What's in my Diabetes Bag?

Hi everyone, I must firstly apologise for my missing BLOG posts. Due to me finishing 6th Form soon, I have been revising and getting my coursework up to date like crazy and I'm afraid my BLOG has fallen by the wayside.

But I have had a few ideas for some posts, if any of you have any other ideas please comment but today I am going to talk about 'My Diabetes Pack/Bag' that I carry around with me as I have recently updated it and my bag is now shiny new :)

So first of all, here are some pictures of previous bags that I have used;

My first ever bag that I must have gotten close to when I was diagnosed is this one. Obviously it is now completely had it and is very dirty through usage. In this I kept my insulin pen, needles, test kit and lancets. I think the bag was actually meant to be for make-up but it served its purpose for many years. I also refuse to bin it which may annoy my mum, but it takes me back to the times when I was a bit unsure about Diabetes and when I was younger it also got the nickname of being my 'saftey blanket' for awhile too.

So after much persuasion I changed my diabetes bag to a semi-clear blue 'Impuse Make-up Bag'. Yes impulse as in the body spray brand. I got it one Christmas and thought it was a brilliant size to keep my Diabetes Necessities in it. In this bag I kept pretty much the same that is in my current bag apart from the little plastic pot for my used needles.


My current 'Diabetes Bag' is from Primark and is again a make-up bag aswel it even says on the front 'Make me gorgeous' but it does make much difference to me...it's to keep me alive haha :)

Front

Back

As you will be able to see it is fully packed so what I keep in this are;

• My Two Injection Pens- Novorapid and Levemir
• 3-5 Micro-Fine 0.25 x 5mm Injection Needles (Both kept in the NovoNordisk case)
• My BG tester
• Keatones Test Strips
• Normal BG Test Strips
• 5-10 green lancets (BG) Also all kept in the case that the Tester came in :)
• Little plastic pot for used injection needles or test strips ready to dispose of safely at home
• Home Monitoring BG Diary- recently my readings have been a bit random so keeping a check on them in that.
• Carb Content basic common foods (Nurse made me)
• A pen to keep note in my diary
• Body Volt dextrose 'Raspberry' Tablets
• Glucogel in a little plastic bag (mine have the tendency for the lid to break off and leak and even ruined one of my friends coats so leave it in a plastic back just in case)
• A Special K Chocolate and Raspberry Breakfast bar- hypo recovery or just a snack in case.

The Contents in my 'stash' :)

Obviously it is a lot to keep on my person at any one time but I'm into over sized handbags so it doesn't bother me much. I carry all of this because I'd rather have all my options open, so if I go out for an impromptu meal or drink I have the necessities. Even if I go to a friends house at least I know I have everything for any eventuality. It also helps because my friends know where everything is in case anything did happen to me :) I'm fairly cautious in this department of my life.

Anyway I hope you have enjoyed this post, sorry again for not really making any posts sooner. Any ideas are welcome in the comments and Thankyou for reading means alot to know people out there want to here about my life :) Annabelle xx

The Highs' and The Lows'...

We all have them, it's a part of everyday Diabetic life. For that matter it isn't just a part of life for a Diabetic but it's part of everyones' daily life. People have different enjoyments and stresses in their life, it doesn't have to be linked to Diabetes at all.
In this post I want to tell you, my different symptoms of Hypo/Hyperglycemia because everyone is different. I would love to read how different diabetics react differently to the amount of sugar in their blood so I hope you enjoy.

So which one first, Hypoglycemia:

I doubt anyone other than Diabetics are reading my BLOG but I suppose it would only be polite to let the non-diabetics into what we know as a 'hypo'. Hypo's are where the glucose in your blood has dropped below the usual level. This can happen from many causes; not eating enough carbohydrate or not enough slow-releasing carbohydrate, injecting too much insulin, exercise, illness and sometimes your Diabetes just decides that you are having a hypo. My symptoms of having a Hypo is usually, my hands start to shake, I start to feel sick, I also get a headache, I loose the colour in my face basically I go pale, In some cases I get giggly and laugh at random things, I also tend to get a bit agitated. These symptoms are just the usual cause of a 'normal' (less serious) hypo. However, if I am having a serious hypo my symptoms are; shake excessively, I also start to cry and become an emotional wreck, I become confused and don't understand what is happening, language starts to get a bit jumbled, eyesight gets blurry and sometimes I pass out but they are very rare. Other symptoms that people may get are; hunger, nervousness, sweating, sleepiness, confusion etc.

So what I usually use to treat my hypos' are Lucozade, Glucose tablets, biscuits or chocolate. So after my blood sugar has returned to normal I have some slow-releasing carbohydrate like bread or crisps. If I do have a hypo where I pass out people who are with me usually use Glucogel which is basically pure glucose which is administered my squeezing it into my mouth near the gums and then massaging my cheeks.I do tend to feel ill after a hypo I usually have a really bad headache it feels like all the water has been drained from my brain (seriously bad hypos) and I feel sick for quite awhile.

People who aren't diabetic can also experience the feelings of hypo, if they haven't eaten properly and it can cause them to shake or in severe cases, pass out. It can be treated in the same way, sugary food and slow-releasing carb.

Now for Hyperglycemia:

Hyperglycemia is the opposite of hypoglycemia, it is where a person has too much sugar/glucose in their bloodstream. This is usually referred to as 'hyper' similar to children who have lots of sugar they get hyperactive however, for me I feel the complete opposite and become very tired. Hyperglycemia can be caused through, miscounting carbohydrates and inject the wrong amount of insulin (too little), exercise less than predicted, illness or stress. My symptoms of having a hyper in some ways can be similar to hypo, I shake due to the excessive sugar, I get very tired, confused, I get very thirsty so in turn I go the toilet alot more, difficulty concentrating and in extreme cases blurred vision.


