Category: Uncategorized

For Diabetics, For Family & Friends, For Medical Professionals, Type 1 Diabetes, Uncategorized

We’re Back!

Justin Cates

We’re back, baby! 

So what have we been doing? 

Well…it’s been a few months. The pandemic rages on and I…well, I’m still a diabetic.

I say that line with some jest, though it is of course, honestly true.

We’ve been very fortunate here at The Friendly Neighborhood Diabetic to have zero members of our little team infected with COVID-19 and we’ve been truly fortunate that the few immediate family members we collectively have that had COVID were able to weather it without issues or complications.

That said, COVID-19 certainly has changed things in the world, and it definitely caused me, THE friendly neighborhood diabetic to struggle with my own health, well-being, overall sense of progress, productivity in anything outside of work, etc. That has made the work on our website, and The Friendly Neighborhood Diabetic as a whole, challenging. It’s also made the overall diabetes thing challenging.

I’ve been working hard on getting better overall diabetes management, working on losing weight, working on overhauling my diet and work-life balance, etc. throughout the pandemic times. I’ve taken advantage of the work from home world to help improve my food schedule. I took up cycling during the pandemic (more on that later!), and I’ve told you all of these things to say…

Another year of diabetes done and waaaayyyy more content to come!

We’re relaunching The Friendly Neighborhood Diabetic with the goal of providing information, building a supportive online community, and creating awareness, acceptance, and support for the needs of diabetics everywhere. Similar to our previous goals, but with more focus this time.

I think the pandemic has created different situations and feelings for everyone. For some of us, the pandemic helped us gain perspective and build balance. For others it was a time of tremendous loss and suffering. For others, and I imagine for many like me it provided new insight and reflection into managing my health and finding balance.

So that leads me to my “call to action”. We want to hear your stories. Record a short video, send us an audio clip, write something, draw something, etc. and share it with us for The Friendly Neighborhood Diabetic. Share with our readers and be a part of building this community. Check out the “Share Now” page to learn more about how to be a part.

Please note that we want stories and content from all people who have been impacted by diabetes; not only the individuals with diabetes themselves, but the friends, loved ones, teachers, mentors, etc. of diabetics everywhere. Type 1, Type 2, Warriors, Family, Friends, etc. Please Share! 

Now, if you’re a critic (we all are sometimes!), you’re probably thinking, “Megan. You’ve left and come back before. What’s different this time?” 

And that’s a fair question! 

Simply put, a renewed resolve, more resources, better planning, and lots more voices will make this different. 

Also-we have some exciting announcements and life changes coming in the next several months-so stay tuned for that! 

Looking forward to sharing more about our experience and returning to writing as The Friendly Neighborhood Diabetic! 

-Meg

For Diabetics, For Family & Friends, For Medical Professionals, Type 1 Diabetes, Uncategorized

Please Read.

acolemacx

Trigger Warning: Language & Discussions of Death

I have struggled for a while on what I wanted to say. I spend some time each day on social media because for the past couple months, it has felt like a lifeline of connection.

My husband and I went into social isolation on March 17, 2020.

We went into isolation “early” because I am a part of a vulnerable population. I’ve had Type 1 Diabetes for 28 (nearly 29) years this year and I’ve had asthma for around 4 years. Many of the stats I’ve read and research I’ve done from major medical organizations and trusted groups have shared that I’m at least 3 times more likely to die if I contract COVID-19. If I were one of the lucky to survive, the chances that I would make it out without at least some serious complications are slim.

I am not writing that out because I want your pity. I am writing it out because it’s important to me that you can put a face, my face, with statements that I’m hearing/seeing being shared.

When you say it is your right not to wear a mask, you are right. You have the right to put yourself in danger. That said, your mask is more of a protection for the people around you, so you’re actually putting other people in danger by not wearing one. You don’t have the right to put other people in danger. That’s why we don’t allow people to drive when they’ve been drinking.

I used the analogy this week that your right not to wear a mask is a lot like your right to own a gun. It is your right to own a gun, but it is not your right to wave it around loaded at other people. It is your right to not wear a mask, but it is not your right to put other people in harms’ way.

I’ve always believed in the goodness of humans. I love people, and I believe you only need to meet me once to understand that I believe people are inherently good. This pandemic is slowly chipping away at that.

