Category Archives: Diabetes At School

Insulin Pump Fashion

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A couple of days ago I wore a dress with some boots. And as I’m sure that my fellow female diabetic pumpers are aware of, even if you have shorts on underneath your dress, it’s pretty awkward to reach up your dress and take your insulin pump out. And then my problem is that I LOVE wearing dresses, and I would totally wear them every day if it weren’t for people saying, “Why are you wearing a dress?” whenever I DO wear a dress. It’s actually pretty annoying. “Because I felt like it.”

So this time I wore a dress with boots, and then I clipped my insulin pump onto my boots, so I could get my insulin pump without having to feel so awkward about it like I usually do.

So band was my first period, and people kept on bugging me out of genuine curiosity because they obviously didn’t have any idea what an insulin pump was, and I must say that I was enjoying the attention. After band I was checking the list to see who made it into Wind Ensemble (the highest band at my school) when a girl came up to me. Her name is Sam, and she told me that she really liked my Medtronic insulin pump, and that her’s was boring and black. It turns out that a flute who sits three feet away from me is a fellow type 1 diabetic. That pretty much made my day. We talked a little about going to diabetes camp, and then I had to leave to go to class.

So if you wear your insulin pump on your boot, you realize that people have a ton in common with you. That little thing made me happy for the rest of the day. :) And I still am happy.

Sincerely,

Claire Montgomery
Type 1 Diabetic, Diabetic blogger, Insulin pump fashion-ista.

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Smartie Spit
Party in the Nurse’s Office!

Party in the Nurse’s Office!

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Come all ye diabetics and lament about blood sugars…

…’Twill be fun. :

I love the nurse at my high school. She is so awesome and hip and cool. At my old middle school I didn’t really like the nurse, but here she’s awesome. So the other day I’d been having high blood sugars for pretty much the whole day so finally I just went down to the nurse so I could change my site because I figured it was a bad site. But when I got there I didn’t have any insulin so I had to call my dad so he could bring me insulin. I had all of the other supplies. Anyway. So I sat in the nurse’s office while I was waiting for my dad.

And then this kid named Noah came in. He was a diabetic and he was something like over 400 mg/dl. So we were sitting there and talking and lamenting about other nurses that we’ve had that we didn’t like and about insulin pumps and about medical IDs and about tattoos that serve as medical IDs (look them up). And we were talking about iPumps (don’t you think that would be totally wicked? It could count your carbs and test your blood sugar and be your pump AND be your phone, iPod, etc…). It was totally so much fun even though we were just so totally high. And being high is never fun except on that day it was because we could complain to each other and talk about things that nobody else would ever get. Just hanging out with diabetics is fun in general but it was even better this time because we were both high.

And then my dad came and he gave me my insulin and then he left and I gave myself a new site. Blah blah blah.

AND THEN a girl named Nicole came in and she just happened to be a diabetic and she just happened to be high. Join the club, sista. I swear, that’s the best time I’ve ever had in the nurse’s office, and I mean that quite literally. Three diabetics were high at the same time and lamenting about high blood sugars and were in the nurse’s office at the same time. IT WAS SO COOL!

So, a message to all you diabetics who are still in elementary, middle, or high school. Go to the nurse’s office when all the other diabetics in your school are high. It’s fun.

Adios for now!

Claire Montgomery
Type 1 diabetic, Diabetic blogger, Nurse’s office party thrower

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A Try on Cross Country and Diabetes

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Okay, so you know how I was having real trouble running Cross Country with diabetes? So my dad does this whole LinkedIn group thing, and he asks questions about diabetes on it. Most recently, questions about how to run cross country with diabetes. So this other dad with a kid a little older then me answered and told Dad about this thing called a SPIbelt. A SPIbelt is this thing that is basically a little belt with a pouch on it that is perfect for running, because IT DOESN’T BOUNCE. I mean, I get annoyed when I run and my test strips click, so when this thing doesn’t bounce, it’s like a blessing.

So my Dad is going to get me a SPIbelt. I can fit some Skittles (haha, I know, ironic) and one of those OneTouch Minis in it. Which is cool because now I won’t have to carry anything in my hands, which is also annoying.

