Happy New Year

This is just a quick post to remind you that I'm back next week to my usual dates of posting hopefully with the video blog underway as well.

so every one who reads my blog have a very Happy New Year and have fun tonight just be careful of your levels.

Merry Christmas

Seasons greeting to all of my viewers, its that time again when I produce a special for my Blog that anyone can read to have a better understanding of what to do. This time it's the holiday that everyone looks forward to and even though the grown ups say they don't you know they do. Yes it's christmas day!

Christmas has always been a fun time for me and my family, but the first thing we always had to think of growing up was my diabetes, for as far back as I can remember my mum has always tried to make a game of christmas morning even when I was very little. For example as diabetics have to eat frequently we all always had our breakfast before touching the presents under the tree, mum would always let us have something light though like weatabix which are full of the carbohydrates that you need to start the day but are also very quick to eat so the more time you can have opening your gifts.

When it comes to lunch time and you see that beautiful spread of food on the table or the mountain on your plate, you will probably be thinking “What do I give for that?” And the answer is simple, in this situation what I do is calculate enough for 6 units and give it in stages that way you are not committed to eating the whole thing and you will not end up making yourself sick and you will not end up ruining the rest of your day.

Now, when it comes to the night time (this is more for the adults) when you are having a drink be it wine or beer make sure you have some thing with carbohydrates in so that everything will balance out to give a less likely chance of your blood sugars going out of control and you can enjoy yourself more.

Lastly from me have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, my next post will be in 2 weeks as it is the holidays and my next post will be on something no one looks forward to and that is being ill and how to handel your blood sugar levels and how to have fun when you are really ill.

Hypo's

This post is about when you have a Hypo and the best way to cope with it in different situations.

For example, if you are out with you friends and you feel low and you have done your BM and you are low, even if you have told them about your self but you still feel uncomfortable with sorting your self out in front of them in case of what they might think,then the best way to deal with this scenario is to carry a sugared drink around with you that looks like something your friends might have. This way you would look just like them and hopefully no questions should arise but if they do then you should explain what is happening.

Another situation is when you are at school and if you are in year 11 then it is vital you stay in your class but the problem is that you are not allowed anything but water in lesson so what I would suggest is that in the morning or the night before depending on when you have more time is to mix some hot water with sugar in, with this though I would not put just a little bit in but about the same as what there is in a bottle of you normal sugared drink has in it that way you will not have the worry about over/under doing it and making things worse for your self.

I have noticed that in my Blog I only seem to address those of you who are in school of college, so this is a paragraph for my grown up viewers out there. If you are at work and you go Hypo and you do not have time for you to have a drink and let it take effect then I would suggest that you carry some Hypo stop with you it is a gel like substance that you can get from you local pharmacy or your local doctor, it works a lot quicker on adults. The reason why I have not suggested it for younger people is because as I was growing up it worked too much and would send me back up high again.

Although I have said these things to you I would just go for the first drink you find or the first dose of sugar you think of. It takes time for your body to get used to something new but I would defiantly do little tests to see which one works better for you because that is something I can not tell you.

You could even do the tests when you are not Hypo and see how long it takes, BUT please do it whilst someone is there with you who can also keep a check on you.

going out with friends

This post is about when you are out and about with friends and how it would be easier to handle and how to help you friends to understand a little better.

I have had two different experiences with going out with my own friends, one was a very bad because of the way I was treat and the other was ok but I just wish I explained it before it happened.

The first experience was when I was in a shopping centre with friends from my high school, we were looking around the shops and I did the wrong thing of not having anything to eat or drink, which was a bad idea as during walking around I went Hypo and they decided that because I was acting “stupid“ they left me and told me to handle it myself, I did tell them about myself and about what happens to me and that I will be fine after I have had the things I need.

The second experience was with my boyfriend it was ok but it took me to go Hypo and go my normal silly self for me to then explain what happens and tat I will be ok once I had some sugar of any kind and that it takes ten minutes to get into my system and bring me back up I will be ok. I decided that I would not tell him about what happens to me in case it put him off me and he got scared for me. After the event had happened he said that he was ok with it but he was thankful that I told him what happens.

As a result of both of these experiences I am now more aware of what I do and who I go out with shopping with and I am now very open with them about my Diabetes and told them that if they ever wanted to know anything they could just ask me and I would be happy to answer and I think that is the way it should be and if there is anything that you can not explain to them try to get your hands on some information about your Diabetes that you can give to them.

Finally I would like to apologise for my recent weeks of not writing on my blog, but I have been setting up a video blog, which will have videos of me doing thing to do with my diabetes this will start next Monday and will be a weekly event that will have the links on here to get to it or you can find it on Youtube.

Physical Education

This post is about the dreaded thing that some of us hate to do in school and that is Physical Education or as you may know it better as P.E.

For Diabetics doing P.E is hard because when you do a lot of exercise at once that you are not used to then you have a risk of your blood sugars dropping.

I know this because it has happened to me during P.E in High School I found that my blood sugars dropped more then they did in Primary School, that's because it was more strenuous, it was because instead of doing things like dancing we started doing a full football games for a whole hour.

