Facebook Page

Hello

I just wanted to remind everyone about the Facebook Page for Type One Diabetes & Life, I already post links to the blog but I will now be posting updates and anything else that is happening at the time.

Due to problems with my wifi I may not get a blog post up on Thursdays and Sundays, if I don't get a blog post up on those days I will put something on the Facebook Page to let you know when I can get a blog post up.

I will be utilising the Facebook page a lot more so I highly encourage you to check it out,give it a like and you will be able to stay up to date with the blog.

I may do blog posts on different days until the wifi is fixed so don't be to surprised if you see a new blog post on a Monday, Wednesday or a Friday the main priority for me is to get a blog post out.

If there is any topics you would like me to write about I am happy to do that, while my blog is about my experiences and what I go through on a daily basis I am happy to write about things that interest you or I will give my opinion.

I would like to say thank you for your patience, while I may not have a lot of followers right now I do see that I get views and that means a lot to me. 

Until next time

Jenna

Record Keeping For My Diabetes

Recording Everything Including Numbers

I keep a notebook, just a basic A4 size notebook where I can write down everything that is going on with my Diabetes. I make sure that I document;

• The time and my blood glucose level
• What meal I am having
• Insulin Pump activity
• Sleep record from my Fitbit
• Any feelings that I am going through that day

There is something for everyone in my record book, whether I see my General Practitioner or my Endocrinologist both parties can look at my notebook and see what is happening.

I believe it is important to record everything especially when you are on a insulin pump, sure you can download your pump if you are able to but I feel writing everything down can give the Diabetes Team a clear idea of what is going on with my blood glucose levels, the food I am eating and insulin pump activity.

Below is a photo of my record book

This record is from today as you can probably tell by the date at the top of the page, on the left side of the notebook is the time, blood glucose level and any food that I have had. The right side of the notebook is my sleep record from my Fitbit, I will usually write down if I set any temporary basal rates, set changes and any mood swings that I have. 

As you can see I take my blood glucose level consistently and I also set the alarm on my blood glucose meter so I can take my level two hours after I have had my main meal.

I hope this gives you a little bit of an insight into my daily life, if you would like to see a full day please leave me a comment down below. Don't forget to head over to the Facebook Page Type One Diabetes & Life I will post updates regularly on the Facebook Page.

I hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend, until next time

Jenna

Products for People with Diabetes

The Products I use for my Diabetes

I wanted to share with you some of the products that I use that help me in my daily life with Type One Diabetes.

Being on an Insulin Pump there is three items that I use to keep my cannula in place and the items include;

• Webcol Skin Cleansing Alcohol Prep Wipe, this helps clean my skin and get rid of any dirt before inserting my cannula.
• Smith&Nephew Skin Prep Protective Wipe, this item is excellent in the Summer months. Skin Prep helps the adhesive of the cannula stay put until you have to take the cannula out.
• 3M Nexcare Flexible Clear Tape, I like to use the tape to place over the top of my cannula just to keep it in place and it the cannula can't be pulled out easily.

Here is a photo of the items that I have mentioned

All items are available from a Pharmacy and you can order the Skin Prep from the Medtronic Online Shop, I will leave the website down below.

When I am taking my blood glucose level I have four items that I use and three of the items are just given being a person with diabetes. The items include;

• Contour Link Blood Glucose Meter, I use this in conjunction with Medtronic Insulin Pump, I think it is great that the machine is synchronised with my Insulin Pump.
• The Finger Pricker, this comes with the blood glucose meter, it is very simple to use.
• Contour Link Test Strips, I have no complaints. The test strips do what they are meant to do.
• DiaWipe, A pack of 25 small wipes that I find are great for when I am testing my blood glucose level. Diawipes are alcohol and fragrance free, The packet is easy to store in with my blood glucose meter.

Here is a photo of the items that I have mentioned

 Please note that the Contour Link Blood Glucose Meter is not available to purchase from a Pharmacy, this Meter is only available through Medtronic when you have a Medtronic Insulin Pump. The test strips are available at the Pharmacy and the Diawipes are available through a website where you can order them and I will leave the website down below.

I hope this is a helpful blog post for everyone, you maybe looking to try a new product for your routine.

Here are the websites if you wish to order Skin Prep and the Diawipes

www.oneand2.com.au

eshop.medtronic-diabetes.com.au

Photos were taken with my iPhone 6s, I hope to get better with the photos that I take so please be kind.

Until next time

Jenna

Hello

Back on Track

Hello everyone, I would like to apologise for not having a blog post up yesterday my wifi was playing up badly and I could not get onto the internet which meant no Sunday blog post.

I am hoping to have a new blog post up on Thursday and it will be a post on products that I use for my Diabetes, products like finger wipes, blood glucose metre, test strips and anything else I can think of.

