Get The Facts

“That was so sweet it gave me diabetes…”  That was so unfunny it gave me the urge to smack you...

Ever heard that? You see, diabetes is one of those diseases that everyone thinks they understand completely.  That type I and type II are the same, except for age;  that we aren’t allowed to eat sugar (we can’t partake in the church’s ice cream social, we can’t eat the pizza everyone is having, and heaven forbid we have a slice of cake at a birthday party).  Not to mention the popular stigma that we can eat all of the “sugar free” candies our heart desires (because of course they don’t have carbohydrates in them)…good grief.

Type I and type II are different.  Type I diabetes is an autoimmune disease – which means that basically my immune system made a mistake and attacked my body tissues.  Specifically, the beta cells of the pancreas (which produce insulin).   Now, type II is generally onset by obesity, but not always.  Type II is not due to the body attacking itself.  Instead, their pancreas still produces insulin, but not enough for their body’s needs.  Did you know- In many cases, type II’s produce more insulin than they need, but the problem is their cell’s lack of sensitivity to the insulin (mostly fat and muscle cells). 

Some interesting facts about diabetes:

Early Treatment (starvation verses insulin)

• If you haven’t researched the history of diabetes, then I highly recommend you do so.  In ancient times, diabetes was detected by either a) sipping the patient’s urine, or b) pouring the urine on the ground and waiting for ants to show up.  If the urine was sweet, ants would be attracted to it.  Physicians during this time did not know how to treat diabetes except to starve the patient (which slightly prolonged their life).
• The earliest known written record that likely referred to diabetes was in 1500 B.C in the Egyptian Ebers papyrus. It referred to the symptoms of frequent urination.
• The Greek physician Aretaeus was credited with coming up with the name "diabetes" in the first century A.D. and thought a snake bite caused diabetes. 
• In the late 1850's a French physician advised his patients with diabetes to eat large quantities of sugar!!  Obviously this didn’t last long...
• Insulin in the 1920s was initially extracted from the pancreas of a cow or pig.  Nowadays insulin is created in the lab, cultured from bacteria and yeast through recombinant DNA.
• Type 1 and type 2 diabetes were officially differentiated in 1936. However, the difference had been noted in the 1700's when a physician noted that

  

  1st Insulin Pump

  some people suffered from a more chronic condition than others who died in less than five weeks after onset of symptoms.
• Portable blood glucose meters for patients were not sold in the U.S. until the 1980's!!
• The first insulin pump was developed in 1963- It delivered glucagon and insulin via an apparatus the size of an adult backpack!
• Famous type 1 diabetics: 
• Halle Berry, Mary Tyler Moore, Nick Jonas, Jay Cutler, Bret Michaels, and Gary Hall Jr. 

Getting Dressed With a Pump

After exploring the stores for weeks in pursuit of the perfect dress, you have finally found The dress to wear to the rehearsal dinner.  You’re so excited, and you can’t wait to show your friends!  You bring it home and try it on once more.   While twirling around in front of the mirror, you stop and listen.  “Buzzz… Buzzz... Buzzz...”   You direct your attention to your pump lying on your dresser.  A wave of panic rushes through your body.   And as your heart drops to your toenails you realize, “Oh my God.  Where am I going to put my pump?”

Most everyone has been in this situation before: Whether it’s your prom dress, your wedding dress, or even just a cute outfit for Saturday night’s date.  It’s that sinking feeling when you realize your caboose (aka insulin pump) is not going to fit anywhere, and ultimately is going to ruin a good outfit.  As this has happened to me a lot, I decided to post some pictures of my handmade pump cases that have helped me out of some very sticky situations.

Ol' Faithful

 
First of all, when I wear a dress I usually stick with Ol’ Faithful.  The leg strap my mother made out of an elastic band, a bra clasp, and some fabric.  With just a few easy sewing steps, you have a leg strap to use for nearly 10 years (and longer!).  This works great for loose/flowy dresses like my blue and white polka dot dress in the picture.  However, if your dress is tight around your legs, you can often clip it to your bra and it be hidden (It's just extremely uncomfortable!). Try to avoid a bulge if at all possible, the idea is to hide the pump, not draw attention to it.

With my prom dress, I had a little more trouble.  After searching for the midnight blue dress I so desperately desired for my senior prom, I had no idea I’d have so much trouble with my pump.  Because I chose a mermaid fit, it was too tight around my legs to wear my handy dandy leg strap.  Also, because it was a one-shoulder, I was not planning on wearing a bra (so I had nothing to clip my pump to).  This is when my mother decided it would be easiest to just sew a pocket into my dress!  It turned out great, and no one could see it when I had my dress on. The inside liner allowed my mother to sew the pocket to it, without ruining the dress.

                 

If you’re more active, a band like this may work better for you than the traditional clip that comes with your pump.  When I played basketball and tennis in my youth, I used this band a lot.  It’s made like the leg strap, but the elastic band is thinner and longer.  As you can see, it is made from a bra clasp as well (which can be found at most craft stores).  However, it also has a small patch of Velcro sewn inside, to prevent the pump from coming out of the pocket.

Remember, you should not be embarrassed by your pump!  I for one understand that it’s annoying when it’s bulging out from an outfit.  It makes me feel like everyone is looking at it.  According to Joe, that’s not the case.  However, with pumps like the Animas Ping, you can hide your pump anywhere you’d like because you can control it with the remote/meter.  Therefore, if you hide it by clipping it to your bra, you don’t have to go around digging in your top when you’re about to eat dinner and have to deal with the mortifying look on your date’s face.   Just remember, if you are going to clip it to your bra, make sure you double check in the mirror to see that it is 100% hidden!  Haha, because absolutely no one wants to deal with this embarrassment: