Mindful Diabetes

Low Carb Holiday Goodness...

2009-12-05T20:51:00.002-05:00

I made a comment tonight on Twitter about making some low carb roasted sweet pecans. After a few requests for the recipe, here it is :)

Sweet Spiced Pecans

Ingredients
• 1 egg white
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 pound pecan halves
• 1 cup splenda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Grease one baking sheet.
2. In a mixing bowl, whip together the egg white and water until frothy. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, salt, and spices.
3. Add pecans to egg whites, stir to coat the nuts evenly. Remove the nuts, and toss them in the sugar mixture until coated. Spread the nuts out on the prepared baking sheet.
4. Bake at 250 degrees F (120 degrees C) for 1 hour. Stir every 15 minutes.

D-blog Day 2009

2009-11-09T19:32:00.005-05:00

Join us at 1 Happy Diabetic today!

Today is officially diabetes blog day, in honor of Diabetes Awareness month. A big thanks to Chris, over at The Big D blog for designing the awesome logo below.

I usually take forever to put together a blog. I research, I write and then re-write, and spend a lot of time trying to put together a whole feeling or message. This time I am going to go a little stream of consciousness, just for fun! Here are some of the thoughts that go through my head in any given week that involve diabetes:

1. Wow, look at all the black dots on my fingertips!

2. I wonder if my endo will get on my case for not testing 2 hours after meals like I use to do religiously? With my new job it has been hard to do this...

3. How did I ever survive without a CGMS?

4. In an average year I use approximately 4500 test strips. At about a buck a piece, I sure could go on a killer vacation each year with all that money!

5. Oooohhh, look! They have a low carb version of pita bread!

6. If there was a cure today, would I still think of myself as a diabetic?

7. Diabetes sure does make me a strong person.

8. Diabetes makes me feel weak sometimes.

9. I hate asking for help with inserting a DexCom sensor in my arm, but I love that my husband is willing to do it for me.

10. I wonder if I my dog can tell when I am low or high?

11. I sure carry around a lot of food with me...

12. My purse is sooooo heavy!

13. Fruit juice, glucose tabs, or left over candy? Which should I have to treat this low?

14. It isn’t fair I have to deal with diabetes.

15. I wonder if there will ever be a cure...

You can be 1happydiabetic, it’s all about your attitude!

Suzanne

No D Day

2009-10-01T09:55:00.004-04:00

George, our buddy over at The B.A.D. blog came up with the idea of a no D Day for the blogosphere for October 1st. So today’s blog post will have nothing to do with _______ for a change :)

So I spent a lot of time thinking about what I wanted to talk about today. I started a list of things I do every day beyond focusing on ______. I am realizing I spend way too much time on my PC, as evidenced by some of the letters wearing off on my laptop!

Here is a short list of the average PC focused day:

1. Email-I really need to unsubscribe to the many listserves I am a member of. I get over 200 emails a day.

2. Job sites-I will be so glad when I don’t have to spend hours a day combing these anymore. I also realized I spend at least an hour a day on the phone trying to network with folks in my field.

3. Typing cover letters and following up with places I have applied to already. Of course the keyboard gets a rest when I do follow up calls.

4. www.digg.com – This site is guilty of sucking hours out of my day, I can read articles for hours from this site.

5. www.cuteoverload.com – This site can entertain me through cute pictures and videos. I end up in the archives and lose quite a bit of time there!

6. www.hulu.com – Do I really need to watch old episodes of 30 Days or Tattoo Highway out here? No, but I find myself back at this site watching TV shows and clips. I did discover The Big Bang Theory from this site so there is some value there, I swear!

7. Communicating with my classmates – lots of time spent here recently as we gear up for our graduation ceremony that is tomorrow, October 2nd.

8. Syncing my iPhone – For a phone that doesn’t even have a service plan yet, I sure spend a ton of time dumping songs, apps, and videos to it.

I realized that I really need my mini vacation that is coming up next week! Time to recharge by hitting the friendly skies and heading to the west coast. I am excited to meet a lot of my online friends in real life. Blogs and vlogs will be on the agenda when I get back as I plan on driving my buddies crazy with my cameras! Stay tuned….

Diabetic Cupcakes & Google Search Weirdness….

2009-09-30T12:03:00.002-04:00

Visit our site, 1happydiabetic.com today!

If you do not use Twitter, I suggest you give it a try! It’s a great way to connect with others in the online D world. Everyday I am able to connect with folks all over the world who deal with the D. Great friendships have been built from these connections. Yesterday there was a theme in the D community on Twitter which revolved around cupcakes. The end result gave me a much needed smile yesterday so I wanted to share the tweets with you guys!

suzanne_una RT @diabetesalic: @Diabetic_Iz_Me @Ninjabetic- CUPCAKE? Who said cupcake? Who has a cupcake? COUNT ME IN!

Diabetic_Iz_Me @diabetesalic @suzanne_una i want a cupcake sooooooo bad

diabetesalic @Diabetic_Iz_Me @suzanne_una ME 2. i've been good as of late. Dreaming of a vanilla cupcake w/ vanilla coconutcream icing.

suzanne_una @Diabetic_Iz_Me @diabetesalic Me too! I have been dreaming about it all afternoon! I almost went to the bakery LOL

ElizabethArnold @Diabetic_Iz_Me @suzanne_una @diabetesalic Too late, Kelly, the damage is already done (she says, stuffing her face with packaged icing.)

