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10 Things I LOVE About Diabetes


Day 5 of Diabetes Blog Week is all about LOVE, as in the TEN THINGS WE LOVE ABOUT DIABETES. Since Blogger ate my post from yesterday: 10 THINGS I DISLIKE INTENSELY ABOUT DIABETES, and the comments from said post, I'm hesitant to post at all, but here it goes!!

The 10 things I love about diabetes in no apparent order are:

10. Achieving Blood Sugar Nirvana after eating a cupcake!

9. D- Meet Ups! I love, love, love meeting up with other people who have diabetes!
It's amazing to sit around a table and have conversations without out having to explain mid conversation that you need to check your blood sugar!

8. Realizing right before I go to bed that I have enough insulin in my pump to last me until breakfast, and I DON'T need to change my reservoir set.
Sleepy time, excellent!

7. Hearing and reading about my DOC friends doing wonderful things on a daily basis!

6. Getting email from people who tell me they like what I write & dig reading my blog!
Those emails always seem to come at a time when I wonder out loud : WHAT AM I DOING?

Not only do those emails answer my question, they allow me to see myself as others see me - That's an incredible gift that I'm SO THANKFUL FOR.

5. Writing a letter of thanks to another diabetes blogger or a reader who has helped me with a diabetes issue that I've struggled with. I'm so grateful that I have you all as a resource & source of strength!

4. CWDS & TWDS. I love children & teens with diabetes, BIG TIME.

I love how they view the world, I love that they are totally awesome and strong and wise beyond their years.

I love that they have super heightened senses of humor and empathy.

I love when I get to speak with a group of them at an event because they teach me so much!

Children /Teens with diabetes ROCK!

3. Parents of Children with diabetes.
The many parents of children with diabetes who's blogs I read and who I meet in real life continually remind me how hard my own parents worked.

They share their struggles with diabetes that my own parents would not.

Parents with diabetes have shown me that love knows no bounds!

Parents with diabetes also remind me to tell my mother and my late father THANK YOU.

2. People with Diabetes. I LOVE MY D-PEEPS!

Knowing that I'm not alone is comforting; empowering,enlightening and it makes me believe in the power that lies within myself.
My D - Peeps also remind me of the power that we have collectively as a group to help others by continually busting diabetes myths and perpetuate diabetes realities!

1, Knowing that there are people in this world that speak my diabetes language, without ever actually having to utter the D word!

Posted by Mr. Boy at 10.21, Add Comment
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Pasta La Vista, Baby!

Pasta La Vista, Baby!
Day Four of Diabetes blog week is all about CARBS, as in do you eat them? As in to "carb" a little, "carb" a lot, or "carb" every now and then.
I love carbs, always have, always will. There are some challenging carbs that I can absolutely achieve "Blood Sugar Nirvana "with. Examples can be found HERE and HERE.
However, there are some carbs that drive me nuts- both mentally (with the diabetes math of it all) and physically - with the stratospheric blood sugars of it all.
Drastic measures needed to be taken.
I "broke up" with pasta - it had to be done.
I originally wrote this post in August of 2009 - but it absolutely fits for today's assignment. Enjoy!


Dearest Pasta:

It’s not that I don’t love you- of course I love you – we’ve had some great times together.
You and I grew up together after all- we have a long history.

Who can forget the amazing Lasagna of my childhood, which will live in my heart forever?

And the Spaghetti & meatballs of my youth- simply delicious, AND surprisingly musical.
You stirred my performing aspirations-I kid you not my friend!

As a precocious 4 year old, I ‘d break into song every time a bowl of S & M (Gimps, mind out of the gutter- I’m referring to Spaghetti & meatballs for god sakes) would appear in front of my place, I’d start to sing ”On Top of Old Smokey," because it would make my dad laugh.
Ah, good times… good times….

Dearest Veggie Penne Pasta in a white wine sauce of my mid 20’s- you were the first dish that I could make on my own that people actually wanted seconds of!

As a culinary dish, you were the one who gave me confidence to hone my cooking skills. Thank you for inspiring me!

But honestly Dearest Pasta -we’ve grown apart and I’ve found that having you in my life, (not to mention on my plate) on a very limited bases works much better for me.

