Four Years.

Dear Diabetes, 

I hate you. 

And hate is a strong word. 

But I think it's applicable to you. 

I'm never going to wake up in the morning and think "Yay! Time to check my blood sugar!" or look forward to shooting insulin.
 

But if there's one thing I've learnt this year, it's that I don't have to like you. 

Not ever. 

I do, however, have to know how to live with you in spite of the hatred I have for you. 

I think it's one of the biggest hurdles a person with diabetes has to overcome, and this year, I think I've done it. 

Because I can say I hate you, yet I'm still happy and healthy with you around. 

Bet that's a real kick in the beta cells.

"There's only us, there's only this, forget regret, or life is yours to miss"

Like hell am I missing out.

  

Hba1c Blues.

I tell myself time and time again not to get worked up about my hba1c. But when I feel like I've really tried with my diabetes management, to then have a result higher than the previous, well, it's disheartening to say the least.

Don't get me wrong, it's by no means a "bad" (for lack of a better word) number. I'm just gutted that it's not an improvement, as I feel like I've made a real effort to keep my diabetes on track. 

Image taken from Google Images.

For me, getting myhba1c checked regularly is important. I have one as part of my annual review, although I tend to get a few more done throughout the year via my DSN.

 

As much as I hate going to get the blood drawn and sometimes worry about what the result is going to be, it's a number that really helps to keep me on track with my diabetes management. It tells me where I'm currently at on the "diabetes map" and helps me make decisions to get to where I want to be. 

 

Right now, I'm not where I want to be. But I wouldn't know that if I hadn't had my 'A1c done. 

 

I spent yesterday wallowing over the result. 

 

Today, I'm taking action. 

 

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: Remembering My First Diabetes Anniversary.

This Saturday (March 29th) marks my 4th diabetes anniversary. This is me and my flatmates on my first diabetes anniversary.

Pump Information Evening.

Walk to the hospital.

Last Thursday, I attended a pump information evening at my diabetes clinic. Having been accepted for an insulin pump, I was keen to go and listen to what they had to say about insulin pumps and what comes next. 

I feel like I've lived at my diabetes clinic for the last few months: pump assessment clinic, dietitian, a follow up with my DSN, my annual review and then finally the pump information evening. Well, appointments aren't going to get any less frequent with the insulin pump, especially during the first year or so. It's a good thing the hospital has a nice, new coffee shop that I can frequent, and the walk there is really nice too! 

There was a girl there that already had an insulin pump who was able to answer any questions we had about the practicalities of having one, which was very useful, and a DSN talked through the advantages and disadvantages of it. 

We were shown various types of insulin pump. I was surprised by the Omnipod. It was a lot smaller than I expected, but, for me personally, not something I would want. If you don't have the personal diabetes manager (or PDM), or the PDM fails, you have no way of bolusing with it, where as with the Accu Chek, Medtronic and Animas pumps you can. I like to be as prepared as I can be for various diabetes-related situations, and not being able to bolus without the PDM isn't something I'd feel comfortable with.

My diabetes clinic tends to start patients on the Accu Chek insulin pump, which I'm happy with. I already use the Accu Chek Aviva Expert blood glucose meter, so that's one piece of equipment I already feel comfortable with, and I like the fact that I can bolus remotely with the meter (as well as press buttons on the pump should the meter fail).

So, now we wait. I know I can't start on the pump until after my final exams (at the request of both myself and my consultant), but fingers crossed for early June!     

Five For Friday: HCPs Write Blogs Too!

Following on from a post I wrote last week about HCPs communicating with patients online, this Friday, I've decided I want to tell you a bit about some blogs written by health care professionals. I love reading blogs by HCPs: they offer a completely different perspective on things. Here are the ones I read. If you have any other favourites, please let me know!

1. Sugar and spice...wish all things were nice - Partha Kar.
NHS consultant in diabetes.

2. NHS Norwich CCG - Jonathon Fagge.
Chief Executive Officer for the Norwich Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

3. AnnieCoops - Annie Cooper.
Nurse and fellow person with diabetes.

4. We Nurses Blog.
A blog brought to you by the #wenurses online community.

5. Diabetic Doc - Shara Bialo.
A paediatric endocrinologist in the States who also has type one diabetes. 

Safesport ID.

A couple of weeks ago, I was contacted by a company called Safesport ID who were offering me a free medic alert band. Before I continue, let's get the formalities out of the way: yes, I was offered the medic alert free of charge, however, I am under no obligation to publish any review here on my blog. I am because I like the product and want to tell you about it.

As "naughty" as it is of me, I've never owned a medic alert bracelet. Feel free to give me a telling off. I deserve it. I always have a medic alert card in my purse/handbag. But an actual bracelet? Nope. This is going to sound really stupid, but if I'm going to where an item of jewellery 24/7, I want to like it, and a lot of the medic alert I've looked at I've not really liked enough to commit to wearing it everyday. 

So, I sent off for my (first) free medic alert. First, I should say that the time between me ordering the product and it arriving at my house was incredibly fast given the company isn't based in the UK.

Different sized wrist bands.

Now, the name of the company is Safesport ID, so as you can probably guess, the medic alert bracelets are designed with sport and exercise in mind. It's a silicone wristband (which comes in a variety of sizes and colours) and then your information is engraved onto a stainless steel clip that you put onto the band. The company sends you all the different sized wristbands and then you clip the engraved medic alert onto the appropriate sized one. 

The silicone band makes it very light-weight, which I love, as I remove all my jewellery when I exercise as I don't want it to get damaged, but the silicone band isn't something I need to worry about damaging. That, and I hardly notice it when I work out. (Sidenote: I remove all jewellery apart from that one time when I forgot my padlock, and like hell was I leaving anything valuable in there, like the bracelet I'm wearing in the picture above!)

Engraving.

I chose the blue coloured wristband (no surprises there!) You can have up to four lines of text engraved onto it. I only have three: my name, an emergency contact number and "Type 1 Diabetic". The text is all in capitals and very clear to read, which is what you need in an emergency. I've worn it every time I've gone to the gym for the last two weeks, and is now something that is just kept in my gym bag for when I do work out.

To find out more about Safesport ID, feel free to visit their website here! 

Burnt Out!

Re-visiting somewhere I used to live.

And not the diabetes kind! Right now, I've got university burnout. Not what you need when you still have deadlines. 

I have just over two weeks left until I finish this final semester. Then, all I have between then and graduation are two exams. June 2nd, I'll have finished my degree. That's scarily soon, but when you have university burnout, it also seems so far away! It's also having an affect on my diabetes: I'm so stressed and tired right now and I can see my blood sugars creeping up. I'm looking forward to reeling that control back in when I'm done.

I'm heading back to Kent this weekend for my Dad's 50th, and I'm really hoping it gives me the break I'm looking for to then hit the ground running when I arrive back in Norwich on Monday. I have lots planned for when I'm back, including a day with my godson, dinner with E.Hales and my sister and then family time on the Sunday for my Dad's birthday. I'm also really hoping Mumma cooks a roast dinner too! 

No uni work. No dissertation stuff. No applications for life after graduation. Just a weekend to chill before I get going again. 

Two more weeks (ish) until the end of the semester and then I can really set aside time to fill back up, in all aspects of my life. It can't come round quick enough.