Sweet and Sour- The Type 1 Diabetes Rollercoaster

Uni is nothing like it's made to seem on TV. Late nights aren't parties, they're the rush to finish an assignment before the due time. Socialising isn't chatting about the great times you've had, it's a support group for assignment/placement/test woes. Stumbling around isn't from one too many drinks, it's from hypos (low blood sugars). The uni life makes me a tired, whinging, hermit... with hypos. I still love uni, despite all of the assignments and the tests and the responsibilities and the exam flurries. But I could do without the hypos before assignments are due. To be fair, the latest one was possibly my fault. There we were, working on our assignment like good students (ok, it was the day before the due date) and all was going along nicely. We'd been there for 6 hours and it was finally time for me to leave. But no, diabetes didn't want to cooperate. Instead I got hit with a shocking hypo that left everyone just a little bit wo...

UPDATE: To spare continual spam on my personal Facebook I've made a blog page. Feel free to give it a like instead of dealing with my dodgy "follow" options that never work https://www.facebook.com/adiabeticsrollercoaster Day Seven is here which is really sad. I've loved participating this year in blog week (as I have in other years) and once again want to thank the lovely Karen at bitersweetdiabetes.com for her efforts. I made more time this year to interact more with the community and it has been such a wonderful experience, so thank you! Now, on to the post: "The very first inspiration for Diabetes Blog Week was to help connect our blogging community, and that continues to be the most important reason it's held every year.  So let's help foster and continue those connections as we wrap up another Dblog Week.  Share a link to a new blog you've found or a new friend you've made.  Or pick a random blog off of the Participant's List, che...

Day 6 of Diabetes Blog Week... does it have to be over so soon? "If you have been blogging for a while, what is your favorite sentence or blogpost that you have ever written?  Is it diabetes related or just life related?  If you are a new blogger and don't have a favorite yet, tell us what motivated you to start sharing your story by writing a blog?" I can't pick individual things I've said, or individual posts so here's some posts on topics I like. Some of these are back when I first stated blogging and are fascinating to read again now. I'm a bit of a varied blogger, it seems I've used every writing style and tone possible. Let's start with a more recent post. An open letter of course! I've written a few of these over time. However, Jamie Oliver is now stuck as my blog image which is beyond annoying: Dear Jamie Oliver While we're on the annoyed train of thought, I quite liked a post I did last month. It was a really terrible w...

Day 5 has arrived. What an excellent rhyme (bear with me I'm brain-dead from uni assignments). "Taking a cue from Adam Brown's recent post , write a post documenting what you eat in a day!  Feel free to add links to recommended recipes/shops/whatever.  Make it an ideal day or a come-as-you-are day – no judgments either way." As well as being a messy critter, I'm also a really unhealthy and lazy eater. It's the one part of diabetes management that I don't really manage. Bad, I know. Luckily for me I still live at home and my mum cooks dinner so I do get a very healthy dinner. I've seen dietitians and am aiming to change my ways in the coming weeks. Maybe I'll turn 20 and magically become a responsible- proper food eating- adult. I just don't get particularly hungry, and reach for convenient (usually packaged) food with minimal prep time. Today's "meals" are an example of me at my worst. I'm cooking my own dinner tonight...

Day 4 and I'm picking a WildCard: If you could personify your diabetes or that of your loved one, what would it be like?  What would it look like, what would it say, what kind of personality would it have?  Use your imagination and feel free to use images, drawings, words, music, etc. to describe it. Source: http://harrypotter.wikia.com My diabetes is Moaning Myrtle. Yes, the ghost of a Hogwarts student who died in the girls bathroom after looking into the eyes of a Basilisk. I think my beta cells went out the same way because the personality resemblance is striking. Myrtle can be nice enough and let you brew a polyjuice potion in relative peace= stable blood sugars with minimal effort. Source: http://harrypotterfanon.wikia.com She can be entirely inappropriate and end up in the prefect bath with you= low blood sugars at the most inopportune times. Source: http://harrypotterfanon.wikia.com She can be dramatic and flood the bathroom = a roller ...

Day Three already and the topic is Clean it Out: "Yesterday we kept stuff in, so today let's clear stuff out. What is in your diabetic closet that needs to be cleaned out?  This can be an actual physical belonging, or it can be something you're mentally or emotionally hanging on to.  Why are you keeping it and why do you need to get rid of it?” No thought provoking writing today, just a bit of a confession. No one knows about this except my parents. I’m a REALLY messy person. It makes no sense when I like order, but no, I’m incredibly messy. The state of my room reflects the state of my head- scattered. I am told to clean my room on almost a daily basis, a tradition that has continued since primary school. My poor mum is the exact opposite and it irritates her to no end. It's shameful really. I know, if you’ve been to my place you’re thinking “But Bec, your room is immaculate every time I've visited” No dear friend, it’s all a lie. There’s a reason I ...

Day 2! Today Karen writes: "Many of us share lots of aspects of our diabetes lives online for the world to see.  What are some of the aspects of diabetes that you choose to keep private from the internet?  Or from your family and friends?  Why is it important to keep it to yourself?  (This is not an attempt to get you out of your comfort zone.  There is no need to elaborate or tell personal stories related to these aspects.  Simply let us know what kinds of stories we will never hear you tell, and why you won't tell them.)” I know I don’t have to, but time to break the comfort zone a tiny bit. Not all the way. Just a little. I try and talk about this, but when I do it comes out wrong. It’s probably very evident in my writing anyway. I think I’ve said it before, and I referenced it in yesterdays DBlog. I have Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Lots of people have anxiety, it’s a really common thing. But there’s anxiety in a relatively healthy amount, and an...

Diabetes Blog Week returns, run as always by the wonderful Karen at bittersweet diabetes.com The first topic of the week is "I can" where she writes "In the UK, there was a diabetes blog theme of "I can...”  that participants found wonderfully empowering.  So lets kick things off this year by looking at the positive side of our lives with diabetes.  What have you or your loved one accomplished, despite having diabetes, that you weren't sure you could?  Or what have you done that you've been particularly proud of?  Or what good thing has diabetes brought into your life?” I think the one accomplishment I am the most proud of is finishing the HSC (final exams in New South Wales high schools) and getting into my desired university course. My HSC was a really big deal for me. In hindsight, too big. I was obsessed. I had a little number in my head that I had to achieve. I wanted a 90. I was going to get my 90. Nothing would stop me getting my 90. I had deci...

Tomorrow is my 5th diaversary (I was diagnosed with t1d five years ago tomorrow). I’m stuck in bed sick- how fitting. Some things that have dawned on me: - My diabetes is in kindergarten - My diabetes is older than one of my cousins - I’m half way to the “there will be a cure in 10 years” benchmark (they say that every 10 years) - I’ve had this for 5 years and I STILL do really stupid things, like putting in 34 grams of carbs into my pump instead of 13.4 as my blood sugar. Guess who had to eat precisely 34 grams of carbohydrate at 11pm… - I’m 7 months off being out of teenager-dom, so I’ve basically had this for the majority of my teenage life Even though 5 years isn’t a long time to some, for me it’s been a really big and important chunk of my life. Just take a minute to think of what you were like at 14. Now think about how different that person is to who you were/are at 19. Not the most fabulous age to get a chronic illness. It was the time of dodgy headbands, no straighteners, hor...