Sweet and Sour- The Type 1 Diabetes Rollercoaster

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...

Today kicks off the seventh annual Diabetes Blog Week. Thanks as always to the lovely Karen at bittersweetdiabetes.com for hosting this event. I’ll be doing the 5-day post schedule rather than 7 this year. Day One is Message Monday " Lets kick off the week by talking about why we are here, in the diabetes blog space. What is the most important diabetes awareness message to you? Why is that message important for you, and what are you trying to accomplish by sharing it on your blog? ” Interesting topic. My blog is sometimes a laugh, sometimes educational, and sometimes a massive rant-fest. But I think there’s still a common theme through all of it. No one deserves a chronic illness. No one deserves to be told they brought it on themselves. No one deserves to have such an enormous part of their life judged, minimised, or made into a joke. Like so many others I’ve heard everything you can think of about Type 1. It’s like people have no filter. “Guess you should h...

Today PM Malcolm Turnbull and Health Minister Sussan Ley have announced that if the Coalition Government is re-elected, $54 million will be put into funding CGMs (continuous glucose monitors) for people under 21. This is fantastic news for kids and families, especially in regional areas when it’s harder to access services. CGMs give peace of mind especially overnight, as they monitor blood sugar levels 24/7. When paired with certain insulin pumps they can also stop low blood sugars from happening.   CGMs mean less fingerpricks and increased safety. However at present it costs thousands of dollars per year to use them regularly. So I have never used a CGM outside of a research trial. I’m really pleased that someone is getting funding for it, I really am. But it’s also disappointing for a few reasons. This announcement feels like the government is using our health as a pawn, a vote generator. We have been petitioning for years for CGMs to be subsidised with minimal res...