F NORMAL

FUCK NORMAL.

Over the past few weeks, thanks to reconnects on Facebook and meeting a few dbloggers face to face, I’ve been asked about my late sister Debbie -in detail. People wanted to know why diabetes did such a number on her. Why it took her life.

I think there are many reasons, not all having to do with The Big D. Debbie’s health was fragile to begin with, diabetes or not.

When she was diagnosed, (in the late 60’s) the diabetes diet was strict and archaic in terms of diabetes today. There was no such thing as Blood Sugar testing at home; urine testing tablets and tape were the only choices.
HA1C’s didn’t exist; neither did support systems, in real time or on the web.
Insulin pumps were a pipe dream and insulin was obtained through cows and piggies.
Needles had to be boiled and sharpened, and were never pleasant.

Diabetes treatment in the last 10 to 20 years is historic to say the least.

The freedom we have to day is so crazy compared to how it used to be.

I mean my sister couldn’t eat anything with sugar, and boy did she overcompensate when she did. She snuck food at all hours. Food and alcohol became her addictions and that addictive behavior followed her into adulthood.

Her alcoholism is another posting in itself. Let’s just say alcoholism can do a number on one’s kidneys, and when she finally quit, it was to late.

But what really worked against her (at least in my eyes,) is the fact that Debbie wanted so desperately to fit everyone else’s ideal of normal.

If I could change one thing for my sister Debbie, (besides never having been diagnosed with Diabetes) it would be to change what her ideal of normal was, especially when she was a teenager and in college, when most of her damage was done.

I guess what I’m trying to say to those in dblogville is screw everyone’s version of normal, diabetic or not. What’s normal for a diabetic is not considered normal for the rest of the population. It is what it is…. And what it is, is DIFFERENT.

Different is ok.
Different works for me.

My blood sugar and A1C goals are different than yours, and I’m fine with that.
I’m fine with checking my blood sugar, no matter where I am or who is with me.
Debbie wasn’t.
She tried to be so damn “normal." Normal was eating and drinking everything she wanted, going into DKA, and doing drugs, so that she could fit in with experimental teenage years that occurred in the 70’s. She over compensated when it came to “being normal” and the damage was major.

WHY BE NORMAL? Some people will sit in freezing stadium (shirtless and with faces painted) on a Sunday afternoon to be part of THE PACK. I THINK THAT’S INSANE. To them, it’s TOTALLY normal.

Some people stay with someone because they are afraid to be alone. That’s not only not normal, it’s really quite sad.

Some people go the Vegan route, no animal products ingested at all. I think that’s difficult and limiting to say the least. They think it’s normal.

Some folks love the Hannah Montana. I just don’t get it.
To them – NORMAL.

Everyone has a different ideal of normal. Instead of relying on some else’s ideal of the word, how about embracing what the world represents to each of us individually.

While there is a format to diabetes, it needs to be fined tuned for the individual.

Diabetes is a different creature every day.
We’ve all said that, and we all need to practice that.
Now, we all need to give ourselves a break and say," I'm really doing the best I can and some days are better than others. Shit happens, with our life and our diabetes."

We need to be proud of ourselves for all our hard work regarding diabetes, even when our numbers aren't where we'd like them to be.

We never get a vacation from D, and we deal with it everyday. Some days, are just better than others.
I wish Debbie had focused on what was normal for her, instead of trying to live everyone else’s view of the word. I wish she could have met all my nephews and nieces, watched with pride as our niece perform on Broadway, be blown away at our nephews “great brain” as he works towards completing his Doctorate at Berkley, and I wish she could have met out oldest nephew's son.

I wish she had the confidence to be and love herself, and I wish she didn’t have to suffer.


I wonder what my life would have been like, had her view of what was normal had been different.


I don’t know why I’m really writing all this. Maybe it’s because a few friends from grade school recently told me they had no ideal that Debbie had been so sick, because I had kept it to myself.


Maybe it’s because I’m SO HORMONAL and I’m craving salt and chocolate & can actually see my 5 lb water weight gain happening right before my eyes.

Maybe it’s because I want people in dBlogville to know that while their D reality is different than the “norm,” it’s so much better than what it had been in the past.

Maybe I need to remind myself of how far we've come, and how far we still have to go.

Maybe I just needed to remind myself of Debbie.

A Dblogville Meeting Of The Minds........

