Teen Mom Star Mackenzie McKee Creates New Diabetes Awareness Rap for Kids - gemmillyouser

DM) Mackenzie, can you start up by telling USA about your beginnings with diabetes?

MM) I was 11 years longtime. Looking back, I consider I was diagnosed earlier in grammar school because I was sick and so, so skinny. I couldn't yield attention in class, was ever getting wobbly, and simply don't think of my childhood… it was sort of a blur.

I flunked through grade educate, which is unhinged! How do you bomb the 2nd grade?! When my hormones actually started kicking in, which happens to girls about age 11, that's when it really hit me. I was really hungry altogether the time, was weak and about 75 pounds at that sentence in middle civilize. When they checked my blood glucose, the monitors just read High indeed it was finished 600 at least. It went from there.

I've struggled since then, and everyday I rouse trying to lick a way to build it errorless. I think I find a solution, and think I'm doing OK, and then there's a twenty-four hour period like nowadays where I'm meet in the 300s. Information technology's thusly frustrating, and it's an mundane conflict that I would love to find a curative for, and am doing everything I can.

It's ne'er-closing, honorable?! What's your procedure as far atomic number 3 tools for insulin dosing and glucose monitoring?

I hinderance my descent sugar 8 to 10 times a solar day, and observe a journal to publish down every carb and calorie I run through. I take five shots a day of insulin, and am not on a pump Beaver State anything, but am on Novolog and Humalog and Levemir for my nights and mornings.

Serve you have any other diabetes in your family?

My dad is a eccentric 1, as well. He was diagnosed when all of us were babies (there are four of us kids), when he was in his 20s. I hindquarters watch him eat a Snickers bar or maybe drink a regular pop, and he's fine doing that and being on three shots a day. I just can't do that. Merely you know, everyone's different — and living with my pa genuinely shows me that every diabetic's body is different.

Do you feel any unnecessary imperativeness to essay to keep diabetes in control since you're public?

Yes, I think there is a lot much pressure. Sometimes, IT's on TV where they want to get cute scenes of me and my friends eating s'mores… and I'm like, "OK." Then I eat the s'more and I'm convalescent. And when you're at 400, you don't want cameras in your look. Then I'd start playacting out, and I'd look ilk a little brat on Tv set. So yes, some things were just hard for me 'growing up' in the spotlight for that short time. And I tried to stay off social media and not record what people were saying about me, but that was tough. And then I would, and I would just get so upset that I would cry to the point where I was shaking and screwing up my blood sugars. Information technology was not a flourishing room to live.

The recording schedule moldiness have successful things ticklish, likewise…

Yes. I'm really precise with my food schedule you bet much I eat, and information technology's kinda hard trying to keep that up when you're on TV and on that sort of docket. After the show aired, I saw a lot of highs and lows. I think that stress brings on uncontrolled blood sugars. I don't know what information technology is about stress, but when the show aired, wholly eyes seemed the likes of they were on me and the other three girls (along the show), and it was a lot of pressure. So that made it difficult to manage for me. So I'd commencement hearing from people about how their 2-year doddering just got diabetes, or from others asking questions because they have diabetes. That made Maine realize, "Wow, I really pauperism to latch on together because citizenry look up to me. I need to do better because I want to help others."

Perform you sometimes feel that you are being judged?

I'm still in the glare pretty a great deal, so that can be sort of stressful. But now I do what I buttocks to ignore what people are locution about ME, and I think diabetes has a lot to do therewith. I just can't stress outer and have roller-coaster blood sugars o'er everything people are thinking or saying. That's just non worth it, to let them have control over my wellness.

Did you change up anything about your life and diabetes management during your pregnancies?

Absolutely. Ahead I even got gravid with my son, I did not take care of myself the least bit until I realized that I was non solitary putting to death myself, but my child equally wellspring. That's when my whole life changed. By the end of the pregnancy, I was pickings four multiplication as more than insulin as I'm taking right away. As my weight went up, so did my insulin dose, and as my insulin dose went up, soh did my weight. It was identical firm to manage that. Only I had a beautiful huge coddle, and after that I knew I had something to elastic for.

Where did you turn for reinforcement, being a teenager with type 1 who was pregnant?

My mom was emphatically my topper booster and number one booster through it whol. I besides rotated to God tremendously through those years. (The baby's father) Josh and I were so untested, and lived in different towns, and it made it hard to see one and only another. At the fourth dimension I was still in high schoolhouse and amazingly completely my friends stuck around. That helped me out a lot. It's scarcely grueling for others to understand the disease I had.

It's good to find others who have been through something that you've been through, and you can talk to about these things. I neediness to share my chronicle and what I've been through, and reach out to others.

We understand you had a doctor who wasn't very supportive and advised against your second pregnancy. What would you say to separate type 1 women who mightiness be in similar situations?

Yes, it was very hard. I actually went to a doctor who cherished me to abort my son, because he said 'there's no way' since my blood sugars were thus broad. So I left that doctor, and now induce two beautiful kids. But we've also lost two babies due to high, out-of-control blood sugars. Everybody is different and it's rattling much a challenge. It was rattling hard for me and also on my personify. Merely if you'Ra improving for the challenge, it IS possible to have a healthy baby. The baby may equal large, and may be early, but that's conscionable something you will have to except. IT will not be like any other person having a baby. But in my opinion, all the stress and insulin was well deserving IT.

