This website has moved to thehealthypancreas.wordpress.com. I’ll see you there!!!
Diaversary!!!
Happy 17th Diaversary to me!!! If you don’t know, a diaversary is the anniversary of a diabetes diagnoses. On March 11, 1995 when I was 7 years old I was told I have Type 1 Diabetes.
I was going to do this whole big post on my diagnoses story and this & that but that seems…eh not so fun. So I wanted to make a list of things my diabetes hasn’t stopped me from doing:
- Flying in a plane
- Being in Marching Band (band geek whoo!!!)
- Dating
- Learning French (not that I have anyone to talk to)
- Graduating with Honors
- Horseback Riding
- Going to Disney, & Universal, & visiting my Florida family
- Going on a cruise
- Going out with friends
- Camping
- Dancing around like a fool every chance I get
- Going to my first live baseball game
- Running two 5k’s
- Getting Married
- Buying my first home
- Getting a dog
- Going to Merlefest
- Going to Williamsburg, VA
- Getting pregnant (♥)
So I left a lot of things out & it’s not exactly in order but hey, it shows that over the last 17 years I’ve not let me diabetes define my life. Yes it’s a big part but it’s not the only part.
Here’s to another 17 years (& many more) with my rude, unwilling to contribute pancreas. 17 more years of changes & upgrades in diabetes care and management. But mostly, 17 more years of living life to the fullest, with my husband at my side, & a whole bunch of babies!!!
Apologies, Apologies
I am SOOOO sorry I haven’t posted in forever. Just a lot going on right now. But I will do a really good post soon & get back on track I promise!!! I’ve got a few pics to show you guys, & stuff to catch you up on.
One thing is I’m now having more good days than bad days when it comes to my miscarriage. My most recent bad day was Saturday, so it’s getting better slowly but surely.
I love you guys, stick with me I promise I’ll get back on this horse ASAP.
🙂
Hitting a vein.
Sucks. Got this little surprise when I took my site out this evening.
Don’t judge me for taking the time to snap this pic.
Well at least that solves the mystery of my highs this evening!!!
Welcome back Dexy!
So I’ve not been using my Dexcom for months now!!! Ugh, I know right. So today I finally put Dexy back on the charger & ordered more sensors, much to the delight of my deductible! I’ve not really been using it because Luke got a hold of it & did a number on the poor guy. Still works fine, just doesn’t look so good & who knows how long it’ll last.
Luckily, I’m still under warranty so I can get a new one for a cool $200. I’ll probably break down & get it soon…just not right after I’ve spent about $700 on pump supplies and sensors that will lovingly fill my deductible up. Whew, at least I got it done early.
So I’m SUPER excited to be using the Dex again because I know that my A1C is way up. I’m just now coming off the burnout after my miscarriage & am ready to take care of myself & get back on top of things. Like tonight for dinner, instead of going out or getting fast food I actually cooked 🙂 & from start to finish, no help from the hubby. I made a lemon/herb chicken with cucumbers & steamed veggies. So yay for good food choices tonight.
Hopefully it’ll last into tomorrow and I can get the momentum rolling and get the taking care of myself back on top of the priority list.
Just a short one today I know. I promise to get back into the blogging groove now that the rest of my life seems to slowly be falling back into place. I’ll leave you with a picture of the pup 🙂
My new favorite t-shirt
I think it speaks for itself 🙂
This is one of the many shirts you can find here at the ‘Diabetees’ store. There were definitely some I really liked but this one has to be my favorite!
Finding my way back…
So I’ve not posted in a LONG TIME!!! I’m soooo sorry!!! But when I was about to do my next post several months ago I actually found out I was pregnant 🙂 🙂 So while trying to wrap my head around that & get to all the doctors etc. I decided to wait to do another post until after we heard the heartbeat.
On the day we went to the doctor to hear the heartbeat we didn’t. Instead we found out that my pregnancy was actually collapsing on itself & I was going to miscarry. Luckily Aaron was there with me that day & I will never forget the look on his face when the doctor told us. He had this stoic, hard mask on. You could tell he was sad but he was being strong. He put himself aside so he could be there for me. And goodness knows I needed him. I was pretty numb at first, but by the time we got home I was lost. I cried & cried & cried. And Aaron was there, so supportive, being whatever I needed him to be.
