5 Diabetes related problems that could be buggering up your love life & relationships.

This weekend it is going to be Valentines Day. So I was racking my brain on what kind of post I could do related to this occasion. Everyone is posting stories about the ones they love that help them with their Diabetes and I have mentioned this before Here and  Also here and I hope that Mr P. knows by now how very lucky I am to have him by my side not only for Diabetic related things.

So it came to me to post the opposite.(hay???) 5 Diabetic reasons that could be ruining our relationships. I don't have neuropathy but a lot of these points can be brought on by poor control which can lead to Neuropathy.

Lets get too it shall we, in no particular order.

1. Your Sex life

Neuropathy can damage tissue in a man's penis that makes it hard to achieve or keep an erection.Women can get Vaginitis this word covers problems with different causes but it all boils down to painful intercourse. Neuropathy (there is that bloody word again) can lead to woman not having any feeling in their clitoris. So guys and gals this I am sure can be very stressful on any relationship basically sex can't happen or it isn't fun anymore. Furthermore it does not effect your hormones so your brain is saying I still want to get it on but it isn't like it used to be, very difficult for your healthy partner to understand. So here is a word of warning if you want to still enjoy SEX you need to CONTROL your BLOOD SUGARS. That is quite a big carrot at the end of that stick I would say.

2. The Energy meter

Not only can your energy levels be effected by poor BS levels,but it is sometimes so exhausting being a Diabetic. Testing, calculating, injecting, remembering (did I inject already?). Now take this scenario - you are having one of those roller coaster Blood sugar days(this also means more calculating,more testing,more swearing (energy meter already dropping), you have gone to do grocery shopping so you can make healthy lunches next week (energy meter drops some more), you have helped your children with their homework (another few dips in the energy meter.) We are now on the verge of sleep walking and your partner asks you if you want to go walk the dogs at the dam and have a picnic. Some nice relationship and family bonding time but some days you just can't a minus on the energy meter as well as on the relationship meter.

3.Moods

This might be closely related to the energy but I have put it in a class of it's own. Also can be a by product of bad control - We don't feel so well so we get cranky and have breakdowns and a bad temper. (Not conducive to a good relationship).

4. Routines

We should be keeping things pretty much regular when it comes to eating. This I think can be a big thing especially in a new relationship- Sleeping in and not getting up until about 10 on a weekend (Oops what happened to breakfast and that all important first injection, next you are going out with your mates that believe that night life only starts at 9 the earliest (Oops on the diner as well). Us Diabetics can't be so carefree and the sooner your partner understands that the better. Yes we are bound by certain routines but it does not mean you can't mix it up a bit. Who said you can't set an alarm get up and make breakfast to be had in bed. You can still eat supper with mates at 10pm but you need to think out the box with your blood control methods. You can party until 3am but just don't forget to inject your night time insulin at the usual time. The biggest thing I would say in this routine problem is to try and stick to it as much as possible.The sooner you feel comfortable injecting and testing where ever you are the easier it will be (I think this is worthy of a complete post of it's own). This is a valid problem in relationships but I would say easier solved than the others.

5. Low Blood Sugars

There is a T-shirt that is funny but also scary when you are looking at your relationship. It says on it "I am sorry for what I said when my blood sugar was low."

I have been told I have said some bad things and maybe some hurtful things as well. I have also slapped, bit and kicked my love ones. You need to talk about the low when you aren't low with the ones you love so you can get across that it was not you. I know people think that you wouldn't of said it unless it had been on your mind.I can talk the biggest load of rubbish at 1.5 and these things most likely would never ever have been on my mind. It is all down to controlling your blood sugar so they are not high which can effect some of the points but then when you have them perfect one slight slip in the calculation can lead to a low blood sugar. Oh my.

Feel free to add other problems you have encountered in the comments, I would love to hear from you.

It definitely is not easy loving a Diabetic and being in any relationship with a Diabetic but don't loose faith.

Thanks once again for the love shown to me by all the people I have relationships with it.

Happy Valentines day for the 14th.

Stay Linked and loved

Kim

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The Park Run/Walk

So this year our family wanted to participate in more Park Runs, actually we are still in the Park Walk phase.

It really is an outstanding community project that is free to all and you get your time after your Run sent via e-mail. It is a worldwide thing and also is supported by Discovery Vitality so you earn Vitality points for each "Run" you do. It has a few other sponsors but is mostly run by the great Park run volunteers in your community.
Park Run SA Website

The weekend before last we went with 2 of our 3 dogs. So this weekend I said to Mr P that it was unfair to leave only one behind. He said that the third dog tugged and pulled and did not behave so he wasn't coming. Well I got my way and the 3 dogs,2 children and their parents all jumped into the car at 7:30 on a Saturday morning. Actually I think the dogs had jumped into the car way before we where ready to go as we had left the boot open while packing the car. If they had known how they would have been hooting the hooter. (If they had done that Mr P says they would have all been left behind.)