ElizabethArnold @diabetesalic Wouldn't that be awesome, a bunch of d-peeps pigging out at a bakery? We pwn you, diabetes!

Now the conversation gets a little weird and silly, as it is prone to do on Twitter…

notsostilllifes @suzanne_una There's a cupcake store near here that sells "Diabetic cupcakes".It always makes me think they need insulin.Poor things.

suzanne_una @notsostilllifes those poor cupcakes, having to take shots and do BG tests LOL!

notsostilllifes @suzanne_una who would ever EAT the poor little things??

notsostilllifes @suzanne_una It is quite an image. Not exactly what they were going for I'm sure.
suzanne_una @notsostilllifes I'm sure that was not the image they were going for! Makes me want to photoshop a pic of a cupcake who is diabetic :)

notsostilllifes @suzanne_una DO IT!

So off to Google I go to do a search for a cupcake that I can turn into a diabetic cupcake using photoshop. I have this image in my head of a scrumptious looking cupcake with test strips next to it and an insulin syringe sticking into the side of it. All while the cupcake looks shocked it is getting a shot. I am not a super artistic person but ideas like this get my creative juices flowing! As is often the case with Google searches, it takes you a couple of tries before you find that perfect search string. I was searching under “cartoon cupcakes with faces” and here is one of the images Google brought up:

It’s Kerri from Six Until Me! Kerri is one of my favorite bloggers in the D world. A diabetic eating a cupcake! Wow, thanks Google, that sure met my search criteria (NOT). So what’s a girl to do when this kind of funny silliness pops into a Google search? Why Tweet a picture out to the D people who have been discussing cupcakes all afternoon….

@notsostilllifes while looking for model to turn into a diabetic cupcake, google came up w this photo http://twitpic.com/jnhs9 @sixuntilme

Remember, you can be 1happydiabetic too, it’s all about your attitude!

Suzanne

I’ve come to realize….a Monday meme....

2009-09-14T15:30:00.002-04:00

I’m on the meme bus with my buddies LeeAnn & George. All aboard!

1. I’ve come to realize that my chest-size…
apparently is shrinking as I lose weight!

2. I’ve come to realize that my job…
will be super cool once I find it, LOL

3. I’ve come to realize that when I’m driving…
I have little patience for bad drivers and this causes obscene language on my part.

4. I’ve come to realize that I need…
to spend more time on the job hunt and less time tweeting.

5. I’ve come to realize that I have lost…
my mind(on occasion)! Seriously, I have lost my fear to try new things.

6. I’ve come to realize that I hate it when…
plans fall through.

7. I’ve come to realize that if I’m drunk…
I am fun instead of morose like I use to be.

8. I’ve come to realize that money…
is what the world runs on and I am quickly running out of it.

9. I’ve come to realize that certain people…
suck.
10. I’ve come to realize that I’ll always …
like who I am, for all my flaws.

11. I’ve come to realize that my siblings…
my sister is very much the youngest child still. Even though she has been married for 12 years and has 2 kids, when we go to the store together she will pick something up and ask me to buy it for her.

12. I’ve come to realize that my mom…
was one of the smartest, funniest people on the planet. I miss you, mom!

13. I’ve come to realize that my cell phone…
is a piece of crap and I need a new one, ASAP. Oh if only I could afford to get service on my iPhone, that would be wonderful!

14. I’ve come to realize that when I woke up this morning…
that I had not slept in so late since being diagnosed with diabetes in 1986. Darn alarm clock!

15. I’ve come to realize that last night before I went to sleep…
that I was starving to death from basal testing.

16. I’ve come to realize that right now I am thinking…
I should be doing laundry.

17. I’ve come to realize that my dad…
is who he is and I accept him for that.

18. I’ve come to realize that when I get on Facebook…
I don’t really go on Facebook that much anymore, too busy tweeting.

19. I’ve come to realize that today…
is the day before I get to meet @MarkMansheim in person, wooot!

20. I’ve come to realize that tonight…
I will be trying to show my hubby how awesome the show Dexter is.

21. I’ve come to realize that tomorrow…
I have to go to the gym, seriously.

22. I’ve come to realize that I really want to…
be a rockstar!

23. I’ve come to realize that the person who is most likely to repost this is…
is one of my twitter buds.

24. I’ve come to realize that life…
can be amazing, it’s all in how you look at it.

25. I’ve come to realize that this weekend…
I need to shop for a graduation dress. It’s not fair I have to wear a dress when the boys get to wear pants. We should all have to wear dresses! No, wait a minute, hahaha

26. I’ve come to realize that marriage…
is much better if you marry someone who is as invested in the relationship as you are.

27. I’ve come to realize that my friends…
are incredible, wonderful people.

28. I’ve come to realize that this year…
is about change and challenges.

29. I’ve come to realize that my ex is…
really a good person, we just weren’t right for one another.

30. I’ve come to realize that maybe I should…
spend some time doing something nice for my hubby.

31. I’ve come to realize that I love…
the excitement that comes with going on a vacation.

32. I’ve come to realize that I don’t understand…
why medicine and diabetes supplies are so darn expensive.

33. I’ve come to realize my past…
shaped me and made me stronger.

34. I’ve come to realize that parties…
are something I need to go to more often.

35. I’ve come to realize that I’m totally terrified…
of failure and that it’s OK to be terrified sometimes, just not all the time.

