That Stupid Pancreas!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! I love Halloween -the costumes, the candy, decorating the house, parties, and carving pumpkins- these are all great things. But most of all, I love to go trick-or-treating with my friends. I mean, who doesn't love getting free candy? This will be my first Halloween with diabetes, but I'm not really concerned about that. As long as I can still eat some candy, I'll be happy! I think that the best thing about getting all of these sweets is that you can use them as low treatments for the next couple of months! Think about the wonderful taste of bubbly, delicious chocolate exploding in your mouth. Mmmmm....! It almost makes me want to be low... almost.  Moving on! I'm going to tell you right now, there will be at least one person on Halloween night that sees you eating a candy bar and lectures you about it. It is most likely because they are thinking of Type 2 Diabetes, not Type 1. They probably don't even know that Type 1 exists! I kno...

Hello friends! This week's post is about A1C's, why some diabetics fear them so much, and dealing with your emotions after you get the results. First things first, lets make sure that we know what an A1C is. A1C stands for glycated hemoglobin. The A1C percentage measures how much sugar is attached to the blood's hemoglobin protein.  Every three months, you go for a visit at the hospital with your endocrinologist to get an A1C test done. An A1C is done by taking a drop of blood out of your finger with a finger prick.  The drop of blood goes into a machine. The machine estimates an average of what your blood glucose numbers have been for the past three months. Based on what I understand, any A1C result around 7 mmol/L is considered good.  Your endocrinologist (a.k.a. endo) can look at your A1C result, and judge you and your diabetes management based off of the number.  Without even looking at any of the numbers that are in your logbook, o...

Good afternoon internet! Yesterday was so cold and wet, but one thing kept a smile on my face despite the dreary weather. Yesterday morning I had my insulin pump information session at the hospital! Why is that such a great thing? Listen and I'll tell you. For the first year after you are diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, you control your blood glucose numbers using insulin. You get insulin through MDI (multiple daily injections). But once you celebrate your one year dia-versary, you are eligible to receive government funding for an insulin pump. What is an insulin pump? An insulin pump is a device that is injected into your body with a needle and, hence the name insulin pump, pumps insulin into your blood stream instead of you having to inject it. But, just like the Freestyle Libre CGM and Dexcom G5 Mobile CGM, the needle DOES NOT stay in your body for more than 5 minutes. The needle inserts a small plastic tube called a cannula that the insulin flows through, then it com...

If you didn't know by the title, this week's post is about the Freestyle Libre FGM. What is an FGM? Let me break it down for you. FGM stands for Flash Glucose Monitor. An FGM is a sensor that, similar to an insulin pump, is inserted into your body. The sensor sits on your skin, held in place by some adhesive tape, and a cannula is inserted into your body with a needle. But don't worry! The needle doesn't stay in your body for more than five seconds. It's just like an insulin injection. The sensor tests your blood sugar every few minutes and can connect to a monitor/display device, also known as your receiver. The monitor/display device reads your blood glucose numbers when you use it to scan the sensor on your skin, stores them in a logbook, displays trends, and shows you which direction your blood glucose numbers are heading. FGMs are similar to CGMs, but are not exactly the same. There are two of these kinds of devices I know of that you could...

Are your fingers filled with polka-dots from being stabbed to test your blood sugar? Mine sure are, and I'm getting tired of it. I know that it is necessary to test my blood, but surely there is a way of doing it that doesn't wear out my poor little fingers? I was talking to my mom about it the other day, and I was very happy to find out that there is! The alternative way of testing your blood sugar is called a Continuous Glucose Monitor, or a CGM. It is a sensor that, much like an insulin pump, is inserted into your body. A sensor sits on your skin, held in place by some adhesive tape, and a cannula is inserted into your body with a needle. But don't worry, the needle does not stay in your body for more than 5 seconds. It's just like a regular insulin injection.  The sensor tests your blood sugar every 5 minutes and connects to a monitor/display device, also known as your receiver . The monitor/display device reads your blood glucose number from your sensor...