Friday, December 23, 2011

Merry Corgsmas!


I'll be taking a bit of a vacation here next week - recharging my blogging batteries, so to speak. I hope everyone has a happy New Year as well, and I'll see you back here in January! (Unless something comes up and I feel the need to post before then. And I'll still be on Twitter, so there's that.)

Happy Holidays!!!

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Planking.

You've heard of planking, right? It's highly ridiculous, but pretty entertaining. The idea is to lay face-down in an unusual place, while keeping your body completely straight (like a wooden plank - get it?). The more difficult the situation, the funnier/more impressive the planking is. All the kids are doing it!





In that spirit, I'd like to coin a new Diabetes Term of Endearment. For those times when a CGM graph looks so straight that you actually test your blood more often because you don't believe the graph. For the times you've tested four times that day and all results were between 150 and 155. For the times you have no explanation other than, "I'm cured!" when your blood sugar is much, much more in range than you expected it to be.

Planking.








image courtesy of @jeffmather


Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Wordless Wednesday: Changing It Up.



You may notice that this isn't a Ping meter remote...
yeah. The batteries died in mine, and I didn't have any AAA's
around. I've been using my back-up Ultra Mini for the last
couple of days, and I'm liking the purpleness. I might stick
with this for a few days longer. (Whatever works, right?)

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

You Know, That Thing?

You know that thing where you've just woken up and done a blood test and you see that you're 222 so you dial up and administer a correction bolus only to find a minute later that your pump site is all bloody so you pull it and red-tinged insulin of some unknown amount leaks back out so you have to totally guess as to how much insulin you just lost and do an injection instead because now that the site is out you're thinking it could be a halfsies free shower morning? (Because your CGM sensor is still plugging along just fine?)

Yeah, that thing. That's today so far. (That, and run-on sentences.)


Gross.
Weeeee!

Update: And then you know that thing where you subsequently get the song "That Thing" stuck in your head, because that's what you named your post for the day? That's happening too.

Monday, December 19, 2011

Not So Different.

A dear friend and I were having a conversation recently - one of those "stay until they shut down the coffee house, because we have that much to talk about" kind of chats. She's not part of that bubble of health activists and patients that I am so often surrounded by online; in fact, health isn't a topic we talk about often. We grew up together, and while she does not have diabetes, she does have other life-long health adventures to navigate. As I'm looking back on the conversation now, it's surprising me a bit how much of our conversation was actually dominated by our health. (It could be because we're getting older and more comfortable talking about these things out loud; it could be because she knows I talk about my own health online; it could be because it was just time to let it out.) While we may have been dealt different cards in the health department, so much of what we discussed was the same.

The thing is, everyone has something. Diabetes, asthma, back pain, MS, family issues, debt, anxiety, depression... no one is perfect, and no one is without problems and challenges in life. The differences can lie in how we react and respond to those things, and how much we let the world in on it. (And let me say this - there is no "wrong" response. Everyone has different life experiences to draw from, different emotional states, varying preferences when it comes to privacy - and that's okay. It doesn't necessarily make one person's "bad" any worse than someone else's.)

Having that talk with my friend highlighted something important for me to realize as an advocate for people with chronic health conditions: while our afflictions may not be the same, we - as people, as emotional beings - are not so different. When my friend was talking about the medication she takes, she noted, "I'll have to take it for the rest of my life". I remember feeling that way - dreading this truth - when I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. There were already "things" in my life - why was I getting another one? Would taking this new medication change my personality; who I was? I didn't want to take another pill every day for the rest of forever!

And when we talked about the stigma surrounding anti-depressants, "I was upset at first, but now I realize, it's just that my body doesn't make that stuff anymore. I have to help my body out by supplementing it... just like insulin!" I smiled, because she hit the nail on the head. We find out what's missing, and we take care of it. It is no one's fault, and blame serves no one. We find the issue; we find a way to patch it up; we move on. The way we get ourselves to "normal" doesn't speak to our character, morals, work ethic, or decency as a human being - but our grace in doing so can.

Those of us who have to do that supplementing share many of the same concerns - how different will I feel? Will there be side effects? Forever is a long time to be on a medication... can I afford this? Can I afford not to take this? How will this condition affect how others view me? Am I going to allow this particular "this" to define who I am?

