Insulin Pumps What are they, how do they work, and what are the advantages? The number of pumpers in the diabetes world has been growing rapidly! Although this is partially due to the more recent advances in pump therapy, it can also be attributed to passionate pumpers (like myself) sharing their experiences. Deciding to switch from multiple daily injections (MDI) to pump therapy is a pivotal point in a diabetic’s life. For those of you who have already chosen this, I congrat

Alcohol and Diabetes. Is it off limits? When it comes to diabetes, alcohol consumption is a big topic of controversy. Is it okay? Is it not okay? And why or why not? First and foremost, I’d like to say that it is important to consult your clinician regarding any alcohol use. That being said, I am personally a firm believer in the “everything in moderation” philosophy when it comes to my diabetes. I don’t like being told that I “can’t” do things or am restricted by my diabetes

Halloween my fellow DM warriors! Halloween can be scary, especially for us diabetics… I’ll start out by saying, if you can resist all candy today, you are my hero and you deserve a metal. Diabetes is hard all the time, but especially during Halloween (well, and the rest of the holidays). This does not mean that we cannot be successful in our glucose control while still participating in this holiday! It is especially important for parents who have kids with DM to plan ahead so

What is the first step in controlling our blood sugar? Knowing our blood sugar! Most of us who take insulin test at least 4x a day (fasting, before meals, and before bed). If that is the case, each of those self-monitoring glucose (SMBG) readings are used to manage ~6hrs worth of glucose levels and treatment. But how many fluctuations are happening within those 6hrs that we don’t know about? And how is that affecting us long term (complications?)? Studies have shown that freq

Lets talk about Insulin! There are many types of insulin available for multiple daily injection (MDI) use. The most commonly used and most effective MDI therapies for T2DM are basal insulin + orals/GLP-1 (will explain in future posts) or basal insulin + rapid acting insulin. For T1DM we always must use both basal and rapid acting insulin to control glucose levels. Today, I will focus on basal insulins. A successful dose of basal insulin should allow you to skip meals without

I grew up on the small island of Kauai, Hawai’i. I loved it there and I still do, but it is not a good place to be sick. Or at least it wasn’t when I was first diagnosed. Things there are a little slower. We call it “island time”. When I was diagnosed (1998), there wasn’t even an endocrinologist available on the island. It was a struggle for my parents. I think they suffered more than I did to be honest (I’m sure all of you parents can understand that). I remember my mom and

Diabetes is classified as elevated blood glucose levels stemming from the body’s resistance to insulin action, insufficient insulin secretion, or both. The most common classifications of diabetes are type 1 and type 2. First, let's review type 1. Type 1 diabetes is described as the complete absence of insulin secretion. But, what does that mean? Type 1 diabetes can be idiopathic (unknown cause), however usually it is autoimmune. This is due to the immune destruction of beta c