I was inspired by Randomly CapitalizeD latest blog.

"Heck, even I’ve proclaimed this. But at times I am just not so tough. Many seem to think, even believe, that living with a chronic condition “makes” you tough. I hear tough and think fists or hardened. Neither do I like."

I will never forget sitting in the hospital bed crying with brother when I was diagnosed. I hadn't shed one tear until my brother sat down on my bed and said to me, "You are so strong, I could never do what have to do". I kept thinking to myself, no-I can't do this. All I wanted to do was give up, take it as a sign that I wasn't supposed to live. Why is it, the minute someone gave me a "complement" that I decide to break down? Why do I hate that word so much? Because I feel I am not that way? Or do I feel that people maybe think, "Oh look! See! She's OK! She doesn't need a cute! She doesn't have a hard time everyday! She is used to needles!"



Reading about people like, Ernest Sterzer makes me feel not strong. I didn't do anything spectacular.


Am I strong? I don't know. Generally, I bet most people rise to life threatening challenges. Otherwise, what are your options?

Does the word bother you? Are there other words that drive you nuts?



On a side note, as I usually do, this is hilarious! All about funny misspellings and responses on Facebook!

ABOUT DIABETES???
(In no particular order)

1. When you have one minor issue like a splinter, you think, "AM I GOING TO LOSE MY FINGER?"
2. Having to think about every carb in everything ever
3. CVS
4. Too many doctors
5. Recovering from a high or low
6. Going high or low
7. That feeling when you are low of, "I NEED EVER FOOD EVERY NOW!!!" (then being 400)
8. The look people give you when you tell them you have diabetes
9. When people ask stupid questions, i.e. "Oh is that the worse one?"
10. Insurance companies
11. Having to get blood drawn ALL the time
12. Being different
13. The emotional rollercoaster
14. Being forced to think about the future
15. Wondering if I am going to give my children (if I have children) diabetes
16. Wondering if I get in a car crash will they see my medic alert bracelet.
17. Having to wear a medic alert bracelet.
18. The first and last night I have to do before bed is test
19. 3am checks
20. Needles
21. Disposing of needles
22. Did I mention diabetes sucks?


What other ones you think of? I don't know if I could seriously make a long enough list. It just sucks. Some days are harder than others, but overall it sucks.


Last post I told you all how I read all the time, well I wanted to share a picture to tell you how I wasn't kidding. I usually read a couple of books at a time, mostly diabetes literature, but I usually try to read at least ONE "fun" book.




My latest leisurely reading book was, "Not Me" Which was SUCH a great story!

"When Heshel Rosenheim, apparently suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, hands his son, Michael, a box of moldy old journals, an amazing adventure begins–one that takes the reader from the concentration camps of Poland to an improbable love story during the battle for Palestine, from a cancer ward in New Jersey to a hopeless marriage in San Francisco. The journals, which seem to tell the story of Heshel’s life, are so harrowing, so riveting, so passionate, and so perplexing that Michael becomes obsessed with discovering the truth about his father."

Another great book for any animal lover is, "The Art of Racing in the Rain" "Nearing the end of his life, Enzo, a dog with a philosopher's soul, tries to bring together the family, pulled apart by a three year custody battle between daughter Zoe's maternal grandparents and her father Denny, a race car driver."

Do you have any novels that you can recommend to me? Diabetic or non! My desk at work is looking more beautiful these days, one of my 4 year old client gave me these beautiful Tulips! Just to thank me for all my work :) so sweet! It has been absolutely gorgeous here in LA. This weekend it's going to be 80!!! I can't wait!!

Did anybody else freak out during, "Glee" this week? LOVE LOVE LOVE.

For some reason, I can't get complications out of my head today.

I think it has to do with the fact that even though I increased by basal last night, i managed to wake up high AGAIN. Last night I worked out right before bed, and finished up with a BS of 70. Drinking a little orange juice I thought would hold me over for the night. Well woke up this morning at 225. UGH. I know I know...you will all say do a 3am check. FINE. I WILL. Happy?!?!?

It can be so consuming when I think about complications. Being a statistic is one of my worst fears. I have had a smooth 7 years to say the least, but what if one day I wake up and can't see? Or lost all feeling in my toes? These ideas drive me crazy and deep into depression. Trying to snap myself out of it can be really hard. Questioning if a life is worth living with complications. When do I wake up from this dream? Doesn't everyone say this stuff doesn't happen to them?

