Today is December 1st, which means we’ve just left the month of November – Diabetes Awareness Month.
This post is a reflection on this year’s Diabetes Awareness Month, and the role that I – as a person with T1D, and as a person working in T1D – played in it.
Diabetes Awareness Month: the preamble
Two days before our diabetes month began, I shared a short story to a large group of T1D researchers and influencers on a day in the life of T1D – my T1D.
I am a member of the Breakthrough T1D Lived Experience Advisory Group. And this presentation was part of the Breakthrough T1D Centre of Excellence annual meeting.
For my part, I talked about how diabetes tech is amazing, super amazing … until it isn’t.
This was the story of the day both my insulin pumps spontaneously combusted (okay, maybe it wasn’t quite that extreme, but in the moment, it felt that extreme.)
For the full story of my pump’s breaking – check out this blog post from October.
Breaking myths within T1D and pregnancy
On Nov. 10th, I held two pregnancy and T1D specific workshops. These workshops were focused on tearing down the myths and misconceptions of pregnancy in T1D. They were also heavily focused on building up a community of T1Ds looking to start their new T1D journey.
Pregnancy has long been a challenging topic for us T1D women.
Growing up with type-1 diabetes, I was told that if I didn’t get pregnant by the time I turned 26, I shouldn’t get pregnant at all. The risks were too great. That is such a random number, yet many of us, who were diagnosed in the ’80s and ’90s, were given similar directives.
Spoiler alert: it’s not entirely true.
Yes, we have increased risks in pregnancy just by the fact that we have type-1 diabetes. But those risks are not guaranteed. And the more knowledge we have going into our pregnancy, the more likely we’ll be in experiencing a comfortable, successful pregnancy.
To learn more about my pregnancy with T1D, head over to my old blog site – I have a drop down menu showcasing my 37 weeks of pregnancy.
World Diabetes Day: Katie’s contribution
I was also a speaker at the inaugural Fraser Health Evidence to Practice Conference on Nov. 14 – coincidence or fate that my T1D topic fell on World Diabetes Day 🙂
My topic was on T1D and disordered eating.
I presented to a room of 80 registered dietitians, with an additional 50 watching online. In my presentation, I shared a story of my own journey through this troubling condition that is very prevalent in our population.
I shared the stats – more than 30% of people with type-1 struggle with disordered eating and eating disorders. Our community is 2.5 times more likely to develop eating disorders than people without type-1.
I informed my colleagues that we – healthcare professionals – are part of the problem.
And I challenged them to change their practice – to change the way that they speak to us and the way that they speak about us.
T1D personal growth
Beyond the advocacy, I also, personally, gave Tandem t:slim with control IQ a go.
This is my first experience with an automated insulin delivery system. I didn’t hate it! For years, I’ve been opposed to changing things up. I manage my diabetes pretty well, and I didn’t trust that a machine could manage it better. I’m still working out a few kinks, I do have a couple of issues (see above: diabetes tech is not perfect), but I have discovered a few loves, including:
- Sleeping through the night without waking up for lows, or even wondering what my blood sugars are doing. After four or five consecutive nights of stability, I let that habit go!
- Going on bike rides without having to stop to treat lows every other pedal. I’ve nailed a strategy that allows me at least 45 minutes before I need to fuel up. That is way more appropriate than every other pedal!
- No longer having disgustingly loud alarms announcing it’s time to change my infusion. Thanks for that Tandem; very much appreciated!
I will be writing a longer post on my Tandem t:slim X2 with Control IQ experience – stay tuned!
Diabetes Awareness Month summary
Overall, I’d say it’s been a pretty successful and eventful Diabetes Awareness Month 🙂
Thanks to all my non-diabetes peeps for taking a moment to learn a little bit more about our lives, our condition, our struggles, our successes.
Until next time, this is Katie – T1D strong.