Diabetes Takes A Spa Day.....

Diabetes Approved

Photo Courtesy of Bliss Spa, NYC

So it’s been a crazy couple months and my stress levels are redonkulous.

Anyway, I’d planned to get away from it all and spend the Thanksgiving holiday with my wonderful friends Mark & Ron, catch my niece Cristin’s show Friday night (she’s currently starring in ONCE, at the New York Theater Project and she and the show ARE AMAZING & I won't be surprised when it goes to Broadway) and decompress from life.

Mark had booked and was treating us to massages at Bliss Spa the day after Thanksgiving and I was really looking forward to it. I needed someone to untie the knots in my back and neck and Bliss Spa was just the ticket.

Thanksgiving was great and sad all at the same time. We had a rooftop view of the parade and we watched it in our pajamas, drank our coffee out of real mugs, not paper cups and noshed on bagels & creamcheese & yogurt.

I was with fantastical people who I love very much, and who had invited other wonderful people over. Collectively we had interesting conversations and ate tons of amazing food.

But it was the first holiday without my mom and I missed her more than I can articulate. It’s like I kept waiting for the one person who I desperately wanted to be there arrive, except I knew that would never happen.

I shed a few tears before the guests arrived at Mark & Ron’s, but I put on my game face and forged ahead right before the first guest rang the buzzer.

And thanks to good friends, (both old and new) and a few strategically filled glasses of well chilled champagne, I survived.

I woke up Friday morning feeling good, and I was excited for my Spa day.

We had breakfast and left early so that we could stop by Barney’s to see Gaga’s Santa’s Workshop Display. It was crowded, the stuff was kind of cool and very expensive, but still - It was worth checking out.

On our way out, we stopped in Men’s Couture (because I was with Mark and Mark has couture tastes) before heading to Bliss. And all of a sudden I had to sit down, because I was feeling really low. And by “really low,” I mean sweaty, shaky and tired all at the same time, can’t feel my mouth type of low. And low (pun intended) and behold, I was blowing a 47. Two Lara Bars later, I started to feel better and we continued on our Journey to Bliss. But I was preoccupied with what would happen during the massage - And all sorts of questions filled my head.

As a person with diabetes who happens to love a good massage, Spa days and diabetes present all sorts of challenges that make a spa day anything but stress free.

And coming of a wicked crazy low makes those challenges worse.

Challenges like:

What am I going to do with my pump during a message? FYI, I usually wear mine.

Sometimes I suspend my pump. Sometimes I run it at half mast, and other times it’s on at full blast.

What if I go low before or during a message? Have a LaraBar with you - I keep mine in my Spa Robe pocket. But in this case I’d already eaten my spare Lara Bar, so I stopped by a sandwich shop and bought a Luna Bar.

What if I’m high after? Bring your tester/ supplies with you and do a correction bolus. I keep mine in a tiny carrying case with said Lara Bar and or Luna Bar. Plus, they encourage you to drink copious amounts of water at spa, so it's a sort of a weird win- win situation there.

Do I let the massage Therapist near my abdomen area? Personally, I don’t. As much as I love lavender oil, it makes it damn near impossible for my infusion sets to stick and stay on. I don't that problem in my life.

What if the message therapist thinks I’m fat? Who cares, I’m paying for them to give me a massage, not judge my waistline.

If I want to take a steam before or after said massage, will it damage my pump? That would depend on the pump - I say remove yours just to be safe. Steam is whole different animal that submerging in water.

They say not to leave valuables in your locker even though your the only one wit the code, because you're the one who came up with the locker code. But if I take a steam, I won’t be bringing my pump with me and I’m not supposed to put it in my locker, so what in the hell am I going to do with it?

I put my pump and spare batteries in a case and take it to the front desk. Normally they have safe or area for just such a thing.

Does getting a message affect blood sugars and if so is it a positive or negative affect?

I need to do more intensive and extensive research on this - But Magic 8 Ball says it can’t hurt!

And because I love you guys, I'm willing to use myself as a Guinna pig in the Spa treatment = better blood sugar arena!

