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Category: Diabetes Awareness

hello again - diabetes blog

Hello, Again

Chris Stocker 1 Comment

Wow, it’s been a long time.

I almost forgot how to sign in and post a new blog on this site.

I have been gone for a while, a long while. I disappeared from Twitter, the blog, the podcast I started last year, Instagram for a while and anything diabetes related.

So, why come back? Why now? And why did I leave?

Leaving was not something that I planned, but I knew it was coming for a while.

I was becoming so drained by all the negativity on every single post that I posted or tweet that I made. If my tweet or post did not align 100% with people’s views, they would just go on a full blown attack on me.

I guess that’s just the society we live in now, unfortunately in my opinion. Everyone’s opinion can be expressed, which is great, but you are not allowed to express an opinion that differs from someone else without being attacked.

And, I just couldn’t deal with it anymore. I couldn’t deal with people that woke up everyday looking for a fight, looking to just be negative and looking to just attack people for every little thing.

You could do 10 things and 9 of them be great, but the 1 that may not be perfect, just gets attacked. And I was sick of it….I am still am, but as I said above, it’s the society we live in now. It is our new reality.

I just needed a break from it.

A Diagnosis Changed it All

Then, in February, our lives changed forever. My daughter was diagnosed with Type 1. At first, it made me want to advocate even more and do even more. And then the double alerts started going off, one for me, one for her. Then she started on a Dexcom and we had two Dexcoms to change.

Then she started on an OmniPod and then we had two OP changes. Next thing you know, it was all day, every day mixed with alerts. Not managing my diabetes to the fullest because I’m too concerned with a 4 year old.

It became overwhelming, very fast.

I had nothing in me to write about the disease. For the first time in a long time, I had a totally different hatred towards this disease.

Add Another Child to the Mix

In the summertime, we welcomed another baby girl into our family.

No Sleep + Two PWDs + Newborn + Buying a House + No Sleep + Anxiety = Total Disaster!

I started to have multiple panic attacks every day. My blood pressure was rising (I had to increase my meds). I was not able to function throughout the day because I would become lightheaded and very foggy for hours straight. I couldn’t concentrate on conversations because I felt like I was just floating.

I wasn’t sleeping. I wasn’t eating well. I wasn’t managing my own diabetes well. I was constantly worrying about my daughter’s T1D. I was worrying about our newborn. I was worrying about whether our new home would close.

The absolute last thing I needed at that time was to be writing about all of this and then getting attacked by people.

So, I stepped away.

I wanted nothing to do with diabetes other than having to go through the motions of doing what I needed to do to survive each day and keep my daughter alive.

The Message

And then one day I got a message from someone. They told me that they used to read my blog for 7 years when they were first diagnosed. Then, later on they ended up having a kid and my articles about my fears when I first found out my wife was pregnant helped them get through their pregnancy.

Then their child was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes as well. And my post last year talking about my daughter’s diagnoses helped them realize that everything is going to be OK.

That message started to drive me again to know that I couldn’t just give up on everything that I have been doing for the last 10-11 years.

And with that long story, I’m back.

So, Hello, Again.

Medical IDs for Children

Chris Stocker 1 Comment

I wrote a few months ago about how I never really wore a medical ID necklace or bracelet until recently. My thoughts on medical IDs definitely changed when my daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes back in February of this year.

I’m sure just like any other kid, my daughter was not going to wear something that wasn’t cool, flashy or something that did not fit into her princess style.

The search was on.

I’ve been at this blogging thing for over a decade now, so I’ve seen my fair share of medical ID jewelry companies and I think they are all amazing. Since I love the one that I have from American Medical ID, I decided to check out the ones that they have for children.

They have a lot of cool designs, 2 of which you can see below; including the butterfly and kids dinosaur medical ID.

These are just a couple of the awesome designs that are available.

Having a child with type one diabetes is a lot different than managing my own type one diabetes. There are a lot more challenges that I have seen, now that my daughter has had type one for about five months now. There are times where my blood sugar goes low and I know that it’s going low and I can easily do something about it. With my daughter even though we have a Dexcom, there are still times that technology may not just be as perfect as it supposed to be.

