Diabetogenic

The power of insulin

February 13, 2015 in Diabetes, DOC | 4 comments

Until I was given insulin, I never fully understood how powerful drugs could be.

I had walked into the endocrinologist’s office carrying a bottle of water I needed to refill every 15 minutes which coincided with how frequently I needed to find a loo so I could pee. I could barely see – I was always squinting, trying to focus the constant blur through half-open eyes.

That evening, I was given my first insulin injection. And the following day, I learnt how to do it myself.

Within 24 hours, the thirst had gone as had the need to constantly ‘mark my territory’. My vision was already starting to return to normal. The lethargy that had crept over me for the previous week was lifting and I wasn’t falling asleep every time I sat down.

My body, which the day before had been slowly, painfully, dying, came back to life.

I was given a prescription for a couple of different sorts of insulin and got them filled at our local pharmacy. I was given a list of things to buy and I walked into Diabetes Australia and bought them. Both these purchases were heavily subsidised by our Government.

And over the last almost-seventeen years, every time I’ve needed insulin, or strips, or pump consumables or anything else to do with diabetes, it has been as simple as that – a phone call, a pop into a shop or even, a mail delivery.

This is what living with diabetes in a developed country looks like.

It’s not perfect; some people struggle to cover costs despite the subsidies, but insulin is available, consumables are available. And there is assistance to help people as much as possible.

Around there world, there are many places where this is not the case.

I have written about Spare a Rose, Save a Child many, many times over recent months, and I am doing it again today. Because we can do something to address the need for diabetes medicines and supplies in places where access is difficult – and sometimes almost non-existent.

We don’t need to feel guilty about having easy access to insulin and diabetes supplies – that’s not the aim of this campaign. All we are doing is acknowledging that there are places in the world where it is not as simple to access what is needed to manage diabetes, and that we can do something to help level the playing field.

Six dollars. One month. More if you can.

Go!

Getting my craft on!

Harry Connick Jr. and a Big Band. What more do you need for a Friday afternoon?

Unconnected

February 12, 2015 in Devices, Diabetes, technology | 3 comments

Without opening my eyes – without really waking up – I reached under the covers, searching. It wasn’t there.

I ran my hand ran across my abdomen. Right…over my bellybutton…left. There it was. I found what I was looking for. Or rather, I didn’t find it.

My eyes flew open and I sat up.

Where was my pump? It wasn’t attached to me. I felt the little knob of my infusion set, but the smooth disc that connects it to my pump was absent.

There was a dry feeling in my mouth and my head was fuzzy. I continued searching amongst the tangled bed sheets until I located my pump. It was lying on the very edge of the bed, almost falling off. I reconnected it and started to assess the damage.

How long had I been unconnected? Disconnected? Not attached?

It was about 3am. We’d had a late night and by the time sleep came, it was well after midnight. I guessed that I’d been separated from my pump for about two hours. Not as bad as it could have been, but long enough.

I checked my BGL and discovered it was creeping up into the mid-teens, which explained the dry mouth. ‘Oh,’ I thought ‘And the need to pee.’

I got up, threw on a t-shirt and, pump in hand, went to the bathroom and then stopped by the kitchen to chug two long glasses of water.

Cherry, our cat, wound her way around my bare legs, pleased for company, as I stood over the sink, looking out the window into the dark garden. A wave of nausea rushed over me. Breathing deeply, I contemplated taking an anti-nausea tablet, but the feeling had passed. I stumbled back to bed after giving myself a correction bolus.

By the time I woke up in the morning, my BGL was in range and the dry feeling had gone, my head was clear. Crisis averted.

I am usually really diligent about reconnecting my pump if, for whatever reason, I remove it. I am particularly conscientious about it at bedtime because I am a notoriously heavy sleeper and the likelihood of me sleeping through climbing BGLs is high (as will be my BGL by the time I eventually do wake!). This is especially an issue when not wearing my CGM and there are no warning alarms to wake either me or (more typically) my husband.

This was the case last night. No CGM (I don’t want to talk about how I accidently ripped out my last senor AFTER ONLY 6 DAYS as I was getting dressed), no alarms. Just a pump lying dormant; dripping insulin onto the mattress instead of into me.

