Alcohol and type 1 diabetes

Can you drink if you have type 1 diabetes? Yes! But if you choose to, it’s critically important that you take certain measures to ensure your safety. The combination of alcohol and diabetes is like boats and icebergs - it's possible to coexist but one wrong move and the results could be fatal. So here are a …

The Funk

I built myself up for a cry today. I’ve been in a bit of a funk for a couple of days. I was all systems go throughout the exam season – and I actually managed to look after myself more so than the last - both physically and mentally. But the final two days were …

When Big D gets you down.

I think that one of the worst parts of having a chronic illness is that sometimes, it breaks you. Maybe you have several bad days in a row. Maybe you just have one really bad day. Whichever it is, you realise you’ve gone on for so long being fine and that today, you’re not. You're …

5 reasons you should treat a hypo with glucose tabs (and nothing else)

We’ve all been there: you’re going about your day when a hypo smashes through your body like a lead balloon falling through the sky. You need sugar and you need it now. If you’re at home, there might be a variety of high sugar ‘treats’ on offer, and it’s all to tempting to go for …

Being force fed glucose in hospital as a Type 1 Diabetic.

I haven't had the best couple of days. Late Friday night, I had fairly bad abdominal pain for the fourth night in a row. By 'fairly bad' I mean painkillers didn't help, I couldn't sleep, and it really hurt. My breathing had changed to more of a puff like I get when I hypo. So Ben drove …

The 5 Stages of Grief…

I’m usually inherently positive about diabetes, and to be honest, about life in general. I crack a lot of jokes. I laugh at myself, and I laugh at my illness. Sometimes. Of course, that's not always the case - like when I was told I had Type 1 Diabetes, I quietly went through the five stages …

Diabetic Problem #3: Having a Hypo 1 hour before your insulin peaks

This morning I woke up to a slightly elevated level - 6.1, after going to bed at 5.8 just after eating a carb packed kebab (I'd been out drinking so I ended the night with some carbs to prevent a hypo while I slept). I took my usual correction for this - 1.5 units of NovaRapid and …

What does being a diabetic actually mean?

When I was diagnosed with diabetes, I was ignorant to the disease, and I was naive. When I spoke to the nurse on the phone the day previously, I asked if I could see her when she was in Queenstown the following week, rather than driving an hour each way to see her at the …

EXPERIMENT #4: Pretending I can eat carbs like a normal person

I've had beautiful blood glucose levels all week. Just look at my graph, staying pretty steady and within the safe lines. Do you notice anything? Let's me talk about Tuesday. Tuesday was a good day. We made the 5 hour round trip to Invercargill for my post-surgery follow up appointment. I'd had a delicious breakfast of bacon, eggs and avocado, and …

Diabetic Problem #2: Having to inject when you’re freezing

Having to stick needles into your belly sucks at the best of times. But it sucks even more so when it's so cold that you're sat in a coat, but you have to unzip it to inject. Not only that, but you have to squeeze a bit of fat with your ice cold fingers. Ice. Cold. …