So one day when we were at Target shopping for new shoes like any normal family would do, when my daughter just so happens to say that she felt “wobbly”. Now this is before she had an actual Dexcom. So I pulled out the meter in the middle of Target and checked her blood sugar.

It was 47.

First thing that I did was obviously just pick her up and rush her to the front of the store and grabbed a juice. The juice that I had with us I did not feel like it was going to be enough so I wanted to make sure that I got a larger juice with more sugar for her to drink. Luckily everything was OK. Her blood sugar came up quickly and that was that. We went on with life.

Now why did I tell that story on an article about medical ID bracelet? Simply for the fact that this could’ve happened at any time whether I was around my child or not. Let’s say for example she was at the park with a babysitter or she was at school or preschool or anywhere where she was not with me or her mother or somebody that knew a lot about her diabetes. Without a medical ID bracelet most people would not of known what to do they would not of known that she has diabetes she could have possibly had one of many medical concerns that forced her to start slurring her words possibly pass out or who knows what else.

That was the day that I said why do we not already have a medical ID bracelet for her. I knew that she needed one but it was something that we kind of just kept pushing off as we were adjusting to this new lifestyle.

Four-year-old is just like any other four-year-old if she’s forced to wear a piece of jewelry that is not cute or pretty or have princesses dinosaurs or any other fun characters she’s most likely not going to want to wear. In fact it’s going to be more of an inconvenience for her to wear then she will actually want to wear. When it comes to something like a medical ID bracelet we want her to wear it at all times, which is exactly why we needed to have something that was cool and fun. In fact we decided to have two different ones that way she can pick and choose which one she wants and which one she wants to wear.

I could go on and on with different examples of why a medical ID bracelet is so important for not just anybody what type type one diabetes but more specifically a child with type one diabetes . But if you are reading this article changes or you know those reasons why because you either live with type one diabetes yourself or you care for somebody that lives with type one diabetes. Or are you just here reading my blog because I’ve kind of forced you to because your family or friends.

I know that there are a lot of websites out there that sell medical ID bracelets but American Medical ID is my choice and I highly recommend you check that now.

LetsGetChecked – Antibody and Vitamin Testing

Chris Stocker 2 Comments

In the 15 years that I have lived with diabetes I have learned as much as I could about the disease because if I have to live with it, I want to know everything I can about it.

During that time, I’ve learned about the potential of having thyroid problems and other autoimmune diseases. I’ve also found out that you could test your body for antibodies that would tell you if you are at risk for some of those autoimmune diseases.

Get 15% Off Your Order with Discount Code – Chris15

The discussion of antibodies came back recently when my daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. At diagnosis, the pediatric endo ordered antibody tests to be done. My daughter does carry the antibodies for thyroid disease and also Celiacs. Her endo also said that her Vitamin D levels were quite low.

There have been studies done about the correlation between low Vitamin D levels and the diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes, so I found that interesting.

Just like anything that sparks my interest, I went right to Google to start searching.

I came across LetsGetChecked

LetsGetChecked describes themselves on their About Us as:

LetsGetChecked is all about personal health testing, making healthcare and health screening open and patient-led, empowering people to use technology in a simple but powerful way and giving greater control of their personal health.

https://www.letsgetchecked.com/us/en/about-us/

LetsGetChecked offers tests in the following categories:

Some of the tests include:

Get 15% Off Your Order with Discount Code – Chris15

The best part about all of this is that it is an at-home test. They send all of the materials to you and you are able to collect the blood sample yourself and mail it back to them and wait for your results.

The entire process keeps you informed along the way as well. When it is shipped, you will receive a notification, as well as when it is delivered.

From there, you will need to complete your full health profile online. One of their real time physicians will review and recommend any additional services to you at that time.

Once done with that, you are able to collect your sample wherever you choose to do so, I would assume preferably in the comfort of your own home.

Simply follow the instructions to get your sample into the shipping container and have it shipped back to their lab and just wait for your results.

Once shipped out, you should expect your results in about two days. Once your results are in, you will receive a call from the LetsGetChecked nursing team to discuss the results and any actions that may be required.

From their website...

How it works? 

Order your test online and get a confidential delivery to your home.

