TypicalTypeOne

Hello! Im TypicalTypeOne or TT1 for short! My blog is solely dedicated to my journey as a type one diabetic. I noticed that while there’s a lot of great info on the internet, there wasn’t a place to answer a lot of finer questions and details for type ones.

On top of that the spotlight on health and lifestyle only ever seems to be for type two diabetics, leaving me rather frustrated there wasn’t a source I could go to to hear about other type 1 experiences; how they tackle health and diet, great food recommendations, etc.

So this blog is my gift to all who come after me, who have those same questions, who wish they had this resource to answer the questions the internet just didn’t have otherwise. I hope you find my blog interesting and helpful!

You stay up till two in the morning working off coffee and stress to keep you held together.

Yeah that has to stop when you become a diabetic.

Like it or not a huge part of maintaining your diabetic health is your sleep and your stress. Something I learned from my doctor is that without a minimum of 8 hours of sleep, your body can become even more resistant to insulin.

Set up a bed time for yourself! Go to bed on time, get eight hours of sleep. On top of that, you need to eliminate the basic stresses of life.

When I talk about stress I mean both emotional and physical. Im calling out my whole generation, we don't like to eat three meals a day, we don't like to get our daily required intake of water. We do these things then wonder why we feel like garbage.

Three meals a day, around the same time each day, on top of proper water intake will do wonders for keeping your blood sugar stable. Add a good sleep schedule into the mix and you’ll do better and feel better overall. Even these basics can also help reduce depression and thus emotional stress too.

There’s plenty of different ways and plenty of different brands of glucose monitors to help you keep track of your blood sugar. The Freestyle Libre is a pretty insurance friendly choice and a quick go to for many diabetics both type 1 and type 2.

But for those who can afford it, I use and recommend the Dexcom G6. It’s a wonderful setup that I’ve used twice in two different periods of my diabetic journey. I mention this because I’ve had two very different experiences with it based on my knowledge at the different points in time.

For beginners - I don't actually recommend using this if you’re only just starting out as a diabetic. While it is an amazing tool for later use, there is a catch to it. See, it reports your glucose levels in intervals of somewhere between fifteen to twenty minutes. On top of that it can take up to thirty minutes for insulin to kick in. As a beginner I found it very easy to “chase” after perfect numbers. I’d take medicine, get impatient, take even more, send myself into hypoglycemia, eat way too much and wind up with high blood sugar, then repeat the cycle. Be wary of this.

For average to experienced diabetics - Its amazing. Get it, use it. It’s a great way to avoid the constant pricking of your fingers. To stop being frustrated over how calloused your fingertips are getting and making it harder to draw blood. As a more experienced diabetic who understands better how insulin works now, my A1C has never been better than my second time using the Dexcom. Some perks to the Dexcom: 1. You can either use the App, or the hand held device delivered with your first package. I personally use the hand held device, as it’s more accurate and more easily picks up the signal from the monitor.

2. Super easy to charge. Comes with its own adapter and cord, and it doesn't even take two hours to fully charge it.

3. It’s water resistant! It’s waterproof up to a point, but best not to push its limits. However for just taking a bath or shower, or taking a normal swim in a pool, this thing will last you without issue. The adhesive is pretty good, though it can come slightly loose from hot water. However, its never come loose enough to ever be an issue for me.

4. If you miss one alert, it’s relentless in making sure you’re made aware. Especially good if you’re a heavy sleeper, if you miss an alert, every five minutes or so it will alert you again, while also progressively beeping louder each time. It gives me a lot of peace of mind for if my blood sugar dips during the night while i’m asleep. (I speak only for the handheld, as I’ve never tried the app. I dont know if the app also does this.)

5. Simple and easy applicator. I admit I’ve never used any other auto glucose monitor other than the Dexcom, but the applicator makes it so easy to put on. Do you feel it? Yes. But It feels like an itch, not painful and never has been for me.

6. It can later be used in conjunction with an insulin pump. I dont have any experience in this, as I still manually inject my insulin, but its a cool feature nonetheless.