Usually when I have high blood sugar, I treat it with a correctional dosage of Novorapid and a nice sleep. When I was younger my doctor told me to do some exercise however, since that I have been told that, that can actually increase blood sugar further due to the release of glucose for energy.

Persistent high blood sugars can leave diabetics at risk later in life. These risks can be severe; Diabetic Retinopathy,Kidney Damage,Nerve Damage- feet problems etc.

 

 

 

Obviously this information I have been told by my Doctors and Nurses, and may not be applicable to all diabetics. I find that if I try to balance out my blood sugars I tend to feel alot better in myself. So that's my aim :) I hope you have found this interesting :) x

The Journey through Pens and Insulin...

So I decided for my second post I would talk about the different types of pens and insulin I have used over my time as being Diabetic. So take this as a 'review' as all of my pens and insulins, essentially I am 'reviewing' a product that has kept me alive and kicking for numerous years :)

Junior Novo Nordisk and Mixtard 30

So the first ever Pen I ever used, way back when was the 'Junior Novo Nordisk Injection Pen'. As you can see it was brightly coloured but as a 10 year old it didn't bother me too much. I was using this pen with Mixtard 30 penfill which is the mixed insulin that has both fast-acting and slow-releasing insulin. I would inject before breakfast and tea. At the time it was great for trying to control my BG's but it was very fixed I had to have it half an hour before food, and had to have it mostly the same time each day for it too be effective. However, this type of insulin was discontinued in December of 2010, so with this in mind my nurse changed me too Humulin and the Lilly Pens.


Lilly Pen and Humulin

So this was the second pen I used to inject insulin, I only had it for a short period of time as I changed over too the Multi-Daily Injections (MDI). But the Humulin worked on the same principle of Mixtard 30, a mix of fast acting and slow releasing insulin into the body. The Lilly pen looked a bit more adult as I was getting a bit older. The insulin worked the same so had to inject half an hour before food and was very fixed.

Silver and Blue Novo Nordisk Pen and Novorapid and Levemir
So this is my current insulin regime, I inject four times a day and more if needed. I inject the background insulin, Levemir(Basal) just before bed. Then before I eat any food I count the carbs and inject the right dosage of Novorapid(Bolus). These insulins are better for someone who needs to be more flexible, apart from the Levemir that has to be injected at the same time the rapid injections can differ when I inject just as long as it is with food. With this type of injectional regime I can have a correctional dosage of Novorapid if I am running high BG's due to illness.

Novorapid:

Levemir:

Obviously all of these insulins' where right for me at the time I was injecting them, I have had quite good control on all of them so have had no bad reactions. However, these are my opinions different insulins'/pens work better for different people or even worse. But I hope you have enjoyed this post, I thought it might be quite interesting to do :) x

My First Post...

Well as you may have guess, I have diabetes. The reason why I decided to do a BLOG is because I never really feel that people understand my true feelings towards my diabetes at some points and how and why it affects me in different ways. Hopefully this BLOG may help me air some of those feelings and perhaps I may offer advice to someone or a parent like me who are suffering or has a child suffering from the same illness. Perhaps I may even inspire someone else to write a BLOG like I was inspired by Diabetic Dais BLOG (http://diabeticdais.blogspot.co.uk/) to start one of your own :)

So I better start with the start I suppose, my diagnosis. I was diagnosed on the 26th June 2004 with Type 1 Diabetes, I had been ill on and off for about a year leading up to my diagnosis, but the doctors couldn't put their finger on what was making me ill. The day before I was diagnosed I had come home from school, and fallen asleep on the sofa. I went the whole night without waking and the next morning I woke up and felt awful. I was pale, shaking and was really unwell, my Mum decided to take me to the doctors. When I got my local GP they did a finger prick test and that pretty much spelled out DIABETES. I think if I remember correctly my blood glucose was about 18.9, and that is pretty high for a 'non-diabetic'. All I can remember thinking as being a 10 year old was... 'Oh I can never have chocolate again!' Which isn't obviously the case, I didn't understand the whole implications that my unseen illness would have for me for the rest of my life. I was rushed into hospital and had my first insulin injection at about 11.00pm that night. I was asked to return the next morning for my morning insulin, I and my family had a crash course in Diabetes. I met my Diabetic Nurse, Wendy (who has been great throughout my years of children outpatients and has fully supported me throughout however, I have recently moved on to young adults so have a new nurse.) I also met my diabetic consultant, who I have never really met eye to eye and disliked him for a long-time. Although I don't have to see him anymore and have a lovely new doctor at my young adults clinic.

So as you may realise I have had diabetes for coming on 7/8 years (I'm not too good at maths). It has been a roller coaster of emotions and stresses and at times I have wished and wondered why me? why do I have diabetes? But in all fairness my attitude to my diabetes today is that it's just another thing that makes me, me and it makes me UNIQUE! (I hope this really doesn't sound too hypocritical when I am really down with my illness and I am fed up).

But anyways I do hope this has helped someone out there that's all that I ask. And if it hasn't well I hope some day my friends or family will see this and be proud of the person I have become throughout all the trials and tribulations of today. And if not them well, I certainly know that it has helped me and will continue to do so as long as I keep up with updating my You, Diabetes and Other Things Blog. Thank you to everyone who has supported me until now and continue to do so over the years to come. :) x