Diabetes Week 2014: #ICan.

In case you didn't know, this week is Diabetes Week 2014, and the theme this year is full of positivity and empowerment: I Can (#ICan on Twitter).

 

I'm going to be honest and say that, initially, I wasn't too sure about the theme, because I can do the same as what non-pancreatically challenged folk can do. There's just diabetes-related stuff going on in the background. For me, it's a small part of a bigger whole. But then I starting reading the #ICan tweets and my mind was changed completely! If you haven't already checked them out, please do so! They are so full of happy, varying from athletic achievements to supporting loved ones with diabetes, having a blood sugar within [your personal] target range to acknowledging the fact that you can correct a high blood sugar thanks to things like insulin pens and pumps. Yes, we're all living with diabetes, but the things we're all doing with it...in spite of it...because of it...AMAZING!

 

I spend a lot of time worrying about my diabetes, and how it will come into play in my future. I know that the numbers my glucose meter throws at me are just that - numbers - but I still feel the stab of guilt when my blood sugar is high, wondering where I went wrong, or I immediately regret whatever it was I let myself indulge in earlier in the day. When my Hba1c comes back, again, I know it's just a number, one that tells me where I'm currently at so I can make changes to get to where I want to be, but I still get upset when it's gone up. I worry about how my health care appointments may be viewed by future employers now that I'm finished with university; meeting someone and having to explain diabetes, and, thinking even further ahead, what if I decide I want to do the whole kid thing? How will my diabetes impact that?

 

This is where the #ICan tweets come in, along with the DOC as a whole: proof that we can live normal lives with diabetes. We can work to bring our hba1c's down, fall in love, have careers, start families, climb mountains, run marathons, go out with our friends, support others living with diabetes. 

 

So, now it's my turn:

 
#ICan acknowledge that, in actual fact, I have no idea what I'm doing, but (fairly) good control and other dreams are what I am pursuing. And when diabetes makes me want to admit defeat, #ICan rely on you, the DOC, to help me back on my feet.  (Unintentional rhyming going on there!)

 

Because, as far as I'm concerned, you guys are awesome, my proof that a life lived well with diabetes is possible. So for that, I raise my glass to you, and say thanks. 

Happy Diabetes Week, everyone!

 

 

 

 

 

Ketchup.

Image taken from Google Images.

You'd think finishing my degree would leave me with more time to write! Clearly, not the case for me! Between celebrating with the girls on my course, starting on my insulin (saline) pump and everyone finishing (so more celebrating), I honestly haven't had the time to sit down and write what I want.

This week, however, things will change. Just, unfortunately not today! (Sorry!)

So, instead, a "ketchup" of what's been going on and what to expect over the next week or so:

I finished my degree!

Such a great feeling. I really hope I've done enough to graduate with my class. 

I started on my insulin pump.

On Thursday, I made my way to a community centre, pump in hand, ready to begin my "pump training". It was a long day, with lots of information thrown my way, so I'm relieved that for this first weekend the pump has only been giving me saline. Tomorrow morning, I have an appointment at my diabetes clinic and I will start on insulin. Expect a blog post this week covering both pump training and starting on insulin (which happened today!)

Friends that aren't on my course finally finished their degrees!

And we celebrated with a night out at a local cocktail bar, along with the girls on my course. It was a good night :-) 

It's Diabetes Week 2014!

Diabetes Week 2014 is upon us and the theme this year is "I Can". Again, expect a blog post later this week. In the meantime, you can check out JDRF's Blood Sugar Selfie, Type 1 Uncut on Youtube and the Diabetes UK website for more information. 

Diabetes Week 2013: Research, Research, Research!

Image from the DUK website.

Today marks the end of Diabetes Week 2013, and I've spent a long time thinking about what I want to write in this post. There are numerous blog posts that were published this week in honour of Diabetes Week, many of which can be found on the Diabetes UK Blog Site. Now, I've made no secret of the fact that I'm not very science-minded when it comes to diabetes. I can talk about living with it, but not a lot else. So, this week, I took the time to properly read up on what research is being done in the field of diabetes, and read many of the blog posts that were published in honour of Diabetes Week.

I knew that research was essential in the field of diabetes - of course it is! The discovery of insulin (thank you Banting and Best!), the advances made in blood glucose testing (which went from boiling urine, adding a mix of chemicals and then comparing it to a colour chart to urine strips to, finally, what we use today) and the way in which we now take our insulin (multiple daily injections (MDI) and insulin pumps). We now also have access to continuous glucose monitors (CGMs).

But the following blog post really put things into perspective. Written by someone who has lived with type one diabetes for, pretty much, their entire life, it emphasised just how important research is for those of us living with diabetes. Being only three years into life with diabetes, I didn't think I'd seen that much in terms of research. However, after doing some digging myself, I've realised just how wrong I am. 

There's the Bionic Pancreas, which is, hopefully, the future for insulin pumps. Anna from Glu got to trial one a few months back and she's documented her experience here. It's pretty amazing, not gonna lie! Or how about the announcement of the BioHub by the Diabetes Research Institute? A potential biological cure (although, my not-so-science-minded-brain doesn't really understand how it's meant to work - if anyone wishes to explain it, it would be greatly appreciated!) 

I don't know when, or even if, there will ever be a cure for diabetes. I'd love for there to be something to prevent it. Something that, should I, or anyone for that matter, decide to have children, there's something out there that stops the body's immune system from declaring war on the insulin-producing beta cells (I'm practically a scientist now ;-) ) Who knows?

What I do know is that it's research that will get us to that stage, and hopefully, one day, bring us the cure that allows us to say "I had diabetes".