Sunday, March 30, 2008

This guy is a good diabetic!



Wow, as I was watching this video I was noticing all the things this guy does in his routine that I don't do, but know that I really should do. He actually changed the needle in his finger-pricker-thing!! Haha, any diabetic knows that we change that needle every few days; even the good diabetics forget to change that needle. Then again, judging by what a great sport this guy is he probably checks his blood sugar before EVERY meal and after EVERY exercise, etc. That's not me haha. Then, this guy actually RECORDS his blood sugars IN HIS COMPUTER!! He has an entire system set up to keep track of his glucose levels!! I am LUCKY to remember to write down my blood sugars. Usually, I just bring in my glucometer with me to the doctor's office and give it to the nurse who then hooks it up to some computer and prints out all my records for me. What confused me about this oh-so-great-diabetic is that his blood sugar was 152. I have days where I guess what my blood sugar is and inject insulin based on how I am feeling that day, and when I do check my blood sugars are usually less than what his was. AND he isn't on the insulin pump which basically means he has to be much more careful with what is in his diet. He uses an insulin pen though, which makes it more flexible in that he can dial up short-active insulin before every meal, which somewhat works like an insulin pump, its just a shot with nothing attatched to you instead of an insulin pump that is connected to your body. Anyway, I think if I did what he did my blood sugars would be amazing. Ahh, if I weren't so lazy, what a life it would be.

Ps. Obviously he is not a lazy person at all because not only does he do all of these things in his routine, he has time to record them on video and post them up on youtube.com

It'd be pretty funny if his entire video was just for show and in real life he's just another insulin junkie ;) haha

Untreated Diabetes

http://www.wbay.com/Global/story.asp?S=8085898

This news article was about an 11 year old girl who had died last week due to undiagnosed and untreated diabetes. The girl had not been taken to a doctor in years! I always joke around about being a bad diabetic and not taking the best care of myself, but it is very important that everyone be aware that treating diabetes is very important. It is a disease that is managable but if it is left untreated there are some horrible complications, obviously including death.

I cannot imagine what that poor girl was going through. Symptoms of diabetes are UNPLEASANT, to say the least. You are never hungry, have to urinate very frequently, you have an awkward bad taste in your mouth,you are always thirsty but water tastes bad because of the bad taste in your mouth(so what I did was drink sugary sodas or juices which only made matters worse), you are always drowsy and lack energy, and unexplained weight loss occurs. How could she have been going through all or even just SOME of those symptoms and not be taken to a doctor? I am glad this girl's siblings have been removed from the home by social services because the negligance her parents showed is absurd. I feel sorry for this family; how tragic.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Chuck Norris cracks me up!

Test, DONT GUESS!



Haha! Nice little clip of a bunch of celebrities encouraging insulin junkies and pancreas abusers like myself to test their blood sugars! I didn't know there were other insulin junkies who trust their intuition enough to guess their blood sugar levels! (And you know what, when I've guessed and tested afterwards, I've been pretty close)! I'm not sure that video was convincing enough to turn me back into the "good diabetic" I once was, but it was a nice try; entertaining.

PS. I love the little spanish part they threw in there. It warmed my heart. haha

EXTRA! EXTRA! YET ANOTHER "CURE" IN THE NEWS!

http://www.newkerala.com/one.php?action=fullnews&id=35682

So I read an article that said a vaccine for tuberculosis could be used to cure Type 1 diabetes. A cure could be used on patients within four years. Sometimes, I love hearing about all these ideas for cures but I've been hearing these ideas for such a long time, and seen no changes being made, which leads me to believe that a cure is not going to be found anytime soon. All the news stories about cures for diabetes remind me of a donkey walking with a stick attatched to it, with a carrot hanging out in front, and the donkey just walking, walking, walking, trying to reach the carrot.. but never getting to it; like we are so close yet so far. It would be great if there was a cure, nothing would make me happier, but i'd like to see it instead of hearing all these potential cures that are just talk.

Whoever wrote this "news article" obviously did not do their research on diabetes.

http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/shawty%20lo%20i%20have%20diabetes%20not%20hiv_1062638

Titled "SHAWTY LO: 'I HAVE DIABETES, NOT HIV'" the article reads:
Rapper SHAWTY LO has quashed reports he is suffering from HIV - blaming his recent health issues on his diabetes. The star - real name Carlos Walker - has been hounded over fears for his health after gossip sites suggested a rapper hailing from the Atlanta area had contracted the deadly virus. However, Walker has refuted the claims, citing his illness as diabetes, an incurable condition which is caused by too much sugar in the blood. A representative for the star tells AllHipHop.com, "Carlos 'Shawty Lo' Walker is not infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. He does however suffer from Diabetes, a serious condition that effects millions of people, particularly those of colour. "Despite occasional set backs, Shawty Lo continues his rigorous work schedule in support of his debut album Units in the City. He appreciates the outpouring of concern and support for his health but he is doing fine."

While reading the article, I noticed that the author of this article wrote that diabetes is caused by "too much sugar in the blood." Given, a diabetic does have a high blood glucose level, but that is not the cause of diabetes but rather, the effect of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is believed to be an autoimmune disease. The body's immune system attacks the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. Type 2 diabetes is believed to have a strong genetic link, meaning that it tends to run in families. Several genes are being studied that may be related to the cause of type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes could be caused by bad eating habits and obesity, among other possible causes, but having too much sugar in blood is not a CAUSE of diabetes.

I think the author of this article was clearly confused and did not do his research on diabetes.