Favourites & Motivation

So today's options are to talk about your favourites and motivations, blog related, diabetes related, or not and if you don't have a favourite then share your motivation as to why you started writing a blog. 

Well I suppose my blogs are as the title suggests Random. I write when I feel like it and I write about anything. Apart from Diabetes Blog week I find it difficult to stick to a schedule. I tend to not have favourites in relation to diabetes blogs because I'm always finding new ones. I do however have a handful of phrases that I like to come back to that make me think and help keep me on track. 

So here they are; 

We all have different talents and abilities. Once you learn to embrace your own life opens up to a whole host of wonderful experiences. 

Make the most of everyday and enjoy yourself along the way. 

Another make the most of it thought but a thought provoking one. 

People are human. They make mistakes. Sometimes these have a ripple affect on your life and you barely notice it. Other days it's like a huge crashing wave that feels like it can rip everything from you. Hold on to the stable things, those life rafts of family, friends will bring you safely back to shore. It may take time but if you let them they'll bring you home. 

This is my favourite because if you embraces life's storms physical or metaphorical you can learn to find something positive in it to appreciate. I love the rain (literal) there's nothing quite like splashing in puddles in your wellies even if you are 30+ 

Now the original topic asked for favourites. I've managed to read a few blogs over the week but I've got loads more still to go. However over the last week I have found some blogs I really like. They're honest and funny. They both came from Bec at Sweet & Sour and I've (hopefully) linked below as I think they're fantastic! 

http://adiabeticsrollercoaster.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/macbeth-diabetic-edition.html 

http://adiabeticsrollercoaster.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/macbeth-diabetic-edition.html 

Wildcard option - Diabetes personified

So today's topic was Food on Friday but it didn't inspire me to write anything I was happy with so I decided to grab a wildcard. It took me a while to think about this but I decided to go fictional and pick someone I think I'd like to spend time with. 

So my diabetes personified is Supernaturals Dean Winchester! 

Why Dean I know people will be asking? Well if I have to be linked with it for the rest of my life I may as well think of it as being good looking =) But if you look at the qualities of my diabetes I feel Dean replicates these attributes perfectly. I've picked five which I think are the most important at this point. 

So it takes a lot of contemplating - how many carbs? How much insulin? Is it worth the bonus? Dean spends a lot of time contemplating 'evil' 

But the top and bottom of it is WE LIKE PIE!! It's always worth contemplating it because we're hungry and want to be normal. Dean likes pie and seems to get mad when he's hungry. 

Some days we get the pie (or other food) bolus wrong. It's a bit rubbish because then you feel ugh for the day. However you know that you might use the same bolus over the same time on a different day and it'll work. Confusing!! Like poor Dean when he realises he's hunting the wrong demon. 

Some days we hypo and then one of our other personalities unearths itself. Either the loveable, playful side arrives or the crazy mad side. When the first arrives, we to think we're adorable. 

Then there are some days when you just get so damn mad that you want to explode and scream and shout because even though you know it'll do no good you know that at the end of it you'll feel better! 

So yes if my diabetes was personified and had to walk alongside me in my eyes it would be Dean. 

Changes

Day four from Diabetes Blog Week is Changes. 

Changes - there are two ways to look at this either its a fluid condition in which changes, updates and developments however small are happening all the time. Or you can complain about how slowly things get done and how little help there is.

I'm a fan of view one. 

My mum tells me horror stories of my grandad boiling glass syringes after injecting. About how hypos were frequent and help was there but only in emergencies. 

When I was a baby they were disposable syringes and a finger pricker that sounded like a gun! 

Then when I was little the hospital gave me an injector gun that was horrible looking back, but made life easier. Blood meter was new but was huge in comparison to today's. 

Then we moved onto a smaller injector that was quieter and less intrusive. The blood meters where getting small and more compact. 

Then we discovered pens. They took a lot of getting used to. But it was a step in the right direction. 

