Blogs, Blogs, and More Blogs

Posted on January 20, 2014 by Laddie

I have followed blogs about diabetes for years. In the early days it was a matter of going to Kerri’s or Scott’s blog and following the links to other blogs listed in their Favorites list. Or maybe those weren’t just their favorite blogs; they might have been the only other diabetes blogs out there.

Finding a new blog wasn’t just a 5-minute diversion of reading a single post. It was an adventure where I would read the entire blog from start to finish. Or sometimes I went backwards from finish to start. In the early days I think I enjoyed the stories more than I actually felt a kinship with the authors. They all seemed to be much younger than I was. Many seemed to be struggling more than I was. My diabetes was not perfect by any means, but no one was pressuring me to change anything. I didn’t know that I was alone with my Type 1 diabetes because it had never dawned on me that I would ever meet someone else in my situation. I didn’t know enough to realize how much diabetes support and fellowship would eventually enrich my life.

Fast forward to the present. I “know” a lot of people with diabetes through social media platforms such as online forums, Twitter, Facebook, and the blogosphere. I really “know” some of these people because I have also met them in person. I used to wonder what I would have done the last 37 years with all of the time I spent dealing with my diabetes – lows, injections, testing, doctor’s appointments. Now I really wonder what I would have done with that time added to the huge amount of time I spend online as a member of the DOC.

After several months of wavering and building up my courage, I started my own blog in late May. In general it has been a rewarding experience and I am proud of what I have accomplished. At the same time I have no idea how long I will keep doing this. George at Ninjabetic just celebrated his eighth Blogaversary. Will I still be blogging in 8 years? I think it’s a safe bet that I will not. I expect to be here next week and next month. And hopefully next year. Will I eventually reach the point where I have said it all and my motivation has flown the coop? I assume so.

November was National Diabetes Month and many bloggers upped their game all month with daily posts, photos, and advocacy projects. My Feedly Reader had at least 50% more posts to read daily than in previous months. I have a lot of diabetes blogs in my Feedly feed. In fact, I follow 63 blogs. If you’re in my Blogroll, I follow you. If you’re not in my Blogroll and want to be, please contact me and I’ll add you. And I will read your posts.

On one hand, November was exhilarating. On the other hand, the views of my blogposts went downhill. I think everyone was too busy writing posts to read other posts! Scott Johnson continually reminds me that stats don’t matter and that I should be writing for other reasons than validation by others. I don’t lose sleep over blog statistics, but I still enjoy seeing certain posts get a lot of reads. Believe me I am still humble. How can I not be when the most viewed and powerful post on my blog was written by Sue from PA, one of my blog contributors, and two of my dog’s posts are holding down 6th and 7th place in all-time views?

Using a reader app helps me keep up with a lot of blogs because it only lists new posts. There are some disadvantages also. By always following the links of individual posts, I miss the overall experience of visiting and exploring an entire blog. It’s also a little more difficult to write comments because Feedly has a bad habit of losing comments that I make. Therefore I tend to reopen the blog in Safari to write a comment. That can get very time-consuming. The only time I have problems keeping up with so many blogs is when someone writes a post with a lot of links to other posts. Fridays can be a bit daunting because of Friday Finds compiled by Allison at With Faith And Grace. This is her non-diabetes-centric blog and the links she provides on Fridays are fascinating, motivating, funny, and a tool that along with my iPhone 5 helps me remain “relevant” and “hip”.

Every so often I think I should reduce the number of blogs I read just as some people have started to cull their Facebook friends list. Someday I should seriously consider that. But I’m not going to do it today. Or tomorrow. Or the next day. Keep on writing, my friends, and I’ll keep on reading!

Always and Never

Posted on December 19, 2013 by Laddie

The December topic for the DSMA blog Carnival is Out with the Old, In with the New – Diabetes Style. With this topic, anything goes. Maybe you have a diabetes habit you want to break and replace with a new habit. Perhaps you are going to revamp your exercise plan and trade in an old workout routine for a new one. It could be time to put a new focus on yourself, such as limiting some online advocacy in favor devoting time to things you need to stay healthy and happy. You might be thinking of changing up some current tools (meters, pumps, diabetes apps) for a new version. Or maybe you have plans to make some food swaps or try a new eating plan. What ever it is, we want to hear about it!