People I’ve known for many years and have always thought were good and intelligent posted things earlier this month about Plandemic. They also posted something wondering aloud if this could be a conspiracy. They’ve questioned if all of this is worth the income they’re losing. They’ve griped about the government infringing on them and they’ve said they don’t understand what the big deal is. They’ve posted pictures where they haven’t socially isolated from people they care about, because, why would they do that? They feel fine.  

But anytime someone questions the validity or shares misinformation, even just wondering in a public forum if it’s true, I find myself overwhelmed with one of the stages of grief. I never get to acceptance. I continue to hold out hope that my belief in the goodness of all people will win. That hope is more strained all the time.

So this is my challenge to those of you who want to reopen immediately and “get back to normal” without additional precautions in place. This is my statement to the people saying “We’ll lose a few people but ONLY the sick and the elderly.” Or “The strong will survive”.     

I want you to see my face, hear my voice, and listen to this challenge.

Call me and tell me why I don’t deserve to live.

If the economy is the most important piece; if it is truly just a numbers game, if the “strong will survive”, call my cell phone and tell me why I don’t deserve to live. You can use Messenger or call my line directly: 518-387-9626.

If I’m not available, call my husband. We’ve been married for 6 months. Explain why he’ll be a widow at 35.

Call my mom. She’s spent 30 years caring for me, is the person delivering my prescriptions, and has had the misfortune of resuscitating her daughter. Tell her what’s more important than her daughter’s life.

Call my Dad when you’re done with her. Explain to him that it’s more important to you that your credit score remains intact and that losing his daughter is the price you’re willing to pay.

Then call my brother and explain that you’re sorry that I’ll have to go, but you really want to go out to the bars again. It’s really hard being alone and you know you could have just waited, but why when only the sick and the elderly are dying?

Finally, call my little sister. She’s getting married. Tell her why she’ll have to hold a picture of me in a photograph instead of having me there. Tell her the truth. Tell her I didn’t deserve to live. Tell her why.

I recognize some of this is incendiary. I recognize that I’m making the choice to stay inside and we’re socially isolating and we’ll probably be okay because of that. But every time you or someone you know chooses not to wear the mask, or chooses not to self-isolate, or chooses convenience, vanity, and entertainment over being incredibly careful, you make the choice to bring that virus closer to my door. You make a decision that those of us with weak immune systems and bodies that are already fighting every day don’t deserve to live.

If you are not able to stomach the conversations I’ve listed above-if you can’t imagine telling someone why they don’t deserve to live or telling that to their family-put your fucking mask on and stay home.

Cooking, For Diabetics, For Family & Friends, Type 1 Diabetes, Uncategorized

Birthday & Celebration Foods: Part 2 of 3

acolemacx

Megan here with some great ideas for birthday and celebration food ideas.

Last time, I wrote about the questions I ask myself before participating in celebration activities. If you missed it, check out that post here.

This post is specifically centered around the food itself and how to celebrate without falling off the diabetes diet wagon. (Which, consequently, is a terrible wagon where at least one functional part doesn’t work, but I digress.)

So, some great ideas for diabetes friendly celebration sweets:

kraft foods watermelon cake
Excellent picture of the festive, watermelon cake idea! Thank you to Kraft Heinz Foods for posting this gorgeous photo! 

  • Watermelon with sugar free cool whip and berries, which can be arranged to look like a cake if you’re feeling especially festive (see picture above and here for the article and image credits!).
  • Strawberry shortcake with Bisquick biscuits (don’t add sugar!) and Splenda instead of sugar for the strawberries. Serve with no-sugar added vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt.
  • Chocolate pudding pie made with sugar free pudding and sugar free Cool Whip. You can swap sugar for Splenda or sweetener on the graham cracker crust. Use a pre-made pie crust if you like, just pay attention to the sugars/carbs in there!
  • Sugar free chocolate syrup with strawberries and pretzels for dipping (salty AND sweet!)
  • Frozen yogurt with berries and roasted nuts.
  • Sugar free Jello in the flavor of your choice, with sugar free Cool Whip and crushed pretzels and/or fresh fruit on top.

If you’re like me and enjoy making some easy changes to available things, I recommend some of the following swaps in dessert ordering, making:

  • Fruit sauces on the side when ordering dessert out somewhere (these are usually PACKED with sugar and carbs). I also ask about the whipped cream and whether it’s from a can, Cool Whip, or something similar, or if it’s made in house.  Generally they have to check, but it’s worth the question.
  • Dark chocolate instead of Milk Chocolate, and I use semi-sweet chocolate chips in my cookies/brownies instead of milk chocolate.
  • Swap no-sugar added applesauce in for sugar/sweetener and/or oils in your recipes (see links for advice and details).
  • SHARE.  Sharing is caring folks! If you can share with a friend or family member (or even new person at your table who’s willing to get their own small plate for their portion), DO IT.  It will save you calories, carbs, and too many chances for serious overindulgence.

