Category Archives: Fun

Making Diabetes Suck Less.

BG, BG Meters, Fun

If you know me at all, you know that tech devices are my thing.  If something new comes out, I want it and usually wind up getting it.  And diabetes devices are no different.  I’ve used almost every insulin pump that has been on the market the past 10+ years.  I’ve used each CGM system with the exception of the very first version of Dexcom, the Medtronic Enlite and the Abbott Navigator.  There aren’t many glucose meters that I haven’t tried at one point or another.

When it comes to glucose meters, there are 2 features that I think are the most important – accuracy and cost.  I’ve posted a few times about accuracy, or lack thereof.   I also see so many posts on social media from people who can’t afford their insurance’s preferred test strips or they don’t have coverage for test strips at all.  That can leave people with the only option of using cheap meters and strips.  And we all know that cheaper is not always better.  Or even good.   That’s why something like the mySugr bundle is not only affordable but convenient also!  Why?  Because it provides you with an accurate glucose meter with reliable results (the Accu-chek Guide meter), test strips delivered to your door, all your readings via Bluetooth to a phone app PLUS a personal coach whenever you need advice.  All for $39.99 a month.  I don’t know about you, but that’s less than what I normally pay just for test strips.

How would you like a 6 month mySugr subscription bundle for yourself?  Or a mySugr voucher code for upgrades/enhancements to your current free mySugr subscription? (Please note the subscription bundle is only available to new US mySugr bundle users only; the vouchers are for those in all countries where the service is available)

If you leave a comment here on this blog post, stating how you would love to make diabetes suck less, you will be entered into the drawing to win a subscription or voucher.  Comment period ends July 10th at midnight, EST.

mySugr Bundle Starter Kit

 

 

 

*Disclosure* mySugr is compensating me for hosting this giveaway.  However all opinions relayed here are those of the writer and not of the company.  Lucky for them, they rock so all the writer’s opinions are good ones!

Time Flies.

Emotions, Fun, Insulin pumps, Minimed, OmniPod, Traveling

Hello.

So it’s been over a year since I’ve last posted.  And I think that’s okay.  That just means I have a lot of important things going on in my life and nothing exciting to share 😉 I thought I’d not only give the site a make over but also provide some kind of update on what went on in the past year that flew right by!

The hubby and I took a couple of trips last year – back to Turks and Caicos (where we honeymooned) (and thankfully before the hurricane season), Boston, which is our favorite close-ish getaway spot and Alexandria, VA for the Diabetes Unconference.  Looking forward to doing some more traveling this year as well.

Health wise I am doing okay.  Totally recovered from the elbow surgery I had at the end of 2016.  I was very pleased at the outcome of that and it’s great to have a fully functioning arm again!  Anxiety wise, that is mainly under control although I did have another bout of panic attacks at the end of last year.  Those are not pretty.  I would not wish them on anyone.  Ever.  My PCP was extremely helpful during that time and sadly she has left the practice since.  So I cannot even thank her.  Cue the sad face.  I’ve had some PT recently for my existing back issue (spinal stenosis) which was becoming very bothersome.  I’m not sure if the PT actually helped but the bothersome-ness has lightened up a bit so I’m glad for that and hoping it continues. I had my first mammogram in the summer and had to actually go back for an ultrasound.  And then was asked to come back in 6 months to repeat both.  Talk about nerve wracking!  Thankfully all seems to be fine in the boob department.  I’m still dealing with gastroparesis flares.  It’s been a while since I’ve met with my gastroenterologist so I’m seeing her again soon.  Not sure if there are any new treatment options or not but it will be nice to catch up with her and discuss stuff.

I was able to try out the Freestyle Libre system a couple of months ago.  I used it in conjunction to my Dexcom system since it does not send alerts of low or high blood sugar readings.  And I do not want to go without those.  Otherwise it’s a great system.  Very easy to insert a sensor, the sensor is nice and small and very slim, accuracy was very good for me and very convenient to just hold the reader up to the sensor for a reading as opposed to doing a finger stick.  The 12 hour warm up period (for the US version) kind of stinks.

