#actuallydiabetes

Day 10: Achievement I wasn't sure what to do for this one, but then I ran into my poem on my blog and remembered what an impact this poem made on me and my journey. I wrote this in a time of frustration and loneliness, and after sharing it on Tumblr I found a lot of others who understood. It's still my most popular post, and it has been a way to express the struggle and find amazing diabuddies as well. #DiabadassChallenge #t1d #diabetes #worlddiabetesday #actuallydiabetes

Days 5 And 6: High and Low I can't remember the last time a had a day without a single high or low. Sometimes they happen. They're called "no-hitters" because you go without hitting either of the threshold lines. But usually, I am constantly dealing with highs and lows, back and forth, over and over again. It is physically and mentally exhausting. I want to protest this common idea/term of "good" and "bad" diabetics. If you think there is such a thing, you have no idea what this disease actually is. I've had people, upon seeing my CGM alert, say "Oh, have you not figured that out yet?" My blood sugar is chaotic and unpredictable. I can do the same things and eat the same things every day and have drastically different blood sugars. If I am not constantly watching my graphs, things usually go downhill quickly. People can put so much effort into correcting and take all the right steps and still get horrible results. And then others look at these results and assume they are a "bad diabetic" and they just aren't trying hard enough. I have included some graphs showing what a typical day has looked like over the past few weeks. It's ups and downs and a few successes amongst many failures. There are good and bad days, but there is no such thing as a good/bad diabetic. We all face these struggles every damn day. #DiabadassChallenge #diabetes #actuallydiabetes #t1d #dexcom

Day 3: HbA1c I've never been a big fan of A1cs. They give your average blood sugar over 3 months, but alone, that isn't too useful (standard deviations are so important 😿). They can be a stressful idea of progress and maintenance, but they definitely don't tell the whole story. My diabuddy @vpwagner and I want to remind you that a) It's a number, not a grade and b) only badasses stick syringes in their mouths. #DiabadassChallenge #diabetes #a1c #t1d #actuallydiabetes

Red, white, and blue #t1d #diabetes #actuallydiabetes

Ready to Beat the Bridge and support #JDRF ! Team #Batman is fighting diabetes with the help of #grifgrips and #Tandem :) #t1d #actuallydiabetes #tslim #tsliminthewild

When a good workout is followed by a night of hours of beeping and shoving sugar down you throat and you STILL CAN'T STAY ABOVE 55. 😭 #actuallydiabetes #diabetes #t1d #diabetic #diabatic

GIRL WHAT THE FUCK IS YOU DOINGGGGGGGG

Day 7: Quote My quote comes from an amazing leader and inspiration in the diabetes community. Nicole Johnson changed the way I saw diabetes and the way I saw myself as a diabetic. I felt weak, ashamed, and alone until I found out about her Students with Diabetes National Conference. I have met so many diabuddies, learned so many new things, and gained so much confidence and purpose from this annual conference. This quote is really meaningful to me because I strongly relate to it. I have had many low points with diabetes, and it has tried to take my life and goals away from me. Sometimes everything seems futile and overwhelming, and the only way to keep going is to redirect all this negative energy toward positive goals. So diabetes became my purpose. I changed my major and pursued work in diabetes technology. I dream of working on insulin pumps and the bionic pancreas, and thanks to the Students with Diabetes internship program, I have already gotten to experience my dream job. So thank you to Nicole Johnson and everyone who has been a part of SWD. Because you all have given my life purpose. #DiabadassChallenge #t1d #StudentsWithDiabetes #diabetes #actuallydiabetes