Activate your test and answer a number of health-related questions from your personalized dashboard.

Collect your sample and return it with our pre-paid return envelope.

Review your results on your personal online dashboard within 5 days.

Speak to our dedicated nursing team who will help you track & improve your health over time.

Get 15% Off Your Order with Discount Code – Chris15

Why At Home Testing and LetsGetChecked

So, why at home testing? I think at home testing is great for a few reasons. First, it can save you a lot of money. In order to get blood drawn in a lab, you need a prescription which means you first need to see a doctor. That requires either a co-pay if you have insurance and if you don’t have insurance, you’re footing the bill out of pocket.

Next, the labs themselves can be quite expensive if you don’t have insurance or even if you do have insurance depending on what your copay is.

Convenience

Since these tests can be ordered by yourself, you can have the peace of mind of being able to order the Celiac test to determine whether or not you have a Celiac antibody or not. This is not something that your doctor may order for you or not.

Confidential

Your test results are completely confidential. LetsGetChecked does not share them with your doctor unless you specifically ask. They can provide you with results via PDF files to send to your healthcare team.

Accurate Results

LetsGetChecked uses the same labs that your doctors, clinics and hospitals would use, so the accuracy is as accurate as you would get from those results.

Get 15% Off Your Order with Discount Code – Chris15

Online Results in 2-5 Business Days

Your results will be provided to you from LetsGetChecked within 2-5 business days via a secure password that only you can view. I know that I have gone through the process of waiting around for lab results and then the lab just telling me they sent them to my doctor, but then my doctor not providing me the results unless I schedule an appointment.

There are certain tests that I just want to know the answer to immediately and not have to wait around for a doctor or lab to give me the run around.

CLIA Approved and CAP-Accredited Laboratories

I highly recommend giving LetsGetChecked a chance.

Get 15% Off Your Order with Discount Code – Chris15

David Mina– Getting to Know Diabetes_ The Interview Series

David Mina – Getting to Know Diabetes: The Interview Series

Chris Stocker 1 Comment

Welcome to the second installment of a new weekly series here on  The Life of a Diabetic called Getting to Know Diabetes: The Interview Series. Every Tuesday, I will be featuring an interview with a diabetes advocate and/or “influencer” in the diabetes community. These interviews will ask the same questions to every person.

Today’s interview is with David Mina. I first came across David from Instagram. He is one of the younger Type 1’s that I started following on Instagram. Please enjoy.

Read More

best diabetes black friday deals

All The Best Diabetes Black Friday Deals

Chris Stocker 1 Comment

I use a lot of different products for diabetes, whether it is technology, fashion or food, so I decided to outline all of the Black Friday sales and specials of all the products that I use below. Just click on the images or link with the promo below.

Real Good Foods

Every order today of $50+ will receive a FREE mixed case of enchiladas ($45 value).

real good pizzas black friday IG

mySugr

My friends at mySugr want you to know that their Bundle subscription box is only available at the promotional price for a few more days!

You can get unlimited test strips delivered at your door and a personal diabetes coach at your fingertips.

🔐 Lock-in the promotional price before it goes up on Nov. 27th and #MakeDiabetesSuckLess

Head over to mySugr by click this link now!

 

StayPut Medical Adhesives

My friend Mike over at StayPut Medical is offering an amazing Black Friday through Cyber Monday sale today.

30% Off All Orders Over $30 PLUS Free Shipping with Coupon Code: FREESHIP

If you haven’t tried StayPut Medical yet, their adhesives are amazing. I haven’t had a single one fall off yet, and they are not just for summer time sweating. I still use mine in the winter. Please check them out and tell Mike I sent ya.

stayput medical black friday

 

Myabetic

The wonderful people at Myabetic are also giving a great discount on their bags. I used to think that they didn’t really have options for men until I actually tried them and I absolutely love it.

GET 20% OFF YOUR ENTIRE ORDER BY CLICKING HERE NOW AND USING PROMO CODE: CYBERMONDAY

myabetic black friday

because Diabetes Wine / Whiskey Glasses and Coffee Mugs

Obviously this one is a self-promotion, but it is a Black Friday sale.

