Category Archive

Tuesday night’s tweet chat (splendidly moderated by Kim, who I think it is fair to say has become an expert at herding the kittens of #OzDOC) was all about the ‘what we’re told’ versus the reality of life with diabetes.

We have guidelines, we have evidence, we have best practise. All of these things are important. They provide gold standards.

Then, we have life. And everything gets thrown out the window.

Everyone (diabetes or no diabetes) uses short cuts and life hacks in their day-to-day life. These are accepted and understood to be necessary in cutting through the every day. Saving time and energy makes sense – we’re all busy!

And those of us with diabetes get to add chronic health condition management on top of everything else! We know what the guidelines say; we know what the posters in the waiting rooms tell us; we hear the words our HCPs use about management of diabetes.

But the reality? A lot of the time we ignore it all and do what we can; despite what we know.

Here’s what I know.

• I know how frequently I ‘should’ change my pen needle (if on shots)
• I know how frequently I ‘should’ change my pump line
• I know how frequently I ‘should’ change my lancet
• I know that I ‘should’ eat a low GI breakfast each morning
• I know how frequently I ‘should’ see my HCPs
• I know I ‘should not’ consider chocolate a food group (or Nutella. Or coffee.)
• I know how many times a day I ‘should’ check my BGL
• I know the times throughout the day I ‘should’ check my BGL
• I know I ‘should’ get my HbA1c checked every three months
• I know how many days I ‘should’ leave my CGM sensor in
• I know where I ‘should’ site my pump cannula and sensor
• I know I ‘should’ carry emergency diabetes supplies in case my pump fails
• I know how I ‘should’ treat a low blood sugar.

But here’s what else I know.

There is no place for ‘should’ in diabetes management. There is ‘this is what I do’. And that – THAT – is good enough!

It’s Friday! Check out this great string quartet playing a bit of Vivaldi (and Mozart and Weill).

It’s T minus 60 minutes. Cataract surgery number two is about to happen and you’d think that I’d be far more relaxed second time around. Not so much. In fact, this time I have the expectation of tomorrow morning’s reveal as an added pressure. Will the result be as good as the last one? And more pressingly, will the headache that I’ve had for pretty much the last four weeks be gone?

I’m in the swanky waiting room of the day surgery centre. If it wasn’t for the anxious looking people sitting around me I could be in the foyer of a hotel. Alas, instead of sidling up to the bar for a vodka, lime and soda, I’m waiting for my name to be called by a nurse.

The pre-surgery process is always the same: brief description if what will happen next; introduction to the nurse looking after me for the next couple of hours; hand over your private health insurance details; confirm there will be someone with me after the surgery.

And now we wait.

I can feel my breathing quickening. My palms are sweaty. I’m trying to not think about the incision that will be made in my eye to remove the cloudy, cataract-riddled lens. I’m cursing that in a fit of stupid bravado I asked my ophthalmologist for a detailed description if the surgery when I went in for a check up last week. I’m psyching myself up for the conversation with the anaesthetist ‘Yes, I DO, want a general. Yes, you can call me a princess.

And now, I’m sitting in my lovely theatre gear (trying not to expose my arse), with my lovely husband gently reassuring me. I look out the window and think that tomorrow I’ll be able to enjoy those colours in their full brightness and sharpness. That’s what I’m holding onto right now. The hope of tomorrow’s vision.

Did I mention that December was going to be a busy month? I think I may have. I’ve had grand plans of recapping some of the incredible things that have happened – especially that World Diabetes Congress. However, time, life and a medical procedure got the better of me.

Right now, I’m recovering from cataract surgery. Actually that’s not completely true. The surgery is well and truly over and recovery took all of about 15 hours which was when the patch came off and I was told to just do everything as usual. I’m now dealing with one ‘good eye’ (the one without the cataract) and one ‘bad eye’ (cataract still there for another 17 days). The mismatch has resulted in headaches pretty much all the time. Staring at a computer is difficult at best.

I’d also had a grand plan of recapping the year that was, but given that this post has been written in two minute spurts over the last week, I think that I’ll take the easy way out and do this.

Farewell 2013. This was the year there was new stuff. There was also some old stuff (namely me turning the big four – oh….no!)

There were visits to new places. And return visits to places that I love.

New York, New York.

There were online friends and in-real life friends, and there was family.

Online and in-real-life friends.

There were lovely times; fun times, shoe times and silly times. There were scary times. And there was the hardest, saddest, most terrible time ever.

There was recovery and light at the end of the tunnel.

There was music. There’s always music.

Always music…..

And there was hope. Because there is always hope.

It was another year of life. And diabetes. And tomorrow – it starts all over again. New.

My best wishes and love to you all for the coming year. Thank you for reading and for commenting. I’ll see you (really see you – with no-cataract-eyes) in 2014.

Last year on a cold July night, the first OzDOC gathering was held in a small Melbourne restaurant. From little things, big things grow!  Now, 18 months into our OzDOC world, we have held almost 80 chats and are continuing to enjoy growing numbers of people from the DOC from all over the globe. We love it when joining folks from all corners of Australia, we find our Nigerian DOC friends tweeting alongside us, or someone from France or the UK joining in, or some of our US buddies bleary-eyed tweeting as they get in their first caffeine hit for the day. Did we say global?

