Day 14: Today!

Today is November 14...World Diabetes Day!

 

We haven't seen the sun here in Winnipeg in what feels like ages. So, what a nice surprise today when I woke up to a beautiful sunny day with a blue sky!

The international symbol for diabetes is a blue circle. This symbol was originally designed when the United Nations formed the resolution for diabetes which is a campaign to address the diabetes epidemic that is set to overwhelm health care systmes around the world. The circle is meant to symbolise unity, which is required to make a difference. The colour blue was used as it represents the sky and the UN flag.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Days 9 & 10....

I got a little busy this weekend with work so I didn't get a chance to post on Friday. So here are day 9 and 10 of the National Diabetes Awarenss month's photo-a-day challenge!

 

 

 

Day 10 is "Low Treatment"....now this is kind of gross but when I'm really low I spoon out PB and then put a squirt of chocolate syrup on it! So good and works reasonably fast!




 

 

 

Day 8: SPARKLE!!

This is my entry for day 8 of the National Diabetes Awareness month photo-a-day challenge...

 

 

I got this little baby just yesterday!! I feel like a kid on Christmas!!!

 

For those of you who are looking at this thing and wondering "What the hell is it!?", it's the new iBGstar meter which is designed to plug into your iPhone, ipod touch or ipad. There is an app that works with it and it is amazing for tracking all things diabetes!

 

I don't want to give too much away just yet because this little gem deserves a post all her own!!

 

 



Day 6: Feet

This is my entry for Day 6 of the National Diabetes Awareness Month photo-a-day challenge!

Getting back on track with my excercise regime to help avoid complications!

Day 5: Bullseye....?

This is my entry for day 5 of the National Diabetes Awareness Photo-a-day challenge.

 

 

This is about as close as I got to a nice bullseye of 6.0 mmol/L. Still working on adjusting my basal insulin.

 

The trial and error continues....

 



Day 4: Oops!

This is my entry for day 4 of the National Diabetes Awareness Month Photo-a-Day challenge!


In terms of diabetes, I didn't have any screw up's today. This picture is from a while ago and was a huge screw up on my part.

I had gotten off a night shift at 7am that morning and had my usual bowl of cereal. I fell asleep around 8am and woke up on my own 2 hours later sweating and shaking. My only guess is that I still had active insulin in my system when I took more for my cereal which resulted in this low.

This is one I won't soon forget. I was home alone and felt close to passing out. It scared the crap out of me!

 

*  *  *  *  *  *

If you have a chance, I encourage you to take a look at this post (Click Here). Alanna at "Life on T1" had her friend Sara do a guest post on her blog. The post is a list of 30 things you should know about diabetes. It was super interesting. There were things on the list even I didn't know. It's also good if you don't have diabetes because it helps explain some myths, which helps spread awareness about our condition. You know, because it's diabetes awareness month!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Day 3: Fingers

Here is my entry for day 3 of the National Diabetes Awareness Month Photo-a-Day challenge.

These are my 3 favourite fingers for testing...they never fail me!!

Day 2: Prescription

This is my entry for day 2 of the National Diabetes Awareness Month Photo a Day challenge...

 

 

 

It's D Month!!

November is National Diabetes Awareness Month!!

Time to spread awareness about the ups and downs of diabetes!

I've decided to take part in a photo-a-day created by Abby Bayer who guest posts on Six Until Me with Kerri Sparling. Here are the topics for the month....

And here is my entry for today...Struggle.

 

Boy, hope those ginger snaps were worth it!! (My mom is totally going to freak when she sees this. Don't worry, I've got it all under control!)

 

 

Check back all month to catch every photo!

 

If you're following along on Twitter, the hashtag is #ndam and #ndamphotoaday

 

 

 

 



Steel Magnolias - Revamped!

So, just about everyone in the DOC has been talking about the remake of "Steel Magnolias" on the Lifetime Channel for quite some time. It aired in the US on Sunday evening, and up here in the true north on Monday evening. I finally got a chance to watch it yesterday and am excited to post my opinions on the new version.

