So I GOOGLE - a lot and I’ll admit it. I think it’s a fantastic search engine and it's helped me both personally & professionally. But I’m not really jazzed about that fact that my blood sugars could be available to any and all who Google if I chose to do so.

OK, let me backtrack. I was checking my Twitter on Friday (I’m still getting acclimated to figuring the “Land of Twit”out, but that's another story for another time) and ChronicBabe twitted the following:"Hey, sugar: Want Google to know your blood sugar? Mashable alerts us this morning that Google has l.. http://tinyurl.com/ak8ay3 "

OF COURSE...my interest was peaked. I clicked on her link and I suggest you do the same. For those of you who aren't familiar, Chronicbabe is a great site for any babe who suffers from a chronic illness. Chock full of info ( I never would have known about the whole Google/B.S thing) and funny to boot! Check it out!

I was interested and found the this "Chronic Bit" to be good and it linked to a Mashable article that went into greater detail. FYI-the Mashables dude didn’t have a great “working knowledge” of diabetes. You’ll see that as soon as you read his diabetes/donut example,(I kind of mentioned that in my comment - very nicely might I add) but he didn’t print it. Still, the article was interesting,to the point and explains how the Google Health Initiative much better than I do. Read it!

Basically, Google Health Initiative is now able to pull user information from all types of medical equipment, including blood sugar machines.

Personally – I’m not sure if I like the fact that if I allow, my numbers could be posted for all to see. I’m very concerned about privacy issues. Exactly who will be privy to my numbers and medical records? Would potential employers “Google” to see what my b.s averages were?

Don’t even get me started on insurance companies, would one of their lackies understand that exactly two days before my period (sorry boys) my blood sugars go high for no good reason, & that the day before my period I run low (like crazy low) all day? Or would they just punish me according to my numbers?

I have no problem writing about my blood sugars – all of us dBlogville have written about insane blood sugar days or achieving Blood Sugar Nirvana – but we choose to make that info public.

Then there’s the whole medical spam iss-ue. I already have more than enough “30-Day Diabetes Cure” emails in my spam box - would this Google feature add even more?

I have a lot of questions about this, and so far, not too many answers. I'm not really sold on this particular Google feature.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

So flying the friendly skies is about as "diabetes friendly" as a never ending bowl of pasta sprinkled with rice and topped off with potatoes and washed down with 2 gallons of lager.

Last Wednesday (the day of my trip to Florida) I woke up at 4 am showered, grabbed my carry on luggage, and yes, miracle of miracles, I managed to do the carry-on bag for a 4 day trip, including clothing options and mucho diabetes supplies.

My friend and I were driven to the airport in the snow by her boyfriend and arrived at said airport at 5:15 with boarding passes in hand and Jimmy Buffet songs in our heads.

We stood in the security line and at the checkpoint showed our boarding passes and licenses, no problem-easy peasy!

We took off our shoes, loaded our carry-ons, jackets, and knapsacks on the x-ray conveyor belt and walked through the walk through security. My friend Cathy went through no problem.

I walked through and the alarms went off. Stupid me forgot NOT to wear a belt that morning and the buckle sent the alarm a buzzing. I showed the male security guard my belt – which happened to have my insulin pump clipped to it.

Once he saw that, he told me to stand behind the glass patrician until a female security guard could come over and pat me down.

In my head I thought: FOR AN INSULIN PUMP - YOU'VE GOT TO BE SHITTING ME?!

In all my years of traveling while wearing my insulin pump, every single security guard had recognized it and waved me through. It's NEVER caused a problem in the past. But new travel restrictions have come into play since Christmas and insulin pump friendly they are not!

So there I stood- sleep and caffeine deprived, worried about my iphone and wallet (which were in my knapsack, which at that point was causing a huge pile up on the x-ray conveyor belt. I stood there for a good 5 minutes feeling like a criminal, until a female security chick (FSC) finally came over.

She put the zapper wand thing all over my person- back and front, up and down – and people were starting to watch.

FSC: Touch your insulin pump

Me: No problem – and I touched it.

FSC: NO- not that part of the pump – the part with the insulin in it.

Me: You mean the insulin reservoir?

FSC: YES.

ME: OK.

FSC: Hands in front of you.

Me: Huh?

FSC: Hands in front of you – I need to swab them.

And in my head I was thinking: SWAB THIS BIOTCH

At this point I was thoroughly annoyed on oh so many levels.

Still, I did what she said and watched she swabbed my hands.

FSC: Follow me.

And I followed.

We walked over to the x-ray conveyor belt and then behind it to some computer test thing.

FSC: Whose stuff is blocking the conveyor belt?

ME: That’s my stuff – I’ll move it.

FSC: DON’T TOUCH ANYTHING YET.

ME: (Inner monologue) REALLY??? Did she really need to speak to me like a criminal? Now I'm ready to go medieval. Seriously, I get that the security is on level ORANGE, but this is freaking ridiculous- it’s an insulin pump and I'm a human being! You want to swab my pump, FINE, but don't be a bitch about it!

FSC: OK- your fine, you can retrieve your stuff.

ME: Thanks, but I could have told you that.

My friend Cathy helped me grab my bag and knapsack, and I jammed my feet in my sneaks and we ran to our terminal. My plane was about to board in 10 minutes and I still needed to do 2 things:

A. Pee

B. Buy water –

Two MUSTS before I step foot on a plane.

I felt like a criminal- a thirsty criminal who had to pee really bad, but a criminal nonetheless. All because I had a faulty pancreas and a penchant for accessories.

CUT TO FORT MAYERS AIRPORT SUNDAY NIGHT – 2 hours before my return flight home.

