Monthly Archives: May 2013

#DBlogWeek – Day Two. Let’s write a petition!

May 14, 2013 – 8:49 am

diabetes-blog-week

We’re right in the middle of Diabetes Blog Week! Myself and many others are posting for 7 (seven!) straight days. Haven’t heard of Diabetes Blog Week? Get the lowdown by clicking on the banner above. Now, on to today’s subject:

Recently various petitions have been circulating the Diabetes Online Community, so today let’s pretend to write our own. Tell us who you would write the petition to – a person, an organization, even an object (animate or inanimate) – get creative!! What are you trying to change and what have you experienced that makes you want this change? (Thanks to Briley of inDpendence for this topic suggestion.)

Why yes, I do have an idea for a petition. I would like to see our community as a whole petition the Transportation Security Administration for some changes to their airport screening procedures. Among the changes I would propose:

– Providing agents with clear, up-to-date information on insulin pumps, continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), meters, and durable medical supplies. Including pictures.

– Finding efficiencies in the pump/CGM screening process. If everything goes well, we have to stand (while our traveling companions wait) as we touch our devices, then get them and the devices swabbed. Then the swabbage gets checked out with a machine that tells us whether there is any explosive residue anywhere. To begin with, this takes too long. It also saps resources that might be better used in another part of the screening process. You don’t have time to check for knives and scissors, but you have time to swab my pump and my hands and question me about something that many travelers wear every day? How is that helping to find potential terrorists?

– Providing advocacy for all affected travelers. This is remarkably important. If you’re “randomly selected for additional screening”, once you go beyond the security door, you’re on your own. Why? Is this still America (at least where I live)? Can’t I at least have an advocate in my court who can let my traveling companions know what’s going on? How about an advocate that is well versed in what is appropriate behavior, language, procedures, etc., so I don’t have to be every time I fly? An advocate who, in the event of hypoglycemia during the screening, can advocate on my behalf so I can get access to my juice boxes, Glucolifts, or Honey Stingers?

– And while we’re at it, how about requiring a specific level of training for TSA staff? Meaning, all TSA staff? I’m still waiting for the first time that I’m handled the same way in the screening process on both ends of a round trip flight. I shouldn’t be told to go through the metal detector at one airport, then through the full body scanner in another. I shouldn’t be told that I don’t have to remove my medical supplies from my carry on in one airport, then get yelled at for not removing it from my carry on in another airport on my trip home. TSA staff must be more consistent in how they handle everyone, including People With Diabetes.

So that’s it… Clear information. More efficiency when screening our devices. Advocacy for travelers (why does a murderer get an attorney when they need one, but travelers aren’t represented at all in the screening process?). Specific, consistent training for TSA screeners. That’s fair. And it’s not a lot to ask for. It would help us all to feel better while at the same time feeling safer.
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Diabetes Blog Week | Tagged , , , , | Comments (7)

#DBlogWeek – Day One. To share or not to share?

May 13, 2013 – 8:50 am

diabetes-blog-week

Yay!!! Diabetes Blog Week has officially begun. Myself and many others will be posting for the next 7 (seven!) days. Haven’t heard of Diabetes Blog Week? Get the lowdown by clicking on the banner above. Now, on to the first day’s subject:

Often our health care team only sees us for about 15 minutes several times a year, and they might not have a sense of what our lives are really like. Today, let’s pretend our medical team is reading our blogs. What do you wish they could see about your and/or your loved one’s daily life with diabetes? On the other hand, what do you hope they don’t see?

Well, um… my endocrinologist already reads my blog. Not every day, but enough that if I post something about a terrible low, for instance, I’ll probably get an e-mail within the next week or so.

What do I wish she, and my primary doctor could see about my daily life with diabetes? Probably that my life isn’t perfect, but I’m living. And I’m living a pretty good life. Sure, there are tough days, but I keep on going. It’s not the tough days that define me. It’s getting back up after I’ve been knocked down by this disease that means everything. And if I’m having a hard time getting my BG up into the hundreds or down into the hundreds, it doesn’t always mean I’m screwing up. Sometimes it means I’d be even worse off if I wasn’t trying so hard.

But honestly, when it comes to me and my endo, there’s not much I don’t share. What? What’s that? You’re honest and open with your endo? In what world does this happen?

It happens in a world where your doctor speaks your language. Where your doctor wants to hear what’s going on with you… so if updates are needed in your care, you can discuss them. It happens in an atmosphere where the object of an appointment is both to measure how you’re doing and to discuss what to do in the future to make you better. Such a universe does exist, and I encourage you to find it if you haven’t already.

Now, what do I hope my medical team doesn’t see? I hope my doctors don’t see how concerned I am about my weight. I’m doing what I can to keep from gaining, but my metabolism just isn’t helping me these days. Still, I’m doing what I can. But I could use the help of a dietician. I’m still eating a lot of junk. Anyway, that’s probably the top of the list.

Other than that, my medical team pretty much knows everything. And that’s good. My doctors can help the most when they know the most. It goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway), two-way discussion without making a patient feel guilty is worth its weight in gold. Hope your medical team is 14 karat spectacular!
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Diabetes Blog Week | Tagged , , , , | Comments (9)

Don’t miss these events!!!

