November 17, 2006

Meme of Threes

I have an ever-growing pile of essays I could be grading right now, but instead I'm writing responses to this Meme.... Priorities? Not on Fridays :)

Three Things I Do Every Day:
Test my blood sugar, tell my fiance and family that I love them, chew gum

Three Things I Wish I Could Do Every Day:
Keep my blood sugar between 100-120 all day, drink the recommended amount of water, and wake up next to my fiance (only 7 more months to go!!)

Three Hopes I Have for Today:
That my nail appointment goes well (we're getting engagement pics tomorrow, so I'm getting fake nails tonight), that my fiance arrives back to PA safely, that I have made a positive difference in one student's life

Three Things I Hear:
the quiet hum of my the air conditioner in my room, the quiet mumur of student voices as they peer review essays, my fingers tapping on the keyboard

Three Ways I Have Changed my Life:
Became an exercise enthusiast, allowed myself to be "imperfect", fallen in completely in love

Three People I Wish I Could See Again:
My grandpap, My great-grandma, my five-year old self

Three Items I Wish I Owned:

A working pancreas, 20+ acres of land in the country, a Christmas tree farm

Three Wishes I Had When I Was Young:
To be a rock star (I still have the pink leggings I planned to wear for my premiere), To fall in love, that I could find a job where I could sleep in until at least 9 each morning (still looking for that one!)

Three Fears I Have:
Losing a loved one, health issues, disappointing those that love me

Three Things on My Desk:

Pictures of my friends and family, my Maxine mousepad, and two bottles of Dasani water (refer to "Three Things I Wish I could do everyday).

Three Thoughts in My Mind:
I could really go for another Diet Coke, Is the day over yet?, Why am I writing this instead of grading essays??? Oy...


Happy Friday!

November 09, 2006

Things the general public SHOULD know by now about Type 1 Diabetes

When I learned that today was the D-Blog day, I tried to think of something touching and poignant to write. Unfortunately, it's just not one of those days, so the end result is something smart-assy and sarcastic. I mean no disrespect, I simply wanted to vent on a few misconceptions/annoyances I've encountered in my (almost) 5 years as a diabetic.

Without further ado - in no particular order:

  • Just because the Oatmeal Guy says "Di-a-bee-tus" that does not mean that it is the correct pronounciation. Try out "di-a-bee-tees" once. It rolls off the tongue. Trust me.

  • Having "sugar" sounds old school; the new kids on the (diabetes) block (and by that I mean me) prefer "diabetic" or "pancreatically challenged.

  • For the zillionth time "Yes, I can eat whatever I @#$%&*) want to - thanks for asking."

  • Insulin pumps do not mean that the diabetic has poor control, "sugar really bad", and no - I am not about to die. I'm simply using a method that works best for me, just as others who use multiple daily injections are doing so because it works for them.

  • I plan on keeping my limbs with me until they plop my wrinkly, sagging, 90 year old body into a casket - so please spare me the stories of the numerous people who had their limbs hacked off because of (cue the whisper) "Sugar".

  • While "Steel Magnolias" is a wonderful movie, it is not an accurate indication of what life will be like for me when I try to have children.

  • In reply to comments such as "I could never stick myself/give myself shots/eat such a strict diet" - You could, and would, if you wanted to life and maintain a high quality of living.

  • No - I cannot just take a pill.

  • No - I'm not lazy, a poor eater, and I was not overweight before I was diagnosed - those two factors are not usually related to Type 1, and even with Type 2, those generalizations are not appropriate (or appreciated) for most who are diagnosed.

  • Unless you have diabetes or are a parent/close relative of a diabetic, please do not act as if you know everything about diabetes just because you have an acquaintance who has a "touch of sugar." If they have a "touch of sugar," you are probably out of "touch" with what diabetes really involves.

I could go on for numerous bullets, but I'll stop there. My underlying, not-so-subtle message is that the general public needs to be more educated on diabetes. Until more education is provided on diabetes, I am going to have to live with the comments/annoyances mentioned above. If I have to form polite replies to comments like I've mentioned for the next 10 years, at least I'll know that I'm educating the general public, one person at a time. That's better than nothing, but it's not nearly as quickly as I'd like it. Please be a vocal advocate for diabetes awareness. Even if we only speak to those in our realm of influence, we are still speaking and are still letting our voices be heard.

