Guest Post: Therapy By The Book

Posted on November 8, 2012 by mydiabeticheart

Today’s guest post is by my dear friend Cheri Pate.  It’s no secret that life can be… well…a bitch.  Situations at work, at home, with our health, and in daily life in general can overwhelm us at times.  Some of these situations are beyond our control and we just have to deal as best we can.  But how to release the related emotions built up inside?  How can we turn the negative thoughts and energy into something positive?  Today, Cheri shares a way that works for her.  Thanks again, Cheri!

When Mike asked me to guest blog for him, I was flattered & excited.  I was also worried.  What would I write about?  It’s not like I’m burning up my own blog with all my witty entries.  Also, would this new group of readers “get” my humor (for the lack of a better word)?  Or would I drive off all of Mike’s readers in one fell swoop?

Panic set in, so I asked Mike what I should write about.  “Anything you want, “ he replied.  “You could even write about your blood transfusion tomorrow.”  I was pretty sure that wouldn’t be riveting reading, but I was willing.  Plus Panic had showed up with its usual companion, Desperation.  So those straws you hear about were being firmly grasped.

Life had other ideas.  Lots & lots of other ideas.  So here I am over a month later & just now putting pen to paper so to speak.  There have actually been two transfusions since then, but Life’s ideas actually affected a different part of my life.  And just to make sure he had my full attention, he brought his buddy, Stress, along too.  While I actually began to feel human again in the health area, Stress tried to use me as a punching bag.

In January, I will celebrate my 10th anniversary with the non-profit that I work for.  A non-profit that I absolutely LOVE working for.  Due to economic challenges, it was decided that we needed to change the model we’ve been working from for over 60 years.  It needed updating, but change can sometimes be hard.  Especially when that change means that the tight-knit family you’ve been working with will suddenly be going in different directions.

It’s been a month full of Panic, Stress, and lots of tears.  None of those are friends with Diabetes.  In fact, they are such jerks that they are always trying to get a rise out of Diabetes.  *rim shot*  These are the jokes, people & it ain’t gonna get any better.

So what have I been doing to keep from running out screaming into traffic?  Making books.  Yeah, you read that right.  I said making.  Not writing.  Not reading.  Making them.  From anything & everything.  Recycled materials or things I had around the house.  So far I’ve made twelve of them.  Lucky number 13 is floating around in my head right now.  In fact, she’s trying desperately to distract me from writing this post.  I’m resisting since I’ve made Mike wait long enough & I’d like for him to continue speaking to me.

The first book was not just about stress relief, but also a bit of therapy.  I don’t make a lot of money & I’m not really bothered by that because I’ve never been materialistic.  Don’t get me wrong.  I like having a computer & a smartphone because I’m a geek girl.  But I’ve always valued feelings & people above possessions.  Having said that, the last two years have been a bit of a financial challenge due to added medical conditions.  Unfortunately that led me into a bit more debt that I’d like to have.  I’ve made some progress with it, but I still felt like the Debt was mocking me.  Damn her!

Part of that feeling might have stemmed from the nearly inch thick stack of paper that two of the contracts were printed on.  I didn’t need them anymore, but hadn’t shredded them or thrown them out yet.  I decided they would become part of my first book.  So I folded each sheet in half & then in half again with the blank side of the page facing out.  It was like I was trapping the words inside the paper.  I then grouped them into signatures & sewed them together.  It was incredibly freeing.

At that point I decided that only good things would go into my book.  It became my version of a Smash Book.  I’ve put movie ticket stubs, fortunes from fortune cookies, a few pictures, & other bits I’d saved without knowing why I was saving them.  Now they have a home & I have a book of happy memories that was made out of worries & fears.

When I’d finished the first book, I discovered that I was still curious about other ways I could make more.  I began hunting up old stationery & keeping things like paper bags with the intention of making more books.  I brought home a stack of file folders that were headed for the recycle bin at work.  Fast forward & you have me sitting here with visions of Book Thirteen floating around in my head amidst all the words I’m trying to set down on “paper” for Mike.  And even though it’s just about bedtime, I am about to succumb to Book Thirteen’s siren song.  So if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to work in a bit of book therapy before I go to bed.