Autumn cupcake photos
My mom’s hard work at last year’s birthday celebration. Dark chocolate and peanut butter is my favorite!

So there again, just a few ideas for everyone and some suggestions for participating and staying on this pain-in-the-neck wagon.  For more great recipes and ideas, I recommend checking out this great post from the Martha Stewart website and from Taste of Home. Seriously-check these out. There’s over one hundred different recipes here!

I’d LOVE it if you’d like to share some of your recipes and suggestions here too-we can ALL, ALWAYS use ideas for making this life easier and just a little sweeter (sorry-couldn’t resist!). 

Love and Light,

 

Megan C.

 

 

 

For Diabetics, For Family & Friends, For Medical Professionals, Type 1 Diabetes, Uncategorized

Birthday & Celebration Foods: Part 1 of 3

acolemacx

Having recently celebrated a big birthday myself, as well as the birthdays of many people close to me and having recently attended several bridal events and a wedding, I feel qualified to say the food in our culture is vast and abundant.  While this is an exciting thing, it’s also a major challenge for those of us living with sub-par pancreases.

That said, there is no reason to fret! We just have to find ways to participate that aren’t damaging and make decisions about the types and amounts of risk or hurt we’re willing to take.

I recently had a great conversation about this with my soon-to-be-aunt, Melissa,  at a birthday celebration for my soon-to-be-grandmother-in-law (all those hyphens!). We were talking with Melissa’s mom (not the soon to be GMIL), who is a type 2 diabetic and does pretty well overall with managing her diet and medications.

Melissa had some great concerns and questions about how I decide what to do in special occasions where there are things like birthday cake.   Melissa, her mom, and I had a very honest conversation about the challenges surrounding food choices, and how important it is to be able to participate and “live” rather than just “survive”.

(Melissa also asked me when I was posting here again.  I’m thinking once a week, or an every other week schedule for posts moving forward.  Either way, thank you for the question and affirmation someone’s reading Melissa!)

So, how do we decide what’s important enough to risk the cake?

I ask myself a few questions as I’m making these decisions, and I like to think they are good ones:

  1. What’s the event?  
    1. Making it 7 days without cake is probably not a good reason to eat some.  That said, sometimes I just want cake. It’s about the balance factor for me really, and I try not to double down on desserts in a day or weekend if I can help it.  Generally, birthdays, weddings, retirement parties, etc. (you know, major life things), are celebratory times where I’ll strongly consider participating in dessert.
  2. What else did I eat today? 
    1. She who ate an ice cream cone 2 hours ago shall not eat birthday cake now, unless she A) WENT RUNNING OR GOT OTHER STRENUOUS EXERCISE or B) IT IS HER BIRTHDAY or C) SHE’S JUST DOING THE “WRONG” THING, DAMMIT.  In all seriousness though, I treat my days and weeks as a sliding scale. If I did a dessert earlier, there is a strong possibility of me not doing anything like that now without an A, B, or C factor at play.
  3. How do I feel now? How do I predict I’ll feel later?
    1. This question is a good one for checking in with the total picture of health. Am I overly full? Am I eating this because I want to, or because I feel a social obligation? What kind of dessert is this? What do I know about my reactions to this from previous experiences?  How bad will I regret this later, one way or another? Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) is real, and diabetes is extremely good at providing FOMO, so I include that in my prediction questions?
  4. What is my blood sugar like right now?
    1. This one feels a little self explanatory, but it really does make a difference. I don’t like to eat some desserts when my blood sugar is low, for instance, because I know I’ll be inclined to over eat.   I generally don’t participate if my blood sugar is actually high (versus “just after dinner” high, which is in the 200s for me).
  5. Do I know what’s in this dessert? Are there options to lessen the damage? 
    1. SO IMPORTANT.  Ask the question, “What’s in this?”  You may be surprised.  This is important to know for bolusing/injections and answering many of the other questions here.  Also, if you’re like me and the people in your life know you’re diabetic, they may be doing swaps (Splenda instead of sugar, applesauce, etc.) to be helpful and that can seriously impact the carb-count.
  6. What are the social/emotional/mental factors here?
    1. Let’s be blunt: #diabetesisaprick and there are days where the dessert sounds good, or the guilt feels bad, for the wrong I try to check in with these factors to make sure I’m eating things I truly enjoy and doing it for the right reasons.  Binge-eating cake because we’ve had a bad day is NOT enjoying a social gathering with family to celebrate someone you love. It just isn’t. Sorry.

