Sweet and Sour- The Type 1 Diabetes Rollercoaster

It dawned on me that sometimes I glaze over aspects of diabetes,  making it seem like no big deal. Probably because pity irritates me. So here's the honest answers to some common questions Does it hurt when you prick your finger? Yes. Usually barely and only for a second, but yes it does. Sometimes it hurts for a while. Sometimes it doesn't stop bleeding and you leave a blood trail on the keys during your piano lesson. Does it hurt when you change your pump set/ inject it into your stomach? 9 times out of 10 yes. Again, it's only for a short while but when it hits a muscle you know it! Like the fingerpricks, it can vary. Sometimes you can't even feel it, other times you're left crying because it hurts so terribly. Worst case scenario you have to take it out and inject another one.... fun You're luck you're used to needles- you must find vaccinations easy! I was needle phobic when I was a kid, and I can't say I find vaccinations much fun. But ...

Making new friends means new perspectives on my diabetes and its supplies. Heres a few good ones I've heard lately: In response to the sound of my fingerpricker "Woah, man I thought that was a really angry bug!" After watching me check my level "So, where does all the blood go?" "Thought that was a remote.... THEY SHOULD MAKE IT A REMOTE TOO!" (Which nerd Bec somehow made into a harry potter reference) After asking about my diabetes necklace " Ohhh, I thought it was a fashion statement" Bonus about going to a uni full of health science nerds? They're all very curious, ask decent questions and don't make stupid assumptions (they're also Potterheads)

They're up, they're down, they're round and round. Just when you think you're stable- diabetes chucks a temper tantrum, just to remind you it's there. And thanks to this I'm slowly becoming "the weird train lady" also known as the "not at all presentable juicebox carrying uni student" Unfortunately for me I regularly catch the train in peak hours- not a pleasant experience. There's never any seats and trains that turn up at my station tend to be of the old, rattling, air-conditioning that never works variety. Team that with diabetes and you'll see where the reputation is coming from. It's just past 5.30pm and a frizzy haired, barely functioning and bag laden like a pack mule, uni student crams herself into a train. There's nothing to hold on to and the train is completely packed, no one is able to get in this carriage. You get the picture- I'm a mess and I'm being trodden on by people bigger than me. But what hap...

Types of diabetes Meeting new people has pin pointed everyone's number 1 question about type 1 diabetes: "what's the difference between type 1 and 2?" I'm not an expert, but I'll endeavour to cover some of the many (yes more than two!) types of diabetes. Type 1 Diabetes I'm going to be a narcissist and talk about my type first :) Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease- meaning that the immune system has malfunctioned in a certain way to prompt an attack on itself. Your pancreas has two main functions: 1 involves digestion, the other involves the secretion of insulin. Insulin is a hormone that allows for sugar in the blood stream to be balanced and used effectively in the body. Sugar is always present in our blood, however more is introduced when we eat carbohydrates. The role of insulin is to balance this sugar level. In type 1 diabetes the immune system has attacked the beta cells of the pancreas (the cells that produce insulin). This means that...

I've just finished my second week of uni, and it's going reasonably well. But there's something about this change that I hadn't anticipated, no one knows me. Seems obvious right? New place= new people with no idea who you are I think I've said "Hi, I'm Bec" about 20 times this past fortnight and I started wondering, why do I say Bec and not Rebecca? I think it happened like this: a) Rebecca was originally the name I introduced myself with when I was a little kid, and she was very shy and reserved b) Rebecca means I'm in trouble c) Rebecca was used by teachers who I don't know particularly well or like very much d) I had spent the past 3 years or so being called Bec by my entire year group Who knew there was so much in a name? So I had made the decision to go with a more casual variation of my name from the beginning, but next on the list was "what do I do when people ask questions about my diabetes? Am i supposed to tell them?...

Sometimes you can do everything right, and diabetes just throws you a curve ball. Why? Because that's what it does. I carb count everything, do the right amount of fingerprick checks, insulin doses- you name it I do it. I'm on top of this diabetes thing, and it was fairly smooth sailing. But that's not how diabetes plays. For the past week my levels have been rising way above the 4-7 target. I was struggling to get a level under 13 let alone 7. I've been up in the 20s for no good reason, taking double the amount of insulin I usually do, but nothing worked. There's not a nice way to say it, high blood sugar makes you feel like crap- beyond crap, crappiest crap to ever exist kind of crap. You're thirsty and nauseous and tired and grumpy and not even bothered to move because that would involve effort. They stayed up despite correction after correction,18+ and not budging on Monday night. In a last ditch attempt to avoid a hospital stay I got up again and ag...

I had a different post planned for today, but after receiving a comment on one of my other posts I felt this was a better topic. I hope this helps a few diabetics out there as well as informs everyone else about what it can be like when you're the token diabetic kid. When I was diagnosed with t1d, I went to a school that had no other diabetics.  None. Now that's changed over the years and the current group have a fairly strong support network, but I didn't.  Many things were a battle, like getting exam provisions and understanding from teachers.  But all that aside, I had an overwhelming sense of loneliness.   Those closest to you alleviate it to some extent, but they can't know exactly what it's like, because they have a fully functioning pancreas! Don't get me wrong, I'm glad they have a pancreas that does as it's told, but it gets a bit lonely. You look around at school, in the shops, anywhere and see people eating without a thought of h...