Has diabetes ever stopped you from something you wanted to do...?

Has diabetes ever stopped you from something you wanted to do...?

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Looking back, was there ever a time that you chose to not do something because of how you might have to cope with the D.?
I think that I have pretty much done just about anything I set my mind to during my life and just took the disease in stride.
There are only a few times that I can remember Diabetes getting in the way.
It wasn't that I was worried, but society and employers were......probably rightly so.

1. When I worked at Disney in the late 70's...diabetics were not allowed to operate the rides.
I did want to drive the Jungle Cruise boat ....dangit.

2. When I was younger, I thought I wanted to fly and would have liked to have gotten my pilots license.....but alas, not back then. I understand that now a days, you can fly fixed wing aircraft if you meet certain criteria as a D.

3. I probably would have been in the Coast Guard or the Air Force, but was not accepted for medical reasons (diabetes). I always thought that I would have enjoyed being a military guy. I have a lot of respect for those who serve.

How bout you? Did you ever not do something, or did others stop you from doing something based on your Diabetes?

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Keep Going.........Peace, Bob

Solid Times.......

The past week has been a pretty good one for my numbers. I have been pretty solid even though I haven't been particularly good at exercising or the like. I am always amazed how you do something the same for a long time and get what you expect as a normal result, and 3 days later, you dont seem to do anything right. Nothing seems to have changed, except the outcome...
This is a Houdini disease.....things disappear and then reappear overnight...
The good news is, I'm in the middle of a good run on bloodsugar numbers....

Keep going.............................Peace, Bob

Dehydrated........?

Dehydrated....?

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This last weekend, I attended my 2 boys Soccer tournament here in North Florida. 98 degrees and about 98 per cent humidity.
The games were at 2 different complexes....Here's a recap
Game 1 ...set up chair ...grab umbrella..spend 1 hour cheering on my 9 year old..
Game over ...load up ...go drive 25 minutes to other complex.
Game 2 set up chair, grab umbrella ....spend 1 hour cheering on my 16 year old..
Game 3 drive back to first complex and repeat
Game 4 drive back to 2nd complex and repeat

Rinse and repeat.......for 2 days...a total of 8 games.

On labor day, we went to shoot skeet in the hot sun for about 4 hours....

Monday night, I had an incredible headache. I don't normally get headaches and i was trying to figure out what was going on. I remembered that a buddy of mine recently was having horrible headaches and went to the doctor. The doc said he was dehydrated and made him drink a lot of water over the next few days. He recovered and felt much better and his headaches have not returned.
Hmmmm..I really didn't drink almost anything over those 3 days. I'm not sure why, but I didn't really think about it. So, Monday night I drank about 6 glasses of water and after a while started feeling better. Tuesday I continued to drink a lot and ultimately felt much better. I wasnt have blood pressure problems or anything else, so I truly believe I was dehydrated. I know it sounds crazy, but I never really thought about it before.
I am doing much better and have now realized that I truly have to prepare better for the hot outdoors than maybe I have in the past.....

well, the good news is that both my boys swept the tournament and had a great time
Like momma says,......drink lots of water..

You tube videos.....by 1diabetic

Not sure if I put these up but you can see all of my diabetes humor videos at
www.youtube.com/1diabetic

Back to bloggin......:)

I have re immersed myself lately in the blogging world. I hope to stay consistent. You can always find my stuff at Diabetes Daily or at www.joyofdiabetes.ning.com
I am pretty involved at Twitter under joy of diabetes and at Liveoutloudwd.
It is amazing what kind of time it takes to stay involved in all the sites....I gotta admit that I have met a lot of really cool and helpful people though.
Bob

What's that on your waist sir...? Please step over here sir!!!!! Flying while Diabetic!

Ahhhhh, the joys of flying while D.....

Sir you're gonna need to remove your pager.....Ummmm it's an insulin pump. Oh....Ok, take it off please..Ummm, Id really rather not if I don't have to...as I unclip it and show it to him. .Ok, I guess. You need to put everything else including your pager in the xray machine. Ummmm...its a glucose meter....A what? A glucose meter, I'd rather not run it through the xray machine....(I understand you probably can, but as I am gonna be on airplanes for the next 5 hours, I'm not really willing to chance anything....including it happening to alarm while being off my body. I probably would be hog tied and tasered ...lol)
Ok , Sir, Please put it in the basket and come with me..... says the security lady after I walk through the xray machine.)
I am directed to a little holding area off from everyone else right by the xray machine, and told not to touch anything and to keep my hands out of my pockets. A little holding area "fenced in " by ropes....as I stand there with my shoes off and feeling like a square peg in a round hole.

The following is Loudly announced by the female security officer who is not allowing other folks to proceed..... to the other 5 security folks and the 50 people now starting to back up in line....
WHITE MALE...NO ALARM.... No response...
WHITE MALE...NO ALARM.!!!!!....as she holds up my cgms in the basket
WHITE MALE....NO ALARM.!!!!!!...again, no response
For the fourth time....WHITE MALE !!!!!.....NO ALARM.....
Ok, now I'm starting to feel like a suspected terrorist...
WHITE MALE....NO ALARM.....!!!!!!!
At this point I'm starting to think,,,,jeeessshhh , it isn't bad enough that I have to deal with this in my own way 24 hours a day and struggle to stay motivated, regulated, and healthy, ...Now I am being treated like a domestic terrorist....

