MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'abby'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:43:31 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5182181&cid=t_228591_134_f&fid=34847&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsixuntilme.com%2Fblog2%2F2011%2F08%2Ffrom_abby_casually_defective.html It's not just our pancreases that are busted at times - there are often moments of diabetes techno-burps that leave us scratching our heads.  Abby recently had a "WT ...H" moment with her insulin pump.  And she also experimented with word smashing; you'll see.  *   *   *Since I got home from camp, my lifestyle is much more ... umm ... sedentary (read: I sit in my room unpacking all day, just to repack in a week).  This is a big change from my lifestyle at camp in which I was walking everywhere all the time.  So when I was having a lot of persistent high blood sugars, I chalked it up to this change in activity (and cranked up the basals). When I woke up at 3:30 am on Wednesday night to my Dexcom annoying the crap out of me (saying I was... Six Until Me. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5182181 Wed, 31 Aug 2011 15:05:46 +0100 5182181 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5159590&cid=t_228591_134_f&fid=34847&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsixuntilme.com%2Fblog2%2F2011%2F08%2Ffrom_abby_dexy_pictures.html Abby's been rocking the Dexcom for the last three months, and she's fully immersed in both the data mining and the photographing of said data mining.  Here's her "PWD photojournalist" take on Dexcom'ing and documenting. (Also, welcome back, Abby!  We missed you while you were at camp!)*   *   *I’ve had my Dexcom for almost three months now. While most of the time I hardly pay attention to it, sometimes I like to make a big deal out of certain graphs. I also had a habit of showing the really good and really bad graphs to people at camp this summer, and sometimes they took pictures of them. (Diabetes camp is a special kind of place, where we celebrate Dexcom graphs … it’s awesome.) Anywho, here are a few of my favorites: This was th... Six Until Me. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5159590 Wed, 24 Aug 2011 14:07:30 +0100 5159590 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4968777&cid=t_228591_134_f&fid=34847&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsixuntilme.com%2Fblog2%2F2011%2F06%2Fdiabetes_tattoo_abby.html I've never wanted a tattoo because I can't think of anything I want on my body FOREVER (I was more of a piercer than an inker), but Abby figured out what she wanted:  a diabetes tattoo.  But not exactly what you might be thinking.  Today, she's talking about her decision to get dia-inked.*   *   *I didn’t even know that people got diabetes tattoos until my first summer at Clara Barton Camp, where I saw a bunch of them. I saw some that were blue ribbons with dates under them, some with the medic-alert symbol, hearts with their dates, quotes. I had to have one.It took me about a year and a half to decide what I wanted. I knew I didn’t want a medic alert symbol, because I didn’t want people to know what the tattoo was about when they saw it... Six Until Me. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4968777 Thu, 23 Jun 2011 15:18:59 +0100 4968777 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4893774&cid=t_228591_134_f&fid=34847&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsixuntilme.com%2Fblog2%2F2011%2F06%2Fabby_goes_to_virginia_beach.html Abby was on vacation last week (and was missed - sorry for throttling your inbox!), and while she was on 'real vacation," she also took a pump vacation.  But diabetes wasn't playing according to plan, and she tells the story of how vacation wasn't all rainbows and ... you-know-whats.*   *   *So I graduated from nursing school, signed a lease on an apartment for the fall, and helped my mom pack up and move the house I grew up in … all in one week. I needed a vacation.  A good friend from College Round 1 and I had planned a trip to Virginia Beach about a month prior, and it came at the perfect time.  I just really wish I could have left diabetes in New York ...  I wouldn’t say that it ruined our vacation, or even really negatively imp... Six Until Me. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4893774 Fri, 03 Jun 2011 14:05:51 +0100 4893774 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4821070&cid=t_228591_134_f&fid=34847&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsixuntilme.com%2Fblog2%2F2011%2F05%2Fdblog_things_i_hate.html Abby's Take on D-Blog Week, Day Four:I try not to think about these things all that often, but it sure does feel good to write them down and tell the world that sometimes diabetes just sucks, like, entirely. (Also, I realize I smushed a bunch of things into #10, so sue me.) I hate feeling high at the most inopportune moments. For example: any moment of any day, ever.I hate feeling low in the middle of something very important, like a lecture about trauma nursing which would probably be more beneficial to my future patients if I could focus. I hate the ugly marks my stupid pump sites leave on my body.I hate trying to find places to hide my pump in new outfits, and the way that a pump-in-the-pocket looks like I have an extra 5 inches of hips that I don’t really have. Cute.I hate waking... Six Until Me. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4821070 Thu, 12 May 2011 13:54:38 +0100 4821070 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4813558&cid=t_228591_134_f&fid=34847&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsixuntilme.com%2Fblog2%2F2011%2F05%2Fdblog_bloopers.html In conclusion: diabetes bloopers are funny, but only in hindsight.*   *   *(This post is part of the Second Annual D-Blog Week.  To participate, check out the details on Karen's blog!  And thanks, as always, to Karen for organizing such a great advocacy effort.) (Source: Six Until Me.) Six Until Me. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4813558 Wed, 11 May 2011 14:14:58 +0100 4813558 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4803411&cid=t_228591_134_f&fid=34847&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsixuntilme.com%2Fblog2%2F2011%2F05%2Fdblog_letters.html Welcome to Abby's Collection of Short Notes to Key Diabetes Players, Volume 1: Dear Pinky Fingers, I know that my toes get all the press when it comes to diabetes, but I have to tell you, you are my favorite digit in diabetes land. You never result in an 'Err5' on my meter, I almost never get re-gushers from you, and no matter how cold my little fingertips get, you never fail to step up and give me blood. Thanks for everything you do, and keep up the good work. -Abby--- Dear Abdomen, You and I don’t see eye-to-eye and haven’t since the Silhouette era when I used you, and only you, for about 5 years.  I get that you are tired of sharp things invading your space, but I have to tell you I think it’s time to stop complaining. Can we come to a compromise? You function wi... Six Until Me. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4803411 Tue, 10 May 2011 13:27:11 +0100 4803411 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4803413&cid=t_228591_134_f&fid=34847&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsixuntilme.com%2Fblog2%2F2011%2F05%2Ffrom_abby_admiring_our_differe.html Abby's take on D-Blog Week:I’m selfish. I’ll admit it. I’m 23 years-old, have never lived on my own (with the exception of sharing a house with 4 other girls – but I didn’t pay rent or utilities or even my own car insurance), and for the most part I have survived in this AbbyBubble my whole life. This past year has opened my eyes a little, though, to a LOT of the world around me. Especially when it comes to the perspectives of others with diabetes in their lives. The blog type that has opened my eyes the most are the ones from parents of kids with type 1 diabetes. I was a kid with type 1, and I have absolutely no idea how my mom dealt with that. Reading some of the blogs of people who are currently raising tiny humans with diabetes is astonishing.  I have... Six Until Me. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4803413 Mon, 09 May 2011 14:57:33 +0100 4803413 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4684649&cid=t_228591_134_f&fid=34847&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsixuntilme.com%2Fblog2%2F2011%2F04%2Fsugarstats.html I suck at logging my blood sugars.  I've tried so many times to get into a good groove with keeping tabs on my numbers (I even had a logbook with logs on it), but the only time I was really successful was when I was pregnant, and I used the "Kevin" spreadsheet.  But thankfully, logging is possible.  And Abby has proven it.  She's been using an online service to track her numbers, and she's sharing her experience with it today.  Get along, little Loggy.*   *   * Logging. It’s a scary word. It could mean a dangerous occupation of cutting down giant trees and magically turning them into paper products (I have no idea how that works). It could mean using a tiny little book filled with tons of boxes to write down lots of numbers that most 13 ... Six Until Me. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4684649 Thu, 07 Apr 2011 13:32:27 +0100 4684649 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4190155&cid=t_228591_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fmeet-marcel-the-diabetic-shell%2F2010.11.21 Clara Barton Camp (CBC) is awesome — this is an indisputable fact. I talk about CBC all the time when I’m at conferences, because there is something so unique and incredibly supportive about knowing that your fellow campers are also insulin-dependent and aren’t afraid to show it. Part of what makes CBC so cool is that it makes you feel like having diabetes is…sort of cool. Almost everyone at camp has it, so if your pancreas happens to work, it makes you the odd one out instead of part of the WYOI (wear your own insulin) crowd. What’s more empowering than taking an isolating chronic illness and making it the common — and intrinsically cool — thread?  