We arrived at the Run a bit early and had to wait at the start with all other types of dogs. (Great Dane's,Beagles,Labs,Dachshunds and other mutts.) Our Lab and Border Collie waited patiently but the dreaded third dog whined and whined and had no manners whatsoever. I started to believe that Mr.P was right about him. The time arrived and off we went pulling,dragging,fighting with said mutt. This boy did not give 2 hoots about the injured shoulder. At about the 3 km point one of the volunteers overheard me say to the dog that he was never coming again and he said aw shame he will be better next time. Ha Ha Ha. Now this mutt is thin and fast we have always said that in any race he would either come first or be the "rabbit". Sadly for him we where far from coming first. On this revelation I decided we had to go at a faster pace for him, we at least had to make him think that he was winning so we over took the group of people in front of us and went faster, well then he wanted the whole family to go faster if we got to far ahead of the pack he kept on looking over his shoulder. He was either teasing the Lab or checking where the family was. As this was a loop section we past the same volunteer again and this time he said look he is much better now. Yes he was but if we went any faster he would have to pull his owner up the last hill.

I want to post this ad on the ParkRun Website:

Speedy Dog looking for volunteer runner to run with him. Current owners are too slow. All runners with previous or current first place positions will have the honour of running with Charlie. He might even help you improve your current time.
Look how cute he is:

We did survive but the question is will Charlie get to come again. I am still undecided about that one.
The advantage is that we did try a bit harder and worked up a bit more of a sweat but I am not so sure I enjoyed it or even if the dog did to be honest the other dogs sniffed and did all  the dog usually fun things but Charlie's sole purpose was to go faster where is the fun in that?

To Park Run SA and especially Park Run Boksburg  thanks for helping us get fitter in 2016.

Stay Linked

Kim

Happy new year,Diabetes resolutions and more

Happy 2016

Once again we are starting a new year and one more year to add to the number of years I have lived with Diabetes.

I started off the new year going to the doctors. I know I have talked about my onsie on this blog before See the post here but in winter last year I put on the God forsaken onsie and in doing so injured my arm. I then proceeded to leave it hoping it would get better. Well it did not and my doctor said I had damaged the muscle in the  rotator cuff of my shoulder or something like that. Once again this required that terrible stuff called cortisone injected into the joint. My Doctor said no don't worry as it is going into the joint it should not effect your blood sugars. HA HA by the end of the day my sugar was at 23.5 mmol/l or 423 mg/dl. The effects of the cortisone have now worn off but the shoulder does not seem to be fixed. I refuse to believe that I have torn the muscle (Requiring Sugery) there by putting on a onsie so I am forever hopeful.

Last year I also did a post about other Auto immune disorders See the post here. to try and point out that Diabetes is not so bad and to give us some inspiration. Well another Auto-immune syndrome has been in the news - Guillain- Barre Syndrome and Andrew Tucker, Andrew Tucker was diagnosed with this disease in January 2015 and this was the year that he was to write his Matric. He was out of school for 6 months of the year and passed as one of SA's top achievers. Here is an almighty thumbs up to you Andrew Tucker you truly do inspire other people living with a chronic condition.

http://www.news24.com/Live/SouthAfrica/News/watch-top-sa-matric-says-his-rare-disease-motivated-him-to-study-medicine-this-year-20160108

Lately I also heard a story about a student trying to get into university for 2016 she did not get accepted into the university as all the allocated places for White people had already been filled,but she was accepted due to her Diabetes Disability.Now there is a chance to prove to them how disabled we all are.

I hope each one of us gets to achieve all we want to in 2016.

This is my funny take on what actually happens to those Diabetes Resolutions lets try to at least get a pass mark in some of these resolutions.

Diabetes Resolutions for 2016	What usually happens in  2016
More exercise	Eat More Chocolate
Improve HBA1C	Marry the lab tech and get him to forge your blood results
Change lancet	Only change lancet when someone else uses your test machine.
Diet diet diet	Search for new pancreas on OLX
Have no lows or highs all year	Try be nice to people when you bg is low
Throw away all used test strips	Buy carpet that blends in with test strip colour
Count all carbs	Forget how to count carbs.
Run the park run don’t walk the park run	Injure yourself at park run and never return
Check bg more often	Test bg often until the battery runs out then keep on forgetting to buy a new battery.

