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 ;)

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.

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!

Lows at the Supermarket

I know it’s only been a few days since I found out my A1C was 6.6, but my sugar levels have been great! No major highs and only a few lows. If I can keep this up for the next few months, I’ll be good for the next test. My latest low was actually last night at the supermarket. It’s funny because I’ll realize my level is dropping when I start grabbing sweets and things I normally wouldn't go for. After grabbing the sweetest cereal I could find, I checked myself and realized I was down to 56! If I had to choose a place I’d want to have a low like that, a supermarket would definitely be at the top of my list haha.

One thing I have to work on is not eating until I want to burst when I’m really low. For some reason this happens to me at night. If my level is down in the 50s, I’m craving everything in sight. I’ll start with a bowl of cereal, move on to a granola bar, maybe some more cereal and then some crackers and peanut butter, etc. It’s like I’m on an eating frenzy. Then of course by the time I’m feeling better, my sugar level is in the 200s! I’ve been trying hard to have more patience and eat one thing, wait a few minutes, then check to see if my level is any higher. It usually is. It’s all about self-control!

My First Post!

I enjoy reading and hearing about other type 1 diabetics’ experiences and stories of what they are going through because I usually find it’s almost exactly what I’m experiencing too. It’s nice to know I’m not the only one who gets frustrated when my sugar level is too high or too low or I’m not sure what to do when there are three courses to a dinner with each course arriving at different times, so I’m not sure if I should give myself enough insulin for everything and just hope I don’t get low between courses---or if I should just skip eating and save myself the hassle. So I decided to follow everyone’s lead and start my own diabetes blog and jot down my everyday frustrations and successes with the condition.

My latest frustration is my current A1C level. My doctor’s nurse practitioner called me earlier today to let me know she got the results back and they were not ideal. Apparently my A1C was 6.6 (it’s important to be under 7 but my doctor’s goal for me is under 6). Yikes. I felt so guilty on the phone with the nurse that I just kept telling her that I would work harder at keeping my levels lower. It was almost like I was begging her for another chance, like she was going to fire me from being her patient haha. Oh well. Hopefully next time I’ll be better!