What is Sugar Surfing?

This week's post comes from Dr. Stephen Ponder, who will be in Ireland in less than two weeks to present the Thriveabetes Sugar Surfing Workshop. I asked Stephen to describe what Sugar Surfing is and what people would learn at the workshop. If you would like to attend this 4 hour workshop to learn about Sugar Surfing on Saturday May 13th please register here. You will also have a chance to meet other people with type 1 diabetes as well as talk to representatives from the following companies/organisations who are exhibiting; Animas, Dexcom, Diabetes Ireland, Diabetes UKNI and Funky Pumpers.

What is Sugar Surfing?

By Stephen Ponder.

Sugar Surfing is a metaphor for what I call "Dynamic Diabetes Management" or "Management in the Moment". It's a process and it’s not a recipe. In my opinion, Sugar Surfing can be performed as needed and still rely on older, more static approaches to diabetes care when “Surfing” conditions are not optimal. In other words: Sugar Surfing is not an "all or none" phenomenon. There is nothing inherently wrong with a static approach to diabetes self care, aside from simply being rigid and often more unpredictable in its outcomes. Sugar Surfing is simply more nimble and powerful as an approach to diabetes self care.

I know many who plan to attend the Dublin Sugar Surfing Workshop may not own a continuous glucose monitoring device. Others may be using the Abbott Libre system and a few others may have self-funded a Medtronic or Dexcom CGM system. Sugar Surfing can and will help each one of these groups. So please don't hesitate to sign up to attend since you will learn a wealth of information about diabetes even if you don't have the condition. The insight alone is valuable in my humble opinion.

I am a very informal person and will remain that way when I am there. This is not intended to be off-putting to any attendees but simple a result of how I was raised and where I have grown up and lived my life: in Texas. Plus I work with children every day and it "goes with the territory" as they say here. Texans are friendly and cordial people. I know the people of Ireland are no different and I look forward to making new friends and acquaintances as I did in 2015 in London.

I will summarize here what I aim to teach workshop attendees.

First, I will describe how Sugar Surfing is about SEEING repeatable patterns in the blood glucose trend line or data stream. Once these basic "shapes" are appreciated, they become easy to see again.

Second, once the patterns are seen, then the Surfer must make a determination to UNDERSTAND the significance of the shape, in light of the situation at that moment in time. This will rely on recalling past actions and results, plus possess an awareness of recent, current and anticipated actions. I will elaborate at the workshop on this. The "significance filter" is unique to you: the person with diabetes.

Thirdly, a decision must be made to RESPOND based on the prior two steps. You either act or don't act. How you choose to respond, whether by administering an insulin dose, some amount of carbohydrates, exercise or simply take a break from what you are doing, is infinite. After all, it's your blood sugar 'situation' that matters and not anyone else's.

Finally after you respond, you "FOLLOW UP". By that I mean you follow the trend line (or re-check BG with your meter or Libre) often enough to see the results of your choices (or omissions). I will share many examples to highlight these four steps of Sugar Surfing.

And if you read the above items carefully, you will notice that the four steps spell an acronym: S.U.R.F.

This "SURF cycle" will help keep you focused as you embark on your Surfing journey following your attendance at our Dublin Workshop on May 13th 2017. Remember that I work for no device company or special interest. My special interest is in helping you and your family. As a Joslin Medalist now living with diabetes for over 51 years, I see it as my duty (and privilege) to share what I know with anyone interested in listening or reading.

Blessings to you all. I hope to see you soon.

Steve Ponder Stephen W. Ponder MD, FAAP, CDE

If you would like to join us at The Thriveabetes Sugar Surfing Workshop on Saturday May 13th click here.

Thriveabetes 2018 Save the Date

Yes! Phew! We have a venue and a date for Thriveabetes 2018.

Da, da, da!

Saturday, 24th February 2018

in The Red Cow Hotel, Dublin.

The Red Cow Hotel is located at the M50 and N7 Intersection.

It's a 10 minute walk from the the Red Cow Luas Tram Station on the Red Line, which is also a station for the Dublin Coach Airport Shuttle (AKA The Green Bus).

The Red Cow Moran Hotel is served by Bus Eireann bus routes 13, 68 and 69.

Thriveabetes is a one-day Type 1 Diabetes conference organised completely by volunteers living with or affected by type 1 diabetes, and seeks to Inform, Motivate, and Inspire you to thrive with type 1 diabetes.

This idea is more than just a conference. We want to help connect people to the type 1 diabetes community, building a safe and supportive place to gain strength from something that otherwise makes us feel weak.

Thriveabetes 2018 will be our third event, read all about our last event in October 2016 here.

