What's Big and Blue?

No not that Bear in the Big house or a giant Smurf. I am talking about something different.

The Big Blue Test!

Let me break down what The Big Blue Test is all about. You know what, let's stick to the press release. I am sure to miss something! Read up!

BERKELEY, CA: October 21, 2009 – November 14 is World Diabetes Day. On that day, at 14:00 hours (2 pm, 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 organized in July 2009 by TuDiabetes.org, a community for people touched by diabetes. More than a thousand people participated then. Now, we seek to reach thousands of people with diabetes through eight diabetes social networks^* and Twitter. The activity incorporates 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 and a person 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. 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 14 is 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 hours (2 pm) local time, on November 14. If you are early or late, it’s OK,” said 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 Nov. 14.”

This is awesome and I am excited to be apart of this test. So are you in? Are you gonna do it? I know I am and I hope you will join in with me!

I'm Talking

I was honored and flattered to be a guest on Just Talking.

Just Talking is a podcast created by our OC friend Chris, writer of A Consequence of Hypoglycemia..

I was a little nervous about it at first but the title and format says it all! We were just talking and it was awesome. Talking, meeting, and hanging out with D folk has always prove to be a great experience. This community is like a big circle of friends so it just felt like I was on Skype with my friend, Just Talking!

Anyhow, check it out let me know what you think and more importantly let Chris know what you think. This was his first episode after the Pilot and he loves to get feedback so please shoot him an email at feedback@justtalkingpodcast.com.

Movin' on up!

As most of you know, I wear an insulin pump (Master P) and a continuous glucose monitoring system (Shelly).

Back when I was on MDI, multiple daily injections, I took almost all of my shots in my stomach. I never had a problem with this. I would move around all day long and since I have plenty of tummy to go around, it was really not that big of a deal.

At first when I started on the pump I noticed some issues with absorption. I could feel lots of scar tissue in my abdomen so I figured I would give my tummy a break and switch to my thighs. That worked out well. I slowly move up and down each thigh and again I have plenty of real estate so I think I am giving my tissue time to heal.

But what to do with my CGM when I brought it on board?

I started by using my stomach which has giving me some serious pain, and some mixed results. I have found a few good spots that worked but my Keg (as opposed to a six pack) hurts sometimes from that inserion needle. And I have had some bad reactions because of it.

So now I have ventured to a new spot that before was solely used for Flu shots and such. My arms.

Friday night I put a sensor in my arm before I went to bed. I was nervous pressing down on the plunger to put it in but it didn't hurt at all. Yay! Jasmine helped put the Tegaderm on it. (side note - Tegaderm is like a patch of clear adhesive that holds the sensor in place. Like another layer of skin. It is sticky and works well for me.) I let the sensor get "wet" all night and then start it in the morning. I slept fine with it which was another concern and in the morning before I hopped in the shower, I started it up.

Awesome, this is a perfect spot.

When I got out of the shower and was drying off, I made sure I watched how I dried my arms and patted down the sensor so I did not rip it off. Perfect. I began drying my back and while I was puling the towel back and forth across my back I heard and felt a massive RIP!

OUCH!!!!!!!!!! (and some other words were shouted)

I didn't realize that my arm was bent in such a way that the pulling of the towel ran right across it and ripped it out. I mean ripped. I was left with a Tegaderm frame around the place my sensor was. Unbefreakingleavable.

I put in another sensor which turned out to be a bad one (yay) and ended up putting a third sensor in later Saturday night. So far this last sensor has been working well and I have figured out how to dry my back without pulling a sensor out. I don't want to do that ever again.

Hopefully this will continue to work for met. I really enjoy all the information I get from the CGM and would hate to stop using it because of scarring or pain. I figure if I use my arms for a while and let my stomach have a break, it will be ready to go when the arms are done for a while.

Being a human pin cushion sucks.

You Tube Tuesday #142

It's about time for another Cat video. It's been awhile since a furry little kitty has been featured on YTT and you all know how much I love cats.

Enjoy!

The Lucky 13

Some have a fear of the number 13. Today I celebrate that number because today 13 means something very special to me.

Today is my 13th wedding anniversary!

On the one hand I cannot believe it has already been 13 years and on the other, it sometimes feels like we have been married forever.

Some may have giggled at that sentence but it was not meant to be funny, unlike most sentences on this blog. No the reason it feels like our marriage is so old is because it is so solid.

We have had to deal with more things than most couples deal with in their entire relationship and yet we have made it. We have lost loved ones, had children, received degrees, almost ended up on the street, been in car accidents, been in the hospital, watched our child in the hospital, prayed, cried, laughed and celebrated together. And not one ounce of me worries what tomorrow will bring.

There are times we yell. There are also times that we laugh louder then anyone can yell! We are meant to be together. There is not a doubt in my mind.

I sometimes feel like with my disease that there is an added burden for her. My wife is always worrying and taking care of me. I hate that but she doesn't it. She hates my disease but will love me regardless of all the stupid strings that come attached to diabetes.

The team we have created is still being worked on. There are many times we don't see eye to eye but we are both determined to find a way to solve any problem. We are committed to our relationship, our marriage, our children, our family.

I am not the smartest guy in the world but there is one thing that I know without a doubt.

No matter what happens, we will both fight for our marriage.

It is worth it.