As a diabetic, it’s critical that I take care of my body and be as healthy as possible.  The odds are stacked against me so any little opportunity to eat right, exercise or pay special attention to my body could help me over the long run.

On the Facebook fan page, I have been talking about the BodyBugg that I picked up at the beginning of July.  The BodyBugg is a calorie management system that combines a monitor (arm band) and online program that helps you to manage calories intake and calories burned.  It’s truly amazing how accurate it is and I highly recommend it.  It’s not cheap, but if used diligently, can help you lose weight or change your body composition.

As I track my calories, carbs, protein, etc., I have found how extremely difficult it is to estimate the nutrition contents in a salad.  I have been eating salads more often and combine, chicken, lettuce (all different kinds and definitely not iceberg), peppers, carrots, light dressing, cranberries, walnuts, etc. into my salads.  Combining all of these things makes for a difficult time in estimating carbs for my bolus and nutrition contents for the BodyBugg.

For something important to one’s diet, it is so frustrating how difficult it can be to manage for diabetes and calories.  I have recently picked up a kitchen scale to help weight my food contents, which helps a bit.  You try to go healthy with a salad and end up with a high or low blood sugar… sigh.  It’s so much easier to crack open a box of frozen shit that has the obnoxious nutritional [lack of] facts listed on the side or back. 

If you want to be utterly shocked, track your sodium intake for a few days.  Just about everything that comes in a box is loaded with salt.

/rant

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It’s Never Easy is a post from: Blogging Diabetes

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Having diabetes for about 12 years now, there are two things that I watch very closely and have been proud to have never had any issues.  The two things are: my feet and my eyes.  I have always been someone who runs hot and have never had any circulation issues.  Someday I’m sure this will change, but I have perfect vision with my annual results always coming back better than 20/20 with absolutely no signs of damage from diabetes.  I can basically read the tiny print of who the company is that created the eye chart when asked, but that’s neither here nor there.

I was on vacation in Scottsdale recently and after three days of wearing nothing but flip flops and enjoying the resort pool (heavily chlorinated), I noticed my heel hurt quite a bit.  I didn’t think too much of it at first until later on when I fully inspected my foot.  I noticed that the calloused part of my outer right heel had cracked.  I freaked out a bit because I’m constantly going into the pool, playing with my kids around the pool and didn’t want to get an infection.  I did an internet search right away to find out that this issue is called a “heel fissure’” and you can see images of what it can look like below. 

If left untreated, a heel fissure that is deep enough can lead to a serious infection.  I used Neosporin every day, caked my heel in Vaseline each night and covered it with a sock.  It healed and is now better, but it taught me a lesson.  I need to take extra care of my feet to proactively prevent issues like this instead of being reactive.

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If you have experienced a heel fissure, you know how painful they can be.  Share your thoughts in the comments if you would like to add anything.

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Diabetic Complication is a post from: Blogging Diabetes

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I’m going to be 100% completely honest with the upcoming statement.  I’ve read many stories, posts and tweets that talk about making sure you always have your blood glucose meter or testing supplies with you .  There have been those that panic when they don’t have their meter to test with.  So here’s my approach.

I can honestly say that I NEVER take my blood sugar meter with me unless I know it’s going to be a day long trip.  Even if I’m going out to dinner, I’ll test before I leave and run with it.  Going to the mall, test before I leave and head on out.  Going to the park, test before and go to the flipping park.  I tend to know when my sugar is low through the typical warning signs, which is different than those who sometimes can’t tell.

Does this make me lazy?  Does this approach lead to poor diabetes management?  Am I setting a bad example by admitting this to you?  You know what?  I think I’m not alone.

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Diabetes Supplies for the Road is a post from: Blogging Diabetes

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I can distinctly remember back in the day rocking Obsession for Men by CK and thinking I was pimping. We have to be going back about 15+ years if I had to guess.  Since I’m taking a stroll down memory lane, I want to share with you my perspective on improvement whether it’s for work, personal or just about anything, but mostly related to diabetes.

In my professional life, I have been successful because I tend to become almost obsessed with A) doing the best I possibly can each and every time B) constantly trying to improve and C) learning from mistakes (mine and others) to grow personally and professionally.