This week marks 14 years of wearing a pump. For over 5,000 days I have had this device attached to me for pretty much 24 hours a day. You would think that I simply would never fall asleep without it safely attached to me

And yet, I did. Because as much as having diabetes is part of my DNA, robot parts are always extra.

I got up and ready for work, and as I was driving in I realised that I’d forgotten to put on a couple of the enamel bangles I wear most days – especially when I am in all black, as I am today. Perhaps I’m just having a forgetful day, I thought, and weighed up the option of turning the car around. I decided that having forgotten my life-saving medical device at home would probably be accepted as an excuse for being extra late, however forgetting to accessorise would probably not. I proceeded to work, my arms unadorned.

One of my lovely and clever work colleagues came to the rescue though, and, MacGyver-ed me up a solution using nothing put coloured post it notes and sticky tape.

Once again, crisis averted.

Every step

February 11, 2015 in Diabetes, Wellbeing | 1 comment

Last night, my husband and I went to see Sting and Paul Simon in concert together. It was three hours of fantastic music, two phenomenal bands on stage and trips down memory lane as they played classics dating from …okay, let’s not think about when they dated from.

There were many highlights – how could there not be – but one of them was during the encore when the two of them sang ‘Every Step You Take’.

I’ve always loved this song, despite its connotations of stalking.

But as I danced and sang along at the top of my voice (unpleasant for those within listening range), I heard the lyrics in a different context.

This song is about diabetes. (Well, maybe Sting didn’t intend it to be when he wrote it, but in my warped mind where diabetes constantly appears even when I’m not looking for it, I say the song is about diabetes.)

At times, diabetes intrudes on every part of my life. And it watches and it responds to everything. Every step, every move, every breath – it reacts.

And every vow I break? Every time I miss a diabetes task, deliberately or because I just simply can’t do face it, results in a correlating response from diabetes – going low, going high and everything that then brings.

At those times, it does seem like I belong to it; that diabetes dictates and makes all the rules.

It is actually pretty dire when I think about it.

Unless I turn it around. What about if it is me watching diabetes? What about if I am the one who is watching and responding and reacting and making confident decisions?

I see just how much better I am mentally since feeling that I am back in the driver’s seat. Having the emotional capacity to be in this position was the first step, and once firmly seated, my confidence has started to return. And with that, my ability to simply deal with the tasks at hand.

It is not that I am seeing perfect numbers on my meter (that would be a cure). But I am seeing numbers on my meter. And that is a huge step.

Plus when the numbers are out of target – oh-so-freaking-frequently – I shrug, fix it and move on.

I’m watching. And with every breath, every move, every step, I am making progress.

Sugar Sugar

February 10, 2015 in Food, Reblog from Diabetes Australia - Vic | Leave a comment

There is a new film about to released about sugar, healthy food and confusing food messaging. I attended a preview screening brigh and early this morning and wrote about it for the Diabetes Australia – Vic blog. Have a read here!

that sugar film

Blood red roses

February 9, 2015 in Awareness, Diabetes, DOC | 4 comments

This morning, just before stepping into the shower, I pulled out my cannula planning to resite once I was dried off.

I got in the shower, a million things going through my mind: (How is it Monday? I feel like I’ve hardly had a weekend. Oh, that’s right; I’ve hardly had a weekend- I worked Friday night and all-day Saturday. What does the kidlet have on at school today? Is it art? We need to buy dog food. Did I organise for the kidlet to sleep over at my parents tomorrow when Aaron and I see Sting? STING!!!!! I love Sting. How AWESOME was it to see Sting last Thursday night at Bennett’s? I want coffee. What’s the weather going to be today? I should download ‘Mozart in the Jungle.’ Sting tomorrow – yay! Oh – I need to keep promoting Spare a Rose, Save a Child this week because it’s Valentine’s Day on Saturday. Sting tomorrow night….)

And then I looked down and saw that the water pooling at my feet was bright, bright red. It took me a moment to realise what was going on – my head was still thinking Spare A Rose and Sting – and in that time, I watched the swirling pattern the red water was making as it moved around me and made its way down the drain.

Involuntarily, my right hand flew to my right side. I looked down and saw the blood gushing from where, just a few moments ago, I’d removed the cannula.