So I suppose that going low is just one of those things that happen when you run, right? And if you’re a diabetic and run Cross Country, please COMMENT so I can get some advise. Which would be really helpful. PRETTY PLEASE. :)

Sincerely,

Claire Montgomery
Type 1 Diabetic, Diabetic Blogger, Cross Country Runner

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Cross Country

Cross Country

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Sooo…. About three weeks ago I started high school! Yay!

And high school means sports. And sports to me means cross country. Which I really didn’t want to do, but my parents made me. And it turns out to be pretty fun. The people are nice, not to mention supportive. There’s just one little snag.

Usually I am opposite of most people when it comes to blood sugars and diabetes. Like I usually go high and have to account for that. Except then I joined Cross Country.

There hasn’t been a day when I haven’t gone low. It sucks. Period. And it’s not just the sixty or seventy range. It’s the fifty or forty range, which just makes it worse. And all I can say is THANKS TO GOODNESS that I have my CGM on, or I would probably collapse and fall unconscious (usually I feel my lows, not when I run).

I love my coach. On the first day I gave her my diabetes letter and told her that I had type 1 diabetes. And her first question was, “How are you going to not be low?” Like I said, I love my coach. She knows what diabetes is! She asked the right questions! LUCKY ME! So I said that I usually don’t go low, and that I was going to run with my tester and smarties.

On that first day, I left my glucose tester and smarties in my backpack, because I was only going to run around campus. Bad idea. I was running with another girl, but then I had to turn back because I was feeling seriously shaky and dizzy. It took me about forever to get back. And I was 50 mg/dl. Yup. From then on, I held my tester and smarties in my hands as I ran, and was low EVERY SINGLE DAY. NOT FUN.

It’s gotten to the point that I couldn’t finish my three miles, and nearly cried because of it, because I was so frustrated. I mean, I’m lowering my insulin, I’m eating before hand, what’s going on? Hopefully I’ll figure it out soon.

Sincerely,

Claire Montgomery

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Why I Love the CGM

I Give Myself Shots in the Bathroom Because I´m Cool Like That

2 Replies

Contrary to my ¨I’m cool with it¨ attitude in the title, this is actually one of the weirder things that I’ve done and I’m so looking forward to being able to stop.

As I mentioned in my last post, my pump broke so I am going pump-less for the next couple of days. I am sort of cool with it fashion wise, because now I don’t have to hide it in my school uniform and I don’t have to worry about what to say if someone sees my pump. It’s awesome.

However, now I can’t just eat whatever I want to whenever I want to. Take shot for dinner, oh, we have ice cream, you know, on second thought I think I’ll pass both injection and ice cream.

I’ve decided this for sure: I’ve been taking my pump for granted, and it’s time to cut it out and tell it that I love it. Maybe that’s why it broke in the first place. I’d completely forgotten that it hurts to take 20 units of lantus. Gah.

Also, giving yourself a shot in front of everyone sort of labels you as “freak show”. People already freak out when they see me check my bloodsugar, so much to the extreme that I’ve had to take precautions and go on trips to the bathroom or hide the darn tester under my desk. Giving yourself a shot is just one step to many above “stick a needle into finger and bleed”.

So, I am going to the bathroom and giving myself shots for lunch there. People might think I’ve got really bad diarrhea or something but at least they can miss the “horrifying part of sticking a needle into my arm”.

A little less freaking out, folks. And hold the applause.

I even have to sneak my needles into my lunch box so people don’t see them and wonder. I’m already the weirdo with blond hair who speaks English, so I’m going to try my very hardest not to become the weirdo who gives herself shots and bleeds for the fun of it. Nope, not a chance.

Sincerely,

Claire Montgomery
Type 1 Diabetic, Teenage Diabetes Blogger, Cleanest-Stall-in-the-Bathroom-Searcher

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My Gum Drops Are Out To Kill Me

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Okay, maybe I’m joking.

My normal pencil bag candy for school is Smarties. I’ve mentioned this before. Well, last time I checked, Smarties are strictly American and Canadian candy. And, oh right, I live in Mexico. So it might be time to extend my candy preferences.

So let me remind you about something: I absolutely loathe Smarties. And that’s exactly the reason why I carry them. The basic idea is so my willpower doesn’t crumble and so I can same my Smarties for when I’m actually low. Also, so I don’t eat too many of them and go high.