Dblogville Citizens Scott S, Alison B, Kelly K, Hannah M and the "Official T1 Gang Sign

A Diabetes “meeting of the minds” took place on June 21st, 2008 at the Applebee’s on City Line Ave in Philadelphia. It’s safe to say that Philadelphia will never be the same!!

The lemonade Tour, organized by Alison, hit Philly in a big way. Hannah, Scott, and I brought along a few t3’s for good measure and the fabulous Betty Jackson and Gary Schiener rounded out our group.

I have to say, all in attendance had a wonderful time. To actually meet a few dBlogville citizens face to face was awesome, dare I say...spectacular? Screw it! IT WAS KICK ASS!
We talked (some might say bitched) about the Big D, and laughed loud, and often with a group who “got it!”

I brought along my good friend Emily. Emily recently gave up the Law and is now studying nursing. Being at a table chock full of t1’s quite the education for her…. Imagine, a group of t1’s bitching and blousing at the Applebee’s. Lessons (i.e. shit) like that can’t be taught in a textbook!

After a lunch, which included Applebee’s Shooters for dessert. We said our goodbyes to Betty, Emily, and Gary, and Hannah and Allison followed me back to Philly.

Then we went to South Street for some shopping and met up with Scott & Joe for some dinner at Marrakech.

The food: FABULOUS,
The quantity: INSANE
The Belly Dancing – KINDA NUTS

The company: THE BEST

We had a blast!

We walked back to my house ( and tried to walk off our Food Baby Bellies) and then Allison and I drove Hannah back to Ardmore so she could Rock and Roll with her husband, who was recording tracks at very hard to find music studio. Still, we dropped off our precious Dorkabetic to her T3.

By the time Allison and I returned to Philly it was well past 1 a.m.

We slept in late, grabbed breakfast (which neither of us could eat) and then headed off to Independence Hall. Tickets were sold out, but at the last minute, a Tour from Oregon offered us 2 extras. It was truly kismet. FYI: Independence Hall is much smaller inside than out, but gorgeous just the same!

After that, Alison hit the road and went back to Jersey. As for me, I took a much needed nap!

The weekend was truly "diabetesalicious!"

A special thanks goes out to Scott for emailing the group Photo's ASAP! THANKS!!!

SHOUT OUT to Diabetes1

Here's the deal: A few months ago I received an email from Tatsiana Kulesh, a Sales and Marketing Associate with Diabetes1.org. Tatsiana was interested in linking Diabetesalciousness to Diabetes1.org.

As for me, I was interested in learning just what Diabetes1.org was all about.

In a nutshell, Diabetes1 is a community based website that features information on the Big D, both t1 and t2, and other related conditions that we all know about. D1 also has forums; blogs, tips on the everyday stuff, a clinic locator, etc. All, very cool. The more sites devoted to the Big D, the better!

Anyway, Tatsiana and I continued to speak via email and the celly for a few months. She asked me questions and I told her my thoughts on what might interest the folks of dBlogville, etc.

To make a long story longer, A few weeks ago, Tatsiana asked if she could interview me. Apparently, she liked my attitude. Hearing that always surprises me, regardless of the subject matter. Why? Because when I was younger, I got in trouble for my "Attitude." Actually, I still get into trouble for my attitude, but that's another post.

I was nervous, but took a deep breath and said "Yes." Here's the link to the site and the article.

Living With Type 1 Be In Charge and Own It.

Take some time to checkout Diabetes1 and learn something new. Also, feel free to crack a few jokes at my expense. Hey, as long as you learn some new info and laugh at least once, I'M ALL FOR IT.

It Just Goes To Show You, "It's Always Something!"

TO Quote the Comedy Goddess and wonderful Writer Gilda Radner:
"It's Always Something."
She was right on target, but she kept on going. She found the funny, embraced the laughter, stayed positive and always made lemonade out of lemons.

First, I was able to turn a potential negative into a Positive: To make a long story, somewhat shorter - I had a meeting with myself a few months ago, and me, my Ego, and my Id (feel free to call me Cybil) decided that I needed to incorporate more whole foods into my diet. I've commented on this before.
I (we?) came to this conclusion for many reasons.
1. For the first time ever, I had a slightly high cholesterol reading - it freaked me out big time!
2. I wanted to continue loosing weight. Whole foods (fruit, veggies, whole grains, legumes, etc) are high in fiber and as you know dear Diabetesaliciousness reader, fiber is our friend. Especially if your a diabetic. Because when diabetics eat foods that contain fiber, we get to subtract the fiber grams from our carb count. Which equals less insulin intake, less calories, and of course, a healthy colon! Fiber also makes us feel fuller quicker.
3. Eating whole foods make me feel better - plain and simple. When I eat more WF's, I feel better in general.