I think some background info is needed first though...

Anyone that has watched the original should remember that the main character, Shelby (played by Julia Roberts), had T1 diabetes and against her doctors and mothers (Sally Field) wishes, decides to have a baby. She then passes away near the end of the movie from complications due to her diabetes. There is a famous scene on the day of her wedding at Truvy's Salon where she has a low blood sugar episode and convulses and is given a glass of orange juice to treat her low. This movie is one of the only movies that depicts someone with T1; well, other than the Babysitters Club Movie but let's not get into that now.

Lifetime has now re-made the original version and has cast an all African-American cast. It's a great cast really - Queen Latifah is Shelby's mom, M'Lynn, and she does a fantastic job. She truly is a talented actor and I wish she would do more dramas. Shelby is cast by Condola Rashad who has done work on Broadway. Overall, I really enjoyed the movie, which I wasn't expecting. I love the original, and still prefer it, but Lifetime did a really good job with re-creating it. They stuck to the original script almost word for word. There are a couple slight changes, such as M'Lynn's break down after Shelby's death is moved to a scene in the beauty salon a little while after her funeral. I have heard that this is more true to the original play and was changed in the Hollywood version of the movie.

In terms of Shelby's diabetes, they added information to her condition which I think was really important. In the beginning of the movie it is explained that Shelby should not have a child due to her kidney disease, which we assume is related to her diabetes. In the original it is simply implied that because she is diabetic, she can't have kids which is not true. Also, Shelby's low seems more true to real life. Although I found Julia Roberts acting in the original scene very good, Condola Rashad's depiction of the low is more realistic. In reality, if Shelby had been having the convulsions that she had, it is not realistic that some orange juice would fix that as quickly as it did in the original and it would have taken her longer to recover.

It occurred to me while watching it that this was the first time I had watched this movie as a T1 diabetic. I've watched this movie a million times throughout my life; I love it and cry every time. But this is the first time I've watched it since my diagnosis in February of this year. It's not that I was ever avoiding it, I just never had the opportunity to see it this year. This definitely altered my view on the story. Obviously, the movie is way more relatable to me now than it ever was. I understand that the true meaning of the story is the relationship between the women, but watching it this time as a diabetic made me notice more about Shelby's struggles. I have lots of fears of the complications from diabetes, even when it is managed well. I also fear that I won't be able to have kids even though I know lots of T1 women who have had healthy babies. It's always something that weighs in the back of my mind.

In summary, I say the remake was well done. If I had to choose, I would still pick the original only because I love the cast and it's very nostalgic. But, on the other hand, I love that diabetes has been portrayed in a more accurate light in the remake.

If any of you missed the premier, there is an encore this Sunday, October 13th!

 

 

 

 

A1C> 7.1

This past Friday I had an appointment with my Endo to go over my 2nd A1C results and to review how things have been going for the last 4 months.

**For my non-D readers, every 3-4 months I see my Endo. About 2 weeks prior I get blood work done which tests my A1C level. This level is a 4 month average of my blood sugars. It's like a diabetes report card. An A1C of 7 is average and is what we typically strive for. Because my body's needs and insulin levels will continue to change throughout my life, these tests and appointments will help me to ensure that my diabetes is being managed well. I've updated my "Glossary" tab to reflect this info.

My first A1C result back in May was a perfect 7.0 . I was more than thrilled with this as it was my first follow up since being diagnosed, back when my A1C was 10.

I was nervous going into this appointment because my blood sugars have been a tad off as of late. I posted back in August (See HERE) about how my blood sugars hadn't really gone back to normal since our little summer vacation. My 30 day average on my meter was sitting at 9.0 mmol/L and I have been having quite a few highs and no lows at all.

Anyway, I was happy to hear that my A1C was 7.1!!! It was a nice relief but I was still worried that without getting on top of these blood sugar issues that my next A1C would be even higher. Over the last 4 months, the first 2 months were REALLY good and I think that's the reason that my A1C wasn't affected as much as I would have expected.