People with chronic health conditions have much in common, and we're stronger when we can come together over what we share.

Friday, December 16, 2011

CitySights NY: Toys For Kids With Diabetes.

You know those double-decker NYC buses you see in movies (or, I guess if you live there, you'd see them in person - you lucky duck)? There's a company called CitySights NY that runs these, and I got an email last week about an event they were doing on December 13th.

(And here's where you're thinking, Kim lives in Nebraska - and is deathly afraid of buses. Wait, no, that last part isn't true, but really... why did they email her?, and I'm thinking, I know, right? I was confused at first, too.)

It turns out that they do a toy drive each holiday season, and this year's event provided 2,000 toys (and the chance to meet some celebrities) to children with diabetes at the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center at Columbia University Medical Center. I thought that was a neat idea and wanted to mention it to you guys, as I didn't know that 1. there was a toy drive anywhere for children with diabetes, and 2. that this diabetes center even existed. Pretty cool!

Aaron Carter, Alyssa Campanella, Miss USA 2011,
Danielle Doty, Miss Teen USA 2011,
Leila Lopes, Miss Universe 2011, and
Kelly Bensimon with children at the Diabetes Center

photo credit: Rob Loud

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Those Things They Ask.

I had a doctor (not endo) appointment yesterday, and it got me thinking about Those Things They Ask. I can get a little weird about my answers to Those Things They Ask, because not every medical professional I see knows my whole deal, and as immature as it sounds, I'm afraid that I get unfairly judged sometimes because they don't have the whole picture in front of them.

image credit
Do you know what I'm talking about?

1. How's your diabetes doing?

Well... you know... it's still here.

This is such a weird question to answer - do they mean, how am I doing with diabetes? How is my A1C? Are they wanting me to have a heart-to-heart over coffee with it? I mean, my pancreas is still old and busted. I work hard at compensating for that, and do the best I can. Giving them a number isn't going to reflect that hard work. Which brings me to...

2. What was your last A1C?

I know that this is the go-to, "easy" way to gauge how things are going for me, diabetes-wise. Logically, I know that. But what I also know is that when I tell a medical professional that number, I get put in a category. "Compliant". "Good". "Bad". "Out of control". And the thing is, those labels and numbers don't always provide an accurate assessment of "how I'm doing". A1C is an average - I could be bouncing between 40 and 400, and they wouldn't know - they might assume I was staying at 150 all the time.

Not to mention that the numbers aren't the only things we should pay attention to when it comes to lviing with diabetes.

3. Do you have a lot of highs/lows?

What? Really? You know I have diabetes, right?

4. Are you still on the "Humalog pump"?

I know that they mean "an insulin pump, using Humalog insulin", but it still makes me giggle. Humalog is not an insulin pump brand.

So, here's what I'd prefer instead: a little bit of empathy. I'd love to hear an acknowledgement like "That has to be so frustrating", or "That sounds exhausting - you're doing so well.". It doesn't have to be a big drawn-out conversation, but it would be great to hear one of Those Things followed up with Something I Actually Appreciate Hearing. I like doctors who recognize the hard work behind those numbers they ask about.

It's a small wish that could have a big impact.

Wordless Wednesday: This Appeared In My Mailbox.



Hashtag jewelry... now why didn't I include that in my "gifts for PWDs" list?

I am simply blown away. I am in the process of finding a chain to wear this beautiful, awesome pendant on, because I want it close to my heart (and I want people to ask about it, so I can tell them about how wonderful the DOC can be!).

Thank you friends - I absolutely adore it, and what a wonderful surprise it was! :)

Monday, December 12, 2011

So Good You'll Want To Quiche It.

That was the best quiche pun I could come up with.

Sorry.

Anyway.

If we're not Facebook friends, you might not realize that over the past two weeks, I've turned my kitchen into a fine-tuned holiday carb-producing machine.





I've been baking Christmas cookies, pumpkin bread (last night, and my house still smells yumm-o), and last weekend I - for the first time ever - made quiche. And I'm in love with it!

It's super easy. You'd have to try pretty hard to mess it up. And pretty much anything flies - throw whatever veggies you want, bacon, sausage, ham, cheese of every kind, etc. It all works.