“Always” and “Never” are two words that are x-rated in my diabetes vocabulary. They are absolutes at opposite ends of the spectrum of possible outcomes for every diabetes decision that I make. They give the illusion that I can expect the same results day after day from identical input or that there is a reward for good decisions and a predictable punishment for bad decisions. They are black and white when most of my life is lived in gray. They have voodoo magical powers that the mere utterance of the word is guaranteed to make the “never” thing happen and the “always” thing not happen. They are the Harry Potter-ish words that like Lord Voldemort “must-not-be-named”.

So instead of saying always or never, I tend to phrase my experiences, expectations, and advice with the words “usually” or “sometimes” or “once in a while”. The aim of my diabetes regimen is to do things that work most of the time. Sometimes that means that my breakfast insulin dose yields an in-range result on 7 out of 10 days. Two days I go crazy high and one day I end up chomping glucose tabs to fight persistent lows. Sometimes that means that although I am intellectually committed to a lower-carb lifestyle, I make less-than-optimal decisions and have two bowls of ice cream after dinner. Sometimes that means that I can have a day of high blood glucose readings that seemingly have nothing to do with food, insulin, exercise, pump sites, or anything under my control.

Along the lines of always and never, I avoid making New Year’s resolutions or even pledges to forever change my behavior. As the beneficiary of good insurance, I currently own what I consider the latest and greatest medical devices with a pump and Dexcom G4. I am anxiously awaiting the Animas Vibe, but that is in the hands of the FDA and totally outside of my control. One of my strengths is that I seem to be able to wake up each morning with the aim of doing my best and then not drown in guilt over my daily imperfections. My diet is a work-in-progress and my goals for 2014 will be a mirror of my daily hopes in 2013 to do a little bit better than yesterday.

Some people look at the advent of a new year as a clean slate to start anew, change habits, and re-invent yourself. I think in smaller blocks. Every day is a new day. Every hour is a new hour. Every minute is a new minute. If I look back a few years or decades, I can see that I have changed. My diabetes technology has improved along with my types of insulin, diet, and social support. But there is no single moment when these changes happened. It is all a blur and a morph from this to that.

In summary, although I hate to use the forbidden words, I ALWAYS hope that I can end each day knowing I tried my best and that my best will be sufficient to keep me healthy for many more years of Type 1 Diabetes. And I hope that I will NEVER be less than supportive and appreciative of my many online and offline friends who share my sweet and pancreas-impaired journey through life. This year and next year and the next year.

This post is my December entry in the DSMA Blog Carnival. If you’d like to participate too, you can get all of the information at http://diabetescaf.org/2013/12/december-dsma-blog-carnival-3/

Stories

Posted on October 10, 2013 by Laddie

The Diabetes Community is a treasure chest full of stories: your story, my story, your child’s story, your friend’s story, your neighbor’s story, a stranger’s story. Many of the stories are inspirational. Some of the stories make you laugh. Others make you cry. Some are reminiscent of Pollyanna with cheer and helpfulness in every sentence. Others visit the dark places in your soul where you rarely dare to venture. Some frustrate you because the author appears to have a backpack of helium balloons and yours is filled with rocks. Others guiltily make you feel giddy because the writer is seemingly screwing up his diabetes much worse than you are. Each of these stories reminds you that although you sometimes feel alone in your diabetes journey, you are not. You are part of a community: a family with a secret pinky handshake or at least a pump in the pocket or a meter in the purse or a Calorie King book in the car.

Some stories are told in words. Others are shared in photos or drawings or comics. You can find some on YouTube and others you can download from iTunes. Many tales are typed on iPads and desktop computers while others are written with tears smeared across giant cupcakes in the boo hoo zone. Some stories are elegantly written blogs while others are a brief cry for help on Twitter or an explosion of anger on a message board.

Lately I have been reading a lot of stories.

I just finished reading My Sweet Life – Successful Women with Diabetes and My Sweet Life – Successful Men with Diabetes. Each book contains approximately twenty-five life stories written by “successful” people with diabetes. These books are the work of Dr. Bev Adler, a psychologist and CDE who specializes in helping people cope with the emotional challenges of living with diabetes. She was diagnosed with Type 1 in 1975 and she brings her experience with diabetes to everything she does. Her story is the first chapter in the women’s book. Although I was familiar with her books, I first “met” Dr. Bev on Twitter @AskDrBev.