So, these are some baseline questions to use when making food choices.  But at the end of the day, I’ll share here what I shared with Melissa and her (absolutely wonderful and very-on-top-of things) mom.

“We do the best we can with what we have, because it is all we can do.” 

That’s it. There’s not another secret recipe or motto that has served me more in these situations, or in moments where I’m making self care decisions.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this post, where I’ll share recipes and alternative food ideas for when we want to celebrate “on the wagon” instead of getting off and trying to get back on post-celebration.

Sending Love and Light,

 

Megan

 

P.S. Do you have something great you want to share with the online diabetes community? Have a story or idea you think could be helpful? Send them over! These communities work best when they are interactive communities, and there are people everywhere that can benefit from your story, whether you’re a diabetic, a care provider, a member of the medical community, or a family member or friend.  Send them to us at megan@thefriendlyneighborhooddiabetic.com (Justin can look at that one too!).

Depression, For Diabetics, For Family & Friends, For Medical Professionals, Type 1 Diabetes, Uncategorized

I’m Free! Start and End Dates Part 2.

acolemacx

I’M FREE.

Guys, it’s been two, TWO, whole days since my thirtieth birthday and I’m still here.

WE MADE IT!

I’m so excited to be starting this new chapter of my life; this chapter without a set end date. I’m free from those prognoses dates and I truly feel different as I go into my thirtieth year.

As part of my diabetes treatment plan, I work with a therapist who helps me keep my mental health in check so I can keep my physical health in check. I’m a firm believer that we have to care about our mental well being just like we have to care about our physical health.  There will be several posts about this in the near future.

When I walked in yesterday for my appointment, she said, “Hey! You don’t look dead to me. Congrats!” (She’s awesome and that sense of humor is one of the several things we have in common.)

She’s very right. I’m very much alive.

Riding that high, I took some time Thursday through today to really reflect on my life and how fortunate I am. I did some tough reflecting on how it all has gone and what I’m doing with the next many years of my life. I took a moment of silence and prayer for the people I lost along the way, as there have been several and each birthday and diabetes diagnosis anniversary reminds me that others weren’t so fortunate.

I don’t know what would have been easier. My future mother-in-law passed away in December from complications from Type 1 Diabetes. She was diagnosed in her early thirties after she’d had her two boys and had been living her life eating and doing what she wanted.  When she passed, her and I had had diabetes for about the same amount of time.  It’s hard for me to imagine being diagnosed as an adult and having to adjust an entire life around something that I didn’t know anything about until I had it. I know people do it, but in some ways, I do feel my situation was more fortunate.

That said, I don’t remember life before this disease, but I know from reflecting and living it and working through some of it with my therapist that growing up with it had its own challenges. I know that my physical development was impacted by diabetes and that my psychological and emotional development was hammered on by type 1 diabetes.

I know that by the time I was graduated high school, I had lost several close friends from the thing I was constantly being told would ultimately kill me. I remember waking up at age 9 after a very serious low blood sugar in the back of my parent’s mini van at an amusement park where I had crashed.  I know that I experienced survivor’s guilt for the first time when I was 11, and I’d experience it many more times in my life.  I remember being 14 on a school chorus field trip and we went to sing to the patients in the dialysis lab; I came back to my mom’s office after school and sobbed into her arms because I felt so afraid.  I know that at 29 I watched the man I love struggle with the loss of his mother from the same disease his future wife has.

I don’t mention all of these things in what is ultimately supposed to be an upbeat post because I’m garnering your sympathy. Instead, I list these things out to try to reflect on the things I lived through in this first thirty years of my life. I’m considering these experiences building blocks for whatever is coming. If you believe in the butterfly effect, I had to be a diabetic in order to live this life, and I had to have everyone of these losses and scares to be here now, writing to all of you.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again; I’m so fortunate. My diabetes gave me a purpose and a platform and a complex and a lot of good things and a lot of not as great things.  My diabetes made me the person I am, and at thirty I’m really starting to like me.  When I talk about being grateful for this life, I truly don’t know how or why I was born this lucky. But I believe my diabetes, the people I’ve met, helped, known, loved, and the things I’ve experienced, are absolutely a part of the reason I’m here. On Earth, still existing despite being told how extremely unlikely it was that I wouldn’t.

