I spoke at a night time round table last week and was asked a load of questions.  I was asked if I would write about what was talked about and thought sure!  I would love too. I will do it in the Q and A fashion just like the night I spoke.

Q~ What is it like living with Type 2 Diabetes?

A~  For me living with Diabetes is a daily routine.  It’s what I have been doing the past 10 years.  It’s daily taking good care of myself and focusing on that.  Some may think living with diabetes is suffering like a life sentence but I don’t look at it.  In the beginning it did feel like that in fact I felt it was somewhat of a punishment for how I treated my body.  Given my Dr. and Diabetes educator highly believed that my Diabetes was caused by lifestyle I started to believe that I deserved this.  WELL that is just not true NO ONE DESERVES DIABETES!!!  Years down the road after losing weight and after realizing that the anger was gone Diabetes just became apart of my daily life.  For so many years prior to diagnosis I did not take good care of myself.  I was Mom and wife and lost Jill along the way.. Now I find time to exercise and pay attention to what I eat.  I found myself again and it’s now apart of my daily routine to be good to me and take good care of me.  I am no good to anyone else if I am not good to myself first.

Q~ Can you still live a full life with Diabetes?

A~  YES!!!!! I find that I have learned to live life more since my diagnosis.  I have more energy and have more zest for life.  My health was so poor that I was barley living prior to diagnosis.  It’s your life and you have to take your own diagnoses by the hands and manage it as your own best advocate.  To take our own diabetes and fight our own fight is not a easy task but you are your best advocate.  Diabetes can get in my way sure but that is the fight!!  I will fight back with all my might to keep living and not let Diabetes get the best of me.

When I am eating right and exercising and my blood sugars won’t do what I want I get angry.  I work so hard looking at labels eating right and exercising and  it’s very very frustrating not getting the numbers I feel I deserve from my hard work.  That is DIABETES!!  It is what it is and me getting angry in the long run really does not help.  In fact long term anger can be down right destructive so you have to let it go!!  Eventually my numbers are going to be OK I just have to role with the punches and not let Diabetes get me!  It’s my life! It’s my choice!

Q~  How often do you have to do blood sugar testing.

A~ 3 x a day

My Dr. would prefer me to test 6 times a day but in real life I am proud if I get in 3 a day.  If my numbers are all over the board I will test more often but if I am on a even scale days in a row I get in 3 a day.  It’s habit so it’s apart of daily life.  This year on top of doing the diabetes advocacy work I love to do I went back to work.  I love being a substitute teacher.  It’s been a great job and fit’s in my life so I can still be home with my growing kids.  Life has gotten more busy going back to work but my health is important so I always make sure I have what I need when I go to work to have a successful diabetes day.

Q~  How long have you been living with diabetes?

A~ 10 years now!!

I can’t believe it’s been 10 years since my diagnosis.  In that 10 years I have grown so much.  Now being a Advocate , Public Speaker and sharing my journey on so many different levels Diabetes in some ways has been a blessing.  Not always did I feel this way but since this diagnosis I got my life back. I got myself back!!  Now I want to share my life with others sharing my journey and bringing awareness to diabetes.  Living with diabetes is not easy for sure but it’s my life and I won’t let diabetes ever stop me from living!!

I was so blessed to attend HealthEVoices 2016 Conference!!   Sorry this post is so late.  I was so busy in May and June with lot’s of speaking engagements and my oldest Son graduating high school.  FUN TIMES!!  I was also sick with pneumonia and asthma. July was filled with vacation!!  I LOVE SUMMER but it got the best of me. I am finally able to take time and write up a post of how wonderful HeathEVoices 2016 was.

Janssen (a Johnson & Johnson company) paid for my trip and all travel and food.. For a company to bring advocates like this together I say hat’s off to Janssen for empowering us as advocates to keep using our voices. I have found only one place that  has a conference where I can come and get a great big dose of KEEP doing what your doing.  Being a advocate is hard hard work and meeting with other advocates knowing what your going through help empower what I am doing!!  I hope this conference goes on and on and on.

The conference teaches me so much of the how to keep going and how to take better care of myself in order to be a great advocate for the cause so dear to my heart.  It was in Chicago and the weather could not have been more perfect!!  70 degrees. The week before it was snowing and in the 30s.

I flew in Thursday and Friday was day one!!  We got to meet with other Diabetes advocates for our 1st ever 2rurth in numbers summit!!  Wow!!  I was amazed how empowering this day was and how I felt so encouraged by other advocates from my own realm.  This was truly a great thing to be apart of.  We talked on deep matters of how to break stigma, how to advocate better and how to build our community.  It was so insightful and I learned so much.

Sat started the HealthEVoices Conference.  Packed full of great classes.

Compassion fatigue.  We as advocates work very hard but we also can hit walls and get burnt out if we don’t watch it and slack on taking care of ourselves.  I loved this class and reminder to always take care of myself first.  If I don’t I am no good to anyone else.

I also learned about making videos class by Josh Robbins.  I will be putting all he taught me to use!!  Loved his presentation! I will post his poster as soon as I can get my hands on it.

The Amazing Food!!

I love this conference!!  Everything about it inspires me to keep going and be all I can be as a advocate.  This years theme was deep rooted connections and I made my share. I feel so blessed for that!!