My portable pancreas has recently gotten a make over.  I am a long time OmniPod user (love that pump!) and Dexcom user (love that CGM!).  However I do like to have, or at least try, the latest D technology that is out there.  One thing that other pumps have over the OmniPod in my opinion, is more precise I:C ratios.  I am very insulin resistant so have pretty low ratios.  Even those don’t work well for me sometimes yet my endo hates to lower it even more.  With the Tandem and Medtronic pumps, you can have ratios lower than whole numbers, which seems to work in my favor.  Last year I traded in my Animas Vibe pump (before they actually announced they were going out of the pump business!) for the Medtronic 630G.  It had been a long time since I used a Medtronic product but I was pleased with the changes they made.  I liked the pump but it was my back up.  Shortly after that, the 670G hybrid closed loop system came out.  I didn’t think I was interested in that at first so didn’t initiate the upgrade program.  However, after some months of hearing experiences with it, I began to wonder if it would benefit me.  So I recently upgraded to the 670G and started in auto mode yesterday.  More to come on that………..

If I didn’t bore you to death, and you’re still reading, thank you 🙂 I will try to check in more often around here!

 

World Diabetes Day Giveaway Winners!

Community, Events, Fun

Thank you to those who commented to enter my giveaway!  It is currently after 5pm on World Diabetes Day so here are the winners.  (I randomly chose three numbers between 1 and 9 for the number of comments and the prizes were in the order listed in my post).

  
The winner of a copy of Daniele’s new book is Karen.

The winner of the blue Prikkedief supply case is Melody.

The winner of the pink Prikkedief supply case is Andrea.

I would appreciate if the winners could send me an email (staceydblog@gmail.com) with your mailing address.  

Cograts and enjoy your new goodies 🙂

World Diabetes Day Giveaway. 

Community, Events, Fun

Hi! Yup I’m still around 🙂 Things have been hectic around here lately but I’m still alive & kicking! 

Since World Diabetes Day is just two days away, I couldn’t think of a better time to give some things to my readers. In honor of the day on Saturday (by midnight), I will randomly choose three people who have left a comment on this post, to win one of the below items. 

 A copy of the new book by the wonderful Daniele, the Diabetes Dominator.  I just started reading it myself, but I’m already sure it’s going to be a great read 🙂 

One of two diabetes supply cases from Prikkedief. One is blue with a gold zipper and one is pink with the same color zipper. (The picture of the inside is just for reference – they are both the same on the inside).   

    
 

All you have to do is leave a comment here. Unfortunately you won’t know which you could be selected for, but they’re all great wins!  

Good luck and happy world diabetes day 🙂 

Top of The World.

Advocacy, Community, Education, Emotions, Events, Fun, Traveling

Last night I got home from the first ever Diabetes UnConference in Las Vegas.  During my trip home, I saw on social media that Stephen wrote a blog post about it and I thought to myself, wow he’s quick!  But then I thought, he had the right idea.  While it’s still fresh in my mind I wanted to share my thoughts.

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The above photo is when we were on top of Las Vegas.  We took a ride on the High Roller (an observation wheel that goes 550 feet up and gives the most amazing panoramic views of Vegas).  It was incredible.

I’ve been to numerous diabetes conferences before.  And I was always happy to attend them not only to learn from the experts or panelists but also to connect with others from the diabetes community.    This was a little different.  The goal of the first UnConference was to allow the attendees to create the agenda, using various methods for us all to share with and learn from each other as peers.  I think it did that very well.  Nothing was shared on social media and I won’t even share explicit details here.  Just imagine being with about 90 other people with diabetes who get it, talking about what is important to all of us and I probably don’t even need to go into much detail.  As wonderful and important as online connections are, in-real-life connections are that much more powerful.  And stick with you forever.

Christel asked us to write down one word to describe how we were feeling at the end.  (I hope I don’t get in trouble for sharing this part!)  I was, and still am, feeling extremely thankful.  Finding the diabetes online community about 8 1/2 years ago when I was getting my first insulin pump was the best thing that ever happened to me.  And it has been extraordinary to watch it continue to grow over the years.  I’ve learned more over that time period than I did the first 24 years as a person with T1.  And I’m not exaggerating.  I wish so much that my father would have had the same opportunity.  I think it would have been so good for him and maybe things could have turned out differently.  The diabetes community (both online and off) has had an immensely positive impact on my life and for that I will forever be thankful.  I wish that every person with diabetes has this same opportunity and I will do whatever I can to reach those who may not have it yet.

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This above photo is one of the amazing views from the sky during my flight home back to the East Coast.  Looking through the (few) pictures I took during the weekend, I sensed a theme.  We were on top of Vegas.  I was on top of the sky.  And what I was left feeling – on top of the world.

Happy Place.

