The Other Half of Diabetes - #DBlogWeek Day 2

Welcome to Day Two of Diabetes Blog Week.  Are you having fun?  I sure hope so.  If you don’t have a blog but would like to participate, there are a few ways.  You are welcome to leave your thoughts in the comments section here each day.  I’ve also been posting the daily topics on the Diabetes Blog Week Facebook page, and you can use the comments section there each day to post your perspective.  And, last but not least, every day tuDiabetes will host a thread in the forum where you can share - you can find today’s here.  I hope this helps open things up for anyone interested in participating.

Our topic today is The Other Half of Diabetes.  We think a lot about the physical component of diabetes, but the mental component is just as significant. How does diabetes affect you or your loved one mentally or emotionally? How have you learned to deal with the mental aspect of the condition? Any tips, positive phrases, mantras, or ideas to share on getting out of a diabetes funk? (If you are a caregiver to a person with diabetes, write about yourself or your loved one or both!)

I won’t lie.  For me, this is a tough subject to write about.  Not that I haven’t written about depression before, because I have.  But I still feel some level of discomfort in admitting that I struggle emotionally.  And I think that’s part of why it’s so important to talk about it - because we shouldn’t feel uncomfortable.  We need to break down the stigma.

And so, how does diabetes affect me emotionally?  Sometimes it doesn’t, not at all.  But other times, it really drags me down emotionally.  Sometimes the weight of life with a chronic illness feels crushing.

When I was younger, in my teen years, diabetes was something that made me different from everyone else at a time when being different was the worst thing in the world.  So I pretended I didn’t have it - I pretended to my friends and to myself.  Diabetes made me feel broken and defective.  And I hated it.

Now that I’m (supposedly) an adult, I don’t feel ashamed about having diabetes and I don’t try to hide it.  But sometimes I do still feel broken and defective.  Sometimes I feel like I just can’t do diabetes for one more day.  And I don’t mean the nuts and bolts of diabetes - the needles and finger sticks don’t really cause me any pain.  The pain comes from trying my hardest to do my best and still getting crap blood sugar numbers.  From arriving someplace late because I was too low to hop in the car and drive.  From snapping at my husband because I’m high and I feel physically awful.  From being a huge bundle of nerves before each and every endo appointment and eye screening,  because this appointment might be the one where I find out diabetes had done irreversible damage to my body.  From seeing my friends with diabetes struggle with all of these things too.

This is my other half of diabetes.  And it is by far the largest and most difficult half.

*** Disclosure:  I know there is no such thing as a smaller half and larger half.  After all, I’m married to an engineer, so I should know half means 50%.  But for the sake of this post, work with me here, okay??   ;)  ***


You can find more The Other Half of Diabetes posts over here.

What is Diabetes Blog Week?  Click here for an explanation and to sign up.  You can also check out the Participant’s List here.

Message Monday - #DBlogWeek Day 1

Welcome to the first day of the seventh Diabetes Blog Week.  I’m so excited and thankful for everyone participating this year!  If you’d haven’t yet signed up but would like to join in, sign ups are still open using the form found here (just scroll down a bit).

Today’s topic is Message Monday.  Lets kick off the week by talking about why we are here, in the diabetes blog space. What is the most important diabetes awareness message to you? Why is that message important for you, and what are you trying to accomplish by sharing it on your blog? (Thank you, Heather Gabel, for this topic suggestion.)

You are not alone!!!!

I started this diabetes blog in 2008.  The reason was simple . . . . to connect with others who live with diabetes.  I had always felt alone when it came to living with diabetes and when I realized the internet could put me in contact with others on similar journeys to mine, I knew I had found what I didn’t even know I was looking for.

I soon realized that the reason I was craving connections with other People With Diabetes (or PWDs) was because what I really needed was SUPPORT.  Soon it become important that I not only found people who would support me, but that I also, of course, was longing to give support back.