My Endo discussed with me where and when I was noticing the higher blood sugars. I explained that it seemed to mostly be my fasting blood sugars that were most affected, as well as the ones later on in the day.

We came up with two theories for this. The first is the most obvious, and it was that my pancreas was most likely running out of the very little insulin that it had left. That's right non-D folks, us diabetics can/do still make our own insulin however our pancreas does not make enough of it to help balance out our blood sugar levels. As years go by, my pancreas will continue to get more and more lazy which will require me to take more insulin to compensate for this.

Anyway, the second theory has to do with my lack of physical activity as of late. Prior to our vacation at the end of July, I was running 4-5 days a week and was feeling fantastic. I have not been able to get back on track with working out since then. This may be resulting in the higher blood sugar levels.

My Endo suggested that I try and get back on track and see if that does the trick. If not, she suggested I need to try and adjust my basal insulin by 1 unit every week until I get to a level that I'm comfortable with.

October Goal:

Three, 30 minute cardio sessions per week.

The funnies...Part Deux

I found this great site called "Type 1 Diabetes Memes" so I thought I would share. I love stuff like this and we can all use a good laugh once and a while...



I feel so rude



Whatever you say Ryan! (This one is by yours truly, Kim Vlasnik at Texting My Pancreas)



This is so me!



Way to represent Halle!

Looking for more laughs?? Check out my original Funnies here.

A Happy Low

I never thought I would ever in my life be thrilled to have a low blood sugar episode, but boy, was I every thrilled this week when it happened!

Let's back up about a week and a half....

The boyfriend and I had just returned home from our summer vacation where we went to visit his family in Ontario. We spent just over a week with them and 95% of the time was spent at their cabin. Much of the week was all about snacking, some drinks, and time in the sun. I was happy to completely discard of all schedules and simply relax and go with the flow. I managed my diabetes as best I could but for those of you that are also using insulin pens for injections, I'm sure you can all relate as to how difficult it can be to bolus when snacking all day long. By the time we got home my blood sugars were quite the mess. I was constantly high and even after sleeping for hours with no food in my system I would wake up with sugars around 10 - 12 mmol/L. I totally expected that after 2 or 3 days of my normal meal routine and cutting back on carbs, that my blood sugars would settle down overnight.

This was definitely not the case. It got to the point where I initially thought my insulin had spoiled during the road trip home. I swapped out my basal and bolus insulins for fresh new ones that I had just gotten from the pharmacy. This did not do the trick either. The numbers were slowly coming down but they were still very high between my meals and I was getting increasingly stressed and frustrated. I tend to feel very sluggish and fatigued when my sugars are high so I was anxious to figure out the problem so I could feel like myself again. I was correcting like mad and couldn't believe the amount of insulin that was being pumped into my body with very little effect.

And then it happened on day 9...that all too familiar shaky, nervous, clammy feeling of low blood sugar. I was pumped to check my blood sugar! Sure enough, I was sitting at 4.6 mmol/L! "Finally", I thought.

Things appear to be back to normal and I couldn't be more relieved. It amazes me at how long it can take to fully cleanse the system and to get back on track. It was all worth it though! It was a much needed time away spent with great family!

Packing with D...

Going to be a quick post today folks! Bright and early tomorrow morning the boyfriend and I are off the see his family in Ontario and spend many of the next 7 days out at their "camp". Camp is Northern Ontario speak for "cottage"! So as many of you know, packing for trips when you're a diabetic is definitely more work. I've already had issues in the past with over packing (and even under packing) but I think I did quite well. We're only going for 7 or 8 days so I didn't have a ton of calculating to do in terms of how much of everything I was going to bring.

Here's what I brought...