No matter if I was cleaning up the kitchen, cutting the grass, raking leaves or working on a project for work or school, I found that I excelled at it because I would become obsessed with doing my best.  I wouldn’t call it perfection, because I know better than trying to be perfect.  I guess you could call it an obsession with determination and execution.  I also found my best results with exercising, diet and weight training came when I would fully engulf myself in these activities to the point of being obsessed.

Enough of my past, I now want to share my thoughts on diabetes management.  I have done well over the last 12 years by trying to take care of myself and always staying on top of my blood sugar.  I’ve never considered myself obsessed with my diabetes control and I’m not sure why.  It’s probably one of the most important things I could do, yet I haven’t executed on better control.  I have said many times before on this blog that complacency is the enemy of good diabetes control.  When I became obsessed with my weight, dieting, exercising and health at the start of this year, I noticed my blood sugars were phenomenal.  You could say I became obsessed with better health all around.  My wife would certainly say that I’m an exercise addict.  I would counter with, that’s when I do my very best.  There’s absolutely no room in my vocabulary for “half-ass”.

I also acknowledge that an obsession with things such as diabetes management can become almost a disease within itself.  So this all leads up to a question I will pose to my readers:

Is the only way to really have perfect (if there were such a thing outside of a working pancreas) control with diabetes to be obsessed with the numbers, tweaking, testing, adjusting, testing, readjusting, count every carb by 10ths etc.?

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Obsession: Diabetes is a post from: Blogging Diabetes

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“I fight because I have to…

I push myself because I can…

I push myself to the limit because no one else will…

I sweat because I’m trying…

I sweat because I’m giving 100%…

If I lose, others will lose too…

If I win, no one will know…

He chose me because he knew I could handle it…

He chose me because he knew I could win…

Knowing I could win, maybe he chose me so someone else could live…

Maybe even someone I love…”  A.Rose

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Why Me? is a post from: Blogging Diabetes

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This morning, after dropping off the kids at school, I decided [unintentionally] that I was due for a car accident.  This is my attempt at a bit of sarcasm, but it’s now more than 12 hours old and time for a chuckle at my own expense.  It was just the previous day when I was thinking about how quickly my girls are growing up and before you know it I will need to teach them how to be safe drivers. You know, the little things they don’t teach you in Drivers ED like know who is around you, anticipate the unexpected, stay calm and observant and give yourself PLENTY of room.

The point of this post isn’t to highlight my minor fender bender that had half of the county’s fire department stop by or “friends” text me “having a bad day?” after seeing me beside the police officer on the side of the road.  I will say that I’m OK, the other driver seems to be OK, minus the whole whiplash claim that reminded me of a scene from a movie and least importantly, unless my wife’s reading, the car is fine.  There’s barely cosmetic damage to my (wife’s car, which could be a whole separate post) vehicle. So I got lucky in a sense.

I look at it now like it’s an opportunity to shape up – get my head out of my ass and stop being complacent.  I’ve talked here before about complacency and how it’s the dark side of diabetes. This situation (I can’t write that word without thinking of the Jersey Shore) is my opportunity to try harder and do better while I have the chance and no one is seriously hurt.

Maybe this accident doesn’t happen and later on, it’s far worse.  Maybe my kids could have been in the car.  Not good scenarios.  I can now refocus, remind myself what’s important and get back on track.

Perhaps each of us with diabetes need a minor crash once in a while in order to wake up before it’s a disaster or life threatening.  I don’t recommend getting into an accident on purpose.  So, for now, just learn from me.  Don’t wait until complications from diabetes are serious, take notice of the minor signs and do better while you can.  When it’s too late, it’s too late.

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P.S. I was not texting, didn’t have a low blood sugar, my phone wasn’t out and I wasn’t even distracted.  If you are my insurance company, I claim no responsibility for the accident.  If you are my wife, it’s only a car, right hun?  It adds character.

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Diabetes Car Crash is a post from: Blogging Diabetes

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Just last week I finally started the Diabetes 365 project.  This project is located on Flickr and has a group of around 220 people that submit pictures or videos every day, hence the 365.  At first I thought it would be a lot of work with little return.  I’m on the verge of pre ordering a new Canon Rebel camera and enjoy taking photos.  I’m not even close to anything but an amateur when it comes to photography.  On Blogging Diabetes you can easily keep track of my pictures by clicking on the word “Photos” in the header.

Back to the project; It has been fairly easy to keep up with the daily pictures because I can snap one on my phone camera, which is pretty good, and with the click of a few buttons, email it to my Flickr account to be automatically posted in my Diabetes 365 folder (called a Set).