I pressed hard to stem the flow of blood, my hand getting covered with red.

The blood stopped pretty quickly. The water at the bottom of the shower turned from the Russian Red colour of the MAC lippie I wear most days, to pink, to clear again.

Of course, I didn’t lose all that much blood. But it looked pretty impressive. And I thought about how nonchalant and calm I am when things like this happen.

I continued with my shower, my mind drifting again, thinking about how the word ‘sting’ is frequently used in diabetes marketing materials. And then thinking about the Sting gig tomorrow night. And then thinking about blood. And the slight sting I could feel where I’d been bleeding. And roses. My thoughts were all muddled. But I knew that there was something tying them all together. I just couldn’t work out what it was.

It wasn’t until I was standing at the café near work waiting for my morning coffee that it hit me. I remembered an obscure Sting song from a compilation album of pirate songs and sea shanties. Sting sang one song on there. And it was called Blood Red Roses. I’ve not heard that song for years and as soon as I got to work I found it on YouTube and played it.

Sting and roses. That pretty much sums up this week.

Only a few days until Valentine’s Day, but plenty of time for you to Spare a Rose and Save a Child. Remember, for the price of one little rose, you can provide a month’s worth of insulin and save the life of a child.

Sting with Jo Lawry at Bennett’s Lane last Thursday night.

Call me irresponsible – or why we need to talk about diabetes-related eating disorders

February 6, 2015 in Awareness, Diabetes, Mental health, Stigma, Wellbeing | 13 comments

Last year, I wrote a piece for Mamamia’s health and beauty site The Glow about diabetes-related eating disorders, specifically insulin omission, manipulation or restriction for the purpose of weight loss. This is sometimes known as ‘diabulimia’.

This morning, when I checked my Facebook feed, I was really pleased to see that Mamamia had reposted an edited version of the piece on their website. Raising awareness of this issue is, in my opinion, really important, so to see it in mainstream media is a very positive step.

I am dismayed, although not really surprised, at some of the comments following the reposting of this piece. Today’s comments echo those that followed the original post in November last year.

Some commenters have called both me as the author and Mamamia irresponsible for writing about, and then publishing, the post.

I refute that and have done so ever since I started doing work in the area of diabetes and eating disorders more than seven years ago. This wasn’t some self-serving project that I started. I started this work – which including seeking funding to conduct research and developing a consumer resource – because it was clear that it was an issue of concern for many people living with type 1 diabetes. More so, many people who were in fact manipulating insulin to lose weight

The first time I presented our research and the resource we developed (in close consultation with people living with diabetes) at a healthcare professional conference, I was met with some resistance. One HCP stood up and told me that we had just written a ‘how to’ guide – that is, we were showing people with type 1 diabetes just how they could use insulin manipulation to lose weight. She said that she would not be promoting the resource.

And this is the gist of some of the comments on the Mamamia Facebook page today.

I maintain that this thinking is seriously flawed in many ways. It is assuming that only a small number of people are engaging in this practice and that not many people know about it. It suggests that the resource – which focuses on how to begin to discuss the issues and where to find help – is the first time that people reading it will have heard about insulin manipulation for weight loss.

However, this is just not true. The research conducted by Diabetes Australia – Vic in 2008 showed that 60 per cent of respondents (women with type 1 diabetes aged between 18 and 35 years) had omitted or restricted insulin at some point to control weight. And of those, one third did so on a daily basis. This finding was consistent with international research.

That’s not a tiny number.

So why do I think we should be openly talking about this issue? There are so many reasons.

When we don’t talk about things in an open and safe way they go underground. People start to feel that they are the only ones doing it and subsequently don’t talk about it. They feel isolated, shamed, stigmatised and unsure where to go for help.

We need to be talking about it so that HCPs understand that this is a serious and common issue – and to develop strategies to regularly screen for these behaviours and assist people who are engaged in this practice.

