Tomorrow

Tomorrow tomorrow ... I fly out tomorrow ... it is only a wake up a way.

Tomorrow morning at 8:15 I get to check off a 1st in my life, I get to fly on an airplane to Indianapolis and head off to the American Association of Diabetes Educators 2012 conference.

I am so excited to get to this conference and learn even more. I have so many interesting topics that I am eager to go listen to.

I will keep you all in the loop as to what I am learning and hope we all can learn more together :)

Check out the twitter hashtag #AADE12 to stay up to date :)

What is it like?

To be a teenager with Type 1 Diabetes

Adolescence is a tough time for all kids and their parents. Teenagers with diabetes carry extra burdens. That child who was always so good about type 1 diabetes management may suddenly rebel against the routine. He or she may refuse to monitor blood sugar levels, go on food binges, be evasive about test results. Your teenager may be grumpy, angry, distant; but this is not always the case!

Every teenager whether they have Type 1 Diabetes or not just wants to be heard ... They want to have an opinion ... and tell you how they feel.

I recently got to email this next lovely teenager and get her views on life with Type 1 Diabetes.

I hope this helps other teenagers, parents, family members out there understand how these children/young adults see their diabetes and social media

Q: First Name andAge
A:  Brieanna age 13

Q: When were you diagnosed and at what age?
A: June 9th 2008 at the age of 9

Q: What do you remember about your diagnosis?
A: I remember my mom crying and I was so young, so didn’t know what diabetes was and I didn't know why she was crying

Q: Are you on an insulin pump (if yes what kind) or are you on multiple daily injections?
A: .Medtronic Minimed paradigm insulin pump (revel)

Q: Do you like your current method of infusion?
A: Yes

Q: How comfortable are you managing your Type 1 Diabetes?
A: I am comfortable, I sometimes count my own carbs, change my sites, and I always test my own blood sugars

Q: What is the hardest aspect of your diabetes management?
A: Balancing my blood sugar while playing sports

Q: Do you have a Diabetes Alert Dog, if yes how does your D.A.D help you with your diabetes management?
A: no

Q: Are you friends with any other Type 1 diabetics in your area?
A: Yes I go to school with one and she’s in my grade

Q: Do you talk to other Type 1 Diabetic children/teens via facebook, twitter, or chat rooms? If yes:  Does that help your diabetes management and understanding of Type 1 Diabetes?
A: Yes, but we don’t talk about diabetes we just chat for fun

Q: Besides a cure what 1 thing would you like to see researchers working towards and why?
A: A smaller tubeless pump that doesn’t stick out and doesn't have to be changed every three days also a cgm that doesn’t lag behind so much

Q: What tips or advice would you give to other newly diagnosed Type 1 Diabetic children/teens?
A: Never give up, don’t let diabetes hold you back or stop you from doing what you love and following your dreams

What is it like ...

To be a teenager with Type 1 Diabetes.

Today I will continue with the series What is it like ... I had the pleasure of email interviewing Jessica and getting her views on being a teenager who has Type 1 Diabetes, social media, and what she would say to a newly diagnosed teen

Enjoy her interview

Q:  First Name and Age:
A: Jess, 17

Q:  When were you diagnosed and at what age?
A: 14... well almost 15

Q:  What do you remember about your diagnosis?
A: a lot, I remember being at he dr office and the dr tell us I should drink Gatorade (stupid) I remember getting blood drawn and eating Wendys... I remember driving to the hospital, but I was to out of it to be scared.... being in the ER, Being REALLY HUNGRY! And soo so thirsty, then being taken to my room, and the next morning giving my first shot, which wasn't that bad cause I knew after the shot I got to eat pancakes!

Q:  Are you on an insulin pump (if yes what kind) or are you on multiple daily injections?
A: I was on shots for 6 months and I've been on the animas ping since then.