Please please please use the comments section of this New Years post to add suggestions of what you would like to see on the blog anything goes here so all suggestions will be considered.

Lantus is now Optisulin but really why?

I went to the doctors yesterday to pick up my Diabetes supplies and the lady there told me that Lantus had changed it's name to Optisulin but it was still exactly the same thing.

I studied the box , looked the same just a bit of green on the label, same with the pen, exactly the same looking pen except for a touch of green. I looked on the internet no logical reason why they changed the name, it looks like there has always been Lantus and Optisulin made by the same company.

So now here is my dilemma. I have been on Lantus for a very long time to me it is the worlds greatest long - acting insulin and I love it.

 Sometimes if I go low we call out the paramedics (thankfully not for a while now.) lets set the scene, in the worst case scenarios I am totally out of it still talking but not even the best linguist could figure out what I was saying. So they try to give me glucose gel, seriously this stuff tastes really bad even the paramedic says the taste is awful (so logically give an argumentative T1 Diabetic this stuff until she refuses to open her mouth or start gagging on the stuff, that makes no sense.) After this failure they try to set up a dextrose drip now I don't know why but if I am low my veins run away, my husband says he can see them moving a bit of a freaky show. So they poke and prod and eventually set up the drip now it gets better but I am still a bit confused so while the drip is dripping they bring out the forms and one of the questions is what insulin are you on, in this state I can guarantee you that I will only remember Lantus so I will say Novorapid and I don't know. This will not work so I am still going to tell everyone I am on Lantus to me it is like saying Hoover but you have a Bosch vacuum cleaner. Either that or the paramedics could be trained to look on the bedside table where I probably have about 10 empty pens (I know bad.) and one current pen I am using.

Now Sanofi have apparently bought out a new extra long acting insulin better than Lantus oops Optisulin but wait for it wait this one is called Toujeo, I think this is relatively new so a while before it gets to SA but just as I get used to Optisulin my doctor will change it to Toujeo heck I can't even say that now let alone in a hypo situation.

To Sanofi-Aventis Solostar what ever you are called remember this- Most Diabetics don't like change and what you think is a minor thing can be pretty big in our lives. What about Lantus version 1,2 and 3. Might look bad on your marketing campaign but will make my life a lot easier.

Lantus / Optisulin is one of the worlds most prescribed insulin with sales in 2014 in the region of $7.2 billion. Proof that you make the best so we will just have to get used to it.

Have a great weekend all,

Stay Linked

Kim

Married for 14 years.

I have been married for 14 years. Yes I said it FOURTEEN years.

Lets do a quick whirl wind break down of some of the major events in those 14 years.

Saturday October 27th 2001 : Guests got lost because only a very few people back then had a bloody GPS devise of any description and my husband's directions printed on the invitations had one major highway off ramp incorrectly named, the next off ramp was Daveton so quite a major error.

I was also late not because I wanted to be or needed to be but because someone said it is unlucky to be early or on time for your wedding and another person said that it was good luck if it rained on your wedding and we had that in vast supply it stopped raining for the lady formally known as Miss Jones to enter the church and the now Mrs Patience to leave the church and that was about it on the clear skies front.

 We had planned for a slightly earlier wedding because another person said we still needed good light for our photos ha ha due to the rainy weather it was pitch dark for the photos.

 Quite frankly I did not give a Sh*#! as I was getting married and not even the slightest think could spoil that day, also my soon to be husband had stocked the limo with some very nice champagne and my Dad and I had to open it to calm the nerves. I don't recall being nervous at all must of been my Dad that was nervous after all it was his youngest daughter getting married.

The priest also forgot the wedding register at home and sent his wife about 17 kilometers back to fetch it. So good thing I was late.

All that happened 14 years ago.

Lets skip forward a bit to December of 2002 I had thought it would take a while to fall pregnant so we would start trying for a child. I think the night we decided that I fell pregnant. Oops, I am a Diabetic with no Endocrinologist as we did not like the local quake the CDE had appointed us. Also we had no Gynecologist. In all fairness I had been a few months earlier to a Gynae that on hearing that I was a Diabetic had told me he was not taking on anymore confinements, anyway who wants to see a Gynae that in these days still calls a pregnancy a confinement. Now is the time to panic for me yes,not for my husband he says the only way to solve this is to phone the woman that knows what is going on. (No silly not my Mother in Law) He phones our nearest hospital and asks to speak to the Matron of the Maternity ward. He tells her "My wife is a Diabetic and she is pregnant who is the best Gynae you know." He was told by her that the only one to see was Dr J as he was the best and she thought that he lived in a caravan in the parking lot as he was always so quick to arrive in emergencies.This Gynae then gave us the name of a physician who helped with the Diabetes side of things. It was a long 9 months well he was 3 weeks early and next year he will be a teenager where does time go.