Blog post for Sunday will be Record Keeping for your Diabetes, I will include some photographs of my record keeping book to give you an idea on how I record my blood glucose levels, the food I eat and any pump activity.

I am hoping that the blog will be back on track starting Thursday,

Until next time

Jenna

Feeling Grateful

What am I Grateful For?

I am grateful for a few small and very significant things, I think having a chronic medical condition you need to be grateful and count your blessings every day. 

So here is my list of things that I am very grateful right now

1. Family, I would not be who I am today without my family. My family keep me grounded, they get me through my good days and my bad days and I could not picture life without them.
2. Insulin Pump,I realise this is obvious and predictable but I am grateful for my insulin pump. Without my insulin pump I would be on five injections a day but being on my pump I do one injection every two days and that is the best thing to me.
3. My Health, I try my absolute best to look after myself and after eleven years of having Type One Diabetes I think I am doing pretty well for myself. I try to go for a walk everyday, eat healthy and take one day at a time.
4. My iPhone, I would be lost without my mobile phone and it is absolutely crucial that any person with a medical condition has a mobile phone. I like to make sure my mobile phone has plenty of battery power so if something goes wrong with me I know that I can make a call or send a text message.

Those are my four small and very significant things that I am very grateful for and they are apart of everyday life.

Tell me what are you grateful for? Leave a comment for me or head over to the Facebook Page Type One Diabetes & Life, I hope everyone has had a good week.

Until next time

Jenna

Rough Time with Diabetes

Feeling Run Down

Today I want to discuss Diabetes, I have been having a rough time with my Diabetes and I can only hope that I will the light at the end of tunnel soon.

I've been having a few low blood glucose levels of late, it is worse when I am at work and have to go home as a result of the low. For me personally it can take a while for my glucose level to come back up, I find it can take up to half an hour but that could be the normal for anyone.

I have been documenting everything, I try to include everything like my glucose levels, the food I eat, any activities that I have done and how I am feeling that day. By writing all of those things down my medical team gets a pretty good insight of what is happening and going on with me.

Having a rough time with my Diabetes certainly does not help my anxiety and depression, I have let those two things get the best of me and that is not okay to me. My problem is that I am constantly on the go and all I do is work. I need to start to focusing on me and do things that make me happy, for example when I get home from work I need to get changed and go for walk regardless of the weather or take half an hour and read a book. There is plenty of things I could be doing.

I have gotten into the habit of when I get home I stay in my work clothes and do next to nothing. I need to break this habit, I need to get out of my work clothes and get into something comfortable and do something. I have not been on my daily walks in such a long time because I've been sick and the weather has just been crap to be honest. I should be exercising, having Type One Diabetes it is important that I should be exercising.

It is definitely time to break some old habits and focus on doing things that make me happy. I can not let my medical conditions get the best of me, I will always have my good days and my bad days and that is okay.

I have lots of things to look forward to in the coming months and I think it is important to focus on those things.

Tell me about your experiences of feeling run down, feel free to leave me a comment and check out the Facebook Page Type One Diabetes & Life.

New blog post will be up on Thursday, until next time

Jenna

Housekeeping

Hello

I will keep this Post short tonight as my wifi is playing up really badly. I just wanted to bring up a few short points for tonight's post and there will be a new post up on Sunday.

1.  I noticed on last Sunday's Post that the websites I put up are not links. I am trying to       work on this as I have said I am new to blogging and it will take time for me to learn the tricks of blogging.
2.  I am coming up with ideas for blog posts and I thought on Thursday's Life Posts will be up and Sunday's Diabetes Posts will be up although I may change that up from time to time.
3.  Type One Diabetes & Life Facebook Page. Please feel free to check it out, I put the link to the Blog on there so you can easily access the blog if you happen to be on Facebook.
4.  Email Subscription. I have successfully set up the email subscription to the Blog, please feel free to subscribe and every time there is a new Blog Post it will appear in your inbox.
5. Comments & Suggestions, If you have any comments or suggestions please don't be shy and let me know by leaving a comment on a Post or contact me on the Facebook Page. Any negativity or bullying will not be tolerated, I want my Blog to be a happy and safe place for everybody.

I think that's all the housekeeping for tonight, I know this is a short Post I just wanted to keep it simple and bring up some points that I have been thinking about.

I will leave it here tonight, until next time

Jenna

Exciting Things

Some Exciting Things 

Happy Sunday everyone, I hope you have a good weekend. It is nice to see the sun out after the rain we have had over the last week.

Today's post is about some exciting things that are happening for me and I hope the blog as well. I just feel excited about the upcoming events in my life and I wanted to share these events with you.

