Summer has disappeared.   We left Asia in mid-July with so much enthusiasm for plans in the Northeastern US, and now, it’s hard to fathom how Labor Day could possibly be one week away.  Very soon, everyone will be mourning the end of summer, especially children who must return to those newly waxed floors in their classroom halls...

As my trip around the world continues, I’m learning more and more about the challenges of taking diabetes with you on the road. This recently became apparent when, for reasons I still don’t quite understand, I decided to try to get a Hemoglobin A1c test performed in Tallinn Estonia — at 7 in the evening. My thought process,...

Education has fallen so low as a health priority that it’s barely noticed when the lack of it causes devastating consequences, including death. What are health insurance companies thinking when they cover the cost of life-saving health equipment and deny the cost of learning how to use it? My friend, Pamela who has type 1 diabetes,...

So this was weird: I wake up from a dream at about 12:30 AM. My continuous glucose monitor (CGM), which I had inserted and calibrated once before going to bed, showed a blood sugar measurement of 99 mg/dL. Perfect, I think to myself as I stumble out of bed toward the bathroom. I measure my blood sugar on the OneTouch UltraLink I keep...

Traveling with diabetes is always tough. You’ve got a different schedule, different exercise patterns and, above all, different food. I’m in Klaipeda, Lithuania right now, just starting week two of a three-week bicycle trip through the Baltics — and let me tell you: there’s nothing like Lithuanian cuisine to make...

First, the good news. After writing that last post — the one where I found out that Air Baltic had lost the bag containing all of my non-diabetic belongings for a second time, I fell into a restless sleep, full of dreams of luggage and frustration. I really thought the bag was gone. But then, surprise of surprises, I awoke in...

For the last several months I’ve shifted my view about food. I see it as medicine, and my body reflects this. I’m eating healthier than ever and all my vitals are better than ever. I get blood tests twice a year due to my diabetes. My blood pressure is typically around 92/60 mmHg. My LDL (lousy) cholesterol is usually around...

I just spent an exhausting day visiting the CERN laboratory in Switzerland — you know, the place where they’re trying to get protons to collide to try to figure out how the universe began, and other light subjects. (Many thanks to Karmel for pointing out that even particle accelerators are sensitive to carbs.) I was expecting...

Day 1 My first day on the Paleo diet started like every other day – with a cup of coffee. For the past 15 years my mornings have started with a cappuccino that I make myself, but today I left out the milk and replaced it with hot water (known internationally as Cafe Americano). I ran 6.5 miles and came home to eat breakfast –...

Elizabeth Snouffer, author of diabetes24-7 If I took a poll on the one question I have had to answer the most over the past 36 years with diabetes, it’s this one: "Does it hurt?" “No.” I’ve answered many times. “There are worse things.” I’m not certain why I don’t tell the...