May 10, 2013 – 9:25 am

Just want to ask for a couple of minutes of your time today, so I can remind you about two Must-Dos (if you Can-Do them) next week and the week after.

Monday begins the fourth annual Diabetes Blog Week, hosted by Karen Graffeo at Bitter-Sweet Diabetes. Every day from Monday through Sunday you’ll get a different subject to write about. There are also a couple of wild card subjects just in case a day’s topic leaves you stumped. Each day you’ll publish on that day’s subject, then link your post over at Karen’s.

Perhaps the best part about D-Blog Week is the fact that you’ll get to read and discover others like yourself who are out there telling their stories too. It’s a fun, eye-opening week of discovery and, of course, blogging. Don’t miss it!
http://www.bittersweetdiabetes.com/2013/05/diabetes-blog-week.html
 
 
The following week, on Tuesday, May 21, the first annual all-virtual Diabetes Hope Conference will take place. It all begins at Noon eastern time, 11 a.m. central, 10 a.m. mountain time, and 9 a.m. on the left coast.

They’ll be using Google Hangouts to live stream discussions between panelists. They’ll be taking questions from participants via Twitter… use the hashtag #dHopeConf. If you’re not available then, I’ve found out that it will be recorded and available later via YouTube. Panelists will include (are you ready for this?): Manny Hernandez, Emily Coles, Mike Lawson, Dr. Bruce S. Trippe, Dr. Steven Maynard, George Simmons, Kerri Sparling, and Karen Graffeo (who apparently gets one day of rest after D-Blog Week).

I’m thinking there will be a lot of super discussion involved when that group gets together. You can register for the Diabetes Hope Conference here:
http://www.diabeteshopeconference.com/

That’s it for now. I’ve got to get crackin’ on those D-Blog Week posts…

Have a great weekend!
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Like these links | Tagged , , , | Comments (1)

No More Strips!

May 9, 2013 – 8:09 am

Long story short: I ran out of test strips for my Accu-Chek® Nano meter yesterday.

How has my life gotten so busy that I let myself run out of test strips without refilling my prescription?

I think that this may be my form of diabetes burnout. I’ve got to admit it: I’m growing tired of making doctor appointments, going to doctor appointments, remembering to carry all of the stuff I have to carry when I leave the house, and yes, refilling prescriptions.

The thing is, I think I do a pretty good job of taking care of my diabetes when I have everything I need. When I’m fully stocked up with drugs and durable medical supplies, everything is great. When I’ve just finished my latest round of doctor appointments and next quarter’s appointments are already on the calendar, no problem.

But right now, thanks to some extra work, a trip here and there, working out more, and a couple more extras in my personal life, my schedule seems to have moved into the cray-cray stage right now.

Or so it seems. Actually, I think this may be just a symptom of the fact that I haven’t caught up to my schedule yet. In other words, I’m probably more than capable of handling everything on my plate. But I haven’t quite ramped up the discipline to my schedule to the degree that I remain stocked and appointed properly.

I’ll be okay in the short run– I’ll be using my old Bayer Contour® meter until my new prescription comes in for the Nano. And this gives me a chance to finally break out the Contour NextLink meter that Medtronic sent me a while back. So it’s not all bad, though my BG tests may be “23 percent less accurate” for a few days.

If I’ve ever felt diabetes burnout, or been close to diabetes burnout in the past few years, it’s at times like this. But like all bumps in the road with this sucky condition we have, I have to do my best until I get the ship righted again. Because really, do I have another choice?
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Diabetes | Tagged , , | Comments (5)

Slow and Steady.

May 6, 2013 – 10:44 am

It’s getting to be crunch time in my training for athletic (I use that term very loosely) events coming up this year. In a couple of weeks, it’s an ADA Tour de Cure 55 mile bike ride. A month later, a sprint triathlon, and about three weeks after that, a 5K run.

As expected, I’m finding the training more difficult this year. Partly, that’s because I’m another year older. Partly, it’s because I haven’t had to train this hard at this time of year for a few years. And partly, it’s because I’ve been sick off and on over the last 5 months or so, making a regular training schedule a pipe dream. Oh, and let’s not forget a much colder than usual Spring this year, making outdoor workouts harder to accomplish.

None of this is an excuse, of course. Ordinarily, I’d be very concerned that I wouldn’t be able to turn in stellar times or rise to the challenge when these events happen. Ordinarily, I’d still be planning out my strategy for turning in the best times or finishing as high on the board as possible.

But I think I may have reached a point in my life where just competing, and just finishing these events mean more to me than winning (which I never did anyway), or turning in personal records.

When I ride in a couple of weeks, I want to enjoy the scenery a little while I’m pedaling down the road. I don’t have an all-consuming desire to hang with the leaders as long as I can (usually only about 10 miles) before slipping off and working at my own tough but slower pace. I still want to get the distance in, and I do not want to finish last… that part of my competitive steak is still intact.

But I really want to relish my participation in these events while I’m still in decent enough shape to enjoy them.

Let somebody else burn up the road. This time, I’m happy being the slow and steady tortoise.
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Exercise | Tagged , , | Comments (2)