Why So Serious?

2009-09-08T18:33:00.005-04:00

Diabetes is a serious chronic illness, we all know that. But does that mean we have to be doom and gloom all the time? Heck no! That is part of why www.1happydiabetic.com exists. It is to remind you that life is too short to not just let loose and laugh yourself silly sometimes. We have all heard the saying “laughter is the best medicine” and there is truth to that. Laughter can relax you, reduce stress, help your immune system and more. So it should be part of your health care regimen :)

So today I bring you pictures that make me laugh that are related to the big D. Visit the Photo Gallery HERE to see more funny diabetes pictures and add your own today!

Don’t forget we also have a video section that is dedicated to diabetes humor. Check it out HERE and feel free to add your own videos or videos that made you laugh!

Be Happy,

Suzanne

I Am Thankful

2009-08-26T13:43:00.005-04:00

Today has been a pretty awesome day for me and it got me thinking about what I am thankful for. So here is my list (in no particular order) of what I am thankful for. What are you thankful for? If you haven’t done it lately, take a minute and think about the blessings in your life.

1. My health. I have had diabetes for the past 23 years but I am doing pretty darn good on this front. A few bumps in the road so far but I am stronger and healthier now than I have been since I was a teen.

2. My husband. He is the most supportive person I have ever known and he accepts me as I am, warts and all.

3. My family. I have the best sister in the world and great in-laws. I am very fortunate!

4. My DOC friends. You guys get what it is like to live with diabetes unlike most of my friends. I value the relationships I have built over the last year and I look forward to the road ahead, with my diabetes buddies at my side! I love you guys!

5. My school friends. These are the folks who kept me in check when I needed to be kept in check! These are my study buddies and friends for life.

6. That I am officially finished with grad school! I have had my degree conferred as of today, which means even though I have not walked in the graduation ceremony, I do have a Master’s degree now. I still can’t believe it!

7. That I have an insulin pump. It took me years to break down and get one and now you will have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands before you get it away from me. OK, that is morbid, but you get the point!

8. That the world is filled with possibilities and I am excited as to where life will take me next.

9. And finally, I am thankful for my furry children, Chloe the dog and China the cat. They are always happy to see me and they don’t mind if I am in a foul mood due to blood sugar issues.

Diabetes Meetups

2009-08-21T12:01:00.001-04:00

Join us at www.1happydiabetic.com!

Today I want to share my latest adventure this week, going to a diabetes meetup. Now I have been diabetic a long time and other than a stint at diabetes camp many years ago, I have never really met other diabetics face to face. As much as I love all my online D buddies, there is something special about meeting other diabetics face to face.

So this week an online twitter buddy told me about a local meetup and invited me to go along (if you tweet, check him out at @MarkMansheim, he is great!). So I put my nerves aside and planned to attend the monthly JDRF meetup. I braved rush hour traffic and made it on time to the restaurant. I asked the hostess where I might find the JDRF group. She pointed me over to the bar, where a gal my age was sitting. I went over, introduced myself, and the fun began. It turns out that many of the regulars for this monthly meetup couldn't come so it was just me and this person I just met, Melissa. You might think "wow, only one person showed up? How fun could this be?" but I will tell you, this was one of the best nights I had in a long time. Melissa and I hit it off and talked on and on about ourselves and living with diabetes.

As we moved to a table for dinner, I got a bit worried. I had checked online for nutritional info for this restaurant and found none. Being a fairly new carb counter, I was worried about what I would order. The last thing I wanted was crazy BGs because I can't carb count well. When looking over the menu, Melissa suggested the fire grilled pizzas. As much as I love pizzas, I don't eat them anymore unless they are frozen, lower in fat, and have a nutrition label! The pump is supposed to give you freedom to eat what you want but pizza has always messed up my BGs. I expressed my concern to Melissa about the pizzas. She told me that the pizzas were not greasy and fatty and that she had good luck with them in the past. Then I admitted I wasn't sure how to count the carbs (not feeling embarrassed as I usually do with a non diabetic). She understood and said she would help me out. So we decided to split the black fig and prosciutto pizza. It arrived at the table and we spent a few minutes discussing carb counts, made a

decision together about the carbs and started eating. It was the best pizza I have had in years and my BGs stayed in target both 2 hours after the meal and the rest of the night! Sweet success!

So the moral of the story is try to attend a diabetic meetup in your area. Not only could you find a new friend who gets what you deal with diabetes wise but you can get tips and new ideas to try. Melissa helped me think outside of the box I was in and just enjoy a pizza once and awhile. I needed that! And I was able to help her with BG and exercising problems she was having so she was able to exercise and finish with a good BG.

Be Happy,

Suzanne

Meme for The Butter Compartment

2009-08-11T19:05:00.003-04:00

Today's post is in response to LeeAnn over at The Butter Compartment. Check out her blog today and join in the meme fun with us!

1. What bill do you hate paying the most?
My car payment. Oh why didn't I wait until after grad school when I had a job to buy new wheels?

2. Where was the last place you had a romantic dinner?
Romance, what is that, hahahaha! Does International House of Pancakes count?

3. What do you really want to be doing right now?
I'm with LeeAnn on this one. I want some ice cream from Stone Cold Creamery like right now!

4. How many colleges did you attend?
Two. Columbus State University (part of the University of Georgia family of schools) and Argosy University for my MA.

