Every single day during the month of November, which is Diabetes Awareness Month, I will share a fact, tip, or thought across my social media channels: Twitter and Facebook.
Most snippets will be about 140 characters, the allowable length of a tweet. Some might be longer.
If you see one of them on Twitter or Facebook, please retweet or share to help raise awareness to your friends and family who may not know much about diabetes.
Please remember that I never give medical advice. Ask your endocrinologist or pediatrician for advice about your own child. Make your own informed decisions for your own child.
A Little Help From My Friends
The friends I have made online (and in person) over the past five years have so much collective wisdom when it comes to managing diabetes that I couldn’t let Diabetes Awareness Month pass by without asking them what fact, tip, or thought they would share.
Mike Lawson, famous for his YouTube videos, says:
“Sometimes diabetes is not the reason. It’s possible to get sick and it has nothing to do with your blood glucose level.”
Manny Hernandez, President of Diabetes Hands Foundation, says:
“We invite the #DOC to do the #BigBlueTest. Easy way 2 combine exercise (which is key 4 diabetes management) with making a difference in the lives of people with diabetes in need.”
Congratulations, they met their goal!
Tom Karlya, known as Diabetes Dad, says:
“”Don’t Do Nothing” cuz no one will do it for us.”
Cherise Shockley, who is the founder of Diabetes Social Media Advocacy (DSMA) and Blue Fridays Initiative, says:
“Diabetes is a pain in the donkey, but do not allow it to steal your joy.”
Ginger Vieira, diabetes coach and author, says:
“I think the “secret” to living well with diabetes comes down to understanding and remembering that there will be ups and downs, really hard times and much easier times. There will be phases of your life where everything is working in conjunction with your blood sugar needs: you have time to eat well, exercise, think carefully about insulin doses and blood sugar checks. And then, there will be times in your life when everything is working against you as a diabetic: you’re stressed at work, going through a breakup, no time for cooking or thinking carefully about your nutrition, barely able to make it to the gym once a week, and feeling constantly overwhelmed by out of whack blood sugars.
Ups and downs. To be able to step back and say, “Okay, I’m in a rough patch…I need to take a deep breath and do the best I can in this moment” is a secret little trick to enduring a life with this chronic illness.”
Kristina Proffitt, author of the blog One Happy Mama, says:
“We all have fears about diabetes, but you can’t let those fears become bigger than your hopes and dreams for your child. They can do ANYTHING. We just have to let them. ♥”
Scott Benner, author of Life is Short, Laundry is Eternal and Arden’s Day, says:
“Don’t stop, don’t give up. Some days will bring the weight of the world to you, don’t stop. There will be times that those days turn into weeks, don’t give up. There is a wonderment of understanding on the other side of your struggle and it’s worth getting to.”
Hope Warshaw, author of several books published by ADA including Diabetes Meal Planning Made Easy, says:
“Find a smart compassionate healthcare provider (or two) to help you and your family navigate, deal with diabetes. Not easy, but with strength, knowledge you can succeed.”
Bennet Dunlap, founder of StripSafely.com a campaign for meter accuracy, says:
“For people living with it, diabetes isn’t a month, it is a 24/7/365 balancing act. That balance hinges on blood glucose readings. We, PWDs, need to be sure policy makers know accuracy matters. #StripSafely”
My Thoughts 19-25
Read Thoughts 1-4.
Read Thoughts 5-11.
Read Thoughts 12-18.
19. One plus one doesn’t always equal two with diabetes. You can do the same thing three days and get different results. Lots of factors affect blood sugars.
20. Growth hormones and illness can cause blood sugars to rise. Children with diabetes might need more insulin during growth spurts and when they are sick.
21. Illnesses that keep most children home from school for a day can send kids with diabetes to the hospital. The stomach flu can quickly become an emergency situation.
22. Ketones don’t only develop with high blood sugars, they can also develop with lows, such as with the stomach flu. Check ketones anytime a child vomits.
23. A common misconception is that when children become adults, their type 1 diabetes will become type 2 diabetes.
24. People with type 1 diabetes do not make their own insulin and must get it via injection or insulin pump. They would die without it.
25. Adults can develop type 1 diabetes too, but are sometimes misdiagnosed as having type 2. A term you may not have heard is LADA: Latant autoimmune diabetes in adults.
What thought, tip, or fact would you like to share? Let us know in the comments below!
Further Reading
Kids First, Diabetes Second Book
Diabetes Awareness Month Posts
World Diabetes Day Posts
{Diabetes Awareness Month} Wisdom from the DOC and My Thoughts 19-25 is a post from: D-Mom Blog
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