Sweet and Sour- The Type 1 Diabetes Rollercoaster

I just saw a status posted by a friend of a friend, and it opened up a whole new world to me. I did a bit more digging and finally found out more about the nation wide ketone strip shortage.  T1Ds use ketone blood or urine strips to test our ketone levels. Ketones occur with very high sugar levels, or when you’re sick. In t1ds the presence of ketones with a high sugar is very dangerous and called diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). The body begins using its own supplies for energy and the glucose level rises. In short, DKA is the threat high sugars pose. It can lead to organ failure, coma, and death. We aim to keep ketones under 0.6, anything over that and there’s an emerging problem if your sugars are over 15 as well. 1.5 and you often need to seek immediate contact with a healthcare professional. The ketone strips we use are inaccurate, or expensive. Ketone urine sticks have a 20minute delay, but they’re cheaper. Ketone blood strips are more accurate, but don’t come c...

Tips and Tricks - Friday 5/20 Day Five: "Let's round out the week by sharing our best diabetes tips and diabetes tricks. From how you organize supplies to how you manage gear on the go/vacation (beach, or skiing, or whatever). From how you keep track of prescription numbers to how you remember to get your orders refilled. How about any “unconventional” diabetes practices, or ways to make diabetes work for YOU (not necessarily how the doctors say to do it!). There's always something we can learn from each other." As usual I'm really sad D Blog Week is over. I'm also sad I have to post this at half past 5 in the morning because of uni commitments. Early bird gets the worm and all that jazz I suppose. Thank you all for reading my posts and commenting. I love the level of interaction during this week and getting to catch up with all of you. I've tried to read as many blogs as possible and will keep going over the next few weeks while they...

Day Four brings us to the topic of The Healthcare Experience: "Most people who live with a chronic illness end up with a lot of experience when it comes to dealing with healthcare. How would you improve or change your healthcare experience? What would you like to see happening during medical visits with your healthcare team? How about when dealing with your health insurance companies? What's your Healthcare Wish List or Biggest Frustration? Today is the day to share it all!" I wrote this post in advance, but due to the changes going on in Australia right now , I wanted to rewrite it. So settle yourselves in for a long one because I'm stepping up on the soap box again (unrelated but I really need a cool graphic like Renza at Diabetogenic ).  To start with I'd like to say that this is potentially not the most interesting area for everyone and I understand that. So please, no obligation to go through all of this. But it's something I'm passionate abo...

Day Three: Language and Diabetes: " There is an old saying that states “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me”. I'm willing to bet we've all disagreed with this at some point, and especially when it comes to diabetes. Many advocate for the importance of using non-stigmatizing, inclusive and non-judgmental language when speaking about or to people with diabetes. For some, they don't care, others care passionately. Where do you stand when it comes to “person with diabetes” versus “diabetic”, or “checking” blood sugar versus “testing”, or any of the tons of other examples? Let's explore the power of words, but please remember to keep things respectful.” I could have sworn I'd posted about this before but I can't seem to find it. So here we go again! As a student health professional I use patient first language religiously. When referring to other people I use it. When referring to myself I really don’t care, but I know oth...

Day Two “The Other Half of Diabetes: We think a lot about the physical component of diabetes, but the mental component is just as significant. How does diabetes affect you or your loved one mentally or emotionally? How have you learned to deal with the mental aspect of the condition? Any tips, positive phrases, mantras, or ideas to share on getting out of a diabetes funk? ” I’ve talked about mental health and diabetes before , so to be short and sweet: I find T1 latches on to my anxiety and depression, which makes sense when it’s a big part of my life. It definitely didn’t cause them, but it all intertwines. So how do I deal with that? Lots and lots of support! I really didn’t want that support when I was younger because I thought I was completely okay. But once I learnt how to deal with those things, life got a lot better. The best bit of advice I’ve heard came from my mum. She likes to remind me that I have more than one chronic illness. I tend to invest all of my care into...