5. Why did you choose the shirt that you have on right now?
It matched my fancy shirt I had on over it when I went up to visit my former internship site today.

6. What are your thoughts on gas prices?
Don't even get me started on this one. And please don't ask my husband who has a degree in economics. I really don't want to hear the free market speech again (love you honey!)

7. First thought when the alarm went off this morning?
Are you kidding me? I just went to sleep!

8. Last thought before going to sleep last night?
I hope I get a decent night’s sleep without my DexCom screaming at me. That didn't happen by the way.

9. Do you miss being a child?
No, I am much happier as an adult who pretends they are a child :)

10. What errand/chore do you despise?
Cleaning the bathrooms. I will NOT do it.

11. Get up early or sleep in?
Get up early. If I sleep in too much I waste the day. Even if said day just involves playing on the PC and tweeting ;)

12. Have you found real love yet?
Yup, took me awhile but I did.

13. Favorite lunch meat?
Thin shaved turkey breast.

14. What do you get every time you go into Wal-Mart?
Ditto on preferring Target. I could spend all day in there. I buy the Dex4 Fast Acting Glucose Sour Berry bits. Thanks diabetes!

15. Beach or lake?
Beach, definitely!

16. Do you think marriage is an outdated ritual?
No, but it is not right for everyone.

17. Sopranos or Desperate Housewives?
Neither. I prefer Intervention, Dexter, True Blood, or Mythbusters.

18.What famous person would you like to have dinner with?
LeeAnn's response-"Hmm… would you think I’m a stalker if I said Dr. Polonsky of BDI? Although, I think my social ineptness would take over and I wouldn’t know what to say… or I’d say something megadorky and sound like a stalker." I'm with her on this one. I have spoken to Dr. Polonsky on the phone before and I know I sounded like a dweeb! I would like a do over please!

19. Have you ever crashed your vehicle?
Yes, I backed into a car while trying to get out of a driveway, ooops!

20. Ever use a fire extinguisher for its intended purpose?
No but I almost had to about 5 years ago when my hubby built too big of a fire in our tiny fireplace!

21. Ring tone?
Fall Out Boy's This Ain't a Scene. It's the only ringtone I can hear from my crappy old phone.

22. Strangest place you have ever brushed your teeth?
In the woods while camping.

23. Somewhere in California you’ve never been and would like to go?
San Francisco for sure!

23. Do you go to church?
No, I was raised catholic so I have done my time in church ;)

24. At this point in your life would you rather start a new career or a new relationship?
Career, I think. Oh, wait a minute, I am doing that right now with the whole counseling thing. Now I just need an interview or two....

25. How old are you
36 and fabulous!

26. Do you have a go-to person?
My hubby

27. Are you where you want to be in life?
Yes, because I wouldn't be who I am if it weren't for where life has taken me. Who I am opens a world of possibilities up for me!

28. Growing up, what were your favorite cartoons?
Looney Tunes

29. What about you do you think has changed the most?
I am not an angry, depressed person like I was for most of my life. I have found an inner peace & self acceptance.

30. Looking back at high school were they the best years of your life?
Uh, no. I hated high school!

31. Are there times you still feel like a kid?
Farts make me laugh like crazy!

32. Did you ever own troll dolls?
Only 1. My sister gave me a cavewoman troll doll for high school graduation because my classmates made fun of my full name when we had graduation practice. When the principal said my full name one of the boys yelled "Una the cavewoman!" making fun of my middle name. Of course the entire graduating class started laughing at me. Said boy is bald now so I think karma took care of balancing the universe!

33. Did you have a pager?
Yup, for an IT job back in 1995.

34. Where was the hang out spot when you were a teenager?
Denny's in Columbus, GA is where all the misfit and cool kids went. I also did not take insulin to cover the pancakes, much like LeeAnn. I think I thought I was too cool for insulin!

35. Were you the type of kid you would want your children to hang out with?
If I had kids (or wanted them) then yes. I was a pretty good kid.

Thanks LeeAnn for the trip down memory lane and a chance to reflect on myself today :)

It’s All About The Attitude…

2009-08-10T13:46:00.002-04:00

Please check out all our latest blog posts at www.1happydiabetic.com!

I spent yesterday afternoon with a friend I call “the angry diabetic.” Let me tell you a bit about this friend. He is a smart, savvy guy with a BIG chip on his shoulder about his diabetes. He is 40 years old and has had diabetes for about 30 years now. He is a pumper yet does not carb count properly or test often enough. He is always angry about anything going on in his life and usually he finds a way to blame diabetes for this anger. Often he says it’s not fair he has diabetes (I agree, it’s not fair any of us have diabetes), diabetes holds him back (I disagree, he holds himself back in life), and being diabetic makes him a “loser.” In fact, he has told me more than once that all diabetics are losers. I for one am no loser! His negativity and anger about his diabetes colors his whole life and world. It affects his relationships and his health (he often gets so angry at small things that his blood sugar shoots into the 300’s which then makes him madder!).

Yesterday I expressed my concerns to my friend. I explained I wanted to be his friend but the negative attitude that he always has was wearing me down. It bothered me to see him suffer. He explained to me that he feels he has no control in his life because he is diabetic. He is depressed most of the time. He feels alone, like no one understands how he feels. When we hang out, he gets angry if my blood sugar is in target and his is not. He realizes that his depression is out of hand but feels hopeless, like things will never get better. He acknowledges that his attitude about diabetes “sucks.”