Get 15% OFF THE ENTIRE STORE, WHETHER IT’S THE because Diabetes GLASSES OR ANYTHING ELSE.

because diabetes black friday

hint Water

I have written in the past about giving up soda to drink hint water and how it is 100 times better than all its competitors. Well, they are running a great promotion to help you stock up. It may seem expensive at first, but it’s well worth it.

9 Cases of Water. 9 Different Flavors. $99 + FREE SHIPPING

hint black friday facebook instagram

 

Nectar Sleep

I wrote earlier in the year about switching to a Nectar mattress to help me sleep better which ultimately led to much better morning BGs.

You can’t beat their Black Friday sale. $125 OFF PLUS 2 FREE PILLOWS.

 

WPEngine

Now, I know this isn’t technically diabetes related, but it is the hosting company that I recommend for anyone that wants to start a blog or website about diabetes and they are offering 5 1/2 months free, so I had to share it.

Take advantage of this year’s Black Friday and Cyber Weekend promotion and get 5 and a half months free off any annual shared plan. Expires 11/26/2018.

 

Christel Oerum– Getting to Know Diabetes_ The Interview Series

Christel Oerum – Getting to Know Diabetes: The Interview Series

Chris Stocker

Welcome to the second installment of a new weekly series here on  The Life of a Diabetic called Getting to Know Diabetes: The Interview Series. Every Tuesday, I will be featuring an interview with a diabetes advocate and/or “influencer” in the diabetes community. These interviews will ask the same questions to every person.

Today’s interview is with Christel Oerum. I first came across Christel during a #DSMA weekly chat a couple years ago. I have followed along with things she has been doing in the community and wanted to share her story and passion here. Please enjoy.

Christel Oreum T1D Looks Like Me

1 – Who are you? (Name, where do you live, what do you do for a living, favorite hobby, sports teams, etc.)

My name is Christel Oerum. I grew up in Denmark but now live in Santa Monica, CA with my husband and our dog Zoe. I left corporate America in 2015 and have since been running www.diabetesstrong.com in collaboration with my husband. The website is our main focus, but we also have a Facebook page (Diabetes Strong), a Facebook group (Diabetes Strong Community), Instagram account (diabetesstrong_ig) and Twitter (Diabetes Strong). Aside from my online present I also coach people living with diabetes from around the world and train some locally in Santa Monica.

My big passion here in life is resistance training and being active. So, when I’m not in the gym or working on the website and social media, I enjoy hiking with the family or walking up and down the beach in Santa Monica. After dark a good move or book on the couch is a favorite.

2 – What is your connection to diabetes?

I’ve been living with type 1 diabetes since December 1997.

3 – Give us the elevator pitch version of your diabetes diagnosis.

I was diagnosed at 19 by my PCP. I was suffering most of the common symptoms like extreme thirst, hunger, not gaining weight and I was deadly tired all the time. My family started to worry (I feel asleep at some family gathering) so I saw my doctor. After he lectured me on getting enough sleep and taking care of myself, he decided to measure my blood sugar, and instantly knew I had diabetes. He sent me to a specialist center and here I received excellent care. The nurse I worked with was the first one to tell me NEVER to let my diabetes diagnosis stand in my way. I’ve been on MDI ever since and now also use a CGM.

4 – What made you decide to start sharing your diabetes? (For example, why did you start an IG account, blog, Facebook group, etc.)

Christel headshotAfter moving to Santa Monica, I decide to intensify my workout routines and started to prepare for a bodybuilding competition (I competed in the bikini category). Since I wanted to be serious about my sport, I also needed to know how to optimally manage my diabetes when combined with intensive training. But I couldn’t find any relevant resources online on how to do so. Given I couldn’t find any online resources I started to document what I was doing online and Diabetes Strong was born (back then the site was called TheFitBlog). It quickly became evident that others were benefitting from reading my experiences and since the start in 2015, the website has grown to become the largest health and fitness website for people living with diabetes.

As we built out the website, we also started the social media channels as support. Primarily Facebook, but also to some degree Instagram, has been where the Diabetes Strong community get together and communicate directly. The Facebook group now has 13000 members and I’m so proud to see that people living with all types of diabetes thrive here and support each other daily.