Of course, in the (almost) eight years I’ve been blogging about diabetes, both the Diabetes Online Community (or DOC) and my involvement here has grown and developed and changed.  Advocacy has become an integral part of what we are doing here, and I think that’s important.  But I also feel like I have drifted away from the support aspect quite a bit, and I’ve been feeling lately like it’s time to get back to my roots.  Time to scale back a bit on other things and put more time and energy into support.  With that in mind, I’ve stepped down from volunteering as a JDRF Advocacy Team Chairperson.  I wouldn’t trade the time I spent working on JDRF Advocacy for the world and I’m lucky to have served for almost 5 years.  But I find myself craving getting back to support.

I’m excited to continue leading the monthly DiabetesSisters Virtual PODS group.  We also hope to schedule another Global PODS in the near future, to connect women from all over the world for support.  I’m still enjoying volunteering on another chapter’s JDRF Type 1 Adult Outreach committee.  A few of the local Medtronic reps have launched a new monthly support group in my area.  And I need to get back to reading and commenting on blogs and spending more time connecting on Twitter.

I love that the DOC and my involvement here has grown to reach places and do things I never could have imagined.  I’m so thankful for each and every opportunity that has come my way.  And I’m excited to spend some more time getting back to my roots, and the message that you, all of you out there, are not alone.



You can find more Message Monday posts listed here.

What is Diabetes Blog Week?  Click here for an explanation and to sign up.  You can also check out the Participant’s List here.

Seventh Annual Diabetes Blog Week!!!

When I first started Diabetes Blog Week way back in 2010 I had no idea it would have such staying power.  Each year I become more and more grateful that so may of you continue to show so much support and enthusiasm for this event each year.  I’m also thankful for all of the help you’ve given, with topics for us to write about and suggestions to help things run more smoothly.  Diabetes Blog Week has continued to evolve and grow in a way I couldn’t have ever imagines.  And so I’m beyond excited to kick off the SEVENTH!!! Annual Diabetes Blog Week.  Here we go!



What inspired Diabetes Blog Week?  For those of you who haven’t participated before, Diabetes Blog Week was originally inspired by a fiber-blogger event called Knitting and Crochet Blog Week.  When I participated that first year on my knitting blog I loved the way it united the community, and I knew I wanted to try to do the same for the DOC.


How does Diabetes Blog Week work?  The main idea for Diabetes Blog Week is that bloggers sign up to post about a set topic each day for a week.  This way, readers can jump around the DBlog Community and get a big variety of different perspectives on a single topic.  The hope is that new DOC connections are made, and that our voices are raised to spread a little more diabetes awareness.


When is Diabetes Blog Week?  The seventh annual Diabetes Blog Week  will take place next week, from May 16th through May 20th.


Where can I find the Diabetes Blog Week topics?  You can find the topics for next week on the Topics and Posts page.  They’ve been posted in advance, just in case you want to start drafting your posts this week.  (But please remember not to publish your post until that specific day!)   Use the topics as a starting point for your post each day and see where it takes you.  Write as much or as little as you like.  There are no right or wrong answers - just read over the topic and start blogging!  I've also included two wild card topics to choose from.  If one day’s topic doesn’t inspire you, feel free to post about one of the wild card topics instead.  Or, if you’d like to extend DBlogWeek to a full seven days, you can use the wild card topics as your weekend prompts


Who can participate in Diabetes Blog Week?  DBlog Week is open to anyone who blogs about diabetes - be it Type 1, Type 2, LADA, gestational, etc., and it’s also for parents, spouses and caregivers to someone else with diabetes.  If you blog about diabetes in any capacity, please join us!  The more perspectives that are shared the more connections we can make and understanding we can foster.  If you don’t have a blog but have thought about starting one, now is the perfect time.  There are free blogging sites (such as Blogger or WordPress) that you can use to get started.


Can blogs done by groups, organizations and companies join?  I like to make Diabetes Blog Week as inclusive as possible, so yes, group blogs and professional blogs are welcome to join.  However, the posts must be written by a blogger with a diabetes connection.  Also product plugs / advertising will not be allowed.  Posts that do no adhere to this policy will be removed from the master link lists.  (More about those lists below.