Only having diabetes for 7 years seems so little compared to the anniversaries I have been reading about lately, 25 years, 30 years, 18...am I still "protected" because it hasn't been long enough? I have never been in DKA or fainted (knock on some serious wood!) But unfortunately, I have never had a good A1C. As mentioned before, my lowest was 8.6%. Not something I am proud of. I actually am very embarrassed to post that. I am REALLY trying to get that number down. My meter shows the average for the past 30, 15, and 7 days and it is very clearly going down. Trying every day is improve from yesterday seems to be the daily task.

What are some tips you all can give me? As I preach on here, education is key. Are there any tips our there besides test more? Exercise more? Less carbs?

It seems not only are my blood sugars on a roller coaster, but as are my emotions.


I don't know if I ever told you all this, but I love diabetes literature. As you can see by some of posts, I really enjoy reading about other diabetics and their struggles and success. That actually would explain why I love reading all of your blogs...

Right now I am reading, "The Sugarless Plum".


It's about a dancer who struggled with her diagnosis of having type 1. I can really relate since I danced growing up, and I love ballet, but I think every diabetic should read her story. Just as with the DOC we need to support out authors as well!

Just a side note, I don't tend to read one book at a time. My mood dictates a lot of what I read, when I feeling inspired I work on reading this book, Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution. So far it has inspired me to eat less carbs and I do notice a difference. I don't know about eliminating ALL carbs, but his proof of success is amazing. Anyone out there read this book?

I always welcome recommendations of new diabetes books or stories, so please send those my way!

Thank you for reading my woes and thoughts and concerns. The DOC community is the best! Why has no one ever mentioned that Doc from Snow White could also be our mascot?


OR Doc from Back to the Future!!



Oh what was that Doc? In the future there is a cure? Oh good, that's what I thought I heard.

Hello DOC!

Life sure has been crazy. I know it's been a while since my last update, but life gets in the way like that sometimes! This weekend was very relaxing though, filled with reading and family. Now I just have to catch up on life and get myself back to the gym. On an annoying note, my blood sugars are REALLY raising in my sleep. Went to bed a lovely 115, and woke up at 315. Awesome. Changed my basal rate after this trend has been happening for the past week, so I'll let you know how that worked out for me. Moving on...

It seems like the next couple of weeks are FULL of diabetes activities!

1. Volunteering for the Los Angeles, JDRF gala (a couple of months ago I volunteered for the Orange County one). The LA one is MUCH larger and I am excited about that! The one in Orange County has always been beautiful, but I felt that since my life is mostly in LA I need to transition as much as possible to this diabetic community. Since my parents live down there and I grew up there, I will always feel connected, but that connection I feel may keep me from trying new opportunities and meeting other diabetics who live much closer to me. Sometimes when I volunteer for larger things, it seems my time isn't as appreciated as there usually isn't much to do since they have so many other volunteers, so I am a little nervous about that. We will see! I am sure it will be amazing and I will meet amazing people! And hopefully when I make the B$G Bucks (LOL) I will get to be a guest :) (Their ticket prices are MUCH higher than Orange County's as well)

2. UCLA Division of Endocrinology invited me to a "Directions in Diabetes" luncheon. I can't decide if it's OK to take off of work for it though. Obviously this is a great opportunity once again to meet people and educate myself, but it's two hours long meaning I would need to take 3 hours off of work...(with driving time etc.)The luncheon would include tours of the Islet Research Center and the diabetes center and they are discussing research updates. What do you guys think? Does this sound more for people who should be donating money to them? hmmm...

3. A Day of Hope and Health- An event at UCI that is for families and individuals affected by Type 1. Dr. Susan Guzman, PhD, Director of Clinical Services at the Behavioral Diabetes Institute will give a keynote address about the psycho-social and emotional effects of type 1 diabetes. They will also have a presentation about current type 1 diabetes research. There will also be a lunch and fun activities at boomers! I hope it's not just a bunch of little kids though...not that I have a problem with kids, it just seems that most Type 1 events are geared toward kids. In my head I keep thinking-YOU KNOW THOSE KIDS GROW UP? (AKA ME!) WHICH LEADS ME TO...