5 – Obviously there are a lot of facets of diabetes, but what is your number one passion to share about diabetes? (For example, sharing signs and symptoms, mental health, eating disorders, governmental issues, etc.)

That we all can live happy active lives with diabetes. With the right knowledge of our bodies and basic understanding of how our medications impact our blood sugar, limiting high and lows, even when exercising is possible. Another important factor is that we don’t have to fight this alone, there is a huge international online community that has your back at any time of day, all you have to do is reach out

6 – What’s in your diabetes bag? (Pump, MDI, meter, syringes, adhesives, CGMs, etc.)

I currently carry a very fancy waterproof pencil case that I got in Hawaii. In it is my fast acting insulin pen (Humalog), my BG meter, strips and lancet device. I also have a pack of 4 glucose tabs, some extra needles and alcohol swaps. Plus a stick of gum

7 – Where do currently get your diabetes news? (Favorite blogs, IG, FB, Twitter accounts, etc.)

2017-08-20 - Christel showing her meter at Gold'sI follow along on Facebook, Instagram and twitter (#diabetes), and get daily research news through ADAs DiabetesPro SmartBrief. I also like Insulin Nation and DiaTribe.

8 – Share three blogs or IG accounts that everyone reading this should be following.

Instagram @DiabeticsDoingThings
Instagram @t1dchick
Instagram @diabetesstrong_ig 😊

9 – Let’s get real for a minute. What do you struggle with the most when it comes to diabetes? For me, it’s my weight. I can’t ever seem to lose weight. I lose it, then it comes back and being over weight creates stress and anxiety of not being around for my child in the future.

I’m an all or nothing personality which can be taxing and make me slightly neurotic at times. It does mean that I sometimes go deep into the rabbit hole when it comes to my training, nutrition and diabetes management and it can take over my life to the point where it’s hurting my relationships. I constantly have to pull back a little and work on finding balance

10 -What is the #1 myth about diabetes that just gets under your skin every time you hear it?

That there is such a thing as a “diabetes diet”, that we can never eat carbs and that everyone should treat their diabetes in the same way

 

11 – What is your top diabetes hack? For example, before inserting a new CGM you do XYZ or you use syringes instead of pens because of XYZ.

I’m on MDI (multiple daily injections) and discovering the RapidCalc app has been a gamechanger. It’s basically a pump bolus calculator in app form. It does all the dosing calculations for you and keeps track of IOB. GAMECHANGER!!

Christel Biceps

12 – What is one thing you would like someone without diabetes to know about living with diabetes?

How much work it requires. We tend to just deal with it, and it’s often too much too explain, so many don’t realize that it’s not just taking a few insulin shots. That it can be mentally taxing and for some it become too much to deal with at time. Not because they are lazy but because it can be overwhelming and never goes away

13 – What is your favorite “healthy” food option?

The biggest crunchiest salad I can find with a good full fat dressing, cheese, tortilla strips and freshly cooked turkey. It’s filling, and all the different textures makes it a joy to eat

Now we’re going to do a little this or that.

Cats or dogs? Always been cats but now I have a dog
Coffee or Tea? Tea
Fruits or Veggies? Veggies
Sweet or Salty? Sweet all the way
TV Series or Movies? Why do I have to choose?
Apple/Mac or Windows? Windows
Ice cream cake or regular cake? Regular cake
Pancake or Waffle? Pancakes
Book or eBook? Book
Pineapple on pizza is great or pineapple on pizza is a crime? Definitely crime, big crime

Like what you read? Then sign up for The Life of a Diabetic newsletter to get all the week’s posts delivered directly to your email every Saturday morning.

World Diabetes Day 2018

Chris Stocker 1 Comment

world diabetes day sale

If you haven’t seen already, today is World Diabetes Day. What does this day mean to me? Honestly, not much anymore. I don’t want to be Debbie Downer, but this day used to excite me, but it does not anymore.

The costs of my diabetes stays the same today. My blood sugar levels don’t know it World Diabetes Day and decide to behave properly today. The time I spend on the phone fighting insurance companies doesn’t decrease because it’s World Diabetes Day.

