PWDs make me jealous

Sleek, sexy, identifiable Dexcom
(image credit: Bernard Farrell | Flickr)

In general, when we hear of PWDs we think it stands for People With Diabetes. But within that community is a privileged subset, whom I also refer to as PWDs. But in this case, the D doesn’t stand for diabetes. No, the PWDs I’m referring to are People With Dexcoms.  And I envy them.

That’s right, Dexcoms. The Continuous Glucose Monitor whose name mysteriously connotes a form of sugar known as dextrose, not glucose. The CGM which doesn’t talk to any insulin pump currently on the market. That Dexcom.

Today I am thankful for a baby who won’t sleep

Please don't change color....Please don't change color...Please don't cha...damn.
Image | Public-domain

Sometimes, a crying baby can be a good thing.

After staying up late last night to clean the house in preparation for my older son’s fifth birthday party today, I finally got to sleep around 1 am. Of course, cleaning the house leads to low blood sugars (which, for some odd reason makes me want to clean the house), so by the time I went to bed I was riding a smooth 130 mg/dl because of an overcorrection from the low and insulin on-board to correct the overcorrection.

A couple of times overnight, my Medtronic pump/CGM woke me with a “high predicted” alert. That makes sense, considering the night I had. Bolus a correction (without turning on the lights to do a proper fingerstick test) and go back to bed. Too tired to do anything else.

Then, at five-thirty in the morning: “WAAAAAAAHHHH!”. Baby Z, age 3 months, wakes up my wife and me. Since my wife, and not I, is biologically equipped to feed him, I seize the opportunity to turn on the light and check my blood sugar the proper way. (My CGM, less than a day young, is reading 180). The meter says 315. 315?! In disbelief, I waste another strip and check it again (One Touch, my ass!)…. 281. Better, but still bad. Are 281 and 315 within the allowable 20% tolerance, I wonder? 28 times two, carry the one…. ahh, the hell with it. It doesn’t matter. I run downstairs to grab my emergency-supply Ziploc bag from my jacket pocket (where I keep insulin, extra pump supplies, and ketone sticks).

RITD changes Focus (?)

There are, it seems, thousands of personal blogs out there by people with diabetes, just discussing their lives and issues that are important to to them.  I figured “who wants to read more of that?”.

So when I started this blog, I decided to be different.  I figured I’d find interesting stories about how people cope with diabetes and how it affects our lives, and share them.   I posted the story about the student who tested her classmates’ blood sugar as a science project, and about the girl and her foster-dog, both with T1D.  I also began writing a few other articles (still unfinished), when I said to myself: self, this is boring!  It was as if I was a student or a journalist handling an assignment.

When I visit and comment on other blogs, I write from the heart.  When I write on TuDiabetes, my contributions are based on experience, compassion, curiosity, and humor (didja hear the one about the “diabetic strip”?)  But the format I’ve taken here seems cold, dull, and long-winded.  It does little to help me connect with my readers, or for readers to connect with me.  (Readers, are you even there?!).

So maybe it’s time for me to re-focus, and to enjoy writing: writing about living with diabetes.  If I don’t enjoy writing it, how can I expect anyone to enjoy reading it?  (And more importantly, what’s the point?)

What would you like to see, and what do you think I should do?

Leave a comment, or if you don’t want to do that, just click one of the poll buttons.

Facebook and A New Look

I’ve decided to update the look of this page (I’m entitled to do so!  See “I’m New Here” on the right) to a different theme.  While the previous theme was crisp and clean, I also felt it was somewhat cold.  This new look, I believe, is a bit warmer and more inviting.  But I’m Still New Here, so things may continue to change as I refine the blog and try to develop a readership.  A few days ago, I also updated the banner at the top of the page.

Also, ROTD now has a Facebook page!  “Like” us on Facebook and new posts will get delivered to your newsfeed, automatically.  Of course, you can also get updates via RSS or through old-fashioned e-mail.  (e-mail old-fashioned?  what does that make snail-mail?).  Maybe one day I’ll join Twitter, once I learn how to express my thoughts in 140 characters or less.  Meanwhile, you can also share what you see here by hovering over the “Share” button at the bottom of each post.

A D-unfriendly Valentine

T1D can run, but it can't hide.

Yesterday was Valentine’s Day. The day when we tell each other how much we love them – with chocolate. Yes, the tradition in our society is that, the more we love our partners, the more sweet chocolate we give them (which, perhaps ironically, makes more of them to love! But I digress…).

Growing up, I can’t remember feeling deprived because I didn’t have Somebody to Love. All I could think of is that “It’s Valentine’s day, dammit, and I Want Candy!” (musical aside: if you click on any of the links in this paragraph, the former is much better than the latter). What’s a person with diabetes to do?  Or rather, what’s a PWD’s partner to do?