One view of success is that it is measured by the “important” things you do with your life and many of these storytellers fit that mold. Charlie Kimball is a well-known driver in the IZOD IndyCar Series. Kelli Kuehne played golf on the LPGA Tour for thirteen years and Zippora Karz was a soloist with the New York City Ballet. Dr. Jason Baker is an Assistant Professor of Medicine and Attending Endocrinologist at Weill Cornell Medical College in NYC and the founder of Marjorie’s Fund, a global initiative dedicated to the education, care, and research of Type 1 Diabetes in the developing world.

But being well-known is only one way of thinking about success. Success in living with diabetes might be thought of as taking the hand you’re dealt and using it to empower you rather than limit you. The storytellers in both of these books write of hard times with diabetes, both physically and emotionally, and not one of them claims to be “perfect” at living with it. But they have all come to terms with diabetes, and many have made diabetes their life work. There are doctors, nurses, CDE’s, psychologists, and authors. Many of the writers are well-known figures in the Diabetes Online Community and you’ll see stories by Kerri Sparling, Scott Johnson, Kelly Kunik, Amy Tenderich, Gary Scheiner, and too many others to list. Others have taken diabetes along for the ride in various professions, life adventures, and parenthood. I was familiar with many of the authors and others were completely new to me. It was a reminder that not everyone with diabetes hangs out on Twitter or writes a blog….

Stories from the DOC are not new to me. I am a faithful listener of DSMA Live and I regularly read about 50 blogs. I am less active on message boards than I used to be, but I keep up with several friends whom I’ve met through TuDiabetes, Insulin-Pumpers, and the ADA Type 1 board. I dabble in Twitter and Facebook and make new connections almost daily. I have been lucky to meet many of my online friends in person and these relationships are incredibly rewarding.

I really do hate diabetes. But I cherish all of the stories and relationships whose threads have been woven into my life because of diabetes. Maybe we could write a new story:

Thanks to Dr. Bev Adler for providing me with complimentary copies of her books. I enjoyed them tremendously. If you would like to read her books, they are available at Amazon.com. A portion of the proceeds from the purchase of the books is donated to the American Diabetes Association.

The Great Divide in the DOC

Posted on September 19, 2013 by Laddie

I’m Abby the Black Lab and it has been a while since I have written a blog post. Lately I have been utterly distressed by a great divide that I see in the DOC (Diabetes Online Community) and I think it is time to bring this to the attention of my readers. You probably think I’m going to start talking about the Type 1 versus Type 2 wars that periodically surface on the Internet. Are you kidding? My subject is not nearly as trite as that.

No, it’s the dog people versus the cat people. The canines versus the felines. The lovable, loyal, goofy, tail-wagging dogs versus the slinky, aloof, meowing and menacing kitty cats.

The cat aficionados have long been led by Kerri from Six Until Me whose cat Siah is a media star who poses in laundry baskets and attempts to dominate the DOC as an “internet celeb-kitty.” The dog people are more decentralized in their leadership. Canines have conceded Twitter to the cats, but think that we rule Facebook. The blogosphere is probably a toss-up, but my opinion is that dogs are truly superior in their contribution to their PWDs (people with diabetes). Duchess is a diabetes service dog who daily keeps her owner Tarra safe. Meri’s boys are protected from the abyss of low blood sugars by Lawton the Yellow Lab. All human hearts have melted seeing photos of Kim’s corgi watching over the new baby “Rabbit.” Black labs like Riley owned by Mike Hoskins insist that their owners exercise by taking them for daily walks.

Cats meanwhile are tiptoeing across keyboards and writing meaningless blog posts with the tag line “zxzxzxdjjj.” Pissed-off and non-sleeping kitties are considered newsworthy. Oh yeah, Chris of @iam_spartacus fame has some feisty looking cats and @KarenBittrSweet claims to have the world’s cutest cat. Videos of Grumpy Cat are ubiquitous, but if I want to see grumpy, I can look at my owner Laddie when her meter says 286.