So yeah, basically, we have a lot of shit to think about before we get on the table, and then we have relax and make sure those issues don’t affect us when we’re actually on the table!

Anyway, after picking up my Peanut Butter Luna Bar, we checked in at Bliss, went our separate ways, changed, and waited for my name to be called in the Ladies Spa Lounge. I tested and my blood sugar was only 103, but luckily, the Bliss Ladies Spa Lounge ( I love how that rolls of my tongue) had cheese, crackers, cucumber slices & tiny little mini brownies - And I had all of the above.

Soon, my name was called and I met the my Massage Therapist, told her my problem areas and that I was a PWD, left my Luna Bar and Tester in my robe that was hanging on the door, and situated myself facedown on the table.

I focused on getting rid of the tension and stress and told myself that if I ran low, I could just tell her to stop and grab my bar.

75 minutes later the massage was over and I felt great. Bliss Day Spa was amazing in every sense of the word!

Thank you Marky for the treat!

I felt incredibly relaxed and for the first time in what seemed like for ever, my neck and shoulders weren’t hurting - neither was my head or heart.

Did I mention that Bliss products are awesome and that they had plenty of Bliss products for those getting treatments to use in the locker room? Yeah, I applied liberally!

I took a seat in the Ladies Spa Lounge and downed two glasses of lemon water and tested my blood sugar. I was 143.

Blood Sugar Nirvana & Diabetes Spa Day all rolled into one... And a wonderful time was had by all.

The Puzzle Pieces Inside Us

Because today was about the missing pieces of an entirely different sort of puzzle.

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So last night around 10pm I was emailing back and forth with someone (who shall remain nameless because I've yet to ask her if I can print her name) about the Diabetes On-Line Community, and she said something like: I get really excited when I hear about people who are bringing the community together. Keep doing what your doing, there are a lot of people with diabetes who feel lost out there - Glad your around!

And then I said something like: Thanks & yes, the DOC is so important. There are so many people with diabetes who have felt lost & then found again when they discover the DOC. And there are so many more who need to find the DOC in order to find an important piece of themselves in the process.

And she totally agreed.

So why am I telling you this? Because that's how I feel & that bit of the conversation has been on my mind all day.

Bottom line, we all feel lost sometimes, diabetes or not.

I like to thing that each of us is made up of puzzle pieces that make up our life and fit our body and soul. Those puzzle pieces make up who we are and what we believe.

And when our pancreases break, we feel like a piece of our own unique puzzle is lost for ever.

And yes, that's true. And that missing puzzle piece brings up all sorts feelings of being incomplete - If we let it.

But the Diabetes On-Line community allows us to fill in the missing piece and replace it with a sense of peace, (see what I did there? ) because we develop our diabetes voices, a strong sense of who we are, both personally and as a community.

And we develop incredible skills of empathy and tenacity to help anyone who needs it, including ourselves.

That piece of peace isn't 24X7, diabetes or not, that's just impossible.

But knowing it's there when we need it most my friends, is beautiful.

So remember that when your in the middle of a shitstorm, because it's like having your own electric Plow Boy to shovel through all of life's mucky terrain~

Infusion Set Nirvana?? Not Even Close.

I don't know if it was because I was traveling, and by traveling, I mean driving 100+ miles, then catching a train to NYC, and arriving in Penn Station carrying my purple rolling suitcase and 8.5 lbs of diced squash slung over my shoulder in Wholefoods recyclable grocery bag.

Add to that the craziness of the city on the busiest travel day of the year, finally catching a cab but being stuck on 8th Avenue for a good 10 minutes before we went 10 blocks, and still had 30 to go, the frantic pace of celebrating/cooking/ hanging out with friends who are family and celebrating the first holiday without my mother, but I've been going through infusion sets like crazy the last 6 days!

Seriously, I've had to change my infusions almost daily during the Thanksgiving holiday.

