Sweet and Sour- The Type 1 Diabetes Rollercoaster

Welcome back to T1 Talk, a blog series between Frank and I about life as young Aussies with T1, on opposite sides of the country. This is Part 2 of a 2 part topic on managing the unmanageable: Type 1 Diabetes. You can find Part 1 over on Frank's blog here . We'll pick up where we left off: Pens or Pump? Which one do you use, and why do you continue to stick with it? Bec: For readers of my blog, pens is another term for injections of insulin. Yes, they really look like pens! Check out this post for a rundown of diabetes tools (fair warning, it's beyond outdated). I was on injections for under a year. I loathed them, not because of pain but because of teen embarrassment. I moved to the pump very early on and haven’t looked back. It’s been over 6 years of pump therapy and I’d be flat out working out how to live off injections if required. Bit of a worry actually, I’m very reliant on the pump now. Frank: That’s interesting, and probably highlights our...

"Lets wrap up the week by sharing a little more about ourselves, beyond the chronic illness we or our loved ones live with.  Share an interest, hobby, passion, something that is YOU.  If you want to explore how it relates to or helps with diabetes you can. Or let it be a part of you that is completely separate from diabetes, because there is more to life than just diabetes!" It's always sad when blog week comes to a close, but this year we've ended on a fantastic topic. So much of my online presence and my work in health advocacy is about my diabetes. I don't begrudge that at all because I've chosen to take on the role of a health consumer advocate. But behind all the awareness stuff I'm also a person. My t1 is a pretty big part of it, but there's more. I'm a pianist, albeit one with poor timing. I've been playing for 14 years. It doesn't look or sound like it most of the time, but I have fun. This is the beginning of a song called...

"Today let’s revist a  prompt from 2014  - May is  Mental Health Month  so now seems like a great time to explore the emotional side of living with, or caring for someone with, diabetes. What things can make dealing with diabetes an emotional issue for you and / or your loved one, and how do you cope?" Diabetes Blog Week was the first time I spoke properly about mental health on my blog. You can read that post here. I was absolutely terrified about posting that.   I'm quite proud of 2015 Bec, but looking back it makes me laugh. Mostly because I was insistent that I hadn't experienced burnout or depression. Oh the denial.  So it feels like coming full circle back to this prompt.  Diabetes is by nature an emotional experience. Shifts in blood sugar change your mood. Sleep deprivation changes your mood.  T1 is a chronic condition. It never goes away. It never gets better. Sometimes it gets worse. That is the shitty nature of a chronic condi...

"Having diabetes often makes a visit to the doctor a dreaded experience, as there is invariably bad news of one kind or another.  And sometimes the way the doctor talks to you can leave you feeling like you’re at fault.  Or maybe you have a fantastic healthcare team, but have experienced blame and judgement from someone else in your life – friend, loved one, complete stranger.  Think about a particularly bad instance, how that person talked to you, the words they used and the conversation you had.  Now, the game part.  Let’s turn this around.  If you could turn that person into a puppet, what would you have them say that would leave you feeling empowered and good about yourself?   Let’s help teach people how to support us, rather than blame us!" I have an excellent health care team, so thankfully I have a fantastic support network. But I have experienced blame for my condition in the past. In fact, I started this blog because of all the blame I was ...

Insulin and other diabetes medications and supplies can be costly.  Here in the US, insurance status and age (as in Medicare eligibility) can impact both the cost and coverage.  So today, let’s discuss how cost impacts our diabetes care.  Do you have advice to share?  For those outside the US, is cost a concern?  Are there other factors such as accessibility or education that cause barriers to your diabetes care? "Money money money" is very relevant when you have t1. I'm so frustrated by what's happening in the US right now. People are trading insulin on  Facebook because their insurance only covers a particular type. People are paying hundreds of dollars for scripts. People are dying from trying to ration their insulin to their next pay cheque. On top of that, politicians, people who make decisions, are blaming people with diabetes for their condition. They say they're not worthy of being covered by using inaccurate stereotypes of people with ...

"Diabetes can sometimes seem to play by a rulebook that makes no sense, tossing out unexpected challenges at random.  What are your best tips for being prepared when the unexpected happens?  Or, take this topic another way and tell us about some good things diabetes has brought into your, or your loved one’s, life that you never could have expected?" Happy DBlog Week! Thank you once again to Karen at Bittersweet Diabetes for running the show. I can't believe I've made it to my 5th blog week, it seems like just yesterday I started my blog in 2013, right before blog week. I was so nervous entering it as a brand new blogger. But here we are, 5 years later and I can call many of my fellow bloggers my friends.  On to the topic. I've decided to tackle this topic using the second interpretation- what good has diabetes brought to my life?  I saw this topic and went back to my old blog posts to see what I've said in the past about silver l...