Fortunately the DOC universe of cats and dogs has recently been in a state of equilibrium with only a few ripples of discord. The dog people tried to sneak one under the rug in Twitter and Facebook with the purchase of a Scottish Terrier named Bella by Cherise. Someone needs to tell Bella that if she wants to become an icon in the DOC Canine Hall of Fame, she should learn to walk on a leash. Also tell her that if she’s going to be a supporter of people with diabetes, lancet devices should not be on the menu. The cat people have lost some heroes as Kerri and Pancreassasin mourn their beloved friends who have gone to the scratching post in the sky. (RIP Prussia July/2013 and Pancreassasin 2week kitty August/2013).

But the calm has been shattered! Earlier this month the cat people added a new superhero to their roster in the guise of a young child named Birdie. Smiles and cute Batman Princess costumes are not adequate to camouflage the chaotic schemes of this young and seemingly innocent feline-loving child. With no attempts to disguise her evil intent, this child suggested that the family cat Siah was lonely and needed a friend called…. Loopy.

The Loopy hullabaloo has not been all. Another scandal has been exposed in the DOC and I, Abby, a supporter of all people with diabetes, have been accused of consorting with the enemy. A photo of a certain black lab being nuzzled by a gray feline has been splashed across the headlines. I confess. I am guilty. I like cats and cats like me.

Every year I put “Kitten” at the top of my Christmas list. Unfortunately my owner Laddie is allergic to cats, so no personal kitty is in my future. I am extremely fortunate that when Laddie travels, I get to go to Linda’s house and visit my friend Nikki. Nikki is a shy cat, but I have learned to approach her slowly and lay my head down acknowledging that cats are supreme. She rewards me with purrs and caresses of her head against mine. It is a magical glimpse of heaven for a lucky black dog who is showered with love by a beautiful princess gray cat.

My romance with Nikki has some important lessons for everyone. Although you seemingly-civilized people with Type 1 diabetes sometimes argue with those who have Type 2 diabetes, you pancreatically-challenged doofuses should remember that you are stronger together than apart. Diabetes in all of its evil forms is the enemy and you should join hands and conquer it together.

More importantly, we dogs and cats should toss aside our petty differences and stop the harassing hisses and barks. With a united army of canines and felines, we can fight a cosmic battle against our common enemy. A enemy who taunts and teases us in our own yards and through our own windows. An adversary who seems to think that dominance is achieved through water-skiing videos. We have seen the enemy and the enemy is……..SQUIRRELS!

An Interview With My Sister

Posted on August 12, 2013 by Laddie

More than once when writing about my relationship to the Diabetes Online Community (DOC), I have mentioned that I spent a huge part of my Type 1 Diabetes life knowing no one else with diabetes. That is not completely true. My older sister has Type 1.

So why do I keep forgetting that?

We have never lived closer than 1000 miles apart since our diagnoses. We were both diagnosed as adults at a time that long preceded personal computers and online communities. We periodically talk about diabetes on the phone or during infrequent family gatherings–mostly weddings and funerals. Although we like each other just fine, we are just not part of each other’s day-to-day lives, diabetes or otherwise.

So when it came time this summer for a long-planned family vacation and I am now blogging about diabetes, I decided that it would be fitting to interview my sister. I figured that I would learn as much as my readers will. My bribe of a late afternoon piña colada sealed the deal.

I did not tape the interview, so her answers are in my words and accompanied by my comments about her answers.

I was diagnosed in 1976 at age 24. When were you diagnosed and how old were you? I don’t know the exact date, but I was diagnosed in the winter of 1981 at age 31.

Comment: I was able to find out my exact diagnosis date by contacting my hospital. My sister has no interest in doing so.

Tell me about your diagnosis. I had been going to the doctor for six months with nonspecific symptoms and receiving no diagnosis or care plan. I came back from a business trip and was so ill that I could barely make it home. I called the doctor and was told I probably had a virus. Feeling worse in the morning, I went to the doctor’s office and remember the nurse saying “You didn’t tell me that you couldn’t breathe.” I remember nothing more until a few days later when I regained consciousness in the ICU.

Comment: We also discussed how she felt in retrospect that in the months preceding her diagnosis her doctor had only considered the possibility of Type 2 diabetes. I was immediately diagnosed at my first doctor visit and was never once treated as though I might be anything other than a Type 1. Was the difference because I was in my mid-20’s and she was over 30? Was it the speed of onset? Was it a different doctor and a different city? Or just good luck for me and bad luck for her?