And THANK GOD I brought plenty of extra sets with me, because between the deadspot issues and the infusion sets getting yanked and tugged, and a multitude of unknown reasons that have followed me since Wednesday, I absolutely could have been up Shits Creek without a paddle - Diabetes style.

Now the blood sugars related to said infusion sets were pretty good, except for Friday night and last night, but that's for another post.

So I guess what I'm asking is: Are my infusion set issues holiday related, running around the city like a chicken with out a head related, or is it just related to the wonderfulness of being me?

Anyone else have strange Diabetes issues, infusion set related or otherwise this past holiday weekend? Diabetesalicious minds need to know!

Get Your Blue On - EVERY FRIDAY From November On!.

This post was originally supposed to be in Video format, but after issues with iMovie and having to deal with a travel schedule that was all about driving, trains, and cab rides on the busiest travel day of the year, I decided to go with a post instead!

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Today is the last Blue Friday in November, and I say, get your blue on - And tell the world why!

Seriously, if you don't tell people why you're wearing blue, they might just think it's because blue is a pretty color & it brings out your eyes.

And while those facts might very well be true, those aren't the reasons why you're wearing blue.

You're wearing blue to let the world know that blue = diabetes awareness.

And let's face it, people need to be more aware of diabetes, the different types of diabetes that exist ,and the diabetes realities verses the diabetes myths.

As for me, I will do my best to wear blue every Friday from November on, because diabetes awareness is every month for me - It doesn't stop December 1st.

I say let's get your Blue on every Friday and let the world know why!

Knowledge is power- And knowledge will equal a cure!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING From The Rooftop With Friends ~

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Have a great day with friends and family and appreciate all those who love you, both near and far.

Celebrate & be thankful that you are here and living and doing

and make sure to find little things to make you smile and laugh!

Love,

Kelly~

Kelly & Snoopy Having Breakfast Thanksgiving morning~

Pillsbury & I hanging out at breakfast, Thanksgiving morning~

Did She???

I know that diabetes runs on both sides of my family, I was just more aware of my father's family history because I was actually around to get meet my Aunts & cousins.

I knew that my mom's grandfather had type 2 and there'd always been rumblings about others who had type 1 - But they were never mentioned by name.

There's a chance I'm being overly dramatic here - It's been known to happen.

Still, I can't help but wonder~

Last night as I was sorting through boxes and boxes of family pictures , I saw something that stopped me cold.

At the bottom of a box sat an ancient family portrait of a mother and her 6 daughters posing for a family portrait.

The youngest daughter was sitting on her mother's lap, and she was frail; skinny, with spindly legs and was bundled up more than her sisters.

And yes, I went THERE.

Because all I could think was, did My Great Grandmother's little sister have diabetes?

And then I started to cry just a little bit.

Because if she did, I knew that she didn't make it to her next birthday.

I'm probably just overreacting, And I'm definitely PMSing.

Which of course explains the overreacting part.

Still......

When 230 = Stalker.

STOP STALKING ME!!!!

On Saturday night, the number 230 was infused in my brain and psyche.

It was like 230 had become personified, and had become an enemy, stalking my every step.

An enemy that was chasing me down, mocking my every move, and laughing in my face.

That night (OK, technically it was between the hours of 7 and 11: 29,) my blood sugar was 230 - ALL NIGHT.

It literally wouldn’t go down, or up for that matter. Even after two infusion set site changes, 2 correction boluses, 2 rage boluses and a ridiculous number of fingerstick tests!

I was pissed off at being stalked by 230 - I didn't like it one bit!

At 11:30 pm, my blood sugar was 166 and I could finally get some sleep.

Sunday morning I woke up and my blood sugar was 140, ( I know, not thrilling) and it stayed in good range all day.

Still..., 230 kept flashing in my brain.

So much so in fact, that on Sunday night I googled the number 230 sans quotes, just for shits and giggles.

And ironically, “ Kelly’s 230 Stalker Stubborn Ass Blood Sugar,” didn’t come up in my search.

But I did find out that there was a roof top bar called 230-Fifth in New York City.

And that The US Department of Immigration Form 230 , parts I and II are Applications for Immigrant Visa & Alien Registration.

230 was also part of a big viral advertising campaign for GM’s VOLT back in 2008. But I don’t really remember it so I’m sure how successful it was.

And according to Wikipedia, “230 was a common year starting on a Friday of the Julian Calendar & at the time it was known as the Year of Consulship of Agricola and Clementinus.” Yeah, I know - W. T. F.

The stubborn ass 4 and a half hour Saturday night 230 blood sugar mystery still remains one.

It definitely wasn’t a diabetes urban legend - It really happened, and it was totally frustrating.

But, eventually, the blood sugar tables turned and I was once again in charge.

Why am I telling you this? Because I know that you'll totally understand my frustrations and not judge me.

And I hope that when your being chased by one of those stubborn mystery blood sugar numbers that just won't budge, you’ll remember this post and realize that eventually you'll show your own Blood Sugar Stalker who's the boss.

Speaking of, what's your Blood Sugar Stalker number?

FYI: your Blood Sugar Stalker number can be high, low, or smack dab in the middle - There's no judging here~

To Canada & The Canadian DOC Contingency With Love

On August 15th I accompanied my mom on a trip to Toronto, Canada so that she could see her oldest friend (they'd been friends since they were four) and my mother's older sister.

We returned home on the 20th and I called the ambulance for her on the evening of the 21st. You know the rest of the story, so I'm not going to rehash it.

Anyway, it's taken me a while to write this post for many reasons, mostly emotional.

I'm not going to post mom pics from this trip or go into much detail regarding our time in Canada together, because as much fun as we had, it still makes me cry when I think about it.

But I will say our trip back to my mother's homeland was a gift for all parties involved and I am so grateful for that time.

I wish I had done a few things differently, but I'm still so incredibly grateful to have been given such a gift.

I was going to use my in Toronto time to see the see family, sneak some work in if possible, check out the city, because the last time I'd been there I was maybe 16.

I had sky high hopes to visit The Banting House, which was a 3 hour drive.

But since II didn't have access to a car and the train drop-off was no where near the Banting House, I didn't make it, which totally bummed me out.

I had also planned to check out the University of Toronto & it's historical significance to the discovery of insulin, and later meet up with a few members of the Canadian Diabetes On-Line Community which I was thrilled about!!

So, I took the subway to U of Toronto, armed myself with a map and began my long trek by foot to discover my diabetes history.

As I walked miles and miles around the University, I started to feel really low, and I was just about to sit down on a bench, when out of the corner of my eye I saw this:

Had my blood sugar not gone low at that moment. I never would have seen this sign.

I actually went into the building after my blood sugar went up, and I have to say, I was disappointed.

For some reason I expected U of Toronto to make a bigger deal of the men who saved my life.

After I left that building, I continued my journey and about 7 minutes later I

saw a small plaque on a building and decided to investigate further.

Had I not had a map and actually knew where it was, I never would have seen it.

Then I went to the other side of the building and this is what I saw.

And once again, I was happy, but really sad and pissed off at the same time.

COME ON University of Toronto, trim the damn hedge and have some pride!

Seriously, what the hell??

I continued onward, looked for the word "Banting" on my map, and found the location of the following:

A Hero's plaque with little fanfare.

I can't believe I found it and I can't believe that no one seemed to give a shit.

I couldn't understand why no one seemed to care about Banting & Best.

I expected the City of Toronto & it's university to have banners, streamers and a damn marching band to celebrate our diabetes heroes.

After all, millions of lives were saved, and hadn't we just celebrated the 90th anniversary of the discovery of insulin??

After the letdown, I decided to continue exploring and I found some things that reminded me of home, except they were.. you know, " Canadianized."

Canadians have some interesting tastes. FYI: I didn't try the pickle chips but I really wish I had because I think I would have LOVED THEM!!

But I wasn't super interested in the chicken chips at all.

I continued my tour or Toronto and thought I saw a familiar face across the street......

Could it be???

I think I see........

