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Guten Tag from the Children with Diabetes Team

Guten Tag from the Children with Diabetes team! Last week, a small, but mighty group of CWD staff members grabbed our passports, packed our bags, and headed off to Berlin, Germany for the 16th International Conference on Advanced Technologies and Treatments for Diabetes (ATTD). As your personal tour guide to this event, I’m here to share with you all of the highlights of last week’s amazing activities… from the remarkable exhibit hall to fun flavors of glucose tablets in the local grocery stores to lots of currywurst and wiener schnitzel and everything in between. We’ve been cleared for our take-off, […]

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Black History and Diabetes

Although there has been an uptick in reporting about racial and ethnic health disparities, the phenomenon is not new. As author Arleen Tuchman describes in her book, Diabetes: A History of Race and Disease, there is a long history of the medical field believing that there are biological differences between different races. This belief that race is a biological aspect of people has been disproven through the human genome project, but racial health disparities remain a significant challenge in the U.S. and throughout other parts of the world.1 Tuchman talks about how underdiagnosed type 1 diabetes has been throughout history […]

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Bumping While Pumping

Let’s talk about it Whether you feel comfortable talking about it or not, sex is a normal part of life. That’s right; we’re talking about sexual intimacy because, as usual, diabetes makes things more complicated. The key to ensuring healthy sexual intimacy with diabetes is honest communication. This can seem intimidating when you are in a newer relationship, but as the saying goes: “Honesty is the best policy.” Blood Sugars and Sex It can be difficult to talk about sex for many people due to the social stigma around sex. But without having conversations about your needs, you could be […]

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Confessions of a Diabetes Hoarder

I have a confession to make. I’m a diabetes supply hoarder…a diabetes supply “prepper”…a person who worries about the “diabetes apocalypse.” I know I’m not the only one, and in fact, we recently received a question to our CWD Answers section asking about what someone with diabetes could do if there were a zombie apocalypse. I’ve been this way for the last 10 years since my daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of three. I think that it started during our diagnosis experience when we were still in the hospital learning about our new lives with […]

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“Sleigh” your Blood Sugar this Holiday Season

It’s that time of year again! Families will be gathering to share meals, drinks, and laughs for the winter holidays. When you have T1D, you’re likely preparing yourself for the added difficulties of managing blood sugars (and stress levels). Here are our curated tips for sleighing your blood sugar management this holiday season! Go to Gatherings with all your Diabetes Goodies Being prepared is a cornerstone of diabetes management, and when you’re going to be out for long hours with family, ensuring you have all the insulin, test strips, and anything else you may need will allow you to have […]

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COVID Viruses, Vaccines, and T1D

Although we do not know the cause of type 1 diabetes, scientists believe that there is an environmental trigger that kick-starts the autoimmune process. When the body has the added stress of something like a virus, for example, it may cause the body to start attacking itself. For type 1 diabetes, the islet cells are the target of the body’s autoimmune attack. Viruses and Auto Immunity Recent data was presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes conference in September 2022 that showed people who had recently been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes were more likely to have […]

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Why We Rotate Insulin Injections

Insulin is life for those of us living with T1D and many of those with other types of diabetes. There are many nuances to taking insulin, including the importance of rotating where insulin is injected into the body. When insulin is injected repeatedly in the same part of the body, it can cause changes in the skin that make insulin absorb erratically. Here’s some more information to help you avoid unnecessary challenges with managing blood sugars. Lipodystrophy Anyone who took Latin or medical terminology classes, this will be a little easier for you! For the rest of us, we’ll break […]

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Taking Diabetes Back to School

Kids often say things such as, “I never get to do (insert something that they probably actually get to do all the time)” and may even ask the adults in their life why they are not allowed to do certain things. But if your child has diabetes, and they are being told “no” by someone at school to treating a blood sugar, this is a huge problem. Luckily, there are protections in place in the U.S. to keep children with diabetes safe in schools. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is a law that helps prevent people with disabilities […]

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Traveling with Diabetes

Diabetes shouldn’t get in the way of living the life you want to live, and traveling is no exception. There are some important tips and tricks that can help keep you safe while traveling and ensure that you are able to enjoy your journey. Planning Ahead This is really the biggest piece, and although you may not be someone who enjoys planning, with diabetes in the mix, the extra planning can really make a big difference. How far you are traveling can also play into your preparation, as well as how close you will be to medical facility or medical […]

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Diabetes Distress

We often talk about how diabetes can be overwhelming, and there are some different terms that can help identify exactly how diabetes is impacting someone’s mental health. Some people experience depression with diabetes, others experience diabetes distress, and some experience full on diabetes burnout. Identifying what type of mental health issue is present is crucial to be able to receive the appropriate treatment. What is Diabetes Distress? Diabetes distress is a term that describes the negative emotional burdens associated with living with diabetes.1 This includes worries or fears that people with diabetes have, such as anxieties about high or low […]

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