JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes

When I was younger, one of my proudest accomplishments was raising over $3000 for juvenile diabetes research.
The event was something that my parents had heard about through a friend of theirs interested in raising funds aswell. Me and my brothers were given an envelope and told to get as many sponsors as possible. Now, if you know me and my twin brothers, you would know that we are all very competitive, especially with each other. This assignment quickly turned into a competition, with me and my brothers racing around several neighbourhoods, knocking on doors and collecting money in every spare time we had. My brother Jeff ended up winning, which was to be expected. He was always the most socially expert of the three of us. Me and Brad were a bit more cautious with strangers.
The day of the walk, handing in that money... it was one of the best feelings in the world. Knowing that because of our efforts, they were closer to finding a cure for my disease was absolutley thrilling.
Seven years later, my family continues to participate in the walk annually. If you are looking for an event to fundraise, look into the Telus JDRF Walk To Cure Diabetes.
Here is the oficial website for the walk.

Anorexia, Bulimia, Binge Eating... And Now, Diabulimia?

Yes, you read that term correctly. Diabulimia is the latest fad amoung young juvenile diabetics, and involves the restricting of or complete neglection to admitister their required insulin doses in an effort to lose weight.
Lack of insulin in the body leads to hyperglycemia, or high blood sugar. The body is essentially in a state of starvation, and begins to breakdown muscles and fat and convert them into ketones, which leads to subsequent weight loss.
This process puts diabetics at a very high risk of developing a life-threatening condition known as diabetic ketoacidosis, and also could result in permanent complications such as circulation issues and diabetic neuropathy.
Diabetics, female youth in particular, do not realize that they are putting not only their health but their lives on the line to lose weight.
For more information, click here.

Weight Loss, In the Most Unhealthy Way

I have recently begun to see the effects that University living has had on my health.
For the past few weeks, I have been eating enough food each day to feed about five full-grown adults, and the last time I weighed myself I had lost seven pounds.
This is coming from a five-foot-two person who has remained the same weight for over three years now.
Now, I could be wrong, but I think it has something to do with my diabetes. I haven't been taking the best care of my health while I am away at school, and I think this is one of the repercussions of it. Before school started, I was a fairly straight-edged kid. I partied, but not on a regular basis. I didn't go out every night. I had the time and the motivation to take proper care of myself.
Here, I am out with friends partying and attending various school events on a regular basis, I end up going out at least every other night, and have little to no time for myself and my diabetes.
I got into this mind-set of "I have better things to do than test my blood sugar and eat proper meals," and this has finally caught up with me and my health.
The post above is about diabulimia, which is when diabetics do not give themselves the proper amount of insulin in order to lose weight. While I do not intentionally neglect to give myself insulin, I have become increasingly more and more notorious for forgetting to give myself insulin after I eat. And I have been eating alot.
Which evidentally leads to higher blood sugar levels for increasing periods of time, and subsequent weight loss. I have really got to start taking better care of my health. Not only is my massive food intake and weight loss detrimental to my health, but it also uses up a lot of money that I don't have to spare in added groceries.
So this week I am making a resolution to practice better diabetes management. I am going to test my blood sugar on a regular basis, administer insulin after I eat, and limit my nights of fun to once a week, if that. I hope I hold true to my word.

Attention All Medtronic Insulin Pump Users!

I have recently come across a really cool insulin pump accessory- Insulin Pump Skins.
These 'skins' for the Medtronic insulin pumps act as stickers to encase your pump, so that instead of your pump looking as if it belings in a science fiction movie, it can be colourful and unique to you. There are thousands of these sticker-skins available, ranging from sports teams, world flags, music, holiday, and zodiac themes, among many others.
There is also an application that allows you to create your own personalized skin, where you can include pictures, text, clip-art, and more.
These skins typically cost about $20 and can be ordered through the Medtronic website. Click here for the link.

This is just one of the skins offered through the site, and features crayons.

They Really Need to Make Something Like This For Wii

I have just discovered something truly spectacular. A diabetes video game. Launched in 1995 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Packy and Marlon are two diabetic elephants who have to remember to take their diabetic medications and eat healthily, and was designed to help children and teens improve their diabetes management.
For more information about this video game, click here.