All Around the World

   Something that really interests me is Type One Diabetics and people with Celiac Disease who live in different parts of the world from me. Being from North America, having these diseases is definitely not a rare thing. As bad as it sounds, I know and have met more people with type one diabetes than I can count on my fingers and toes. And it seems like everyone I meet either has Celiac Disease (or another sort of gluten issue), or knows someone that has it.
   What I am very curious to know is if this is the same in different parts of the world as well! Is type one diabetes as common in, say, Russia as it is in the US or Canada? If not, then why? Are the prescriptions/ products the same in all countries? Are there different brands of insulin pumps in different countries? With Celiac Disease, I do know that it is more common in some parts of the world compared to others. For example, in Italy I believe that I read that Celiac Disease is so common that everybody who lives there gets tested for it (correct me if I'm wrong); also it is mandatory to have gluten-free food options in most public places. In some parts of the world such as Spain, they even have gluten-free options at McDonalds, for goodness sake! When will that happen in North America?? (Soon, I hope).
   Also, in remote parts of the world where people may not have access to proper healthcare and such, I wonder how they cope with these diseases, or any other illnesses for that matter. I am curious to know if these diseases are even as common, considering that these people would not be exposed to the same type of environment that may "trigger" either disease (or however that works). I very recently learned of a foundation that collects donations of diabetes supplies such as insulin, and delivers it to parts of the world who are in need of it. I am definitely going to read more about this!
   If you happened to have come across this post and have any cool and interesting information about Celiac Disease and Type One Diabetes from any part of the world, please do let me know! Leave a comment if you'd like; I just find it all so interesting.

Talking About Blood Sugars

The main reason that I feel uncomfortable with talking about my diabetes is because I always feel that I will be judged. As with most type one diabetics that I know, I tend to act differently when my blood sugar is either high or low. For example, if it seems like every little thing is annoying me, and I'm in a grumpy mood, this is usually a sign that my blood sugar is high. When I explain this to people, my goal is to make sure that they understand that I am not normally a grumpy person, it's just that my blood sugar is high, and I need to give insulin to correct it. In my mind, I feel like when I tell people this, they're thinking, Oh my gosh, she has no control over her diabetes, how irresponsible. And then I correct the high blood sugar but later on in the day it goes low. That's when I really feel the judging stares! In all actuality, I have no idea if these people are criticizing me, or if they are just worried for me! All I want is for everyone to understand that type one diabetics do have bad days once in a while; that's just what's to be expected. It doesn't necessarily mean that they have bad control over their diabetes. Either way, I don't feel that any non-type one diabetic has the right to negatively criticize someone with type one diabetes in a "blood sugar situation", simply because they don't fully understand what the person is going through. Because stress is a good thing for diabetics to avoid, the best thing to do if you think that someone may be acting a little judgemental in any diabetes situation is to simply ignore it. Just brush aside rude comments and such, and embrace the people who do seem to have sincere concern! That is what I'm going to work on doing. Whew. I hope that all made sense! :)

Ignorance and Diabetes

I never actually realized before, how many people make ignorant comments about type one diabetes! In the past year especially, I have noticed this a lot. For example, some people just love to comment on what I am eating: how much of it, how 'healthy' it is, etc. Listen: when I don't feel hungry, I am not going to stuff myself just for the sake of eating. I have gotten the comment before, "So, if you ate properly, would you still need to be taking insulin?".  Inside I was thinking, Excuse me??? Are you serious? And this comment came from someone who literally has seen me eat one time a day; a snack. It's just crazy how some people think they know so much about something they've seen so little of. I mean, of course I like it when people ask me questions about having diabetes, but not when they can also be taken as an ignorant insult. I know my body better than anyone, and after 11 years of T1D, I've gotten pretty accustomed to how what, when, and how much I eat affects my blood sugars. So for someone who comes and makes a comment about how I am personally handling my diabetes... it kind of makes me feel like they think I don't know what I'm doing. When in all actuality, it comes as second nature to me because diabetes is just a part of who I am. That is something I was able to accept a long time ago, especially being diagnosed at a young age. So at the end of the day, yes; there are people who will make comments that they should've thought twice about. I've learned that's it's best to take it with a grain of salt, because a lot of the time, the people who make those comments are the people who think they know everything about anything.

Fundraising for T1D!

How is it that you can feel so inspired, yet so... defeated at the same time? It's such a funny feeling. I'm really not a 'negative nelly', so maybe it's being out in the sun that got to me, or all the 'No thanks" that I've heard today. I am fundraising for the Walk to Cure Diabetes, like I have ever since I was diagnosed 11 years ago. This year, I wanted to make a big splash! I am door-to-door fundraising by selling chocolate bars! I am so determined this year to reach my fundraising goal! To all you type one diabetics out there, you know that we can eat chocolate!! We can eat it in moderation, when we need food for exercise, when we're low, etc. T1D's can pretty much eat any type of food, as long as they give the correct amount of insulin for it. I just wish that people wouldn't constantly mix this up with type 2 diabetes! For example, when I'm selling chocolates, many people have told me that it doesn't make sense to sell chocolates to raise money for diabetes. And then I have to explain to them that yes, it is okay for me to eat chocolate! I mean, I love that I get to educate people while fundraising, but do they really understand? And even if T1D's couldn't eat chocolate, I would most likely still sell it! If you can't eat it, sell it to people who can! :)

Intro

There are so many people all over the world who I share 2 things in common with: Celiac Disease, and Type One Diabetes. Hence, the name "TheCeliacabetic".