I’m still finding my purpose, but I’m excited to live life without an end date.  I’m going to take this next year and rock it.

If you’re interested in sharing what you’re going to do with this next year, we’re all ears here. Send me an email, share a comment on the post, or message or post to us on Facebook. This life is most fun with all of us in it. 

With Love and Light,

-Megan C.

For Diabetics, For Family & Friends, For Medical Professionals, Type 1 Diabetes, Uncategorized

Start and End Dates-Part 1

acolemacx

It’s officially my 28th year as a diabetic. My “Start Date” is September 3, 1991.

It’s sometimes hard to imagine what life would be like without diabetes.  Like a weird, terrible sidekick that never leaves me alone, diabetes feels like it’s been here forever.

In all seriousness though, I don’t remember life before diabetes became a part of it.

I was diagnosed two days before my second birthday. My family was devastated and my body was traumatized. My hair fell out and I had to be re-potty trained. I was not expected to live to my second birthday (two days later), and the thought of surviving to Kindergarten seemed like a slim hope.

But doctors are not God. They don’t get to decide who of us lives and dies. They just get to offer statistics and assistance and answer questions along the way.

My nuclear family was just my mom, my dad, and I when I was diagnosed. My family put a lot of things on hold (including my siblings) for a few years while I continued to survive and eventually thrived. It wasn’t easy, but they were willing to make it work.  They were willing to wait for me. They were willing to work for me. They were willing to step back or step in, depending on what I needed in that moment.  As my siblings arrived, they did the same.  I’m so grateful they didn’t give up.  So this is a congratulations to our whole family on this one-we made it!

I’ve kept a fairly positive attitude all these years, despite the dismal prognoses that I’ve been handling and the loss of many important people along the way. Diabetes is ruthless-it does not care who you are, or how old you are-you have to deal with it. But I’ve tried to keep upbeat and remember that it’s not just about me.   I would do anything for the people I love, and that includes whatever I have to do to stay healthy and alive.

My family, now inclusive of several more people than when this started, has helped me maintain that attitude with a combination of tough love and motivation. Now, my fiance continues to help with support, love, and a willingness to listen and troubleshoot. They’re not all good days, but between my family, friends, and fiance, I’m not in this alone. They’re all here and I’m so grateful.

As I go into this 28th year of diabetes, I’m proud of myself and the work that I’ve done, but I’m admittedly anxious to see what lies ahead. See, 30 was my final prognoses date.  “If she makes it to 30…” was a statement I’ve actually heard medical professionals (more than one!) make.

I turn 30 in 2 days. On September 5, 2019 I will have outlived the expectations. I will have officially exceeded these ridiculous expiration dates for my life. I will not have an end date after all.  

I’ve done SO MUCH in the past 28 years. I’m not entirely convinced that some of those accomplishments weren’t made simply because in the back of my mind there wasn’t ever going to be enough time. And who knows how much time any of us have, really.  But, they are not God. I am not God. We don’t get to decide that. We get to live in this world, in these bodies, and we get to keep going.

So I’m not going to wallow, or quit, or take up motivational speaking (not today, anyway). Instead, I’m going to take this 28th year in this body, with this illness, and I’m going to rock it. 

I’m going to marry my best friend in 101 days. I’m going to be a really, ridiculously cool aunt to the babies in my biological and chosen family that will be arriving this year. I’m going to travel and see things I haven’t seen yet. I’m going to operate my businesses and take big career chances. I’m going to succeed. And most importantly,  I’m going to spend time with the people I love and I’m going to live my life without an end date.

I’m going to live my life without an end date.  That’s what I’m doing with this 28th year.  That’s what I’m going to do with 30.

 

 

 

Depression, Diabetes Distress, For Diabetics, For Family & Friends, For Medical Professionals, Type 1 Diabetes, Uncategorized

So why are we here?

acolemacx

Let’s be real for a minute.  There are a LOT of online forums, resources, groups, events, and hashtags associated with Type 1 Diabetes.

The American Diabetes Association shares that 30.3 million people in the United States have diabetes, with 1.25 million people living with Type 1 Diabetes right now.  That’s a lot of individuals with a lot of online activity! (For more on that, click here.)

Diabetes can get lonely.