• Glucagon was the first to go in!
• Basal and bolus insulin pens
• Large Frio cooling pack
• A full tube of grape flavoured Dex 4
• My vitamin pill holder, full with 1 multi-vitamin and 2 Vitamin D's per day
• Bayer Contour USB and test strips...my new meter which I have absolutely fallen in love with. But, that's a whole different post for when I get back!
• Verio IQ meter and 50 test strips...I haven't actually purchased my own Bayer test strips yet. I got 50 with the meter so I'm bringing the Verio as my backup
• Verio IQ charging cord which is also doubling as my IPhone charger.
• Lots of 4mm pen needles which I got as samples.
• And last but not least, my hypertension meds; Accupril (that's a new addition and another post as well)

And all these supplies fit very nicely in a Lantus bag that I got from my DNE...I finally found a use for it!!

We like to take snacks and a mini lunch on the road with us to save money. And now with diabetes tagging along on our road trips, food is always good to have in the car. Here's our little lunch, complete with a fresh vial of insulin on top so I don't forget it in the morning!!

That's cheese slices, couple of ham sandwich's, yogurt fruit salad (care of Pinterest) and homemade fresh blueberry muffins made by my awesome Mamma!!


See you all when I get back!!



To Tell or Not to Tell...

This past week, Alex O'Meara over at A Sweet Life wrote a piece on disclosing your diabetes (You can read it here if you're interested). Alex talks about the different reactions we can get from people when we disclose our diabetes, as well as the struggles we face when deciding whether or not to disclose to certain people.

Seeing as diabetes is fairly new to me, this is something that I still struggle with. And it's something that I'm not sure I will ever entirely be comfortable doing. By nature, I am someone that does not enjoy the spotlight. I'm an observer, and although I am outgoing, I tend to prefer to sit back and watch when I'm in a new or unfamiliar situation. So, with diabetes being new, this is basically what I did for the first bit anyway. In the very beginning, other than my family and boyfriend, I only told 3 of my closest friends. I knew that I would need a lot of support from these people and I was also comfortable telling them because I knew they would be supportive and non-judgmental. Other than that, I didn't really tell anyone. It didn't even truly concern me for the first couple weeks that my close co-workers didn't know. At this point, I was still struggling with the diagnosis, so I would sneak away to test my blood and to take my insulin. It wasn't really until a stern talking to by my boyfriend that I considered the fact that for safety reasons, all of the people I work with closely needed to know in case of an emergency.

Although I knew that he was 100% right, I was still having a very tough time with the idea of letting people that I didn't entirely trust in on something that I considered very personal. I had a lot of fears and my biggest was of being judged. Sadly, there are so many people that think that I did something to get diabetes. They think I got it from not exercising enough or from eating too much sugar. My second biggest fear was that someone would downplay the risk of diabetes and then I would feel stupid for telling them about it. My boyfriend and family's biggest concern was that people were aware of how to help me when I couldn't help myself. Which I totally agreed with, but I still kept going back to feeling like people would think that I was being a drama queen. That when I said, "I need to eat something" or "I need sugar", that it wouldn't be taken seriously and that it would look as though I have a weakness. I work in a fairly male dominate field where we are expected to have tough skin and be able to emotionally and physically handle alot of different situations. In my head, I felt that my diabetes would be viewed as a weakness and some people may think I couldn't do my job safely anymore.

Although the risk is there for me, I have learned new ways to ensure that I remain safe at work. The biggest thing was telling my close co-workers and I'm happy to say they were very understanding. I also carry glucose on me as I go about my day because there can be times where I can be tied up with a situation and can't leave to grab something to eat. I have also started taking my insulin half way through my meals in case I get called away for something.

In Alex's article, he talks about the 80-10-10 rule. Basically, the rule is that 80% of people you meet don't feel one way or another about you; 10% of them will like you no matter what and 10% will dislike you no matter what.  I think this is a pretty neat rule. And although it's not scientific, I think it's probably pretty close to accurate. So, in the end, I decided that I'm not going to go out of my way to tell people about my diabetes but I'm no longer hiding it. I test and inject whenever and wherever, and am always happy to answer any one's questions about diabetes. I also now wear a medic-alert bracelet in case I'm around people that don't know that I have diabetes. I found that just wearing the bracelet opens up the communication lines because people in general are curious as to why I wear one.