4. "Living With Diabetes in the Work Place" at JDRF office in LA. First off, I LOVE that this means no kids. Once again, I LOVE children, but sometimes as an adult type 1, I feel shafted. They are having a Special Guest Speaker, Mr. Donald Meccia. He is going to share his history of being a Type 1 Diabetic for nearly 30 years in the workplace. He’ll discuss his Type 1 diagnosis, and the emotional and physical roller coaster he rode for many years. Which is SO AMAZING because I really would benefit from hearing his story. As I am sure the other there would as well.


5. A family friend of mine is actually hosting their own fundraiser for JDRF at their home as well. (And by home I mean giant mansion)I am really excited about it! They are having an a silent and live action, yet the dress is casual...It's a little pricey, (obviously a good cause), but there is going to be a "surprise band" as well!! so I will let you all know who it was!

What activities do you all go to? Are they fun? Worth while? Lame?



As I usually end my posts on a random note:

I saw this car and I thought to myself, this is the equivalent to the mullet. Business in the front, party in the back.




I expanded my garden!! I have added mini strawberries, mini tomatoes, and mini green peppers! (I already had basil, a flower and a "tree"). This time I put what was growing in each pot underneath so I could see which one was which! Live and learn. As you can see, nothing yet from my third plant (whatever it is...) I STILL HAVE FAITH THOUGH!

Ever since I learned about the Holocaust in the third grade, I found myself obsessing over the question, "Would I have survived?"There may have been many things that attributed to this odd obsession of mine:

1. Making the history personal. I had family that died in the holocaust, and my parents found it very important to make sure I was well versed on the topic. Which included many visits to many museums. If you have ever visited a Holocaust museum before, many give you a card of a person at the beginning of the tour and at the end you find out if your person lived or died.

2. The more I learned the more I wanted to learn. I began to read every Holocaust novel I could, watch every movie, visit every Museum, (Including in Israel, Washington DC, New York, and LA)and take many classes in college about the topic as well.

3. This may have also come from the idea of making sure that this horrible series of events never happened again, or just maybe out of pure HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?

When I found out I had diabetes this changed my thoughts entirely! There is no way I would have survived as a type 1! Before, I had these plans of how I would had survived-running away, hiding, staying strong...but now I depend on so much to keep my alive and well! Already the prisoners were treated so horribly, there is no way a diabetic would survive over a week.

The Nazi's were ruthless! They just killed handicapped people and performed horrible scientific experiments on them...why wouldn't that happen to a type 1? All of their belongings were taken from them, so wouldn't the insulin been taken away too? If the Nazi's goal was to kill, wouldn't they not care if a prisoner had their insulin or not? Again my brain goes on a wild goose chase of WHAT IF? Over and over again...

As many of you know, I am newer to this community and to my amazement I came across a post from dLife about Ernest Sterzer. He is the only known type 1 diabetic survivor of the horrible Nazi Concentration Camps.

You can download the story here as a PDF. It is short, powerful and WELL worth reading.

Surviving the Holocaust at all was so rare and amazing, but WITH TYPE 1 DIABETES it must have been impossible! This story really blew me away. I think now when I am having a tough day with diabetes, I might remember that Ernest had it much worse than me.

I can't find much more information on Ernest, so if anyone knows anymore I would LOVE to learn as much as possible about him. It is so important to educate ourselves in this world. We need to educate so bad things don't happen again. Weather you notice a low trend every night a group of being being oppressed, we must take notice and action!

Education, as I have discussed earlier IS SO IMPORTANT.

I leave you today, with a picture of my plant that is growing beautifully. No growth on the other two still.

Who doesn't love free stuff?

My father actually recommended this one to me from a commercial he say on TV. You even get to choose between two different meter styles from FreeStyle. I choose the the Lite option, for my smaller purses. All you have to do is join their "FreeStyle Promise Program". Pretty cool! I think most companies do something like this since they make their money on the test strips anyway. Any know of any other free diabetes supplies?