When I returned home, I started thinking about how much the attitude you have about your diabetes can shape how you live your life, as well as how much control you have in your diabetes care. Diabetics are at risk for depression, just as anyone who deals with a chronic illness is. Let’s face it, having diabetes sucks. It is not fun watching every morsel of food that you eat, logging, calculating insulin dosages, and sometimes having to stop doing something you enjoy because your blood sugar is low or high. Even when you do everything right, sometimes your diabetes still does not cooperate! Add depression to the day to day grind of diabetes and your attitude will do a downwards spiral!

You do have control about your attitude towards your diabetes, even if sometimes it doesn’t feel that way. A bad attitude puts you in a bad mood, setting you up for a bad day. It becomes a vicious cycle like my friend is stuck in. Does that mean you should be little miss/mister sunshine all the time? No one can be super upbeat all the time, that is unrealistic! It’s about balance and acceptance of diabetes. If you are feeling like you have a bad attitude towards diabetes, reach out to others. Talk to your doctor, friends, or family. Speak to people online at social networking sites. If you are feeling depressed, talk to your doctor immediately. Depression can suck motivation and positive attitudes right out of you.

So what do you do to change your attitude to a more positive one? Do you struggle with keeping a positive attitude? What do people in your life do to help you keep a positive attitude? I’d love to get your feedback!

Suzanne

PS-My friend is going to talk to his doctor about his antidepressant medication and he is considering going to therapy. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for him!

A video all diabetics must see!

2009-08-03T17:33:00.002-04:00

The other day I was on YouTube and checking out what new videos awaited me in my subscription list. One of my favorite YouTube folks is Allie Beatty. She runs a site called www.alliesvoice.com. If you are not familiar with her, Allie has strong beliefs and opinions and is not afraid to share them with the world. Love her or hate her, she makes you really think about things when it comes to your diabetes, your healthcare, treatment options, etc… She is a vibrant and strong voice in the diabetes community and I respect the heck out of her for it!

So I settle into my chair and hit play on Allie’s latest video, “Do Anti-VEGF Shots Cause Strokes?” and I have to hit pause about 15 seconds into it because I am in shock. My eyes are filling up with tears as I sit in disbelief, staring at my laptop. I urge you to watch this video in its entirety now, before you finish reading my post.

Part of me wants to scream that this has happened to her. Part of me is angry that this could happen in this day and age. A big part of me is terrified that something like this will happen to me. Here is why I urged you to watch the video. Allie is a fighter and she will get through this. Visit her site, www.alliesvoice.com and offer her support. Do not let this story paralyze you with fear. Use this as another weapon in your diabetes arsenal to remind you that you must ask questions of your doctors, you must research treatment options, and you need to be actively involved in your health care. Know that sometimes you will have to take risks when choosing a treatment option and you may get some unwelcome side effects. This is part of the diabetes survival game. Never give up!

As Allie recovers from this stroke, I know she will continue to be brutally honest and question everything. It’s part of why the D community loves her so much! You are in our thoughts and prayers Allie.

Crazy Diabetes Ride!

2009-07-31T10:25:00.003-04:00

Hello all! I have some really exciting news! I have partnered up with Bill, AKA 1HappyDiabetic, in the launch of his new, improved site. A big factor in the decision to re-launch the site was to make it easier for everyone to see the 1HappyDiabetic videos in one place and for people to be able to comment on them or request a topic for future videos. As Bill’s videos were viewed on YouTube, others like myself began making videos in response to Bill. Now all these videos and voices have a home at www.1happydiabetic.com as Bill and I work together to bring you the content you want, in a fun and silly way.

When Bill began making videos his goal was simple, reaching people across the globe all looking for the same thing… what is that you ask? It’s the search for a friend with diabetes. One that you can relate with, talk with, laugh with, and dance with! The idea of 1HappyDiabetic is the idea that all of us can become a happier, healthier diabetics. In other words, you too can be 1HappyDiabetic! Being a happier, healthier diabetic touches many areas of your life and you are not alone on this journey.

Thanks for joining us on this crazy diabetes ride!

Bill & Suzanne

I am no longer alone!

2009-07-21T17:20:00.002-04:00

Today something huge happened. Something that shows we are not alone as diabetics or PWD (whichever way you prefer to be called). Today www.tudiabetes.com reached 10,000 members! This is an amazing, awesome thing!

It got me thinking about what this community means to me over the short time I have been a member. I joined tu about 9 months ago. Although I had been working in IT for over 13 years, it had never occurred to me to look online for help with my diabetes or to connect with others with diabetes! That is how alone and isolated I felt in this disease. I came across this brave, new world through YouTube, from 1HappyDiabetic’s profile. From there I realized the wealth of information and the ability to connect with others in no time. I quickly joined www.tudiabetes.com. Since that time I have made new friends, gotten help when I needed it, helped others in need, had people who understood what I go through taking care of my diabetes, became a blogger, became a twitter freak, and I have felt connected for the first time in my life. I am no longer alone! What a precious gift to know you are truly connected to others in your life. Words cannot do justice to the feelings…

Many thanks to Manny and his team for making this forum available. Thanks to all the bloggers out there who work hard to give us information and a forum for our cause. And thanks to all of you out there coming to connect with others and share part of yourself.

