Happy Easter

Happy Easter everyone, I hope you have all had a great day and that you got the Easter egg you wanted.

Today I have seen quiet a lot of posted on Facebook saying stuff like don't eat to much chocolate Easter eggs or you will ended up with diabetes. The truth is you can't get diabetes from eating too much chocolate. Some people think that people who have diabetes have to have special sugar free Easter eggs or that they can't have any Easter eggs. You can special sugar free chocolate that people think is better for people who have diabetes but it sometimes actually has more carbs in then a normal chocolate Easter egg so it mean they wouldn't be able to eat as much as a normal Easter egg so you would probably be better just buying a normal Easter egg. It is really annoying when people say you can't have a chocolate Easter egg because you are diabetic or Easter eggs cause diabetes if you eat too many because it isn't true, having diabetes doesn't stop you from eating chocolate, all we have to do is give ourselves enough insulin for the amount of chocolate we eat. It does mean our Easter chocolate probably does last longer then other people but it doesn't mean we can't have Easter eggs.

Hopefully this post will help explain to some people that just because someone has diabetes it doesn't mean they can't have Easter eggs and that diabetes isn't caused by eating too much chocolate.   

Meeting up

I have always said that I would love to meet other people my age who has diabetes. I talk quite a lot to people my age, younger and older then me who have diabetes on Facebook and on Facebook groups. Some people have helped me so much on there because they have made me realise that I am not alone and that there are loads of other people in the world who are going through the same things as I am. I have made so many friends on the group but one problem is that most of them live no where near me which means we won't be able to meet up in person and go somewhere for the day, we can only talk to each other over Facebook. Even though these people have helped me so much I still really wanted to meet up with someone my age who has diabetes that lives near me so that we could go on days out together, be able to met in person and get to know each other more.

I have been seeing a psychologist for quite a long time now and she has helped me so much. She has shown me that if I put my mind to something and really want to do it, I will be able to. She has also made me realise that I am so much more then diabetes and if I can try and get my levels in range it will make it easier in the future. Also since seeing have I have achieved so much and most people say it's like i am a different person. I am so much more confident and independent. Part of the reason why I started writing this blog was because I wanted to be more like my psychologist and help people by using my own experiences as she has helped me so much. I just wanted to say thank you so much to my psychologist because she has helped me so much and I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for her. 

My psychologist thought it would be a really good idea to start a group where teenagers who had diabetes. The point of the group was so that you could make friends with other people and so that we could all support everyone in the group so that if they were having a hard time they could talk to someone in the group and they would try and help them. The psychologist wasn't really sure what the group should be like and what people would want to do at the group so she decided that she needed some ideas for people who would come to the group so she invited me and two other people to meet her and discuss what we wanted the group to be like. After we met up she set a date for the first met up for the group. To be honest I was a bit nervous about going as there were going to be a lot more people and at first we wouldn't know any of them. 

On Tuesday it was the day when we were all meeting up as a group. When I first got there we sat in a room with all of the teenagers and there parents and then all the teenagers went in to the room next door so that we could do some activities to help us get to know people more while the parents could talk to other parents and get to know them more and also help them if they had any questions. The first activity that the teenagers did was introducing yourself to the rest of the group. We had to say our name and one thing we had done in the Easter holidays. After that we all got given a piece of paper, a pencil and a balloon. We got told to write one thing we would bring to the group or something we liked doing, then we had to fold up the paper and put it inside the balloon, once we had done that we had to blow the balloon up and put the paper on it and tie it. The point of the game was at the end of the group we would pop a balloon and see what it said on the piece of paper and then we would guess who wrote it. I had no idea what to write on the piece of paper though so I ended up sitting there for ages trying to think of something and then my psychologist told me to go and talk to her and she said to me to write that I blog on the piece of paper. I didn't really want everyone knowing I had a blog because then they would want to read it but I ended up putting it on the piece of paper. Next we got told that there were lots of different activities around the room that we could go and do or we could try and come up with a logo and a name for a group. So me and one of the girls say down and tried to come up with a logo and a name. It was nice because while we were doing it we were talking to each other and got to know each other more. At the end of the group we popped the balloons and it was quiet interesting and fun guess who wrote it as we found out a lot about people that we didn't know before. 

