The Islets of Langerhans sound like a disputed realm in a fantasy novel. This has been your diabetes education post of the day.

There are many ways misinformation about diabetes affects us, directly and indirectly. The diabetes punchline, exemplified in the divisive L'il Diabetes meme (which I will not post because it is potentially harmful for people with eating disorders) and others like it demonstrate how misinformation about diabetes can be hurtful psychologically, and can contribute to the higher rates of both depression and eating disorder seen in diabetics. But there are other ways in which false stereotypes can be dangerous and damaging, and why I think we should fight them.
Those of you in the United States who are struggling with soaring insulin prices and wondering where the public outrage we saw over Epipen price hikes was when it came to diabetics might want to read this case study on the perfect storm of societal ignorance and manipulation, and the deadly combination of capitalism and healthcare.

1. Our culture falsely equates physical health and morality (I’m looking at you, “clean” eaters).
2. Our culture is scientifically illiterate.
3. Drug and insurance companies have taken advantage of these facts and pushed the false narrative that diabetes is a “lifestyle” condition, leading people to blame diabetics for their condition, and can now collude on prices without fear of public outrage. http://harvardpolitics.com/united-states/how-insulin-became-unaffordable/

Hello, type one diabetic with a heart condition here who still wears a mask when running a regular 5k…WEAR A MASK MY DUDES

Seriously ya’ll T1 buds, wash those hands!

PSA for diabetic brides

If you wear a pump, beware crepe! Very revealing.

You know when you take out a site and it’s immediately itchy and awful? Yup. That’s me, today. 

PS-stay tuned for a review of my new pump, the Medtronic 670g! Sorry for the lack of updates, both me and the fiance are running for office.

How I know my BF understands that T1 life:

We were watching Game of Thrones and one of the lady characters was walking around, doing her thing, when my bf just randomly goes “oh!”

I asked him what was up. He said he’d been trying to figure out for the last five minutes where she keeps her insulin pump in that outfit.

BOY FORGOT THAT NOT ALL LADIES HAVE TO WEAR INSULIN PUMPS

Seriously though, still need my insulin and test strips. 

When you wake up, test, realize you’re high AF, treat, and nap until you’re normal again.

If only I could do it on work days…

Copyright me, your internet diabetic dictionary :P 

Our health should not be part of a free market exchange. Saving money is not equivalent to saving lives.

While you can decide to keep your house a bit cooler to lower your electric bill, you can’t have a little less chemo to save a few thousand dollars. There’s no “hey, maybe just forget the insulin so you can save for a few months of retirement money, skimp on the blood thinners or dialysis and get some pocket change for the movies.”

Healthcare is a non-negotiable part of life. So why do we rely on a system which ebbs and flows based on the number of healthy people who choose to sign up and create a market based on humans as commodities; the federal laws (looking at you, abortion ban HR-7) that cause insurance companies to choose their own financial safety over the people who need medical safety?

Don’t let this government turn us and those less fortunate than those I know reading my inordinately long post into market objects for financial gain. Call, dissent.

As always, continue to support the ACA by calling your reps or Sen. Paul Ryan–(202) 225-3031

Oppose HR7 (which bans all federal funding for abortion services, targeting the underprivileged on Medicaid as well as effectively eliminating ability to get coverage for abortion even if paying your own funds through any ACA/gov program) by calling your reps.

…woke up with a peanut in my bed. Guess I missed my mouth mid 3am blood sugar drop.

Whoops.

Time to push more of my liberal agenda: protect the ACA. Call your lawmakers! Think of how much diabetes costs without insurance–tens of thousands of dollars. Without preexisting condition protection, we don’t get insurance. Without bans against lifetime insurance caps, we don’t get to keep insurance. 

We may be sick, but we are not dead; don’t let your house representatives categorize you otherwise. We deserve to live full lives, regardless of a disease we did nothing to earn and cannot will away. 

So fight. Be sick–there’s nothing we can do about that–but nevertire. 

You can search your representative numbers here:

http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

You know, I was trying to actually cook like a successful grown-up. 

Hi, all–sorry I’ve been so long. 

So, do I have news for you! I officially have chronic condition #2, thought to be autoimmune. Now, in addition to attacking my pancreas, my immune system has decided to revolt against my skin. At least I’m special; less than 1% of the population apparently has this condition. Thing is, while rare toys, cards, books, or collectibles may be great, rare diseases are far less so. 

What surprises me is how much more of a toll this diagnosis was taking on my self esteem than has diabetes this past week. For better or for worse, diabetes is an invisible illness. It has far more of an impact on my life than skin changes, but I can hide my pancreas problems if I so choose (though I usually don’t). You can’t hide a skin condition, and it doesn’t make you feel pretty. It makes you feel strange, and it seems harder to reclaim as a positive in the way that I own my “cyborg parts” as a part of my diabetic identity. 

The good news is, with the diagnosis and proper treatment, I’m getting better. 

I like to imagine that my immune system is just so incredibly strong, though it may attack my body, it’s also some sort of superpower–maybe I’d be immune to a zombie contagion or nuclear fallout. Silver linings? 

They’re here! The buttons are here! Donate to get yours before they run out and help me run out diabetes instead: 

http://www2.jdrf.org/site/TR?fr_id=6292&pg=personal&px=10474618

Come on, guys! A month left to donate. These buttons are limited in quantity, and all you have to do is donate to help find a cure for type 1 diabetes! It’s a win-win! Just include your mailing address when donating:

http://www2.jdrf.org/site/TR?fr_id=6292&pg=personal&px=10474618

Like this cutie little button, designed by yours truly? You want one? Easy! 

This year, to raise money for JDRF, I’ll be sending one of these little guys to every person who donates to my page. Link below!

http://www2.jdrf.org/site/TR?fr_id=6292&pg=personal&px=10474618

Make sure you include your name and mailing address when donating!

If it goes well, I might make other diabuddies for you all! Pens, meters, etc…give me a reason! 

My blood sugar is taking forever to come down and I don’t know why…

Dear stranger from dance, 

I appreciate your asking about my pump, how it works, why I wear it. However, when you watched me check my blood sugar, your comment registered not interest and affection, but pity. In fact, you were’t even subtle. As I licked the small drop off the top of my finger, a routine part of my life, you said:

“That’s so sad.”

You didn’t even bother to whisper. You said it to my face, as if I should agree. Somehow, I was meant to validate your sympathy. Yet, here’s the thing–I’m not sad, and even if I were, your opinion of my condition would not affect that. 

People like me–people with disorders, illnesses, and disabilities–do not exist as receptacles for your empathy. You don’t get to feel elevated for your understanding nods and soft tones. I don’t need soft tones. I won’t break like a glass when your voice hits a high note. I do need your understanding, like any other human being. 

So, no I’m not sad. My life is just different from yours. The night you said that to me I danced until midnight, went for drinks with friends, and collapsed in bed just in time to get enough sleep for a  party the next day. I checked my blood sugar a few more times and changed a pump site in the midst of all that, yes, but that’s just my normal. And that’s okay.