What do I like, well, LOVE about this day? Is that there is awareness brought to the disease. A lot is through sales and promotions of companies in the space, but hey, we all gotta earn a buck somehow right?.

Marketers will forever ruin everything. And yes, I am part of that. I am running a FLASH sale for my wife’s Etsy store today.

Diabetes doesn’t pay for itself.

Ali Abdulkareem – Getting to Know Diabetes_ The Interview Series

Ali Abdulkareem – Getting to Know Diabetes: The Interview Series

Chris Stocker

Welcome to the first installment of a new weekly series here on  The Life of a Diabetic. Every Tuesday, I will be featuring an interview with a diabetes advocate and/or “influencer” in the diabetes community. These interviews will ask the same questions to every person.

Today’s interview is with Ali Abdulkareem. I first stumbled upon Ali on Instagram and saw that he set out on a goal to create a daily diabetes VLOG. That was almost a full year ago and he is still going strong. I hope you enjoy his answers and that you connect with him on social media.

ali type 1 diabetes

 

1 – Who are you? (Name, where do you live, what do you do for a living, favorite hobby, sports teams, etc.)

Hi! My name is Ali Abdulkareem. I am 22 years old and live in San Diego California and immigrated from Iraq with my family around 1999. I am a part-time job coach for adults of special needs while aspiring full time diabetes content creator through youtube vlogs, instagram content, and my podcast, “the diabetes hustle.” My hobbies are weight training, listening to hip hop and making beats and am an old 22 years old haha, I love watching movies with my loved ones and enjoy my quiet time. I don’t have any favorite food, that’s definitely a touchy subject for any food lover for sure!

2 – What is your connection to diabetes?

My connection to diabetes is feeling the urgency to live as healthy as possible while putting a smile and hopefully extra years for my peers, hey that rhymes! I love showing the community my flaws and insecurities because it reminds everyone that no one has it all figured out. I wanna make living healthy with diabetes the cool thing in todays age.

3 – Give us the elevator pitch version of your diabetes diagnosis.

Elevator pitch. First got diagnosed as type 2, then saw Endo, Endo said ill be cool just insulin, decided to celebrate at Olive Garden (Italian restaurant) with my brother post diagnosis and didn’t think I needed to pick up this new prescription called “Novolog” and “Lantus” just quite yet…..

4 – What made you decide to start sharing your diabetes? (For example, why did you start an IG account, blog, Facebook group, etc.)

I decided to share my life with diabetes because I wanted to make my impact on the world somehow and a year after diagnosis, I felt diabetes content was my route and calling. Started with instagram and youtube content

5 – Obviously there are a lot of facets of diabetes, but what is your number one passion to share about diabetes? (For example, sharing signs and symptoms, mental health, eating disorders, governmental issues, etc.)

My biggest push to everyone reading is LEARN! I cannot stress the importance of how much this disease is intense thus we need to show up in this life with intensity I.e learning about the human body as a whole, learning about yourself and what can unlock your best self to be that better spouse, friend, son and so forth. The beauty of this disease is the uglyness that come with it, and I believe we can turn those hard times into the person we see ourself to aspire to be.

Bonus Question – Which do you recommend?

These books have made a massive impact on my life with diabetes!

1. Dr. Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution: The Complete Guide to Achieving Normal Blood Sugars – Dr. Bernstein

2. Think Like a Pancreas: A Practical Guide to Managing Diabetes with Insulin – Gary Scheiner

3. The Diabetic Muscle and Fitness Guide – Phil Graham

4. Dealing with Diabetes Burnout: How to Recharge and Get Back on Track When You Feel Frustrated and Overwhelmed Living with Diabetes – Ginger Vieira

5. Diabetes Burnout: What to Do When You Can’t Take It Anymore – Dr. William Polonsky

6 – What’s in your diabetes bag? (Pump, MDI, meter, syringes, adhesives, CGMs, etc.)

My diabetes bag includes my glucometer, lancing device, test strips, medical card id, extra needles, while I still carry my PDM (Omnipod) where I go. Oh! and glucose tabs of course Lol!

ali diabetes daily hustle

7 – Where do currently get your diabetes news? (Favorite blogs, IG, FB, Twitter accounts, etc.)

