Author Archives: StephenS

Hello… I’m Stephen. I live in Baltimore, Maryland, USA with The Great Spousal Unit, Maureen. I’ve been living with Type 1 Diabetes since January 1991. I’ve been a pump user since April 2010, and I’m currently wearing the Animas Vibe pump. Also wearing the Dexcom G5 continuous glucose monitor.

I found the Diabetes Online Community in the summer/fall of 2011, and that discovery has changed my life. I started this blog in April 2012, and since then, my diabetes advocacy has continued to grow. Among other achievements, I’ve attended and spoken up at FDA workshops and participated in clinical trials.

I’ve been thrilled to serve as a facilitator for the Diabetes UnConference. And I’ve been honored to volunteer for Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition. You should Google both of those.

I’m currently serving as a member of the State of Maryland’s Advisory Council on Health and Wellness, where I am co-chair of the Diabetes committee. In addition, I’m part of the 2018 Reader Panel at Diabetes Forecast magazine.

I’m always searching for the perfect balance between the highs and lows of my blood glucose level and my life… always searching for the Happy Medium.

Anything you’d like to share? Please let me know… I’d love to hear from you.

Something positive.

January 19, 2016 – 9:09 am

After so much death and sadness this past week, it feels good to do something positive.

20160116_093929
This is me, in the middle of donating blood last Saturday. This time, I donated double red blood cells. That bag you see hanging off of the machine in the background (the one that looks like it doesn’t belong) contains my plasma. Behind that was another bag that was just starting to collect my red blood cells.

Basically, the machine you see collects my blood, then separates the red blood cells from the plasma. Once it gathers enough red blood cells, it transfers those to the bag for collection. Then the plasma, along with an anti-coagulant, is pumped back into me through the same IV that took the blood out.

Does that sound creepy? Sorry. It’s actually kinda cool to me.

In case you haven’t read what I’ve written on this subject before, allow me to tell you that, if you live in the USA, and you have diabetes, and your diabetes isn’t old enough to have been treated with bovine or pork-based insulin; and you are, in the words of the American Red Cross, “well controlled on insulin or oral medications”, you may be eligible to donate blood. And I encourage you to consider doing so. You never know when it may be needed.

After this past week that included four high profile deaths due to cancer, the death of the Eagles’ Glenn Frey, and countless other deaths and injuries and infections that could have potentially been helped through a donation of my blood, I do consider it a responsibility to donate. If we’re eligible, it’s one of the easiest, most selfless things we can do.

And after a week like the one we’ve just had, it makes me feel like I’m finally doing something positive to push back against the sadness. I think that qualifies as a win-win. What do you think?
 
 
People living with diabetes may be eligible to donate blood in the United States. CLICK HERE For a full list of eligibility criteria.
 

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Somehow, diabetes is diabetes.

January 15, 2016 – 9:05 am

Edmund Burke once said, “People must be taken as they are, and we should never try to make them or ourselves better by quarreling with them“.

The same holds true for diabetes.

Regardless of what I’m involved in at the moment, good or bad, diabetes is there. Work, gym, party, driving, it doesn’t matter. Hey, I’m like everyone else… I like out of sight, out of mind thinking. But diabetes just won’t allow me to do that.

When my BGs were running low the other night, right at the end of work, I just wanted to power through it, finish up, walk to the train, and head home. But… as you can probably imagine, I wound up sucking back juice boxes, staying later, and getting home about an hour later than usual.

Part of the secret to managing diabetes, I think, is in realizing that the same diligence is required for those moments when we may not feel high or low. We might not always feel it, but we know it if we’re checking. And if we know it, and it seems like the numbers are consistently not what we need to live a healthy life, then we know we need to make changes.

And once we make the changes, then we have to deal with verifying that our changes are actually working. So that requires staying on top of the part of our diabetes management that wasn’t so perfect before the change. Maybe we need to make additional changes after the first one to get our BGs back where they need to be. That’s life, and that’s diabetes.

Burned out yet? I know, I know.

Listen, making changes is tough for me. Dealing with stress because my changes don’t seem to be working right away can make me very cranky. If there’s ever a time when I want to curse diabetes, this is it.

But… somehow, diabetes is diabetes. It doesn’t care if you’ve made changes, and it doesn’t account for how hard you’re trying. It’s really not doing anything at all. It’s requiring you to do everything. We can quarrel with this disease all we want, and then we wind up right where we were before the argument began.

Although he wasn’t speaking specifically about diabetes, Edmund Burke also said “Our patience will achieve more than our force“. I think that applies pretty well to diabetes too. It’s with us for the rest of our lives, probably. If we can make meaningful changes to our overall lives, and give it a little patience, we just might be okay after all. Doing what we can to work with our diabetes, rather than rage at our diabetes, makes us healthier. And it might just give us a chance to live longer too.

I’ll settle for that.
 

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Diabetes By The Numbers: Molly McElwee Malloy talks about TypeZero’s NIH-funded study, and its partnership with CellNovo.

January 7, 2016 – 9:20 am

Welcome to Episode Ten of Diabetes By the Numbers.

Today we have our first returning guest. It’s Molly McElwee Malloy, Head of Patient Engagement at TypeZero Technologies in Charlottesville, Virginia. TypeZero is in the news this week for two big undertakings.