Find more videos like this on TuDiabetes - A Community for People Touched by Diabetes

Find more videos like this on TuDiabetes - A Community for People Touched by Diabetes

Feelin’ The Blues

2009-07-17T10:42:00.003-04:00

According to the experts, the exact cause of depression in patients with diabetes is unknown. It is likely complex, involving interactions among psychological, physical and genetic factors. If you do a search on diabetes and depression, you will see this statement repurposed over and over. What does it tell us? Not much! We know that irregular glucose levels, substance abuse, eating disorders, smoking, noncompliance in diabetes care, physical activity and weight gain all affect one another, and feed into the life cycle of depression. It is stated that diabetics are twice as likely to suffer from depression than someone without diabetes. This is all great information but does it really offer a lot of insight into why we feel the blues? Not really!

Experts cannot tell us what really causes depression. There are no blood tests or brain scans to diagnose depression yet it is a real phenomenon that many people must deal with. Currently the best way to treat depression among any population, diabetic or not, is through the use of a combination of medication and therapy. We know this works, just not exactly why or how it works.

There are not a lot of answers as to why we are at risk. But we do know we are at risk for depression. Let’s face it, it is hard to live with a chronic illness that is 24/7 that you never get a break from. You can’t just wake up one morning and say “hey, I am going to pretend I am not diabetic this weekend and not take my shots (or pills or pump)” and expect to not end up sick or in the hospital. The planning, glucose monitoring, unexpected highs and lows, and the healthcare costs can drain a person. On top of that, many health care teams don’t even consider the emotional and mental impact of living with this disease!

So what do you think about the link between diabetes and depression? What do you think causes the higher risk of depression to diabetics? Have you suffered from depression since being diagnosed diabetic?

Diabetes, Anger, & Depression

2009-07-09T22:03:00.002-04:00

Often when you meet another person with diabetes there is an instant connection between the two of you. An understanding that is unspoken and felt deeply. Why is this? Is it because the other person understands the emotional burden of living with diabetes and feels it too? To me it seems like a good possibility. Many feelings are associated with the diagnosis of diabetes, as well as feelings associated with living with this chronic condition. Many times over the years I could sum up how I felt with two words: anger and depression.

I spent countless years angry and depressed, barely taking care of my diabetes. None of my doctors told me that diabetic patients are prone to depression, they just offered me pills and sent me on my way. I figured it must just be me-after all, my body wasn’t working right, why would my brain be any better? Now doctors are realizing that there is a link between people living with chronic illnesses and depression. Now there is more hope that newly diagnosed diabetics will not have to suffer through what some diabetes vetrans such as myself suffered through. Shame, guilt, anger, and depression are complications of diabetes that few health care providers talk about. These are complications that no one should have to experience. I promise in future posts to delve deeper into the emotional side of this disease. I welcome any suggestions of topics from you guys!

In a recent post I shared with you guys about getting my new tattoo. This tattoo symbolized reaching a level of acceptance and inner peace regarding my diabetes and how it affects the other areas of my life. It is a permanent reminder that no matter how I try to pretend I am not diabetic or ignore my health, diabetes is always there. It is part of who I am and now I am stronger for it. I don’t have all the answers by any means but I now understand how much I have to learn and I am open to the experience of learning more.

TATTOO UPDATE-The tattoo is now 2 weeks old and healing wonderfully! It is amazing how much better I heal when my blood sugars are in normal range! I am healing at about the same rate as my sister, who doesn’t have diabetes. This is new, uncharted territory for us, healing at the same rate. We are planning on getting matching tattoos on her next visit.

Technology and Ink

2009-06-26T16:57:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was the big tattoo appointment that my sister and I had been looking forward to for months. As always with any plans she and I make, the plans always go haywire. I think our family has some weird karma curse or something. Also important to mention is that when we are together, we are never on time for an appointment. I am the type who shows up for an appointment 30 minutes early and my sister is the opposite. So the day started off schedule to begin with. Our original plan was to get inked and then be home for dinner by 7pm.

We get to the tattoo parlor at about 1:40pm. Guess what? They are closed! I have had this appointment set for a month! There is just a note on the door that says they will be open tomorrow. This is the only day we can do this, arghhhhh! Our friend gets on his phone and calls another friend. We are back on the road trying to find a different shop that comes highly recommended. We get to the new shop and spend some time talking to the artists to decide if we want to get our work done there. After about an hour of talking back and forth, seeing the artist portfolios, and the design the artist came up with for me, we are ready to get going. But wait, it is lunch time for the tattoo shop! Their food shows up so we tell them to go ahead and eat, we will run up the street to some shops up there for awhile.

Now it is 3:30pm and I am finally in the chair with the stencil on my arm. I have not eaten in almost 4 hours and my blood sugar is steady according to my DexCom. The artist gets to work. We stop every hour so I can test just to make sure my CGMS is telling me the truth about where my blood sugars are. At 7:30pm, my tattoo is done. I am getting pretty hungry but we can’t leave, my sister still has about an hour left on her tattoo. Finally at 8:30pm, we are done and out the door. My blood sugar has been cruising at 120 since 3pm so now I know that my afternoon basals are pretty close to right, hahaha! I still need to run a true basal test to be sure but I really hate to skip meals so I keep putting it off.

