I work in tech, so getting this working was something I was keen on. This is my bike computer which is actually showing my current blood glucose level and trendline (bottom of screen). Technology is making diabetes management close to real time!

In my last post (Flashback: Wait… I have Diabetes? Well…. damn. (Part 4) – I’ll add links to the rest of the posts in this series at the bottom) I spoke about how my eye surgeries had resulted in me no longer being allowed to drive. I also spoke about how this and a few other life events really put me into some dark times. It took me a long time to bounce back and to this day I still have some down times over the fact that I can no longer drive. 

But… It could have been far worse. And I’m certainly thankful for the care I received from the specialists at the hospital during the eye surgeries. I know they did everything they could in order for me to have the best eyesight I could, given what had to be done. It’s been tough, but I’ve had to adapt. Thankfully, I can do my grocery shopping online and have it delivered. Easy as.

After the eye surgeries, you might say I was scared into action… The surgeries were a wake-up call. (I can’t believe I’m about to say this…) It was an eye-opener. Cue the groans. But I needed to work harder on the control of my Diabetes. Things had to change.

In the third post in this series (Flashback: Wait… I have Diabetes? Well… damn. (Part 3)) I talked about how I was about to start using an insulin pump. This for me was a life changer. My hba1c level, the indicator test for how well I was controlling my diabetes, plummeted to a level that my endocrinologist was very happy with. I was now getting the insulin my body required to process the food I was eating and I was reducing the risk of more complications from having Type 1 Diabetes. Using an insulin pump did carry with it a steep learning curve. Part of using an insulin pump was counting the amount of carbohydrates I was having in a meal. This took some fine tuning and I had to learn how different foods, such as fatty or low glycaemic index foods, took longer to process and required adjusting the insulin doses I had. I’ve been on an insulin pump for a few years now and I still have things to learn! The insulin pump can also be programmed to give me different levels of insulin for different times of the day and I can reduce the amount of insulin I take during exercise. This was very difficult to manage when using the injection pens I used prior to using the pump.

Wait? A hunchback on a bike? Nope. That’s my insulin pump held up near my shoulder blades. I tried this as a place to have the pump to keep it out of the way and hopefully protect it if I ever had a crash off the bike.

The next thing I considered was a Continuous Glucose Monitor or CGM. I had seen some material around a new CGM that was due to come out soon. A small sensor inserted under the skin in my abdomen would be able to transmit my blood glucose level to my cell phone. Oh. Hell. Yes. I’m into tech, so this appealed to me. And so did having to do fewer finger pricks for blood glucose testing! There were other advantages too, such as loud alerts on my phone whenever my blood glucose levels went bad. I figured this would be awesome for my cycling which was starting to ramp up and was causing my blood glucose level to run low at times, including in the middle of the night. A screaming phone would definitely help me become more aware of any issues with my blood glucose level!

While the insulin pump was funded, the CGM was not. It was and continues to be a major financial investment. I am going to write more posts on my use of the insulin pump and CGM in the future. I will also cover how this helps me during my cycling, work and day to day life.

If you’ve read the about page for this blog (About me and why I’m writing this blog) then you have read why I’m writing this blog, but if you haven’t, the reasons why I’m writing this blog are many and come from my journey with my Type 1 Diabetes. I also want to share how I try to become a fitter and better athlete and do everything else in life. My Diabetes has caused its complications and certainly had an impact on my eyesight. The last thing I would want is for ANYONE to go through what I have when I might possibly have been able to help prevent that.

Without going into more detail, which I will no doubt cover in future posts, this latest post in the “Flashback” series really brings me up to date. I have a lot more I want to talk about, but I wanted to finish this series as I guess it kind of works as an introduction to me and my journey with my Type 1 Diabetes to this point. Please come back and read my future posts and feel free to head to my other social media pages!

This post continues on from previous posts. Please feel free to go and read the lead up to this post. The previous posts are:

Flashback: Wait… I have Diabetes? Well… damn. (Part 1)

Flashback: Wait… I have Diabetes? Well… damn. (Part 2)

Flashback: Wait… I have Diabetes? Well… damn. (Part 3)

Flashback: Wait… I have Diabetes? Well…. damn. (Part 4)

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