Overall I think the group was really good as you got to know people more and it was so nice knowing that you weren't alone and that there are people that live near you that are going through the same thing as you are. Also I met some really nice people while I was at the group and I really can't wait to meet up again. 

If you ever have a chance to go to a group where you will meet other people with diabetes, I would defiantly suggest going.

Summer

The weather has started to getting warmer and people are starting to go swimming more and wearing skirts and shorts. This might seem like a really random thing to talk about but I know I get really self conscious about going swimming and wearing shorts because of my line to my pump. I don't like it being on show to people because I worry about people making fun of me or asking loads of questions about it. I like it when I go out and I can be round people without them asking about my diabetes or worrying about me, also it can be quiet nice being able to go out and people not knowing you have diabetes. Some people might not mind if people can see their pump or line to there pump but I know there are some people out there who are really worried and self conscious about it.

The last time I went swimming on holiday was in America in 2012. At that time I had my line to my pump in my bottom as that was where I got told to put it when I first started on the pump. I kept it there as I don't like changing things (I have no idea why), the thought of changing where my line was scared me. I also couldn't change my line myself either because I have a phobia of needles and I was really scared about changing it myself just encase I did it wrong or it hurt more. The thought of pressing the buttons on the inserter to pump the line in me really scared me, I thought I would never be able to change my line by myself (I have near told anyone that before as I know it probably sounds silly but its true) Anyway as I had my line in my bottom it near really got in the way, when I went swimming or had shorts and skirts on, no one could see my line which made me feel a lot happier wearing shorts and going swimming.

However this year I am going on holiday to Portugal. I can now change my line myself and I always do it in my leg as I find that the easiest place to put my line. However I totally forgot that my line would be on show to people when I go swimming or wear shorts until I went swimming at the local swimming pool this week. I couple of day before I went swimming I did think about what people might say if they saw my line in my leg and what might happen. The thing was I really didn't like people seeing it but I didn't really have a choose if I wanted to go swimming. So I thought that if I may put my line in my stomach instead of my leg it would mean that no one would be able to see my line when I was wearing shorts or a swimming costume however on holiday I normally wear bikini's in the swimming pool which meant my line would still be on show which would make me feel self conscious about going swimming. The thing is I wanted to go swimming so I just had to try and get over my fear of my line being on show.

On Tuesday I went swimming in the local swimming pool, I was really nervous about getting in the pool at first so I made sure as I was walking to the pool I had my towel covering my line as I didn't want anyone else to see it and thing it weird that I am going swimming with it on my leg. Once I had walked over to the pool I put my towel on the seating around the edge of the swimming pool and I made sure my hand was coving my round so that no one saw it. There was a slight problem though because now I had to get into the pool by going down the steps, however I wasn't going to be able to do it one handed. So I had to take my hand away from my line and climb down the stairs (my line was on show to everyone), some people saw my line I think but they never asked me anything about it which was good. It made me feel a bit more confident about my line being on show now. However I did still cover my line with my towel as we were walking back to the changing rooms.

I know that it can make you really nervous having your line to your pump on show to other people however you will be able to do it as I was able to face my fear and go swimming with my line on show. It seems really hard to do at first but I know you will be able to do it because you are stronger then you think. At first I thought everyone was going to look at my line and ask questions about it however I was wrong, none of that happened and because of this I feel a bit happier having it on show. I do still worry about it  but I know it will be ok and get easier the more I have my line on show. Always remember you are stronger than you think!

