Thanks all for the warm welcome!
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Welcome Katie - from one Midwesterner to anotherā¦ one dog lover to anotherā¦one Unlimited Diabetic to another!!! We have a lot in common already.
Lisa
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Hello everyone,
I live in Nanaimo, located on beautiful Vancouver Island, BC. Iāve been a T1D for 38 years, diagnosed in 1978 at two years old. Iām the only person in my entire family (including parents, sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousinsā¦) who has T1D. Growing up, it was a bit of a struggle as we didnāt have the internet or any way to find new information about diabetes, other than yearly checkups with the Endo.
My parents also live in Nanaimo, with one sister about 40 kms away, and another sister in the big city of Vancouver. My boyfriend also lives in Vancouver and we travel back and forth every weekend (via ferry or float plane) to spend time together. Heās trying to move to Nanaimo before the end of 2018, but itās not easy to find permanent, full-time work over here. Heās very involved and hands-on with my Diabetes and has helped many times with inserting an infusion set or taping one Iāve placed awkwardly on the back of my arm.
Iāve been using a Medtronic insulin pump (w/Humalog) for 12 years and very recently started using Dexcom CGM (tried Enlite system 1 year ago and it was a total fail). I love Dexcom and now understand why my Endo and CDE were trying so hard to convince me it was the āmissing linkā.
A few years ago when living in Montreal, I had an unpleasant experience on another D blog and deleted my profile, telling myself ānever again!ā. 
Last month, I stumbled upon FUD while searching around for info on CGMs. I then came across: Gonna treat myself today! 
I laughed so hard and knew right then - this site was different. I happily created an account and am now reading through posts on extra tape and adhesives for CGM sensorsā¦
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So glad you stumbled here ā¦it really is full of info, laughter and lots of insight! Welcome.
Lisa
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Welcome @ShelleyK!! Iām sure by now you figured out that there are quite a few parents of T1Ds here also. Our son, Liam, was also diagnosed at two, Feb 29th, 2016!
Looking forward to hearing your experiences and learning from you!
Harold
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Hi yāall,
Iām over in Providence RI, diagnosed as t1 in November of 2014 at the ripe old age of 28. My dad is also a late onset t1. Got a dexcom last summer. Been perusing this site for a while and figured Iād join.
Thanks everyone!
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Welcome @al_type1! If you have any questions, feel free to ask and someone here will assist in very short order! Also, if you have anything to add or teach, feel free! Weāre always looking for new and exciting ways to be UNLIMITED!
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Hi Katie,
Glad to see you here!
Glad to have another runner join us. Exercise is great for D.
As I have told our resident swimmer @daisymae, she is no longer a diabetic when she is swimming.
Canāt wait to read your posts, and welcome to the site.
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Hi Shelley
Glad you found us. We strive to be different in what we do here, and how we approach things.
Please feel free to read, post, and ask whatever is on your mind.
We have quite a few Canadian members here, so hopefully you will feel quite at home!
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Hi al_type1,
Glad you found our site! Look forward to learning about you and reading your posts.
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@ShelleyK , @al_type1 Welcome!
Youāve found the place to cure your diabetes! (Just kidding), but with everyone here youāll find it becomes a bit better!
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Welcome @ShelleyK! Youāre so lucky, Vancouver and the islands are beeeeeaaauuutiful 
Hope you enjoy the site, itās great!!!
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Thanks everyone for the warm welcome! @Millz @ClaudnDaye @Eric @docslotnick @DeeM
@ClaudnDaye - Iāve been reading some of your posts and see the similarities! The earliest memory I have of being a T1D is telling my mom and dad I felt āwobblyā when I had a low BG. Theyād race to the fridge and grab the 2L bottle of Coke, feeding me sips until I started feeling better.
@DeeM I often think about how fortunate I am to live here! I spent 5 years in Montreal and one day realized āWow, I miss BCā¦ā So I quit my job, left my condo and came back home. Never been happier! 
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Hello everyone!
My name is Michael and my youngest son was diagnosed with T1 at age 7 (heās now 10). Weāve been battle tested with managing high and low blood sugars and we do everything we can to get him the support he needs. He currently uses Humalog and Lantus vials which seems to work well.He may be transitioning to a pump later this year but we have to take a class and see if heāll want to try it. I found this site while searching the web to see how different people manage their diabetes and have found some great topics, tips, and tricks. Looking forward to reading and contributing.
Michael
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Hi @fortyonesthemike (Michael)! Our son, Liam was diagnosed at 2 years of age on Feb 29, 2016. Our lives were made considerably better when we moved away from MDI to the Pump, and more than anything else, the CGM was the biggest lifesaver for us! Do you guys use a CGM?
Welcome to the site! There are quite a few of us caregivers of T1 kids here so ask away, or teach away!
Very nice to have you!
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Welcome @fortyonesthemike. We know the battle testing well. My son was diagnosed at 12 and is now 15. Man how time flys. He is the starting catcher for his high school team, and works hard at his control. I suspect that your son will like the pump eventually, what put us over the edge was the ability to add additional items to meals or postpone meals for a few hours with no effort. That has changed the way he eats/lives. We have a good number of parents, so we will be looking forward to your contributions.
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Thank you for your reply. I have been reading about CGM (just read reviews about Dexcom G6) and itās definitely something weād like to try but unfortunately, the cost has kept us at bay. Iām stuck with a high deductible insurance plan and have been looking at $3K - $4K in insulin costs for a 90 day supply until recently when I found information online and on this website about purchasing in Canada. I recently ordered online but can only get three vials at a time. Iām thinking about heading up there and stocking up with whatever I can. Weāre scheduled to take a āpump classā from his endo in September but I have to figure out what the out of pocket costs will be. My guess is the news wonāt be good. I feel like we tread water and itās just frustrating how out of control US medication costs are.
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The CGM has been lifechanging for us. However, the most important part was my son seeing how different foods and activities affect him. The second most impactful was the alarms to wake up when he is low at night. These alarms are a mixed blessing however, since sleep gets compromised.
If you were trying to stretch a dollar, get a few used transmitters, have the batteries replaced, and for us each sensor can be stretched to 14-21 days, so you can get by for very little money. If you only ran it for 3 months a year, you would still get most of the benefit for very little cost, i.e. hundreds instead of thousands.
If the battery replacement thing seems too much, then just buy one transmitter and use Xdrip+, you can get almost 6 months out of the G5 transmitter. See @Docās results.
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