1. A two day trip with my Mum, it might only be two days but it is nice to able to get away, relax and shop till we drop. 
2. Delta Goodrem Concert at The Newcastle Entertainment Centre in October, I am so excited to see her live. The show will be amazing and it will be a fantastic night out.
3. Wicked, Wicked will be playing at The Civic Theatre in Newcastle in September and my Mum and I are taking my Brother for his Birthday which will be lovely.
4. I hope to make my blog stand out a little more, have more pictures up and change the formate a little so it can appeal to everyone.
5. Painting my bedroom and the rest of the house will be exciting, the inside of our house needs to updated. So all the bedrooms, bathroom, toilet, kitchen, dinning and living room will be painted. I look forward to updating my bedroom it will be a fresh start.

I am really looking forward to all of these amazing things that will be happening within the next twelve months and I hope to include photographs of when we paint the inside of the house and the girls trip and the shows we are going to see.

These are things that you do in your life and I want to share my experiences with you all and you never know you might get some ideas of your own to go do something. Please feel free to share your experiences with me and leave a comment here on this post, there is the Facebook Page Type One Diabetes & Life.

I will leave here the websites for The Newcastle Entertainment Centre and The Civic Theatre Newcastle if you are interested in going to the above shows that I have mentioned.

www.nec.net.au Newcastle Entertainment Centre

www.civictheatrenewcastle.com.au The Civic Theatre Newcastle

I can certainly give you the websites I just don't know how to post the link but this is something I hope to learn overtime so please bear with me.

I hope you enjoy this post and I catch you next time

Jenna

Bad Day in Diabetes Land

What a Day

I have had a bad day today, my diabetes has not been great at all. It all started with the low glucose level this morning while I was at work and as a result I was given the rest of the day off and had to arrange an appointment with my Specialist as soon as possible. Thankfully I got a walk in appointment for the afternoon.

My numbers have been quite erratic and I am sure that any Type One Diabetic can relate to this. There is nothing worse when your blood glucose levels have been up and down all day, today I have had three low glucose levels and one big rebound in-between the three low glucose levels. 

I find it difficult having multiple low glucose levels, when I think about all the sugar I have consumed today it's surprising. All the sugar I have consumed over the course of today it all adds up. 

My low glucose treatments include sugar sticks, jelly beans and a can of full strength drink.

I am extremely grateful that I got a walk in appointment with my Specialist and I got to see the Dietitian which never goes a stray. I now have a meal plan that I will follow and hopefully it will help me get my diabetes back on track. I do believe that it doesn't hurt to have a meal plan to follow, I think it is great way to keep yourself in check.

I think it is safe to say that I have had a bad day with my diabetes and I hope that I won't have a bad day like this again anytime soon.

Tell me about your bad day in diabetes land, what do use to treat your glucose levels? Please feel free to leave me a comment and check out the Facebook Page Type One Diabetes & Life, a new blog post will be up on Sunday.

Until next time

Jenna

Activities That I Enjoy

Activities

Hello everyone, I hope you have had a good weekend. I wanted to talk about some of the daily activities that I enjoy and try to do on a daily basis.

Starting with walking, I try to get my walk in everyday after work and on a weekend, being in the winter months at the moment it can be really difficult to get out and be active. That being said I try to keep moving around so I am not sitting around and doing nothing.

Listening to music, I love listening to music and it can be a great mood lifter. I could not live without my iPod, I love listening to all kinds of music whether it be Pink, Kelly Clarkson, Delta Goodrem, Sam Smith the list just goes on and on. Sometimes you just need to put some music on and forget your troubles.

Colouring in, I really enjoy getting my adult colouring in books out and colouring in. I believe colouring in is a great way to unwind and relax. Plus you feel accomplished when you complete a page.

Pampering, Like any woman I like to allocate a night where I can pamper myself and it might only be painting my nails. Painting my nails helps me feel good about myself just like wearing makeup helps me feel good about myself. I believe in pampering at least once a week, taking that time to relax and pamper so that I can feel a little better about myself.

These are some of the activities that I like to do on a daily basis or through the week, tell me what kind of activities do you like to do? Feel free to leave me a comment and head over to the Facebook Page Type One Diabetes & Life.

I hope to bring you a new blog post on Thursday, I want to start bringing you two blog post a week so one every Sunday and one every Thursday. 

Until next time

Jenna

Life Posts

Hello

I hope everyone is having a good weekend, I wanted to share a thought about doing some posts on life in general. I don't want the blog to be solely about Type One Diabetes and considering the blog is called Type One Diabetes & Life I thought it might be an idea to start doing some posts on life.

I want to write about activities that I do, books that I have been reading and products that I am using such as Diabetes accessories, skin care. The list could go on but I am sure you get my drift.

If there is any topics you would like me to cover please leave me a comment or contact me on the Facebook Page Type One Diabetes & Life. There will be a new post up tomorrow, I hope you can check it out.

I hope you have a lovely evening and I will catch you next time

Jenna