Obat Diabetes

This is not the post I originally had scheduled this morning – but sometimes, shit happens.

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So I just got off the phone with Ann Finn, PR Manager For TheOnion.com who was calling on behalf of The Onion’s Editor Joe Randazzo.

I left Joe a voicemail on Sunday, when I was steaming mad and eyeball deep in writing my Open Letter To The Onion Editor Post re: The Onion’s not so funny article about children with diabetes dying.

I know for a fact I didn’t sound like my normal, sweet and sunny self. As a matter of fact, I’m sure I sounded like a bitch on wheels- and I’m totally OK with that.

Anyway, Anne told me that Sunday's article was satirical - like everything else they write/post/film at The Onion.

And that no person or group is off limits to their satire, regardless or race; religion, sex, political affiliation,etc. - Yada, yada, yada.

I told her that Of course I knew the article was satirical. I even told her that I loved The Onion, as do so many in our diabetes community, but that we still found the article incredibly offensive.

And then I told her why:

A. It crossed the line.

B. It wasn’t even funny or well written, even if you took the diabetes out of the mix.

C. Nobody makes fun of diabetes more than a person with diabetes -that's how we deal with living with diabetes, but this article was HORRIBLE.

D. That diabetes is a totally misunderstood disease and that an article like the one they wrote, even if done in satire, still pushes the diabetes stereotypes & myths forward.

E. That people with diabetes are always being blamed for their disease and that parent of children with diabetes were kicked to the curb when they spoke up on The Onion’s FB page. People said horrible things to them, saying they gave their children to much sugar, that they were idiots and to sensitive, etc.

F. The article’s timing was lousy, considering November is National Diabetes Month and Sunday is World Diabetes Day .

G. That our community has lost 3 children and one adult to Dead In Bed syndrome since February so the whole PWDs dying thing just isn't funny to us.

H. And the next time The Onion decides to write about a disease on a satirical level, they might want to do a little research on the disease and make sure you know, they aren’t writing about said disease during it’s national awareness month.

Anyway, Anne told me that her father was a PWD and that satire is satire, but that she and Joe wanted me to know that they understood that I was upset, but wanted to make sure that they (and their readers) know that it was written a satirical level.

Anne did her job as a PR Manager; she reached out to the offended party (which I appreciate) and stood by her employer, never wavering and never admitting wrong doing, which is her job after all.

But I still wasn’t thrilled.

So I told her that I would be forwarding her name and email address to someone who was planning a fundraiser in their child’s memory and who had reached out to The Onion, but hadn't heard back - I won’t say who because I haven’t received approval from her to do so yet and I want to get this post up and running. And that maybe The Onion could help make things right by donating to/ or be a sponsor of the fundraiser.

So now, let’s hope they do.

Dear Diabetes Math:

You make my freaking head spin!

After a challenging day of carbs, blood sugars, and diabetes finances thrown into the mix, I barely know my name; let alone what my carb/ insulin ratio is.

Math has never come easy to me. I was a little girl who preferred books, not numbers.

In the 4^th grade, division threw me for a loop, but I didn’t care (OK, I cared more than a little-I didn't like feeling stupid,) but I was to busy reading “Little Women.” I wanted to be Jo and write stories in a garret, while munching on carb friendly apples.

In High School, a D in Algebra made me ineligible for a lead in the school play my Junior Year- it was the first time I’d ever suffered from a true broken heart.

It was the anxiety of the potential fail in math that did me in, not necessarily the math it self.

My family was falling apart because of my sister's health.

I literally psyched myself out and got so nervous during the test I'd start to tear up.

I was much more confident in my words.

Senior year I won college Scholarship based on an essay I wrote.

Words have always come easy to me- editing & numbers have not.

You know I was a Litt/ Comm major in college, right?

Yet every single day, I’m forced to calculate your equations, with the help of my every trusty Bolus Wizard and my OCD like affinity for reading labels.

Because of you I’ve become an expert at dividing by 12 and 15.

Because of you I’ve become a Diabetes Math Savant and can no longer look at piece of bread with out automatically paring it with protein and guestamating its carb count.

Diabetes math has made me a clock watcher- especially when my numbers are high.

I watch the clock and test like a crazy woman hoping my numbers are going south.

Testing my blood sugars has become an addiction that I won't give up.

Diabetes Math has turned me into a frugalista when it comes to my Diabetes supplies.

If an infusion set doesn’t work from the get go, you can be damn sure I call up Minimed and ask for a credit.

Diabetes Math regarding my prescriptions has put me into debt.

I’m constantly testing my blood sugars- thank God I can get them via mail order.

I pay $138 for two bottles of insulin a month- out of pocket, before the reimbursement- because I'm not allowed to get my insulin mailed to me door.

Until I get a better job, I’m stuck with a crappy RX plan. Thank God for my Endo who believes in samples!

But every cloud has a silver lining, including you Diabetes Math.

Because of the magic of your calculations, nothing is off limits and my numbers are good and Blood Sugar Nirvana is always within reach~

Now, if we could just find a cure, so we could retire your services for good.

Until then, the calculations and begging for samples will continue, because I have no choice but to be healthy.

My very life depends on it- and I'm worth it!

Kelly K

The idea behind the phrase 'you are what you eat' is that in order to be healthy you need to eat a 'good' diet. The origins of that phrase itself was to reinforce what is self-evident - that the quality of the food we eat has an enormous bearing on our state of mind, and on our health.

Hitherto, I have not ventured into this arena. I am not a nutritionist. But like all of us, we should be aware of the quality of food and drink that we consume. And for most of us, we are not as fully aware, and certainly not as fully informed, as we should be. Much of what we eat and drink is not good for us, or our state of mind, or our health. Some is positively dangerous. And the situation is not improving, ideed, it is probably getting worse.

And the reasons are similar to the situation regarding dangerous Big Pharma drugs. Big Food, the massive food processing industries, are providing food which, for a variety of reasons, are not good for us. They are usually cheap; they usually come alongside considerable advertising. But the foods are processed in a way that boosts Big Food's profits, but is bad for our health.

And there is the same uncanny silence from the mainstream media towards 'Big Food' as there is to 'Big Pharma' - there would appear to be a cosy relationship between the Corporate Giants in the Food, Pharmaceutical and Media industries.

Aspartame and artificial sweeteners
Intensive farming and soil quality
Herbicides and pesticides
GM Food
The fluoridation of water supply

These all have an impact on our health, especially if they are eaten regularly, and in quantity.

And then there are foods that can actually assist us maintain our health - usually simple foods, and often readily available - so they do not generate profit - and therefore the attention they deserve.

YAWYE will become another regular feature of this blog; and if you would like to follow some of the stories, please make sure you are joined up, and receive notifications of new blogs.