tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56029381567797871392024-02-20T04:58:43.271-06:00Every Day, Every Hour, Every MinuteCarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09108867545803896885noreply@blogger.comBlogger533125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5602938156779787139.post-30131882474421302462018-10-02T21:30:00.000-05:002018-10-02T21:30:23.369-05:00Study SubjectSomething that has always been a big fear of mine regarding my diabetes, and potential complications, has been loosing my vision. I think this is a common fear for those of us with diabetes, since the first things we hear about are going blind, loosing limbs, and our kidneys failing.
Around 10 years ago, my yearly visits at the eye doctor began to show the signs of diabetes in my eyes. They Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09108867545803896885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5602938156779787139.post-33705653026925598012018-09-06T22:13:00.005-05:002018-09-06T22:13:54.437-05:00I'll Still Use the Nima SensorThere were new reports today from Gluten Free Watchdog regarding the Nima gluten sensor. Third party testing released from Nima showed that the gluten sensor is wrong much of the time.
There were false positives (times when the sensor showed gluten, when it was actually at 20 parts per million or less) about 8% of the time. This is an issue because you may think that something isn't safe to eat,Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09108867545803896885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5602938156779787139.post-49809273145127492562018-04-04T21:44:00.000-05:002018-04-04T21:44:11.805-05:00How Do You Educate the Educated?One of the things that comes up too often in our diabetes community would be the number of those we loose to undiagnosed diabetes. Too often, adults and children are lost because a doctor misdiagnoses Type 1 diabetes as the flu, or a parent or the undiagnosed adult, assumes it is the flu and doesn't seek medical care. We can't stop those who don't seek medical care, but when a medical Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09108867545803896885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5602938156779787139.post-38652823129471634512018-03-01T21:22:00.001-06:002018-03-01T21:22:44.098-06:00Celiac, Diabetes, and my Crazy LifeIt's been a busy several months for me. I have a ton of stuff going on with work, and when I'm home, it seems like I'm always doing something. Not to mention the month of February was NOT my friend (for multiple reason). But here's to focusing on the positives.
First off, I've started on the MiniMed 670G! I got the pump back in January and started wearing it, and then got trained on the new Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09108867545803896885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5602938156779787139.post-37774979282807306922017-11-12T18:12:00.000-06:002017-11-12T18:12:18.966-06:00Lost SleepThe thing I hate more than anything is loosing sleep. I'm a sleeper. I always have been. I took naps way longer than most kids and I had to be dragged out of bed most mornings.
I like to get my 8 hours plus. I can also sleep almost anywhere.
Put me in a car? I'm asleep in 10 minutes or so. A plane? I'm usually asleep before they get to drink orders.
This is not unusual for me. The only time I Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09108867545803896885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5602938156779787139.post-62274877664553637142017-11-08T20:45:00.001-06:002017-11-08T20:45:40.392-06:00One YearOne year ago today, my life changed. That evening, I prepared for my endoscopy to confirm my diagnosis of Celiac Disease. In doing that, I ate my last meal that included gluten. It was a dinner from a restaurant. My mom had come down to be with me for the procedure, so we ordered out and brought it home to eat.
Life changed a year ago. I knew it was coming. I'd gotten a chance to "last chance" Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09108867545803896885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5602938156779787139.post-46467220110473904302017-05-12T23:17:00.000-05:002017-05-12T23:17:10.851-05:00I Will Always Defend My FriendsLast week I had an interesting thing happen. I drive for a ride-share company in my spare time. It's a good way for me to save up for things I want to do, when most of my "regular" income goes to bills and day to day expenses. One evening, I picked up a lady. We started to chat and during our chat, I mentioned that I was currently driving to save up to attend Friends for Life this summer.
I Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09108867545803896885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5602938156779787139.post-20102400100615811642017-04-04T22:06:00.001-05:002017-04-04T22:06:52.291-05:00Gluten-free vs. Celiac-safeHere's the thing about being diagnosed with Celiac disease in the height of the "gluten-free" craze: everyone think that everything is Celiac safe. I even thought "Yay! There are so many gluten free options for eating out!" What a great thing, right?