Thanks for stopping by & please don’t abandon Mike just because of my crazy ramblings.  I promise I’m harmless & after this post, I doubt he’ll ask me again.  J

Posted in Diabetes, Diabetes Awareness Month, Guest Post, Lessons Learned, Life, Mental Health, Photos, Shout outs | 3 Comments

Giving the gym another shot

Posted on November 2, 2012 by mydiabeticheart

Recently I tweeted that I had joined a gym.  And there have been a few tweets since indicating that I was either en route to the gym or had just left.  What that initial tweet should have said, though, was “I just joined a gym, AGAIN!”

Since I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and congestive heart failure in 2008, I’ve had a couple of gym memberships which I took advantage of for a while then, for one reason or another, had to stop going.  Lack of money for the membership fees, major setbacks with my heart, and total burnout all led to dropped memberships.

Over the last year, I’ve been able to increase my level of activity significantly and turned to nature hiking and walking for my exercise.  Now that the weather is turning cold, though, doing those activities outdoors is becoming less desirable.  So, what to do about that?

Enter Planet Fitness.

I first learned of them from my mother.  She and her significant other, who is an insulin dependent type 2, had joined the club near Louisville.  They really liked the place, and during the trip to Louisville last month to get my license replaced I had a chance to visit the gym with them.  After a great workout and giving the hydro-massage tables a try, I was sold on the idea of joining the club that was soon to open on the southwest side of Fort Wayne.  Despite the fact that the location was clear on the other side of town from where I live.

I joined on October 19th to take advantage of the start-up special they’re running.  $1 to start is a pretty good deal if you ask me, and the annual and monthly fees are quite reasonable, too.  The best perks being they are open 24/7, and the membership is reciprocal, meaning I can use any PF location across the country.

I’ve been to the gym 6 times since I joined on the 19th, averaging at least twice a week, and at least 2 hours per visit.  Almost all after working until 3:00 a.m.

That may sound crazy to some, and I’ll admit that it is, but I’ve found that it really helps after sitting in front of a computer at work for 9 hours. It helps with circulation, which is important given my heart issues, and it’s beginning to make a difference in the numbers I’m seeing on both my meter and scale.

Just as important, though, is the impact that the working out is having on me mentally.  By the time I’m finished at the gym, my mind is at ease and the stress of the day is gone.  And, AND, I’m actually sleeping.  That is Huge!

I don’t know where this whole gym adventure is going to take me, but I’m liking the journey so far.  I know it’s just starting and I’ve got a whole year ahead of me, but I think I just might be able to stick it out.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.  The first step has been taken, now I just have to keep walking.

And, with each step, tell myself: You Can Do This!

Posted in Diabetes, Diabetes Awareness Month, Exercise, Health, Heart, Inspiration, Lessons Learned, Life, Mental Health, Popular, Shout outs | 11 Comments

Happy T1 Day, My Friends

Posted on November 1, 2012 by mydiabeticheart

Today is a special day for so many of my friends in the Diabetes Online Community, as 11-1-12, the first day of Diabetes Awareness Month, has been designated as T1 Day. It is a day devoted to raising awareness for those living with Type 1 Diabetes. It’s about raising awareness to the difficulties type 1’s deal with each and every day, dispelling the myths and misinformation spread through the media and other sources. It a day for supporting those living with Type 1 Diabetes.

And that’s what I do. I love and support all of my friends who live this disease. And I support their day, T1 Day.

Happy T1 Day from Little G and Friends!

To learn more about T1 Day, visit the JDRF’s website . And while you’re there, take some time to educate yourself. The JDRF has a whole section of it’s website devoted to Life with Type 1 Diabetes

And, if you really want to know what life with Type 1 Diabetes is like, take some time and check out the numerous Type 1 blogs listed on my blogroll. They are written by real people, living the realities of the disease, and they all tell it like it is. No sugar coating.

Happy T1 Day, My Friends!  Lots of Love!

Posted in Diabetes, Diabetes Awareness Month, Lessons Learned, Life, Photos, Shout outs, The Adventures of Little G | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Creating Normal

Posted on October 29, 2012 by mydiabeticheart

Today’s guest post is from the ever amazing Steve Richert of LivingVertical.  Steve is on an incredible 365 day mission to empower people living with Type 1 Diabetes, and raise awareness of this invisible condition through rock climbing every day.  I had the pleasure of meeting Steve this summer, as he was a guest speaker at the Roche Social Media Summit in Indianapolis.  Today, he shares thoughts on the experience so far.  Thanks again, Steve!

