Tag: Insulin

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

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!).

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

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