Blog Entries With Tag: Children With Diabetes

Blog: Anna's Blog

From: FatCatAnna

Posted: Mar 21, 2013

Okay - I've maybe worded the title incorrectly here - but psst - did it get your attention or what?

My HIGH comes from the incredible weekend I just spent with T1D kids/adults, T3's (parents/grandparents/sisters/brothers/etc.) at the 4th annual Children With Diabetes (CWD) - Friend for Life (FFL) conference and expo in Toronto, Canada. I actually am feeling a little depressed about being away from "my family" - missing the sounds of the beep, beep, and whirl, whirl of various medical devices being used around me - that I use myself to stay healthy with my diabetes. It felt so amazing to be part of such a big group - that got each other - we didn't have to question why you were doing this and that - do it in secret like some diabetics I know that hide out in dirty washrooms to test their blood glucose (BG) or bolus with insulin. It was just so cool is all I can say!!!

The last time I attended in Toronto I was part of the staff - and because of that missed out on all the great conferences that are presented. This time though, I wasn't asked to help, and of course, I felt like having abit of a pity party (memories of Joe Solowiejczyk talk about dealing with diabetes are going thru' my head here - I cried so hard with laughter - "Yipee I love having diabetes ... NOT!!!").

This time I managed to get our god daughter, Catherine and her son, Aaron who is a T1D like myself to come along. I do not think they regret one bit about my dragging them along (well - their only regret is that they didn't take up my offer of ear plugs - since I still am not 100% well - and snored ... or should I say ... purred REALLY loud).

Sock Monkey paying attention

Catherine met up with other D-parents like herself, exchanged contact info and I'm hoping they stay in touch for many years to come as their children grown up into adults. So, the 6 hour drive back home after such an exciting long w/e was abit of a drag, as we didn't want to say good bye to everyone, but with good tunes and a GPS (Toronto is a big city) - we got back home safe and sound. Aaron is now putting his plans in action to figure out how to raise monies to attend the CWD FFL 2013 meet up in Orlando, Florida this summer. Obviously, he didn't get enough in Toronto!!!

For myself, it was meeting up with all the parents (some actually were looking out for me with my ears since they follow my scribbles in the sandbox at Diabetes1.org and in other social media areas I post in). Listening to their fears of their children with diabetes and trying to reassure them that with great patience - their kids will do alright, just like I did with having family members that looked out for each other with living with this disease (I hate calling it that - since to me - it's not a disease - it's just a hiccup in my life - that I try to make the best of the situation). Also spending time with the kids, sharing laughs, dancing (okay - it was more like an aerobic workout for this old D-cat) - just AWESOME!

Sock Monkey wanting to get in on the action!

Sadly, this maybe the last FFL being held in Canada, due to sponsorship - sigh. I have to admit, I had hoped that there would be more pump manufacturers other then Animas (you know my reasons there - and forthcoming blog will be revealing abit of a shocking conversation I had with Paul Flynn, Director of International business Development of Animas Canada). Perhaps, if those other companies, and a few more that have products aimed at diabetics all pitched into the pot, then I'll be writing about the next Canadian one that I am able to attend.

If you are interested in checking out the presentations (I know I'm going back to go over some of the notes I took down) - you can find it all at this link!

Tired but happy bunch on the road back home!

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Tags: Friends For Life (2) insulin (1) blood sugar (1) blood glucose (1) BG (1) Animas (1) 2013 (1) FFL (1) CWD (1) Children With Diabetes (1) Toronto (1) T3D (1) T1D (1) Orlando (1) Joe Solowiejczyk (1)

Blog: Anna's Blog

From: FatCatAnna

Will I ever go back to my Animas pump?

Posted: Mar 3, 2013

Well, so far, no reply from the big wigs at Animas Corporation / Animas Canada on my email that was sent in reply to their's over a week ago. I'm actually hesitating on calling Animas Canada, since they seem to have wiped their hands clean of me - but have promised some Animas users - that I will see this thru' to the very end. I've sort of lost faith in big corporations like Johnson & Johnson - but I'm trying my best to be patient - and see what the end result is with my pump - that was under warranty when they "discovered" the issue with the internal s/w date killing the pump (and now it appears to be in all their pumps pre-2020). Which still makes me wonder .... why it was never corrected in the 2020?

