The Corner Booth

I have to be honest, Nightscout is awesome. It's great having my CGM in the Cloud and being able to share that blood sugar data with others, and giving myself more access to viewing my data when and where I want in a form that helps me. First impressions were strongly positive, and I stand by all of that. Additional observations, from my first six weeks of using my "early Christmas gift" strapped to my waist and wrist: The alerts annoy me at 80 and 180. I'd prefer 70 and 200. -- ( UPDATE : I have learned, thanks to Sara , that a Pebble update allows me to customize alert ranges -- so that's awesome!!!) Most of the time, I keep my Pebble on "Quiet Mike" mode which uses a CGM Sleep Mode watchface created by a fellow Nightscouter. But when not quiet, I've seen the tighter range makes me work harder to stay in that range and have tighter control just to avoid the annoying vibrations. Interesting... Recent trip to California was a big test driv...

There was a time when keeping on top of my diabetes management was more fairytale than real life. Checking my blood sugars wasn't a common occurrence. Carb counting wasn't around thanks to my 2 or more shots a day, in the morning and evening, so it came down to a more stringent style of meal planning. And as my docs often said, I wasn't "compliant." At some point in my 20s, I grew up. Well, to be accurate: I started growing up. That came in waves. And it's still a work in progress to some degree. But that's when I started accepting and embracing the fact that my diabetes wasn't going anywhere, that I wasn't destined for doom, and I could do something about it in the here and now. That sense of hopelessness still existed, but it became like a toy that I could put into a box and pack away in the closet. Every so often that toy would reappear, but not as often as it once did. What changed? For the most part, it was because I found inspirat...

Months or even years from now, I wonder if the pancreatically-challenged community will be asking: "Where were you, the day the Diabetes Community crashed the FDA's webcast system?" Yes, that appears to have happened this past Monday. So many people tuned in for the first-ever virtual town hall discussion between the D-Community and FDA, that the agency's ability to livestream the three-hour meeting online slowed and eventually crashed. And it wasn't only our diabetes dialogue... it seems the FDA's entire network of webcast meetings shut down for a couple hours at least. OK, that's not technically official yet; the IT gurus within the regulatory agency are still trying to determine the exact cause and moment it happened (about 90 minutes in), but so far FDA leadership believes that we were indeed the cause, since it was essentially like having a massive crowd all trying to peer through a tiny little window at the same time. So needless to say, there was a ...

I'm honored to be hosting the Best of the Betes Blogs for this month, featuring some of the great writings of the DOC during October. But while this is me hosting this monthly treasure this round, it's not about me... but the We . It's about all of us in this D-Community sharing, connecting, and just spreading the good word -- as in the real side - of life with D. As always, it's great to find friends in the D-Community, both new and old ones, who have shared some insight about life with diabetes -- whatever the category may be. So, without further ado, I'll highlight some of those that caught our collective eye this past month. (Drum roll, please...) Best Use of Humor Renza in Australia, who blogs at Diabetogenic. Yes, you'll want to get this smile from her post called " The Greatest Advancement in Diabetes ."   Best Vlog Kim at Texting My Pancreas shares some real emotion in this video blog, A Minute . ·        Best Re...

Hey, friends! This month, I'll be hosting the October-November Best of the ‘Betes Blogs ! If you aren't up on what this is all about, here's the 411: it's a great way to recognize our peers/fellow D-peeps in the Diabetes Blogosphere. You know, a kind of those #dblog posts that caught me eye and I think are worth a read. Please get all your nominations in as soon as possible, by this weekend, so that we can go through the submissions and get the list compiled. It will go up here on Monday, Nov. 3. Nominate your favorite posts from the month of July in these categories: Best Use of Humor Best Vlog Best Recipe Best Use of Photography Best Advocacy Best Reference to a D-Celebrity Best Story of a D-Meetup Best Non-D Related Post Best Post by a Type 1 Best Post by a Type 2 Best Post by a Type Awesome Best Post by a LADA/Type 1.5/Not Otherwise Specified Best Story of a D-Mistake Best Motivational Post Best Diabetes Art Best Comment(s) Nominating i...

A pair of new plastic holsters for my insulin pump just arrived by brown truck. I've been wearing my MiniMed 723 Revel since March, and I took a risk and changed up my color choice for the first time in years. Going clear, instead of charcoal. Sadly, Medtronic didn't yet have one of these beloved holsters that same color so I had to stick with the old one I'd been using. They told me the clear ones were on the way, and I've been anxiously waiting. In the meantime, my clear pump and charcoal holster have been horribly mismatched.   Until now. Finally, the time's come. Two new holsters arrived earlier this week. And now I'm happy. And see things much more clearly.   I'm pumping with clarity, you might say. And they better compliment my black-to-black Dexcom G4 CGM and belt case, too. Wait... I use the MedT pump and a Dexcom G4 CGM?! Yep, sure do. That's how I roll. And now, I can do it with a little more clear plasti...

Diabetes is everywhere. Even on my vacation to Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. We escaped from work and regular life here in Indiana for about 10 days recently, heading up across the mighty Mackinac Bridge to a place I had never been. While we stayed mostly on the eastern side of the UP and settled in Michigan's first city known as Sault Ste Marie (the Soo), we also ventured into the central UP to experience the magic of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore along Lake Superior and other places around there. One of the most breath-taking experiences you can find in this part of the country, aside from just the incredible history and soul-enriching water that is everywhere, is getting a glimpse of the changing colors of the Fall Foliage. The trees and the changing colors of the leaves are just... awesome. Fall is beautiful in many places throughout the country, and I haven't personally been to places on the East Coast or more West of Michigan and India...

It’s been a while, but we’re back with our ongoing series by and for loved ones of people with diabetes (PWDs), the so-called "Diabetes Partner Follies." Today, we’re happy to introduce a very special Type Awesome (those who are loved ones or care for a PWD) — my very own dad, Larry Hoskins! Not only is he a D-Dad who looked after and helped me become the person I am today, but he’s also a D-Husband; my mom was diagnosed back when she was a child and is now more than five decades into her life with type 1. Given that my wife and I have just returned from vacation and were able to meet up with my parents as they were dog-watching our pup Riley, this was a perfect time for me to talk my dad into sharing his perspective as a Double Type Awesome… Take it away, Dad! Guest post by Larry Hoskins My wife Judi and I recently celebrated our 37th wedding anniversary. It’s hard to believe that we have been together for so many years, but it’s just as amazing in that Judi was diagnosed wi...

Even with all my excitement about diabetes data-sharing and the very cool CGM in the Cloud hacking project, I've not been convinced this is the time for me personally to embrace that technology. In other words: in these times of #WeAreNotWaiting, it had pretty much been in the mindset that I Am Waiting and not signing on to this data-frenzy myself just yet. That is, until one day very recently when a severe hypo kicked me in the gut and changed my whole outlook on this. That experience pushed me over the edge in deciding that I am going to move forward with CGM in the Cloud. Yes, I think I'm going to jump into this cloud-universe, even though I still have concerns and don't know how long it will take me to get 100% up and running. CGM in the Cloud, For Dummies? Before I dig into the low that changed everything, let me explain that when I first started following all the chatter about this so-called Nightscout project this  summer, I hardly understood the basics of what i...