Encapsulation/JDRF

The thought of having beta-cells encapsulated and inserted into my body is mind blowing. The JDRF is attempting to get this project started this year. Every time I read about the possibility of being free of doing blood tests, keeping track of food and the overall stress that T1Ds brings to myself along with my family, I break down into tears. 

I need to figure out how one gets selected for these trials. I would sign up in a second. If this could work, my life along with some many others would be so different. It would be a new life.

It would probably be a weird adjustment at first, but I am sure I could get used to it. I have tried to let T1Ds not hold me down, but it has. Being free of devices aka my man purse, free of carrying food everywhere, and free of stressing over blood sugars. This would be priceless. 

This needs to happen. The JDRF needs our support. Please remember T1Ds is an autoimmune disease not due to choices. I didn't eat too many cookies. 

http://jdrf.org/get-involved/ways-to-donate/

Let's BREAK DIABETES!

Vacation

For me going on vacation and handling type 1 diabetes is difficult. My schedule is way off and exercise doesn't really happen. I would like for it to be different. This vacation my family and I have been on has been pretty packed with activities.

 

It is great to spend the time with my wife and kids. They are a blast. The silly thing is that I worry about my blood sugars the whole time. My diet is not what it normally is at home and this throws my control a major curve ball. At home, I am pretty boring with what I eat. I try to keep it pretty much the same everyday with each meal the same except dinner. This way I know if I ate something and it affected my blood sugar and insulin use a certain way, I can make the appropriate adjustments for the future. 

In the grand scheme of things, I could prepare better and have meals and activities scheduled to the second. I don't think that would be fair to my family and the vacation that is supposed to be about the family turns into a diabetes focus. It affects my family as it is. Balance is key. It seems the more aware I am and learn more things about my disease the worse it affects me and others around me. 

Next week, I will get back to a more normal routine with diet and training. I have a strongman completion called Oregon Feats of Strength Contest. I am looking forward to this. I will be trying to use this competition to help raise funds again for the JDRF. 

Why Everyone Needs a "Sean"

My friend Sean is what every type 1 diabetic needs around. With my different ups and downs health wise, he is always there no matter what. If I enter some competition, he will either enter it as well or go to cheer me on.

Sean has educated himself on diabetes and has helped to spread the word of what type 1 really is. He has pushed me to share my experiences. 

Besides my family, Sean has been a huge support for me. 

Update and Adjustments

One of the biggest struggles as an active type 1 diabetic has to be how to correctly fuel yourself. There are so many options out there. Too many to choose from really! This has been my hardest dilemma lately.

Control wise, doing hardly any activity and eating a ketogenic diet works extremely well. The problem for me is that I don't have enough energy to do a whole lot. My attitude stinks and I turn into to a grumpy old man. I knew I needed to change things, so I counted calories for a day. The scary thing is when I counted calories while being low carb, I was around 1,500 calories a day. I couldn't believe it. I needed to make a change. 

The current change I have made was one that I used during my last year of college football. I ate the same amount of macronutrients(carbs, protein, and fat) at each meal around the same time daily. My control wasn't perfect back then, but I felt great and could perform well on the field. Currently, my numbers have been pretty good and controlled.

I am training for strongman and I need energy. The last week has been great. I count my carbs and calories. I am satisfied. My energy and mood are better. I have about 8 weeks until the Oregon Feats of Strength Strongman Competition. I am excited and nervous. Having food taken care of makes it a whole bunch easier. 

I have a training log that can be found at  http://startingstrongman.com. The website is run by Kalle Beck who is trying to promote the sport of strongman. The site is filled with useful info for beginners and more experienced athletes. You can find Starting Strongman on Facebook and YouTube as well. I can't tell you how much I have learned about training. 

Parenting and Type 1

I have a 4 year old daughter and a 2 year old son. They mean everything to me. At times, my disease can be a burden to my kids and wife. Luckily, my wife is very supportive and is behind me no matter what.

My kids think nothing of me pricking my finger or changing an infusion set for my pump. It's funny because at times they fight over who can help me. My daughter even asked the other day if I was low and needed some food. 

One of my biggest fears as a parent is that my kids will end up with type 1 as well. I wouldn't know how to handle that. Looking back to when I was diagnosed, I am so thankful for how strong my parents were. 

Type 1 is a team effort. It just doesn't affect the type 1 diabetic. This disease affects everyone. We need to stand strong and fight for a cure. Too many kids and families are being torn down and beaten up by type 1. We must BREAK DIABETES! Perception is not reality. 

CGM

I can't believe I have waited so long to be on a continuous glucose monitor. The cost and fear is what made me hesitant. In the big picture, I am investing in my health which you can't put a price tag on.

I started with my Dexcom G4 on Tuesday. Putting it on was a breeze. It took maybe a minute to get it in. I used to have another continuous glucose monitor that was awful and not so accurate. I would have to lay down for 10 minutes with my old one. I only used the old one for maybe a month because of the pain and the hassle. 

I would recommend the Dexcom G4 to others without a doubt. I wish I could have had devices when I was a kid. Things would have been so much easier. Pumps were first starting to come out when I was in high school and they weren't proven. 

I am curious...

Why not use a pump or CGM?

Cost?

Education?

Going Pumpless/Dino Strength Camp

I had no choice yesterday to go without my insulin pump. The buttons just stopped working. I am not sure what the deal is. This weekend I was signed up for "The Dinosaur Strength Camp"  run by Scott Paltos(pumpcrossfit.com) held a gym in my town. With all the luck I had last weekend with my infusion set not working, this was not a huge suprise. 

The first thing I did was call Medtronic to get some support. They asked me a few questions and sent me a new pump that got to my house this morning. The call maybe lasted a total of 5 minutes at the most. I was nervous like I had mistreated the pump or they weren't going to help me. 

I quickly drove the ten minute trip home to get my Humalog(short acting) and took a shot of Levemir(long lasting). I was nervous. I haven't done everything manually in about 9 years. The pump has spoiled me quite a bit. It truly makes everything easy. 

I was pleasantly surprised that everything went well. My highest blood sugar was 189 since my pump stopped working. I did check more than I normally do (which is a ton!).

On to the camp...my numbers were great the entire time. We did some lifting working on technique and some strongman conditioning to finish up the camp. The content that was covered is everything I believe in for performance. You lift heavy and move quickly. It's that easy. There wasn't any sugar coating during the camp. Scott said what he said and didn't pull any punches. He coaches people for performance. 

Our bodies are built for performance. If I don't do anything and don't fuel it properly, it's not going to do what it's capable of doing. We must move.

I have always found the best results from lifting and moving quickly. I don't need to bolus as much and the body feels great during. The feeling of having strength is a wonderful feeling to me. 

Being without my pump and the camp were two successes. I was neverous about both. I learned quite a bit with both situations.