What has been the hardest part of a Type 1 for you. The lows, especially since I live alone.

Comment: One of the hardest parts of dealing with Type 1 is that insulin which keeps us alive is the thing that can kill us. Most outsiders think that shots are the worst part of diabetes, but I agree with my sister that the lows are the worst.

Have you ever participated in the DOC? No. Do you even know what it is? No. Now that your sister has a blog, will you read it? Maybe, if you send me the link again.

I have several other autoimmune conditions. Do you? No. I do have high blood pressure and take meds for that. Other than that, it’s just insulin.

Comment: I have several other autoimmune conditions such as hypothyroidism and an inflammatory type of arthritis. But I don’t have high BP.

You have always been more open about your diabetes than I have. You took injections in the kitchen while I always went to the bathroom. Did you notice this? No. What are your opinions on this? It’s something I have to do and it’s no big deal. It’s who I am.

Comment: I am more open about my diabetes than I used to be. I’ve been on a pump for nine years so the issue of injecting in front of others is moot. I probably still wouldn’t be as blasé about it as my sister is.

As you consider the future, what are you afraid of in terms of diabetes and your health? Nothing.

Comment: When I mentioned my fear of being in a nursing home and being killed with too much insulin or bring forced to run high all the time, my sister said her hope is to have something massive like a heart attack kill her before she gets to that point. I think we all hope to stay healthy up to the point of death, but most of us don’t get that opportunity.

What else we discussed: When asked about a pump or a CGM, my sister said that she is not going there and she doesn’t want to deal with the technology. She uses Lantus now only because she was forced to switch a few years ago when Ultralente stopped being manufactured and her stockpile ran dry. She still uses Regular instead of a rapid insulin. I always laugh and tell her how much better things could be if she investigated some of the newer insulins and technology. But I don’t nag because her medical decisions are not my business. She does admit that when she retires in a few months she will start seeing a new endocrinologist. She will not be surprised if the new endo pressures her to make some changes.

My A1c is much lower than that of my sister. However, after decades of Type 1 we’re both relatively healthy. I would have a hard time arguing that I am substantially more healthy than she is. I do lead a much more physically active life than she does and maybe her regimen would not work for her if she tried to do what I do. But that’s only supposition.

Summary: Although our care regimens couldn’t be more different in terms of technology and results as measured by numbers, I think that we are definitely on the same page when it comes to the goals for our diabetes care. As my sister so eloquently summarized at the end of the interview: “My aim is to manage my diabetes so that every day in my life is a wonderful day.”

I’ll second that any day.

Blah Blah Blah

Posted on July 11, 2013 by Laddie

I think that most of the Type 1 Diabetes Online Community is currently in Lake Buena Vista, Florida for the 2013 Friends for Life Conference.

I know that when I write a blog post, it should be meaningful to me regardless of whether anyone else reads it.

But I know that everyone is in Florida and no one is going to read this. So blah, blah, blah.

A year ago I would have thought that there was nothing for me at the FFL conference. But now I think that maybe I should go next year.

Blah, blah, blah.

Strip Safely: Join the Campaign

Posted on July 5, 2013 by Laddie

Like many people with diabetes, I am frustrated by inaccurate readings from my blood glucose meters. The FDA requires that 95% of our meter readings above 75 mg/dl be within +/- 20% of the actual blood glucose value. Below 75 mg/dl 95% of the readings must be within +/- 15 points of the actual value. That means that my meter reading of 200 could actually be 160 or 240 and be considered accurate. Or my 60 could be a 45 or 75. When you base your insulin doses on these numbers, it’s a scary proposition.

I have learned from the Strip Safely website that the FDA standards are only part of the problem. Currently there is no further testing by the FDA once a meter and strips are on the market. At the Diabetes Technology Society’s May conference, studies were presented showing that there are many BG systems on the market that do not meet current standards and that some are as much as 40% high or low. That 200 meter reading can now be anything from 120-280. Most of the non-compliant meters and strips are manufactured outside the USA and the FDA has trouble monitoring these companies.