Last week at work, I was pleasantly surprised by a co-worker who was super supportive when my blood sugar was tanking. I needed to call on them to quickly come and cover my post while I grabbed some orange juice and a quick bite to eat. I felt bad because I knew they were busy too but they told me to never hesitate to treat a low and that the job could always wait.

That made my day, and made me feel that much more understood!

The Benefits of Type 1...

" Everything happens for a reason."

I've always been a very strong believer in this saying. Often times we are dealt crappy hands but I've always eventually been able to see the good that's come out of it. Perhaps it's been the end of a relationship you thought was good, or maybe you didn't get that "dream" job/position you really wanted. Over time, the reasons why certain things didn't go according to plan tend to come to light. This saying has comforted me many a times!

So, when I found out I had Type 1 diabetes, I anxiously awaited that light to tell me the reason for all this. I'll be honest, I lost a little faith. I really couldn't figure out what was going to be so great about having this for the rest of my life!! I had ALOT of "What the F-" moments! It definitely got me down at times and I had days where all I wanted to do was hide under my duvet and cry away the day. But, life has to go on and diabetes is not going anywhere so I figured I had better embrace the bitch and get used to it!

I truly feel like I have done just that and today I really felt that this did happen for a reason. Even though I now have a "disease', I have honestly never felt healthier! Diabetes has kicked my ass off the couch and I have gotten full swing into running again and going to the gym almost every day. It's been way too long since being active has been a part of my daily routines and I am absolutely in love with it. I've never been the type of person that has been a gym addict, but the last little while I have felt totally hooked! Yesterday I even went for a run in the morning and then did a 60 minute hot yoga class in the evening. So unlike me! I've also started eating much healthier than I used to. I typically planned meals and packed lunches for work, but lost a lot of motivation in this department over the last year. Diabetes has made me much more conscious of what I am doing to my body and what goes in it. I still want to live until I'm old and grey so I'm really trying to fuel my body properly.

What I'm getting at here is that I've never felt more alive in my entire life! I know that sounds uber cheesy, but it's so true. I truly feel like I can take on anything!

Life is good people!

Backpacking with my new friend.

A little while ago, I talked about being diagnosed with Type 1 in early February of 2012. I touched on some of the challenges I faced at the time of my diagnosis. Well not only was I trying to learn all about Type 1, but I was 5 weeks away from a 30 day back packing trip to South East Asia. This definitely threw a wrench in my trip and my trip threw a wrench in my diabetes!

Since I was about 21, I had always wanted to see parts of Asia but for some reason it never panned out. This past year, I had the opportunity to go with a friend who was also looking at going. We settled on Thailand (Bangkok and Chaing Mai), Singapore, Cambodia (Siem Reap and Phnom Penh) and Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City). My departure date was March 11th and I had a ton to prepare for in terms of my diabetes.

First, I had to break the news to my Endo and DNE. They were both totally confident that I would be able to go but knew that it left little time to ensure that I had all my ducks in a row. Diabetes was SO new to me at the time and there were so many things that needed to be considered. I had only been on insulin for a couple weeks so my Endo was still waiting to see if I would "Honeymoon". So far I was responding really well to my new regime but diabetes is so unpredictable so back up plans needed to be put in place in case this happened while I was away. I was provided with me Endo's email, pager and home number to use in case I was running in to trouble with my diabetes while I was away. My Endo also felt that I should use a different long acting insuling to help with the changes in my routine. I changed my long acting insulin from the Novo Nordisk NPH to the Lantus. The Lantus is said to be a much more stable basal insulin and I also work shift work as a part of my career so it would also be more stable while working my night shifts.