Clifford??

Turns out I did see Clifford!!!!

Later I saw something else that reminded me of a familiar face.......

Can you say Scott Johnson????

I walked by things I wish I'd had time to see.

Like the above sign. I wish I'd known Carrie Fisher's One Woman show was in town, because I'd have bought tixs!

Cut to a few days later, when I was all dressed up and ready to spend the evening at Gretsky's with some friends I'd never met in real life.

Right down the street from Gretsky's I saw one of my all time favorite things ever!

A place whose members and name had inspired me since I was a child.

I could feel Gilda Radner & John Candy's spirit!
But I had important people to meet and had to walk past and not go in. :(

The front doors to Gretsky's

Walking into Great One's restaurant doors, I knew he Canadian Contingency of the DOC was on the other side and I was stoked!

I went to the rooftop and it was packed.

I walked around looking for people wearing insulin pumps and a seeing eye dog.

Finally, a woman walked up to me and asked: Are you Kelly? And I said: I sure am!

Turns out it was Ilana, and we hugged, walked around & found a tiny table on the rooftop.

We started chatting and were quickly joined by Scully & Virtue B and the conversation was just non stop.

Soon Jaimie, Larry & awesome type 3 guide dog Keeta joined us and we went inside, found a table in a quiet room and the the conversations continued, as did the continuous beeping of all of our pumps.

And if I remember correctly, the waiter had to come by like 5 times before we were ready to order.

The CanadianContingency explained the whole Putene concept to me (fancy word for cheese fries) and we discussed life, life with diabetes and everything in between.

We laughed, and then laughed some more and we had a blast!

Around 11 the evening ended and we posed for a group picture.

Ilana, Scully, Virtue B, your's truly, Larry, Keela & Jamie

Then we hugged one another, said our goodbyes, talked some more, hugged and said our goodbyes again.

We walked outside and one by one, we went our separate ways until finally it was Ilana and I.

Who might I add, went went out of her way to make sure I got on the right subway!
The next day I met Jaimie for coffee at Tim Horton's, the Canadian equivalent to Dunkin Donuts.

The coffee was OK, the Timbits (munchkins) were better, and the company was the best!
Once again, a fellow DOCer made sure I took the right subway, and I went back to my mother's friend's, had dinner and packed to go home. And the next day, I went home, and the next day after that, shit hit the fan with my mother's health, and it went down hill from there.

Through it all I received notes from my Canadian DOCers letting me know they were thinking of me and pulling for my mom.

They wrote me beautiful emails, comments and sent direct messages on twitter & facebook during her illness and after she died.

So to the Canadian DOCers - Thank you for bringing a smile to my face, both in Canada and at home.

Thank you for being there and understanding all that these past few months have been, and never once mentioning or asking when I was going to post about our meet up.

I love you guys and am so grateful to have met you both on line and in real life - And I can't wait until we meet again!

Please Continue To Remind Others That....

Insulin is not a cure for diabetes; it is a treatment.

It enables the diabetic to burn sufficient carbohydrates, so that proteins and fats may be added to the diet in sufficient quantities to provide energy for the economic burdens of life.

Sir Frederick Banting

'Diabetes and Insulin', Nobel Lecture, 15 September 1925.

Nobel Lectures: Physiology or Medicine,

The above photo isDr. Banting On The Cover Of Time Magazine

8/27/1923

Picture courtesy of The Global Gazette - April 16, 2010 Post - Check it out!

Diabetes Memory #2393: The One Where I Lied About Sneaking Food & Broke Up A Friendship

The names in the story have been changed to protect the privacy of the individuals.

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Growing up at the beach you had your regular friends. The friends you went to grade school, dancing school and CCD with, and the ones who came to almost every birthday party you ever had.

And then you had your summer friends. Summer friends only lived in your town during the summer, and you almost never saw them during the school year.

Summer friends were the friends that you played flashlight tag with, and whose cousin Chip gave you your first sort of real kiss when you were in 6th grade. You’d spend all day at the beach with your summer friends, and then play over at their house all night, until it was time to go home. Then their father walked you around the corner & dropped right at your front door.