Which is why this video — a diabetes take on the Marcel the Shell with Shoes On — is... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4190155 Mon, 22 Nov 2010 01:00:49 +0100 4190155 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3655761&cid=t_228591_136_f&fid=37852&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdonnatrussell.com%2F2010%2F06%2F11%2Fabby-sunderland-is-a-16-year-old-sailor-deal-with-it-america%2F My new post on Politics Daily / Woman Up. Abby Sunderland Is a 16-Year-Old Sailor. Deal With It, America. Abby Sunderland is alive and well. Her boat is upright (see photograph, courtesy Australian Search and Rescue, on her blog). She’ll be rescued within 24 hours by a French fishing vessel now speeding to her location. I’ll bet her first interview will reveal she’s not one bit sorry about her quest to become the youngest sailor to traverse the globe solo. The youngest, mind you — not youngest girl. On June 10, emergency signals went off when Sunderland got caught in 25-foot waves in the wintertime Indian Ocean, a sea her brother Zac, who achieved the same youngest sailor feat when he was just shy of 18, described as “rough.” A recent 20/20 program title... Donna Trussell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3655761 Fri, 11 Jun 2010 21:07:10 +0100 3655761 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2522879&cid=t_228591_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blisstree.com%2Fbreastfeeding123%2Fdear-abby-prints-pumping-room-letters%2F Remember back in March when I wrote to Dear Abby about the fact that A Bathroom is Not a Pumping Room? My response was not selected for printing but today’s Dear Abby column is entirely dedicated to other helpful replies: Employer Obliged to Give New Mom a Private Space. Photo by Sanja Gjenero I especially liked that the responses included a reference to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services information booklet: “A Business Case for Breastfeeding: Steps for Creating a Breastfeeding Friendly Worksite: Easy Steps to Supporting Breastfeeding Employees.” (PDF Download). I must be on a breastfeeding letter-writing kick because last night I spent three hours writing emails to every state breastfeeding coalition and 45 breastfeeding bloggers to make sure they’r... Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2522879 Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:41:24 +0100 2522879 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2270294&cid=t_228591_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blisstree.com%2Fbreastfeeding123%2Fdear-abby-a-bathroom-is-not-a-pumping-room%2F Today’s Dear Abby column “New Mom Reluctantly Uses Bathroom as Pumping Station” missed a fabulous opportunity to educate breastfeeding women and their employers about pumping at work. Here’s the response I will be submitting to columnist Abigail Van Buren. Photo by Bradley Gee DEAR ABBY: You are absolutely right to tell “PRIVACY PLEASE” not to be ashamed of pumping at work. I hope you take it one step further and let her and your readers know that California law requires an employer to make reasonable efforts to provide a location other than a toilet stall for the employee to express milk in private (California Labor Code Sections 1030-1033). An employer can be fined $100 for every violation of the law! Please encourage all breastfeeding mothers and all ... Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2270294 Tue, 17 Mar 2009 01:39:57 +0100 2270294 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2227167&cid=t_228591_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2009%2F03%2F01%2Fthe-disease-of-a-thousand-things-to-do%2F I have contracted an illness called “the disease of a-thousand-things-to-do.” That’s how author Abby Seixas describes it in her insightful book, “Finding the Deep River Within.” It’s a modern condition whereby human beings are always rushing, trying desperately to cross off every task on their to-do lists, and are bombarded by interruptions and information overload. Does this sound famililar? Consider these observations she makes to claim her case of what has become a very unbalanced and frenetic culture: The average working couple in America spends 20 minutes a day together. “Family time” has become a goal, an achievement, rather than a natural consequence of being a family. Most Americans are trapped in a vicious cycle of overwork and overconsumption. Dropping in on ... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2227167 Sun, 01 Mar 2009 20:20:42 +0100 2227167