Then the pump arrived...what a discovery. No more stabbing myself five or six times a day. Better control was getting easier and I could eat when and what I wanted. The blood meter is amazing it links to the pump and charges via a USB!! 

Things seemed perfect and then sensors where introduced. They tell me whether I'm high or low, help detect patterns and have made control much easier. 

So I suppose a short and simple post because whilst sometimes it seems like life is tough I'm greatful for the changes that have allowed me to get to this point. 

Clean it out

So after yesterday's keeping it in today were cleaning out...! Day three of Diabetes Blog Week and I'm having to carefully ponder which topic I should pick. That tells you something about me in that I collect 'stuff' in massive proportions and nearly never clean it out. So let's start with the physical; 

My pump supplies and prescription stuff is a nightmare. I'm not lying the boxes and bags that are fortunate to make it further than the hall are lucky, even more so if they make the top of the stairs. At the top of the stairs there is a plastic storage unit with draws that I always intended to label appropriately... On the off chance my husband is around Kevin will methodically sort the items into their various draws. If not I'll drop them into a large plastic box that was bought months ago to go in the loft but has been commandeered for my prescription type stuff! If it goes into the box chances are it will stay there and live happily until I shout 'Kev I can't find...' He'll  check the box. =) 

I'd like to say my physically messy state is a new thing but it's been happening since I was old enough to test my own blood sugar. My dad used to complain constantly when I was at home about the blood test strips that seemed to have appeared from nowhere on the sofa or floor! Been that I was diagnosed at 13 months old and am now into that 30's + age bracket it's not changing. 

I'm also a nightmare for leaving stuff where I've used it! Inserter gun used whilst watching tv? Chances are its on the sofa or I front of the tv. I once left it in the shed - now that was a hunt and a half. But all this stuff is easy fixed if you just think about it and act accordingly. 

The stuff that's harder to clean out is the emotional stuff. The stuff that people say before they think or worse still the stuff that people say to cause pain is harder. When people who you considered friends turn on you for something that you can't control. That's the stuff that's harder to clean out. But you can clean it out! You need good family and/or good friends who can help you focus on the positives. They can help you see that " there are those opinions that matter and those that don't " as my mother would say. So today I'm making myself a public promise to ignore the negative people and to try and let go of the emotional hurt that I've experienced. Maybe you can't let it go completely but maybe it can be boxed up tight and put in that cupboard at the back of your mind.

To start me off on a positive track there are some people who I can identify as POSITIVE influences who I know keep me on track. So I suppose this is a thank you to them as well. 

 My pooch and husband who never fail to make me smile! 

My family - you want the truth? Ask a sibling! You want to feel amazing about who you are ask a parent. 

     Our Australian pals who are always there to help, listen or guide and who can always recommend sick day tv that's AMAZING. 

 Finally for today these two nutters who I work with. They look after me, make me laugh and always give great hugs and great advice. 

Keep it to yourself

Day two of Diabetes Week blog and the title is keep it to yourself! 

So what do I keep to myself? Not much it would appear! However I think maybe the one thing I don't share is that sometimes I'm naughty! I don't mean anything to frowned upon in day to day terms but in diabetic terms it'd be a definite hand slap. 

You see I often don't carb count carefully enough, would forget to bonus or worse still would over bonus and end up correcting. The results are not dreadful I'm not saying I run low or high all the time but maybe I could have been more careful. 

I was cursed with doing too many finger prick checks but then not acting on the information. When my pump arrived in 2007 I was reluctant. It seemed to complicated. What if the background insulin was too much? Or too little? Did I want this machine attached to me all day every day? The fear factor is something else I often don't cough too. Anyway at this point my A1c was around 8.Something % (I don't do new numbers)

With lots of work my numbers came down to 8% and the pump in 2010 made a guest appearance at our wedding. Carefully concealed in and inside pocket made just for the pump. Following the wedding we plodded along bringing it slowly but surely down into the 7% territory. Then came the 'children conversation'

Following this conversation the consultant was very clear down to 6.1% or as close as possible, so we worked on it. This seemed such a task. I'd always tried to balance an acceptable A1c with a happy lifestyle. So we slowly inched with the help of an amazing team closer to the required figure. 