First, there’s a 12.7 million dollar artificial pancreas study funded by the National Institutes of Health. It will begin very soon. In this study, they’ll be testing TypeZero’s inControl platform, using a spiffy new device:
inControlAPapplication image
Cool, right? This study will include as many as 240 participants! The studies will take place in nine locations… six in the USA, and three in Europe. To find out more about participating in this important research, scroll to the bottom of this post.

The second big piece of news is this: Type Zero is entering into a partnership with CellNovo, which makes an integrated diabetes management system in Europe. They’ve gotten a lot of good press here in the USA, and we talk about that and what this partnership means for TypeZero. Have a listen:
DBTN

Reference Material – Click below for more information on this topic

Find out more about the inControl diabetes management platform by going to the Type Zero Technologies website:
http://typezero.com

Clinical trial participants are necessary and appreciated! Though the study will take place in several locations, the overall management of the trial will be handled through the Jaeb Center for Health Research. To contact the Jaeb Center to volunteer to participate, Send an e-mail to:
info@jaeb.org

To find out more about artificial pancreas testing through the University of Virginia’s Center for Diabetes Technology, send an e-mail to:
artificialpancreas@virginia.edu

CellNovo makes a diabetes management system that includes a patch pump, an activity monitor, a hand held cell-enabled handset, and a continuous glucose monitor. Data can be shared via the cloud. To learn more about CellNovo, go to:
CellNovo.com

Follow Molly McElwee Malloy on Twitter:
@MollyMacT1D

 

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This could be a really exciting year.

January 4, 2016 – 9:21 am

I know… That headline is the kiss of death. Note that I said this could be an exciting year. And I don’t mean it could be an exciting year for me; I mean it could be an exciting year for all of us, and in diabetes in general.

2015 had its share of great moments. For me, it started with travel to Europe, then to Las Vegas for the initial Diabetes UnConference, then to Jersey City for the HealtheVoices conference. Mid year, I was able to start my own diabetes podcast, and at the end of the year I had a lot of things in the works but nothing I can talk about right now.

2015 had some good and not-so-good moments in the diabetes community. On the plus side, we got Bluetooth-enabled CGMs and the start of inhalable insulin. On the minus side, the abrupt death of Asante and the Snap insulin pump.

So… Why the optimism for 2016? I don’t know… It’s more of a feeling than it is anything else. I will, however, refer you to this wonderful post over at A Sweet Life, in which Melissa Lee talks about the most interesting things to look forward to this year. I think that’s where my optimism started.

There’s also this… April 7, World Health Day 2016, will have a special emphasis on diabetes. According to the World Health Organization’s official website, there are specific reasons for focusing on diabetes. And I’m excited about WHO’s goals for this year, which include increasing awareness about the rise in diabetes, defining a specific, effective, and affordable set of actions; and:

” Launch the first global report on diabetes, which will
describe the burden and consequences of diabetes and advocate
for better health systems to ensure improved surveillance,
enhanced prevention, and more effective management of
diabetes.”

I don’t have to tell you that this is long overdue.

In addition to the recognition by the World Health Organization, we’re also looking at important clinical trials as artificial pancreas research reaches a critical point. We’re nearing the point where the idea of glucagon that requires mixing and several steps before it’s ready to save someone’s life will be a thing of the past. And, oh yeah, it’s also an important election year here in the good old U.S. of A.

I’m truly thrilled about the difference that diabetes advocacy is making too. Diabetes Hands Foundation, Diabetes Community Advocacy Foundation, Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition, Spare A Rose, Save A Child. The list goes on and on. Yes, I truly believe that the efforts of these organizations and others have begun and will continue to make a noticeable difference in the lives of people living with this disease, just like they have up to now.

And the Diabetes Online Community is bigger than ever. That means more information, more viewpoints, more interesting ideas. I am happy and excited about the difference that social media has made and will continue to make for all of us too.

While I can’t point to much that’s tangible right now, I have to admit to being really jazzed about what will happen in diabetes in 2016. Let’s hope that everything we hope for comes to pass this year. I look forward to celebrating it with you.
 

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Why I don’t worry about December anymore.

December 29, 2015 – 9:08 am

I know there will be a lot of newspaper articles, TV reports, and yes, blog posts in the coming weeks giving us the latest and greatest ways to get in shape and eat better in 2016. To which I say: Great! Bring it on! I’ll be ready for it.

But I’m not ready right now.

The avalanche of stories about resolutions and how to keep them used to make me feel like I must have lived poorly over the previous months, whether I had or had not. The truth is that feeling guilty doesn’t make me feel motivated. It makes me feel guilty.

Instead, I now look at December like a chance to get a head start on fitness and diet goals. I no longer look at the month with dread about having to deny myself of everything, or that I’ll be sunk if I don’t get to the gym every day. Now I think of each day this month as an opportunity. No, really, I do.

I look at the few days here and there in December that I can work out as add-ons to my January, February, and March workouts. Like I’m starting the process early, even if it’s only in a small way. The same thing applies with food. I’ve definitely had moments when I’ve eaten too much. Who doesn’t? But that’s been tempered somewhat by soup and salad dinners, and days when I don’t eat anything extra at all.

And then… I try to give myself a break. I’m sick of being too hard on myself and feeling like an abject failure come January. Knowing myself, I know that cutting myself some slack, plus doing what I can, when I can, makes December a much happier month.

I’ve been far from perfect in December. But I have had good moments too. And now I’m in a good place, physically and mentally, to pick up the pace in the new year. I hope your December has been great so far, and your 2016 starts on a great note.
 

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