Plus? If you're cutting it into 8 slices (and packing each piece separately to be reheated for breakfast each day during the week, as I did), each serving of the pie crust is only 12g of carb. TWELVE!

If you want to give it a go, here's the recipe I used.

OLD COUNTRY QUICHE

1 9-inch unbaked pie crust (Pillsbury is what I used)
1 tsp. butter/margarine
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 cups shredded Swiss (though I'm told that Sharp Cheddar works better)
6 slices lean bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
1 cup low-fat milk
Optional: 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg (I didn't use these)

Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a small non-stick skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion (BTW, I thought the whole onion was way too much. Use at your own risk. I thought half of it would have been plenty, thank you.) and sauté for five minutes, or until soft.

Roll out your pie crust and stuff into a pie plate (or, if you're fancy, a specialty quiche plate).

Transfer onion to medium-sized bowl. Toss with the cheese, bacon and flour. Spread in pie crust.

Using the same bowl that you just emptied, whisk the eggs with the milk (and the salt and nutmeg, if you like). Pour over pie mixture and bake uncovered for 35 minutes - or until center is set and top begins to brown slightly. Makes eight servings!


P.S. I also want to wish my Mom a very happy birthday today! (And thanks for sharing your quiche recipe!)



Thursday, December 8, 2011

I Am An Awkward Turtle?

I have two stories to share from this week. The first tale doesn't have much point, except to let you know how absurdly awkward I can be (and so that you may have a laugh). The second one has a smidge more relevance.

On Tuesday, I was meeting up with a couple friends for bowling. I'll mention here that I don't bowl often, so this wasn't a normal stop for me (and hence, I was not familiar with this particular parking lot's terrain). It's also all kinds of wintery (read: snow and ice) in Nebraska right now. Have I given myself enough excuses? Okay.

I parked and attempting to vacate my car, but it turns out I couldn't stick the landing. With my right foot still in my vehicle, my left foot swiftly slid forward (I was also holding onto the car door and steering wheel) on that skating rink of a parking lot. I remember thinking, "Nooooo..." as my body then did this swivel move, and I ended up halfway under my car. On my bum. Missing a shoe. (It hopped off of my foot mid-fall and stayed in the car, alright? I couldn't blame it. I would rather have been there, too.)

I had to sit there for a few seconds, to make sure I was still all in once piece. Then I sat a few more seconds, waiting for either the snickering or "Are you okay?"s to start. I heard nothing.

I pulled myself up and looked around - no one had seen me! Huzzah! Still hurt, though. (I'm fine now.)

And then yesterday, my three-month order of Dexcom sensors was scheduled to arrive via FedEx. Beloved Dexcom sensors! I have them sent to my work address, as they won't get left out in the cold that way (their accuracy and such can get compromised when exposed to extreme temperatures).

For reasons that escape me, I must have asked that they were sent to my house. You know - outside. Where no one was there to retrieve them from the aforementioned snow and ice.

I'm smooth like that.

Luckily, my parents live close to us and my mom (bless her heart) was able to drive to my house and rescue them (thanks Mom!), but not before I had a minor meltdown about it. That would be one expensive ice cube.

Here's hoping your week was far less cringe-worthy than mine. Happy weekend!


Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Ninja Scarves?

This is what comes to mind when I think about what people with diabetes might have on their wish lists this holiday season.

This is also what happens when I have a respectable amount of caffeine and cabin fever.



Happy Holidays (a wee bit early)! :)

Monday, December 5, 2011

Diabetes: Kid-Sized.




The portable carbohydrate choices that amount to 15 grams are often the stuff designed for the wee ones: the juiceboxes, the applesauce in a squeezy packet (seriously, have you tried that stuff?), the Cheerios in a Ziploc bag. The little fruit snack pouches. Two clementine oranges. (I am currently addicted to those.)

Why does diabetes, by the evidence we carry around, have to make even us adults appear to be small children?

Nothing Says "Diabetes Blog" Like Pictures Of Corgis In Various Displays Of Winter Enjoyment.



Billy's first big snow! (There was much
more than this later on, but it got harder
to take pictures without getting very
expensive electronic equipment
wet and ruined.)



Enjoying a friend's tree (which provides
plenty of "shade" from their very large
Labradoodle puppy who will chase
Billy around the house until he just
gives up and lays down in defeat.
And exhaustion.)!