I think I love my CGMS. At least yesterday I loved it, I can’t guarantee that I will love it tomorrow or the next day, it depends on if it behaves itself! I know I am in love with my pump, no doubt about it! My point here is that never in my diabetic life have I been able to skip a meal and have a normal blood sugar. I am always the one in the group who is whining, “we have to go eat, my blood sugars will crash if I don’t eat!” For once I got to be just like my sister and my friends and just go with the flow. These pieces of equipment allowed me to keep good blood sugar numbers and eat when I wanted to. Even my friend commented on how he had never been out with us and not had to move around our day because of my diabetes. On the way home we did stop at Chick-fil-a as we were all starving to death at this point. For once, we weren’t stopping because I had to eat, it was because we all needed to eat. What a neat feeling to have! I am so thankful for the diabetes technology that we have available to us now. It’s not perfect and it sure isn’t that cure my doctors have been promising me for over 20 years, but it’s pretty darn good!

I will blog later on how the new tattoo is healing and how my blood sugars do. For now, please enjoy my new tattoo. It was a big decision to brand myself as diabetic for the world to see and I am so glad I did it.

We are family!

2009-06-18T10:36:00.004-04:00

So I have been super busy getting my house cleaned and ready for my little sister coming to visit. I will be picking her up on Sunday and I am excited to see her. We have lots of fun planned over the next week.

Here is my sister at Halloween, dressed as a zombie...

This will be a true test of all this diabetes technology I have as we will be running around Atlanta and eating out quite a bit. I will be interested to see how the DexCom CGMS and Ping pump help me keep good blood sugar numbers. Also we will see if my rudimentary carb counting skills have improved at all since I have only been carb counting for about a year now. I am nervous and excited all at the same time but ready for some well deserved fun. We are going to the Atlanta Aquarium, Hard Rock Café, lots of shopping (my sis lives in Italy and misses Old Navy so we will definitely be there!), visiting with my Dad, and the big outing is going to a local tattoo parlor.

Tattoo parlor? Really? Is that how sisters spend time together and bond? Well with these sisters, yes, we do bond at tattoo parlors. We are a little crazy! You wouldn’t guess from my Sunday school teacher appearance but I do love me some ink! This time around I spent a ton of time designing and contemplating my new tattoo. I wanted to do something that commemorated all the positive things that have happened to me over the last year or so. I am finishing grad school, I became a born again diabetic, and I lost a ton of weight. I realized the biggest thing I could commemorate is the change in my diabetes care as I lived with zero control for over a decade and I dodged some major complications (still not sure how that happened but I am thankful). So the tattoo I am getting will brand me in ink as a diabetic. For the first time in my life there is pride instead of shame and fear in that word. I am really excited about how I have changed my thoughts and feelings about diabetes and how it fits into my life.

So here is to good blood sugars while eating out and getting inked! I will report back with a picture of the tattoo and how my control is throughout the process of getting it and healing from it. This will be my first tattoo I have gotten while in good control so I will be interested to see if I heal better this time around.

I have never felt so diabetic until this moment…

2009-06-14T11:39:00.008-04:00

So this weekend my husband and I are getting the house cleaned up and organized as my sister is coming in from Italy to visit soon. I have learned a valuable lesson here, I can almost hear my mom’s voice telling me “if you do a quick clean once a week, you will always have a tidy house.” Three years of grad school, a full time job, a rebirth in diabetes care, and life in general kept me from the weekly task of cleaning the apartment. What a disaster of a house we are now trying to clean up! As usual, I am spinning off topic here (I am prone to that).

So in cleaning and organizing the house, we decided that we wanted some prime real estate back in our hall closet. The top shelf held piles of infusion sets, reservoirs, and DexCom sensors, just scattered about. My other supplies such as strips, lancets, syringes, and other medicines were scattered in the bedroom and living room. So I get this idea that I should buy a cabinet and put all my diabetic stuff in it. Then things would be easy to find and to get to, as well as allowing me to see what I am running low on in a quick look.

So I go to my local Target (as if I need an excuse to go to this store) and pick up a small cabinet. I get it home and my husband goes to put it together and what do you know? One of the pieces of wood is broken inside the box. So we hop in the car, go back to Target, and exchange it for another one. My dear husband spends the next couple of hours trying to follow the world’s worst and most conflicting directions to put the darn thing together. Success! We have a cabinet now!

I start gathering all my supplies and stacking them neatly in this new cabinet. As I finish and take a step back, I realize I have never felt so diabetic in my whole life until this moment. The millions of shots, finger sticks, doctor’s appointments, measuring of food, etc never made me feel as diabetic as looking into this new, shiny cabinet that is now completely full. Seeing all the medical equipment and supplies I use to stay healthy shook me a bit. Is this what my life has turned into?

Stacks and stacks of prescription items? Maybe living in diabetic denial wasn’t so bad. After all, back then all I kept in the house were syringes and insulin, that was it. Then my rational side kicks in and reminds me, “you are healthier now, you feel good now, you have this diabetes thing under control! You will live a healthier, happier life this way.” I turn to my husband and share how I am feeling at this moment. He just smiles and says “well shut the doors then and don’t look anymore. Go play on the PC.” So I do as he suggests and I enjoy the feeling of being in control of my life and health. I bask in being thankful that I have such an understanding and caring partner in life.

A must hear song for diabetics!

2009-05-29T09:44:00.004-04:00

So yesterday the diabetic ninja, AKA George Simmons, did a blog about a song he wrote last year for World Diabetes Day. This song is now available for for purchase at iTunes.