I've been back on dry land now for a few weeks since my holidays. I'm still doing the ol' MDI (multiple dosage injections). I'm actually not minding it. Yes, my tummy that takes all the NovoRapid shots during the day for meals and corrections to my blood glucose (BG) looks abit bruised. That's from the occasional blood vessel being poked with the pen needle - despite it's 32 gauge sleekness. My DH noticed my tummy the other day - and I said - get used to it - my bikini modelling days are over.

I'm actually not missing the pump at the moment - I can't believe I'm saying this in public. The pump is great for some occasions - e.g. where accessing areas of your body for a shot make things difficult or you have a change in activity that requires less basal insulin. Other than that - I'm getting used to it again. I'm trying not to be so OCD over the fact that my BG's are not as well balanced as they are with the pump, but with more BG testing and adjusting of basal and/or bolus insulins - I am getting the hang of it.

My god daughter who is coming with me to Toronto this w/e for the Children With Diabetes event (3 days of education / fun for kids & parents / etc.) - can't imagine putting her 13 year old onto shots. His diagnosis was at 6 (like myself) and I think he was put onto a pump right away. She said she'd have no idea what to do if he was on MDI. That is a bit scary - andI think if I was an endocronologist or educator (CDE) - I would have newly diagnosed patients hating my gutts - since I would insist that they at least learn how to control their diabetes by the old fashioned system of frequent injections. I'd be like Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo Nest .

I also am still looking into the Roche ACCU-CHEK Combo pump as a possible replacement to Animas. I'd heard thru' the grapevine that it DOES have an end date - that it only works for 7 years, but after I contacted the rep at Roche that I had met last summer - they told me in their older pumps, this was the case, but not with the pumps now sold (phew). The one great thing about the Roche pump is that it was $1K less and had a 5-year warranty. Good for those of us who are paying out of pocket for a pump. **UPDATE** - see comment below dated March 6th.

Again, until I have some sort of closure with Animas Corporation/Animas Canada it's sort of put me off of any pump manufacturer at the moment. So, for now, I'm standing on the edge, waiting in ancipation for an answer that is honest and not legally formatted with their reply (e.g. please write in easy to understant terms).

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Tags: FFL (1) Children With Diabetes (1) CWD (1) BG (1) MDI (1) software (1) warranty (1) Accu-Chek Combo (1) 2020 (1) Animas (1) insulin pump (1) Roche (1)

Blog: Anna's Blog

From: FatCatAnna

Children With Diabetes Friends For Life Canada 2011

Posted: Aug 8, 2011

This blog is dedicated to my Mum – who thought my last blog – The Antidote was written while I was having a hypo. No Mummy – I was on level playing ground – but just having fun with writing!

I attended my first Children With Diabetes (CWD) Friends for Life Canada International Conference and Expo in Toronto. I lucked in on getting on as part of the staff thanks to Jen Hanson from Connected in Motion, though sadly, because of working, I missed out on some great discussions, which I think is what the adult (and parent) participants rave about. So, I had no time to get fun photos, etc. but at least I got to schmooze with some of the CWD staff / DRI’s (Diabetes Research Institute) VP Tom Karlya on my first night. I think he’ll always remember me as the pole dancer wanna be – and an “ancient” diabetic without any complications. Most people that I met at the conference when we discussed about their child’s diabetes, and I mentioned my diagnosis date, along with my age, they were like Tom, not believing my age. What can I say? Good genes (e.g. Levis are my favourite) - as I blogged earlier this year – insulin is a youth preserver.

I think the most rewarding part of this whole event as I felt very much alone as a newbie to the staff as we all didn’t meet up prior to the conference starting so I felt abit like an outsider – was meeting up with many parents / kids / young adults! I hope I gave many of the parents I spoke to an insight on how their loved ones will turn out with the right guidance and tools at hand To me, this is what sticks in my mind the most, giving parents hope that diabetes isn’t all bad. I always wonder how it would have been for my Mum if she’d had the support of others that can now be found on the Internet.