14 years even in abbreviated version does not fit easily into a quick blog post.

So now we need to get into the eye of the storm and go a bit faster.

3 years later I went through this pregnancy thing again. It was slightly easier and as always my husband was right by my side, never missed a gynae appointment, never missed a endo. appointment. Got right into a strict low GI diet and never complained.

All I can say is that it has not always been easy but you know what there are more good times and even grand times and these are easier to remember than the crap.

Thank you Glenn for all the support,love and perseverance you put into our marriage.

Glenn always says the piece of paper we signed on the 27 October 2001 doesn't give us an excuse to stop working hard at our relationship.

And being in love makes it a hell of a lot easier too.

Thank you Glenn for putting up with this Diabadass for 14 years. You deserve a medal.

Cheers for now,

Kim

Mother - refusing child insulin treatment for Type 1 Diabetes.

To start of this post I would like to thank Insulin nation they often have a large amount of interesting blog posts that keep us up to date with the latest stories, advances and advise. You will often see that I put a link in my posts to one of their stories that I believe is worth reading and that I wish to talk about further.

This post is shocking and down right abusive, it also makes us aware of how easily incorrect stories available on the internet can lead to people believing that there is natural cures for Type 1 Diabetes.

Here is the link to the article

Parent Refuses Insulin for Teen with Type 1

  http://goo.gl/A4r6a3

Lets be bold here and say the absolute truth that all of us reading this already know because with out this life saving invention none of us would be reading this article anyway:

There is only one treatment for Type 1 diabetes and that is daily insulin.

There is most certainly and at least not yet any way any other treatment.

 Treatment for type 1 diabetes is a lifelong commitment of monitoring blood sugar, taking insulin, maintaining a healthy weight, eating healthy foods and exercising regularly.  The aim is to maintain blood glucose within normal limits.  Tighter control of blood sugar levels can reduce the risk of diabetes-related health complications.

I decided to search the web to possibly see what these parents where seeing that could honestly make them believe there was any other treatment or even a cure for Type 1 Diabetes, I know the truth so it was a bit hard being suckered in to this:

This one sounded quite convincing - My first concern though was that it was on a website called Cancertutor so what makes these guys experts on Diabetes I really don't know. Their cure was the following :

First, use a special nutritional protocol to kill the microbes and parasites (e.g. pancreatic flukes) identified by the consultation.

Flukes are flatworm parasites not what I was told caused my diabetes.

Second, use electromedicine to re-energize the cells in the organs which were weakened by the microbes/parasites.

What is electromedicine ? could find lots of places selling certain devices but no down right definition something to do with sending electricity through your body. Bob Beck sells a Diabetes Zapper devise.

My Second thought is do us Type 1's identify that we are Type 1 early enough to re-energize our beta cells, my understanding was that the body saw the beta cells as bad guys and fought against them so they became useless (Talking like a 5 year old.) One of the problems we might encounter , if there was a way to replace Beta Cells in our bodies,is we might start the process again and reject these cells. This has actually been tested I quote from a more reliable source: "Over the past several years, doctors have attempted to cure diabetes by injecting patients with pancreatic islet cells—the cells of the pancreas that secrete insulin and other hormones. However, the requirement for steroid immunosuppressant therapy to prevent rejection of the cells increases the metabolic demand on insulin-producing cells and eventually they may exhaust their capacity to produce insulin."

So they are saying energize the cells even if that worked there is more chances than not that you will still fight these cells off in a vicious cycle.

 Lets look at it like a 5 year old again - The Beta Cells are like Anikin Skywalker a heroic Jedi Knight they then decide to cloak themselves in Black wear a mask and appear to have moved to the "Dark Side" So your body - "The Resistance" fights against them for the good of the body. Only to find out too late on the Beta Cells death bed  that they are actually "good"(Luke I am your Father) but the resistance does not believe them and they continue fighting. (I have had an over dose of Star wars lately, oh you can tell.)

This two-step process first gets rid of the “root cause” of the diabetes and then re-energizes the weakened cells so the immune system will again become fully functional.

I would not rush out and buy your Diabetes Zapper just yet.

Please use your common sense. There a hundreds of people claiming to have the cure or a better treatment. If you are too overwhelmed with the diagnosis and you common sense has taken a short vacation remember this.