My next issue was how I was going to keep my insulin at room temperature while I was in countries that were experiencing temperatures of 34-45 degrees celcius. We pre-booked almost all of our accomodations so I was able to verify that they all had fridges in our rooms. They did, so that would take care of the extra supplies that I would be bringing. But the issue still remained that during the day when we were out sight-seeing, I would need to try and regulate the temperature of my insulin. I received many different suggestions but I was able to locate the most amazing product EVER! There is a company in the UK that makes insulin wallets called Frio's. They can be purchased in a large variety of sizes and contain an inner gel pouch that is placed in water and will then keep your insulin at safe temperatures for up to 45 hours. All they needed was a sink and some water! They are totally reasonably priced and can be reused. I bought one small (for my insulin pen) and a larger one (for my extra insulin when I wasn't near a fridge). These little guys were litterally a life saver and I will use them again and again!

Other than getting a letter from my Endo allowing me to bring sharp stuff on an airplane, I was pretty much ready to go as far as my diabetes went. So, on March 11 I took off overseas for just under a month. My trip went very smoothly health wise. It could definitely be a challenge at times managing my diabetes. There were so many things on this trip that effected it. The heat and activity in the heat definitely made my body require less insulin so it took a bit to get that adjusted at first. I have to admit, that I definitely did not test as much as I should have been. It was a very busy trip and there was lots to see and do so I was not eager to be held back by my new friend. We were up early almost every morning and kept active throughout the day.

I saw and did everything that I set out to do on this trip. It truly was a trip almost a decade in the making and I'm so glad I did it. When I got home though, I started to have a tough time accepting that diabetes was going to be a part of my life every single day. Forever. Although I had the most amazing experience, every day on my trip was a constant reminder that life was forever going to be different. I was angry about my diagnosis and felt like it took away from my experience. I felt like I was constantly pre-occupied with managing my blood sugars and I had anxiety about having lows while I was so far from home. It took me a good 2 weeks to settle back in and work on accepting and embracing what life had thrown my way. Yes, diabetes has forever changed me and my life. But it doesn't have to hold me back. Now that I've been home for almost 2 months, I now realise that I can do ANYTHING with diabetes. There's always a way to make it work. I mean, I went half way around the world with it only one month in! Take that D!

Here are a couple pictures from my trip...

Tiger Kingdom - Chain Mai, Thailand

The Grand Palace - Bangkok, Thailand

Reclining Buddha - Bangkok, Thailand

Ayutthaya, Thailand

Angkor Wat - Siem Reap, Cambodia

Angkor Thom area - Siem Reap, Cambodia

If any of you are planning any trips, feel free to contact me for advice, diabetes related or not! :)

Is it too much?

(A quick side note...I just added a "Glossary" tab at the top of my blog. It contains easy to understand definitions to terms that I will be using in my posts)

Something that continued to cross my mind as I considered starting a blog was whether or not it would be too much diabetes in my life. Let me explain...

With only being very newly diagnosed (just about 4 months) a big portion of my days and life has been focused on diabetes. Obviously I've had to learn the basics of the disease, which is time consuming on it's own. But I'm also a Type A perfectionist so I have completely consumed myself in learning everything and anything I can about diabetes...right NOW! My boyfriend made a comment at my appointment with my DNE this week that he has noticed that I'm always "busy with it". And he is absolutely right. I'm either testing, injecting, carb counting, trying to do the math involved in carb counting, reading about it, ordering more supplies, or just generally browsing online blogs and websites related to diabetes. It's also visible all around our home. There is my insulin pen and meter in the kitchen (and follows me around everywhere I go), glucose tablets in the bedroom, kitchen, and car, insulin in the fridge, and many resources posted on the front of the fridge. I also think alot about it and can talk alot about it at times too. And now I've decided to take on the blogging universe.

So, like I said, this makes me wonder...is it too much?