Pretty awesome right? But it can be a little confusing when you first get the kit, so let me give you a nutshell layout of all the parts and what they do!

This is the applicator. You don't have to load anything into it. There is a number on the bottom on some paper that you use to help link it to your handheld device. But after removing that, all you do is take that orange tab off, press it to wherever you want your patch to be, then press the button! It inserts the sensing needle in flawlessly. I recommend rubbing along the adhesive to make sure it sticks well after using the applicator. The patch lasts ten days before needing replaced. Each applicator is only good for one use, then you discard it.

Here’s your transmitter. This tiny part is what takes the info from the patch/sensing needle, and as per its name, transmits it to your handheld/app. This piece is not automatically in the patch when you apply it to your body. You have to push it into the patch after application until it clicks. Doesn’t hurt in the slightest. It lasts for three months and can be reused until then. The patch, once taken off, can bend at a certain spot to easily remove the transmitter for the next patch.

Here’s a quick photo of what it looks like when the transmitter is locked into place inside of the patch. Warning! The adhesive can itch if you’re sensitive like me! I used to think this might be the needle poking me but trust me, that needle is not moving.

Here is the handheld device that comes with your supplies! I can personally attest that everything about this device appears as you see it in the picture. It shows you your last reported numbers, what time they’re recorded, and the arrow next to your number tells you if you’re headed up, down or steady. When setting it up it’ll ask you for basics like date and time, but it also asks you what you consider to be high blood sugar and low blood sugar, making it pretty easy to set goals for yourself as you slowly work to better control your blood sugar. I personally use the default settings. Anything below 70 is too low, and anything above 200 is too high. I still aim to stay within 90 to 150, but 200 is a good max limit I have for myself.

Something to know now that you know all your pieces; when setting up your Dexcom for the first time, it asks for a number, found either on the outside of the box, or on the bottom of the transmitter. Use the transmitter because there are at least four different numbers on the box your stuff comes in. There is only one number on your transmitter and that is the number you’re looking for. Makes it a lot easier. You’ll have to repeat this process every three months when you get a new transmitter.

To nutshell my nutshell, the only numbers you will need to be concerned with are:

The number found on the flat bottom side of your applicator, used when setting up each patch every ten days.

The number on your transmitter, used during first setup and then every three months.

Other than those, you don't need worry about any other numbers you see or find on boxes. You don’t even need to keep the boxes, though I tend to for easy storage of my applicators.

Another thing to note is that they send you 3 months worth at a time, so it’s easy to keep track of when you need a new transmitter. You need it when you simply run out of your whole batch of applicators.

And last thing I’ll say! As of this post there is a newer Dexcom out there, one meant to be worn on your arm rather than your belly. I have not used this and have no knowledge of how similar it may be to the Dexcom G6. Any questions on that should be sent to your doctor or endocrinologist.

MagicSpoon

No way I was gonna start my blog with anything else except MagicSpoon.

There’s a lot of great ways you can eat healthy in your overall diet. But there are some genre’s of food where its beyond difficult to find a decent keto alternative. Cereal is one of them. I cant tell you how devastated I was when I believed cereal was off the menu for me forever.

MagicSpoon is your one stop shop for the best keto cereal you will find anywhere. I will die on the hill that is MagicSpoon. I stand by this brand and recommend them to anyone who has the misfortune of hearing me rant about it.

Let me list the reasons why this brand has me simping for it:

It tastes just as good as those sugar packed overhyped boxes of trash like fruity pebbles and coco puffs.

It’s packed full of protein, giving you a pretty satisfying breakfast that will properly last you ‘till lunch.

There are lots of different sugar alternatives, but most of them are outright unhealthy for you. MagicSpoon uses allulose, a sugar alternative derived from syrup. It measures one for one with sugar, tastes just as good, and lacks the unhealthy downsides of other sugar replacements. It might as well be sugar except the body doesn’t digest it as such, making it my top pick for use in all things keto.

They have a wide variety of flavors to satisfy any craving you have for your childhood cereals, my personal favorite being the fruit loops! Now I'm not one to beat around the bush, they are pricey. However for the quality product they make, I say it’s well worth the price.