{"id":47073,"date":"2017-05-15T09:07:14","date_gmt":"2017-05-15T13:07:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=47073"},"modified":"2017-05-15T09:07:14","modified_gmt":"2017-05-15T13:07:14","slug":"dblogweek-day-1-diabetes-and-the-unexpected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=47073","title":{"rendered":"#DBlogWeek Day 1 \u2013 Diabetes and the Unexpected"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"#DBlogWeekThe 8th<\/sup> Annual Diabetes Blog Week is officially here! I\u2019d like to give a shout-out to Karen Graffeo of Bitter-Sweet Diabetes<\/a> for coordinating this blogging bonanza yet again. Thank you for your time and effort!<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll be responding to the prompts provided over the course of the week. I recommend checking out the topics and posts here<\/a>\u00a0to keep up with all the bloggers participating this week.<\/p>\n

Okay, time to respond to prompt #1! Here it is:<\/p>\n

The prompt:<\/strong> Diabetes can sometimes seem to play by a rulebook that makes no sense, tossing out unexpected challenges at random. What are your best tips for being prepared when the unexpected happens? Or, take this topic another way and tell us about some good things diabetes has brought into your, or your loved one\u2019s, life that you never could have expected?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cExpect the unexpected\u201d is one of the many taglines of the reality television show, Big Brother (of which I am, unashamedly, a fan). It\u2019s a warning to contestants that curveballs could, and will, be lobbed at them when they least anticipate it, and it certainly translates well into the life of a person with diabetes. Over the years, I\u2019ve experienced a number of mini emergencies\u2014running out of test strips, forgetting my meter at home, dealing with failed insulin pods, coping with burnout\u2014these are just a few examples of episodes that always seem to happen when it\u2019s the least convenient timing.<\/p>\n

How have I prepared myself for the unexpected? It\u2019s become about anticipating all the possible scenarios: Maybe my pod will fail, so I\u2019ll need a backup, extra wipes, and insulin. Maybe I will have more than one low blood sugar on the go today, so I\u2019ll pack extra snacks. Maybe my PDM will run out of battery, so I\u2019ll carry replacements in my purse. It\u2019s a matter of being armed at all times with more supplies than it\u2019s probably necessary to have, but I\u2019d rather be safe than sorry. In fact, my T1D mom and I always say to each other that we\u2019d rather have something and not need it, than not have it and need it. It\u2019s much easier to deal with the unexpected when you do everything you can to prepare for challenges\u2014I stress much less and don\u2019t panic to the same degree when I have everything I might need on my person.<\/p>\n

To address the second part of the prompt, I think that one good thing that diabetes has brought into my life is a little more control over my eating habits than I might have without it. Since I was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of four years old, I grew up understanding the importance of portion control because it was detrimental to my carb counting and accurate dosing. As an adult, I can also see how this has been a positive influence on my weight management and knowing when I may be going overboard with portion sizes.<\/p>\n

I have moments when I\u2019m angry\/frustrated\/burnt-out from my diabetes, but every so often I like to remind myself that it\u2019s not the worst thing in the world. It\u2019s made me stronger in ways I never expected, and for that, I\u2019m grateful.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":47076,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1501],"tags":[4345],"yoast_head":"\n#DBlogWeek Day 1 \u2013 Diabetes and the Unexpected<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=47073\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Molly Johannes\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=47073\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=47073\",\"name\":\"#DBlogWeek Day 1 \u2013 Diabetes and the Unexpected\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=47073#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=47073#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/dblogweek-day-1-diabetes-and-the-unexpected-3.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-05-15T13:07:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-05-15T13:07:14+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/623ae95e59042a0181d7249ae80f9e18\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=47073#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=47073\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=47073#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/dblogweek-day-1-diabetes-and-the-unexpected-3.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/dblogweek-day-1-diabetes-and-the-unexpected-3.png\",\"width\":204,\"height\":204,\"caption\":\"#DBlogWeek Day 1 \u2013 Diabetes and the Unexpected 1\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=47073#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"#DBlogWeek Day 1 \u2013 Diabetes and the Unexpected\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/\",\"name\":\"ASweetLife\",\"description\":\"The Diabetes Magazine\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/623ae95e59042a0181d7249ae80f9e18\",\"name\":\"Molly Johannes\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f996a9325de8e57234e2c6d9727bd93d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f996a9325de8e57234e2c6d9727bd93d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Molly Johannes\"},\"description\":\"Molly Johannes was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1997 at the age of four. 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