Diabetes Exposed: The Not-So-Terrible Truth

Episode 3 of Diabetes Exposed: The Not-So-Terrible Truth Today's show is all about the reason to celebrate our individuality and collective diversity in diabetes self-management strategy rather than engaging in a full-scale "War of the Diabetes Worlds." We type 1s are a group of souls with different tastes, preferences, and tolerances, and each of us has been shaped differently through our own personal experience with diabetes. But despite our differences, I believe we share far more similarities. We all got dealt a hand we didn’t want and didn’t ask for. We all are forced to stay attentive to our condition around the clock, 365 days a year. We all reach a point sometimes where the constant monitoring starts to wear on us. And I think that deep down, we all simply yearn for a normal life where we are free to pursue our passions and dreams without biological interference. Today's Diabetes Success Story segment features an amazing interview with an amazing type 1, Vickie McWatters. Vickie is the Development Manager for the JDRF Arizona Chapter, and she's my go-to for no-nonsense, honest and straightforward opinions. When the idea for this blog post started bouncing around inside my head, I immediately thought of Vickie because we’re two diabetics who’ve found two completely different paths to diabetes self-management success. We’re different in strategy, but we’re the same in our commitment to control. Support JDRF by making a donation at www.jdrf.org!!!   MISSION STATEMENT: The mission of this show is to dispel myths and false preconceptions and to find excellence in diabetes self-management by fighting the troubling trend of low expectations. Whether it comes from a fellow PWD, negative website, blog, or social media posts, the idea that we can’t succeed in our diabetes self-management is a sentiment constantly echoed and sometimes is just stated outright. At the risk of making some enemies, I’m going to strongly disagree. Success is possible for most diabetics. We can achieve our dreams, even with the burden of diabetes and the masses who say we can’t. I want to help you tap into strategies that will lead to your own success and help you see the power of your own self-efficacy. Contact Info: Email: tad@ataddiabetic.com Podcast Music: "Reunited" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Episode 4 of Diabetes Exposed: The Not-So-Terrible Truth Today's show is all about taking responsibility for our diabetes self-management. We often don’t want to engage in any self-analysis or have any responsibility placed on our shoulders, so we place the full burden of our bodies on our physicians. But sometimes we forget that medical science is imperfect and that diagnosing and treating many conditions isn’t as easy as diagnosing and fixing a car’s transmission problems. Sometimes we forget just how infinitely complex the human body is and how many possibilities our doctors are contemplating with each recommendation they make. After years of schooling and certifications, a CPA still makes accounting errors. A master-level auto service technician misdiagnoses a problem sometimes. And our best financial advisors don’t always make the best stock picks for us. Sometimes we forget that a medical degree does not imbue a doctor with infallibility. Sometimes we forget that our doctors are human.   MISSION STATEMENT: The mission of this show is to dispel myths and false preconceptions and to find excellence in diabetes self-management by fighting the troubling trend of low expectations. Whether it comes from a fellow PWD, negative website, blog, or social media posts, the idea that we can’t succeed in our diabetes self-management is a sentiment constantly echoed and sometimes is just stated outright. At the risk of making some enemies, I’m going to strongly disagree. Success is possible for most diabetics. We can achieve our dreams, even with the burden of diabetes and the masses who say we can’t. I want to help you tap into strategies that will lead to your own success and help you see the power of your own self-efficacy. Contact Info: Email: tad@ataddiabetic.com Podcast Music: "Reunited" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Episode 2 of Diabetes Exposed: The Not-So-Terrible Truth Today's show is all about diabetes education. It’s a topic that’s very near and dear to my heart, and I’m very passionate about it. I’ve always argued that good diabetes self-management starts with knowledge of diabetes in general and how diabetes affects the average person. Then, once we have that down, we have to learn about our diabetes and how diabetes is affecting us because each of us is different. Although we share a lot of similarities, your diabetes is not the same as my diabetes, even if we’re both type 1s. I do know that there are many out there that have been diabetic for a long long time and still have a very primitive understanding of what diabetes is doing to us on a biological level. That really concerns me. I also know that there are many who resist learning about diabetes because investing time in study is perceived as another big win for diabetes. It’s an admission of some kind of power diabetes has over us. It already takes up so much of our lives. The last thing we all want to do is spend more time thinking about diabetes. But this is where we often get it all backwards. We spend time learning about diabetes so we can reach a point where we aren't imprisoned by it and don’t have to devote so much time and energy trying to manage it. Yes, there is a time investment that must be made, but it pays off huge when we finally learn to control our diabetes and we take back control of our lives. Today I'm going to issue a challenge that just might help you learn more about your diabetes and it just might change the way you see diabetes.   MISSION STATEMENT: The mission of this show is to dispel myths and false preconceptions and to find excellence in diabetes self-management by fighting the troubling trend of low expectations. Whether it comes from a fellow PWD, negative website, blog, or social media posts, the idea that we can’t succeed in our diabetes self-management is a sentiment constantly echoed and sometimes is just stated outright. At the risk of making some enemies, I’m going to strongly disagree. Success is possible for most diabetics. We can achieve our dreams, even with the burden of diabetes and the masses who say we can’t. I want to help you tap into strategies that will lead to your own success and help you see the power of your own self-efficacy. Contact Info: Email: tad@ataddiabetic.com Podcast Music: "Reunited" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Episode 1 of Diabetes Exposed: The Not-So-Terrible Truth The mission of this show is to dispel myths and false preconceptions and to find excellence in diabetes self-management by fighting the troubling trend of low expectations. Whether it comes from a fellow PWD, negative website, blog, or social media posts, the idea that we can’t succeed in our diabetes self-management is a sentiment constantly echoed and sometimes is just stated outright. At the risk of making some enemies, I’m going to strongly disagree. Success is possible for most diabetics. We can achieve our dreams, even with the burden of diabetes and the masses who say we can’t. I want to help you tap into strategies that will lead to your own success and help you see the power of your own self-efficacy. Today's show is going to be a brief introduction to me and a head’s up on what my goals are with this podcast. In short, success requires two things: First, there’s a small group of very fundamental strategies and tactics that diabetics must learn and implement into their lives and commit themselves to. And second, we have to start with the right definition of success. That “right definition” is the key to keeping the proper perspective in our diabetes self-management. We want to have high standards for ourselves. But, we also have to be realistic in our expectations and not set standards that are simply unattainable. Think about it: If you always set unreachable goals, eventually you would just give up and stop trying. But many diabetics see success – they have this almost warped vision of success – as us being able to control our blood sugars as perfectly as a non-diabetic. Anything less than that is equated with failure. Well, that’s a lofty goal and not one that could ever be fully reached, so by setting unattainable goals, we set ourselves up for failure and frustration before we’ve ever begun. How we define excellence in proper blood sugar management has to begin by understanding our limitations and forming expectations and goals that are reasonable and reachable. Then we can begin to build a pattern of success that becomes the all-important key to keeping our confidence at the optimal level (listen to the episode for my take on how to do this!). FEATURE - A Diabetes Success Story: Peter Davies Link to Peter's Full and Amazing Story Coming Soon in Episode 2: The Crucial Need for Diabetes Education Contact Info: Email: tad@ataddiabetic.com Podcast Music: "Reunited" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/