It was hard because I would have to leave and go sort myself out by either having some sort of sugared drink or by having some food, this did bring up questions from people and they just couldn't understand what was happening and I knew that I never could. After about a  month of doing this I decided that I was going to try something new, I was going to have something before I started doing P.E.

This did help and I found it a lot easier and it did help me to stop my blood sugars going down, what i found helpful was that I watched what every non diabetic was drinking and got that so people wouldn't ask any questions.

Next week I will be talking about socialising with friends.

Remember, Remember

I have decided as a new thing to my blog I am going to even specials and have you have probably guessed this is on bonfire night.

I can honestly say that nothing bad has ever happened to me on bonfire night which is unusual because it usually does, but no this one is just some top tips on how to keep warm and still have a good time whilst out and about whether you are at a big gathering or just at a small family gathering.

The first thing that comes to the top/front of my mind when someone says bonfire to me is the toffee apples and the bonfire lollies which are full of sugar but can still be had in moderation, for example if you are going to have a toffee apple try to have a sandwich with it to balance it all out and give just a little bit extra insulin as well.

The second thing that come to mind is that a diabetic person or not is still going to be out side for a lengthy amount of time in the cold, and to this I would suggest that you put extra clothes on even if you don't want to because my motto is "you can always take it off" you can never put it on and I would always wear old clothes because they will end up smelling of smoke.

The third and final thing is that you keep a check on you blood levels they could rise or drop at any point and when the temperatures drop you will find that it is harder to tell what is going on.

My final word is that have fun, keep out of trouble and don't feel like I am telling you off or being your parent because I'm not I care about you all. Please leave comments I would like to know how the night has gone.

Relationships

This post is all about a relationship.... well two past and one on going, and this is to show you how hard it can be and what the signs are to look out for.

My first relationship that I was in was with someone I thought I loved very much, for legal reasons though I am not going to say his name as someone may know him and tell him. The relationship started off really well I never told him "what" I was, I say this because it once came up in a row because it was something major, at the time to me it wasn't major it was just who I am. He was nice at first taking an interest in my life and was curious about how it worked and how I managed to cope with it for as long as I have, he seemed to be very sweet. After about 7 months in to the relationship things started to change; he would ask me not to do my "freakish" things around him or his family, he would ask me to hide it (my pump) when I was with him. It took me a year and a month to break free of him because I would always think who would want a "freak" like me I had had that drilled in to my head so much I believed it.

My second relationship in my opinion was the complete opposite to my first, he took an interest in me and my "freakiness" and told me that it was so cute and he would always ask me questions which I never minded because it made me feel special and he would always look up on the Internet about how my life worked and how he could help with the things that I ate, he would even offer to come to my hospital appointments with me. He made me feel human; like a real person for the first time in a long time. This relationship lasted a whole of 4 months and that is when his true colours started to show and he left me.

My current relationship has just started and we are still finding our feet but hopefully this one will go on for a long time.

There are some signs to look out for when you are in the relationship if he is right for you:
- The first one is that when you bring your equipment out its the first thing he looks at but he stares at it, its not just a quick glance.
- He will start to be hesitant when eating around you and will make comments about it, one or two jokes are OK but you must know your own limits.
- On your part it would not be something that I would spring on them too quickly and be patient with them.
- Be open with them about it and always say to them that it's OK to ask questions.
- My final point seems a little odd but question them if they seem too OK with it and just try to have a laugh about it.

My next post will be on PE in school and to make it easier.

Handleing Weight

This post is all about how to control your weight, this post is leading on from the "Fat Fairy" story.

As you know I was called a "Fat Fairy" which changed my life forever, but what I never discussed was the reason why I ever became that large and how long it lasted. It ha only been in recent years after looking through old family photos that I understand that I was always a very chubby baby, it wasn't because my family were not feeding me correctly but because it was the start of my Diabetes.

Were as my sister lost most of her weight during the symptoms, I went the other way I put it on and I put a lot on, and I kept it on for a long time, it was tough growing up being as big as what I was, all my friends been as small as what they were but I learned to cope with what they were saying by telling myself that it will all come off soon.

When I got to the age of 8 I was at my largest but I decided that it was time to shift the weight myself so I started walking everywhere and I exercised a lot and the weight started to slowly come away and when I reached High School that is when it all came off and I started to feel more "at one" with my body.

The way I was able to get through this problem by having my family there with me and talking about it, my final word on this is that if you need someone to talk to and you feel you cannot talk to an adult email me on nicholetaylor1@hotmail.com and I will help you through it.

My next post will be on relationships.

apologies

This is just to inform my followers the due to going through some very hard family problems at the moment my blog will not be updated until the problems have been sorted out.

I am sorry if this has inconvenienced people and I hope that I will be back on soon.

Sunny D

This post is about the Sunny Delight drink that learnt me to literally started to make me watch what I drink.

I started three days before Farthers Day, my mum and dad decided to let me and my sisters try a new healthier drink to have with our snacks. My sisters did not like the new drink that was called Sunny D but I loved it I coulod drink it by the boat loads so every time I had a snack or a full meal I would have some.