After a few months of it dropping at a painstakingly slow rate the consultant raised the option of sensors. These would monitor my blood sugars and allow me to detect patterns. Seemed like it was worth a go so we went for it. 

In February this year we were at 7% and I say we because Kevin had been with me through the highs and the lows (which were getting more frequent) Due to some difficult situations we had been struggling to drop it any further. I had a terrible chest infection which was considered pneumonia and then had a sickness virus. It seemed to last forever. One day walking across the town centre made me feel awful. The smell of someone eating a pie made me physically sick. My mum all of a sudden said "You're not pregnant are you?" 

At first I thought she was being ridiculous but when I came home and counted I realised I probably was. Confirmed later by two positive tests. Although happy we kept it to ourselves and rang the appropriate teams.  Later that week we had an A1c and still at 7% we had some work to do. 

Anyway I thought of two things therefore I keep to myself I used to be naughty! Last A1c was 6.something so in the right territory and up until today we've kept it to ourselves that were expecting our first arrival in November! 

I can...

       

So it's that time of year ago when Diabetes blog week comes around. As I had time I signed up again because last time it was good fun and hopefully provided insight into what life can be like. 

The idea is that each day you get a new title to write about. Today's title was "I can..." This made me think, is there anything I have done that I thought would be difficult. As soon as I questioned myself I thought about the number of times I'd heard "there's no such word as can't" I then came across a photo of the one thing I though would be impossible and so I decided I'd write about that! 

A while ago my friends decided they'd up and move, not round the corner or South of the sauce boundary but around the world to Australia! With new technology it was quite easy to stay in touch but it wasn't the same. Then one night in December after a lot of alcohol we decided we'd go and visit. 

Been that I'm not that brave and hate flying this was crazy! Worse still I'd never taken my insulin pens further than Spain never mind my pump. Discussion one - are we sure this is a good idea? My husband was adamant we should go so on January 2nd I found myself in a travel agent booking flights. This all seemed very straight forward until I said the D word. All of a sudden there were countries I couldn't take my medication into therefore we couldn't fly through, countries that would take us but would place charges on the medication being transported, it seemed never ending. 

Finally we settled on flights from Manchester to Dubai then Dubai to Singapore then Singapore to Melbourne. Seemed easy enough. 

We then had the insurance conversation - I was lost completely in all the legal terminology so Dad took over and eventually we found some that was suitable through Diabetes UK. 

Then the hospital conversation - are you taking a spares bag? Do you have enough resources? Do you have all the documents? Are you sure you'll manage? 

However before this post becomes War and Peace, we made it to Dubai without any trouble. The airport staff and the flight crew were amazing. Can't say the same for Singapore. They insisted on scanning my pump with a hand scanner as it can't pass through the body scanner or X-ray machine. As we got back into the air the pump beeped to say it was going off. No Delivery NIGHTMARE! After a quick reset we seemed to be running again. 

When we landed in Melbourne we joined the queue for something to declare. We seemed to be fast tracked through the airport; customs, bags and out in half an hour. 

Everything seemed to go fine until midway through the first week. We'd been to the night zoo and I felt awful. BM was hugely high and pump had stopped working. Thank god for the documents and a mum at home. We managed to get onto an insulin regime using the pens and thanks to a very helpful man at Medtronic in Australia we had a new pump in 48 hours. 

After that it was fun fun fun and we had the holiday of a lifetime. 

I met a very nice but MASSIVE tiger at dreamworld. 

Had a cuddle with a beautiful koala.

Found some amazing sea animals! 

We visited Philip Island to see the Penguins and made our way to the top of sky deck tower. We did loads of other amazing things but the main theme of my post is I learnt I can do anything if I put my mind to it, Diabetes or not. If I can do it everyone else can. 

And it was worth EVERY minute of doubling up resources and panicking over what to do. Sorting insurance and surviving the fear of flying!