Let’s round out the week by sharing our best diabetes tips and diabetes tricks. From how you organize supplies to how you manage gear on the go/vacation (beach, or skiing, or whatever). From how you keep track of prescription numbers to how you remember to get your orders refilled. How about any “unconventional” diabetes practices, or ways to make diabetes work for YOU (not necessarily how the doctors say to do it!). There’s always something we can learn from each other. (Remember though, please no medical advice or dangerous suggestions.)

Sorry I missed yesterday, life got in the way…

One thing we do is have the Thirty-one Timeless Beauty Bag to put all the supplies she needs with her and stick that in her book bag. This has an extra site change supplies, extra insulin (in the Frio – which we also love), extra lancets, test strips, glucagon, and some smarties for lows. This way we just have one thing to check to make sure its all there before we go.

Also we are flying for the first time since diagnosis and I am a little worried about the process. So if anyone has any advice or tips or links to good posts, please share in the comments.

Managing diabetes during exercise can be tricky, so share what works for you or your loved one with diabetes and maybe it can help someone else. What to do when you want to work out, but your blood sugar is lower or higher than you want? How do you cope with this? Or how do you manage gym days at school for your child with diabetes? How do you stay motivated to work out? Or how do you encourage your loved on with diabetes to get active? What is your favorite kind of exercise – conventional or non-conventional? (Let’s see how many types of exercise we can find!

Doing a wildcard topic today…

My daughter is involved with team sports both Volleyball and Softball. This helps keep her active and in shape. But it can make things hard to predict and manage (even more than normal). She will take her pump off for the whole game – this helps with the lows during the game (mostly) – but can have ramifications. She will then be quite high before bed and we don’t treat because by 1:30-3 she will drop and be low. The CGM helps to least let me be aware, I do sometime catch the low before it happens. Our go to at night is juice followed by a cheese stick when in range. I love to watch her play, I love that she has a passion and wants to play and be active, I just really hate the roller coaster of highs and lows.

We think a lot about the physical component of diabetes, but the mental component is just as significant. How does diabetes affect you or your loved one mentally or emotionally? How have you learned to deal with the mental aspect of the condition? Any tips, positive phrases, mantras, or ideas to share on getting out of a diabetes funk? (If you are a caregiver to a person with diabetes, write about yourself or your loved one or both!)

Like I mentioned yesterday, my daughter doesn’t really like to talk about having Type 1 publicly but with family and friends she is very open and not trying to hide it or be ashamed. I hope that continues. I do worry about her getting depressed or in a funk but I try to stay positive and not dwell on issues. We can only deal with what is going on today.

So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. Matthew 6:34 (NLT)

Lets kick off the week by talking about why we are here, in the diabetes blog space. What is the most important diabetes awareness message to you? Why is that message important for you, and what are you trying to accomplish by sharing it on your blog? (Thank you, Heather Gabel, for this topic suggestion.)

I have been quiet on here lately but still want to participate in #DBlogWeek.

So it’s been just over two years since my daughter was diagnosed. And while things are going really good, there is still so much misunderstanding from the people around us. We don’t go around talking about it too much, my daughter really doesn’t like to bring attention to it and I am trying to respect that, but it’s hard sometimes to not share and not explain.

I think the most important message is not “We need a cure” (which we do-I pray for one each day). I think the most important message is we need compassion and understanding. Be kind to each other because you don’t know what is going on under the surface and a little kindness can go a long way.

Thanks everyone – continue reading the great post out there this week!

Maybe there will be a cure one day.  We hope and pray for it.  The technology is advancing too and when it all works right it’s great – but it’s not foolproof.  And I say ‘We’ because right now I am in it with her.  She is growing up and will be doing more and more on her own but I never want her to feel alone.

When my daughter was diagnosed it was terrifying. I didn’t know anything about what was going on and didn’t have anyone to share experiences with.

As a techie, I immediately got online looking for info and found lots, maybe too much, but I still was looking for a deeper connection on sharing information so I started this blog hoping to find that.

It’s not working.

And with so many other activities that are vying for my attention there is no one to blame but myself.

However it is frustrating that finding out some information has been so difficult.

Like I heard about nightscout and loved the concept but it only seemed to apply to the dex and we already had the medtronic system … now I am hearing that it does work for medtronic but I already shelled out the money for the MiniMed connect.

The connect is a great concept but not geared to the caregiver which is what I am and what we need right now.

There is no app for the caregiver, only a mobile site that requires a log in Every. Time.  Seriously? at 2am this is not fun. Now seeing it on the website is pretty good which is fine at work but when I really need it is at night, and that not so much. There really needs to be an app for caregiver like the user.

And the connect is not really easy for a middle school child to keep close by…the hole that I guess is supposed to be used to attach to something is too small for most things…it would be great if the tubing could fit thru it or a carabiner.  I guess I need to buy her a fitbelt to store it all.