It was suggested at this meeting that the CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) bidding process is creating an atmosphere where price alone is determining what will be available. Quality is being sacrificed and patients are being put at risk. If you want to see one of those patients at risk, look in the mirror. I am close to Medicare age and I am terrified. Because Medicare standards influence most insurance company decisions, everyone of any age is affected by this.

Bennet Dunlap of the YDMV blog is the driving force behind the Strip Safely campaign. Only Bennet could have thought of such a titillating name:) He is encouraging each of us to visit the website, take the quiz, and learn about the campaign. Then we should follow through and write letters to our senators and representatives as well as members of the FDA. There are instructions about how to do this on the website and many sample letters. If you would like to listen to Bennet discussing the Strip Safely campaign, check out the 7/1/13 DSMA ‘Rents show.

I spent the 4th of July writing letters to my senators, my representative, and the FDA. I can’t think of a better way to have spent our national holiday than by exercising my right to influence my elected representatives. The models for my letters were from the Strip Safely website along with Meri’s letter at Our Diabetic Life. I wrote a longer letter to the FDA and if you would like a copy of it, please contact me through the link in my blog menu. The one page letter to my elected reps is below. This is the first time that I have ever written letters like this. If I can do it, so can you!

My Sample Letter (please copy if you’d like):

I have had Type 1 diabetes since 1976. I use an insulin pump to deliver the exogenous insulin that I cannot live without. I test my blood sugar levels about ten times per day and this testing is a critical part of my diabetes care. I need accurate meters and test strips to enable me to determine the correct amount of insulin required for meals, snacks, and corrections. Inaccurate strips lead to inaccurate insulin dosages that can impact my short-term and long-term health with resulting blood glucose highs and lows. Severe lows can be life-threatening.

The diabetes community in the United States needs your help. Please help keep inaccurate meters out of the hands and off the fingers of people with diabetes. At a recent meeting with the Diabetes Technology Society, the FDA acknowledged that there is a problem with test strips by certain manufacturers not delivering the level of accuracy for which they were approved. Many of these manufacturers are from Asia and other offshore locations. The FDA does not currently have a plan to do anything about the problem.

We need them to have one. Please use your office to help keep Americans with diabetes safe.

Type 1 Diabetes is characterized by incredible variability and inaccurate strips make a difficult disease even more difficult to manage. Please ask the FDA to implement a post-market program of ongoing random sampling of strips to insure that all brands consistently deliver the accuracy in the real world that they were approved to do.

We would also love to see the accuracy standard in the USA tightened to match the ISO standard of 15%. But first things first. Currently a lack of post-market quality control over manufacturers by the FDA degrades the existing standards to irrelevance.

The FDA has many responsibilities. Please make Fixing Diabetes Testing Accuracy one of the things for which the FDA is known.

Very truly yours,

Reflections on Six Months with DSMA Live

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Laddie

I decided at the beginning of 2013 that I was going to listen to the entire archives of DSMA Live. To tell you the truth, I can’t even remember why I decided to do it. So for now, I’ll say I did it “just because.”

DSMA Live Factoid: The archived podcasts are available through iTunes (search DSMA Live) and at BlogTalkRadio.

Diabetes Social Media Advocacy (DSMA) is the brainchild of Cherise Shockley. BlogTalkRadio states that “The mission of DSMA is to promote social networking in all its forms (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc) in order to educate and support all people affected by diabetes.” That is already out of date because Cherise has bigger plans. She realizes that not everyone with diabetes is part of the DOC (Diabetes Online Community) and she wants her inclusive message of support to be available to everyone, online or offline.

Because I cannot do justice to the scope of everything that DSMA is involved in, I encourage you to visit the DSMA website. In addition to DSMA Live on Thursday evenings, you’ll learn about the Wednesday night TweetChat, the ‘Rents show for parents, and the en Vivo! show in Spanish. There is also information about the monthly Blog Carnival and the weekly WDD Blue Fridays Initiative.

DSMA Live Factoid: The only really bad show was the inaugural show on October 28, 2010. It was an on-air technical rehearsal where Cherise, George, and Scott spent an hour asking “Can you hear me now?”

The early DSMA Live shows were an extension of the TweetChat, and the hosts and featured guest discussed the questions that had been posed the night before. Over time the shows morphed into what is now an interview and discussion format.

DSMA Live Factoid: Three of the first five guests interviewed on DSMA Live were named Scott.