THE ONLY TREATMENT FOR TYPE 1 DIABETES IS DAILY INSULIN TAKEN SUBCUTANEOUSLY (INTO THE FATTY LAYER BETWEEN THE SKIN AND MUSCLE)EITHER BY INJECTION OR INSULIN PUMP.

There are no tablets for Type 1 Diabetics, there is no herbal cure, and as we have seen Electromedicine can't help. (Tablets can help get better control,a herbal additive can help get better control,maybe even the Electromedicine has it's place but all are there just to help with control while taking a daily dose of INSULIN.

My best advice is go see an Endocrinologist do what he/she says and soon too you will be a believer that Insulin is the only way to go.

Thank you Dr. Frederick Banting your grand invention saved my life.

Stay linked.

Bye for now,

Kim

  

  

How do we stay motivated? and who can inspire us.

Some times it is really hard to stay motivated and put on the brave face and keep up with the everyday never ending grind of being a diabetic.

We never seem to get a break sure we can decide today I am going to act like I don't have Diabetes but where does that leave us the next day trying to get back on track and feeling crap.

On these days we need to troll the internet and get some great stuff to try and motivate us in this quest to remain healthy and in control.

I have done some of the hard work for you.

We will start with some quotes:

Feeling a bit better. I always remember that kids story - "The little engine that could" I think I can, I think I can, I know I can, I can. Here is a nostalgic look at the books cover.

WE CAN !!!

Famous people with Diabetes.

1. Myself - Should always be number one on the list. (Only joking)
2. Halle Berry - Actress
3. Nick Jonas - Singer " The Jonas Brothers"
4. Gary Hall - Olympic Swimmer
5. Larry King - Talk show host
6. Winnie Mandela -  Oh a South African enough said
7. Meat Loaf -  Singer
8. This is my favorite -  Ray Kroc - Entrepreneur that started the MacDonald food chain.
9. Ron Santo -  Baseball player for the Chicago Cubs
10. Phil Southerland - Biker/ Author of Not Dead Yet - My race against disease from diagnosis to dominance.
11. Miss America 2014-Miss Idaho - Sierra Sandison - She wore her pump on her bikini during the Miss America competition.
12. Another South African - Mark Koekemoer -Formed the online community Rock your Diabetes.

  Now you are saying so the hell what. Well a lot of these PWD's have done really good work for Diabetes and have helped inspire us not so famous people out there. Lets look at a few.

How they inspire us.

Ron Santo - 3rd Baseman for the Chicago cubs he was born way back in 1940.He was diagnosed at 18 years old in 1958 not a great time to be a diabetic. He had read that he had 25 years max left to live. He died at age 70 wow he knocked that figure out of the park. My favorite from him is "There is no reason this disease should prevent you from utilizing your god given gifts that is why he gave them to us"

Please do your self a favor and read his story or bookmark it for a day you what a little bit of encouragement even if you are not a Diabetic. Here it is : https://goo.gl/Cd3Jou

Just a word of warning although it worked for Ron don't play baseball when you are going low. He must of had serious talent cause I can't even play the game when my BS is fine.

Phil Southerland - A cyclist and a great advocate for Diabetes and exercise.

He has set up a team of cyclists all with Diabetes here is a part of the article:

"Today, Team Type 1 has grown to become a multifaceted athletic initiative, with seven programs and 70 athletes with type 1 diabetes who regularly race in events across the world. The Team continues to expand, adding new team members and striving toward the ultimate goal of reaching the sport’s grand stage, the Tour de France.

“Team Type 1 has become a global movement to show the world that anything is possible with good control,” Phil describes."

For more on Phil Southerland click here http://goo.gl/bHXvvu

Mark Koekemoer -Formed the online community Rock your Diabetes, he also tweets about Diabetes. (he is way more famous than me.) First follow me on the right hand side and then you are free to like Mark on facebook ,here is some more about Mark- Click here http://goo.gl/zPDE2L 

If you read these 3 articles I can guarantee that you will at least pick up that test kit again and try and reach for the stars.

Don't suffer in silence speak up tell someone before you know it you will have your own little support team. Not a sympathy team that is the last thing us stubborn Diabetics need but a little bit of support is always great.

Thanks to my support team (in no particular order):

Mr P

My kids Matthew and Jared

My Dad (Sorry you where also born way back in the same year as Ron Santo)

My Unofficial Official Step Mum

My Mum 

My Mother in Law - By the way you are a contact for the kids on the emergency list only one in JHB that has a level head.

My sisters - Miss you lots 

Keep linked

Have a great Diabetic Weekend.

Kim