I would have to imagine that the people close to me must get tired of hearing about diabetes, whether they want to admit it or not. I've heard about PWD having experiences where their close friends or family have felt as though they should "just get over it" (meaning the diagnosis). I have to admit, I can kind of understand where people might get frustrated about the situation. Diabetes to me is an in your face disease. It is something that I always have to be thinking about; when I eat, when I exercise, when I'm travelling, when I'm at work, when I'm sick...and the list goes on. I have to somehow incorporate it and manage it in everything I do, everyday. That takes a lot of work and the people close to me are also now affected by my new life.


I suppose this post is, in a way, a tribute to my friends and family. I recognize that this can't be easy for any of them either. I know my parents worry even more now and they hope that I never have to face some of the devastating side effects that are linked to the disease. My friends now get to listen to yet another topic that I will undoubtedly at some point over stress about. And to my amazing boyfriend who stands beside me everyday and supports me through this new challenge that life has thrown our way. Thank you to all of you for everything you do for me!!

Even in the short 4 months that I've had diabetes, things already seem to be getting easier. I've had some pretty rough days with it as I learn to accept this as my life now, but overall it truly is getting better. It is my hope that blogging about my experiences will lessen the load on me as well as my friends and family. I also hope that it gives me a chance to help other PWD out there!

Hot off the press!

As I sit here staring at the blank page in front of me, I begin to think about all the reasons I want to write this blog. I've always wanted to have my own blog and to be able to fill it with interesting anecdotes and stories, and have people eventually follow it. I never seemed to be able to find a topic that people would find interesting though. I always felt like just an average girl...what could I say that people would find interesting? And want to read about every few days?

Well, let's back up a few months....to the day I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.

On February 2, 2012 I was told by my family doctor that my blood tests had come back and it was clear that I had diabetes. I was immediately referred to an Endocrinologist as well as to a diabetes health centre where I would soon meet my Diabetes Nurse Educator (DNE). At this point I wasn't entirely in shock yet. I had been dealing with many of the symptoms of diabetes during the Fall of 2011 and somehow knew in my gut that it would turn out this way. However, I just assumed I would be Type 2. On February 9, 2012 I met my Endocrinologist for the first time. This is where I found out that it was a very real possibility that I would be Type 1, due to my "profile". No family history, not overweight, etc. When the words came out of her mouth, I have to admit it really blindsided me. How could I, the biggest wimp when it came to needles, have just been diagnosed with a disease where my survival would depend on multiple injections per day?? I left her office that day with numerous instructions and a couple prescriptions for Type 2 medications to try over the weekend in hopes that she may be wrong.

Nope.

My body did not respond at all to the medications. It was official now.

During that following week it felt like a whirlwind of appointments. I was immediately put on rapid acting insulin (bolus) as well as a long acting insulin (basal) at night. I was given numerous brochures, instruction sheets, information packages, and supplies of all kinds. And I was also very quickly forced into over coming my fear of needles when I was required to do a saline injection with the nurse! I tried to get out of it with the promise that it would not be a problem when I got home, but she was smart, and she knew better!

So, now I'm at home with all this information. At the time, I don't think I truly understood how this was going to change my life. I spent a few days in shock and feeling like a fish out of water as I tried to adjust all of my routines to my "new" life. Diabetes is still extremely new to me even as I write this and I find myself continually running into new situations where I have to re-assess how it's going to affect my diabetes routine. I am still using an insulin pen, mainly because I'm still deciding what's going to work best for me, but also because my insurance company doesn't cover the initial costs of an insulin pump.

I think I've adjusted pretty well over the last few months with my new life. I definitely could not have gotten through all this without my live-in boyfriend, my parents, my close friends or the medical team that I work with regularly. I've also found that there is a whole family of support online as well. I've started following several different blogs (see my sidebar) and it has helped me to feel less alone as I try and comprehend everything that has happened. No matter how much support you have at home, it can still be so comforting knowing there are people just like me who are also dealing daily with many of the same troubles and emotions. They have inspired me and reminded me that diabetes does not have to take over my life.

It's now just another part of what makes me, me!