Almost 300 days ago I began (Project 365) climbing every day consecutively with the goal of raising awareness of Diabetes and empowering people affected by it. I wasn’t a rock climber before I was diagnosed with Type 1 in 1999. I was just a kid in high school of average athletic talents and mediocre motivation. I always had grandiose dreams of climbing mountains but I dismissed them as being pointless. I was born in New York and I assumed that unless you were born in Colorado or Alaska or had parents who were climbers that you would have to settle for looking at National Geographic articles and that was that.

Being diagnosed with diabetes as a 16 year old left me scared. Sure, I was scared of all the complications and risk factors of diabetes, but I was most scared that I would waste my life simply trying to buy more time and in the process miss out on truly living. Diabetes gave me a reason to create my own reality rather than accepting what was “in the cards”. Being liberated from the fallacy that everyone lives forever was one of the greatest gifts I have been given because it forced me to live now and not put off the things I wanted to accomplish.

Climbing is filled with challenges and the same things that make it hard and scary are often what make it fun. By redefining the way we choose to view challenges in our lives we can create our own sense of normalcy. We can adapt to anything if we simply embrace it.

When I began Project 365 in January 2012, I regularly freaked myself out. A whole year of climbing, every single day? What was I thinking? I remember laying in my tent at night in the wintry and arid back-country of Joshua Tree National Park, listening to the wind howling outside and feeling utterly inadequate. Even if I could thumb my nose at gravity for a year, what if I got sick? It’s all well and good when you are tweeting from a warm house about your intention to push your limits and raise diabetes awareness but it’s quite another thing to be out in the wilderness, sleeping in the cold and dirt, feeling the sand in your teeth, wondering if and how you will be able to explain a years worth of suffering and living out of a car to the world in hash-tags and status updates.

In the last 286 days I have explored the use of #bearattack #rattlesnake #bigwall_hyperglycemia and #completevehicularfailure to highlight just a few aspects of this project, but the one thing that hasn’t come out of left field for me was my diabetes and managing it. When I was first diagnosed, I created routines based around being active and I created my own “normal” out of those routines. This has oddly enough proven to be spectacularly effective for normalizing other challenges like those found in the vertical world. Diabetes has literally been my training ground!

At this point in the project, there are still hiccups (as in my management of my Diabetes!) but I have been getting better at accepting that there will be those occasional instances in which plans fail and priority must be given to balancing my blood sugar. I have also learned the importance of early work–a big day tomorrow means planning and dialing in the blood sugar the night before–and this has translated to less surprises and greater consistency despite living on the road and climbing daily!

My goal in Project 365 has not been to glorify climbing as an activity (although I do think it is something everyone should try once at least!) or to advocate for a specific diet or process to live with Diabetes. It is simply one manifestation of how we can use the skills that living with Diabetes gives us and apply that anywhere we choose! Nothing is comfortable or normal from the outset–but choosing to push back and staying focused on striving toward whatever goals you have will result in your creation of a new normal.

Every high, every low, every struggle associated with Diabetes can be our training to eclipse the disease with the beauty we can create from it. Despite almost 14 years in this game, I am still learning and re-learning these lessons!

My Diabetic Heart supports Project365 and you can, too.  Visit:  Project 365: the 100 day challenge!  to find out how!

Posted in Diabetes, Featured, Guest Post, Inspiration, Lessons Learned, Life, Photos, Shout outs, Travel | 2 Comments

Operation C-Y-A: Recover the Data

Posted on October 21, 2012 by mydiabeticheart

Those of you who follow me on Twitter may have seen the tweet over the last week or so about my meter being broke and six weeks worth of data being lost as a result.  And you probably saw the tweet that I wouldn’t have data to take to show the doctor on Monday.  I was pretty stressed out and had just about given up on the data.

Well, during a lull at work tonight, I decided to take the damn thing apart and see if I could get it working again.  And much to my delight, I was successful!!!

It turns out that when the meter hit the concrete, the connectors between the power button and the internal button broke.

After some tinkering with a paperclip and chewing some gum…  It’s ALIVE!!!!

And then came the ultimate test….plugging it into the computer to see if it would transfer the data.

I’m not going to show my data here, but I can happily confirm that it did transfer to the computer and my report for the doctor has been printed.

Operation Cover Your Ass: Recover the Data – COMPLETED!

Posted in Diabetes, Lessons Learned, Life, Photos | 4 Comments

Wordless Wednesday: 10th Anniversary Trip

Posted on October 10, 2012 by mydiabeticheart

Photos from the weekend trip to Michigan City for our 10th anniversary. Enjoy!

http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=121572

Posted in Inspiration, Life, Photos, Travel, Wordless Wednesday | 4 Comments

Celebrating 10 Years of Us

Posted on October 8, 2012 by mydiabeticheart

Today marks ten years since April and I began our life together.  It’s incredible when you think about it.  A decade of living with and loving each other.  And that love is as strong as it’s ever been.  Since we both have to work today, April & I celebrated with an amazing weekend in Michigan City, Indiana.  A weekend completely unplugged!  No cellphones, computers, no nothing.  And it was absolutely amazing!

We hiked through the sand dunes, took a walk on the beach along the shores of Lake Michigan, and had a bit of fun playing in the sand.  We froze our butts off, but sharing that experience together was so worth it.

A & M – 10 yr.

Here’s to many, many more years of living, laughing, and loving!  ❤

Posted in Lessons Learned, Life, Photos, Travel | 11 Comments

Guest Post: Feeling the Love of the DOC

Posted on October 7, 2012 by mydiabeticheart

Today’s guest post is from my good friend Kerri MacKay.  Kerri lives in Canada, and she deals with another chronic health issue with which I’m all too familiar, asthma.  While she doesn’t have diabetes, Kerri is a big fan and supporter of the Diabetes Online Community.  She recently traveled to the U.S. to attend the Medicine-X conference at Standford, and had the chance to meetup with some of our friends from the DOC.  Today, Kerri shares her experience with us.  Thanks so much, Kerri!

Last weekend, I was blessed with the ability to attend Medicine-X at Stanford University through the gift of an ePatient scholarship. Since I’m here guest posting on My Diabetic Heart, it only makes sense that I share some of my deep love for the Diabetes Online Community, even if I don’t have diabetes myself.

Every time we have new interactions, we learn, experience the world more deeply, and, most importantly, grow. Even though we think we may understand a lot about the inner workings of our worlds, it is only through these experiences that we make our worlds more tangible and thus understand them more deeply. Throughout the weekend, I experienced copious amounts of support and love from members of the DOC who were also in attendance at Med-X. Bit by bit, as an outsider to life with diabetes, I continued putting pieces of the puzzle together as my friends with diabetes stealthily managed the intricacies of diabetes management alongside all of the amazing things we were doing throughout our days in California.  I know that for many of my friends, diabetes is always occupying a certain spot in their mind—but I also know the relentless passion they have for making a difference so that they can live as loudly as possible and be as healthy as possible. Aside from hearing the occasional lancing device being busted out, buzzing Dexcom or insulin pump buttons being pressed; aside from seeing the occasional injection at dinner or low blood sugar reading on a meter over the weekend accompanied by some clamoring for some quick carbs [oh, and Kim can attest, I am pretty good at rocking the carbs in the hotel room for lows—animal cookies, Lifesavers and Jelly Bellies were stocked on our desk at the Westin!]

As a person without diabetes [or PWoD as Kerri has named me—I was mistaken for her at dinner on Thursday night—best person I have been mistaken for EVER], I don’t have an internal sense of what goes on, how it feels to have diabetes. Through hanging out with Kim, Cherise, Chris, Mike, Liz, Debra, Sarah and Dana over the weekend, in whichever context that may have been, I was able to get a little more of a glimpse into their worlds, as well as Christina’s, who has two kids with type 1. More importantly, though, I saw compassion and love in action, and I saw the joining together of amazing bonds between these people who may have connected because of living with a chronic disease, but have grown to love and support each other in so much more than that, with hope fueling them to take things, all things, one moment at a time.

I could not have asked for a better, more beautiful group of people surrounding me, and I could not have found a more compassionate group of friends to support me through the journey in California. Even though I don’t have diabetes, and even though I didn’t meet anybody who identified as having asthma, there are certain things about having a chronic disease that just make this indescribable bond form. I may have helped Kim through a low or two, but at the same time, she provided much the same support for me.