Speaking of great deals...I LOVE the dollar bin at Target. It always has cute things that I don't need. lol. I found these little plants though and I couldn't resist. I have decided I would show the progress here. I bought three different kind of a plants, a basil, flower, and a tree. They are tiny, but I thought that I could use some more green in my life. The only issue is I have no idea which pot has which plant. I am thinking this maybe the flower? What do you think?
Here is the first sign of green...




And here is what it looks like now!!




The others are not really happening...YET!!!



On a side note, this past weekend I went to Fashion Island (which is in Orange County-about an hour south of LA) and Tim Gunn was there doing a fashion show outside. It was really random, but I loved it none the less. Living in LA and doing what I do, I see famous people all the time, but there is nothing like seeing Tim Gunn doing what he does best. :)

My post earlier was really depressing, SO sometimes when you are down in the dumps, you have to laugh at yourself....

I don't care what you say this video is HILARIOUS!!

Is it possible that I had diabetes burnout from the time I was diagnosed until recently? Or does that just make me more in denial about my own reality? Either way I do NOT want to go back there.

I know diabetes is not like a "diet" where I can lose 5 five pounds then fall off the band wagon. It's forever. It never leaves.

Sometimes it can be overwhelming, and for me it was for seven years. As I have stated in this blog, things have seriously changed with managing my diabetes lately. In the short amount of time I have turned myself around and I feel SO much better. This must be what runners say about running, that it's addictive. (Because I always thought, REALLY? Because I hate running lol Wish I had that addiction!)

I am getting worried that now I will face that place again. I know I don't want to go back there. What are ways that you keep yourself from going there or going back there? One thing I can tell that is working is this online community. Seeing other people struggle with the same things I do.

Obviously the consequences of not staying on top of diabetes are HUGE, but why is it sometimes that isn't enough? Ironic actually, because most people are so afraid to live in the NOW, where I am afraid to live in the future.

Knowing that controlling our numbers is only part of the equation is terrifying. KNOWING that even if I try MY BEST, potentially there could still be a bleak future for me.

I know technology is changing, and I can't think like that, blah blah-but guess what people?-IT HAPPENS. At least to me anyway. Sometimes I look at my feet and I wonder what I would do if I didn't have them. I love dancing so much, and to not be able to dance every again would tear me apart. Or when I look at something beautiful I wonder if in my future I will not be able to see. I wouldn't be able to keep my job, or drive, and the list goes on and on.

If I am thinking like this, imagine what my parents are thinking? Being a parent of a diabetic must the most terrifying thing. A parent can only do so much. It is the diabetics responsibility to manage their care but to NOT be the person in control must be extra terrifying.

I know this isn't the most pleasant of posts. But if I am going to be blogging about this, I feel it important to posts the real realities of what is going on in my head.

On a happier note, I really do LOVE my Brighton bracelet. I haven't taken in off in fact! It looks great with my watch and I have received several complements already. It's a great conversation piece as well, since every knows that the ribbon stands for some sort of charity. I just wish there were more jewelery fundraising options. And not little kid jewelery made out of plastic. Know of any? I love sterling silver, so anything like that out there? Can't blame a girl for trying ;)

My boyfriend, Jesse, and I went to the mall today to get my JDRF Brighton Charm!



When you purchase the charm you are given a check for $20 made out to JDRF(the charm sells for $25). The instructions say to mail the check to JDRF at 26 Broadway, 14th Floor, New York, NY 10004. (Other charities include Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Alzheimer’s Association, American Heart Association, USA Cares, American Cancer Society and Autism Speaks)

I also purchased a link chain to put the charm on and I believe it goes well with my medic alert bracelet. Do any of you wear a medical alert bracelet?

It really does feel great that companies see the importance of raising money and awareness as well. Once again, I am feeling less and less alone as time goes on.

Thank you Brighton and to those who support JDRF!

It seems every day there is horrible news to be read. Often I ask myself, WHAT WOULD I DO?? A lot of the time, I wonder if as a diabetic I would be SOL because the insurance companies will only cover so much at a time, or if the world got to hot-would all the insulin go bad, or what if WHAT IF!??! Most of the time, I think that could never happen in beautiful California...time to WAKE UP! Terrible things happen people and I know these can be crazy ides, but it is best to be prepared. I know myself that as of right now I am NOT prepared. I just came across this fantastic list from the POWER OF PREVENTION-DIABETES DISASTER PLAN (Click there to get the full PDF version) My weekend plan is put all these things together:

ACE Power of Prevention® Diabetes Disaster Plan
Prepare a portable diabetes disaster kit that is both insulated
and waterproof containing the following items:

List of all medical conditions and prior surgeries.

