I started Diabetes for Mortals because I felt that the information available to diabetics meant to help us manage our disease was not realistic, and expected perfection. I was frustrated that my little sister, also a Type I diabetic, felt guilty about not having an HbA1C of 6.0. Providing my story and experiences, the lessons I've learned and am still learning, is the best way for me to hopefully show that the goal is "managing Diabetes", not "perfecting Diabetes".

That said, I am not a doctor. I have never attended medical school, I am not licensed in any way shape or form to give medical advice to others, and I don't even particularly enjoy medical television like "ER" or "Grey's Anatomy".

My writings are not meant to provide medical advice.

When I mention taking 5 units of insulin with a meal I ate, I am not implying that you should take 5 units for a similar meal. Or even that the meal was particularly good.

When I write about mistakes I've made like drinking too much alcohol, or driving 100 miles in the middle of the night because I didn't have a backup infusion site, I am not recommending you make these mistakes or implying that I am better for the experience. Hopefully by reading about the mistakes I've made, you can prevent these mistakes from happening in your life and end up with a higher quality of life and fewer complications.

Diabetes is unique in that there are so many variables that go into determining an effective treatment. Your weight, metabolism, physical activity levels, sleeping patterns, diet, sexual patterns, attitude, pain tolerance level, blood pressure, and many other traits all influence how it is best to treat you.

Taking any action based on contents of this site, explicit or implied, should be cleared with your physician and endocrinologist. I am not responsible for your actions, nor are you responsible for mine.

Now, with all that out of the way, I hope that you enjoy the site.

One of my reasons for moving back to Northern California was to be closer to family, and so far it's worked out pretty well. My favorite new "tradition" is that every Tuesday my brother, his wife, my girlfriend and I get together for a dinner. We trade off each week, with one couple hosting and cooking the entire meal. Not only is it fun, but we each get the satisfaction of providing a good time for the other couple, and the following week we don't have to worry about dinner on a busy night in the middle of the week.
Since my brother is a Type I Diabetic as well, our meals are usually healthy and relatively easy to dose insulin for. While the entree always changes, my favorite appetizer is a low-carb, Diabetic-friendly tray that can be bought in a single trip to Trader Joe's and is easy on the budget.

Selection of Cheese: TJ's has a wide selection of cheeses to match any taste preference. California Brie, soft Danish blue, and herbed goat cheese are all under $5 each and have 0 net carbs.

Prosciutto or Salami: A package of cured Prosciutto is a little under $4, and the saltiness is a good balance to the musky flavor of the cheeses. If you want to change things up a little, pick out a peppered salami.

Olives or Tapenade: Trader Joe's has four different types of store-brand stuffed olives, for $2.99-$3.99. Choose from Japeno, Blue Cheese, Garlic, or pimiento stuffing depending on what type of flavor you are in the mood for. Or, grab a jar of their Greek olive tapenade, and spread it over crackers or crusty bread.

All of the above items have 0 net carbs, so I don't need to dose insulin at all. Best of all, all you need to do to prepare this dish is open a few jars, peel some plastic wrap, and grab a couple small plates. Before you leave Trader Joe's, wander down the wine aisle and grab a sub-$5 bottle of wine to go with the tray and you have a recipe for a good appetizer and great conversation.

With Halloween falling in the middle of the week, I ended up having a quieter night than usual, staying at home and handing out candy to the local trick-or-treaters. While this meant lower alcohol consumption and complete control over my food intake, it was still hard to figure out how to dose insulin for the different types of candy I was eating. Here's some of the Halloween lessons I've learned over the years:

Round carb amounts for easy memorization: I looked at the wrappers of the candy I thought I would eat, and remembered a rough carbohydrate total for each. For example, there's a little under 9g of carbs per "Fun Size" snickers bar. 9g is not significantly different from 10g (0.17 units of insulin for my ratio) and it's easier to remember 10, so I just remember 10. This seems insignificant until you are figuring out a dose for 5 "Fun Size" snickers, 2 Reese's cups, ten pieces of kandy korn, and two Kit-Kat bars.

Test about every hour if eating a lot: This makes it easy to catch mistakes before they multiply. If you forgot to count a couple pieces of candy, or underestimated how many ounces of punch you drank, you'll find out soon and be able to correct. Otherwise, one mistake early in the night means you've just spent five hours at 350, even though you dosed correctly the rest of the night.

If you're pumping, don't bolus too often: This is especially tempting if you are a new pumper. Although it seems very attractive to take a bolus for 6g every time you eat 5 pieces of kandy korn, you will most likely end up overcorrecting. Instead, keep a rough tally of what you eat and bolus every 10-15 minutes.

And as always, try to remember to do a test before you fall asleep. We're not perfect, and despite following these tips I was still 274 at bedtime. A quick correction dose saved me from 8 hours of being high.