I get a lot of my diabetes news from Instagram and sometimes Youtube. Some of the best advice I’ve gotten comes from books and YouTube videos while some of my favorite accounts are on Instagram that I adore!

8 – Share three blogs or IG accounts that everyone reading this should be following.

Three accounts everyone should follow.

1. The.Insulin.Type (Leah) she is a big advocate of eating low carb to achieve normal blood sugars with all types of diabetes and to shatter the image of all type 1 diabetics in a sense of management.

2. Happypancreas. (Whitney) One of my closest friends and someone who truly inspires me to go beyond just blood sugar, carbs and insulin. She goes into all aspects of health to break down the pieces of why certain things affect our overall health.

3. Thebetes. (Neil) Probably the most funniest most positive person I know in this space. Lets just say his videos push me to make the funniest most outrageous stuff on earth with diabetes, Lol.

9 – Let’s get real for a minute. What do you struggle with the most when it comes to diabetes? For me, it’s my weight. I can’t ever seem to lose weight. I lose it, then it comes back and being over weight creates stress and anxiety of not being around for my child in the future.

My biggest struggle with diabetes is food. I have been dealing with a major food relationship ever since my diagnosis. Went through and currently, major binge eating. I am currently seeing a therapist and I know this will behind me in the near future.

10 -What is the #1 myth about diabetes that just gets under your skin every time you hear it?

#1 myth about diabetes that’s drives me bananas is, well, its very controversial but, you can eat whatever you want and you just need to figure out dosage and you’ll be fine. I totally hate the stigma about diabetics is that we can’t eat sugar, that drives me nuts but I’m a big believer that putting the right stuff in our bodies and exercising properly will in return make our life with diabetes easier. Why make such a difficult disease that revolves around health even harder?


 

11 – What is your top diabetes hack? For example, before inserting a new CGM you do XYZ or you use syringes instead of pens because of XYZ.

Best diabetes hack is dipping your meter and test strip in your drinks to make sure they are not pure sugar and actually low carb. Meters will either read “LOW” or something below 20 mg/dL (1.11 mol/mL) ITS WORTH THE STRIP, JUST DIP!

12 – What is one thing you would like someone without diabetes to know about living with diabetes?

One thing for my non-diabetics, It is VERY difficult to achieve normal health, I have to work three times as hard as they do to have somewhat near normal health.

13 – What is your favorite “healthy” food option?

Fav healthy food option, low carb pancakes, YUM!

Now we’re going to do a little this or that.

Cats or dogs? – Dogs all day
Coffee or Tea? – Coffee but tea is healthier haha
Fruits or Veggies? – Veggies bro!
Sweet or Salty? – Sweet
TV Series or Movies? – Movies!
Apple/Mac or Windows? – MAC-PAC!
Ice cream cake or regular cake? – Ice cream cake yo
Pancake or Waffle? – Pancake for sheezy
Book or eBook? – Books
Pineapple on pizza is great or pineapple on pizza is a crime – Pineapple on pizza is basic, Aint no crime, im arab man. Seen more diversity in my microwave…

Take this time to add anything else. Add more to your story, include all links to all of your social media profiles and blogs, VLOGs, websites, etc.

SUBSCRIBE HERE to the diabetes daily hustle! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOgPM9FFVTOX5gN_qnVHRNA?
———————————————————————–
Catch me hanging here with my Diabuddies!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ali.abdlkareem/

The Diabetes Hustle Podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/diabetes-hustle-podcast/id1313087483?mt=2

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Why You Should Not Hold Off on Getting Your Flu Shot

Why You Should Not Hold Off on Getting Your Flu Shot

Chris Stocker 1 Comment

Spoiler Alert – I do not have the flu.

But, I thought I did.

Sunday Morning

starbucks medicine ball

It all started on Sunday morning when I woke up with a bad sore throat. I assumed this was mostly due to the fact that I had a sinus congestion

issue Saturday night. So, I did what I always do when I have a sore throat, go get a Medicine Ball from Starbucks. If you don’t know what aMedicine Ball is from Starbucks, then order one the next time you have a sore throat or cold and you can thank me later.