Reluctantly wearing his winter jacket.


Thursday, December 1, 2011

One Hundy.

What it looks like on my meter:



What it looks like in my head:


(If you're down with celebrating the little victories like I am, check out www.onehundredbg.com. Go on, celebrate it!)

(And yes, I really do see the confetti/streamers/balloons/chorus line in my head every time I hit that century mark.)

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

This Might Be Why They Know Who I Am Before I Tell Them My Name.

SCENE: WALGREENS - 5:43 PM

Kim walks towards the back end of the store but gets sidetracked by some Pinot Grigio in the clearance bin. Somehow, a bottle ends up joining her on the journey.

She approaches the counter. And waits.

The pharmacist finishes up with the drive-through customer and heads towards the counter.

PHARMACIST: Oh, hey. 

The pharmacist pivots and heads straight for the refrigerator. She returns with bottles of insulin.

Kim plops her wine bottle on the counter. The pharmacist eyes it for a couple seconds, rings it up along with the prescription, and begins to bag the items. Kim realizes what the pharmacist must be thinking.

KIM: Well, you know. One keeps me alive... the other keeps me sane.

The pharmacist smirks.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Those Rings Are Sleigh Bells, Not My CGM Alarms.

Thanksgiving weekend usually marks the beginning of holiday decorating at the Vlasnik household - it's a four-day weekend for Aaron and I (and now Billy, too - although really, every day is a day off for him), so we've got a little more free time to deck the halls and jingle the bells, and all that junk.

The storage-room-digging, garland-hanging and tree assembling also made for some awesome CGM graphs. It's sneaky exercise!

No-hitters fill me with holiday cheer!
The yuletide-ization process also made for some fun times with the dog - our tree goes right where his kennel has been, and we worried about him getting upset. Turns out he couldn't care less about the tall, glittery thing in our living room. 

So, alright then.



Friday, November 25, 2011

I'm Thankful.

Much as I was last year, I'm thankful for the wonderful family and friends I have in my life.

For otherwise good health. For the advances in diabetes management that allow me choose what food I enjoy - not the other way around.

For Aaron and Billy, who are playing a rousing game of fetch in our living room as I write this.

For the internet, which not only brought me the best support system I've ever found, but also introduced me to people who will introduce me to things like Nutella Rolls. (I'm making them as we speak!)

For a home; for a job; for food in my fridge. (And the electricity to run that fridge, while I'm at it.)

I'm thankful for my life, and everyone and everything in it.

This day-late Thanksgiving Day post is doubling as my post for Diabetes Blessings Week - organized by the ever-awesome Mike Durbin!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Wordless Wednesday: Puppeh!

I'm having a creative brain cramp this morning, so a gratuitous cute dog picture will have to do. I hope you don't mind.

This is his "serious" face.

Monday, November 21, 2011

The Book Of Better.

Earlier this month, someone at Three Rivers Press (part of the Crown Publishing Group at Random House) sent me an email about a book they just released, written and designed by a creative director at Nike who has had type 1 diabetes for 30+ years. The book was called The Book of Better and they wondered if they could send me a promotional copy. (I almost missed their email, as I've never had any contact with RH before, and it sort of looked like spam. Whoops.)

I got the book. I read the book. I sticky note-d the crap out of it.

I really do like the book. I would have paid money for it.

Really!

It's not without its faults - I'll get to that later on - but overall, I'm a big fan of both the message behind the book and the way in which that message was delivered.

The whole theory - if you hadn't guessed it yet - is that while life with diabetes can never be perfect, it can always be better. Even if "better" is just a teeny tiny bit better. The book's author, Chuck Eichten, uses a casual, self-depricating approach that I appreciated. He admits early on in the book that he's made plenty of mistakes himself; that he is, in no way, a medical professional; that this book is a way to share what he's learned in the past few decades with diabetes.

There's plenty of humor, which I totally hated. (What? I'm kidding. Of course I loved that.) It's hard to not like a book about diabetes that uses wording like "work my ass off", "A woolly mammoth's diet consists of (I don't know what).", "Diabetes makes you holier (Editor's note: Ha! Puns! Love!)", "There's plenty of fallout poop that comes with diabetes", and "OMIGOD!". There were several times while reading that I "Heh!"ed out loud. It's clever writing.