I learned, very quickly, that wasn't true. Gluten-free food in a restaurant doesn't mean that it is celiac safe. Grilled Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09108867545803896885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5602938156779787139.post-75078903949229955222017-03-16T19:31:00.000-05:002017-03-16T19:31:23.247-05:00Good Job...Now Show Me More
With the recent national attention being brought to the
skyrocketing insulin prices in the past several years, pharmacies, drug
companies, and insurance companies have been shed in a pretty poor light. You
know it is important when national media is reporting on it. This has been
going on for a while, and I haven’t had much to say on the subject. Not because
I don’t think it’s an issue, but Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09108867545803896885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5602938156779787139.post-47739505034938447452017-02-25T10:21:00.000-06:002017-02-25T10:21:36.684-06:00Dreaming of Infusion SitesThe past couple of days my new insulin pump infusion site has been sore. It was like that when I put it in, but I'm stubborn. I don't like to change it unless I see blood, or my blood sugars get crazy. I didn't have my CGMS in (I was planning on putting one on this morning), so I didn't have a totally solid look on my blood sugars, but I was testing regularly with no major issues.
Last night I Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09108867545803896885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5602938156779787139.post-11411919569879609992017-02-19T20:50:00.004-06:002017-02-19T20:50:43.497-06:00A Weight Off My ShouldersI'm currently planning my vacation this summer. This will be the first vacation since being diagnosed with celiac disease. I'm still learning what life is like with celiac. Some days it seems easy. Other days, it is more frustrating than you can possibly imagine.
Learning how to eat out in my town, learning how to shop again, learning how to cook again... it is all part of this new life I'm Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09108867545803896885noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5602938156779787139.post-74605397356636621322017-01-19T21:01:00.000-06:002017-01-19T21:01:08.590-06:00Health Care & Politics
This is what a pre-existing condition looks like.
It's no secret that the ACA (Affordable Care Act) is under extreme pressure right now. It is on the verge of being completely dismantled by our government. Replacement is still hazy, with no real plan being announced for something to take the place of ACA at this time.
I'm doing my best to keep up with what's happening on thisCarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09108867545803896885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5602938156779787139.post-38895378678109503292017-01-14T23:42:00.000-06:002017-01-14T23:42:29.708-06:00Ignorance is BlissOne of the things that annoys all of us PWD is when the general populations perpetuates diabetes myths. It has been something that we have been fighting since the day we (or our loved one) was diagnosed with diabetes.
We deal with people telling us to eat cinnamon, run 10 miles a day, stop eating bread, etc and then your diabetes will go away. We deal with people saying that diabetes happens Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09108867545803896885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5602938156779787139.post-23890739869137772382016-12-07T18:31:00.000-06:002016-12-07T18:31:30.816-06:00Navigating without a CompassWe all know that living with diabetes isn't easy. There are ups and downs and rollercoasters and burnout and frustrations. We bond together and we get through. I've always lived with diabetes (at least it SEEMS like always). I found friends to help me through. I have good days and bad days, but overall, I understand diabetes.
I have limits, there are levels to count and numbers to interpret Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09108867545803896885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5602938156779787139.post-13934730075183008482016-11-15T21:15:00.000-06:002016-11-15T21:15:47.122-06:00Life Goes OnDespite my celiac diagnosis, my life has to go on. So far, since I have gone gluten-free, I've only eaten out one time. Luckily, this restaurant had a gluten-free menu, so I didn't have to worry much about what I was going to eat.
Even finding things to eat in my house is sometimes difficult. I've already had a couple of nights where I have walked in my house and thought, "What the heck am I Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09108867545803896885noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5602938156779787139.post-56635371720108870682016-11-09T16:12:00.000-06:002016-11-09T16:12:07.351-06:00Today My World ChangesIn spite of the title, this post is not about the election. Those thoughts, I will not post on my blog. Today was the day I finally had my biopsy via upper endoscopy, to medically confirm a diagnosis of celiac disease. I found out around two months ago, after bloodwork, that I most likely had celiac disease. Since that time, I've been learning as much as I can about celiac and what life will be Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09108867545803896885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5602938156779787139.post-48168853600466853062016-10-19T18:29:00.000-05:002016-10-19T18:29:25.978-05:00Two Journeys My life has been revolving around celiac lately. The only way I can explain it is that I am doing my best to learn as much as possible about celiac and the gluten-free diet as I can before I meet with the GI doctor and start the gluten-free diet.
