Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Wedding Day Jitters

So Friday is my wedding day! I can't believe that two years of planning have finally come to a close. Aside from the weather and anything else that can go wrong, I'm most worried about my blood sugar levels. What happens if I start to feel low during the ceremony?? Should I excuse myself and start sipping from my juice box? haha. Luckily it should only be about 25 minutes long so I'll check myself before it starts. The other worry I have is giving myself an insulin injection before dinner. I always inject my stomach. Obviously with a giant wedding dress on, that probably won't be possible. This means I'll have to inject my thigh. The last time I injected my leg was 5 years ago at the hospital. I always bleed, so I hate doing it there. I'll have to practice beforehand and make sure it works out. It freaks me out though! I'm sure it will all be fine and before I know it, I'll be on a beach in Jamaica ;)

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Bad Habits

I was reading a recent post on my new favorite diabetes blog http://www.sixuntilme.com/ . The post was about Kerri’s six bad diabetes habits. I thought it would be cool to list a few of mine too! While reading, I realized that we share some of the same habits.


1. Logging: I hate logging my numbers every two seconds. It’s the most annoying thing. I tend to not log for maybe a week and half and then attempt to remember everything at once. It’s never accurate and just makes me hate it more. I’m actually trying to make a better effort with logging as soon as I check my levels.

2. Carb guessing: It’s important to give yourself the right amount of insulin with the amount of carbs you’re eating. In the beginning I was pretty good at counting carbs. Lately, I’ve been guessing with the numbers---kind of a dangerous game, but I’m lazy. Most of the time I’m pretty good. However, I always regret it when I’m way off.

3. Overeating: I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I have an awful habit of eating everything in sight when I’m really low. I know I’m supposed to eat something small, then wait to see if I go up. When I eat way too much, I usually end up being way too high.

4. Lancet laziness: I know this is terrible, but I’m really lazy when it comes to changing out the lancets in my sugar tester (little needles to prick your fingers with). You’re supposed to put a new one in every time you check yourself. I’ll go two weeks without changing it haha. I really should work on that.

I think I do a pretty good job of managing my diabetes, but just like anything else, I can always work at making it better.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Stem-Cell Discoveries

Since I have been diagnosed with diabetes about five years ago, I have remained unconvinced that there will be a cure in my lifetime. However, it's articles like A Stem-Cell Discovery Could Help Diabetics by Alice Park, on TIME.com that remind me how hard scientists are working to find a cure. It's pretty interesting and really shows that we are taking steps in the right direction.

The article stated that Scientists at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute reported the first success in generating new insulin-producing cells by using type 1 diabetics’ skin cells. That is pretty awesome!