The formatting reads in much the same way as a blog - it goes heavy on the graphics, uses a lot of short and repetitive sentences, and tends to go HEAVY on the CAPITALIZATION and BOLDED WORDS. (It was a little overboard for my liking.)

One of my very favorite parts of the book was the following analogy:

"We shouldn't get confused into thinking that one variety [of diabetes] is not as bad as another variety. It's like saying, "My hair is not on fire that bad." That is crap. If your hair is on fire, you should treat it with concern and the utmost haste. My rule: If my hair is even slightly on fire, I don't pretend it's not. [...] Whatever type you've got, diabetes is screaming - YOUR HAIR IS ON FIRE! And we need to get that issue under control before it negatively affects our future."

And that's pretty typical of how the book works - humorous analogies made, strong viewpoints established, and suggestions for action supplied. Chuck makes the smart choice to address the viewer as part of his team - "we" instead of "you", most often. He addresses all of those real-life complaints and concerns that PWDs have. He makes relatable analogies about motivation and persistence. He uses his own experience to supply the "why should I". He can scold you while making you laugh, which in turn, makes you think.

He talks about feeling "at fault" for having diabetes, about how we PWDs can become obsessive over food, about how frustrating it is when results are anything but consistent, about the "foreverness" of living with diabetes - and he does it all in a way that makes you feel like he gets you.

There were, however, some parts of the book I take issue with. Take it away, bullet points:

  • While the book is advertised as being for anyone - type 1, type 2, parents, children, diabetes veterans and newly diagnosed folks alike - it felt mostly geared to young (and not quite as young) adults with type 1. While that isn't necessarily good or bad, it's something you may want to be aware of.
  • While the dynamic visual presentation is nice, the choice of sometimes laying white text over a yellow background led to some squinty-eyed reading. No me gusta.
  • Chuck sings the praises of insulin pumps. Loudly. Ear-piercingly. Like he doesn't have neighbors. And then he might get a megaphone. And then he might put a microphone in front of that megaphone. Really - it got ridiculous. I understand that insulin pumps can be a great tool on one's diabetes utility belt, but they aren't for everyone, and no one wants to be made to feel guilty for not using one. Insulin pumps are not the Holy Grail. (And not having one doesn't mean that your mother was a hamster, either.)
  • The page title "You can make your type 2 diabetes go away" ranks high on my WTF? Meter. The author does admit that he's oversimplifying things by saying that, but really? Couldn't you just use a few more words to say that the only part that can go away are the symptoms? This isn't Reader's Digest, after all.
  • When talking about how to treat lows, Chuck says, "When you start to feel low, you can simply turn down the amount of insulin you are getting. And the feeling of low bloods sugar goes away. I am not making this up. It actually goes away." Not if you've still got 5 units on board, buddy. Not every time.
  • Lastly, I found it disappointing that with as many times as the insulin pump is mentioned, CGMs don't even register a mention until page 225 (the book has 275 pages). Maybe Chuck doesn't use a CGM himself? Hard to say. But if it were my book, CGMs would have been mentioned right after the whole "OMGILOVEDIABETESTECHNOLOGY!" bit.
All in all, it was an entertainingly relatable and encouraging book. I think it's worth the read!

Disclaimer: Three Rivers Press provided me a free copy of this book, but did not oblige me to write about it in exchange for receiving a copy. As I mention in my blog disclosure, I'll talk about things if I like them (or really don't like them), and this was one of those cases. 

Friday, November 18, 2011

Team Type 1 - They're Made Of Awesome.

My morning started off by seeing a tweet from Allison at Diabetes Mine:



My curiousity was definitlely piqued. And by clicking on that link, here is what I found:


A big "thank you" to Diabetes Mine for making this video happen, and also to the members of Team Type 1 who were willing to record this You Can Do This Project video after running across America!! (Yes, you read that right. ACROSS. AMERICA. In 15 days, no less.)

I'm in awe of what Team Type 1 does, and honored that Tom, Brian, Phil and the whole team participated in this video. To use Phil's word, the whole thing is simply amazing.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Grabbing Back That Balloon.