The research showed that health professionals working with people with diabetes are ill-equipped to deal with diabetes-related eating disorders. In fact, the same research showed that 85 per cent of those surveyed had never even been approached by a healthcare professional about insulin manipulation, and of those almost 60 per cent reported manipulating insulin for weight loss

We are wasting precious time and energy debating whether or not we should be talking about ‘diabulimia’. Instead, our focus should be on how we talk about it and what we do to treat it. We should be removing shame and stigma so that people with diabetes don’t feel embarrassed or fear judgement if they tell their HCP that they are manipulating insulin to lose weight. We should be removing barriers that prevent people seeking help.

I would argue that in this case being irresponsible has nothing to do with trying to shed light on diabetes-related eating disorders. I believe it is irresponsible to think that not speaking about it – not highlighting it as a serious issue – is that same as actually doing something about it.

So today, I urge you to share the article with your networks and start and contribute to discussions. Don’t sweep this under the carpet. Talk about it. Get it out there.

Sting is in Melbourne at the moment, getting ready to do a couple of concerts. Last night, he just happened to pop into Bennett’s Lane in Melbourne and sang a song with Adelaide musician Jo Lawry who is in his band. Here they are together singing one of my favourite Sting songs ‘Whenever I Say Your Name’.

Secret messages

February 5, 2015 in Awareness, Diabetes, Wellbeing | Leave a comment

I discovered my love of Kate Spade New York on one of our trips to the Big Apple. Wandering around Soho, we came across the whimsical corner store and in I went. I was hooked by the quirky, fun, stylish clothes and the beautiful accessories.

Since then, I’ve bought a couple of bags and some other accessories. My favourites of all the Kate Spade things I own are the gorgeous jingly-jangly bangles. I have at least one on most days, coordinating – or violently clashing – with whatever else I am wearing, frequently livening up my ‘Melbourne-Girl-Black’.

But the thing I love most about them is the secret message imprinted on the inside of each bangle. I actually didn’t know about these inscriptions until quite recently when it was pointed out to me by one of their sales staff.

For years, I’d been wearing them without knowing that there was a cute or inspirational or just plain silly little message concealed away. The inscriptions says thing like ‘It’s written in the stars’ or ‘Life’s a breeze’ or ‘Here comes the sun’. But they are hidden away. No one would ever know.

People are often surprised to learn that I have diabetes. (There was one time that a certain former Health Minister who may or may not now be PM – for a few more days anyway – looked surprised when told that I have diabetes and responded with ‘Really? You don’t look diabetic’.)

I’m not sure what people with diabetes are meant to look like. I have dozens and dozens of friends with diabetes and I’m yet to find the common characteristic or style that we all have in common. You can’t ‘tell a person with diabetes’ just by looking at them. Despite what Sarah Wilson says.

I was reminded of this the other day when I caught up with a friend I’d not seen for some time. Facebook updates have kept me across what she has been up to, but I was surprised when she told me that she had been having a really tough time, ‘diabetically-speaking’.

She didn’t tell me what had been going on until we’d been speaking for some time, talking about the great things she has been doing at work, a recent trip to Queensland and plans for a further family holiday to the U.S. We spoke about my family holiday and we chatted about our kids heading back to school.

And then she told me the rest of what she had been managing and it was huge. I looked at her and then said four stupid words ‘But you look fine.‘

I immediately apologised. Of course she looks fine. Diabetes is invisible, even at its nastiest. I think of the most horrid diabetes things I’ve had to deal with and they are relatively minor. Yet even at the most difficult of times, most people don’t know. Unless I tell them.

If I had a secret message inside of me which explained my ‘diabetes state of mind’, it would change every day. Most of the time it would be probably say something like ‘Yep, it’s still there!’ And nothing more. But other times it would say ‘today is tough’ or ‘I want off this BGL roller coaster’ or ‘I don’t want to do this anymore’. Because that is how I feel inside some days.

Today, the secret message in my bracelet says ‘Like Hotcakes’. I’m pretty sure it is referring to the saying ‘Selling like hotcakes’, however I’m going to interpret it as a command. Lunch is sorted!

Today’s arm candy.

Food for thought

February 4, 2015 in Family, Food, Language, Real life | 1 comment

‘Oh and I need to keep a food diary this weekend for my homework. Everything I eat today, tomorrow and Sunday,’ announced the kidlet in her rundown of what she had been up to on her second day back at school last Friday. We were walking to our local café for a Friday afternoon treat and to meet up with one of her friends and her friend’s mum.

