(This prompt was pulled from the #happydiabeticchallenge over on Instagram. To check out that hashtag, click here.) I feel weird giving advice because even after 32 years of diabetes, I’m still trying to figure things out. A lot of the time, I have “no eyed deer” what I doing. But the main thing that I keep circling back to is the…
Advice for “Newbies”
Diabetes Advocacy, Diabetes and Emotions, Diabetes Community, Diabetes Online CommunityIt is humbling to look in the butter compartment of my fridge and see insulin. It’s necessary. And I’m grateful. The out of pocket cost is upwards of $380 per bottle without insurance, and making sure our family has insurance coverage is our biggest worry in regular rotation. When job situations look dicey, my first concern is insurance. When there’s talk of storms…
You might also like: World Diabetes Day 2013. World Diabetes Day 2016. Perspectives on Diabetes: Why Children with Diabetes Matters. D-Blog Week: Change One Life, Change the World.
Non-Billable Hours: The Diabetes Stuff That Doesn’t Have Copays
Blood Sugars, Diabetes Advocacy, Diabetes Products, Diabetes Videos, Real Life Diabetes, Robot LifeAt first glance, I manage my diabetes using an insulin pump from Tandem Diabetes Care, a continuous glucose monitor from Dexcom, Humalog insulin, and either the mySugr meter kit or a Freestyle one. All of these items require prescriptions and $$$ and involvement from my clinicians. But there’s a number of items that are used regularly to manage my diabetes,…
Last night looked like this: And today I feel like this: Which translates into a low blood sugar that Basal IQ couldn’t fully pull me out of, most likely the result of … I have no idea because I didn’t exercise more than normal, didn’t eat anything that required a shit ton of insulin, wasn’t feeling extra stressed, wasn’t possessed…
Non-Billable Hours: Purse Party
Blood Sugars, Diabetes Advocacy, Diabetes Community, Diabetes Online Community, RelationshipsIt’s Diabetes Month – have you heard? There will be a ton of diabetes-related news circulating; you’ll see diabetes in the headlines and on the news. Diabetes is, dare I say? so fetch this month. Discussions about diabetes often seem limited, at least in the broader public forum, about blood sugars, weight gain or loss, and diet. Admittedly, a lot…
Non-Medical Switching
Diabetes Advocacy, Diabetes Online Community, Diabetes Tech, Diabetes Videos, Pumping Insulin, Real Life Diabetes“From the Alliance for Patient Access YouTube page: People with diabetes describe non-medical switching, where an insurer has pushed them to change insulin, pumps, meters or other medical necessities.” Being told to switch medications because the insurance company says so, not because the medical team recommends the switch, is a messed up situation. Clinicians and patients should be making those…
Rewind: Voicemail for my Pancreas
Blood Sugars, Diabetes Advocacy, Diabetes and Emotions, Diabetes Memories, Relationships(I’m traveling this week, with limited access and desire to visit the Internet, but while I’m on an adventure, I’m rewinding the blog to showcase some older posts. So don’t freak out if you see some older post about being pregnant or whatever because giiiiiiirl I am not pregnant.) “Hey, you. This is awkward. Voicemail. I hate voicemail. But I…
Rewind: Diabetes Food Lies
Blood Sugars, Diabetes Advocacy, Diabetes Complications, Diabetes Online Community, Diet and Food, Exercise & Fitness, Mental Health, Psychosocial Support, Real Life Diabetes(I’m traveling this week, with limited access and desire to visit the Internet, but while I’m on an adventure, I’m rewinding the blog to showcase some older posts. So don’t freak out if you see some older post about being pregnant or whatever because giiiiiiirl I am not pregnant.) So many rules were slapped into place immediately upon diagnosis, with…
Rewind: Ordinary but Extraordinary
Diabetes Advocacy, Diabetes and Emotions, Diabetes Community, Diabetes Online Community, Exercise & Fitness, Psychosocial Support, Real Life Diabetes(I’m traveling this week, with limited access and desire to visit the Internet, but while I’m on an adventure, I’m rewinding the blog to showcase some older posts. So don’t freak out if you see some older post about being pregnant or whatever because giiiiiiirl I am not pregnant.) I will admit right here, right now that I admire people…
Rewind: These Boots Were Made for Talking
Diabetes Advocacy, Diabetes and Emotions, Diabetes and Family, Diabetes Community, Psychosocial Support(I’m traveling this week, with limited access and desire to visit the Internet, but while I’m on an adventure, I’m rewinding the blog to showcase some older posts. So don’t freak out if you see some older post about being pregnant or whatever because giiiiiiirl I am not pregnant.) At the airport two weeks ago, I was coming home from…