That being said, diabetes hasn't gone away. It's still here. All the time. Being a total pain in the rear. BUT, I feel like I'm starting a new journeyCarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09108867545803896885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5602938156779787139.post-18289581444757818752016-09-21T18:07:00.002-05:002016-09-21T18:07:57.045-05:00Fear in FoodWhen I was first diagnosed with diabetes, I was 4 years old. I was old enough to understand what sugar was and at that time, PWD avoided all refined sugar. I knew to say "I can't eat that," when offered a cookie or punch or something like a cupcake or candy bar.
Soon those around me adapted and life moved on. On top of that, we advanced in the world of diabetes and we learned to carb count and Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09108867545803896885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5602938156779787139.post-34131094701583713312016-09-20T21:27:00.000-05:002016-09-20T21:27:17.728-05:00The World Turned Upside Down
I’ve heard people talk about the shock of having been
diagnosed with (or having a child diagnosed with) Type 1 diabetes. The anger,
fear, insecurity, and uncertainty of being diagnosed with a lifelong illness
can be a lot to deal with. Or so I’ve heard. I was diagnosed with Type 1 when I
was 4 years old. I have some memories of my diagnosis, but overall, I remember
very little about life Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09108867545803896885noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5602938156779787139.post-3183932884298247332016-07-31T22:33:00.000-05:002016-07-31T22:33:22.178-05:00Friends for Life 2016
For many years (at least most of the ones that I’ve been a
part of the D-OC), I have heard about Children with Diabetes Friends for Life
conference held each year in Orlando, Florida. So many of my best friends have
gone, many times.
I made excuses. A couple of times I had legitimate vacations
plans during the time of the conference. The rest of the time, my many trips to
New York City Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09108867545803896885noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5602938156779787139.post-2348197427574732112014-07-06T19:37:00.000-05:002014-07-06T19:37:47.359-05:00Blind Sided by Love
I’m falling in love. I’ve never really been in love before.
At least not like this. I’m finding myself smiling at the strangest times of
day and giggling over the craziest things. The strangest thing about the whole
deal is that I feel like I’ve been blind-sided by the whole experience. They
say that it usually happens that way. You like someone well enough and end up
going out on a date. It’s Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09108867545803896885noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5602938156779787139.post-50861458711034563462014-04-07T07:00:00.000-05:002014-04-07T07:00:20.940-05:00Pockets
Wearing an insulin pump certainly comes with its fair share
of issues. They aren’t enough to make me think of every NOT wearing one, but
there are issues. Something that you nearly always hear from women insulin
pumpers is how annoying it is to wear a dress AND an insulin pump. In fact, I
can’t even count the number of times this has come up in conversations that I’ve
had with other women with Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09108867545803896885noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5602938156779787139.post-4626226297877291522014-03-23T20:02:00.002-05:002014-03-23T20:02:26.995-05:00D-Sick Day
I’ve written about the fine line between making people
understand how complex and difficult living with diabetes is, while not letting
them pity me or feel sorry for me. It is a never ending tightrope. I want to
believe that I can do anything, in spite of diabetes. I DO believe that 99.999%
of the time. Sure, there are pesky little things like being a pilot or being in
the military, but I’ve Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09108867545803896885noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5602938156779787139.post-65088577822419231472014-03-18T10:32:00.001-05:002014-03-18T10:32:42.276-05:00Help Out One of My Most Awesome Readers
A few years ago I was seeing a play at a theatre near my home. It was full of kids, their annual "young person's" production. While I was watching (and enjoying) the show, I spotted something sticking out from under the shirt of one of the kids. I looked a little closer and spotted an INSULIN PUMP!
After the show, I sought out the girl, and thus started a friendship with her and her Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09108867545803896885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5602938156779787139.post-29163858147934990622014-02-20T20:15:00.000-06:002014-02-20T20:15:15.516-06:00No More ShameMiss Manners,
There's too much shame and stigma involved with diabetes. Some of it is external. Some of it is internal. But it is all very real to a person living with diabetes. People place blame on those living with diabetes. It must be your fault that you have diabetes. It must be your fault that your blood sugar is too low. Or too high. It must be because YOU did something wrong.
Being a Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09108867545803896885noreply@blogger.com4