More wonderful stories and a video about Mandy.

Some articles about Mandy and all the amazing things she did.

http://www.indystar.com/story/life/2017/04/24/mandy-harris-saved-700-riley-babies-now-her-colleagues-crochet-700-jellyfish-preemies-her-memory/100611626/

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10156450073394852&id=9812439851

I hate you Diabetes

Right now I am mad, I am so damn mad, why is there still no cure for type 1 Diabetes? How many more people have to die?  The treatment is still the same as 100 years ago, insulin injections, unpredictable stupid ass freaking insulin injections/pump/whatever.  I hate this stupid DAMNED disease.  I hate how it gets under my skin and makes me so scared at times, I hate how I have to worry about going low alone having a seizure and possibly dying.  I hate worrying Ill go low and my child will find me dead.  I hate worrying about my brothers with t1d, my friends, my family members all living with this stupid damned disease. I hate the terribly mean comments I am subjected to because I have Type 1 Diabetes, I hate the shitty things people say about food giving people Diabetes, I hate that it played a major role in ripping my grandpa away at a young age, I was 7, he was my father figure for the first 4 years of my life, it ripped Mandy away, it takes childrens lives and what do we have to treat it?  Still just insulin, crappy ass unpredictable insulin.  Im mad, Im just really freaking mad.  I know there are worse things out there, I get that, but I live with this stupid ass disease so I have the right to be mad and to vent my feelings.  Can we get a freaking cure yet? Or at least a better treatment? I know things are coming but damn it all to hell its just too damn late.  

How to NOT become an identity theft victim--OFF Topic Blog post

This blog post is completely off topic, as you can tell by the heading.  Life has thrown some major curve balls at me lately and the Diabetes Online Community has been shaken to the core with Mandy's passing.  I don't really feel like even talking about Diabetes much right now.  Diabetes has stolen Mandy's life and changed the course of her family's lives forever. I am so mad about Diabetes and mad that we are STILL waiting for a freaking (trying not to swear hear because I am so mad) cure.  So I don't want to talk about it anymore for a while.

During all this stupid curve ball crap my identity was stolen.  YEAH its not fun and I have learned a LOT and I want to share this all with you so that you do not become an identity theft victim yourself.  Don't be as oblivious as I was, thinking that living in cornfieldville Illinois was safe!  So hello whoever you are identity thief,  there is a special place in Hell for you when you die! 

I will list the things you all need to do right now, DO NOT DELAY!

1. Run your own credit report EVERY SINGLE YEAR for free on annualcreditreport.com otherwise these identity thieves will run it and then have all of your credit history in their hands.  They can then answer all challenge questions properly and get credit in your name, use your current credit cards and even increase your credit limit on any cards you have.  They typically won't spend the money to run your report if you have already done it. 
2. CANCEL ALL DEPARTMENT STORE CREDIT CARDS or set up a password for each card!!  All these people need is a fake ID card and your social security number and they can spend on your card.  
3. LOWER your credit limit on the ONE credit card you want to keep and also set up a password, DO NOT let them use your mothers maiden name, that info is available all over the internet, just search for yourself, you will be blown away at what is available.
4. Sign up for all the free credit monitoring websites before the identity thieves do.  This includes: www.creditkarma.com www.creditsesame.com www.quizzle.com www.credit.com www.nerdwallet.com  After these people sign up in your name they can monitor all your credit cards, loans, mortgage, etc and if you cancel a card and get a new on they will also see that information
5. Go to every single website you can find your name and information on and follow their steps to remove your name from their website
6. Do all these things for your spouse or significant other as well
7. If you have a debit card with a large daily limit get it lowered as low as you can handle
8. Take all these things I have told you very seriously as this is what has happened to me and it is a disaster.
9. Pay for some sort of credit monitoring service for you and your whole family.
10. If you are no longer using a credit card, cancel it because if you aren't watching it they will use it.
11. If your identity has been used IMMEDIATELY put a fraud alert on your credit file.  You can do that by calling the credit bureaus and using their automated system to put an alert on your file.
12. If it has been stolen, call your local or county police to file a report.   After you have your report you can freeze your credit for FREE, because after they have gotten your ENTIRE CREDIT HISTORY off the internet they can forever get credit in your name, because they KNOW all the challenge questions based off your credit history.  
13. Call the Drivers License Facility and make sure no one has come in claiming to be you to get a duplicate license, MOST of these people just fake them and of course use their own picture.  
14. Call the Social Security Office to make sure no one has requested a duplicate card
15. Any fraudulent inquiries or new credit in your name, call that company immediately to tell them it was not you and to freeze that account and to start working on getting it removed from your credit file and removing the inquiry on your credit report.  
16. OPEN ALL YOUR MAIL!  I got 2 credit cards in the mail that I didn't apply for, if I had not opened that mail I would have never known my identity was stolen. I called them immediately, found out what happened and put the fraud alert on my credit files.
17. When my brain starts functioning again I will let you know what else I have had to do!

Memorial letter about my dear friend Mandy.

