Scott Hanselman

Twittering my Diabetes - Conclusion and Complete Transcript

May 23, 2007 Comment on this post [5] Posted in Diabetes
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Last week in order to increase awareness of Diabetes and raise money for the ADA I twittered my diabetes. I twittered (tweet'ed) every blood sugar test, every time I stuck an needle in me, refilled my pump, had a low, had a high, went for a walk. Every time Diabetes stuck its nose in my life, I twittered it.

Here's the transcript. Thanks to everyone who donated! The transcript is ordered NEWEST twitters first, so read it from the bottom up if you want the full experience. Finally, a use for Twitter. ;)

Big thanks to the folks at Twitter for featuring me on the their home page last week in support of the idea.

Please do note this is experiment was designed to generate empathy and turn that emphathy into action. No one's looking for pity and this wasn't intended to inspire fear, only to spread understanding.

For more information on why one ought to manage their diabetes closely and an analogy that explains how insulin and blood sugar relate to either, do check out "Diabetes Explanation: The Airplane Analogy" and the Diabetes section of this blog.

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The day (++) of Twittering for Diabetes is over. Thanks everyone. http://hanselman.com/fightdiabetes 05:27 PM May 19, 2007

Blood sugar is 110mg/dl but heading low fast. I'm off to burgerville. *http://hanselman.com/fightdiabetes/donate* 03:22 PM May 19, 2007

Blood sugar is 150mg/dl...crept up some before lunch. 12:53 PM May 19, 2007

Sugar is 122. Nice stable night. Don't get to many of those. *Twittering my diabetes* to raise money for the ADA - http://hanselman.com 09:04 AM May 19, 2007 from web

Blood sugar is 110mg/dl...looking like I'll be in for a stable night. Thank goodness. 01:23 AM May 19, 2007

Looking stable at 140mg/dl. Never a good idea to go to sleep with blood sugar that's "moving"...makes nighttime dangerous 11:27 PM May 18, 2007 

Blood sugar starting to inch up...now at 140mg/dl. I'd like an apple, so I need to do some calculations. 10:42 PM May 18, 2007

*Twittering my diabetes* to raise money for the ADA - http://hanselman.com 09:00 PM May 18, 2007

Salad was a good choice. Don't want to have a low while putting the baby down. 08:50 PM May 18, 2007

Blood sugar heading up, turns out tortilla strips have more carbs than I thought. 07:34 PM May 18, 2007

Going to have a chicken salad...should not be much insulin, but it's HUGE 07:15 PM May 18, 2007

Italian food tonight, but going to try lower carbs...I'd rather not "disturb" good blood sugar. 07:00 PM May 18, 2007

Getting ready to drive home....gotta check sugar before I drive. Looks like a lovely 105mg/dl. Don't want to have a low while driving. 06:49 PM May 18, 2007

Had to have a 15g granola bar to "level off" blood sugar. In a good position to start dinner with good numbers. 06:43 PM May 18, 2007

Blood sugar are 96mg/dl...kind of "sliding" into a low blood sugar...no action now, but soon. 06:09 PM May 18, 2007

Levelling off nicely. 108mg/dl, fitting nicely in the 80-120mg/dl goal that you, dear reader, the non-diabetic has. 05:53 PM May 18, 2007

Blood sugar is 122mg/dl...looking much better, but still "coming down hot." Don't want to have another low. 05:30 PM May 18, 2007 from web

Blood sugar is 177mg/dl...the delta/slope is great....40 points drop in 20min...I need to soft land this plane.... 04:59 PM May 18, 2007

*Twittering my diabetes* to raise money for the ADA - http://hanselman.com 04:44 PM May 18, 2007

Blood sugar starting to fall...224mg/dl now. Aiming for 100mg/dl, remember. Not sure why lunch was a failure. 04:43 PM May 18, 2007

I think my blood sugar has topped out (apexed) at 232mg/dl....I hope I'm heading back down... 04:24 PM May 18, 2007

Crap...totally messed up lunch...sugar is 228mg/dl and climbing... 04:14 PM May 18, 2007

Alarm just went of...blood sugar is 177 and heading higher. 03:39 PM May 18, 2007

There's free granola bars at a booth here at the conference. I'm grabbing 4 in case I have a low later. 03:34 PM May 18, 2007

There's lots of candy here...snickers, piles of the junk. Everyone's eating. Not I. 03:29 PM May 18, 2007

Blood Sugar 138mg/dl. Nasty low, now I'm afraid I'm going to "overshoot" my low and now I'm going high. 03:26 PM May 18, 2007

Found a cookie in the exhibit hall...gotta wait 10 min to see... 02:14 PM May 18, 2007

Insulin has a "half life" in the system...I've underestimated the power of the walk...I've got 2.5U still "pending"... 02:10 PM May 18, 2007

Alarm just went off...I can feel it, having a low. Shouldn't be...meter says 65...pump says 70... 02:09 PM May 18, 2007

Starting to get really nauseous...the secondary drug, Symlin, causes an hour of seasickness after injection... 01:41 PM May 18, 2007

Just walked 0.5 miles, back from the Restaurant. Can feel the sugar rising... 01:21 PM May 18, 2007

Blood sugar is 155mg/dl. Took 5U of Symlin, that slows digestion. Set pump to deliver 5U with 2.5U now and the rest on going. 01:07 PM May 18, 2007

Most insulin starts working in 2 hours, but most food starts raising your sugar in 10 mins. 12:34 PM May 18, 2007

Blood sugar 120mg/dl...good start to have Ethiopian food. Going to take insulin now in anticipation of a large meal. 12:18 PM May 18, 2007