Information about your diabetes, including past and present medications,
any adverse reactions to medications, and past and present complications.

List of all your health care professionals with their contact information.

Letter from your diabetes health care professionals detailing most recent diabetes medication regimen (especially for insulin) and containing most recent laboratory results.

List of all medications, which should also include pharmacies and
active prescription information and eligible refills.

A 30-day supply of medications for diabetes and all other medical
conditions. This should include insulin, oral antidiabetic agents and
a severe hypoglycemia emergency kit (if prescribed by your physician).

Blood glucose testing supplies, including lancets, test strips and
preferably, at least two glucose meters with extra batteries.

A cooler and at least four refreezable gel packs for storing insulin
(do not use dry ice when storing your medication).

Empty plastic bottles and/or sharps container for syringes, needles, and/or lancets.
Source of carbohydrate to treat hypoglycemic reactions (e.g., glucose
tablets).

Ideally you should also have a one or two day supply of food
that does not require refrigeration (e.g. non-perishable).


That all sounds great to me! Do any of you have an emergency pact prepared? If so, where do you keep it? Your car? Your house? The work place? I supposed we all should have these in multiple places considering we never know where we will be when disaster strikes. Living in California, I should really have an earthquake kit available too with all of these things...the list of things to do as a diabetic is never ending.

Has anyone been through a disaster with diabetes?

Before I found the online diabetic community, I felt so alone being a type 1. This is a topic I have discussed before, but I find it an important one. I have decided to list some famous diabetics so if anyone else stumbles upon this they can see that even famous people have diabetes as well.

Mary Tyler Moore-If there were such a thing as my favorite diabetic, SHE WINS! I love her! She is best known for her roles on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "The Dick Van Dyke Show", which I grew up watching on 'Nick at Night', and was so excited to later learn she also is a type 1! I just finished reading her amazing book, and I highly recommend it! She has also helped raised millions for JDRF and is an inspiration to all!



Halle Berry- She is an Academy Award winning actress and we all know who she is. I was thinking of not listing her at all because of how stupid she is by saying she would classify herself as being a type 2 diabetic, as she had supposedly weaned herself off insulin. RIGHT, because that happens. Anyway, she has diabetes too. TYPE 1.



Jean Smart-Another actress, best known for the hit TV shows, "24", "Hawaii Five-O" and "Samantha Who?". She has been a diabetic since she was 13 years old!





Dorian Gregory-Another Actor, known for being on "Charmed" and the last host of, "Soul Train". He was very private about his battle with diabetes, until recently. Now, he is a National Spokesman for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Bret Michaels-I know him from, "Rock of Love" on VH1, but he was also a member of the band Poison. He also earned $640,000 for the American Diabetes Association for winning the Celebrity Apprentice 3. He was diagnosed when he was six years old.


Nick Jonas-Who doesn't know who the Jonas Brothers are? Well Nick, (in my opinion, the cutest) was diagnosed with Type I diabetes at 13. He has done a lot of awareness and has even developed the Change for the Children Foundation. Bayer Diabetes Care has work with him as a diabetes ambassador to promote young people to manage their diabetes. He also spoke to the U.S. Senate to promote more research funding.



Anne Rice-It seems today everyone is obsessed with Vampires (including myself-but don't tell! shh...WHEN DOES "TRUE BLOOD" START AGAIN!?!?!?)But this type 1 diabetic, is a best selling author, who is best known for writing the "Vampires Chronicles".





Justice Sonia Sotomayor-She is the first Hispanic Justice for the Supreme Court and also the first Justice with Type 1!! That is a lot of really important firsts! US diabetes are just taking over the world :)








Jay Cutler-Athletes can even succeed with diabetes! He is a quarterback for the Chicago Bears, and even though I don't really follow sports, I can really appreciate all the work he has done for diabetes.



