June 26th, 2010 by KerriSparling in Better Health Network, Book Reviews, Health Tips, Opinion, True Stories
No Comments »
For anyone who has been reading my blog since my engagement three years ago, you know that motherhood has been on my radar for a long time. Longer than marriage. That quest for a decent A1C, that desire for a “normal” pregnancy, and that hope for a happy and healthy baby.
Part of the reason I wanted to write about my pregnancy here on SUM is because there wasn’t a lot of information out there about pre-existing diabetes and pregnancy. There was a LOT of information on gestational diabetes (obviously), and type 2 diabetes got some good press, but type 1 diabetes was sort of swept under the rug. Thankfully, there were a few diabetes bloggers who had chronicled their journeys, and I wanted to add my voice to that hopeful chorus.
But also thankfully, Cheryl Alkon had taken the topic to her publisher, and she penned the first book on managing pre-existing diabetes and pregnancy. And I’m very honored to have been both featured in her book (as a woman preparing for pregnancy) and to have her contributing here on Six Until Me (SUM). Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
September 15th, 2009 by KerriSparling in Better Health Network, Health Tips, True Stories
No Comments »
Taking a cue from Rachel and Cherise, I wanted to post my diabetes “bad habits.” (Unfortunately, it didn’t take long to come up with six.) But thankfully, after months and months of extreme tweaking, my bad habits aren’t nearly as bad as they used to be.
1. Bolus-Stacking. (See also: rage bolusing) I have a very, very bad habit of stacking boluses when my blood sugar is high. You know … test and see that 212 mg/dl, take two units to correct it back to 100 … test again 45 minutes later to see 245 mg/dl staring back at you … freak out and take another unit for good measure … test one more time an hour later to see no real change … lace in two more units because you’re angry and frustrated and sick of the high … only to crash five hours later with a 45 mg/dl with your face mushed into a can of Pillsbury frosting. Not that I’ve done that. But if I were to do that, it might play out just like that.
2. Carb Winging It. Until recently, I’ve been an estimator. A SWAGger (scientific wild-ass guesser). Someone who kind of wings the whole carb-counting thing and hopes that there were only about 15 grapes in that snack bag or that the apple was really “small” instead of “medium.” With the little weeny doses of insulin I take, counting carbs with precision is crucial to making sure my numbers stay stable, so when I’m guessing as to the carb count, the blood sugar results go all over the place.
3. Shooting with a Mouthful. This is a bad habit pointing out by my endocrinologist a few months ago, and one that was wicked hard to break. And I have no idea how I ended up in this terrible habit to begin with, but it’s not good. I had a terrible tendency to start eating, then decide to bolus. Even if the carbs were counted perfectly and the insulin dose went in without issue, I wasn’t giving the insulin any time to act before introducing the carbs. Thus, making my numbers go berserk after meals. No more shooting while I’m eating. Now I need to shoot up before eating. Makes a big difference.
4. Self-Consious During Workouts. Another bad habit. When I go to the gym, I used to leave my insulin pump at home and then reconnect when I returned. It worked out to keep me from going low during workouts, yes, but it was also because I didn’t like having the device attached to me while I was wearing form-fitting workout clothes. Stupid Kerri. Sure, I was avoiding the lows, but I was also ending up close to 180 mg/dl by the end of my workout. With pre-pregnancy goals of 150 or lower, this is unacceptable. So I have to suck it up and wear the pump while I exercise and even sometimes go easier during a workout to avoid lows, instead of sacrificing blood sugar control for an extra mile on the treadmill.
5. Log Lagging. I have a good habit of starting logbooks, but a terrible time keeping up with them. This has been a hard habit to break (habit to break), but I’m close to turning it around. Logbooks are my diets – I am excellent at the outset, but then I fall apart. Thankfully, I’ve got a team at Joslin and a husband at home who are helping keep me accountable, and it’s making a world of difference.
6. Blame Game. And a sixth (but certainly not the last) bad diabetes habit that I have is my role in the blame game. I put a lot of pressure on myself to get things “right” and when the diabetes outcome isn’t what I’m hoping for, I tend to blame myself. I have to constantly remind myself that strong efforts and a decent attitude go a long way in this marathon, and I can’t beat myself up for every low or high that crops up randomly. Diabetes isn’t fair, and it isn’t easy, and it sure as hell isn’t my fault, so I just need to roll with the punches as gracefully as I can.
What are your diabetes bad habits? Or maybe it’s better to ask – what are your good diabetes habits? I’m going to have to concoct another “good” list soon – they’re way more fun. 🙂
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
January 9th, 2009 by Dr. Val Jones in Medblogger Shout Outs, Medical Art
No Comments »
My friend and fellow blogger Kerri Morrone Sparling has created a photo montage (one photo taken each day for 365 consecutive days) of her life with diabetes. It is a fascinating pictorial experience that somehow captures the reality of the disease – and living life to the fullest despite daily blood sugar monitoring.