Not your fault

It can be really annoying when people get confused between type one diabetes and type two diabetes or just refer things as diabetes. It might not seem like it matters to other people but it can be really upsetting to people who have diabetes. They wouldn't like it if they had diabetes and got comments from people saying stuff like its your fault your diabetic because you ate too much sugar or you cant eat sweets because your diabetic...

Last week, I was in a French lesson and we were learning how to say what we eat and how often we eat it. The lesson starter was matching the French words to different parts in your diet, for example carbohydrates, dairy, meat, protein... The teacher gave us about 5 mins to finish the starter, I wasn't very good at it as I am rubbish at French. Then the teacher started going through the answers so that we had it in our books to use later in the lesson. After the teacher had finished going through the answers she started asking the class questions about what would happen if we ate too much or not enough of certain foods. She told the class that if you eat too much food with lots of fat in it would cause heart disease and high cholesterol which would lead to heart attaches and strokes. She then told the class that if you eat too much sugar and carbohydrates you would get diabetes.

The whole class looked at me after she said it. It made me feel really upset and annoyed because now the whole class (apart from my close friends) thought I got diabetes because I eat too much sugar and carbohydrates. They were all going to think that it was my fault that I got diabetes and that I caused it because I didn't look after myself. I really didn't want to go to school the next day as I was scared of what people might say to me.The thing I didn't get diabetes because I ate too much sugar and carbohydrates, I got diabetes because pancreas doesn't produce insulin anymore so I have to check my level and give myself insulin every time I eat.

I know it can be really annoying when people get confused with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. I have had so many people think that I got diabetes because I eat too much sugar, didn't eat a balanced diet and other things like that. Some people think it is my fault that I have diabetes because of something I did or didn't do. The truth is it isn't anyone fault that they have diabetes. Always remember you are stronger than you think!

 

Illness and levels

Sorry I haven't written on my blog in a while, I have been busy because of work experience and then I was ill this week. This gave me the idea of writing a post about how being ill can effect your levels. Illnesses and infections as well as stress will make your levels go high because as part of the body's defence mechanism for fighting illness and infection causes more glucose to be released into the bloodstream and prevents insulin from working properly. This happens even if you are off your food or eating less than usual.

Last weekend after I had just finished my work experience my levels started running high and I couldn't work out why. I thought it might be because a had a bit of a cold or that I was upset about leaving the work experience because I was going to miss the children and babies.

On Monday norming I woke up at 1am and I could hardly open my left eye because it was all gooey so I showed my mum and she said it was probably conjunctivitis so I cleaned my eye up and went back to sleep. I didn't sleep well though because I kept waking up in the night because of my eye. I woke up at 1am, 2am, 4am, 5am and 7am so in the morning I was really tired and felt rubbish so I didn't go to school or do my paper round. In the morning my mum rang the doctors and said that she couldn't drive me to the doctors because of the operation she had on her back and then she explained to them that my eye was really gooey, bloodshot and sore and my levels had been running high. They said that we could buy some eye drops at the chemists. So my stepdad brought them on the way home from work for me. I started using the eye drop on Monday but my levels where still running really high because of the conjunctivitis in my left eye.

On Tuesday morning I woke up in the morning and I could hardly open my right eye as the conjunctivitis had spread to my right eye as well as my left eye. So I went and did my paper round and then came home and told my mum that the conjunctivitis was in my right eye as well as my left eye. So my mum put the eye drops in both of my eyes and said I was alright to go to school. While I was at school my eyes started to really hurt in science so I closed my eye for a bit as it made them feel better, I nearly fell asleep though. Then at lunch I took some paracetamol as my right cheek started to hurt and I felt so rubbish so thought it might make me feel better. Everyone of my teacher kept asking if I was alright because my eyes were so swollen and bloodshot they thought I had been crying when actually it was just because of my conjunctivitis.