It’s NOT YOU–it’s ME. I’m the one who’s changed. YOUR great and I will miss you- especially whenever I hear the immortal words:
“On top of old Smokey, all covered with cheese, I lost my poor meatball, when somebody sneezed.”

It’s just that my tastes buds now veer towards Spaghetti Squash covered in my fabulous Diablo Sauce with grilled salmon burgers sans the bun, and baked Chicken Parm sans the pasta.

Don’t take it personally-I just can’t seem to achieve “Blood Sugar Nirvana” where your concerned.
I’ve found that whenever we get "it on" and you’re my main dish, you make me physically tired (and not in the good way) and all types of bloat like.
My numbers are elevated for hours if not days.

You’ll still appear at meals- but only ON OCCASION, as a side dish and in a low carb version.
Trust me, LESS IS MORE these days and people will be impressed with your new attitude.

From one “Hot Dish” to another,

Pasta La Vista Baby!
Kelly K
Posted by Mr. Boy at 06.42, Add Comment
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The Allergy Epidemic. Caused by Pharmaceutical Drugs?

The Allergy Epidemic. Caused by Pharmaceutical Drugs?

Our immune system defends and protects us from attack from foreign substances, such as viruses and bacteria. It produces antibodies that seek and destroy intruders, and thereafter protects us from future attacks. An allergy occurs when the immune system overreacts to a normally harmless substance, and triggers what, for the healthy human body, is an inappropriate and unnecessary response.
Substances that trigger allergic reactions are called allergens, and these include such things as house dust mites, pollen, cat and dog fur, bee and wasp stings, feathers and a variety of foods.
The antibodies produced by the immune system can cause the release of some irritating substances, such as histamine, which produce redness, heat and swelling, leading to symptoms such as sneezing, wheezing, shortness of breath, a runny or blocked up nose, watery and bloodshot eyes, rash, itchiness, diarrhoea, and vomiting.
Food intolerance is a related but less serious condition than an allergy. The symptoms after eating the food can include headaches, muscle and joint pains, and tiredness, so whilst less serious, it remains an inappropriate response for a healthy body. The body is not responding normally, or as it should do.
Anaphylaxis, or anaphylactic shock, is a severe, potentially fatal, allergic reaction to an allergen, where there can be a sudden drop in blood pressure and the narrowing of the airways. It can be triggered by foods such as peanuts, nuts, sesame seeds, fish, shellfish, dairy products, eggs and strawberries, or by an allergic reaction to wasp or bee stings.
Allergies include a wide range of medical conditions such as Rhinitis, Hay Fever, Ezcema and Asthma.
Allergy in the UK has reached epidemic proportions - according to the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology. Its report, published in July 2007, found that: 
"the prevalence and incidence of allergic disease have markedly increased over the past 50 years", and that evidence presented to the Committee showed that "an increasing prevalence of asthma was first noted in studies of Birmingham school children, starting in the mid 1950s," and that since then "the prevalence of asthma and wheezing appears to have doubled "approximately every 14 years" until the mid 1990s. It added that the trends for other disorders such as hayfever and eczema are similar".
The report estimated that in 2004 the scale of the "allergy epidemic" showed that 39% of children and 30% of adults had been diagnosed with one or more of asthma, eczema and hayfever; and 38% of children and 45% of adults had experienced symptoms of these disorders during the preceding 12 months. The committee commented that the treatment of allergic disorders costs the NHS a considerable amount of money each year.
Clearly, this describes the development of another epidemic that began shortly after Big Pharma drugs became freely available through the NHS. It is known and even admitted that anaphylaxis can be triggered by certain drugs, such as penicillin. And the increase in conditions described as 'auto-immune' disease, suggests that the culpability of pharmaceutical drugs is far greater than is currently recognised.
The link between allergy and drugs is admitted and discussed in many websites, including these:
So the issue is not whether pharmaceutical drugs cause allergies, they do. The important issues are:
  1. To what extent has the Conventional Medical Establishment admitted it culpability?
  2. To what extent it is the major cause of the allergy epidemic in recent decades?
Certainly, drugs are known to be causative for two of the main, and most serious allergic disease, Asthma and Ezcema.

Posted by Mr. Boy at 04.25, Add Comment
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