What if I can’t write posts for all five days?  The idea for Diabetes Blog Week is that everyone who signs up to participate will post on all five days.  Although that is the goal, I absolutely understand that life sometimes gets in the way, so if you end up falling short of five posts that’s okay.  Diabetes can be stressful enough, so let’s keep DBlog Week fun and stress free.


How do I sign up?  Once again, I’ve created a form to submit your information.  Fill it out and you will be signed up and added to the Participant List within 24 hours.  There is a space on the form for you to let me know if you have any questions, and you can also email me at any time at DBlogWeek@bittersweetdiabetes.com.

Fill out my online form.

Will there be a master list of posts for each day?  There sure will!  Before things kick off on Monday will add daily Link Lists on the Diabetes Blog Week topics page.  Once you’ve published your post each day, be sure to add it to the that day’s list by entering your blog name and the url of that day's post.  This way we’ll have all posts linked in one central location, which makes it easier for people to hop around and read all of the posts.  Please do not “pre-post” your links - links may only be added on the day that we’re blogging about that topic and your post must be live on your blog when you link it.  (Early posts will be deleted from the list.)


How about a button or banner for my blog?  Why yes, of course!  If you’d like to display the button or banner on your blog you’ll find the HTML Codes below - just to make things a little bit easier.  Highlight the code in the box, then copy and paste it into the HTML section of your blog’s sidebar or post or where ever you want to display the graphic.

Grab the Banner <a href="http://www.bittersweetdiabetes.com/2016/05/diabetes-blog-week_9.html"><img border="0" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1718/25943840033_ee6b1ba12a_o.gif" /></a>   Grab the Button <a href="http://www.bittersweetdiabetes.com/2016/05/diabetes-blog-week_9.html"><img border="0" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1667/25943987673_4eb9c06c54_o.gif" /></a>

What if I want to tweet or Facebook about Diabetes Blog Week?  That would be awesome, you can use the hashtag #DBlogWeek.


What else do I  need to know?  Great question.  I’ve tried to cover everything, but I’m sure I missed something.  So please leave any questions in the comments section below or email them to me at  DBlogWeek@bittersweetdiabetes.com.  I'll be sure to answer you as soon as I can.


Thank you all again for the overwhelming support during the last six Diabetes Blog Weeks, and I’m thrilled to be doing it a seventh time!

Welcome to May!!

So the month of May is here already.  It means flowers and warmer weather and nightfall happening a little bit later each day.  And in my world, it means Diabetes Blog Week.

I want to thank everyone who took the time to fill out my DBlogWeek survey - there were more than 70 of you!  And I received so many fantastic suggestions.  Some I’ve already worked on and some I’m still trying to make happen.  Some may have to wait until 2017 (provided you guys want to do this again next year.)

But for now, some new things are in place.  First of all, Diabetes Blog Week will run Monday, May 16th - Friday, May 20th this year.  Almost 60% of you indicated that five days of blogging would work better for you than seven days.  I completely understand that!  Those of you who still want to blog a full seven days of posts can use the two wildcards as your weekend prompts.  In this way, I hope I’ve found a solution that works for everyone.

Another popular suggestion was to have more advanced notice of what the topics for the week will be.  With that in mind, I’ve published the topic list here - a week earlier than I normally release them.  I hope that’s helpful to those who want to get a jump on things.

It was also suggested that a Facebook page for Diabetes Blog Week would be helpful.  That’s a fantastic idea, and I’ve created it here!  All important information will be added when available.  Also, during DBlogWeek, each day's topic will be posted on the page.

I’m still working my way through the rest of the suggestions - I’ll be using as many as I can.  And stay tuned next Monday, when I’ll be posting more information and this year’s sign up form!

The Betes - The Patient Voice . . .

Two weekends ago I attended The Betes Organization’s event, "The Patient Voice".  I went on behalf of (and with assistance by) DiabetesSisters, and I was excited to see other members of DiabetesSisters and of the DOC.