I did manage to attend the closing one hour speech for about 15 minutes that was given by CWD President Jeff Hitchcock. I had to walk out of it though due to not liking the push for parents to put their kids on insulin pumps and CGMS’s (Continuous Glucose Monitoring Systems). Maybe because of Jeff being American and that majority of pump users are based in that country, I found it abit too much pushing the product. Because I was raised on MDI (multiple dosage injections) for most of my 44 years of being a diabetic – it has not caused any problems similar to what he was showing as examples. Perhaps other discussions that I couldn’t attend over the two days did go into diabetes control by MDI – I hope so – because for many of us – using a pump is unaffordable if you do not have private medical coverage from work/government help.

So, Jeff and or Tom, if you are reading this, consider bringing me in to make a speech to parents next years events as to how having diabetes for my length of time can show that your children will lead healthy and productive lives – I have – diabetes has never stopped me from doing anything I put my mind to!!! I promise not to do any pole dancing :)

Picture credit below - Nicole Pitre-Cozad from We CARALot Blog

Photo credit - Frank Mannella of Animas Canada

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Tags: Connected in Motion (1) Karyla (1) Tom (1) Jeff Hitchcock (1) Diabetes Research Institute (1) DRI (1) Jen Hanson (1) CIM (1) Friend For Life (1) FFL (1) Children With Diabetes (1) CWD (1)

Crack Free #ShowMeYourPump | Will I ever go back to my Animas pump? | The Big Blue Test on World Diabetes Day - November 14th, 2009 | The Antidote | I'm still feeling High!

Blog: Anna's Blog

From: FatCatAnna

The Big Blue Test on World Diabetes Day - November 14th, 2009

Posted: Oct 22, 2009

World Diabetes Day Circles

November 14th, 2009 is World Diabetes Day. On that day, at 14:00 hours (2:00 p.m., local time), thousands of people with diabetes will test their blood sugar, do 14 minutes of exercise, test again and share their results online.

The event is called The Big Blue Test because the blue circle is the international symbol for diabetes. The idea of a shared "blood sugar test-in" started with an activity organised back in July 2009 by TuDiabetes.org, a community for people touched by diabetes that I belong to. More than a thousand people participated. Now, they're hoping to reach thousands of people with diabetes through various diabetes social networks and Twitter. The activity will incorporate 14 minutes of physical activity to reinforce the importance of exercise.

"People with diabetes have to test their blood sugar routinely. It can be a very lonely activity." said Manny Hernandez, co-founder of TuDiabetes who lives with diabetes himself. "We want people to take The Big Blue Test to shed light on this chronic condition and the importance of exercise on World Diabetes Day."

Currently, more than 250 million people have diabetes worldwide. Millions more have diabetes but do not know it yet. For those of us in the know, people with diabetes NEED to test their blood sugar levels several times a day and exercise regularly.

Participating in this event to raise diabetes awareness on November 14th is fairly easy:

1.     Test your blood sugar.

2.     Run, jog, walk the dog or do anything you'd normally do as part of your exercise routine for 14    minutes.

3.     Test your blood sugar again.

4.     Go to http://bigbluetest.org (or your preferred diabetes social network) and post your readings and what physical activity you did. If you have a camera, you can also add a photo of your reading(s) or you exercising.

5.     If you have a Twitter account, you can also post your readings on Twitter (use the #bigbluetest hashtag) and link back to http://bigbluetest.org.

"We hope to see most readings posted at 14:00 hours (2:00 p.m.) local time, on November 14th. If you are early or late, it's OK," says Hernandez. "What matters most is that you test your blood sugar often and that you exercise regularly. If you don't have diabetes, you can take The Big Blue Test. Either way, tell others to test, exercise and share on November 14th."

BTW, I'll open up a discussion in the News section of the Forums here at Diabetes1 a few days before hand should you wish to post your readings OR you can go to the following other diabetic networks that you see below. It really doesn't matter where you post though, just as long as you join in on the celebration of World Diabetes Day by taking part in the The Big Blue Test! I know I will!

Tudiabetes / Children With Diabetes / Diabetes Daily / Diabetic Connect / Diabetic Rockstar / dLife / Juvenation / Diabetes Central

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