About Me

A bald man with blue eyes and a goatee wearing a light blue checkered dress shirt, smiling indoors with a white door and a framed picture in the background.

I’m Doug.

My diabetes origin story began in 2018. After spending about 15 years as a web developer, I had gone back to school to become an Occupational Therapist. I achieved that goal, and began working in an acute care hospital in the Bronx, NY. While I began to become more familiar with my patients who were often suffering from side effects and complications, I began to experience weird symptoms of my own….unexplained (severe) weight loss, blurred vision, and sneaking into the bathroom every few minutes to urinate. I went to the doctor not long after that, and was immediately sent to the emergency room with a blood sugar of 1000 (that’s not a typo)!!!

Unfortunately at the time I was given a diagnosis of Type II diabetes. To try and manage it I learned all I could about diet, exercise, and the nature of the condition. I got myself to a good place, for a short while, but after an A1C of 12 in 2022, I was finally given the antibody test and c-peptide test which revealed my true diagnosis…Type 1 Diabetes.

Since that time I’ve been on insulin, and again I’ve tried to learn all I could. I gathered all the data I could from my doctor, but I found the online diabetes community to be the most helpful. Things like the Juicebox podcast, a Type 1 Diabetes meditation group that I became part of, and becoming a clinical trial participant with the Barbara Davis Center at the University of Colorado.

This experience has changed my life in a variety of ways, but it hasn’t all been negative. I’ve met some amazing people and made great connections. I’ve also developed an exceptional sense of understanding of the condition, and I find that it serves me well when working with my own patients in the rehab setting who have diabetes. In fact, I’m going to attempt to become a diabetes educator in the future as well.

For now though, I’m here to offer my services on a more casual level. I want to be there to help guide you in your diabetes journey in the same way that my community helped me. I can’t prescribe you any medications or give you medical advice, but I can help you understand what your options are, give you advice on what to look for in a medical team, and suggest community and national resources to help improve your life with diabetes.

I really want to help, so I hope to hear from you soon!