While in Palo Alto, my asthma got a lot worse than it has in the past two and a half years, to the point where I had to start on prednisone to work at cutting the inflammation in my lungs so that I could fly back home knowing I would be relatively okay. Prednisone is not my favourite thing, and considering I hadn’t been on it in 2.5 years, I had no idea what the heck it was going to do to my body side-effect wise [it turns out that this time it made me super starving, thirsty and emotional]. Kim is amazing, and totally had my back through it all, and it was so cool to just see that it was really not a big deal to do what I needed to in order to work at getting healthy again. Whether it was in the fact that she just got it and didn’t need to ask me a million questions, to how she just simply asked “You good? Anything you need to do before we leave?” before we went to dinner on Friday after my lungs started getting less than awesome . . . I didn’t just see the compassion, I felt it.  I felt it when I busted out the inhaler in the middle of a session and Cherise and Kim quickly leaned over to make sure I was good and after shooting them the thumbs-up they just fell back into the pattern of conference mojo. I felt it when Jewels and I had a chat on the bus about how I was doing, how Carly just got it when I said the prednisone was screwing me up because she’s been there, how my friend Steve who lives in the Bay Area kept calling to make sure I was okay once he found out I was sick. I felt it when I didn’t feel like I had to apologize for being sick, even though I know it’s not my fault. How I knew that if anything, anything at all were to have gone even more awry, that everybody surrounding me had my back and it truly was not a big deal to my fellow ePatients at Med-X because in one way or another, they knew what I was feeling.

The DOC is the most passionate, heart-filled condition-specific group I have ever seen online, and this is something I have long admired about this community that just got hugely underscored this weekend. I feel blessed that I have been enveloped into something so big, so awesome, and so supportive as the DOC, despite my functional pancreas, and that so many members of the DOC have taken the time to not only educate me, but support me and care for me as well. Even if I got sick in the process, I wouldn’t have traded the experience of this weekend for anything. It was truly a blessing to be able to spend so much time with so many of the amazing people I have connected with through Twitter over the course of this weekend, and I am still so in awe of the level of understanding that bridges the gap between one chronic disease to another, between online and off, and between once strangers . . . who are now friends.

Photo of Kerri courtesy of: Stephen                Group photo courtesy of: Debra

Posted in D-Meetups, Guest Post, Shout outs | 10 Comments

Guest Post: Camping with D. Got Insulin?

Posted on October 6, 2012 by mydiabeticheart

Today’s guest post is by my friend, Leanna Zimmerman.  While I’m off hiking the sand dunes in Northwest Indiana with April this weekend, I thought it would be fitting to have Leanna share her recent experience of camping with diabetes.  Thanks again, Leanna!

First let me start by saying thank you to Mike for asking me to do this post. I haven’t done a lot of blogging yet but I enjoy writing. Also I don’t consider myself a great writer but I do love to connect with people. All my online D friends mean more to me then I can put in words! This post is covering my camping trip that I took this past weekend with my family. While it is mostly about diabetes related stuff to let you know how my D management went, I will be talking about non-diabetes things about our trip as well to make it a more complete cover of the weekend.

I went camping from Friday the 28th to Sunday the 30th on Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park in VA. We frequently take weekend trips there as we only live about 3 hours away. If you have never been to this park, I highly recommend that you go. The scenery is beyond amazing and it is overall a lovely place.

We left home early Friday afternoon and on our way to the park it started to rain. We knew there was a chance of rain over there that day but we were hoping that it would stop at a “chance”. Nope! By the time we got to the campground in was raining moderately hard and felt very cold. We were at the camp store for a little and got checked into our campsite and by that time it was just sprinkling lightly. We started to set up our tents etc. and the rain was completely letting up by then. All set up and ready for dinner a bg test showed 187. I was OK with that. Chicken salad sandwiches (very yummy when my mom makes it) and cookies were dinner. I had brought a prefilled reservoir along since I was going to need it that day so since I was all out and needed my dinner bolus I loaded it in my pump. Reaching to disconnect my old one, I felt that my site (newly put in before hitting the road) was coming loose. The conversation that followed was funny. Me: “Oh shoot my site is coming out!” Jeanie (my sister): “Do you have another one?!” Me “Hmmm who do you think I am? I always have way too many extras packed if I’m away!” So yeah I’m not really sure why she would ask that but I think she just said it without thinking. After checking my site out a little I saw only some of the sticky had come loose and the cannula was fine so I decided to give it a chance before pulling it. I added tape and called it safe. Determined not to start the trip off high, I estimated my carbs plenty high. Bedtime came and bg was 80. Had a protein granola bar (15 carbs, 5 fiber & 10 protein) and went to sleep. Fell asleep nice and cozy in my sleeping bag with warding off the cold around me. During the night I woke up to the sound of rain. Yes we were sleeping in tents and no we didn’t get wet! Yay for good tents!

