When you live with diabetes for a long time there comes a long list of terms that make perfect sense to you, but not to the person just diagnosed with diabetes or non-diabetic. I’m not a doctor or expert in the medical field so these are just my explanations to the terms below as someone who has lived with diabetes since 1998. Here is a short list of some terms that are commonly used in the diabetes world:

  • 504 Plan -Refers to a plan developed to meet the requirements of a federal law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (diabetes.org)
  • A1c - HgA1c: Blood test that measures of the average control over the past few months
  • Basal Rate – amount of insulin delivered slowly by an insulin pump in an attempt to stabilize blood sugars
  • Bolus – delivery of insulin either immediately or over time to cover carbohydrates consumed or correct a high blood sugar
  • Blood Sugar/Glucose – The primary sugar found in the blood and the body’s source of energy
  • CGM – Continuous Glucose Monitor
  • CWD – Children or Child with diabetes
  • Dawn Phenomenon – time period in the morning when blood sugars tend to be higher than the rest of the day
  • Dblog – abbreviation, commonly used in twitter to refer to a diabetes blog
  • Dcast – abbreviation I use to refer to a diabetes podcast
  • DOC – No this isn’t a reference to doctor, it stands for Diabetes Online Community
  • DSMA – Diabetes Social Media Advocacy. Refers to a twitter chat that takes place each Wednesday at 9PM EST for the diabetes community
  • Endo – Doctor that specializes in diabetes among a few other things and short for Endocrinologist
  • Gusher – Refers to the “gushing” of blood after removing an infusion site (pump) that hit a capillary
  • Hyper – High blood sugar and short for Hyperglycemia
  • Hypo – Low blood sugar and short for Hypoglycemia
  • Ketoacidosis – the presence of ketones. High levels can be dangerous and life-threatening
  • Ketones - substance that is leftover when the body breaks down fat for energy
  • Neuropathy – disease of the nervous system that can be found more in those with diabetes especially in the feet
  • Pancreas – The thing that is supposed to produce insulin in the body and typically sucks for those with diabetes
  • Pre Diabetes – Refers to the period before developing diabetes where the blood sugars are higher than normal, but not high enough to classify as diabetes
  • PWD – Person with diabetes
  • Super Bolus - See this article –> (John Walsh)
  • T1 – Type 1 diabetes, (May also be referred to as: Insulin Dependent or Juvenile onset) makes up a small percentage of the overall number of people with diabetes at around 5%
  • T1.5 – Type 1.5 or referred to as Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults (LADA) due to the late onset of diabetes that is not typical of T1
  • T2 – Type 2 Diabetes, (May also be referred to as: Adult onset or non-insulin dependent) is more prevalent and makes up nearly 90% of diabetes cases
  • T3 – Type 3 (not a clinical type of diabetes) or commonly referred to as the person(s) taking care of someone with diabetes or diabetes community
  • TCOYD – Taking Control of Your Diabetes, an organization that educates and empowers those in the diabetes community
  • YDMV – Your diabetes may vary

I tried to keep this list short and to the ones commonly used that may not make sense. If there are any terms you would like to see added, just drop me a message and I will look to add it.