Sweet and Sour- The Type 1 Diabetes Rollercoaster

Hello there! I still have readers, even though I'm not here that's nice... thanks!! I won't be blogging until after my HSC trials which finish on the 8th of August I'm sorry! Trials are giving me a lot of diabetes stories, and I'm only two days in! 6 exams to go....

Roaming around the Internet in relation to type 1 brings up a lot of hits! First it's the facts, wikipedia, webmd, betterhealth- you know, reasonably accurate information. From there it goes downhill into the sensationalist articles and the supposed 'diabetes cures'. But the you come across forums, blogs and yahoo answers. I was amazed to see so many questions about type 1, with masses of people fretting that they have it. As someone who can understand health anxiety, I can see why they may be concerned, but reading through these fears makes me feel so sorry for these people. So today I will make a comprehensive list (that by no means replaces the advice of a medical professional) to possibly ease the worries of those who think they may have type 1 diabetes. 1) If you are drinking a lot of water, you're not necessarily diabetic. You're quite possibly dehydrated. Trust me, if you have type 1 your water consumption is far beyond normal. I'm not talking a few b...

'Out damned spot!' A pretty iconic line in the Shakespearean play Macbeth, where Lady Macbeth experiences night walking and paranoia, washing her hands of unseen blood in her sleep. Now whilst I may not be as murderous as Lady Macbeth, I can understand her issue with having blood on your hands. I promise, whilst it may look as though I've been moonlighting as a hit-woman with my blood-stained hands, this isn't the case. What happened is some more pump mayhem, well cannula mayhem to be exact.It's gross, it's rare and it's terrible- it's called a 'gusher'. I was treated to one of these Lady Macbeth moments a night ago as I changed my insulin set. Usually, pulling out the cannula isn't an issue, it's like ripping off a band-aid. But this time, it was intense. After taking off the sticky white cannula, I was treated to what a stream of blood that wouldn't stop. Once I got past the whole 'AAH I'M HEMORRHAGING' bit, I was ...

I'm tired I studied for seven hours today There is construction work going on I'm hungry It's dark in my room and blogging is just not going to happen So today I give you dot points: - I had a hypo (YAY, fear over!) which wasn't easy considering you have false hypo's when your level has been high, ie. you feel like you're low at around 10mmol/L, when really you're not low until under 4mmol/L... and there's nothing you can do about it - The HSC is getting ridiculous and I can't wait until it's over, these last 80 days or so of high school could not go quicker This diabetic is sleepy, brain dead and possibly low. But like a dedicated blogger, I post on Mondays... I always post on Mondays *zzzzz*

A lot of people take things way too seriously, and I'm pretty guilty of that myself at times! Diabetes is something that's serious, and whilst it's important to stress it's life threatening nature, it's also essential to step back and laugh at everything surrounding it. So carrying with the theme of looking on the bright side of diabetes, here's a list of 'diabetes perks' - Mandatory lunch breaks - People hold your stuff - Putting wagers on what my blood sugar will be - People's faces when they offer you food and it dawns on them you're diabetic (note I refuse the food not because I'm diabetic but because I'm gluten and lactose intolerant... yay me :) ) - Insulin junkie jokes - Freaking out members of the general public by saying loudly 'I'm high' - Getting out of sport... you know, just in case you drop low (I swear I only did that once, I promise it was legitimate) - Scaring your friends with dark humour i...

Hypo's are no fun, they're the kid that comes to your birthday party, eats all the cake, teases the other kids and leaves without so much as a how do you do. Which in kid speak translates to hypos are evil and will never be invited to your birthday party again. They feel awful, everything spins, you feel nauseous, extra dizzy and if you're still conscious, panicky. You turn pale, you sweat and your eyes glaze over. Not a lot of fun huh? Well, I haven't had a hypo in a few months, which is very strange for a diabetic. But it's got to the point where I'm afraid of having one, that maybe it will happen when I'm asleep and I won't wake up (yeah my brain is such a drama queen, but it is a possibility). So as a result I've been dialling back my insulin at night, you know, just in case this kid comes to the party during the night and knocks over a few chairs. But that leaves me with high blood sugars all day, ranging from 10 to 20 (so much for between 4 and...