Diabetes, gastroparesis and weight loss

Hi everyone! As some of you may have noticed I have been AWOL for quite some time on social media and although I am trying to keep up with my diabetes activities I'm finding it a bit of a struggle. The main reason for this is the sudden and (currently) unexplained lack of energy I have been experiencing which has left me with little to no "get up and go" to do the extra work that I used to do on my blog. I say it's unexplained, but there are a few reasons which stand out to me such as being unwell with gastroparesis which had caused me to vomit almost daily for around 3 months now, sometimes up to 4 - 5 times a day. Sexy, right?

Guest Blog - So what is a diabetic diet?

A big thanks to Dan for writing this guest post! You can check out Dan's social media platforms at the end of this blog.

How many times have you been asked the question:

"But you're a diabetic, can you eat that?"

If you're anything like me, it's been a fair few times.

I understand the well meaning of this from those who aren't familiar with diabetes. They've heard certain stories from the media and word of mouth about how diabetes is essentially a sugar related disease and they've assumed that you can't eat sugar or anything fun.

Review of the new Carbs and Cals books

A few weeks ago the lovely people at Carbs and Cals contacted me to see if I wanted to provide feedback on their new books; Carb and Calorie Counter, Smoothies and Salads. Of course I said yes straight away, these would be the perfect tools to aid my new diet/exercise and overhaul of my diabetes/gastroparesis management, all rolled into three delicious looking books! (cont)

My monthly article for The Diabetes Times is a delicate discussion about understanding the reasons behind insulin restriction, omission and diabulimia. Please click this link to read it. I would love to hear your thoughts on this, so please comment here or find me on twitter (@ninjabetic1) or on facebook (ninjabetics) to let me know what you think.

Laura x 

Insulin pump trial - Week 1

So a few of you may have heard me mentioning that I started my insulin pump trial. This is a 6 month trial with frequent reviews at my diabetes clinic to ensure that I’m getting the best out of my pump and that I can use it safely.

Before starting I sat down with my consultant and set myself 4 goals to achieve by the end of the trial:

• Reducing my A1c by 5mmol/mol
• Maintaining a healthy weight and BMI
• Reducing blood glucose variability by 20%
• Reducing hypoglycaemia experience by 30%

I’ve already attended a diabetes educational course (JIGSAW) and intense insulin therapy appointments (for almost a year) to try to improve my control. Now I need to make sure that an insulin pump is going to be effective treatment for me. Once my 6 months is up my pre and post trial data will be sent away to the CCG (people with the money) to assess my need to keep the pump.

Go time!

The night before my start date I ran through all of my biggest pump worries.

These were:

• Inserting the cannula myself
• Being able to hide the pump in my clothes
• Catching the tubing on handles/people/my dog/anything that sticks out
• Hypos/DKA

After a week of having my pump (named Iain after my consultant) the only issue that I’ve had is with inserting the cannula. However this reminded me of when I first started injecting, when I would spend ages trying to put the needle in. Soon after diagnosis I had no issues, so I really hope that I will get to that stage soon with my pump.

Iain the Pump - Accu-Chek Spirit Combo

After 2 days of pumping I was amazed at my blood sugars readings and how controlled they had become, I fell in love with Iain the pump (and soon regretted calling him Iain). Pre and post meals blood sugars were within my target of 5-10 and although I was having a few lows my rebound highs weren’t anywhere near as bad as they were when I was on MDI (multiple daily injections). I actually look forward to testing my sugars now, whereas before I used to dread seeing my readings because I would feel so disappointed with myself if they were off of target (which was quite often).

Taken today - After 1 week of using the pump

All in all my 1^st week of being a pumper has been a big turning point for me. If I’m honest I was starting to despair with my diabetes and it was really upsetting me, to the point that it affected my life far too much. Now I have a lot more hope and have a positive outlook again.

If there’s anyone out there who is thinking about insulin pump therapy then I would definitely recommend you give it a go if it’s possible (I know it’s not always easy to get one). And if it’s not for you, then at least you’ve tried!

Ninjabetic x