Less "chemically" then processed foods, I feel more alert and less sluggish.

How did I do this? Really easy. First, I literally ate an apple a day. Sounds cliche and really silly, but it's true. Apples are high in fiber, Fuji apples are really tasty and are the perfect size and would put a smile on most any Diabetes Educator's face. I also found that 1 apple a day, could easily turn into two. I'd eat one mid morning with some cheese (carb/ protein combo) and then have the same thing around 3:30 in the afternoon.

I also discovered Greek yogurt with flaxseed, honey and frozen wild blueberries was a delicious and "fiberlicious" way to start the day! It also tasted really good with pineapples and cinnamon. Won't even go into the whole cinnamon blood sugar connection, we've all heard about it.

For dinner, I made sure that I had a serving of broccoli( calcium content is the most of any veggie besides seaweed and is great for your bones) and legumes (yes, it's true...beans really are good for your heart. The reduce inflammation in your arteries) regardless of what the main course was. Sometimes, broccoli and beans are the main course.

I've also become quite the fan of cooking with turmeric, which is supposed to be good for all sorts of ailments including; blood sugar and inflammation issues.

Dark chocolate and I have become even better friends then I ever imagined we could be.
We hang out daily and I can't say that I miss milk chocolate.


The results.

At my next Dr's appointment , I had lost 4 lbs and my cholesterol went down by 20 points.

To date, those 4 lbs have turned into 9 and my cholesterol is still normal.

Now, for the "I still got issues OR It's Always Something Part".

My #*&%ing feet are killing me! If I could just get this Metatarsalgia (which is not diabetes related, but pretty damn painful regardless) taken care of, I'd be good to go for another 100,000 miles. Any suggestions? Surgery is just not something I want to do and I start Acupuncture on Friday. I am a long distance walker (I used walk up to 20 miles a week) and I haven't been able to do high impact aerobic exercise since Metatarsalgia came into my life.

I miss my long walks! Swimming laps in the pool is just so boring. Has anyone ever suffered from Metatarsalgia? How did you deal with it?? Any advice?

Diabetes Theme Songs - REVISITED With dblogville's Help

Normally - I try not to recycle posts, but I'm prepping for some gigs (more on that to follow) and I'm trying to get my music queued. Back in November, when my blog was new and my knowledge of dBlogville was low, I wrote a post (for the very same reason) and called it "Diabetes Theme Songs." Well, I'm still on the quest for Diabetes Theme Songs and music for my gigs.
Personally, I'm a big fan of "Pour Some Sugar on Me" and "Candy Girl" and have used them before to open and close with. Any other musical suggestions from the folks in dBlogville?

Also - What's YOUR own personal Diabetes Theme Song & why?
Diabetesaliciousness minds want to know!

1. Candy Girl - New Addition
2. Sugar, Ahhh honey, honey - The Archies
3 Candy Perfume Girl - Madonna
4. Pour Some Sugar On Me - Def Leopard
5. Dance of The Sugar Plum Fairies - Tchaikovsky
6. Sugar Pie Honey Bunch - The Temptations
7. Sugar Magnolia - The Grateful Dead
8. Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magic - The Red Hot Chilly Peppers
9. No Sugar Tonight - The Guess Who
10. Spin, Spin, Sugar - The Sneaker Pimps
11. Brown Sugar - The Rolling Stones
12. I want Candy - Bow -Wow-Wow
13. Sex and Candy - Marcy's Playground
14. Sugar - Rock and Roll Jesus - Kid Rock
15. Sugar, We're Going Down Swinging - Fall Out Boy
16. Sugar Walls - Sheana Easton
17. Sweet Thing Chaka Khan

I'm Goofy....Who Knew?

I found this quiz while I was reading  My Slice Of Life and thought, interesting, why not take it? According to the test, I'm Goofy. At first I thought, No I wanna B Ariel or Snow White, (hello black hair and pale skin?!) possibly Peter Pan. But GOOFY? Then I read Goofy's profile, and you know what? I'm OK with my alter ego being Goofy. Goofy is good. Actually, Goofy is AWESOME. Goofy ROCKS. WHAT THE TEST SAID

You scored as a Goofy. Your alter ego is Goofy! You are fun & great to be around. You are always willing to help others. You arn't worried about embarrassing yourself, you are one who is more willing to try new things.

