Tuesday 31 December 2013

2013 and all that jazz

So, I had good intentions and started a diabetes blog, and then things kind of got busy...

January
Pulled my socks up at work after extended probation period, difficult with yo yo blood sugars, but it had been a trying 6 months.
Found a house to buy, put in an offer, got it accepted! 

February
Left work after mutually deciding I needed to put my health first. Difficult, but I was exhausted, yo-yoing about like the outline of the Himalayas!
Turned 31 (little bit depressing!)
Moved into first home!!!

March
Unpacked multiple boxes. Built flat pack furniture. Hypo whilst painting and wallpapering a lot! Hypo whilst gardening and lawn mowing too. Moving house causes hypos everywhere! Tricky when you've got stairs to contend with in the middle of the night when you've lived in flats for years! I've got lucosade, bg kit by my bed now.

April
I started running - I can't remember why, but it occupied some time and seemed like a good idea.
I'd never run anywhere before except for buses and trains. But I quite liked it! 

May
Raised £405 for @diabetesuk by running a mile around Regents Park - I ran it slowly and may have walked a bit in the middle - but I did it! And @jmrobilliard did it too :)
Still off work - getting a bit bored, but enjoying talking to lovely people on the #gbdoc You've been brilliantly supportive, helpful, friendly and fun. I don't think I could have managed this year without you. I've learned so much both about diabetes, and attitudes towards it which really picked me up.

June
I got my insulin pump - I was hugely excited and nervous, but reading 'Think Like A Pancreas by Gary Schneider was enormously helpful (would have helped with MDI too, but hadn't heard of it then).
I was prepped and ready, understood all the theory and had done all my food diary etc. spent a couple of hours at the Diabetes Centre with my DSN - she's amazing! Got on with it... Steep learning curve, but my DSN called, texted to check I was doing ok for the first couple of weeks. All went smoothly.

Newly attached to my pump, off we went to stay with my grandma in Staffordshire, and visit Alton Towers with @oceantragic and @type1dadderekck with their t1daughters Amy and Chloe, and other friends and family. Amy had just got her Animas pump, and Chloe was awaiting her date to get her pump soon. It was great to meet some other T1s - I've had diabetes since I was 6, so can share stories with Amy and Chloe, but also with their parents from my now adult perspective. 

But mostly it was awesomely good fun apart from James falling over and the Smiler roller coaster getting stuck with everyone on!

July
I met some more stars of the #gbdoc @understudypanc and @t1hba1c down in Somerset, great to put faces to names, have a laugh, share some stories and most importantly eat some cake (thanks Annie!).

I also got a new job - my insulin pump was making a world of difference and I totally felt so much more balanced than I had in years. It was defiantly no breeze, it's hard work and I put a lot of effort into it, but it paid off, and so I dipped my toe back into the world of graphic design project management - this time on a freelance capacity.

Boom - turns out that with decent blood glucose levels and a bit of confidence, I'm actually quite good at my job! Something that I'd only seen glimmers of over the last few years. Great to be back. Friends and family had similar positive feedback on the changes they could see in me. Thank you insulin pump and the care of my consultant and DSN! HbA1c down to 6.6! #winning

August
It was a bit warm was it it? Busy busy at work, and enjoying my new garden!

September
Survived a crazy conference in Paris which I was working on - maxed out my Basel rate to 175% (bit affected by stress!) and had bg rates of about 8-9mmol for the 22 hours I was awake that day. Spent about 36 hours in Paris (4 of which I was asleep) all with the hotel conference venue except for the taxi ride from the station, I didn't see anything!

Went to a fab wedding as well - tricky trying to cram all your pump spare kit, glucose supplies, bg kit into a clutch bag! Also difficult fitting your pump somewhere it doesn't look massively lumpy when you've got a nice dress on. #diabetesproblems

October
Raised a bit more cash for Diabetes UK collecting outside Tesco!

November
Decided it was time for a holiday - off to beautiful but chilly Edinburgh! Had a massive panic with pump as my cannulas kept falling out! I'd been using the plastic cannulas for my Medtronic paradigm Veo, but kept having multiple delivery failures throughout October and November. I love how diabetes chooses to kick you in the bum just when you fancy doing something lovely. Grr...

Got metal cannulas instead after discussing with my DSN. They're much better, but they don't stick in to my tummy very well, so I've taken to sporting them either on my lower back, or on my leg :)

December
The inevitable season of yummy food full of hiding bundles of glucose - yes I'm looking at you mince pies! And ever more delicious and bg bungling cocktails, mulled wine and hot spiced cider. And pasta...

Yes I had a weirdly last minute trip to Venice - it's beautiful!

And who doesn't fancy a last minute Diabetes clinic to finish off the year? 6 months on from pump attachment my HbA1c is 6.8%, slightly high on the fructoseamine but my bg levels are ok. 

Consultant happy. DSN happy. Me, very happy. 

Happy 2014 folks!





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