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.
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.)
After 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.)
I 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!!
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
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