Halloween Bummer: Fear or Scare!

It’s that day again! I remember as a child how excited I was. And why shouldn’t I have been?  The day brings such excitement to kids across the United States and such fear to some of their parents. All parents have a legitimate right to be worried, with obesity on the rise and diabetes reaching…… Continue reading Halloween Bummer: Fear or Scare!

“I can’t fall asleep,” Not yet…

As I lay awake staring at the ceiling, I wonder, ‘why me?’ I have stared at that ceiling over a thousand times. Over the past 36 years. “I can’t fall asleep,” I tell myself. Not yet! Not YET!!!!! I scream in frustration. My eyes are tired but not yet. I check my blood sugar, and…… Continue reading “I can’t fall asleep,” Not yet…

Finding Acceptance!

Hmmm! What is Acceptance? Do I accept that I have diabetes or am I living in denial? It’s a hard question to answer. If you were in denial by its definition, you wouldn’t know if you were. You only find out when you are out of it. Crazy right. Denial is the reverse of acceptance.…… Continue reading Finding Acceptance!

Change, Deceit & Diabetes

36 years ago in the hospital, I had just turned six years old and was diagnosed that same day with Juvenile diabetes. The doctor was nice! After being diagnosed, I learned that I could die. I put up a good front in those days. It looked like I accepted the diagnosis and dealt with the…… Continue reading Change, Deceit & Diabetes

Balancing the chemical equation: Diabetes & Mental Wellness!

For patients with both diabetes and a psychiatric disorder, resolving your mental health issues is vital to managing your diabetes care. For some people medication is necessary; for others, holistic practices like meditation and yoga help. Sometimes it’s a combination of the two. Just about everyone can benefit from weekly or biweekly therapy sessions. But…… Continue reading Balancing the chemical equation: Diabetes & Mental Wellness!

Diabetes: Don't tell me what to do!

A few years back, a parent came to me in crisis. The parent’s fifteen-year-old daughter, Kristen, was struggling to care for herself, and didn’t seem to care. Kirsten was failing school, on the verge of being held back, not checking her blood sugar or taking her insulin consistently, and contemplating suicide. Kristen had Oppositional Defiant…… Continue reading Diabetes: Don't tell me what to do!

The Impact of Alcohol & Drugs on Diabetes!

Your life isn’t turning out exactly how you imagined it would. First, there was the depression, lethargy, and lack of willpower that made each day a fog. Then, your closest friends and loved ones began to drift away—or was it you that shut them out? It’s hard to remember. Then, the final blow: your diabetes…… Continue reading The Impact of Alcohol & Drugs on Diabetes!

How Denial and Diabetes Impacted My Life

Now, I am going to discuss how denial changed or didn’t change me, as well as the impact denial, had on my life. Where in my previous blog, “Diabetes: Losing Your Way of Living Life,” I talked about denial and the impact it had on my diagnosis day. The diagnosis was a death sentence back…… Continue reading How Denial and Diabetes Impacted My Life

Diabetes: Losing Your Way of Living Life

In my previous blog, There’s No Such Thing as Bad Blood Sugars; I addressed thought management around high and low blood sugar episodes. But what if you don’t have diabetes? When I was growing up, life was grand. I remember playing with my father in the backyard on the swing set he built. It was…… Continue reading Diabetes: Losing Your Way of Living Life

There’s No Such Thing as “Bad” Blood Sugar

In my previous blog, Managing Blood Sugar and a Relationship: 5 Rules to Live By, I addressed how to cope in a relationship when you have high and low blood sugar episodes. In that entry, I brought up a few questions that need answering. First off, what is emotional self-care? Secondly, when your blood sugar…… Continue reading There’s No Such Thing as “Bad” Blood Sugar