Emotions, Fun

I posted this picture on Instagram a few weeks ago.

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And it’s true. I haven’t been a stranger to massages for quite some time. I’ve always loved them. But I never went as often as I would’ve liked. I’m a big believer in how good they are for you, both physically and mentally. It reduces stress, pain, muscle tension and improves circulation. It also has been known for helping a wide array of things like headaches, joint pain, anxiety and digestive disorders to name a few. All I know is that I can forget all my worries and stress for a whole 60 or 90 minutes and concentrate instead on relaxation and feeling good. Who wouldn’t want that?

I became a member of a spa that opened near my home close to 2 years ago. Since then, I’ve been going for massages more regularly especially in the last few months. I’ve had lower back pain for the longest time. There has been a noticeable improvement in the past year or so. I’ve also had major pain in my lower legs when walking (even at a slow pace or short distances) for quite a long time and have found the massages help a great deal. Even just for my overall well being and state of mind, it does good. And that in turn helps my diabetes as well since everything is connected!

It’s an investment, since massage therapy is certainly not cheap. But it’s one that I’m gladly willing to make. Even though I had a massage today, I’m really looking forward to my next appointment 🙂


I will be posting about my recent change to the Tandem t:slim insulin pump hopefully soon, for those that are interested!

My Stuff is Your Stuff.

Community, Events, Fun

I have a lot of crap.  Seriously, I have so many of so many things!  I realized today when looking for something just how many meter cases and bags I have.  It’s insane.  I threw some out, the boring old black ones that come with meters that I never ever used.  There are a few great ones that even though I like them, I just don’t use them because of how many I have.  And this is where you benefit from my addictions 😉  I have four meter bags from the lovely Sugar Medical and Stick Me Designs that I am giving away.  They are all lightly used, with no signs of wear or tear at all.  Like brand new!  All you have to do is comment below by midnight EST on Saturday (7/26) and you will be entered into the drawing.  I will announce the winner on Monday.  You may want to make sure you like them all, because the order in which they are pictured below is the order in which they will be given away.  So check them out and good luck! 🙂

 

(Dexcom pictured for size comparison)

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Good for You.

BG, Community, Education, Events, Fun

You may have already heard of or even tried the glucose gels by Level Foods.  I have tried them and they are good for treating low blood sugars.  While my go-to treatments are still usually the good ol’ juice boxes, they do taste pretty good and work fairly quickly.  Lucky for us, Ethan, the founder of Level Foods, expanded his products and now offers protein shakes and bars.

Over the past year, I have made a greater effort to enhance my knowledge of food and exercise and how it affects my body with type 1 diabetes.  I have incorporated Beachbody into my life, with their workout programs and their Shakeology meal replacement shakes.  I recently did a 5 day Shakeology and clean eating cleanse that did wonders for my glucose levels.  I also learned a bit from my friend Ginger about food.

When I received an email from Ethan of Level Foods, I was very excited to give his new protein shakes and bars a try.  There are other recent reviews of his products from Sarah, Rachel and Brian.  Their feedback was all positive and I am going to add to that.  I’ve tried protein shakes by Special K and Muscle Milk.  Special K tasted very good however the nutritional value wasn’t exactly ideal.  The nutritional value of Muscle Milk was better however I didn’t particularly like the way it tasted.  I’ve also recently tried protein bars by Quest and wasn’t exactly in love with the taste of those.  Luckily the bars and shakes from Level Foods both taste delicious and have good for you ingredients.  And the bonus? My BG loves them!  They are low carb so very BG friendly.  The flavors of the shakes are vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and caramel.  While they all taste good (honestly!), that is the order in which I like them 🙂  The flavors of the bars are caramel chocolatey peanut, double chocolatey chip, chocolatey crisp and chocolatey peanut crunch.  Again they are all good, but those are the order in which I like the bars.  I’ve shared my samples with my hubby, who is very into weight training and protein products, and he enjoyed them as well.  I will most definitely be buying these products.

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Now here is the fun part.  And extremely generous of Ethan.  He is offering a premier bundle pack to one lucky winner!  All you have to do is leave a comment on this post by midnight (EST) Saturday February 8th and I will randomly select a winner on Monday, February 10th and announce it here.

For those who will not be lucky enough to win the bundle pack, he is offering a 25% off $20+ purchases by using the code below.

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Good luck everyone!  This is a great contest to win and I would highly recommend trying these products out!  And a very big thank you to Ethan for the products he created and for this great offer 🙂