What? Fuck? Why? The words ‘food diary’ hit me like a brick. Immediately, I wanted to charge at her. ‘Who is going to look at it? What are you doing it for? You know that there is no need to keep a record of what you eat – we eat a really healthy balanced mix of great food.’

I took a deep breath and didn’t say any of that.

While I may not, at times, have a particularly healthy relationship with my body (stupid, broken, scarred, unable to do the things that it should etc. etc.), I do have a very healthy relationship with food. But I know that a lot of other people don’t and I am frequently concerned about how food is discussed.

Food shaming is real and can be damaging. People’s understanding of food and nutrition varies widely and when we start using words like ‘clean’ or ‘good’ and ‘bad’ to describe what we are eating, food suddenly goes from being a source of joy to a source of judgement.

I stepped back for a moment as the kidlet continued her random commentary of her school day and, half paying attention to what she was saying (I knew there would be a quiz about it later!), I thought about how to approach the food diary thing without projecting my issues onto her.

‘So,’ I started casually. ‘What are you doing in class that relates to keeping a food diary?’

‘We are talking about healthy lunchboxes.’ She was wrangling the lead of her puppy as we were walking and pulled Sooty closer to slow her down. ‘You don’t like this idea, do you mum?’

Damn kid and her astuteness. I thought I was playing it so cool.

‘Um…well…I…Why do you say that?’

‘Because I know that you get annoyed when people talk about food in negative ways and say that some foods are bad. And I know that you think things like I Quit Sugar, and that other guy you keep saying is nuts, are really terrible because you love food and think that it should be enjoyed. Not something that is judged. Right?’

We arrived at the café and the conversation was (thankfully) cut short. She ran off to play with her friend.

The next day, we were in the car together, heading home to awaiting homework, and the kidlet said ‘One more thing. We need to say what the word ‘diet’ means to us.’

Again, I (internally) shuddered. What an ugly word. Why are they teaching kids to diet? Or even talking about diets? What is going on? I slowed down my thinking.

‘Okay’, I said. ‘How would you define that word?’

‘I would say it is the variety of foods we eat. And I would say that we have a diet that is made up of lots of different foods including fruit, meat, vegetables, bread, dairy, sometimes we have cakes and biscuits… And that we mostly have homemade food, but eat out too sometimes.’

She paused.

‘Oh darling,’ I wanted to say. ‘You are so on message.’ Instead, I reached over and squeezed her knee. For a brief moment, it flashed through my mind that just maybe we were doing something right in raising this gorgeous kid.

I glanced over at her and smiled, about to tell her that I thought it was a perfect way to define the word diet. But before I could she added, ‘Oh – and Nutella. We eat Nutella too.’ She was looking sideways at me with a cheeky grin on her face.

Bang! On message. That’s our girl.

Interweb Jumble #5

February 3, 2015 in Advocacy, Awareness, DOC, Exercise, Food, Mental health, Nutella, Real life, Social media, Wellbeing | Leave a comment

Things I know to be true:

It’s February already.
Melbourne seems to have misplaced its Summer.
As much as I loved being in New York and had the best holiday ever, it’s always swell to come home.
And having Melbourne coffee running through my veins is making me a happy chicken.
Being at work is not the worst thing, especially when there is a year of really exciting things on the horizon.
I am confused that my computer does not recognise the word Nutella and wants to correct it to Nigella. Which is equally awesome and sexy.

Also – the internet never disappoints.

Frocking brilliant

Sometimes it’s tough for a dame to find a place for her insulin pump. Bra? Good in theory, but what if you’re not wearing a bra? Or your bra is being uncooperative? Thigh strap? Again, great idea, but not great if the thigh strap comes loose and starts rolling down your leg and you end up in the Ministry of Silly Walks. Also, it can look like you are packing heat. Or you end up using ugly (although effective) Tubigrip. Pocket? Usually produces an unsightly bulge that may have people searching for a matching Adam’s apple.

What’s the solution?

Read here about some clever folk who have come up with a rather dashing frock with a secret little place to hide a pump.

And who doesn’t love a LBD? Can’t wait to get my hands on – and body into – one of them! Available soon – keep an eye out here.