The World Diabetes Congress hits Melbourne in a couple of weeks, and we thought what better opportunity to celebrate OzDOC than with a meet up and tweet up! This way, we get to see each other IRL (that’s In Real Life for those who don’t speak Twitterese) and then have our regular Tuesday night OzDOC tweetchat.

So – if you’re going to be in Melbourne for the World Diabetes Congress, or even if you can just get to Melbourne for the get-together, please come along. Here are the details:

Tuesday 3 December

7.00pm (OzDOC chat kicks off at its regular time of 8.30pm)

Aria Bar and Lounge at the Langham Hotel

1 Southgate Ave. Southbank

RSVP: www.facebook.com/OzDiabetesOC

Don’t forget to wear blue!

And if you’re not yet on Twitter and part of the OzDOC chats, why not come along anyway and hang out with us? We’re a fun group, diabetes is only ever part of the dialogue and it’s a great chance to meet others who ‘get it’. And while you’re there, I bet we can get you hooked on our weekly chat!

Make sure you get all there is to know about OzDOC

TWITTER: @OzDiabetesOC and #OzDOC

FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/OzDiabetesOC

The next couple of months are going to be the very definition of the word busy. There is so much going on that breathing will definitely be a luxury.  I’m not talking about the everyday things that happen as part of regular life and work. I’m talking about some big stuff! With diabetes being in the spotlight from now until the middle of December, here are some dates for your diary that are also in mine.

WORLD DIABETES DAY – 14 November

There are always lots of activities on and around World Diabetes Day – keep an eye out on your local Diabetes Australia website to see. In Victoria alone, we have things happening for most of the week – many of which you can come along to.

And don’t forget to do the BIG BLUE TEST every day from now until WDD to help people with diabetes in need.

TAKE STEPS FOR GOOD HEALTH – 1 December

This exciting new event is the perfect way to kick off Summer. A fun run/ walk around the Tan followed by a picnic in the park. I’ve committed to do the 8km walk (stop you laughing now). I’ll be buying new runners in honour of this exercising achievement! Register now!

WORLD DIABETES CONGRESS – 2 – 6 December

The eyes of the global diabetes world will be firmly on Melbourne as the International Diabetes Federation brings its World Diabetes Congress to our great city. There is no better opportunity to hear about the latest and greatest in diabetes research and technology. And what better place to catch up with cyberspace and real-life diabetes friends. Details are here – including how to register for the special consumer price of just $99 per day. I’ll be there chairing a session and doing some presentations. Make sure you find me!

I hope to see you at many of these events. It’s going to be great having diabetes front and centre in many people’s minds.

Living with diabetes is not always a solo exercise. At times, I wonder how it impacts on those around me. I asked my friend and colleague Michael about this last week. We work together every day and while we rarely (if ever) talk about my life with diabetes, he does see me managing things the way I do. These are his thoughts….

Michael. Sans hat.

As a Director at Diabetes Australia – Vic, I have to deal with many different types of relationships, each requiring one of my many hats. (Ed. note: It’s true – he does wear hats around the office. Literally.) I work in an office dominated by very smart women and often find myself putting my foot in my mouth more than once or twice a day. This is no exception with Renza. (Ed. note: Yep!) Renza is a good friend, and the only real friend I have who is living with a chronic health condition. Throughout the life of our three year friendship (is that how long I have been working here?!) I have often found it difficult to decide on the appropriate level of support she needs from me.

I believe in natural justice – when something is wrong, all my sympathetic, problem-solving (buffoon male) triggers start coming alive. There have been times when I know Renza is hypo and I literally have to stop myself in my tracks to think, ‘Is that what she really wants, my sympathy?’ And the answer is no. Renza is a strong and confident woman who can handle anything that comes her way and she needs my sympathy about as much as she needs a bag of old potatoes.

What I have to remember is that, like many other people living with diabetes, Renza benefits more from my empathy than anything else. Simple understanding and acknowledgement of her condition rather than a patronising helping hand or, even worse, the use of apathy as a scapegoat. Yes, sometimes it’s easier to just outright ignore a topic to avoid your own inner anguish, but that’s just counterproductive (and pathetic)! Sometimes, asking a simple ‘Are you okay today?’ is all it takes.

As a friend of someone with diabetes, I know that diabetes is not a topic to be ignored or to be scared of. Yes, diabetes is a very real and serious. It should be recognised as such, but, at the same time, for Renza it is very manageable. I know this because in my friend is in control of her diabetes – there has never been a day when diabetes has controlled my friend.

Thanks, MG! You can read more from Michael over at the DA-Vic blog. That’s pretty much exactly how I hoped that I come across to others about my attitude towards living with diabetes. So, how do you think others see what your life with diabetes is all about?  

Diabetes Australia is in the running to receive funding from the EFTPOS giveback. Each year, EFTPOS provides funding to charities working with Australian communities.

Can you take a few moments to vote for Disease Prevention, Management and Medical Research, nominating ‘Diabetes Australia’ as your charity of choice?

Voting is easy!

Go to the EFTPOS Giveback site here, and follow the instructions. You can vote by either using your Facebook login or entering your email. All up, it will take three minutes. Remember to vote for Disease Prevention, Management and Medical Research. Don’t forget to write ‘Diabetes Australia’ in the text box.

And once you’ve voted, send the link to everyone you have ever met with the above instructions. It’s good karma folks and will held Diabetes Australia develop an exciting new online platform to help people better manage diabetes.

Disclaimer

I am employed by Diabetes Australia – Vic and also have a National Program Leader position with Diabetes Australia.