You must check this out! To get a sneak peak at the song, check out George's blog to see a video he did of the song. George nails what it is like to live with this chronic disease and he is just the most charming guy ever. Spend some time looking over his past blogs as he is honest, candid, and real about the trials and tribulations of being a diabetic. I relate to George because he is a born again diabetic, just like I am. We keep fighting the good fight!

Enjoy!

Technology FAIL!

2009-05-23T17:03:00.000-04:00

So I get up this morning and my DexCom sensor is starting to flake out. Inaccurate readings, it keeps loosing communication with the receiver, no direction arrows. So I take a deep breath and I restart the sensor. No big deal, after all I am on my 13th day with this sensor which is the longest I have gotten so far. So I pack up my stuff and head out to meet a friend for lunch at Red Lobster. I am envisioning cheddar bay biscuits and more carbs then I usually eat at lunch, yummy! Plus I am excited to see my friend.

Fast forward to sitting at the table after ordering lunch. I pull out my trusty One Touch Ping meter to check my sugar and bolus. Oh oh, WTF? The meter is on?!?! There is an error code?!?!?! Here is what I saw:

I start hitting buttons, pulling the batteries out, looking for a reset switch. No luck, the only way the error goes away is if I pull the batteries out which means the darn thing won't work. Then my DexCom receiver begins to beep at me. It is time to put the 2 start up blood sugars in so my CGMS will start working again. Houston, we have a problem here, the darn meter is out of commission! Of course I don't have an extra glucometer in my purse so I have no working meter and no CGMS data to use. There are 3 One Touch meters at home but that is not helping me. So I start to panic and worry that maybe there is something wrong with my pump too. I pull it out and see it is OK. So I bolus for my carbs, just guessing what my sugar might be. I am going to eat lunch out, I haven't eaten out in ages! Lunch goes well and off I go to get back home.

I get home and grab the One Touch Ultra Smart meter I use as a back up and calibrate my DexCom. It won't calibrate, I keep getting a sensor error. ARGHHHHH! TECHNOLOGY FAIL! So I put in a new sensor and I am now waiting for the sensor to be ready to go. Meanwhile I call Animas about the error on the meter and I am transferred to LifeScan techs. Turns out they have to send me a new meter, this one is toast. I will receive the new meter next week sometime, probably on Wednesday.

Maybe there is a down side to being so reliant on all this technology? Or maybe this was a good lesson about what I need to carry with me in my emergency supply kit that I carry in my purse. Now a One Touch mini, extra strips, and a lancet device are crammed in there. Lesson learned this time :)

Those Red Lobster cheesy biscuits sure were good though :)

Chh-chhh-chhh-Changes!

2009-05-23T17:01:00.000-04:00

I know for me I have never been good at changing to new treatments when it comes to my diabetes. I don't know what that is all about but I got to thinking about it today when I got frustrated with my equipment. It got me thinking about how hard change is...

Here is what I mean. My family tried to get me to get a pump since the late 80s and I refused. It took me years after Humalog came out to switch from R to Humalog. I refused to go to go from 2 shots a day to true MDI after I went on Humalog. Don't even talk to me about trying the new long lasting insulins like Lantus, there was no way I would consider that. Switch from exchanges to carb counting, not gonna happen! Then I got sick and I thought I was having diabetic complications. This is it I thought, diabetes finally has caught up with me and is going to kill me. I was 34 and I was facing my own death from not taking care of myself. So I got an endo who realized how off the path I was and how resistant to change I was. So she met me were I was at and didn't try to force me to change insulins, carb count, or do MDI. She didn't even bring up the idea of a pump. She waited patiently for me to be ready for change.

So what was stopping me from trying different ways of taking care of my diabetes? Why was I so resistant to change? Was it fear of the unknown? Was it pure stubbornness? Was it just that I don't like change like most people? Maybe change is just too hard? Was it fear of failure? One thing I do remember my first endo telling me was that once you figure out what works, don't change anything. It was 1988 when I was told this. Definitely not good advice when I look back but what he said had an impact on my poor 13 year old brain.

So what changes have happened for me over the past year and a half? Well, I started carb counting and got on an Animas pump. I started testing 12+ times a day. I just started a DexCom CGMS in the last month. I totally changed my diet from a fried, high carb nightmare to a low fat moderate carb diet. So what motivated me to change? And not just small changes, but radical changes? Looking at it now maybe it was the fear of dying. I was willing to try anything to feel better and not die now. Then I realized I wanted to finally be in control of my diabetes and not have it control me like it always had in the past. This motivated me to change.

So as I sat here this morning frustrated with my DexCom not working right as I prepared to go to the gym, the old me started screaming in my head, "you should have stayed the way you were, you never went low then!" Of course I never went low back when I was on shots, my average blood sugar was in the high 200s! I was so tempted to throw the DexCom against the wall, just like I felt like throwing my pump away the first month I was on it. Then I went low (again) because I get nervous with the idea of changing my basal settings on the pump. So even though I have weeks worth of data that shows me I need to reduce my basal in the AM, I didn't make the change. I even ran basal tests so I knew I needed to reduce the basal! I just kept going low and having to treat the low every morning at the same time. So I sit at my desk this morning, upset and frustrated. I had to breathe and remind myself, change is good. Change is what has given you your life and health back. Breathe young grasshopper! So I changed my basal and I restarted the DexCom sensor, breathe in, breathe out....

Making changes in my D care freaks me out. Can anyone relate? Thanks for letting me vent, I feel much better now :)