Maybe it's a result of all of the statistics shared on World Diabetes Day - the number of people living with it, and dying from it. The monetary costs. The images of who this disease impacts. The reminders that while this can get more managable, we're still a long ways from a biological cure. The fact that each time we find that another person has died from type 1 diabetes, our hearts break and our fists clench.

Maybe it's because I've been listening to the Smashing Pumpkins on repeat for the last hour.

In any event, my frame of mind is a little bit on the brooding side today.

Diabetes (and especially type 1, where the symptoms are so sudden and so severe) can make you hyper-aware of your own mortality. There are moments where I can't shake the feeling that I'm living on borrowed time; I think about the reality that if I had been diagnosed before 1922 I would have died as a six year old child. (Or, if I had been born when I was, but just in a different part of the world.) There's that little voice in the back of my head, saying you shouldn't still be here. You've cheated death. You're so lucky to be here.

I think this recognition can shape us one of at least two ways. It can mold us into cautious, tip-toeing beings who avoid risks because we already feel as though the ice is thin beneath our feet. We let the statistics become more than numbers; we personify them in what we choose and what we do. We let the "what ifs" take us over. We let go of dreams, like balloons released into the wind.

And for some, this idea of borrowed time translates to a feeling of freedom and fearlessness. The idea that we're here when we "shouldn't" be liberates us; a gratitude for the life we have propells us towards accomplishing the big; the daunting; the impossible. We want to make the most of this time we've been given. We want to have an impact on someone; something. We want to see change.

There has to be a reason we're still here. There has to be a purpose for what you and I have been through, to get to this point.

I've been in both places, and still go back and forth a bit. Lately, however, my pancreas heart seems to be leaning towards the latter - and at some point, I'll have to let it do an all-out freefall. I don't know what shape that will take or what that means exactly.

What I hope for myself and for you is that we'll use this time we have to do something that matters. Let's look past ourselves and think about what we can do for others. Let's turn the crappy hand that life dealt us into something good.

Let's chase back those balloons.



Sunday, November 13, 2011

The Perils Of Being A Mouse In A Diabetes Research Study.

Infusion sites engulf your entire stomach.



Insulin pumps were not built for someone of your stature.




Blood tests require about half of the blood in your body just to fill a test strip.




How do you carb count cheese? I don't know, either.




You are the envy of at least 5% of the world's population.




(Disclaimer: none of this is actually what happens in a research study, I'm pretty sure. Facetious World Diabetes Day Celebration FTW!)

Friday, November 11, 2011

We're Getting Smurfy For Diabetes.

There's a lot of blue going on around here...




Since JDRF isn't using this logo anymore, could this be considered
a vintage scarf? How fancy!



Nevermind the eye puffery - I just woke up.
..and later today I'll be contributing to the "Diabetes 11.11.11" project. Will you? (Could you, would you, while you wear blue?) /end Dr. Suess moment

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Cleaning Out The Ol' Inbox.

My email volume has gone from intense to WHOA lately - it seems PR folks have found me, which can be both good and bad. Sometimes they're all "Dear Blogger, please talk about how our cinnamon-based diet can cure you" (that's the bad, and makes me want to point them here), but other times they send a thoughtful, personalized email (that's the good) telling me about something, and ask if I would mind checking it out/sharing it/writing about it. Some of it is totally legit, and some of it I'm really not sure about - so you'll have to decide on those things for yourself.