The morning dawned with what looked to be much more promising weather. As the day progressed we saw we were going to have a beautiful sunny day to go for a hike etc. Even though it was beautiful for the rest of the trip, it was REALLY cold at night and mornings and got nice during the day. Saturday morning proved to be the most annoying diabetes part of the trip. First thing looked great. Fasting bg was 107. YAY for me! I corrected without over correcting and my site must be working. Breakfast that was less then healthy followed and we decided to eat lunch on time so we could head out for a hike. I tested before lunch and got a 432. Wowser. I don’t know when I’ve been that high last. I decided to do another one to be sure and got a 403. Okay so that’s better but still way to high. I wasn’t sure what exactly I wanted to do. I considered that maybe the whole sleeping on the floor in a sleeping bag without too much padding had messed up my site or maybe the morning food choices combined with a lack of time between meals together made that I was plain old high and my site was fine. My site still felt and looked fine so I decided to correct, keep carbs in moderation for lunch and since we were going hiking I thought maybe it wouldn’t hurt to start out a little high. If I kept sticking high with exercise I was going to pull it and start over.

We had decided on a hike that took you by several waterfalls and was moderately hard. It was a loop that totaled 4 miles. I had a backpack stocked with glucose tabs, a protein bar, a less healthy granola bar, a juice box and my glucagon shot. I also had my all-important bottle of water and a G2 Gatorade, which for the whole bottle had 12 carbs. I decided to somewhat trust how I felt as far as going low since I knew I had a ways to come down and since I was that high I knew I’d feel it since I was coming from being that high. The first part of the hike was mostly going slightly downhill so it wasn’t as hard. Between an hour and an hour and a half I started to feel a little low. Stopped to test while my sister Sara was taking pics of the scenery and I got a 72. I popped 1 glucose tab, ate a protein granola bar (same as mentioned above), and drank part of my Gatorade. The hike was climbing up nicely by that time so I knew I better watch it. Hiking uphill with a bg of 72 only means one thing for me. It’s going to come down down down! I kept on drinking my Gatorade and paying close attention to how I felt. Awhile later with not too much hike left I felt low. This time a 62 smiled up at me. I ate my less healthy granola bar (17 carbs) and popped 1 more glucose tab. I hate over correcting and we were almost done with exercise for the day so I didn’t want to make it spike before going to sit at the campsite.

On a non-D note, we were excited that we got to see some bears! Yup in was along the trail on a hike but we thought it was pretty cool! Don’t get me wrong, if I had been alone I would hardly have thought it was funny but being with 4 other people, it was kinda coolJ. My mom was the one to see them and excitedly alerted the rest of us which also resulted in alerting them to the fact that they wanted to clear out! When we first saw them they were in a tree at what my dad said was about 100 yards away from us. They were way up in the tree but since the tree was downhill from us they were about on our level. It was a mom and a cub or possibly 2. We think the first cub coming down the tree and taking off was what my mom first heard then we watched as another baby rushed down the tree and ran off. The mother then came down the tree some slower kind of watching us before following her baby(s) farther into the woods.

A 4 mile hike done and we were back in the car! Bg was 112 so that was a win for me! Bolused for a Fiber One brownie, because hey! Not even a great blood sugar can keep me from having a snack after a hike when my family is eating. But I did eat more then I corrected for cause I figured I might still be dropping. What do you know! I was right when an hour and a half later I was 73. Dinner and Smores around the campfire and my bedtime bg was 186. Not bad! Morning bg kind of annoyed me at being a 170. Breakfast, which again, was not healthy foods, and packing up followed that. At noon, after being all packed and before heading home we went to do one hike that was shorter than the day before. My bg was 230 and the active insulin was exactly what I needed to bring me down WITHOUT exercise so I figured I’d come down pretty much. The hike was only a total of 1 mile but the way up was a steady climb. About 40 mins after the 230 test when we were at the top I tested at 126. Be assured it did not take us 40 mins to go a half mile! We might be out of shape but not that bad! We didn’t get started right after my first test was done. At the 126 I still had like 1.6 units active so I ate about 30 carbs. About an hour and a half later while on our way home when we stopped for lunch I was 155. After getting home I was 213 and then bedtime at home was 293. I thought maybe it was the traveling and snacking but the next morning they were still being stubborn. Halfway through its third and final day, the taped site got ripped out because after I spiked high at lunch I decided something was wrong with it. Don’t think it was the site after all as they have been going up at down the whole week and I think I’m fighting something. Today, (Thursday) is looking better so hopefully it’s all good now.