Please take the time to experience it here.
November 14th, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Patient Interviews
3 Comments »
 |
|
Kerri Morrone-Sparling
|
Kerri Morrone-Sparling is a whirlwind of energy. Not only is she the founder of one of the first diabetes blogs on the Internet: SixUntilMe, but she has devoted her career to helping others with diabetes. She works full time at dLife.com, a delightful and practical diabetes website and community. Kerri recently offered me some Halloween survival tips for people with diabetes, and today I had the chance to interview her about her life, her work, and the meaning of World Diabetes Day.
**Listen to the Podcast**
I’ve summarized some of our talking points below for those who don’t wish to listen to the dulcet tones of two very friendly ladies dishing about diabetes.
Dr. Val: Tell me a little bit about your blog.
Kerri: My blog is called SixUntilMe and I started it in May of 2005. I was looking for other people like me who were living with diabetes and since I couldn’t find a community like that I decided to start one myself. As it turns out I wasn’t the only one – there were 2 or 3 other diabetes bloggers out there at the time, and now there are more than 250 of us.
Dr. Val: What does “six until me” mean?
Kerri: My diabetes started when I was six years old – I had a viral illness on my birthday which probably triggered an autoimmune response, causing the disease. My blog is about my diabetes – which started when I was six and is ongoing until now. So I called it “sixuntilme.”
Dr. Val: How are you involved in diabetes advocacy?
Kerri: I work for a diabetes media company, (dLife in Westport, Connecticut) so my entire day is built around reaching out to people with diabetes, trying to make a difference in their life, and connecting them with up-to-date health information. Since I grew up without knowing any other kids who had diabetes, this job is like the holy land. I mean, this whole company was built to help people like me.
Dr. Val: What are some of the worst diabetes myths and what do you have to say about them?
Kerri: First of all, most people don’t know the difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and to make matters worse, they believe that people “give themselves diabetes” by eating too much sugar. So they make it seem like it’s all our fault. Secondly, people often believe that insulin is the cure for diabetes. They don’t realize that a glucose meter, an insulin pump, or a continuous glucose monitor are just technology, not a cure. Sometimes people think there’s no need to donate to diabetes research anymore because these technologies are available. And finally, Halle Berry has promoted a myth that has done a lot of harm to the diabetes community. She claimed that she was able to wean herself off her insulin, and that other type 1 diabetics could do the same if they tried hard enough. Of course, that’s blatantly false.
Dr. Val: What’s your favorite new technology for diabetes management?
Kerri: My continuous glucose monitor (CGM). It doesn’t replace finger stick checks, but it helps you to see the trends in your blood sugar. For example, when you’re about to go to bed and you see that your glucose is 90, the CGM will give you some idea if that’s 90 on its way up, or 90 falling towards hypoglycemia, or 90 holding steady – you can go to bed and not worry about a thing. It’s like swinging on a trapeze only now I have a net.
Dr. Val: How does the machine work?
Kerri: It’s a small device that has a needle in it, and you stick it to a fleshier part of your body. There’s a small wire (introduced through the needle) that continuously samples the sugar level in your interstitial fluid. It’s easy to remove and should be rotated every 3-7 days.
Dr. Val: Is it painful?
Kerri: No, I don’t think so. I use the Dexcom Seven CGM. Occasionally I feel a little prick when I insert it but then I don’t even notice that I’m wearing it. Here’s a photo of me wearing it:
Dr. Val: Tell me about World Diabetes Day.
Kerri: It’s a global awareness campaign that was started in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation. The United Nations recognized the event for the first time in 2007. It’s a day that directs the world’s attention to diabetes and the epidemic its become and the effort it takes to manage it. On World Diabetes Day bloggers want to spread the word that diabetes is not an invisible disease. It affects lives every day, and it deserves the world’s attention.
Dr. Val: What’s the most important thing for Americans to know about diabetes?
Kerri: They need to know that diabetes is not cured by insulin, and it’s not going away without their help. It’s a very difficult disease to manage. No matter how well you control your sugar levels, the effects of the disease take their toll eventually, and the effects can be devastating. We must not ease up on our research efforts, especially when the numbers of people living with diabetes are growing exponentially.
References
www.diabeticfeed.com
http://the-bad-blog.blogspot.com/
http://www.diabetesdaily.com/johnson/
Kerri writes a column at dLife called Generation D (www.dlife.com/generation_d) and maintains a pretty extensive Flickr account at http://www.flickr.com/photos/sixuntilme/. And lastly, if you’d like to follow Kerri on Twitter, you can find her at www.twitter.com/sixuntilme.