Also, there are a couple of things I could mention that fall into the "stuff I did when I wasn't here" category, so things are about to get bullet-pointy again.(Twice in one week? I know.)
  • A website called Sharecare named what they believe to be the top ten "influencers" in the diabetes online community, and somehow I ended up on that list. If you're like me and have absolutely no prior knowledge of what Sharecare is, they are self-described as an "interactive, social Q&A platform designed to greatly simplify the search for quality healthcare information". The website was formed by Jeff Arnold (founder of WebMD) and Dr. Oz. While I may not personally be the biggest fan of Dr. Oz, I do appreciate that the Sharecare site is trying to connect people living with diabetes with each other. I can always be on board with that idea.
  • And apparently I'm also influential about diabetes on Twitter?
  • JDRF and the Helmsley Charitable Trust (which is a name a lot of folks recognize, but I wasn't one of them until recently) have begun a collaboration which you can read about here. Also, you may have heard that JDRF has a new logo, tag line, and put a bold ad in the Washington Post and NY Times. (Yes, I'm a little slow on the reporting here, but better late then never.)
  • Someone at Three Rivers Press (a division of Random House) sent me some information about a recently released book written by someone who is both a PWD (type 1) and a creative director at Nike named Chuck Eichten. The book is titled The Book of Better, and here's their description: "The book is designed to be for everyone: Type 1, Type 2, adults, children, people who have been living with Diabetes for years, or have just been recently diagnosed - even people who are completely unfamiliar with Diabetes will find something here. It’s ultra-visual, resoundingly positive, and completely different than any other book about Diabetes out there". They're also sending me a free copy of the book, so I'll be interested to know if that last claim is true.
  • The folks at Glooko asked if I could review their "MeterSync Cable and Glooko Logbook App", but seeing as how I do not own any of the devices it works on, I can't really do that. It sounds neat, though! According to their email: "[These] are our first products. [They] are simple tools (a cable and an App) for people with diabetes to download their meter to their iPhone or iPod touch. Our first product is simple for two reasons 1. Make keeping a logbook easier and make it easy to share that information with whom ever needs it, and 2. Keep within the regulations that the FDA has put forth regarding a Class1 device."
  • A company called Socks4Life has been making a conscious effort to be more involved with the DOC, which is pretty cool (even if "diabetic socks" aren't). They sent me a link to this infographic that is available for anyone to distribute/use as they see fit.
  • Speaking of infographics, United Healthcare (!!) sent me a link to theirs as well.
  • dLife kicked off Big Diabetes Month with a new initiative called "Declare. Share. Move Forward." designed to help PWDs acknowledge obstacles in their diabetes lives, and then move past those challenges. You'll find some familiar faces (including mine, for a brief moment) in the introductionary video!
  • DRI has their own campaign this month as well: Reason to Believe, emphasizing their focus on cure-based research. You can watch videos from parents, researchers and patients who express their own "reasons to believe".
  • And lastly, if you haven't participated in the Big Blue Test, please do it. The goal of 8,000 participants is still a long ways away, and there are only four days left, and a lot of money for charities at stake!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Procrastinating The Lows.

I push the grocery cart down the aisle that hosts the boxed pasta and jars of spaghetti sauce. I can hear my stomach starting to grumble - I had stayed a couple of hours late at work, and on a normal day, I would have already eaten dinner by then. Knowing our fridge was near empty, I stop at the store on my way home. I have half a cart full of food, and I'm ready to leave.

Walking suddenly feels a lot like swimming. Ugh. I just want to get out of here and eat dinner.

Suddenly, I remember that I didn't grab milk. U-turn. Back to the back of the store. Milk in tow. Back to the front.

I really don't want to be low right now. Dinner is sitting right in front of me; I don't want to eat glucose tabs right now too. I can make it.

And salad! I didn't grab lettuce! Spin move; to the produce.

Why does everyone have to be in my way right now? Seriously lady; move your cart over.

Okay; done. Check out.

Why did I get so many things? Got to make sure to put all of the cold things together so they get bagged together.

The girl forgets the reusable bag discount. I just want this to be done.

"Bread? Check. Apples? Check.
Low blood sugar? Check."
My Dexcom LOW!!! alarm goes off.

Hurry hurry hurry hurry... just want to get out of here... 

...oh, crap. 

I had forgotten that this is the store where they bring your groceries to your car for you. Normally, that's helpful. When you're below 55 mg/dL and can't remember exactly where your car is, it's embarrassing.

As soon as the doors swish open and I can see pavement, I start frantically hitting my car remote's lock button, hoping to see the lights flash. The teenage boy watches me, expecting me to lead to where the car is.

I bluff and head down the middle.

BEEP BEEP!

Was that the car or my CGM?

We find the car; I clumsily throw open the back hatch and try to help load things in, so that this goes faster. I say "thank you". I fall into the driver's seat and can finally stop putting off the dusty, chalky glucose tabs in my future.

I don't know why I do this.

I convince myself that I don't need to treat that low right then. I tell myself to wait a few minutes... but for what? I know I'm just going to feel worse, and I know that my blood sugar isn't going to go back up on its own. Rationally, I know these things.

In that moment, however, rational thinking can give way to the decision that procrastinating is a good choice.

I can't explain it.