The photo above was actually taken on the first day that I truly started the Diabetes 365 project.  I may not ever admit it, but the song is pretty good and the title stood out right away.  So, naturally, I snapped a picture of it with my phone and posted it for the day.  Now that is easy, right? 

One benefit of the Diabetes 365 project is this – by constantly thinking about diabetes it helps me to not become complacent.  It is very easy to: wake up, test, bolus, eat, test, bolus, eat, test and sleep.  However, when I am thinking about what might be interesting for the D365, diabetes sticks in my mind more and keeps me on my toes.  What I will try not to do is take a picture of my Humalog vial or meter every day for my daily picture.  I will certainly try to mix it up and be interesting.

Finally, the title of this song got me thinking about how I live.  Sometimes, when I’m a little down or around my young girls, I will almost act like I may not see them again, just in case.  I never miss an opportunity to shower them with extra hugs/kisses to the point where my oldest will say, “Alright Dad, stop”.  I remember growing up where my Mom doing this to me and now I can relate.  With having diabetes, I truly do live like I’m dying sometimes because that’s what the disease does to you.  It takes a little tiny bit of you each day until, one day, there’s nothing left.  Depending on the day and how well I do, it might be next to nothing or it could be more than it should.  If I don’t live like I’m dying than it can be too easy to become complacent with my management and put off things I should be doing today.  Until there’s a cure, I’ll probably live like I’m dying.  This isn’t saddening to me because it’s simply what I have to do… to win.

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Live Like We’re Dying is a post from: Blogging Diabetes

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When I converted over to an insulin pump roughly four years ago, little did I know that syringes would never go away.  I have written here before some of the reasons I miss my syringes and my insulin pen.  With injections there’s no unknown.  You fill the syringe, you grab some skin and inject.  When using an insulin pump there are a few unknowns and a mental checklist that you need to go through when something doesn’t seem right or your numbers are out of whack. 

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I sometimes long for the freedom of no tubing or infusion sets.  I wonder what life would really be like if i was cured.  How long would I continue to test my blood sugar after being cured out of habit or curiosity?  When I am in between infusion sets and showering it’s the best feeling.  I don’t have to worry about the infusion set getting attacked by the towels’ strands. I know I digress, so I’ll get to my point of this post.

There will always be syringes in my house for two very good reasons. 

1. They are a backup for the time when/if my insulin pump dies
2. I use them very effectively for correcting my blood sugar

Anytime my blood sugar is over 300 I will almost always use a syringe to correct it.  I have found through experience that an injection in a different area than the infusion set will bring my blood sugar down faster than a corrective bolus any day of the week and twice on Sunday.  I imagine it that when I am bolusing and infusing insulin in one area, it can tend to get pooled up before it is absorbed.  If I eat a lot of carbs, bolus and then find I am still high, I find it more effective to inject into a different site.

Another benefit of using a syringe is that you take out the unknown of a bad infusion site, pump problems, reservoir problems, bleed backs, gusher, etc.  I know that when I inject the insulin my blood sugar WILL come down.  If I enter a corrective bolus, it’s a crap shoot.  When my blood sugar is really jacked up, I might inject about 70% of the corrective dose while bolusing for the other 30%.

Maybe this is a no brainer and you haven’t even read this far into the post.  Maybe you don’t even have an insulin pump. Quite possibly you don’t even have diabetes.  But if you didn’t know, now you do. A box of 100 syringes has lasted me literally years and only set me back about a $20 co-pay.  It is so worth the money and you will always find some in my case or home.

If you pump insulin, do you correct the same way or do you rely on your pump?

Like what you see here?  Check out our new Facebook page for more tips and insights into real-living with diabetes.

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Pumping Insulin: Keep Those Syringes Close By is a post from: Blogging Diabetes

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While digging out from a record snowfall here in Maryland, I have been counting the days until our family vacation scheduled in May.  My wife, children and I will be traveling to Scottsdale for about ten days to enjoy the pool, golf, Sedona views, and some much needed relaxing.  I will say that this has been the most trying starts to a year I’ve probably ever had.  As our family grew, so did the numbers of illnesses, time off and added stress.  Also, the start to this year has me trying to get in the best shape of my life.  I’ve dropped 10 pounds, my pants are loose and I feel awesome!  I’m pumped to get into my bathing suit and slop on some sunscreen.  There’s nothing better than sitting back or playing with kids on vacation by the pool and then watching them crash from being exhausted and happy.

