WELCOME TO My Diabetic Heart!
Type 2 Diabetes and Congestive Heart Failure are two common conditions that people are diagnosed with every day. Living with one of these conditions at any age is hard enough; imagine living with both at the age of 27. That's what this blog is all about. It's about my life with Type 2 Diabetes and CHF, and about showing that you can live a fulfilling life with each.
Written by Mike on January 13th, 2012
| Hot: |  | | | | |
So, I’ve been talking about this thing since I got it Monday and decided that instead of trying to describe it in writing, I’d shoot a vlog post and show you. So, without further delay, I present My Heart’s Cell Phone. Enjoy!
Written by Mike on September 25th, 2011
| Hot: | |  | | | |
Those of you who follow me on Twitter have probably seen my tweets about a chainsaw carving festival that April & I were planning to attend. Well, the event came and April & I made the trip to it yesterday. We had a great time despite the heavy rain that fell on us at one point. Since some have asked me what in the world a chainsaw carving festival is, I thought I’d share some of the photos and a short video I shot while at the event and, hopefully, you’ll get the idea. Enjoy!
Written by Mike on July 18th, 2011
| Hot: | | | | | |
During my visit to Camp John Warvel in early June, I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Olympic Cross Country Skier and Type 1 Diabetic, Kris Freeman. Now, I had never conducted an interview with anyone for My Diabetic Heart before, and having such a high profile person as my first interviewee was a bit daunting, but Kris was very gracious and accommodating and we got through it. Many thanks and best wishes to Kris for the upcoming season.
The video here was recorded during the interview, and I have to give a big thanks Carly Whiteside for shooting the video for me after my tripod broke. We were swarmed by campers during the interview, so there’s some background noise. And editing software can only do so much. 
And it’s a long video, so grab a Diet Coke, sit back, and enjoy. And, of course, let me know what you think. Ciao!
Written by Mike on June 20th, 2011
| Hot: | | | | | |
So, here is my contribution to the You Can Do This Project, which is the brain child of Kim over at Texting My Pancreas . The video is kind of long, but I had a lot that I wanted and, quite frankly, needed to say. And I would highly recommend having a box of tissues handy before hitting the play button.
Written by Mike on June 15th, 2011
| Hot: | | | | | |
I had a chance to meetup with Olympic Cross Country Skier Kris Freeman, PWD Type 1, during my visit to Camp John Warvel last Wednesday. During the time that I had with Kris, I shared the story of the You Can Do This Project, and he agreed to sit down and shoot a quick video. Here’s the result. Enjoy!
Many thanks to Kris for taking time out of his schedule to take part in this awesome project.
PS: My video will be posted as soon as I get it edited. Stay tuned!
My Diabetic Heart by Mike Durbin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.
by Mike on December 12th, 2011
| Hot: | | | | | |
This just in! MDH News has received unconfirmed reports that Blunt Lancet is set to release a single of their Christmas song, The Twelve Days of Betes, just in time for the holidays. MDH Entertainment reporter Little G is investigating and will have a full report soon.
Blunt Lancet is the popular 90′s rock band that has staged an impressive come back over the last couple of years. And this is not the first time we’ve reported on a potential Christmas release from Blunt Lancet.
Last year, the band was rocked by the BetesLeaks scandal, in which a rogue agent of the consulting firm Dewey, Fuck’em & Howe stole the lyrics to the song and shared them on the notorious online site, BetesLeaks.
We are seeking comment from a representative of Blunt Lancet, and will have more on this story as it develops. In the mean time, here are the lyrics available on their website.
The Twelve Days of Betes
On the first day of Betes my doctor gave to me
The results from my first A1C.
On the second day of Betes my doctor gave to me
Two old brochures and
The results from my first A1C.
On the third day of Betes my doctor gave to me
Three rusty lancets
Two old brochures and
The results from my first A1C.
On the fourth day of Betes my doctor gave to me
Four insulin vials
Three rusty lancets
Two old brochures and
The results from my first A1C.
On the fifth day of Betes my doctor gave to me
Five loads of Bullshit!