Two spreads in one

There are many tough decisions in life. Lennon or McCartney? Coffee or tea? Jaffas or Malteasers? (Both, obviously.)

And the most difficult: peanut butter or Nutella? Can’t decide? Then have both! In domestic goddess mode on Sunday (full skirt, frilly apron, high heels and tiara) I made these.

And they are were good. And totally bolus worthy!

Here’s the recipe. (And here’s a tip. When freezing the Nutella before making the biscuits, do half on one baking sheet and half on another. Take out one baking sheet, make half the biscuits. THEN take our the second baking sheet and make the second half. Otherwise the Nutella starts to melt and ends up all messy and all over your fingers and you have to lick it off your fingers and then freeze more.)

Oh, and while we’re talking Nutella, let me introduce you to my happy place:

Support DA-Vic and enjoy the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival (WIN WIN!!)

This year, Diabetes Australia – Vic (disclaimer: my place of employment, but I am writing about this because I want to, not because I was asked. Also it is about food. And wine. So there’s that too.) is the charity partner for the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. Some people may think that this is an odd partnership, but actually, the messages of both DA-Vic and MFWF are strongly aligned. It’s all about people taking an active role in managing their health – regardless of if they are living with diabetes or not. And having a good understanding of the food we choose to eat is part of this.

It’s also a great opportunity to raise awareness of diabetes, reaching people we may otherwise not reach.

Now, everyone knows that I am not really an exercise fan. However, I can definitely get on board this. It’s literally a moveable – well moving – feast where participants take a walk around the Tan, stopping at stations for a delicious five course brekkie. And better yet, 5 per cent of ticket/registration fees will be donated to DA-Vic.

Register here!

Noteworthy connections

Many of you may not know that in a former life I was a classically-trained musician. That ship sailed a long time ago and I no longer play music. However, my husband is a musician and music is a huge part of my family’s life.

I have always been interested in the link between music and health. The Greek God, Apollo, was God of both healing and music, so the connection has been around for a long time!

Music has been used as therapy in a variety of medical conditions from Parkinson’s Disease to recovery from stroke. I am not going to say the healing powers of music can cure diabetes (although I’m pretty sure some fool will tell you that). But, music can be a stress reliever. And for me, reduced stress means less erratic BGLs.

There are also strong links between music having positive effects on mental health as discussed in this information sheet from ReachOut.

I love this so much

I’ve shared this blog before here, but this post from Annabel over at The Understudy Pancreas is one of the most beautiful pieces of writing. Full stop.

I can’t begin to imagine what parenting a child with diabetes would be like, but Annie does such a wonderful job of explaining how her family do it.

The thing that I probably admire most is how Annie never, ever makes her daughter’s (Pumplette) diabetes about herself. She supports her daughter in the best ways possible, encouraging her independence, and being there for her – with what Pumplette needs. Great parenting advice all ‘round, really.

I wish I could reach into my computer and give you a huge hug, Annie. Your darling girl is so great.

Radio Deluxe

When we were in New York, we spent a very pleasant evening at Birdland listening to John Pizzarelli and Jessica Molaskey perform. It was a gorgeous gig, made even more wonderful when they dedicated a song to the ‘family from Australia’.

Each week, John and Jessica have a syndicated radio show (they claim it is ‘live from high above Lexington Avenue in the Deluxe Living Room’, and while I suspect it is actually recorded in a studio, I like to think of them in their living room at home, gazing out over the New York skyline, casually chatting into a couple of vintage microphones) and it is an absolute treat to listen to.

Check it out here. It makes a great soundtrack to the workday!

What do ‘patients’ really think? (Maybe stop using the word ‘patient’ to begin with…..)

British medical journal The BMJ has started a fascinating new series called Do you know what your patient is thinking? This is part of their patient partnership strategy and will hopefully help HCPs better understand all aspects of life with a chronic health condition – not just what …..

The first in the series, Why there’s no point telling me to lose weight, can be read here. New submissions will be published monthly.

Living Vertical

Steve Richert has lived with diabetes for 17 years. A couple of years ago, Steve wanted to show that diabetes hasn’t stopped him from doing what he wants, so he and his wife, Stefanie, travelled across North America and climbed for 365 consecutive days. Just like with diabetes, there were no days off.

