Diabetes Blog Week - Keep It To Yourself

Many of us share lots of aspects of our diabetes lives online for the world to see.  What are some of the aspects of diabetes that you choose to keep private from the internet?  Or from your family and friends?  Why is it important to keep it to yourself?  (This is not an attempt to get you out of your comfort zone.  There is no need to elaborate or tell personal stories related to these aspects.  Simply let us know what kinds of stories we will never hear you tell, and why you won't tell them.) (Thank you Scott E of Rolling in the D for this topic.)

Wow Scott came up with an extremely hard question for me to answer today as I don’t think there’s anything about diabetes that I haven’t or wouldn't share with the DOC. The anonymity of the internet makes it extremely easy for me to share without fear of consequences.

I do however keep things from my friends and family. I can’t even tell you why as I’m not sure. I didn't even realize that I was doing it until a few months ago. In February, Karen wrote this great post on what it feels like to have a low. It really resonated with me and I sent it to my husband and my mom. My mom called me as soon as she read it and told me that she had no idea that this is what happened when I had a low. I think it freaked her out quite a bit.

I’ve been thinking about why that was the first time I had sent something like that to my mom and I don’t have an answer. I don’t know if sending her stuff like that more often would help her or hurt her more. It definitely something that I will need to ease her into.

I’m probably freer with information with my husband as he’s right there. He sees the all-day highs and the all-day lows. He knows how frustrated I get when diabetes screws with my day or even when I manage to successfully maneuver through the idiosyncrasies of the disease. The only thing I probably don’t share with him is how often I cry when I’m frustrated.

As for friends, they probably know even less.

I guess what I've discovered in writing this post is that it’s really the emotional side of diabetes that I don’t share with people. I've always needed to process my emotions myself before sharing them with others. Since I received my diagnosis when I was in  my early 20’s and was living by myself, I guess I got used to dealing with this on my as well. Finding the DOC and reading about everyone else’s experiences help me deal. I may not be very vocal on twitter or the blogosphere but I’m there and I’m reading. Thanks for posting everyone!

Diabetes Blog Week - I Can

Well it’s time for another year of Diabetes Blog Week. This marks the 6^th year that Karen from Bittersweet Diabetes has organized this amazing event. It’s also the 3^rd time that I've participated in it. As I mentioned last year, I’m a horrible blogger and as evidenced by the fact that the last time I posted was during blog week last year, really inconsistent. Diabetes blog week gives me a great opportunity to write about something I’m passionate about but lets me not have to think of topics (which is the part of writing that I hate J)

Each day, I’ll take on a post idea that someone else has come up with and link my page to the others that have written about the same topic. Please click on the banner above to see all of the info on Diabetes Blog Week including the participant and post list.

In the UK, there was a diabetes blog theme of "I can...”  that participants found wonderfully empowering.  So lets kick things off this year by looking at the positive side of our lives with diabetes.  What have you or your loved one accomplished, despite having diabetes, that you weren't sure you could?  Or what have you done that you've been particularly proud of?  Or what good thing has diabetes brought into your life?  (Thank you to the anonymous person who submitted this topic suggestion.)

It’s hard for me to think of something positive that Diabetes has brought to my life so I think I’m going to focus my post on something that I've accomplished despite having diabetes. I seem to mention it every time I post but the greatest thing that I've been able to do despite having diabetes is give birth to my amazing son.

I was diagnosed with type 1 in my early 20’s. At the time I wasn't really interested in having kids so it wasn't one of the first things that popped into my head when the Doctor told me what was wrong with me. I was more concerned with the fact that I couldn't just go out with friends, eat a pizza and drink till I had a happy buzz. I actually had to start planning out my food and reduce the amount of carbs I was eating.

It wasn't until I told my mom what the doctor had said that she brought up having kids. When I went in for my first appointment with the endocrinologist, she explained that it wasn't impossible but that like food, it would take a lot of planning and that the risks for something being wrong with the child were a lot higher due to the increased blood sugars.

And boy was she right. It took me two years to get my A1C’s to the right place to consider trying for a baby. It was also recommended to change from being on Lantus (a long acting insulin) because it hadn't had a lot of testing on pregnant women to going onto an insulin pump. Once I did get pregnant, the control that I had to have with my food and testing was amplified by what felt like a million. I had to go for appointments every week between my endocrinologist, obstetrician, non-stress tests, prenatal echo-cardiograms, ultrasounds, dietitians, diabetic educators, and the list goes on.

But at the end, I ended up with the most wonderful, funny, sweet, caring, little boy anyone could have. 

#DBlogCheck - and other news

I recently just found out about this great idea by Chris at a Consequence of Hypoglycemia. On July 22, 2013 (today) you should post a comment on every blog you read to let bloggers know that you were there. If you don’t have anything specific to say than just say “Check!”. I tend to lurk quite a lot on other blogs but love reading them so this gives reminds me that bloggers really appreciate knowing that others are reading their blogs.

Now onto my news….As usual it’s been extremely crazy around here.

• My mom has been planning on moving out here for quite some time and has now made the move. She drove out from Montreal a couple of weeks ago after selling her house and within two days of getting here had put in an offer on a great house 15 min from my place. She takes possession on August 1st and should be completely moved in by the 15th. I love having her so close!
• After 16 months, I think I’m finally getting this motherhood thing down. Which is great as I have been neglecting my crafting like crazy. I’ve finally picked out a quilt pattern for Connor and will be heading tonight to pick out some fabrics. I can’t wait to get started. I’ll be posting pics of the finished product so stay tuned.
• My BG’s for the last 24hours have been extremely weird. I changed my set yesterday morning at 9am and my BG was 8.5. It then rose to 13.8 at noon. 9.7 at 2:30. 5.9 at 5:30. 5.2 at 7:20. 11.6 at 10pm and at 11:30pm it was 9.3. When I woke up this morning it was 16.4 and now it’s 20.1. I’ve been taking some serious correction blouses but they don’t seem to be getting them down. I have a feeling I have a bad site but I’m so reluctant to change it was my BG’s around dinner were fabulous. I think I’ll wait until lunch and see if I can get it in the normal range. I hate wasting a new set.
• There are so many wonderful things happening in the city right now and I can’t wait to get out and participate. I’ll try to post a little more frequently for the rest of the summer so that I can share it all with you. Have a great day!