But, to be honest, I wasn’t quite sure I’d “get” the event itself.  Don’t get me wrong, I loved and supported the idea of the event, which was to bridge the gap between patients and healthcare providers.  I watched Marina’s interview on TuDiabetes and was blown away by her passion and enthusiasm.  But the thing is, although I do have intermittent sparks of creativity, overall I don’t consider myself a very creative person.  So I was concerned I might not connect with the puppetry.  I was afraid the whole thing would kind of go over my  head. 

I could not have been more wrong.


The first performance piece involved a heavy box and The Betes (hand)puppet.  From the minute Marina took the stage, I was drawn right in.  I laughed.  I nodded.  I choked back tears.  I sang along with everyone in the room.  That sounds corny, right?  But somehow, it wasn’t.  We all sang together about the weight of carrying diabetes (a la The Beatles) and it was amazing.  And this is coming from someone who DOES NOT sing.


The second half was part of a new piece being created entitled “The Elephant in the Room”.  It deals with complications.  Emotionally, I didn’t react quite as deeply to this piece, probably because I haven’t really dealt with any complications (yet).  But it still resonated with me quite a bit.  Complications are a thing many of us don’t even want to thing about, much less openly discuss, so to see work being done the change that and the open the doors?  It was wonderful.

During the discussions that followed, I came to understand that these pieces seemed to touch different people in different ways.  Patients, healthcare providers, caregivers - what we saw meant different things to each of us.  But in the end, I believe we all were impacted by what we saw on stage and I think each of us left feeling a little bit closer to one another.

And in the end, that’s really what it’s all about, isn’t it?

Looking Ahead . . . .

April will be here at the end of the week, and then before we know it May will arrive.  Which means the seventh annual Diabetes Blog Week is just around the corner.

Seven!  Wow, I never imagined, way back during that first Diabetes Blog Week in 2010, that #DBlogWeek would have such staying power.  Which makes me wonder, does it need to be updated?  What would make it run more smoothly?  What suggestions do you have for #DBlogWeek?  How can I make it better for everyone who participates or lurks?

And so, I’ve created a little survey to collect your opinions, ideas and suggestions.  You can find it here.  I’ve tried to make it short but inclusive, with space at the end to tell me anything else on your mind.  I can't promise I'll be able to make every suggestion happen, but I do promise to try my best.  Please take a minute to fill the survey out, so together we can make Diabetes Blog Week is the best it can be.  Thank you!!

Wordless Wednesday - Ooops . . .

That moment when you’re treating a low and decide to refill your “low bin” . . . .


Jelly beans everywhere.  On the island and on the floor.  Also, not shown in this picture, under the stove, in the pantry and in the dining room.   It seriously looked like the Easter Bunny threw up.  And it took me FOR-EVER to get them all gathered and into the garbage.  I think my cat might still be batting a few around.

#lowproblems

Spinny Thoughts . . .

I’ve been attempting to write about this year’s Diabetes Unconference for over a week.  Every day I open a blank blog page and start typing.  I ramble and reflect and edit and write some more . . .  and in the end, I delete the whole thing and decided to try again tomorrow.  Sometimes, unfortunately, a well-crafted cohesive post just won’t come.  Instead I just have a bunch of spinny thoughts rolling around in my head.  And so, bullet points will just have to do . . .

• This year’s Unconference felt different.  Not better and not worse, just different.  It wasn’t The First Year, so things felt more familiar this time around.  I knew how to get around the hotel.  And I had a better idea what to expect.

• Sessions with other PWDs, where the things we say go no farther than the space we are in, is important and much needed.  Even when the topics feel heavy and dark.  In fact, that is probably when it is most important.
• And although things can get heavy and dark, things can get just as silly and goofy and light.  Thank goodness for that!!

• Red eye flights?  Not so much my thing.  And conferences on the West Coast, in general, will take me far longer to recover from than I anticipate.  (Daylight Savings doesn’t help matters either.)
• Companies who sponsor conferences like this are awesome.  I’m thankful that they see the value in peer-to-peer support.

• Even if you’ve had diabetes since 1979, there are still new things to learn.

Disclosure:  I received travel assistance by way of a scholarship from DiabetesSisters, which helped me be able to attend the Diabetes Unconference in Las Vegas this year.