That was December 28th. The following Monday on January 2nd Aaron & I lost our baby. It was painful, sad, & pretty traumatic. I was just over 9 weeks pregnant so my doctor said I experienced about 80% of the pain I would feel during actual labor. It was horrible. It would have been bearable if I’d have gotten a precious little baby out of it. But I didn’t.
That was 4 weeks ago tomorrow & it still feels just as raw. I do understand however that it wasn’t my only chance at a child, that God has a reason why He wanted this perfect little baby more than I did, & I do have some peace with it. I honestly do. Does that make the pain easier? Not one bit. But I’m not angry, sad yes, but I’m not angry. I’m doing my best not to let it make me bitter. I have some pregnant friends that do sometimes complain about bring pregnant & it takes everything that I have not to make some snide remark about how they should just be happy that they’re still pregnant. I just think to myself that if I were them I’d probably be complaining of the same things 🙂
So now I’m trying to find my way back from that. My diabetes kind of took a backseat throughout this, which I know I shouldn’t have let it but I wasn’t thinking about the future at that moment & the future children I would have. All I was thinking of was that I didn’t have a little baby in me to take care of anymore so what the eff was the point?? Why should I check my blood sugar, or eat right?? I have nothing to nurture and care for anymore. Then as a week or two went by I realized that I need to start taking extra good care of myself for me, my husband, my dog, & my future children. Just because I couldn’t carry this one doesn’t mean I never will. & I need to make sure that the next tiny baby has a healthy happy home inside me.
So I’m finding my way back from the fog. I’m finding me again, & regaining my happiness. I can talk about my miscarriage & my angel baby now easier than I could. I don’t want to act like this baby never happened. It was real, it was my child no matter how long I carried it.
So now I’m back 🙂 And I’m getting healthy, & checking my blood sugars, & pulling all the pieces of me back together. I’m ready to start blogging again after my leave of absence. To end this post I’d like to share a quote that helped me when I found out I would lose my baby. I love you guys 🙂
“Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers but to be fearless in facing them. Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain, but for the heart to conquer it. Let me not look for allies in life’s battlefield but to my own strength. Let me not cave in.” -Rabindranath Tagore‘The Book Of Better’ Review
A few weeks ago I got an email from Jonathan Lazzara from Three Rivers Press, part of the Crown Publishing Group at Random House about a book they just put out (11.1.11) by Chuck Eichten called ‘The Book of Better‘. He sent me a complimentary copy of the book, said I wasn’t obligated to write about it but if I did that would be great.
After getting my copy of the book in the mail, sitting down & reading it a few times I realized there’s no way I couldn’t write anything about this book! My quote review of the book (like the ones they put on the back) is this:
“I’ve had Type 1 Diabetes for over 16 years and ‘The Book of Better’ not only taught me new things but it made me laugh, made me think, & has motivated me to do BETTER!”
This book was not only a really easy read & very straight forward but it was seriously FUN to read!! There were many times while I was reading where I just thought ‘Yes!! That’s exactly how I feel!!’. It goes over everything from diabetes basics, to pumping, to the best & worst things about diabetes, etc. It taught me things like who the first person treated with insulin was, & why exactly I always get super thirsty & pee a lot when my blood sugar is high (something I never really understood before).
The cover of the book says ‘Life with diabetes can’t be perfect. Make it better.’ And in my opinion, Chuck shows how to do it. He’s honest about the downfalls of this disease but turns around & shows you how to make it better, that there are positive things to be found. And it’s great knowing Chuck is a Type 1 as well. It makes me feel like he gets me, he gets how diabetes makes me feel.
While it does explain the difference between Type 1 & Type 2 Diabetes and some things are relevant to Type 2 I feel this book was mainly written for Type 1’s. Which I think is awesome because it seems every piece of literature out there online & off, about diabetes is geared towards Type 2. It’s very, very frustrating.
The design of the book, I think, is fantastic. Lot’s of illustrations, big fonts, little fonts, some cartoon-ish things; a lot of elements that make the book POP & stand out from others. It really catches your eye and makes you WANT to read it. It draws you in!!
All in all, I really loved this book. I also think it’s a good book for people who don’t have diabetes (especially those who interact with diabetics daily) because it tells you about the disease, how diabetics feel, & things to watch out for like signs of high blood sugars and low blood sugars.
If I could I’d put this book in the hands of my husband, my family, my co-workers, my friend, and especially those other Type 1’s who just want to make living with this disease better. I really can’t wait to see what else Chuck Eichten will do.
Bullet Points Post!!
I know it’s been a few days since I last posted 😦 I’m sorry!! It’s been a weird past few days (I blame it on the full moon). So I thought I’d do some bullet points just to play catch up!
- My interview with the Diabetes Resource Page has been put on their website 🙂 You can find it here.
- I did my Big Blue Test today. And I tell you what, the Just Dance games for the Wii are highly effective.
- I saw the new Footloose movie and thought it was awesome. They did a really good job at honoring the original 1984 version while modernizing it at the same time
- Look what my grandmother found:
This was my very first pump! I think I was in Middle School. It’s a Disetronic H-Tron! They did a newspaper article on me because our little town had never seen anything like this before.
- Luke tried to eat Philip the Dexcom 😦 Phil still works (thank goodness) but is severely battered & bruised. And I’ll have to pay $200 to replace the poor guy. Looks like I’m stuck with him for a little while.
- Luke has also eaten my phone, my digital camera, my shoes, my hairbrush, & the handle of the can-opener. To name a few things.
- I uploaded my picture for the One Day On Earth Project (#diabetes111111) did you?
- I also received my copy of The Book of Better Friday. Look for a review post either tomorrow or Tuesday. That’s one post I’m very very excited to write!!!
- Also this week I’m going to interview Aaron on what it’s like being a spouse of a diabetic. It’s an idea I got from Sysy at A Girl’s Guide to Diabetes. Looking really forward to that post as well 🙂
That’s about it for now. I’m having serious writer’s block today, grrr. Oh don’t forget tomorrow is World Diabetes Day. So do The Big Blue Test, make sure to get your World Diabetes Exchange Postcard in the mail, and of course: WEAR BLUE!!!
My ‘beetus doesn’t like stomach bugs
Aaron & I always laugh at those Wilford Brimley commercials where he talks about his ‘dia-beet-us’!! It drives me crazy (the kind of crazy where I roll my eyes but still giggle a little). Like when my cousin still asks me if I’ve taken my ‘sugar pill’ no matter how many times I’ve told her I’m on insulin. Haha!
This weekend I remembered how much my ‘beetus does NOT like it when I’m sick. My numbers were rollercoaster-ing all weekend & I”m still having some trouble honing them in.
Being sick with diabetes is so much more work. If I’m nauseous I have to think ‘is it the high blood sugar or the bug?’ If I have crackers & sprite I have to think ‘should I do a full bolus? what if i puke later?’ Ugh!! But that’s why I haven’t posted in a few days. ‘Beetus & I were fighting the stomach bug that seems to be going around our little town.
All is better now though!!! 🙂 & I have some good news:
My letter to the editor that I wrote about Diabetes Awareness Month & World Diabetes Day ran in our local paper yesterday!! I’m not sure about the title they gave it but I digress. You can read my letter here!! I’m so excited, I know it’s not much but it’s still helping to raise awareness about Diabetes & some of the things going on this month.
I also got my postcard out in the mail for the World Diabetes Day Postcard Exchange.
Had to represent good ol’ NC bay-bay!!! 🙂 Can’t wait to receive mine in the mail hopefully soon!!!
Never in my life have I been so involved in the Diabetes Community & I really wish I would have started sooner. I’m meeting a ton of great new people, getting a lot of support from people who know what I’m going through, & really feeling like I’m making a difference. Even if it’s just a small one.
It’s time for me to show my diabetes whose boss. I’m in control of this disease not the other way around. I can show others & myself that diabetes doesn’t always have to be bad.
It appears all the bones, walking, playing with ropes & squeaky balls have left Luke in a ‘oh isn’t life as a dog hard’ pose. Because we don’t spoil him at all you know. 😉
life, as a type 1 