On Wednesday morning I woke and went on my paper round. When I got home I didn't have school as the school was on strike for the day so I just sat down and relaxed for a while. I then started doing some of my patchwork blanket because it is the last thing I need to do to complete my Duke Of Edinburgh bronze award so I thought I would get some of it done. My right cheek started to hurt again but it hurt more then yesterday so I told my mum and she said to take some paracetamol because that should help, I also checked my levels and they were really high so I thought I would put a temp basal on off 170% to try and get my levels back down. I then went to sleep for a pic so that I wasn't in pain anymore and when I woke up my right cheek still hurt so I told my mum again, she said my cheek was really red, swollen and hot. So I checked my level again and they were still over 15 so something wasn't right as I was having 70% extra insulin and my levels were still really high. My mum called the doctors and explain what had happened with my eye and my cheek and that my levels were still running high even when I was having loads of extra insulin, The doctors said that it was classed as an emergency appointment because of my diabetes so they fitted me in an appointment at the end of  the day. So my step dad took me to the appointment when he got home from work as my mum couldn't drive there. The doctor said I had conjunctivitis and sinusitis which was why my right cheek had been hurting so much so they gave me some antibiotics to help with the conjunctivitis and sinusitis, they also said that my levels were running so high because of the infections I had and that I needed to keep the 170% temp basal on and keep checking my levels to check what they were. My mum told me that I should tell the paper round lady that I wasn't able to do paper round on Thursday morning as I wasn't well enough to do it and she told me that I wasn't going to be going to school on Thursday either as she wanted me to rest so that I would feel better on Friday.

On Thursday morning (today) I woke up feeling a little bit better. So I had some paracetamol, my antibiotics and my eye drops and relaxed for a bit as I didn't want to over do it and make myself feel more unwell. At lunch time when I did my levels they were 9.1 which is the best they have been in ages and I didn't even have a temp basal on. At dinner my levels went up to 23.3 and I started to feel ill again, my right cheek started to hurt again and my levels weren't helping at all. I gave myself a correction and then put a temp basal of 150% on to try and get my levels down again.

When you have an illness or an infection your levels will go high and it can be really annoying as it can make you feel worse. The best thing to do is not to panic because if you panic that will make your levels go higher, so if you have any questions or you are unsure on what to do stay calm and contact your diabetes team because they will able to help you. You should test your levels more often, like every 1-2 hours so that you can make sure your levels aren't gong higher or dropping too quickly. Try and stay well hydrated, so have a bottle of water with you because high levels can make you really dehydrated. You should test for ketones if your levels are running high, if you have ketones and you aren't really sure what to do, don't panic, just contact your diabetes team can give you some advice on what to do.
I know it can be really annoying when your levels are high because you are ill and you aren't doing anything wrong to make them high but just remember you will get through it because you are stronger than you think

Exercise

Exercise can effect your levels a lot. It can make your levels go low but it can also sometimes make your levels going higher after you have exercised. I have always wondered why my levels sometimes when I test my levels before PE at school they will be fine and then after doing PE when I test my levels again they are a little bit high then before PE but normally my levels do go lower after I have done exercise.

I thought I would look it up on the Internet to find out why our levels go low and sometimes high after doing exercise.

"When you exercise your muscles need more glucose to supply energy. In response, your liver increases the amount of glucose it releases into your bloodstream. Remember, however, that the glucose needs insulin in order to be used by your muscles. So if you do not have enough insulin available, your blood glucose levels can actually increase right after exercise. Basically, stimulated by the demand from your exercising muscles, your body is pouring glucose into your bloodstream. If you do not have enough insulin available to "unlock the door" to your muscles, the glucose cannot get into your muscles to provide needed energy. The end result is that glucose backs-up in your bloodstream, causing higher blood glucose readings." https://www.joslin.org/info/why_do_blood_glucose_levels_sometimes_go_up_after_physical_activity.html

