Do you inject your own insulin?

Whilst clearing out my room at my mum's home, I came across this...

At first I thought it was pretty funny and my mum and I had a laugh at it, especially considering it was hidden amongst more commonly found certificates, such as dancing awards and so forth.  I couldn't actually believe they gave out certificates for being a 'fully qualified self injector of insulin'...it just seemed funny.

However when I saw the date I had been "awarded" with the certificate, I began to realise that it was something to be proud of.  6th August 1998 - I was 5 years old and had been a diagnosed type 1 diabetic for just over a year and a half.  Whilst most children my age were learning to tie their own shoe laces, I was successfully giving myself life-saving injections on a daily basis - pretty impressive!

So if you've ever been given one of these certificates, or even if you haven't but you had to learn how to self-inject your insulin, don't play it down!  You save your own life every day.  As the certificate says...I offer you a "Hearty Congratulations. Very well done"!

Functioning Pancreas Envy

Last night I asked my boyfriend Anthony if I could test his blood sugars immediately after he'd eaten a good 60g or so of sultanas.  A little while ago I wrote a post about how I was having ridiculously high peaks after eating muesli for breakfast, because of the dried fruit in it, and so I gave it up.  I wondered if a non-diabetic person's bg would peak too.  Reluctantly, as no one particularly wants to have their finger needlessly stabbed with a needle, Ant let me test his blood.

Five minutes after he'd finished eating, his blood sugars were 15.8mmol.  Considering the normal range for a non-diabetic is usually between 4 and 8, that's pretty high!  After I'd forced an admission out of Anthony that the finger prick really doesn't hurt at all, we decided we'd test again an hour or so later.  We did and...8.1 - now that's what you call a functioning pancreas!

Although I was obviously over the moon that he clearly wasn't a diabetic (I must admit, the 15.8 scared me a little!) I was a teeny weeny, itsy bitsy, bit jealous that my body doesn't work that way.  Somedays I'd like someone to just give my pancreas a jump start or something, you know, a bit like a car battery.  In the 15 years I've had diabetes I can't say I've ever been envious of a functioning pancreas, although I suppose it's not exactly a common, diagnosable disorder.  Even after meals out with friends when I've had to wander off to the bathroom to inject and others haven't, it'd never really bothered me.  As Audrey Niffenegger wrote, 'everything seems simple until you think about it.'

I asked Ant if he'd felt any different when he was high and he said no.  We reckon it's probably because his bg probably didn't stay up there long enough for his body and mind to register it properly.  I suppose bodies are kind of amazing, whether they're working 100% properly or not.  It's amazing that Ant's body manages to keep a constant blood sugar balance, always releasing insulin from the pancreas and glucose from the liver.  It's also sort of amazing how much control I have to try and maintain, simply because one part of my body doesn't work properly.

Alright, so I can't go and eat an entire pizza or sandwich or tub of ice cream without injecting insulin - darn, I can't even eat fruit without doing it! - but my body still does a lot of amazing things.  Hey, I can touch my toes without bending my knees!  Amazing, right?!  :)

Time For Diabetes To 'Take A Break'

Page 27, 'Take A Break' Magazine, Journalist: Lucy Jolin

If you follow Diabetic Dais on Facebook or Twitter, you'll already be sick of hearing me going on and onnnnn about being featured in 'Take A Break' magazine this week.  However, I'm so pleased that I'm going to write a post on here about it too.  One day I will stop talking about it, but not today ;)

Basically I just want to say thank you to the DOC and to everyone who reads either of my blogs, who comments, who follows me on Twitter, who's liked Diabetic Dais on Facebook or has generally just taken an interest.  Without your unwavering support, I very much doubt that my blog would have been noticed by a journalist so thanks, you lovely people!

If you're here because you've read the article in 'Take A Break', thank you for checking it out!  You can find out a little bit more about my 'diabetic story' by clicking here.  Basically I blog about my diabetes because I hope that by giving a true account of living with type 1, I can prevent people from making generalisations and increase awareness.  I also write about it because it helps me focus more on my blood sugar control and I love meeting new people who live with diabetes too, so please feel free to chat to me!

Anyway, that's about it for today.  Blood sugars have been running a little high today - I haven't had one reading below 10 which is a bit annoying but hey ho.  Oh yeah...and I've wasted 3 testing strips by not putting enough blood on them so they error'ed.  I think it's time to admit that I need to 'up' the dial on my finger pricker so I can actually draw some blood...it might help I suppose.

Hope the start to your week has been a good one!