I had to attend my niece’s birthday party at a bowling alley that day, so I made sure to give pounds instead of hand shakes and hugs. Which, if you’ve ever met me in person, you know that I like to give pounds, not hugs or handshakes.

I took a Claritin D-12 on Sunday evening and everything was great.

Monday Morning

Monday morning, I woke up and my throat was still sore, but nowhere near as bad as Sunday. This was probably due to the Claritin clearing me up throughout the night and not having to be a mouth-breather while I slept all night, drying out my throat.

I followed the same thing on Monday night, lots of fluids and a Claritin D-12 and Tuesday was getting even better.

Until it wasn’t.

Tuesday Evening

In the afternoon on Tuesday, I started to feel very achy and my muscles were sore and I just wanted to sleep. My initial thought was ketones, so I tested for ketones, nothing there.

My second thought…..the f&cking FLU!

Now, let’s backtrack a little bit here.

I have never had the flu shot before.

Why?

diabetes flu shot

I don’t know, I thought it was a scam. I’ve seen people get the flu shot and still get the flu. I also never had the flu, so I figured, why bother?

Well, this year, after moving back to PA in the cold, I said I was going to get the flu shot, next week.

Well, maybe next week.

Well, I’m busy today, so I’ll go in a few days.

Come back to Tuesday night, and I still never got the flu shot.

So, Tuesday night, I started to feel a little warm, so I took my temperature and it was 100.5.

Ooohhhh yea, it’s the flu for sure I told myself.

So, I ran out to get Tylenol, because like any other responsible adults, we didn’t have any in our house.

I asked the pharmacist if I could take the Tylenol along with the Claritin D-12 since I already took that for the night and she said, yes. She then asked my symptoms and I told her and she said:

Aww, I’m sorry honey, but it sounds like you have the fly.

I knew it! I knew I was going to get it because I kept putting it off!

I have anxiety problems, so when I thought in my head that I had the flu, that was it. My heart rate increased, I started thinking that about the stories I’ve heard of people with diabetes dying from the flu and this is what’s going to happen to me and now that my heart rate is so high, I might just have a heart attack instead.

So, when I got into my car, I sat there for a few moments to collect myself and do my breathing exercises to bring down the heart rate and calm my anxiety.

I took the Tylenol and my fever went down over night.

Wednesday

On Wednesday, I had a low-grade fever. It ranged from 98.9 – 99.5, but I decided not to go to the doctor just yet.

Thursday

Thursday morning came around and the fever was completely gone, but I wanted to go see the doctor just to figure out what was going on.

The good news is that I didn’t have the flu. The bad news was that the sinus congestion did make it’s way down and I have the early stages of bronchitis.

Antibiotics it was.

The story doesn’t end there.

Allergic to Amoxicillin, Maybe?

I am allergic to ceclor, or maybe not anymore, but I was when I was a kid. So, there’s a little less than 10% chance that I could have an allergic reaction to amoxicillin.

So, when the pharmacist explained that I would need to go straight to the ER if I broke out in hives, I’m sure you can imagine what happened with my anxiety.

I didn’t really have much of a choice but to use this antibiotic.

So, I did, and nothing happened.

Bringing this post back to full circle.

Get your damn flu shot.

Even though I didn’t end up with the flu, it could have been. And it could have potentially been avoided if I just didn’t keep pushing off the flu shot. And while you’re at it, get yourself the pneumonia vaccine as well.

 

What Type of Diabetes Do I Have?

Chris Stocker 1 Comment

Usually when I mention diabetes to someone they say, “do you have the bad kind?”

So, being asked what type I have, doesn’t actually come up much.

But, when I do answer this question, I just say that I have Type 1 Diabetes. That is what I was diagnosed with and that is what I have. It’s what my medical records say.

Now, how do I really feel like answering?

Simple.

The image below shows you what type of diabetes I have.

what type of diabetes

I have the type of diabetes that requires me to:

  • check my blood sugar
  • count carbs
  • take insulin
  • wear a CGM
  • pay a lot for supplies
  • stress
  • anxiety
  • a 24/7/365 job of managing my diabetes
  • doctor appointments
  • blood work
  • a lot more

So, that’s the kind of diabetes that I have.