Living with Diabetes and Lapband

This post is my December entry in the DSMA Blog Carnival.  If you'd like to participate too, you can get all of the information at http://diabetessocmed.com/2012/december-dsma-blog-carnival-2/

Though there are a few people who probably think I had already come out of the closet as a diabetic.

I realized that I was not doing a good job controlling my diabetes. I used to do a good job. I used to rarely miss blood sugar checks and rarely missed boluses (oh, that reminds me, I'm drinking a mocha I haven't bloused for yet – just a sec)

So I decided to train my youngest beagle to be a diabetes alert dog. By the way – typical time at the gym after not doing a good job bolusing for lunch: dog is very agitated and won't relax for the first 10 minutes, then she settles – bet you money if I tested I'd be back in range.

But I used to try to hide my pump.

Now, I walk into the gym with the dog and she is agitated and I explain that yes, she is agitated because my blood sugar is up and she'll settle when it is better. I wear my pump outside my clothing and carry my meter where I can reach it easily. No more hiding.

My A1C has come down as a result. I'm not there yet, I still miss some boluses, I still miss some checks, but it's getting better.