“This post is my August entry in the DSMA Blog Carnival. If you’d like to participate too, you can get all of the information at http://diabetescaf.org/2013/08/august-dsma-blog-carnival-3/“
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"What can a parent of a child with diabetes, or a person with diabetes, do to help reduce the emotional impact of caring for diabetes?"
What can I do to help reduce the emotional impact of caring for my diabetes? Holy cow that is a loaded question.
Recently I had a rough low. It was one of those where you want to eat everything in sight, but still have the wherewithal to not (a rare case might I add). I actually didn't feel the low until I laid down and the world took up spinning. Not good. I opened two packs of fruit snacks and waited. I may or may not have actually chewed the snacks. What made this low so much different than others, was that I broke down and cried. I'm the first to admit that I'm not much of a crier. Very rarely do sappy movies even evoke a tear. My daughter will confirm that. However, here I was at 5:30 in the evening bawling my eyes out over a low of 54.. or was it 45. It was just too much for me to deal with right at that moment. We were two days away from moving my daughter to college and becoming 'empty nesters'. That in itself is an emotional roller coaster. My daughter has been there to help with my middle of the night lows, my stubborn highs and subsequent rage boluses (boli?), my "I hate food" dinners, and everything in between. It was then that the thought sunk in that I wouldn't have one of my biggest Type Awesomes right there, and I would be just a little more on my own.
So how can we reduce the emotional impact? We can surround ourselves with an outstanding support team. Family, friends, physicians, people who may or may not "get it" but will ALWAYS be there for you. They may carry fruit snacks, insulin, test strips, alcohol wipes, glucose tabs... but they will always and forever be Judgement free.
Monday, August 26, 2013
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
The one who...
I've been thinking about this alot lately so it needs to be a blog post, albeit a short one.
Last November Alanna of Life on T1 suggested that we all write about our lives outside of D. I did one post and a couple others not related to D, but that's about all. I still think it's a great idea, and plan on doing a few more posts.
I've been participating in the DOC in the Twitterverse for over a year now, and I've gotten to know quite a few great people. One thing I was noticing, when talking to my husband about it, was that if I referred to everyone as "the one with diabetes" it wouldn't help him at all.. nor me, really. In fact, I think it would be extremely confusing. Afterall we are NOT just diabetes, we are real people outside of D too!
How do you refer to DOC family members without mentioning diabetes?
Last November Alanna of Life on T1 suggested that we all write about our lives outside of D. I did one post and a couple others not related to D, but that's about all. I still think it's a great idea, and plan on doing a few more posts.
I've been participating in the DOC in the Twitterverse for over a year now, and I've gotten to know quite a few great people. One thing I was noticing, when talking to my husband about it, was that if I referred to everyone as "the one with diabetes" it wouldn't help him at all.. nor me, really. In fact, I think it would be extremely confusing. Afterall we are NOT just diabetes, we are real people outside of D too!
How do you refer to DOC family members without mentioning diabetes?
Friday, August 2, 2013
Confusion on the Real Estate front
Have you ever stood there at the kitchen counter with your insulin pump all refilled, tubing primed, and the only thing you have to do is insert the site but you just stand there looking confused? Well, I have, and more often lately that I'd care to admit. It isn't because I don't know what to do, after all I've been doing this for over 2 years (yes.. a short amount of time in comparison, but still).
One issue I have is residents on the Real Estate front. When I first started using an insulin pump I was told to change out my site every three days, and to not use the same area all the time. My current endo said the best thing to do is to find ten spots and rotate through them. That allows each site to heal for nearly a month before being used again. This worked GREAT! I have two sides, left and right, and so all I really needed was five spots. I chose arm, boob, belly, back, and butt, with a spare of thigh. It worked for me. I started on the left side and went clockwise, as if someone else was looking at me as a clock. I always knew where my next site would be and how long it had been since I'd used it.
Fast forward a year and enter CGM. This absolutely wonderful device threw a kink into my schedule. I won't put a pump site close to the sensor so I have to alter my rotation. Combine this with scheduled activities and adjusting my pump site to accommodate, and you can see where I get confused. Did I use this site recently? Will it be in the way of my massage this weekend? Will my CGM sensor need replacing before this site does? How well did that spot absorb last time? Should I let is rest more? And these are just some of the questions that I'm thinking while standing there.
How do you keep track of where to put your infusion sites?
One issue I have is residents on the Real Estate front. When I first started using an insulin pump I was told to change out my site every three days, and to not use the same area all the time. My current endo said the best thing to do is to find ten spots and rotate through them. That allows each site to heal for nearly a month before being used again. This worked GREAT! I have two sides, left and right, and so all I really needed was five spots. I chose arm, boob, belly, back, and butt, with a spare of thigh. It worked for me. I started on the left side and went clockwise, as if someone else was looking at me as a clock. I always knew where my next site would be and how long it had been since I'd used it.
Fast forward a year and enter CGM. This absolutely wonderful device threw a kink into my schedule. I won't put a pump site close to the sensor so I have to alter my rotation. Combine this with scheduled activities and adjusting my pump site to accommodate, and you can see where I get confused. Did I use this site recently? Will it be in the way of my massage this weekend? Will my CGM sensor need replacing before this site does? How well did that spot absorb last time? Should I let is rest more? And these are just some of the questions that I'm thinking while standing there.
How do you keep track of where to put your infusion sites?
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