Elliot Yamin-He came in third on the fifth season of American Idol, but that didn't stop this diabetic from being a huge singing sensation! He was diagnosed with Type I diabetes at the age of 16 and wears an insulin pump to help him manage his diabetes, JUST LIKE ME! I also really appreciate this diabetic because I LOVE LOVE to sing and he represented "Inspired by Diabetes", which is a competition where diabetics can express themselves in multiple disciplines.



There are many others, but these are just a few highlights. Are there some of your favorites that I missed?

I figured maybe a little ice breaker is in order, so you can get to know me a little better!


Age: 22

Bed size: Queen.

Chore you dislike: Taking out the trash. My apartment building is very old, and we don't have a trash shoot. (WHAT??)

Dogs: LOVE LOVE LOVE THEM!! I wish I could have one. I love bulldogs. My parents have three dogs that I adore and I get to see sometimes!

Essential start to your day: COFFEE!!! Could not live without. I know I am addicted and I am OK with that.

Favorite color: Purple.

Gold or silver: Silver, but gold can be fun if I am going with a more vintage style :) I really enjoy fashion

Height: 5’6"

Instruments you play(ed): Flute

Job title: Assistant to a Talent Agent.

Kids: I think so? Way too young now!

Live: Los Angeles, CA

Mom’s name: Lida. I couldn't love her name more. It's so beautiful.

Nicknames: My dad is the only one with nicknames for me, he mostly calls me Laurie. It's actually pretty funny, because my mom HATES the name Laurie. I don't mind when he calls me it, but no one else is allowed to!

Overnight hospital stays: I have had two knee surgeries and when I was diagnosed I was there for about a week.

Pet peeve: Diabetes. HAHHA But really, I would say mess. I just don't like mess.

Quote from a movie: Ummm...I don't really have one.


Righty or Lefty: Righty

Siblings: An older brother, Andy

Time you wake up: 7:30 for work

Underwear: Is this a question? If so...yes....

Vegetables you don’t like: I like most, but I guess peas...they explode in my mouth and that is weird

What makes you run late: Waking up late, traffic, diabetes BS

X-Rays you’ve had: Knees, head (I cracked my head open), teeth

Yummy food you make: Brussel sprouts. That is about it. BUT they are fantastic!

Zoo animal favorite: Orangutan

Sometimes you may ask yourself, BUT WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP DIABETES? I am not a scientist or wizard, so what can I do to help?

You can do a lot, and every little bit helps.

Sometimes I can feel sorry for myself, but it's time to empower yourself and others! READ BELOW for instructions....

Another reason I wanted to create this blog for was non-diabetics as well. There was a point in time when I wasn't a diabetic, and I did not know much about diabetes at all. I know the more we educate and raise awareness, the closer and closer we are to better treatments or perhaps one day a cure.

Therefore....

Today I have decided for the diabetic and non-diabetics alike, to explain what I believe to be the most annoying thing that people do to us type 1 folks and how you_YES YOU_ can help!...

EDUCATE YOURSELF FIRST AND FORMOST. The worse thing (to me) that you can do is, be uneducated and generalize diabetics. Type 1 and type 2 are different. As I wrote earlier, for the first 15 years of my life, I was not a diabetic, and I am ashamed to say I was also was guilty of being uneducated.

Even if you don't know anyone that is diabetic and you happen to just stumble upon this blog, you could potential save someones life! Who knows?!? You could see someone passed out on the floor and see that they had a diabetic alert bracelet and you would know to give them some liquid sugar! Overall KNOWLEDGE IS POWER. Please learn from my mistakes.

Once I was diagnosed for the first seven years, I was very private about my diabetes. I would never tell anyone (that didn't need to know for an emergency) and I believe it ultimately hurt me. I could have been advocating for the past seven years. Instead, I hid in shame, but not anymore. If I had known this diabetic online community existed earlier, I could have saved myself from a lot of crying fits. Moving on to now, there is no time like the present! I am taking baby steps myself and I hope you join me.

My first baby step is to try to correct people whenever I can. Most importantly, published works. There are multiple examples I could list, including Readers Digest and my favorite fashion blog was even guilty, "The Luxury Spot" and yes that is my comment on that blog post. :)

I encourage everyone to get in contact with the editor or author and make sure they right their wrong. The more false information out there, the more myths, less health care coverage (due to people thinking it's reversible-thanks readers digest) and ultimately farther away from a cure all due to being uneducated or educated incorrectly.