Yesterday my friend asked if I wanted to walk the dogs round the village with her and I said yeah sure as it was I really sunny day and I had been inside all morning doing homework and cleaning. So my friend came to my house and then we went on a long walk with the dogs round the village and then we sat on a bench near the park and let the dogs of there leads and run around after each other. Then my friend said about going to the post office to get a drink and something to eat but the post office was closed so she said we could walk to the bp (petrel garage) and eat something from there. The thing was it was a really long walk to the bp and I didn't really want to walk that far just to get a drink and some food so we walked back to my house and got a drink for us and the dogs. Then my friend persuaded me to walk to the bp with her but we weren't going to take the dog as it was too far for him to walk. Before we went I checked my levels and they were 8.6 so I had something to eat and didn't but it in my pump as I knew my levels would drop while we walked there as it was a long walk. When we got to the bp the walk didn't actually seem as long as I thought it would have but I think that because we were talking and listening to music the whole walk. I checked my levels again to see what they were and they were 9.4 so I brought a drink and a bay of crisps and me and my friend walked to Ely and sat on the grass and relaxed for a bit. Then we followed a path to see where it took us and we ended up at a park, so we played at the park for an hour and then we started walking back to the roundabout where the bp was. It was starting to get dark so my friend rang her mum to see if she could come an pick us up and drop us home, her mum said that she would so we waited for her to come. While we were waiting my friend said that I should test my levels again as we had been playing and messing about in the park, when I tested my levels I was 6.5 which was really good. I had a really fun day with my friend and my levels had been really good however my feet did really hurt when I got back home.

Exercise can make your level low however I always I always check my levels before I do exercise and if my levels are bellow 8 I always have a biscuit to make sure my levels don't go low. Sometimes I have a biscuit if my levels are bellow 10 but it depends how much exercise I am doing and what exercise I am doing because different types of exercise effect my levels differently. Remember everyone's diabetes is different so you need to see what happens when you do exercise. Since doing my Due of Edinburgh bronze award where I had to walk 8 miles on the first day and 7 miles on the second day, I have leant that my levels always drop when I go on long walks so I always have something to eat before I go if my levels are under 10.

Hopefully you now understand why your levels go low and sometimes higher after exercise. I know your diabetes can make it harder to exercise but all you have to do is check your levels before you do exercise and have something to eat without giving yourself insulin if you think you need to so that your levels don't drop while you are doing exercise or after.       
Always remember you are stronger than you think.  

Work experience

At my school when you are in year 10 you go on work experience for 2 weeks, everyone get to decide where you want to work for the 2 weeks. You could work in a primary school, preschool, shop, hairdressers, building site....there are so many places you could go. I was really excited about choosing somewhere to go but at the same time I was worried about how my diabetes might get in the way and make it harder.

I decided I really wanted to work with children on work experience but I wasn't quite sure what type of job I would prefer to do. I talked to my mum about it as she works in a preschool so I thought she might know some places which would be happy for me to do my work experience at. She said about a daycare place near to wear I live who look after babies and toddlers. I went there for an interview to see what the daycare was like, what the staff were like and to have a tour of the daycare. After the interview I was so excited about starting work however I was a bit worried what my levels were going to be like as I am not used to being active all day an working long hours.

On the first day of my work experience I was really worried as I didn't know any of the children there or any of the staff, so my levels were running in the morning because I was so worried and nervous about starting. Luckily by lunch my levels had gone back to normal which made me feel better. I was worried at first that I might need to do my levels while I was meant to be looking after the kids but the staff were really good and told me that if I needed to check my levels or I didn't feel well and needed to sit down for a bit all I had to do was tell one of the staff and then I could go to the office and sit down for a bit and sort myself out.

I realised that I never needed to worry about my diabetes as they were really understanding and my levels weren't effected that much by working longer and being more active however I was really tired and kept having to go to bed early haha. I have now been on work experience for one week and I am really enjoying it and it has made me realise that my diabetes doesn't stop me being like everyone else at work. Always remember your diabetes doesn't have to stop you from doing anything, you are stronger than you think.