At Queen of Sheba, trying to count carbs. 12:09 PM May 18, 2007

Walking to Queen of Sheba Ethiopian....walking takes the edge of blood sugar... 11:54 AM May 18, 2007

It's always a good idea for a diabetic to enter a meal with stable blood sugar... 11:31 AM May 18, 2007

I'm well positioned for lunch, blood sugar seems stable at 120mg/dl. Good for a diabetic. 11:02 AM May 18, 2007 

Blood sugar is 110mg/dl...trend is downward... 10:43 AM May 18, 2007 

My insulin pump is currently set to deliver 0.6U of insulin per hour. I take 30U a day total, including this "background insulin." 10:20 AM May 18, 2007

Doing more walking today than anticipated...I may need to take less insulin. 10:19 AM May 18, 2007

My continuous meter just alarmed, says I have to calibrate it with a blood test within 2 hours. Have to keep them in sync. 10:02 AM May 18, 2007

Blood sugar is 140mg/dl. Coming down, good. Safe to drive. Under 80 would not be safe. 09:56 AM May 18, 2007

Driving somewhere, gotta check blood sugar first....diabetics can lose their licenses if they have a "low" 09:55 AM May 18, 2007

I'd like to get my blood sugar back to a more normal level before eating lunch... 09:43 AM May 18, 2007

Sometimes when you have high blood sugar, your mouth tastes sweet, like you're marinating in your own juices. 09:36 AM May 18, 2007

Refilling my insulin pump reservoir. I don't "trust" this bottle of insulin. Insulin only lasts 28 days unrefridgerated and sometimes "dies. ... 09:32 AM May 18, 2007

Sugar is 160mg/dl. The goal is always 80-120. 160 is too high given I haven't eatten yet. 09:30 AM May 18, 2007

Sugar is 172bg/dl. That's high for a fasting number. Has the correction I took not hit yet, or do I need more insulin? 08:56 AM May 18, 2007 

Out of the shower, reconnecting the insulin pump tube to me. The tube is 43" long. The pump has 4 days worth of insulin. 07:20 AM May 18, 2007

*Twittering my diabetes* all day to raise money for diabetes research. Info at http://hanselman.com 07:14 AM May 18, 2007

Getting in the shower. I can disconnect the tube that connects my insulin pump, but then there's no insulin...can only d.c. for 30min. 07:09 AM May 18, 2007

Blood sugar went up around 5am, now 166bg/dl. Taking 1.25U to 'correct.' This is called the "pre-dawn effect," and is hormonal. 07:05 AM May 18, 2007 

Sugar is 104. Got to remember to refill my pump, and change batteries. http://hanselman.com/fightdiabetes 03:13 AM May 18, 2007

Took a 1/2 unit too much insulin...alarm just went off, having a fig newton. 02:02 AM May 18, 2007

Blood sugar seems ok after the apple an hour ok, I'll go to bed now. I'll wake at 4 to check. 01:20 AM May 18, 2007

When eatting large meals, I use the pump *and* take an additional shot of a drug to slow digestion, and slow the sugar rise. 12:58 AM May 18, 2007

Some diabetics take shots, I'm connected 24hrs a day to a pump. I keep it under the pillow. 12:56 AM May 18, 2007

Running out of insulin in my onboard pump....I need 30U (units) for 24 hours. Got 14U on board...change the whole thing now or in the mornin ... 12:06 AM May 18, 2007

Going to eat an apple. Blood sugar is 102mg/dl. Gotta take 2U of insulin, but I'm also eating cheese, so I'll do 3. 12:05 AM May 18, 2007

blood sugar is low...74mg/dl. Starting to feel it. I took too much insulin for dinner. Damn low carb soup. 10:39 PM May 17, 2007 from web

A non-diabetic's blood sugar is between 80mg/dl and 120mg/dl (milligrams/deciliter of blood). 10:23 PM May 17, 2007

Tomorrow I'm going to "twitter my diabetes" - all day, to help raise awareness. hanselman.com/fightdiabetes 07:10 PM May 17, 2007

About Scott

Scott Hanselman is a former professor, former Chief Architect in finance, now speaker, consultant, father, diabetic, and Microsoft employee. He is a failed stand-up comic, a cornrower, and a book author.

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May 23, 2007 4:02
Wow, that really brings home what you go through on a daily basis Scott.
That was very interesting, and very humbling - I have no idea how you constantly juggle like that. I can only imagine how much the pump has helped.

Thanks for sharing
Ian
May 23, 2007 5:10
Scott

When I heard what your were doing, I thought this was a great idea.

Did you get any negative feedback as a result? Would it make sense for a group of D-bloggers to do it in unison on some specified day in the future?

I thought it might work to raise awareness of what it takes to maintain control of this disease.
May 23, 2007 6:41
Scott,
With our first child my wife had gestational diabetes and while she was able to manage it through diet alone (a diet we're still on to this day 3 1/2 years later) it opened our eyes to a world we weren't dialed into at all. Thanks for taking the time to Twitter this part of your world. Kudos!
May 23, 2007 23:14
Great information. I have type 2 and don't do nearly as much as you do, but it really brings home why I need to do more.

Thanks for raising awareness.

Lori
May 24, 2007 5:03
Wow.. my family -- dad, both grandmas, one grandpa, aunts, uncles -- has an extreme history of type II diabetes. I've always been husky but not obese. I'm keeping this post as a reference next time I get cravings to be unhealthy (I *love* sugar, like the rest of my family) or lazy. It seems I take my life's simplicity for granted :|

I'm going to donate to the cause.. I really hope a cure can be found.

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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed herein are my own personal opinions and do not represent my employer's view in any way.