Equal tablets into halves at home, I’m so glad that I did. And I now have more of a receptor to sweetness in the other foods and beverages that I consume.

DSC01402

So, that’s not to say that I’m perfect. I still eat junk food sometimes. Potato chips, ice cream, lollies, chocolate and other deserts. I buy my lunch most Fridays. I buy coffees 2-3 times a week. I still go overboard sometimes, and I have to adjust my insulin to accommodate those times where I eat more than normal. Like this one time that I won the Easter egg raffle at work (I did share it, though!).

IMG_4227

But a healthy diet is a big part of my diabetes management. And hopefully it’s a part of yours, too.

You can read more about World Diabetes Day on the International Diabetes Federation website here.

There will be a 15 hour Twitter chat for World Diabetes Day tomorrow starting at 7am US Eastern Time (that’s 8pm Saturday in Western Australia, and 11pm in Eastern Australia). I will be moderating the 6-7pm hour of the chat. Follow the hashtag #WDDChat15 on Twitter to join in when you can!