At that point, a man comes over and and says he wants to wand me.... Sir, I need you to hold your hands out and spread your legs....Ok, fine...go ahead.... I say in my sock feet and assume the crucifixion position...Ok great.....Sir, I'm gonna need to pat you down.....Ok, as he feels anything that could be in any spot on my body. ....now I'm starting to feel like I am being singled out because of my diabetes needs and am starting to take offense.
Sir keep your arms up, don't touch anything, and keep your hands out of your pockets.
Ok, great! he says after he pats me down.
Step over here please sir, and don't touch any of your stuff and keep your hands out of your pockets....Dont touch anything sir....
I now move to the "other" holding cell of ropes...as I slough over in my sock feet.
Sir, I'm gonna have to wipe down your insulin pump and your glucose meter and place it in this chemical reader over here to check for traces of potential chemicals...Please keep your hands out and stand in place...Please don't move and keep your hands out of your pockets....
At this point, I truly was having emotional feelings.....I understand that they have a job to do, but I was really feeling denigrated. I remembered at that point that I had been shooting targets at the gun range the day before, I was hoping I wouldn't have a problem with gunpowder on my cgms or pump.
I imagine I would have been gang tackled if the chemical reader had had a problem...lol

The man wipes down my cgms with a cloth on a set of tongs and then wipes down my insulin pump....He wipes the whole outside of each, front, back, and sides. He puts it in the chemical reader, and we wait.....hmmm hmmm hmmmm
hmmmm hmmm de hmmmm
woo doot doo hmmm de hmmm hmmm

After what seems like a minute.....beeep Ok, sir, you're fine....thanks for your cooperation....Have a nice flight....

No problem I say as I put my shoes on and collect my stuff which has been seperated by itself in it's own area. .................I gather my belongings and try to put everything back as it was......but as I walk away, I really wasn't ok...
I was very offended and upset .....and I'm not the type to feel that way.
Hey thanks for degrading me in public before I get on the plane,.....No problem,,,,just one more thing I will have to accept that goes along with being D.

I sit where I can, put on my shoes....reorganize, regroup, and recover mentally.
I'm not sure why it hit me so hard, I've been through this before...maybe it was just that I was "In a fish bowl" in the middle of the crowd and being singled out.....for something that I don't have a lot of options to control....
The whole process was probably less than 5 or 6 minutes, but it seemed like forever.
Oh well,,,alls well that ends well. After a day of flying, I got to come home to my kids and wife and give them all a hug. I realize that I am very in love with my family...especially when I am separated from them on my business trips.
Life goes on......However, I am guessing I will probably cringe next time I hear.....

Step over here please sir!!!.....

Living Out Loud with Diabetes ....Forum

Wow....a lot of work. I have been twittering and have created a site at www.joyofdiabetes.ning.com as a diabetes forum. It is a lot of work, and I am glad to see that it is starting to move more on its own now. I noticed folks are starting to make their own connections and I am tickled to see lots of folks have joined. If you have an interest, come check us out. And lets have a little fun ....Living with D'......
Peace, Bob

Living Out Loud with Diabetes ....Forum

I have moved this blog and created "Living Out Loud with Diabetes" as a diabetes forum that is much more easy to use and allows for active membership posting and participation at no charge. Come visit us at www.joyofdiabetes.ning.com There is some good stuff there....Thanks Bob

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lwLAV5Zykg The most recent video....It's kinda cute....

I wanted to wish everyone a Healthy, Happy, and Prosperous 2009. I know 08 was a tough one, but the future is ours to make what we will of it. I believe that there is a lot of opportunity out there right now and in the upcoming year if we only choose to find it. There will be a lot of millionaires made this year…I’m thinking we should all be one of them.
The older I get, I realize what is truly important to me…..My God, My wife, My family, My friends, My health, My belief in myself and others, Good Mentors, Passion for whatever I am doing, Humor, Teaching/helping others to be more, Learning new things, and the understanding not to take myself too seriously. I know that when any of these are not going right, my life is not going right.
As most of you know, I wrote The Joy of Diabetes and published it in 2008. It has been a true blessing to be involved with and work with so many great and interesting people in every aspect of Diabetes-publishing-marketing-internet-sales-P.R.-Development and the like. What an amazing industry…and a truly helpful group of diabetics who care.
Sometimes folks look at me funny when they hear Joy, and Diabetes in the same sentence. I believe they are thinking “excitement and elation”…that’s more like Happiness…
Joy is about Peace and Confidence…..That is what I strive for and what I strive to help others find also. I think it is safe to say that I have found Joy in my situation.
I wanted to thank everyone whom I have worked with, been friends with (hopefully both), been helped by, and who have intersected my life in 2008.
I look forward to finding Joy in this year of 2009. I look forward to you being Joyful in 2009 too…..
I hope that you, your family, your work, your business, your finances, and your health, are all that you hope for this year. Best wishes………Keep going…………Peace, Bob
Ok…I gotta include a couple of my favorite Jim Rohn quotes again here.
“We must wage an intense, lifelong battle against the downward pull. If we relax, the bugs and weeds of negativity will move into the garden and take away everything of value.”
“Don’t take the casual approach to life. Casualness leads to casualties.”
“America is unique because it offers you an economic ladder to climb. And here’s what’s exciting: It is the bottom of the ladder that is crowded, not the top”

Living Out Loud with Diabetes..................

I have just recently started a new Diabetic Forum called Living Out Loud with Diabetes. It is a humorous site for diabetics and those that love 'em. You can see it at http://www.joyofdiabetes.ning.com/ Come visit and post often....