Enough of me visualizing my vacation and sounding self-centered.  The purpose of this post is to put a call out to anyone interested in guest blogging/writing on Blogging Diabetes.  There are a few specific individuals I am looking for to write on specific topics (see more below).  I am also looking for anyone that wants to write about diabetes or related topic.  I am very open and as long as the post isn’t selling anything I will consider it.  I can fill up to about 10 spots as I don’t want to publish more than one per day.  This is a great opportunity to tap into the Blogging Diabetes audience, doing a little self promoting or just write to help others.

If you are interested, please contact me using this form or write to tony[at]bloggingdiabetes.com.  I’ve written my email address like this to prevent spammers from scraping my email address.  I am very open and will try to accommodate all requests depending on volume. Don’t be shy, send me your ideas.

Specific Topics

In addition to those interested in guest posting, I am looking for the following people to help discuss a few different topics and how they are related to diabetes.

• Dentist
• Nutritionist

Thank you, Tony

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I want to sincerely thank you for your continued support and subscription. This blog is better because of you.

Guest Writers/Bloggers is a post from: Blogging Diabetes

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This will be the last post in the mini series I have created going back to the beginning of this year.  If you want to catch up on those posts before continuing with this one, they can be found by clicking on the following:

1. You Must Finish Strong
2. I Need to Win at Diabetes
3. Clean Diabetic Diet and Exercise
4. My 2010 Challenge

Let me reiterate that I’m not a doctor and I don’t have any scientific data that explains what I am about to say.  I have neither collected data nor can guarantee these results.  As always, consult your physician before changing anything in your diet. 

Back in September when I fell off of my diet wagon and began eating and drinking soda like it was going out of style, my blood sugars were high.  In the morning I had a very difficult time keeping my sugar below 200 between breakfast and lunch.  At bed time, my sugars were always pretty high probably from an oversized dinner.  During this period from September through the end of December, I was drinking one thing constantly; Diet Mountain Dew.

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I would have a sugar free Monster or Rockstar drink in the morning and then drink Diet Mountain Dew all day long until dinner when I would stop for the evening.  By days end, I would probably come close to 2 liters per day.  It is very hard to tell, but I noticed that when I stopped drinking so much caffeine my sugars seemed to level out.  Granted, I also changed my diet shortly after, but the caffeine had multiple negative effects on the body.

1. By drinking so much soda, I was drinking nearly zero water each day 
2. All of the caffeine was keeping me going during the day, but seriously crashing at night

When I was diagnosed I had a very easy time transitioning to diet soda because that’s really what I drank anyways.  I have heard from many diabetics and I think the general consensus is that you would have to pry the diet soda out of my cold, dead hands for me to give it up.  Up until now, I would have agreed. 

I am going to say it right here and quite frankly; I think diet soda (not caffeine free) is one of the most detrimental things that a diabetic can consume outside of doing pure sugar shots.  I’m talking about the typical day to day things someone would eat or drink.  Sure there are other things that are hazardous, but you know what I’m talking about.  Also, I’m not talking about one diet soda here and there; I am talking about someone like me that obviously had a problem.  I will be the first to admit it.  I was addicted to Diet Mountain Dew.

One of the reasons I think drinking diet soda all day long, maybe at work, is such a problem is what happens afterwards.  When you need the energy to do something beneficial for yourself like exercise or spend time with the family, you have no energy.  The crash from no caffeine was so bad, that most nights I wanted to crawl into bed at 7:30 when we started to put our girls down for the evening.  Now with much more energy I might even sneak in a 45 minute workout at 11:00 at night.

I still haven’t completely given up caffeine. In the morning I am still drinking a Monster energy drink, but it’s all about baby steps, right?  The difference is that I am drinking at least a gallon of plain water each day after my morning jolt.  I feel energized and have a lot more motivation to workout at night instead of A) snacking and watching TV or B) going to bed from just being tired.

If you want to feel better, have more motivation and help your body stay clean, give up the soda for a glass or two of water.  It’s better for your kidneys, your skin and will help you out in the long term.  I’m not a doctor, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

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The Key To Lowering Your Blood Sugar is a post from: Blogging Diabetes

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