The guest list from the first 2-1/2 years of the show is a veritable Who’s Who of the diabetes community starting with the well-known hosts: Cherise, George Simmons, and Scott Johnson. If you spend time in the DOC, you’ll recognize the names of the many bloggers and advocates interviewed including Manny Hernandez, Kerri Sparling, Wil Dubois, and Amy Tenderich.

Karen Graffeo, a blogger and the founder of Diabetes Blog Week, made a comment that characterizes the journey of most of the people interviewed. When asked about the background of Diabetes Blog Week, she said: “So I started thinking that it would be great if someone did that for the diabetes blog community. So then I thought that maybe I should try to do it.” One after another the featured DSMA Live guests saw something that needed to be done and they did it. They weren’t superstars. They were people who started writing about their lives and reached out to make the world a better place for everyone affected by diabetes.

DSMA Live Factoid: Two of the featured guests were 8 years old or younger.

Some of my favorite shows were introductions to people I had not “known” previously. It was fun to hear the stories about their blogs, podcasts, advocacy groups, and start-up companies. Especially unforgettable were the crazy people who climb mountains, participate in triathlons, and drive race cars while juggling the never-ending demands of diabetes.

Also very interesting were the conversations with insiders in the diabetes industry such as Dr. Henry Anhalt, Director of the Artificial Pancreas Program at Animas, Lane Desborough, a Product Strategist at Medtronic, and Sean Gallagher, the Senior Director of Marketing at Insulet Corp (Omnipod). DSMA Live also introduced me to Professor Jean Claude Mbanya, a physician from Cameroon who is President of the International Diabetes Foundation.

DSMA Factoid: Art therapist and blogger Lee Ann Thill is the sole member of the 5-Time Featured Guest Club.

As my dog Abby outlined in her post yesterday, I listened to 149 DSMA podcasts in a 6-month period mostly while walking the dog. I got a lot of exercise. I got a lot of education. I got a lot of inspiration. All great things for a successful life with diabetes. I encourage you to put on your walking shoes and give DSMA Live a try.

Abby the Black Lab Discusses DSMA Live

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Laddie

Laddie: In tomorrow’s blog post, I will write about my 6-month journey through the archives of DSMA Live. DSMA Live is a weekly interview show hosted by Cherise Shockley, George Simmons, and Scott Johnson. DSMA stands for Diabetes Social Media Advocacy and more information can be found at the DSMA website. Today my dog Abby is giving you a preview of the important details.

Most dogs don’t know about DSMA Live. I do because on January 1st of this year, my owner Laddie decided that she was going to listen to all of the archived DSMA Live shows. Since that decision involved neither dog biscuits nor tennis balls, I totally dismissed it and curled up by a sunny window to take a nap.

Hearing the rattle of my harness and leash, I jumped at the opportunity for a walk. Laddie grabbed her pink iPod Nano and thus began our winter and spring of listening to DSMA Live. Well, actually I didn’t listen. My head is not properly shaped for ear phones. I just walked, stalked rabbits, and sniffed dog “Tweets” on mailboxes and fire hydrants.

Now you may not know what DSMA Live is. Neither do I. All I know is that because of this series of podcasts, I was the beneficiary of multiple long walks that far surpassed our normal dog walk frequency and length.

From January 1 until May 16, 2013, Laddie listened to 149 DSMA shows. According to her Fitbit pedometer, our normal pace was a 20-minute mile. Or as I prefer to think of it, we walked 3 miles per DSMA show. We could have gone faster, but this pace included dog potty breaks and socialization with other canine/human combos.

My favorite stat is that in 5-1/2 months, we walked approximately 447 miles accompanied by DSMA Live. That’s an average of 3.3 miles per day. I am indeed a lucky dog and my ever svelte figure is a result of my daily exercise.

Now that we are only listening to current episodes, I realize that the number of my DSMA walks will be reduced. But the addition of spin-offs such as the ‘Rents show and the en Vivo! show is a reminder that there will be a growing number of podcasts to inspire dog walks.

So to other dogs, I say: “I am a DSMA Dog. Are you?”

(By the way, I do not like Wednesday night DSMA TweetChats. All humans with diabetes totally ignore their dogs during that hour and focus on their iPads instead.)