About Us

© Photos Anne Richter / Ilka G.

Diabetes Blog by Ilka and Finn. Both since childhood type I diabetics and both have the insulin pump.

In our blog we would like to report on our experiences and everyday life with the disease, as well as about all the important information about diabetes mellitus. Above all, this blog should make it clear that it is quite possible today to lead a largely normal life with this metabolic disorder and to live almost without restrictions!!!

Ilka
Type 1 diabetes has been my constant companion for almost 22 years. I can barely remember the time without him. In 1990, when I was just 10 years old, I was diagnosed with diabetes. The constant thirst, fatigue and weight loss made my parents startled. And then everything went really fast. Before I knew it, I was already in the children's hospital. I had never heard the term "diabetic" before and thus could not guess what I would expect from now on.

The fact that in the future I would not be able to eat more "normal" sweets (at that time diabetic products were really recommended) would have to eat more or keep me on a diet plan was not bad for me. Also the daily spraying and blood sugar measuring did not scare me and I quickly got used to the regular blood sugar controls and the fixed meals. Diet and discipline were very important.

At first I had to raise and mix the insulin myself. The introduction of insulin pens facilitated a lot, the ICT (intensified conventional insulin therapy) allowed me now more freely with my meals and injections to deal with.

Despite the fact that I had to poke my finger several times a day and had to hunt a needle several times a day (at that time still 12mm and clearly thicker than today) in the gut or leg, I got along well with the diabetes. However, one of his friends and classmates was always a bit of the exotic. On children's birthday I was not allowed to eat from the delicious chocolate cake but brought my own mummy baked Diabetikerkuchen, the Negerkusswettessen I had to unfortunately fit and coke there was certainly not.

My over the years affected by the frequent spraying thighs and the stomach, as well as the unmanageable Dawnphänomen (increase in blood sugar in the morning), moved me in 2001 to opt for an insulin pump. I was hired at the specialist clinic for diabetes and metabolic diseases in Bad Lauterberg. Multiple spraying daily was from now on past. A catheter change every two days allowed my battered body parts to recover. Meanwhile, I have the pump now nine years and I do not want to miss them in the world. Like the diabetes itself, it just belongs to me. In addition, a lot has happened in the last 20 years.

Almost 3.5 years ago I got to blogging by chance. What was initially thought of as a hobby, has now become an integral part. Blogging allows me to share and discuss my experiences with other diabetics.

Finn
It was on a summer vacation in 1987. For breakfast, I hardly ate anything, but drank almost 1.5 liters of water. My weight dropped rapidly, but my parents only really noticed when we were back home. Neighbors and friends were all a little scared, how thin I had become. So the next way went to the doctor, and then immediately to the hospital. Diagnosis:  Diabetes

Mummy, of course, totally dissolved and I completely unaware. Arrived in the Lübeck clinic, my blood sugar was measured immediately. I think he was around 500 mg / dl. The next 2 weeks was pure input. I was taught how to measure his blood sugar correctly (at that time still with the Reflux S, riiiiiesig), what I have to do if I have a hypo, how to calculate his food, etc. Also, the daily spraying, in the beginning with the Disposable syringe, did not cause me any problems. It should and should be part of my everyday life from now on.

So it went on and on without much problems. Every year I was trained on a study trip from the Children's Hospital Lübeck with other diabetics for a weekend. The disposable syringe became a pen and the blood sugar devices got smaller and smaller. Since April 2012 I have the Animas Vibe pump.

As Ilka has already written, blogging and everything related to it has become an integral part. But I work more in the background, Ilka is the face of the blog and I like working in the background, organize, negotiate, make contacts and always have new ideas and visions in store. We have already met a lot of nice people through our blog and also made new friends. Sharing your own experiences with others is not only fun, it can also be very helpful. That motivates me.