What are ways that you advocate? How can we all work together to raise awareness? Sometimes I know I find it hard, because I am not an adorable 8 year old (anymore ;-) lol) Has anyone been a part of "Promise to Remember Me?"

Hello World! My name is Lauren and I have been a Type 1 Diabetic for 7 years. Thank you for taking to the time to read about my journey with diabetes. Just a quick update, I am on a Medtronic pump (using Humalog) and occasionally I will wear my CGM even though it drives my skin crazy.

I wanted to start a blog because I have been observing the online diabetic community for a little bit and I am ready to dip my feet in the pool! Unfortunately, my diabetes experience thus far has been very isolating. Which is why I am here and looking for a new type of community in my life!

I am sure other type 1's get asked the same type of questions all the time. My favorite is, "How did you get diabetes?"

The answer my friends, is karma.

The only diabetic I knew was in elementary school. She always had snacks in class, got to leave early, go the nurse whenever, and every privilege I could ever want! Or so I thought...

I will never forget in the fourth grade there was an essay contest on RESPONSIBILITY. Due to the fact that I did not have diabetes as my, so-I-thought, "friend" did, I came in second place and she came in first. She got to read her essay in front of the whole school and I got one little piece of paper. From that day on, I made fun of her. I was so upset that I did not win just because I didn't have diabetes. Truth be told, her essay was very moving and powerful and mine just wasn't.

DRUM ROLL PLEASE...and this my friends is how I got diabetes!!!

Ok so not really.

Obviously, scientists are still trying to find out the real reason why we get is, weather it's the "virus theory" or the "karma theory". That discussion is to be continued.

Either way, I suppose for me it doesn't really matter how I got it. It is now about how to handle this situation I was given.

I was diagnosed when I was 15 years old. I thought I was so grown up, so ready to handle this entire disease all on my own. Everyone told me how strong I was, and all I felt was how my life was ruined. Either way, I closed my self off from researching or discussing because I wanted to pretend it wasn't there. For the past seven years, it is not that I completely ignored having diabetes, it was just never a priority for me. There was no way I wanted a disease to control my life, so it wasn't that I didn't take insulin or didn't exercise, I just never really took the "bull by the horns" as they say.

THAT ALL CHANGES NOW.

I can't tell you why or what changed, but something changed. I woke one day and decided I wanted to buy Mary Tyler Moore's book, and her honesty just really amazed me. She has complications, and it got me thinking, I don't have to have those complications. I have so many tools and amazing people in my life, that I do not have an excuse to let these things happen to me.

It blew my mind that someone else had the same struggles and thoughts as I did! Reading her book made me realize I needed to meet and talk to other type 1's. No one can do this disease alone. We need to connect and remind each other that we are NOT ALONE.

You may be wondering how I never connected with another diabetic. I had done a couple of the Walk to Cure Diabetes throughout the years and I raised a good amount of money. But I am shy, and I don't like putting myself out there, so I never spoke to anyone while I was there. I will say, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing so many different people wearing pumps!! None the less, I didn't know anyone with type 1 besides the girl in elementary school.


I decided to start my journey and FINALLY get this disease in check. I am hoping this blog will just be one other tool to help me.

Knowing that I needed to connect with other diabetes, I contacted JDRF to be a part of their mentor program. WHAT AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE! I cannot explain enough how amazing Kristin is!!! First off, she and I both went to the same University (UCLA) and she is a fashion designer now. Bottom line, SHE IS FANTASTIC. We have spoken on the phone and finally had the chance to meet last night. PLEASE I BEG EVERY DIABETIC OUT THERE TO JUST TALK TO SOMEONE ELSE WITH DIABETES. It was so refreshing and amazing to connect with someone who has gone through it all and knows how you feel. But, I know I still have more that I can do to gain control.

Has anyone out there ever done a clinical trial? I just applied for the Artificial Pancreas Project through the Sansum Diabetes Research Center. It would be awesome if I was chosen to participate. If anything, I want to feel useful to further generations, and I feel this is the very least I can do.


What are other diabetes best tips for gaining control? What tools did you feel really helped? I am so excited to update and keep you all in the loop and let you know what I Feel works or doesn't work for me, research, trials, and everything else that comes with having this full time job we call diabetes.