I absolutely love the catalyst for this project. This is what Steve writes on the Glu website:

‘In 2011, I had lived for almost 13 years with type 1 diabetes, and despite the normal ups and downs, seasoned with occasional close calls, it had never stopped me from being me. In fact, it made me who I was. When I was on a trip to visit friends, Stefanie and I drove past a billboard aimed at fundraising for diabetes research. It made my blood boil.

It was a smattering of grim statistics and stock imagery geared to promote the idea that life with diabetes was no life at all—that we are weak and helpless victims of this condition. Before this point it hadn’t ever occurred to me that the message of being empowered had any place in diabetes. I didn’t know anyone else with type 1 diabetes and I assumed everyone just came to terms with it as I did. Seeing this billboard made me aware for the first time of how we are portrayed—and how that can impact someone.’

A film has been made of Steve and Stefanie’s adventure. You can read about and watch Living Vertical: Project 365 here.

Save a child…..

Thinking about Valentine’s Day? Don’t forget to Spare a Rose, Save a Child.

No four words sum up this campaign better than this ‘Flowers die. Children shouldn’t’.

Please donate. Remember the equation: One rose = insulin for one month. Multiply as many times as you can.

That’s all for now, folks. Happy Tuesday.

Personality and health

February 2, 2015 in Diabetes, Research, Wellbeing | 1 comment

We know there are many factors that come into play when it comes to managing life with a chronic health condition. Our attitude, outlook, strength and mindset all play an important role.

But what about our personality? Do our personality traits affect the way we deal with living with diabetes?

Well, of course!

If our personality defines the sort of person we are then it stands to reason that our personality traits will play a part in how we view and respond to everything – including the day to day living with diabetes.

The Big Five personality traits in psychology are openness (to experience), conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism, all of which I believe, in my very non-scientific approach, impact on our attitude to and way we live with diabetes.

I consider myself to be pretty open to experience, not especially conscientious (I have so little self-discipline it’s not funny…pass me another doughnut. Thank you.), extraverted, agreeable and not particularly neurotic or anxious (unless talking about eye complications and a worry that the world Nutella supply may be in threat).

The way the cards have fallen to determine my personality is not necessarily useful when it comes to managing diabetes. Surely having a high level of conscientiousness is king when it comes to managing something like diabetes! (I’ll use this as the reason that I have never, ever kept a regular BGL diary….)

However, being open to new ideas has definitely been of use when it comes to being an early adopter of diabetes technology or considering an out of the box way to manage a difficult diabetes problem. And extraversion and seeking the company of others to crowd source information and learn about others’ experiences and learnings with diabetes has been nothing but positive in my diabetes management. Being secure and confident in my decision making and abilities rather than neurotic and second guessing myself definitely helps in making decisions, sticking to them and owning how I choose to manage things.

These traits determine how I see and how I live with diabetes each and every day.

But could our personality have something to do with actually developing health conditions? (No – this has nothing to do with lack of self-love causing auto-immune conditions. ‘Cause that’s a load of C R A P.)

This study looked into a link between personality and health, specifically how different personality traits impacted biological immune responses. (This article breaks it down nicely for simpleton folk like yours truly to understand.)

One of the findings of the study is that people defined as have an extroverted personality have more pro-inflammatory genes which means that we may be better at fighting off illness. The negative side of this is that ‘over-alert’ pro-inflammatory genes can also result in an increased incidence of autoimmune conditions.

In my highly non-scientific study of n=1, this rings true. I am overall pretty healthy and manage to avoid catching (most) everyday viruses. Good work, autoimmune system!

I also collect autoimmune conditions (last count – I have three). Not such great work, immune system!

As with many studies, there are still lots of questions to be answered. In a chicken/egg type scenario, there is no answer to what is causing what? Is it our personality that determines our immune system or is it the other way around?

Trying to piece together the puzzle of autoimmune conditions is a long road. I will never ever understand how it is that I developed diabetes at the exact point that I did. Whist I understand the genetic predisposition component, the trigger aspect has me scratching my head to this day.

But this is another little piece slotted into place in what is looking to be a one bazillion piece puzzle.

Jerry Lee Lewis singing Personality. Because why not?!