Q:  Do you like your current method of infusion?
A: yes

Q:  How comfortable are you managing your Type 1 Diabetes?
A: I feel comfortable, I know what I have to do and don't really need my mom's help anymore =)

Q:  What is the hardest aspect of your diabetes management?
A: nights.

Q:  Do you have a Diabetes Alert Dog, if yes how does your D.A.D help you with your diabetes management?
A: nope

Q:  Are you friends with any other Type 1 diabetics in your area?
A: My best friend (for ten years) was dx three months ago, but until then I only had online d friends.

Q:  Do you talk to other Type 1 Diabetic children/teens via facebook, twitter, or chat rooms? If yes: Does that help your diabetes management and understanding of Type 1 Diabetes?
A: I belong to CWD, facebook groups, twitter stuff, and I blog

Q:  Besides a cure what 1 thing would you like to see researchers working towards and why?
A: The AF, better insulins, and prevention because I would rather live with diabetes forever and not have any of my children get it.

Q: What tips or advice would you give to other newly diagnosed Type 1 Diabetic children/teens?
A: Get involved online, learn all you can, and know that its okay to get upset and admit your having a hard time.

I hope you all are having a good week, enjoyed this post, and will check back again later for more

What is is like ...

To be a teenager with Type 1 Diabetes ...

I set out to get the views of everyone that is affected by the diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes. I have gotten an amazing response from the teenage T1 community wanting to get their views heard.

Teenagers in my opinion get stuck in an interesting spot ... They are not children but they are not adults either, they are in this kind of in between ... They want the responsibility but they also still want help. They want to act like adults but do not have the brain function yet of an adult ... It comes down to a very fine line of communication and responsibility to manage diabetes during the teenage years.

Here is one of those teenagers thoughts :)

Q: First Name and Age:
A:  Alyssa 18 years old

Q: When were you diagnosed and at what age?
A:  December 1, 2004-- 10 years old

Q: What do you remember about your diagnosis?
A:  How in denial my dad was. Lol

Q: Are you on an insulin pump (if yes what kind) or are you on multiple daily injections?
A:  Yes-- animas one touch ping

Q: Do you like your current method of infusion?
A:  No-- I'm on silhouettes but I'm changing to one that goes straight in and is much more painless :D

Q: How comfortable are you managing your Type 1 Diabetes?
A:  Very comfortable. My mom helps me out just so that I don't get overwhelmed and tired of it but with going away to college in fall, I have to:)

Q: What is the hardest aspect of your diabetes management?
A:  Trying to eat at parties where there are no containers with carbs on them and no measuring tools... I'm pretty good at guesstimating but it just gets annoying.

Q: Do you have a Diabetes Alert Dog, if yes how does your D.A.D help you with your diabetes management?
A:  No

Q: Are you friends with any other Type 1 diabetics in your area?
A:  Yes-- I went to a camp for diabetics in my area and it has been the best thing for me!! I'm a counselor there now and I love helping kids that were going through the same thing as me!!

Q: Do you talk to other Type 1 Diabetic children/teens via facebook, twitter, or chat rooms? If yes:  Does that help your diabetes management and understanding of Type 1 Diabetes?
A: Yes... I talk to my fellow counselors and campers from above camp:)

Q: Besides a cure what 1 thing would you like to see researchers working towards and why? A: Insulin in the pill form for T1's... I don't care how many times I could have to take it or how many I would have to take... or an oral insulin that you would just drink or swallow

Q: What tips or advice would you give to other newly diagnosed Type 1 Diabetic children/teens?
A:  It will be difficult at first... It will also be painful... But you can't give up or break down... It's okay to ask for help... Call your doctor or nurse practitioner.. They're there for you and also... Don't blow people off when they tell you stories about loss of eyesight or amputations... It can very well happen... That's why it is sooo important to take extra good care of yourself!!

I look forward to sharing even more thoughts and stories like Alyssa's, keep checking back for more :)

July's Blog Carnival

So the though provoking discussion has been raised by the DSMA (Diabetes Social Media Advocacy) and I am SO excited to answer. The discussion raised is The diabetes community has taught me how to _______ and _______.