My name is Megan Druien, I am also a Type 1 Diabetic Warrior.  I met Mandy many years ago around 2008 or 2009 over email when I first went on my insulin pump and was having a lot of trouble adjusting to wearing it all the time.  Mandy’s Aunt Debbie suggested that I email her niece to see if she could offer me some advice.  Debbie told me what she did for a living and I was like, wow, I am not sure I can email someone with such an impressive title!  She was incredibly generous and helpful to me and did not really know me at all.  We kept in touch and emailed each other back and forth after that.  She was another person with type 1 Diabetes that I could talk to about the daily struggles it comes along with.
Fast forward a few years and we were both on facebook and I sent her a friend request right away!  I was part of this wonderful Diabetic support group for Moms, I told her about it and of course she wanted to be added to the group.  We are a tight nit group of women who lean on each other for support and advice.  We all love each other like family.  All of them would be here today if they didn’t live so far away. They have asked me to send their love and to let you know they wish they could be here today.  Mandy was a great addition to the group and even helped several of the ladies with their children when they started having seizures or other neurological problems.  She was always so generous with her time and more than willing to share her knowledge.  She made friends with all of the members in that group and the other groups we were in together right off the bat.  She even went out of her way to help transition other people with Type 1 into a different diet to manage their Diabetes.
Mandy was a Warrior, she fought Diabetes better than most while managing a very demanding career, two children and a husband who she loves dearly.  She would help everyone and anyone in the support groups she was in.  She was so very humble and did not want any extra praise, even though in her career she saved many babies, she never asked for attention for the amazing things she accomplished. 
I want you to know how much Mandy means to the online Diabetic community because it is so very important for you all to know how deeply she will be missed by them and me.  She was a great friend to all of us and has changed many of us with type 1 forever for the better. 
She has touched so many lives as the Pray4Mandy page and its 6000 plus followers have proven. I will continue to be an advocate for Type 1 and I will fight even harder for Mandy.
Mandy is an amazing woman, wife, mother and Doctor. She has changed the world for better and I wish she was here to see the difference her life has made and to know just how many people really love and care for her even if they never really met her.

Finally picked up two new glucagon emergency kits.

Finally picked up my 2 glucagon kits and 57.00 later I feel much better having unexpired glucagon. Glucagon, for those who don't know, is something anyone who takes insulin should have on hand. It is used in the event I should pass out from low blood sugar and/or start seizing. If you know me or are my friend or know someone else who uses insulin, please do us both a favor and learn how its used.  I carry a glucagon kit in my purse. Someone you love just might need you to save their life some day. Its up to you to learn how to use it in advance.

http://www.lillyglucagon.com/#tools

Android app

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lilly.ignitehealth.glucagon

Apple app

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/glucagon/id553314007?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

I also wear a medic alert bracelet every single day from www.roadid.com with the medic alert symbol add on band on the side.

Are you on insulin and if you are do you have a glucagon kit? 

Where do you store your Glucagon Emergency Kit?

Have you gotten your Glucagon prescription yet?  Do you know where your glucagon is?  Tell me where do you store your Glucagon and have you told everyone where it is at?

I realized mine were all expired, so I got a new prescription.  I keep all my old kits though, just in case.

I keep one on my husband's bedside table, one in my purse and one in my kitchen cabinet with our vitamins, my in use pump supply boxes, pain meds etc etc.

Where do you keep yours?
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Some benefits of wearing a CGM on your body 365/24/7

I wear a Dexcom CGM or continuous glucose monitor.  I chose Dexcom because their accuracy is the best for me and the range/distance of the sensor transmission is the best available. I am asked this question quite often so I will list some pros and cons for me.


Pros:

1. I know what my blood sugar is or is near at all times of the day and night
2. I can drive my vehicle without as much worry about going low suddenly
3. I can sleep much better knowing that my Dexcom should catch my lows
4. I can react to a high or low much sooner and take corrective actions
5. I know what the food I eat does to my blood sugar and how quickly it affects me
6. Dexcom makes me much more responsible for the blood sugar readings and helps me to say  no to foods I know I just cannot conquer
7. I can wear it for longer than 7 days and just keep restarting it 
8. It gives me much more confidence living with t1d because I can look at my Dexcom and see where my blood sugar is trending.

Dexcom’s G6 Sensor Shines in Early Accuracy Study

"Earlier this month, Dexcom shared compelling new details on its longer-wear, less calibration G6 sensor and its partnership with Verily to develop a bandage-like continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) device. The G6 sensor is expected to launch in 2018, while the first-gen Verily sensor will launch in late 2018, with a second-gen version coming as early as 2020. Read on for the new details!"

Read the whole article  here from 11/25/16:

https://diatribe.org/dexcom-g6-sensor-shines-early-accuracy-study?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=organic

Glucagon tutorials online and smartphone apps for you to download

Glucagon emergency kits are something every person taking insulin should have. Glucagon is what is used to save someone who is having a seizure from an extreme low blood sugar or hypoglycemia. If you are taking insulin and do not have a kit please call your doctor and get some. Ask them to write you a prescription for at least 2 or 3. One for your bedside, one to carry with you all the time and one on your main floor of your home.

Glucagon Tutorial by Danica!

https://youtu.be/E9dsdx0ceCo

What the public needs to be informed on about TYPE ONE DIABETES

Low blood sugar or hypoglycemia can happen to anyone with type 1 Diabetes taking insulin. Too much insulin, incorrectly guessing a dose, insulin absorbs faster than usual, exercise, physical activity are all things that can cause a low blood sugar. 

What happened to my friend and doctor Mandy could be any of us and we all know that but we all thought it would never happen. 

Never in a million years did I think this would happen to Mandy with her amazing control she gained following lchf.