You slept over your summer friends houses and read Nancy Drew & Little House On The Prairie at the same time, then acted out the plot of the books.

Summer friends were great, except that by the end of the summer, we all got sick of one another and couldn’t wait to see our school friends again.

Still, every June, the summer friends would come down and the cycle of “Summer Friends” would begin.

I had a whole gang of both summer and regular friends who lived around the block - And we played together from the time we were about 4 until we were in our early teens.

Then, times changed the summer I was 13.

We still hung out, but I could tell it was different. The whole neighborhood kid dynamic started to drift.

That was the last time I was with my neighborhood gang, and it all started with the break-up of my summer friends, the sisters Lucy & Ethel.

Lucy was a year older than me and Ethel was a year younger. Most of the kids in the neighborhood were closer to their ages and that was the summer when age lines started to be drawn in the theoretical sand. Sometimes Lucy would play with me, other times she couldn’t bother. Same with Ethel - who could be moody anyway.

Now the break up was mostly my fault, and I’ll admit it.

I’d begun to sneak food (Oreos & Entenmann’s pastry) from Lucy & Ethel’s kitchen on my way to the bathroom. I’d take the contraband carbs into the bathroom, close the door, down the carbs, rinse my mouth out with water , and went on about my business like nothing happened.

It was the summer and I was incredibly active and growing like a weed, and I was ALWAYS hungry.

Test strips had only been out for a few years and our family shared both a prescription and a meter for 3 people. And since it was the Diabetes Dark Ages, anything and everything was off limits.

It was also the first summer in three years that I wasn’t going to diabetes camp because my family couldn’t afford it. My dad had lost his job and my sister Debbie kept getting sicker. I felt my world changing faster than I could keep up with.

One day I went over to Lucy & Ethel’s - And out of the blue, the jig was up.

Lucy: Kelly, my mom saw you take a danish from the kitchen yesterday afternoon.

Me: No I didn’t . ( I SO TOTALLY DID)

Ethel: She saw you take it to the bathroom and she heard the sink water running in there while you ate it. It’s not good for you, Kelly - You could get sick.

Me: I didn’t eat anything!

Ethel: You did too!
Lucy: It’s OK, just don’t do it again.

ME: I DIDN’T DO IT!!! I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I’m going home!

And then I ran out the door and I never went back.

I was so embarrassed that I could barely see straight and the tears were streaming down my face! I ran down the block, took a short cut through my neighbors’s yard, hid behind the giant Honeysuckle bush and cried my eyes out.

I felt like such a bad kid. I told myself I was loser and a dork and I felt so alone. The diabetes diet back then was so restrictive and just wanted to enjoy food like everyone else.

I spent a lot of time that summer alone, babysitting and taking long bike rides after dinner.

8th grade sucked for many reasons, and all too numerous to mention, The following summer I started hanging out with kids I’d be going to high school with, and a new group of summer friends.

And I steered clear of the gang around the corner - I was so afraid that Lucy & Ethel had told them what I’d done,

Whenever I think about getting caught and how I handled it, my face still turns red with embarrassment.

It’s never easy growing up, and growing up with diabetes adds a whole new twist - Add growing up the Diabetes Dark Ages, and the twist turns into a big, fat, sinewy knot of denial.

I wish I could have been honest with Lucy & Ethel. but more importantly, I wish I could have been honest with my self.

And I wish I wouldn't have felt like I had to lie. I wish I could have just taken extra insulin and not worried about it.

But that's not how it was back then.

I long to tell the girl I was that it would all be OK, and that she was going to be OK.

I can’t go back in time, that’s impossible. But I can share my story with you, because I know I'm not the only person living with diabetes who's ever lied about food as a kid - or an adult. But back then, it sure felt like it.

Now a days when we eat something that was once forbidden fruit, we can bolus for it and enjoy it!

Because today, nothing is off limits - AND THAT IS A BEAUTIFUL THING. ~