Living with Diabetes

Last few days I have a nurse who is calling me to checkup on me and know how I am doing and if I have seen the doctor. Thing is that I have not taken care of the medical stuff that I should have, so I am avoiding her calls. In a way it is great that she is calling and reminding me, but then in a way it is bothersome when it is happening at a frequency that is not comfortable. I should not have to avoid her. I know it is not her problem, but my guilt, sigh... Got to get back in control of my doctor appointments. On a side note, I have never actually met her. Only talked to her over the phone. Sometimes I wonder what she looks like?? Is that weird?

Saw a very interesting link related to some facts that scientists have discovered regarding Dolphins haveing a Diabetes switch that gets turned on and off every night. Essentially every night the Dolphins become diabetic and each morning they turn their Diabetes off. Can't wait to see what more they find out. Read more about it - Dolphins and Diabetes

You know you are a diabetic when ...  you reach for the glucometer and not the coffee pot first thing in the morning. - This is from Bob Fenton You converse with yourself when you are going to eat carbs late in the night. You have nightmares about loosing limbs because you could not control yourself during the party. You are scared to eat even a small piece of cake in case it starts the craving cycle for more. You intimately know what A1C means When you reach a party, you first check out what low carb foods are available You have a reminder to visit your doctor every 3 months for checkups You are or have been a subscriber to Diabetes Health magazine You are or have been on Metfornin Random folks give you remedies of all sorts to fix you up.. You carry some sort of fast sugars with you in case you run into a low!!! You are terrified of the shaking and loss of control when you experience a low You have agonized over deciding to tell folks at work whether you have the disease

Full disclosure - I did not buy this book, the publisher sent it over to me to review. And I am glad that I did get my hands on this great book. What an inspiring story. Zippora gets Type 1 diabetes early in her life when she is training to be a ballerina. This was a time when knowledge about the disease and its cures are very primitive and she goes through an odd assortment of cures before she settles into the one that works for her. All this while she is growing through the ranks of a great ballerina. What an achievement. Reading the book was inspiration in lots of ways. Reminded me of the struggles as I was discovering what it means to be a diabetic and how to change my life. She brings out the angst of trying to balance food, exercise and LIFE at the same time. Amazing, but true. Also lots of insights into the life of a ballerina. I had no idea of how complex this dance form is. It was fortunate that my 5 year old started taking ballet lessons at the same time too. I actually

You start worrying about every small crack or cut on your feet !!!

Just read this article. Finally someone is coming up real life tests for an artificial pancreas. It will take time, but there is hope in the future of some improvements with handling this disease. Business & Technology | J&J, charity to start testing artificial pancreas | Seattle Times Newspaper Some of the other promising researches are - 1) Replace the Islets in the pancreas so that you can start making more insulin again. 2) Genetic recreation of a new pancreas.

Looks like the ADA finally came out with new recommendations on what is considered diabetic, pre diabetic or not based on the A1C numbers. Nice to know. http://www.diabetesincontrol.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8789&catid=1&Itemid=17 Lots of times I have had folks who talk about taking the fasting test and trying to manage it, e.g. by eating no carbs the night before and fudging the results. I always tell them that it does not matter. This result is not for the doctor, but for you. If you are pre-diabetic or even diabetic, it is better to know than not. If you do not know, you will cause a lot more damage to yourself. With the A1C test, it is almost impossible to fudge the results, so I am happy about this improvement.