To sum it all up, camping can go pretty smoothly with D. If your camping and hiking, take plenty of food AND plenty of insulin. Let’s be honest. When camping junk food is part of the deal! Smores? Totally a must for camping! But then as I proved, junk food is not gonna keep you high when you hit the trails. When I got that 403 I got really close to letting it get me down. I hadn’t been that high for quite a while and was bummed. I just told myself I had to let it go because it wasn’t my fault. I still had the rest of the trip to have good control so I was gonna focus on what was ahead not what was behind. Yes, camping with diabetes is more stressful then it is without but our whole lives are more stressful then those without diabetes. So to anyone who hasn’t gone camping with D, go for it! Load on plenty of insulin and let yourself be as normal as possible! Hey you might even see a bear or two J.  To close I’m going to say what I always say.  You can do anything EVEN IF YOU HAVE DIABETES! Being scared of doing things that might make managing it a little tricky is just letting D win.

Wow sorry that got so long! Hope I didn’t bore you all too bad! Also want to mention that the pictures featured on this post were taken by my sis Sara.

Thanks for reading all my ramblings and hope you guys have a GREAT weekend!

Love and hugs to all, Leanna

@pianogirl416

leannalivingloving.blogspot.com

Posted in Diabetes, Guest Post, Life, Photos, Shout outs | 4 Comments

Guest Post: Reaching Out

Posted on October 5, 2012 by mydiabeticheart

Today’s guest post was written by Alanna Swartz.  She blogs over at Life on T1 , and was kind enough to respond to my call for guest posts.  Thanks for the post and for telling us a little about yourself, Alanna!

I am Alanna Swartz, a 28 year old woman living in Halifax, Nova Scotia (great white north). I am a type one diabetic and have been since 1990. I have been on an insulin pump since 1999. While I am relatively new to the doc and blog world, I have been networking and volunteering and working with the diabetes community since diagnosis. I am currently starting to train to complete a JDRF long distance cycle in Death Valley in 2014 and I love my dog 🙂

Reaching out & Finding Community

While this mostly applies to my personal experience living with type one diabetes, I think it can apply to anyone living with chronic illness, mental illness or even general day-to-day struggles.

When Mike put out a call for someone to make a guest post on his blog, I jumped at the chance. I don’t know Mike personally, only through the online community that has net itself together through living with diabetes, but when someone in that community needs help for any task I feel the need to reach out and do what I can. Admittedly in the hours that passed after me agreeing to do a guest post I was a little confused as to what I would write about.

I wanted to touch on how important finding community is. I think that a lot of people living with diabetes can agree that without community, you start to lose your sense of self. It starts to feel like you are letting yourself get defined by your disease, and that is where you can start to slip. Once you have to make the decision between treating your illness or having a life to call your own, the choice starts to become easy that you would rather live your life than treat it.

That’s when community becomes so important. Finding someone who can say “I know” and truly, honestly mean it is so important on the road to being healthy–mentally and physically.  I think we have something special, us members of the DOC (diabetes online community) we have people all over the world who we can reach out to literally 24 hours a day for support mentally and emotionally when dealing with what can be an every day struggle.

What I am trying to say is that there is no shame in reaching out. We are taught by media, the Internet, talk shows, and sometimes even loved ones that we should be ashamed by our condition; diabetes means you have been lazy, heart disease means you ate too much, depression means you aren’t trying hard enough…these are things that are thrown at us every day, and the only way we can overcome the stereotypes, and help ourselves, is to reach out.

Take the time and tweet, write, email, blog and ask for a hand. We are all in it together and together we are stronger because of it. When we are at our lowest our community can lift us up and get us to where we need to be to take care of ourselves.

Posted in Diabetes, Guest Post, Shout outs | 1 Comment