Tonight on our way home from dinner and shopping, I was explaining that diabetics have higher percentage chances of experiencing depression and anxiety.  Justin wondered aloud why that is, which got us on the topic of “fault”.  Diabetes is a unique disease because there’s so much criticism and judgement involved.

Sometimes with chronic illnesses people express pity and concern.  With diabetes, they do that -and sometimes (far more often than is appropriate or necessary- they say things like “If you just took better care of yourself!” or “I don’t know why you can’t just eat better,” or my personal favorite when something bad happens, “Why didn’t you do X, Y, Z!”

All too often, these folks are doing EXACTLY THE THINGS THEY TELL YOU NOT TO. It’s next level infuriating.

These folks are trying to be helpful, but they isolate us.  They intentionally or unintentionally guilt us into feeling like our diabetes and complications and lows and highs are our fault.  They are not.  These people are wrong, and I do not care who they are.  Sometimes even people we care about and trust are wrong.  This is your PSA for today.

Type 1 Diabetics are just people. We are not God. We are not all powerful.  Most of us are just every day people without medical degrees who are just trying to survive and live our best lives.  We do complicated mathematics calculations, utilize thousands of dollars of medical equipment, act as our own EMTs, trainers, and advocates, we take on insurance companies, etc. and we are just people.  That’s it.

We can do a lot to make our own lives better. Everyone wants to make their own life better, and if you have a chronic illness, diabetes or otherwise, it probably crosses your mind at least once a day that life could be better.

So let’s do some things to make our lives better for us.  Not for the people who guilt or demand or blame,  or even the people who love and support and care, but for us.

One of those things we can do is reach out to other people and get support and advice.  We can vent and feel understood.  We can be validated and feel motivated.  We can troubleshoot.  We can be together.

We don’t have to be alone, and more importantly, we don’t have to be lonely.

That’s why we’re here.  That’s what this site is for, at its most basic core.  We are here to be here for ourselves.  We are here to share this space and our stories with each other.

We are here to make lives better.

As you peruse this site, keep in mind that we (Justin, the other collaborators, and myself) are just people.  We’re people who want our lives to be better, and we’re people who want you to feel better too.

Disclaimer-most of us are NOT medical professionals. We’re just here, telling our stories and wanting to hear yours.

Type 1 Diabetes sucks, but you are not alone, and you don’t have to be lonely.

Sending you love and light,

Megan

Depression, Diabetes Distress, For Diabetics, For Family & Friends, For Medical Professionals, Type 1 Diabetes, Uncategorized

These high blood sugars are the WORST…

acolemacx

I have the tech (a CGM) that would prevent me from being caught off guard by these things. I’ll be honest, I don’t always wear it as consistently as I probably should. There are a lot of reasons for this, including a consistent, deep desire and need for sleep.

My CGM system wakes me up FREQUENTLY, so I’m always a little more hesitant to wear it when I’m already struggling with sleeping – which I am right now.

Despite that, today I took myself out for a lovely Sunday. I went to the pet store (my cat needed a feeder toy), the pharmacy (yay for out of pocket med costs!), and went on a nice stroll through Target (the candle section right now is DOPE).

During all of this, I got progressively more lethargic and seriously thirsty, so I grabbed an iced coffee (we live in a Starbucks void so Target Starbucks is all I’ve got) and headed home.

Y’all, I almost stopped for a bottle of water. To go with my iced coffee (with Splenda, and I bolused for the cream). On my 15 minute ride back to my house. I was panting.

I got home safe and sound but after getting here and being here a bit I still wasn’t feeling better. And so I checked. And it was 566.

THE WORST.

I have not had a high like this in a long time. I sat on the floor and drank water and took insulin and waited.

90 minutes and three (Yes three!!!!) correction boluses later, I was under 500. Barely, but under 500.

We went and paid the rent and found dinner (including multiple glasses of water and a giant diet soda that tasted like heaven).

Finally, now, three hours later I’m back in normal range, with a full stomach and no headache.

I chronicle this experience for the sole reason of pointing out that in the next two days I’ll be having a diabetes anniversary of 28 years, and I STILL have days like this.

That’s because sometimes T1D is a lawless $#@*! It doesn’t follow the rules. It doesn’t care about your self care like it’s supposed too.

I’m playing on expert mode, and I still have these moments.

And if you are a diabetic, or know a diabetic, I know you have these moments too.

It is okay. We are not failing. We are living with diabetes.

For All of Us Having One of These Days, Sending Lots of Love and Light,

Megan