The Mexican candies I have to choose from are pretty limited. There’s candy with chile (basically spicy stuff), which even though I like, it’s hard to eat fast, unless I want the fire extinguisher and I to become best buds.

So when Mom and Dad went on a shopping expedition, they came back with gum drops and chocolate covered raisins.

Here’s the good/bad news: I actually like these candies. I sense a high blood sugar in my future.

The problem is this: Okay, maybe my willpower doesn’t collapse, but when I’m actually low I eat too many of them, and then go high. Or my willpower crumbles completely, and I go high. It’s sort of a lose lose situation.

My dad is a speaker, and so he flies out of the airport to go to jobs. So the last time he left, what do you know, he brought me Smarties.

Maybe one day I’ll figure it out.

Sincerely,

Claire Montgomery
Type 1 Diabetic, Insulin Pump User, Candy Eater

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Diabetic Low Blood Sugars in Mexico

Give Me The Candy!

5 Replies

Low blood sugars in Mexico.

When I’m low at school, I eat Smarties. Unlike in the US, people here don’t really know that I have diabetes, where in the States, it was just some sort of random information that wasn’t big news.

Here, nobody knows about it. I mean, I don’t like to publicize the fact that I have diabetes, but it’s really hard to explain to people that I have it when they notice my insulin pump or see me testing my blood sugar, because I don’t speak Spanish, and my questioners usually don’t speak English. I can usually fumble out a sentence or two, but they just look at me blankly when I say, “Tengo diabetes.” (“I have diabetes.”) Then they nod wisely as if they know exactly what I’m talking about, but turn around and shrug at their neighbor. And I don’t have enough language skills to explain what it is.

So back to the Smarties issue. So, as you know, I eat Smarties when I’m low. I hang out with a strange group of friends at school in Mexico. Two girls speak pretty fluent English and another girl speaks a ton of English, but is in no way fluent. Her name is Adriana. Sofie and Atalya are the fluent ones.

So one day I made the mistake of giving them all Smarties and Adriana hasn’t left me alone since. “Can I have some candies? Can I have some candies? Can I have some candies?” She doesn’t understand that I have to have these candies or I’m in trouble if I’m low. Finally I got fed up with it and got Sofie to translate that if I didn’t have these candies, I could end up in serious trouble that might end up in a trip to the hospital. Adriana left me alone for about thirty seconds and then started asking me for more candies. Here’s what I say to this: Never give candy to someone who doesn’t understand why you might eventually need it.

Sincerely,

Claire Montgomery
Type 1 Diabetic, Diabetic Teenage Blogger, Candy Giver

A Diabetic Viking

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In which we talk about Diabetes but the teacher ignores my thoughts.

When I was in 6th grade my Social Studies class learned about the Vikings. These are some of the things that my class mates and I discovered about Vikings. They had awesome ships that were good out in the ocean and in rivers. That they looted a lot of towns. And that many English words come from them, including “Son” and “Berserk”.

You see, the Vikings had a group of absolutely crazy men who could seem to defeat anything. These men were called Berserkers. (Hence the word “berserk”.)  So my Social Studies teacher, Mrs. N., told us that historians now think that these Berserkers were so good at fighting and so crazy because they had some certain diseases. Diseases like Diabetes.

Then Mrs. N. and the rest of the class started to try to figure out examples of people today who had Diabetes. There was a wide speculation and I sat there trying not to laugh. My friend Sofie was sitting next to me grinning. She glances over at me and winks.

“Oh! Oh! I know! That Broncos Quarterback! Jay Cutler! He has Diabetes!” says Mrs. N.

At this point I decide to take some action. I raise my hand and say, “I have diabetes.” Mrs. Nelson keeps talking, and completely ignoring me. However, more than half the class turn around. But my teacher continues to ignore me. Sofie and I both crack up laughing.

Thankfully, the bell wrings so we don’t get in trouble.

Personally, I think that this story is hilarious. I don’t know if my teacher didn’t hear me, but she knew I had diabetes. But really, I guess I don’t mind that she didn’t hear me or whatever, because now I have a hilarious story. Which is just as good.

Sincerely,

Claire Montgomery
Type 1 Diabetic, Story Teller With Diabetes, Ignored Teenager