The diabetes community has taught me how to be a good educator and listener

When my daughter Aly was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes five and a half years ago I was taken aback. I barely had even heard of Type 1 Diabetes.

When my daughter was diagnosed I turned to Facebook, I turned to groups of parents that were dealing with the trials and tribulations of parenting children with diabetes. These groups along with Aly's diagnosis helped me find my passion of educating others about Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes while also being a support system for others.

The diabetes community has taught me to listen to others and what they are saying, it has taught me that just because we are all tied together by 1 diagnosis everyone's story is different while sometimes being the same.

It has taught me that people care, people truly care about others .... On a good day, bad day, crazy day, no matter what ... people care and are there to listen

The diabetes community has taught me that family is not just a blood relation. Family can be everyone and anyone, I feel so close to so many of the family and individuals linked to Type 1 Diabetes

I promise as a member of the diabetes community to always be there ... day or night ... all it takes is a text message, a Facebook message, a Twitter message, a comment on my blog ... Just get a hold of me one way or another and I will be there!!

What is it like ...

To be a Teenager with Type 1 Diabetes?

Thousands of teenagers and young adults live with Type 1 diabetes since this is an incurable disease.

I set out to get their views on their diagnosis, life managing diabetes, and how social media helps them better understand and over come this diagnosis.

Today I am posting Ciara's interview    .......................              ENJOY!!

Q:  First Name and Age:
A: Ciara, 18 years old

Q:  When were you diagnosed and at what age?
A: 22nd April 2011 at 16 years old

Q:  What do you remember about your diagnosis?
A: I had been sick for a few months, got really bad on the day of my dx, breathing was hard, so was walking and keeping any kind of concentration, i don't remember much of going to the hospital but when i was there i was hooked up to two drips and told i had type 1, all i asked was , was this the kind you took injections for :L after that they just tried to stabilize me and put me on a heart monitor, i stayed in for a week(2days coronary care) my blood sugar was 774mg(43mmol) and i had large ketones(7.4mmol)

Q:  Are you on an insulin pump (if yes what kind) or are you on multiple daily injections?
A: I started a pump in May of this year, a Medtronic minimed Veo

Q:  Do you like your current method of infusion?
A: Yes, I prefer it to MDI, I get way better control on the pump this way less swings for high-low and low-high

Q:  How comfortable are you managing your Type 1 Diabetes?
A: Quite comfortable, it's not something that gets me down; I do my best with it

Q:  What is the hardest aspect of your diabetes management?
A: Probably avoiding hypos, because I take ages to get back up

Q:  Do you have a Diabetes Alert Dog, if yes how does your D.A.D help you with your diabetes management?
A: nope I don't have a D.A.D

Q: Are you friends with any other Type 1 diabetics in your area?
A: I'm friends with 2 other t1's in my area and recently met another one, and am going to meet another t1 next month

Q:  Do you talk to other Type 1 Diabetic children/teens via facebook, twitter, or chat rooms? If yes: Does that help your diabetes management and understanding of Type 1 Diabetes?
A: yes, it helps a lot because 99% of the time someone else has been through what you’re going through and will have advice and will offer support.

Q:  Besides a cure what 1 thing would you like to see researchers working towards and why?
A: Em, I'm not really sure, maybe making pumps more widely available and accessible to those who want them, because in my area I’m one of only 4 people who are pumping, and why? Because I find they are better than MDI but I guess it'd also be personal choice too :L

Q:  What tips or advice would you give to other newly diagnosed Type 1 Diabetic children/teens?
A: It gets better! You control it, it doesn't control you, it won't stop you doing anything in life, just keep at it and stay positive and always keep smiling 

I want to thank Ciara for helping me see the view point of a teenager. Check back tomorrow for another teenagers views on diagnosis, management, and social media