Over the next two days my body started to shut down slowly and I ended up going into hospital and no one could figure out what it was that was happening to me it baffled every one and every one was very concered about my well being at first my mum and the experts thought it was the Skips that I was eating for a new snack as well but that is only because I jave never had any problems with drinks before well never with anything that had fruit in it, like fresh orange juice.

After having three days been in hospital, again hooked up to machines again they let me go home and whilst in the hospital I doid not have any skips or any off the Sunny D for a few days I did not have them at home either but that was mainly because I did not want any. On the 5th day I had some.... well I had a fair bit if I was honest with myself, and once again I was back in the hospital, the hospital was once again baffled and they told me and my mum to run through every thing that I had eaten in the past 24 hours so we did and the only two things that came up on both occations was the Sunny D and the Skips so they deviced a plan to see if that was it.

They decided to give me both of them on seperat occations and see if my blood sugars went up in the space of time of 20 mins, and low and behold it was the Sunny D. So after they figured out what it was they sat the family down and told us how to tell whether or not something is good for us, so I am going to tell you.

When you are looking at the back of some thing at the contens of the product if the carbohydrates and the of which sugars section are the same no matter how low you still must not have it but if the of which sugars part is half of or even more then it is safe. You see i had to learn the hard way but I hope that after reading my post you will know what to look for.

Thank you for reading,
Read next week when I talk about Diabetes and keeping control of your weight.

Bullying

Before i start my post please can I just take this oppertuity to say that I am very sorry for not keeping up with my posts my computer has not been working properly and it doesn't always let me on but I think that I have sorted it now so things will start to pick up. Thank you.

Through growing up I have had a lot of people children young and old, the reason I call them children is because that is what they are, I have been called many names some of which are not too pleasent to put on line but there is one story that I will tell you that really did change my life.

I was in reseption (or if you are in America Kindergarden) in the stage of still been quite chubby, when this girl in my class called me a "fat fairy", now those words will forever more burn in my mind, but it was not the name that changed my life it was what happened after wards. I had decided that I no longer wanted to be a diabetic I wanted to be a normal little girl, who could do normal things with her friends, so I devised a plan or action for getting rid of my diabetes.

I had decided to stop taking my medication and I would eat what I want when I want and not care of what happens because I thought it would have enough of me not doing the right things and that it would just go away and leave me alone, but what came next was not what I was hoping for. I became very ill, so much infact I went into a three hour coma, it was at this point when the doctors told me that I could have died and that broke my heart because it wasn't me I was worried about it was my mum the things that i would have put her through.

The final straw was when I went to the bathroom for a bath and I looked in the mirror and I looked barely hunman anymore. This was the point that I said no more, I changed my life around, and I pulled myself through. The way I did this was to find the one thing that makes me happy and have that one thing to look forward to, for me it was listening to my music and my favourite band "Adam and the Ants" which I know is before my time but it was the one place that i felt that it was the one place they couldn't get me.

So my final words are this:
-find the place where you feel safe
-remember your family and how it affects them
-the children are not worth your life
-And if you ever want to talk I am here and if you don't want to do it on her you know my email to get in contact with me, I mean it though.

dealing with kids at schooll.

I think this one is mainly for parents of a young person with diabetes.
The problems i had with people (children) at school started of  with the teachers treating me differently, i know i some instances they had too but doesn't mean they can do it all the time, this is when the other children started to notice i was different to them.
in nursery we always got given sweets and then it would come to my turn of having some and then the teacher would say "sorry Nichole you can't have this" as a child this is heart breaking and the teachers would never understand why, this is why I'm going to tell you, you see for a child of say 5/6 it is really hard for them to sit there and watch their friends eat something they desire the most. I would suggest that when you young child well any age really that you take the teacher to one side and ask them that if they are ever giving out rewards of sweets if they would mind it if they gave your child a biscuit, I know it sounds daft but all teachers have them in the staff cantine, and this way your child yes still will looked different but not as different as sitting there with nothing watching there friends. Trust me I know how it feels.
Another instance in which I found a problem though growing up was that i would have to test in front of my class mates and then they would  stare at me. again ask the teacher if they would mind if your son/daughter would be allowed to when they test to take it to the toilet with them to do it out of the way and in priversy this way there self esteem will be higher and they may not feel as bad and after a while of doing this, you could start to introduce them to testing in front of people but start it when they are with you so that you can encourage them and say that it's OK and just smile and try to make it positive for them. they will come around to it.
If you have any questions please leave a comment and i will clear it all up.
Hope things are easier for you
X

hello

Hi,
My name is Nichole Taylor I am now 17 but was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when I was only 3 1/2 years old as I was growing up it was hard, because no one really understood what I was going through so I decided to start writing this blog for either new or existing diabetics so that they know some of the situations I have been in and if they relate to them then they know how to handle it, may be then we can try and reduce the number of diabetic going into depresion because no one is there for them. for the first month I will be posting every two days with past stories and then after that it will be a weekly thing. well thank you and and I hope I can help you.