I'll close with a very fitting quote by Margaret Mead
"Never doubt that a group of thoughtful concerned citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

Diabetics - changing the world, one misconception at a time...

November 08, 2006

Symlin Question


My mom has been on me lately to ask my new endo (who I'll see in January) about Symlin. She thinks it's ideal for me because I haven't seen a big improvement in my control since starting the pump (but it's only been since May and I've had a pretty shoddy endo the entire time...), and I go through periods where I seem to be hungry all the time. Evenings are the worst for me. It's like I don't want to stop eating until I go to sleep.

My question is for those of you out there who have tried or who are trying Symlin. How did/does it work for you? Do you love it? Hate it? Did it work?

Any feedback or info would be helpful!!!

Thank you in advance for your comments...

November 07, 2006

5 Randon Things

Thanks for the tag, Kelsey! :) I thought everyone forgot about me!

Okay, folks - here are 5 random things about yours truly

1. Like Kerri, I too have an issue with chewing gum. For example, by 10 AM today I was on my third piece. I guess you could say I'm a chain chewer. Sounds bizarre, I know, but I'm rarely without a piece (or two) in my mouth. On the upside, I always have minty breath, so perhaps there are some benefits to this vice.

2. When I see someone I know in the grocery store (or really anywhere in public), I'll purposely try to avoid the aisles they are in so that I don't have to try to make conversation. Yes, bizarre again, but I think this is a byproduct of my antisocial tendancies. I love people and I'm a very caring person, but I honestly suck at making small talk. My fiance, on the other hand, enjoys conversing with random strangers wherever we go. By the time we leave the grocery store, he's already asked three to four customers about different products they've put in their carts. Last trip to the grocery store, he learned that natural peanut butter is healthier than regular PB (we ended up buying the regular anyway), the deli has the best cold cuts on Wednesday, and the new Chex Mix varites "rock" (direct quote from a teenager who was also picking up a cube of Mountain Dew - ah, the adolescent years...) I figure we're such extreme opposites, we'll end up balancing each other out in the end. That's what I'm hoping anyway.

3. Two nights ago, I randomly tested both of my parent's blood sugars after eating. We were talking about feeling "low" because my dad feels hypoglycemic from time to time, so my mom suggested that I check his blood sugar every so often to see what's going on there. I checked both of them (my dad insisted that she get checked too since she mentioned it) and I realized that I've never done that for them even though I've been diabetic for 5 years. Is that odd? (They were 113, and 115 respectively, lucky loos)

4. I was secretly relieved to learn that Britney Spears filed for divore today from K-Fed. Rest assured: I'm wallowing in personal disdain. And humming "You Drive me crazy..."

5. At every meal, I wait until I am completely finished eating before I drink anything. This practice was drilled in my head during my kindergarten year at a Catholic school. The teacher told us that if we drank anything, it meant that we were done eating, so from then on, I've always eaten what I wanted to eat for the meal before taking a drink. I get a little anxious watching people take sips of water or other beverages throughout their meal. I guess I think my kindergarten teacher is going to appear and swipe away their food for drinking mid-meal. Bizarre... you see the trend here, yes??


On a Side Note:
I saw my podiatrist tonight to have my calluses shaved off, and the nurse who preps my feet before the Dr. comes in always asks me about my "sugar." This time she asked about my A1C and when I told her it was 7.2, her eyes got big and she said, "Oh no - that's not good at all!" I smiled politely, and responded, "My endocrinologist finds it acceptable." She gave a "tsk, tsk" sound and then left the room. Oiy - do we have to educate EVERYONE on diabetes?? Even medical professionals who should KNOW BETTER?? I realize podiatrists probably see their fair share of patients with diabetes complications, so they're probably more cautious about high numbers than others might be, but for pete's sake - must I endure ridicule everywhere??

Rant for the day: Check....