Organism a ma with type 1, what fears do you have in terms of highs and lows, especially with your gnomish ones around?

There are some days where my hormones will be a little verboten of whack and that makes my blood sugars even much out of whack. It makes me a very eager and angry person at the prison term and sometimes I show that anger towards my husband and children. It's been something hard for Josh to understand, and I feel the like one sidereal day it will be hard for my kids to understand. I grew up with my papa being a type 1 and some days were hard. We ever hated seeing daddy hallucinating. But after being diagnosed myself, I understand why helium was the way he was. I hope my kids can realize my disease nonpareil Clarence Day. And that they behind understand some years testament make up different than others.

Okeh, let's talk about your refreshing rap song — why did you need to make that?

I deprivation to speak unsuccessful at schools, to little kids with diabetes. Sometimes, you can lose tail of those kids as you're talking because no little child wants to baby-sit and heed to individual talk and babble out and talk. So, I thought would talk out in a more fun way. I knew I couldn't babble out. Everyone WHO knows me, knows that I can't sing. But I thought that would be a way to reach kids and civilize them.

At early, I was all well-nig type 1 and people World Health Organization are actually suffering from diabetes. And so, other people who just wanted to live healthy started electronic messaging and contacting me. And I thought, "Wow, I'm actually speaking to everyone, genuinely." Living with diabetes you have to be healthy, so we tin show citizenry generally how to equal thriving, polygenic disease or not-diabetic.

Many are criticizing information technology… do you think up that matters, when it comes to raising awareness?

No, I don't. There's always that one person, surgery those the great unwashe… I've gotten rattling good at block that out. I'm happy with my living, and I think that's why it doesn't bother me. I'm not doing this to get a record mark or to hope someone hears me and says, "Ooh, there's the next Ms. Monage." No, I know that I can't knap or tattle. Kids assume't give care, and will mind to anything that catches their tending. Thus I thought information technology would be fun and precious and a good way to raise money for diabetes. I decided to micturate it easy on iTunes and give the money that comes in to diabetes awareness and research. I'm sporting excited to share my voice in the name of diabetes awareness, and I don't really care what the great unwashe say about information technology.

Nowadays on that point are many celebs out there elevation awareness — like Nick Jonas, who we talked to yesterday about his advocacy efforts. Does that inspire or motivate you to fare more?

I actually did not have a go at it about Nick Jonas, and I think that's awesome what he's doing! But yes, I love to see that people World Health Organization have a great deal of followers are out there victimization their voices and money for something meaningful. Because it's helping make a departure for others, not just themselves.

Are you doing anything else on the diabetes awareness front?

I haven't begun doing anything in localised schools yet, but that's something I am working towards. And I experience a web log, Mackenzie McKee's Health and Fitness, where I write about diabetes and healthy lifestyles. Really, America has so much junk food and we're so unhealthy and lazy hither. I hatred that, and we're one of the countries with the most obesity. So, I just want to speak about that and be able-bodied to compass both of the kids in schools about just organism conditioned. IT's what my heart loves.

We see from your blog that you're bad into low-carb eating…

When I first-year became diabetic they told me, "You tin eat anything you require, just hide it with insulin." That might work for some people, but it doesn't for me. That was completely inaccurate information and I wish the doctors never would have told me that. No matter how overmuch insulin I shoot, some foods clean aren't good for me. Like apple Proto-Indo European. It's going to pull in me sick and I don't need information technology. Oregon, I can eat half a granola barricade and my sugars will be 400.

In real time I just don't use up any sugars or higher-carb foods. I eat much of protein and throttl my carbs to 30 to 60 a day, and if I'm feeding a lot that day it's because I've done three hours of cardio. My diet has been strange in the past, but now I'm very into clean eating, and since I started this rather eating I've mat up incredible. I wish everyone with diabetes would try it, because it can wee you flavour and then much better.

What are your plans for the future?

I do such reading, I might as well attend school to be a diabetic bushel. But none, I am working on being a fitness model. I am training right in real time and have my first fitness challenger in Aug (2015), so I birth to a lesser degree eight weeks to prepare. I'm thusly unrestrained to walk across stage! I've pot-trained so hard already, and I might get last place, merely information technology's all about getting better. If I get last position, I'm ease loss to keep doing it and working to perplex better for following time because information technology's what I love. This try has definitely changed World Health Organization I am — just grooming for a fitness competition is absolutely possessed.

That's a good proverb active diabetes, about not trying to embody perfect but just cause best, right?

Yes, I've detected that the Sir Thomas More muscle-edifice I do and work out, the more leveled out I am on blood sugars and just feeling healthier. Not only I am going to look ameliorate ultimately, but my lineage sugars are doing better.

That's great. And with your new family, sounds comparable you have a lot to look forward to…

True. I didn't even screw how to mind of myself until my kids were born. I really buckled down, and now I have something to subsist for. They keep ME going much, because I do non need to perish crude or lose limbs or go blind. Everyone with diabetes can live similar a normal person, we just don't hold the same kind of normal life. You just have to make that. If you do take maintenance of yourself, you can live a normal life and reach your dreams.

Thanks for taking the time to talk, Mackenzie. We're happy to have you as part of this Diabetes Community and doing what you are to help raise awareness and just promote healthier absolute.