I tucked my insulin pump in my back pocket (but I'd forgotten about my belt buckle- which I hadn't yet realized) and walked through security- and again- the alarms went off.

I showed the security guard my belt – and he almost let me go- until he caught a glimpse of the tubing.

Security Dude: Oh… you have an insulin pump. I need you to stand behind the glass please – and wait for a woman security guard to pat you down - just one second.

So I went behind the glass, but this time - it was a TOTALLY DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE.

Female Security Guard: I’m so sorry- this is so unfair- I don’t think we need to be pulling over folks with insulin pumps. Next time, hide it.

Me: I did hide it, but totally forgot about my belt.

Female Security Guard: Don’t wear one next time. And keep your pump in your pocket. Look, I have to do this, it’s my job – but I don’t like it and I don't think it's fair. When you get home- call your congressman/woman and complain about it- because this is just wrong.

Me: Thanks, I will. And thanks for being so nice – I really appreciate it.

She continued to talk, all the while patting me down, front and back, and swabbed my hands. It was over in two minutes- and I didn’t walk away feeling like a criminal.

I didn’t walk away feeling targeted or guilty for having a faulty pancreas or a fondness for accessories either.

I walked away thinking what a kind woman she was.

ATTITUDE really is EVERYTHING & It's ALL in the DELIVERY folks~

“I have to eat, now.”

It’s a simple phrase, it’s concise, it’s to the point, and when I utter those words, my type 3 friends know I mean business.

We can be walking at the mall or on the beach, chatting in the kitchen, or at a bar catching up over a glass of Cabernet - And in mid conversation I'll look at my friend(s) and say: I have to eat, now.

Sometimes I don’t even say the words at first, I just reach in my bag and grab my trusty larabar or roll of raspberry glucose tabs and start munching, while continuing on with the conversation.

And who ever I’m with will look at me and say: Are you all right Kel?

And I’ll look at them and say: I’m fine; I just have to eat, now.

Even when I was a little girl, I’d whip out an apple in the middle of class and start eating. I don’t remember telling my teachers every time I did it, I just remember doing it. Sometimes between classes I’d march down to the nurses office and say: I have to have orange juice, right now.”

In my little girl world, I knew what would happen if I didn't eat - and that scared me.

And as an adult, it still scares me.

Once, in Philadelphia traffic court, my blood sugar was going low and I started munching on peanut m&m’s on the down low. In Philadelphia traffic court, no food or drink is allowed, and the bailiff came up to me twice and told me to stop eating.

The second time he told me that if he had to come over again, he’d hold me in contempt and put me in a cell for the duration of traffic court - Yes, Philadelphia can be pretty badass. Keep in mind; this is the same city that held Eagles Court – complete with judge and holding cell, built in the under belly of the now defunct and blown up Vet Stadium.

When Eagles fans got too rowdy at a game and started breaking all types of laws, they were taken to Eagles Court, tried, fined, and sometimes booked and hulled off to jail.

But back to the bailiff, when he threatened me, I threatened back. I looked him straight in the eye and said quite calmly: I have diabetes and I have to eat, NOW. If I pass out due to a low blood sugar, I won’t hesitate to sue you, this court, and this city.

Of course, he apologized and I stayed in court -as did my peanut m&m's, until me case was called. I fought my parking ticket, which was actually due to my failed inspection sticker.

My car had recently failed inspection, but according to the state of PA, I had 30 days to fix my break light. The brainiacs from the Philadelphia Parking Authority neglected to realize that I did indeed have 30 days to fix said taillight issues - even though that's what it clearly stated on the failed inspection sticker, and slapped a big, fat ticket on my car.

The Philadelphia Parking Authority is also quite notorious and even has it’s own show called Parking Wars on on A&E. Anyway, I won my case.

But, I digress.

Back to the subject at hand. My type 3 friends understand the code for: I have to eat, now.

And that not only makes my life easier, it makes me realize how lucky I am that the type 3's in my life that love and understand me and my dspeak - even when I don't utter the D word~

Wherever homeopathy is practiced, and it is now practised throughout the world, it is coming under attack. But where the commercial interests of the Conventional Medical Establishment (CME), led by Big Pharma, are strongest, the attacks are strongest. In the UK, anti-homeopathy rhetoric takes many forms:

* Attacks on the scientific evidence base for homeopathy, which is now quite extensive, and increasing.
* Attacks on the evidence of its effectiveness in dealing with sick people, which is now huge.
* Attacks on university course that seek to teach homeopathy.
* Attacks on the ability of homeopaths to advertise what they do.
* Attacks on the handful of homeopathic hospitals in the UK.
* Attacks on homeopathy via the mainstream media, without being given the opportunity to respond.


Dr Brian Kaplan defends homeopathy in this video - although it is probably true that homeopathy needs defending only against one thing - ignorance!

Certainly, if it was left to patients to determine the medical treatment they wanted, the growth of homeopathy would be even more rapid. This is why Dr Andrew Sikorski, in this article, argues that there should be more public consultation about homeopathy and 'complementary' therapies. Of course, CME will not permit this as they realise not only the ConMed is failing (see series of blogs on this website), but that homeopathy is gaining in popularity.

When people are asked about homeopathy, they are usually impressed. This article covers several situations in which this has been done in recent years. The experience of the Bristol Homeopathic Hospital, described here, is important - because this hospital is now facing two local Primary Care Trust who have unilaterally, and without consultation, decided to refuse to refer patients here anymore. So much for the Government's policy of 'Patient Choice', and the idea that there should be 'do decision about me without me'!