Peter Pan 81% Goofy 81% Ariel 69% Cinderella 69% % The Beast 63% Donald Duck 56% Sleeping Beauty 56% Cruella De Ville 44% Pinocchio 44% Snow White 44%

The Day To Day Diabetesaliciousness Shortcuts of It All

Shortcut A'La Louise Brooks

So we all know that diabetes requires us to think on our feet and always be prepared, Boy Scout or not. Both are easier said then done at times, but are requirements just the same.

Here are are few shortcuts that help me in the day to day Diabetesaliciousness of it all.
Let me know what you think. And PLEASE folks of dBlogville, feel free to share your Shortcuts with Diabetesaliciousness as well.

1. I've placed spare batteries for my pump in every handbag/workbag/gym bag I own.
I also have a spare battery in my wallet and in my Blood Sugar Machine side pocket. Sounds like overkill? Maybe, but I can't tell many times my Energizers have crapped out on me after only a few days. Other times, 1 battery will last for months. It's like the Diabetes Gods are messing with my head in the form of a Triple A battery lifespan. Also during the summer, the heat literally eats my batteries and I need backup. FYI: I keep the batteries in those little plastic baggies that our lancets come in. They are the perfect size for batteries. They are also perfect for cocaine, at least according to "Law and Order, SVU". But, I digress.


2. When using said spare pump battery, replace ASAP.

3. I keep spare infusion sets in my car, at my mom's house, and in my best friends spare bathroom. Also, I make sure I have a spare IS in my hand, work, and or gym bag. That way I'm prepared for any and all doorknobs, no matter where they might be.
Sidebar: Am I the only person in dBlogville who's ever ripped out their infusion set by getting it caught on her cars emergency break? Yes, the spare Infusion Set came in handy that day!

FYI: Same rule applies for test strips. I always keep a spare in my work and gym bag.
I also have a vial with a few space lancets in my car console.


4. LaraBars make life easier, and certainly more delicious! Larabars are these incredibly tasty, (yet durable,) gluten free snack bars that are fantastic when it comes to treating low blood sugars. They are also great to bring on workouts. These delicious bars come in a variety of flavors; (my personal faves are Banana, Apple, Cinnamon Roll, and Chocolate Coconut,) and are the perfect blend of protein and carbs for active folks, Diabetic or not. LaraBars are high in fiber, big on taste, and will hold up in the heat. Holding up in the heat is a BIG in my book. Once, during a 7 mile walk, my sugar was going south and I pulled out my trusty chocolate covered granola bar. As soon as I open up the wrapper I knew I was in trouble. I ended up with chocolate all over my face, hands, and clothes. By the time I ate the granola bar, I was one chocolate mess, and not in the good way!

5. And yes, I keep spare LaraBars in my car,work & gym bags, just in case.

6. When I find sneakers that really fit well and feel good, I buy two pairs and rotate.

7. As a rule, I normally don't drink soda, diet or otherwise. BUT, I do keep an emergency can (actually, it's a six-pack) of ginger ale under my bed. When I get those emergency lows in the middle of the night, I just reach under the bed and grab a can. I only drink half and it does the job. Plus, soda cans are recyclable, juice boxes are not

8. Learn to make 2 or 3 really good tofu dishes. I know that all of us have had some terrible tofu experiences. The key to good tofu is to marinate, and to marinate well and for multiple hours -at least two. Tofu is a magical food and delicious when done right. It's low in carbs, high in protein, and takes on the taste of whatever your marinating it in. If you master a few dishes, you can eat all you want and reach Blood Sugar Nirvana. On an economical note, Tofu is cheap eats.

9. Whenever I go to the beach, I bring a mini cooler. In said cooler I place an Icepack, a Frio pack, my Blood sugar machine, a spare pump battery (i the B.S. machine side pocket) my lipstick/gloss (very important to keep your lipstick/gloss chilled in hot weather), and a frozen bottle of water or two. When I get my chair situated in the sand,
I take out a frozen bottle of water and let it start to melt. I drink cold ice water all day!
When it's time to go in the ocean, my pump goes in the cooler. I ask a friend to watch it and off I go to take on the waves. If I'm on the beach by myself, I take the pump and a Frio pack and place it in a small canvas bag not much bigger than the pump itself, and take it up to the Life Guard Stand. I explain to the LG about my non-water proof insulin pump and he or she places it on the stand while I take a dip in the Atlantic.

10. Keep a roll of Smarties in your car at all times, but most of you all ready know that!

;^)