Getting There;

By Car

By Public Transportation

Staying There;

For anyone who might be interested in meeting up with conference attendees on the evening before or just making a weekend of it, we have a block of 35 bedrooms set aside for your Thriveabetes and the rates are; €99.00 Singles B/B €109.00 Double B/B , Twin B/B

 Registration for Thriveabetes will open in October 2017.

in the meantime.....

Join us at the Thriveabetes Sugar Surfing Workshop

The Thriveabetes Sugar Surfing Workshop takes place on Saturday, May 13th from 10am until 2pm in The Carlton Dublin Airport Hotel, Cloghran, Co. Dublin.

Find out more about Sugar Surfing here.

Advance registration is required to attend Thriveabetes and costs €20 per person.

It's not JUST MY Diabetes!

This week's post comes from Eimear Downey who lives in Cork. She has recently come onboard as a Thriveabetes volunteer and has helped me to figure out our venue for our next event. While on one of our planning phone calls Eimear told me about a recent trip to the post office with her daughters and how her eldest reacted to her hypo while there. It made her realise all the more, that her diabetes isn't just hers - it is her family's.  

Here are Eimear's words describing the event;

I am a type 1 diabetic for 20 years and a mother to 2 beautiful girls- Katie (7) and Orlaith (3). Diabetes has always been “my” condition- I was the one to control it and it was my life that it affected- or so I thought. The first reality check I had about being a mother with type 1 diabetes was the planning of a pregnancy and subsequently carrying my children. The appointments, blood sugar control, hypos and worrying were relentless. At times, I felt like merely an incubator and the pregnancies took a massive toll on my own health.

Through it all, “my” diabetes also became my husband Kasper’s diabetes. Although he could never fully appreciate what I was going through, he stood by me and supported me through it all. Believe me, when I say that he earned his sainthood! It was probably the first time that I saw how diabetes affects someone else and it was a jarring moment – “my” diabetes was no longer mine- it was “ours” – mine and Kasper’s.

I lost all hypo awareness and my hypos began affecting my behavior. I would get so confused, frustrated and convoluted in my thoughts that one evening, at 8 months pregnant, I even punched Kasper in the stomach. He made sure I did a blood sugar (it was around 2.0 mmol) and that I drank Lucozade before he sat outside the room until I was okay. He came back in to find me in floods of tears and to this day I still hold shame and guilt over that incident even though we both know that it was the hypo. All the hardship paid off and we are so grateful to have had 2 healthy little girls that have thrived and are the lights of our lives.

As the girls started growing, I began to realise that my diabetes was affecting them too. They are among a relatively small group of children in this country that have a type 1 diabetic parent. Kids being kids, they accept things so easily - Mommie checking her bloods, doing injections and subsequently having a pump. Katie even accepted when my pump almost knocked her out- she ran at me for a hug when my pump was clipped to the centre of my bra – the exact spot where the side of her head rammed into! Katie being the oldest has witnessed plenty of hypos- moments where I would tell her that I needed a few minutes for my bloods to be okay and then I would help her- her simple and accepting response has always been “okay Mommie”.

Recently, I was out with my 2 girls in the post-office when I felt a hypo coming on. My girls are like any children of their ages- curious and likely to cause havoc if not controlled- especially 3 year old Orlaith! It was as if Katie, only 7, knew that I was hypoing instinctively. She came to my side and helped me to find my glucometer and glucose sweets in the cavern of my handbag. She looked me in the eye and said “Mommie you look after your bloods and I will mind Orlaith- I will make sure that she’s okay”. Katie held her sister’s hand and kept her calm and entertained for the 10 minutes it took me to come around. She sang songs with her, played eye-spy with her all while checking on me to ensure that I was okay.

Afterwards, I sat in my car and cried. I was so proud of my daughter for the kindness, care and responsibility that she had shown. I cried tears of anger because this disease shouldn’t have to be her responsibility but that she takes the weight of it on her 7-year old shoulders without question. My love for my children is unconditional but in that moment my love and pride for Katie overflowed.

The diabetes journey through life can at times feel lonely and isolating. Katie and Orlaith never had a choice about having diabetes in their lives yet they accept the condition and all that comes with it as normal. I have realised that diabetes is teaching my children compassion, acceptance and understanding – hard lessons for children to learn and ones that will serve them well in life and help form them into better people.

Through becoming a diabetic mother I have learned that the family that I have built, Kasper and my children, accept my diabetes unconditionally and will support me no matter what – “my” diabetes is also “their” diabetes and “our” diabetes as a family. I feel loved, cared for and protected and to Kasper, Katie and Orlaith I say thank you and I love you.

Register soon for Thriveabetes Sugar Surfing Workshop

The Thriveabetes Sugar Surfing Workshop takes place on Saturday, May 13th from 10am until 2pm in The Carlton Dublin Airport Hotel, Cloghran, Co. Dublin.

Find out more about Sugar Surfing here.

Advance registration is required to attend Thriveabetes and costs €20 per person.