I have been using an insulin pump for just over 5 years and I'm still finding new benefits in pump therapy. I should explain that I know I am very much a slooooowwww adapter of all things new - I go at my own pace. Earlier this year, I started using the EzCarb and the EzBG features on my pump a bit more. Previously, I really only used them for correction insulin doses. I use an Animas Vibe pump and I'm told that on the Medtronic pump this feature is called the Wizard. Since I

<p class="">Our guest speaker at our November diabetes get-together in Co. Clare is a podiatrist from the local health centre (Thank you, Doireann). And I know that most people with diabetes know the basics of taking care of your feet, especially if you have been around diabetes for a couple of decades.</p>

I spend a lot of my time "hanging" and communicating with other people with diabetes. I realise that I'm very lucky to have that when I have come across so many people who have never met anyone else with diabetes. So, when I find myself in a situation where I have to explain type 1 diabetes to someone who is not a member of that community, I actually find it extremely difficult. Even when I know it's coming! Two such encounters have prompted me to try harder in this and I sat

Our HbA1c is just one piece of information in the picture of our diabetes management. It is really important to our healthcare providers because that's how they measure how well THEY are doing in keeping people with diabetes healthy. It's a global measurement and so they can use it to compare their service to services in other countries. For us, the individual with diabetes, it really doesn't have that much value. You might feel differently but for me, it's just another numb

Let me count the ways that diabetes interrupt my life. Wednesday evening I attended a business women's network event. I know I eventually have to leave my career of stay at home mother because, well, they grow up, don't they! So I'm trying to get my head around the fact that I NEED to go back to work in the next year or two!!! Anyway, half way through this event we had a much valued break where we could, you know, network. We had moved around the room and I had left my bag at

This year, for World Diabetes Day , I am piggy backing on someone else's idea and taking part in the Big Blue Test . Why? Because it's simple, it's easy, it doesn't cost me anything to participate, and it's giving to those who don't have access to insulin. Hell, it's just a good idea and I'm hoping that some of you will think so too and join me? What is the Big Blue Test BBT? The Big Blue Test is a diabetes awareness initiative that was started 7 years ago by an American non

What happened after I attended the Diabetes Hands Foundation's MasterLab advocacy conference ? And thank you to Christelle Aprigliano from MyPerfectD , who inspired me to write this post in gratitude for being chosen as a scholarship winner to attend MasterLab last July. The timing of which is significant because we just had our very first Thriveabetes conference in Ireland. Before I go into what happened after MasterLab, let me first explain where I was before I attended. I

I came across this group at a diabetes conference and not only do they have an interesting story but they also offer people with diabetes an interesting opportunity to volunteer abroad with people with diabetes. I've checked with the organisation and they have said that you do not need to be living in the US to volunteer and in the past people from Ireland have volunteered with them. :-) They are called AYUDA; American Youth Understanding Diabetes Abroad. The organisation was

I've just written a letter to the Editor of the Irish Times in response to the public reaction to the article linked below. I can't stop thinking about this woman and here's why; "Sir, I read "Diabetic girl must be given insulin despite mother’s stance" (2nd October)  late last night and I thought about this woman going to bed. I awakened early and she was the first thought that entered my head. Isn't it conceivable that this woman is so desperate, so exhausted and so deplete

Not really! But you can find me over here  at Thrive-abetes.

The exhibit hall was huge at the Friends for Life (FFL) 2015 conference. I wrote a little about the whole FFL experience a couple of weeks ago which you can read about here . While wandering, meeting people and talking to the company representives, I came across a couple of products I had not seen before. In the interest of sharing with people in Ireland I thought I would document them. One of the last items I came across but one I have actually used since I got it is; A Pu

What would happen to me if I had to face one of my biggest fears? I'm absolutely petrified of diabetes complications. I used to think that if I lost my sight and could not see my children anymore that it would be the last straw for me. I would imagine finding it very difficult to find a way to "power through". But meeting Kimberly Hislop taught me that I would probably face it like I do my diabetes-head on. I met Kimberly at the MasterLab Diabetes Advocacy conference in Jul

I was very fortunate to attend the MasterLab for Diabetes Advocates Conference 2015 on a scholarship from the Diabetes Hands Foundation . I was also fortunate to have someone nice to share a room with, who was also a scholarship winner. I had advance warning of who my room mate was going to be - enough warning to googled her. I love Google but this was one of the few instances where google let me down.  All I found on Erin Spinetto, was that in 2014, she led the Sea Peptide

Last November, I had the privilege of presenting Managing Your Family and Your Diabetes for Diabetes Ireland's National Diabetes Conference. If the event that I am about to describe had happened before I gave that talk, I think it would have been a very different talk. My daughter and myself had a clash of needs that prompted me to wonder how our relationship would take the combination of my diabetes and her teen years. My daughter is 11 and is my eldest and therefore "break

In July, I was in a hotel resort. In Diabetes World, surrounded by thousands of people with diabetes, and at the Friends for Life 2015 Diabetes Conference. I felt like I was in a dream! Those of you who have been following my blog for more than a year will know that I attended FFL UK last August and wrote about it for weeks. If you haven't seen those posts, here is the first one . Well, FFL US has given me enough material to write for months maybe even a year! What is Friends

Living with type 1 diabetes is annoying enough but when you add jet lag on top of it - I just want to curl up in a ball somewhere and sleep. And that won't help in the least! Myself and my family travelled to Northern Minnesota in America to holiday with family. I always find the jet lag travelling west easier to manage. We had travelled 22 hours to get to our destination. We arrived very late at night and so fell into bed. I, usually, fall asleep immediately because of absol

I know this is a first world problem but I wanted to mention it. My mother in law is THE best mother in law in the whole world, she buys me flowers for mother's day every year! And I love that she does that. She visited us in Ireland last April from Vietnam (in a nutshell, she is splitting the next two years between Vietnam and America, waiting patiently for my father in law to retire). And as you do when visiting from an exotic country, you bring presents. She brought a coll

​having a spare blood glucose meter. Blood glucose meters are machines. Machines sometimes fail. What is your back up plan if your meter fails? Do you have a back up plan? My two decades with diabetes has taught me not to rely completely on one gadget. I have a meter that I like to use most of the time, I have a meter that fits in my pocket when I'm just running out for school pick ups, I have a meter that I keep in the bedroom and I have a spare. Probably not the best idea t

I'm hoping that, by now, a lot of you have heard about Thrive-abetes? Thrive-abetes is a conference that I am, up to my neck, involved with. And it's very exciting! I can't wait to be in a room with 100 other adults with type 1 diabetes!!! What is Thrive-abetes? Thrive-abetes ; The Thrive with Type 1 Diabetes Conference and Exhibition is a one day conference for parents of children with diabetes and for adults living with type 1 diabetes. It takes place in Maynooth, Co. Kil

My first week with my CGM was very much in awe of it - my second week was about using the information to reign in my diabetes management. People get anywhere between seven to fourteen days out of a continuous glucose sensor. I was lucky enough to get reach over 14 days. In my second week, I started to look at the data in detail and find trends. I downloaded the data from my insulin pump to the Animas software programme, Diasend. With this software I can create reports that