Four insulin vials
Three rusty lancets
Two old brochures and
The results from my first A1C.
On the sixth day of Betes my doctor gave to me
Six bills for paying
Five loads of Bullshit!
Four insulin vials
Three rusty lancets
Two old brochures and
The results from my first A1C.
On the seventh day of Betes my doctor gave to me
Seven ways of cheating
Six bills for paying
Five loads of Bullshit!
Four insulin vials
Three rusty lancets
Two old brochures and
The results from my first A1C.
On the eighth day of Betes my doctor gave to me
Eight goals for meeting
Seven ways of cheating
Six bills for paying
Five loads of Bullshit!
Four insulin vials
Three rusty lancets
Two old brochures and
The results from my first A1C.
On the nineth day of Betes my doctor gave to me
Nine pumpers pumping
Eight goals for meeting
Seven ways of cheating
Six bills for paying
Five loads of Bullshit!
Four insulin vials
Three rusty lancets
Two old brochures and
The results from my first A1C.
On the tenth day of Betes my doctor gave to me
Ten fingers bleeding
Nine pumpers pumping
Eight goals for meeting
Seven ways of cheating
Six bills for paying
Five loads of Bullshit!
Four insulin vials
Three rusty lancets
Two old brochures and
The results from my first A1C.
On the eleventh day of Betes my doctor gave to me
Eleven lancers lancing
Ten fingers bleeding
Nine pumpers pumping
Eight goals for meeting
Seven ways of cheating
Six bills for paying
Five loads of Bullshit!
Four insulin vials
Three rusty lancets
Two old brochures and
The results from my first A1C.
On the twelfth day of Betes my doctor gave to me
Twelve Dexcoms beeping
Eleven lancers lancing
Ten fingers bleeding
Nine pumpers pumping
Eight goals for meeting
Seven ways of cheating
Six bills for paying
Five loads of Bullshit!
Four insulin vials
Three rusty lancets
Two old brochures and
The results from my first A1C.
by Mike on March 20th, 2011
| Hot: | | | | | |
In previous blog posts and conversations over the last two years, I’ve made no bones about the fact that I’ve battled with bouts of depression and anxiety since I was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and type 2 diabetes.
The daily routines of medications, blood sugar testing, meal planning, and other related bullshit, combined with the constant worry of trying to figure out how to pay for all of those medications and testing supplies, are simply overwhelming at times.
Add to that all of the typical stuff that goes along with every day life, you know… work, bills, chores, relationships, etc… and you’ve got yourself a great big barrel of fun.
Then top that off with dealing with a loved one being diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and going through all of the activities and emotions that go along with that, and being forced to put a near 9 year relationship on hold while your best friend becomes the primary caregiver for that loved one, and that great big barrel of fun transforms into the biggest clusterf*#K you’ve ever seen.
It’s all enough to destroy someone mentally. And the extreme mental hurt quickly manifests into extreme physical hurt. And you eventually reach a point where you just can’t take it anymore, and feel like throwing the towel in.
As difficult as it is for me to admit, I reached that point in the early part of February.
And the hard part is that I know it didn’t have to happen. I had a little bottle of “happy” pills in my possession that my doctor had given me the month before. I just wasn’t able to take them immediately, because I was starting a new blood sugar medication and had to get through the side effects of it before starting the other medicine.
And then when it was time to start the Celexa, I kept putting it off and putting it off, because of the fear that I’d have the same problems with it that I had with similar drugs years before. When you’ve had a bad experience with medications, or anything for that matter, you tend to shy away from them. It’s perfectly normal to have those feelings.
Things finally reached a point in early February where I knew I needed help, and knew that I had to take the plunge into the world of anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications again. And so, on the 21st of last month, I broke the seal on the prescription bottle, cut the little pill in half as the doctor had instructed, and jumped.
Tomorrow, March 21st, will mark a month since I started the medication, and I can honestly say that I’m glad I did. I’m not nearly as edgy as I had been, and feel quite mellow most of the time. And mellow is a good thing.
The moral of this story is this: It’s OK to need help; You just have to ask for it!
