The hardest part of starting a blog...

...is choosing a name. Seriously I have been agonizing for well over a week now on what to call this thing. I have long wanted a blog for the specific purpose of talking about diabetes. After much thinking and careful consideration of mature vs. cutesy and descriptive vs. abstract, I went with the first thing that didn't make me cringe. It probably sucks, but I am trying to be more decisive and not let over thinking get in the way so much, so there it is. It doesn't mean a bloody thing.

I have type 1 diabetes, being diagnosed at the age of 11, and have more than a decade under my belt now. Since college I have been re-dedicating myself to my health. (Did anyone have better blood sugars during college?) I have been a lurker on various blogs for a long time, but I was never sure that I had enough to say to start my own. I recently broke out of my shell in the comments over at the diabetes blog. I began flippantly, suggesting someone start their own blog after posting a lot and was soon entangled in debate about subjects at the very heart of diabetes care. I kept track of my comments in a Word document and it was over 8 pages long in under a week. I am starting to think that maybe I do have more to say than I previously thought.

I am not sure what this blog will be yet, other than about diabetes. Contrary to what you hear in the media, "diabetes" means type 1 here. I have type 1 diabetes, and despite the prevalence of type 2 in the U.S., it is type 1 that infuses itself throughout my life. I am starting the insulin pump soon, so I am sure that there will be a good proportion of my own trials and tribulations. Perhaps I will get into some larger issues to, about research and the importance of being a smart consumer when it comes to medical advice. We will see.

I am looking forward to adding my voice to the growing din. I can't say how much I have appreciated all of you who have been blogging faithfully already, especially those of you with a sense of humor, and those who look beyond their own case to critically examine the expanding frontier of diabetes management. The number of well informed and inquisitive minds that I have come across on this little slice of webspace astounds me.