YDMV on Teen T1s

Inspired by Time Life TV ads, I thought I would collect some of YDMV's musings on teens with type 1 and lump them into a "Best Of" collection kinda like the Newbie section.

So links to a few YDMV essays musing on the T1 teen are collected below. For all I know I contradict myself here and that is perfectly understandable we have 3 teenagers, I can't be expected to have a clue.


Talking with Teens
My favorite teen digression: if you expect your teens to talk with you, you need to have invested time talking with them before they were teens.

What is the Magic A1C
A1C isn't magic. If we pretend it has magical powers and stress about it we will transfer our stress to our kids. Teens need rational parents and stressing about A1C isn't rational.

Dr Freud - Endocrinologist and Teen Motivator
A little Freudian motivation helps get through to teens and it funny too.

Children with Diabetes Friends for Life Conference Session Notes
My thoughts on Children With Diabetes' Friends For Life convention, particularly the patents of teen stuff.

Family ties key to youth happiness
Want happy teens? AP & MTV did a survey that can help. Think about it.

Declaration of Independence
I abuse the work of Messrs Jefferson, Adams and Franklin mutilating their original masterpiece to make the point who's diabetes is it anyway.

Tune Up
Check ups matter and at some point the kids learn to play ya.

Tune Up II: Management
Manage what works well. That sounds almost stupid and it would be if we all did it. Tiger has a swing coach, the lesson in that is we can coach the things that bring us good results.

Cheating
What is cheating and more to the point are who is doing it the teens or the parents?

What is Your Goal?
Here is a hint; it isn’t a number.

Software that Works?

Animas apparently the only pump company with crapware. Amy at Diabetes Mine writes about new and improved Omini pod software today. (And has nothing good to say about their software V 1.0.) In that piece, Amy make the point that new pumpers don't want to loose data.

Neither do old pumpers.

I look forward to better software from Animas. I will be sure to look at the Pod People's at Friends For Life next month.

All the more reason for an industry standard data structure. (Calling Bernard) This is our information and we need to press our service providers to serve us.

If we are lucky making it ours vs theirs is v 3.0. I am not holding my breath.

From the News Wire: Fun T1 Gluten Free Baking Story

Sometimes it just fun to read a human interest story. Like food? Here ya go:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/06/24/ST2008062401139.html

From the News Wire: IDDP Milestone & micro Pumps

Y'all know my interest in JDRF IDDP projects. Well here is some news:

Osiris Therapeutics Inc. (OSIR: News, Chart, Quote ) announced that it has achieved $2 million in milestone payments from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation or JDRF for progress made on a Phase II clinical trial evaluating Prochymal, a mesenchymal stem cell or MSC therapy, for patients recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. The payments were triggered when Osiris accomplished certain clinical and regulatory milestones including initiating patient treatments.

http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=639523&SMap=1

http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080625005260&newsLang=en

Now it would be a real milestone if we the walkers who support JDRF had some transperancy in what these milestones are but hey this is progress.

Diabetes Mine is reporting Debiotech and STMicroelectronics have announced the first “evaluation prototypes” of the unique “highly miniaturized disposable insulin pump” they’ve been working on for several years.

Bring Your Diabetes to Disney

Check out the new "Your Diabetes Resource" graphic at dLife.

Disney by yours truly.

How cool is that!

Thanks Kerri

From the News Wire: Biotechs and Patient-Advocacy Funds

Here is some reporting on the kind of relationship JDRF has with its IDDP program. In fact JDRF is mentioned.

It a good primer on the idea of Advocact Funding Research.

Funding geeks - Enjoy

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/biotech/20080620-9999-1n20groups.html

Laughing in the Face of Diabetes

I am going to talk about humor, sorry if this is too solemn but I am very serious about this.

I have a guiding principal here at YDMV and in life, serious and solemn aren't the same thing. Life should be fun and at times silly. Doesn't mean you don't give it your all. YDMV also means sometimes you forget about the fun because of the D and V parts.

Diabetes breads depression. It is well documented that people with D suffer from higher rates of that other D. I would bet cash money to all comers that the parents of type 1 kids have elevated rates too. When it becomes clinical see a professional. Until then see the rubber chicken on the silly side of the path of life.

Yes, I take the D care very seriously; but I see no reason not to laugh about it. In fact I think that one key goal for newbies it to get to the point where diabetes is second in their lives. The point where having a life other than diabetes is primary for a moment and they have made diabetes second. It still there, they are still doing the stuff, but it part of the background habits and rituals of a life.

You know you are getting there when you forget a bolus. It is hard to roll with the punches the first time you forget. But you remembered you forgot right? Or you did a blood test and it was out of whack, but you remembered to test. You are doing the behaviors. Cut yourself some slack. Congratulations on getting back to a life.


I remember reading an essay by John Cleese. It was on the Wall Street Journal editorial page many years ago. Even he was astounded by how much he was paid for funny advertising. His point was to value humor. His example was if he could get you to laugh you would be more inclined to remember and trust the message he was trying to get across. Now I don’t know more serious places than the Wall Street Journal editorial page and this was where I saw someone first separate the idea of serious and solemn.

Being perfectly serious, we need to remember how to care for diabetes, maybe we will do better at that remembering if it is something we allow ourselves to laugh about.

They say laughter makes you live longer. The point of diabetes care is much the same if more immediate, live longer. The key point is to really live, to laugh and love. Without laughter what is life anyway?

There are those who think joking around in diabetes conversations is an off topic sign of a lack of seriousness. To me laughter is not only on topic it is a mandatory part of the topic. It is a sign of life.

The funniest guy I know is my Type 1 son Connor. I hate his diabetes. A cure would be beyond wonderful. If the all powerful diabetes god offered to cure him in exchange for his sense of humor; no way could I even consider it. It would be a cure at the expense of the heart and soul of his life.


I am seriously sorry for the solemnity of this exposition. So here’s a corny joke;

Why did the diabetic cross the road?

To get to the rubber chicken vendor on the other side.

Disney dLife

Check it out I'm published at dLife!
(Yeah I thought they had better taste than that too.)

Team Type 1 Completes Race Across America

Annapolis, Md. — As dawn broke in Annapolis, Md., Tuesday, Team Type 1 completed the Race Across America (RAAM) with a runner-up finish in the eight-person team division of the non-stop, transcontinental race.

Team Type 1’s official finish time was five days, 13 hours and 40 minutes.

Full story at

http://www.ppolnews.com/?id=83269&keys=RAAM-Southerland-diabetes-Annapolis

Let’s Dance

Once again I’ll take a chance

And turn circles in your telephone dance

How long it has been this way I can’t recall

For training and service you may record my call.

The menu choices may chance

Option 3 you may rearrange

Once again I’ll take a chance

And turn circles in your telephone dance

Sadly I know the steps

The nothing’s changed since I first called you reps.

From the beginning it has been the same

You don’t know my address or my name

Once again I’ll take a chance

And turn circles in your telephone dance

My call is very important I’m told

So important I should stay here on hold

I wish we could talk face to face

Without you sending me to some other place

Once again I’ll take a chance

And turn circles in your telephone dance

If there were just someone there

I would pretend that you really care

Talking to a person would be nice

I know we’ll never talk twice.

Once again I’ll take a chance

And turn circles in your telephone dance