@fiercelydiabetic
40+ years managing insulin dependent diabetes first as a high school and college student, then as a wife, executive and mom. Always as an athlete. Training, competing, and trying to hold it all together. This is what that actually looks like and what I've learned along the way, mostly from books and other diabetics — fierce and unfiltered.
"I built the life. Now I'm building the tools I didn't know I wanted — with my daughter."
I'm Chris. I live on a farmette outside Chicago with my horses and my dogs and during school breaks, with my daughter. I train for triathlons, I compete as an equestrian, and I manage insulin-dependent diabetes. I was diagnosed with Juvenille Diabetes as part of a sports physical when I was 13. The dietary guidelines, the insulins and the tech have changed since 1982. Glucose Monitors, Pumps and CGMs provide so much data! The tools to actually interpret that data and apply it to life are still rather limited. I spent 20 years in commercial real estate finance before deciding the most important thing I could build wasn't a deal structure. My daughter is an engineering major at THE Ohio State University. Together, we're building the app I've always wanted.
A Gap That Needs Filling
I've managed insulin-dependent diabetes since 1982. I've been a student and an executive, a wife and a mother. I've worked and played, trained and competed, and figured things out the hard way — because living with diabetes isn't what the Endos and DE's think it is.
Diabetes management is a different game every day. It's tips and tricks. It's learning from other diabetics. It's playing mad scientist, keeping records, analyzing data, and making adjustments.The knowledge gap itself is invisible; you trust that your doctor gave you all the relevant technology and information to meet the goals they've given you. But one day, when the diagnosis is no longer terrifying and just exhausting, you think, "There has to be a better way."
You start to search the net and read about pre-bolusing or basal testing. You post a graph from your CGM and learn that a 40-point drop happens because insulin sensitivity increases after exercise. What does it mean to "soak" your sensor? What is MDI? What is the best type of pump for me? Do I even want one?
Every diabetic has to create their own management program, but first, you have to build a bridge across the knowledge gap.
Free Tools
These tools solve real problems — the kind you run into every day and the kind your encounter for the first time at 2am.
These tools are in early access. Enter the password to unlock.
Basics First
Updates as I build. No spam, no schedule — just signal.
The raw version — CGM graphs, training days, mornings in the barn, and everything in between. No filter on the data, no filter on the life.
@fiercelydiabetic