CyberMonday:Unleashed

I love deals like this.

Staples

Item 616854
Sharpie® Accent® Grip Highlighters, Assorted, 8/Pack
business-day delivery: Tue 12/01 Qty: 1
at $9.29 8/Pack

Price:
$9.29

Item 37585
Sharpie® Calligraphic Metallic Marker, Gold, Each Expected business-day delivery: Tue 12/01 Qty: 1
at $3.99 Each

Price:
$3.99

Item 37586
Sharpie® Calligraphic Metallic Marker, Silver, Each Expected business-day delivery: Tue 12/01 Qty: 2
at $3.99 Each


Price:
$7.98

Item 592682
Sharpie® Mini Fine Point Permanent Markers, Assorted, 4/Pack Expected business-day delivery: Tue 12/01 Qty: 1
at $4.99 4/Pack


Price:
$4.99

Subtotal: $25.38
Coupons: $0.00
Tax: $1.52
Delivery: $9.95
Total: $34.72
(less 9.95 as I'm a first time Staples online purchaser,shipping is free)
(less $25.00 for the buy $25+ of any Sharpies product(through today only),get
$25 off-you have to place the order then call customer service for the refund)

Total cost: $0.38 for a bunch of Sharpies! (which I really don't need, but hey, I'm sure someone will be thrilled to get them in their Christmas stocking)The Gold & Silver Metallic ones sound pretty cool.

Notes From a Spinning Planet:Tweetup

Yesterday was pretty neat,in the evening I got to meet fellow OC'r Cherise & her daughter N.(dinner at a Mexican Restaurunt) My mother-in-law was a bit paranoid,about meeting people on the Internet & told me I was making a big mistake.Normally,I'd say such fears are justifiable but with all of the D-Peeps I've met it just isn't like that.They are who they say they are.I had a good time,talking D & iPhones and everything else.In retrospect,I just should have NOT told her where I was going,I am not some 15 yo kid.My husband is fine with whatever D events I want to go to.I had a salad,bolused for that salad,yet still crescendoed to 217.I think avacados must have more carbs then I thought..and I'm glad Cherise wanted to meet me too,it was great.

Anyway,had a good time in Cali,celebrated my husbands birthday yesterday & got to meet another PWD as well.I hope I can meet the rest of those cool Cali PWD,one of these days.(as well as alot of other D-bloggers all over the country)

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

A Tweet TurkeyDay

Thanksgiving, blood sugar wise, was not too bad. There was the rapid spike,followed by the drop.(all to be expected)


And then we went and watched "New Moon". Adrenaline kind of delayed the drop(yes, I had to bolus for the movie,and then I had to cut back on my basals most of the night to keep from tanking). If you've ever read the book Sweet Blood,(written by a type 1) it's pretty hard not to think of diabetic vampires while watching such a movie. (yes, I lick the blood off my finger after testing..though NOT in public,and my fingers are always clean first) But it was good to spend time with my Marine brother, who lives on the opposite side of the country.(while not the movie I would have chosen,sometimes you just gotta go with the flow)

Back on the wagon again today.(but will post about today, tomorrow...)

Recap: Virtual Endo Consult

Originally posted December 2007...here it is again, for your viewing pleasure. Especially relevant after a humongous T-Day meal.

Press "1" if you're experiencing a health question or concern.

Press "2" if you'd like to speak with a nurse(sometime in the next month.)

Press "3" if you'd like to schedule an appointment.


1. Hello, this is your virtual endo speaking, how can I help you today?

-My blood sugars are whacky.(A)

-I have another D concern.(B)

-I'd like to know the results of my latest & greatest
a1c test(C)

-I'm bored, and I just wanted to know if you would
tell me again if avoidance of that box of KK donuts
will absolutely add another 5 minutes to my life or
if I just go ahead and live it up.(D)

-How much is this consult going to cost me??(E)

2. You have reached the message box of EMT-B Heidi.Please leave your name,email,and credit card number + we'll get back to you asap.Thank you.Sorry if you expected to reach a real doctor,that ain't happening. But if it makes you feel better,someday I will be a nurse,if you plan on sticking around that long.

A. Press (!) if you're over 600 mg/dl
Press :-((((( if you're under 40 mg/dl
Press :) if you're perfect
B. Choose your concern:
A1. Complications
B1.Insurance Woes
C1.My Neighbors Cat
D1.Everything else.

C. ER, yes. Ok, now enter your Medic Alert number...

D.Dude, KK is ALWAYS worth it.That's not the ADA line,but its what you wanted to hear,right? So go ahead and bolus well,don't let D dictate your life.Just remember,all things in moderation.

E. It all depends.So far,$10 per word,or a measily $2000+. Keep reading.

(!) So you're high.Wayyy too high,as you well know.How long have you been this way?
!1 under 2 hours
!2 2:4 hours
!3 4 + hours

!1Check ketones..troubleshoot pump.Take injection immeadiently.Recheck ketones+ bg, in a couple hours.
Drink tons of fluids.

What are you now?
J1moderate ketones,250 mg/dl
J2trace ketones, 200 mg/dl
J3moderate ketones,300 mg/dl

J1 You're not out of the woods yet.Keep drinking fluids,sugared as well as plain,to replenish calories.Take additional boluses,as needed.

J2 You're fine. I don't care if your stomach is throbbing fit to beat the band,ketones are nasty little buggers + thats to be expected.You're out immenant danger. Plus,you probably just have a little stomach virus.(its always a stomach virus!)Nothing for us to waste our valuable time over.

J3 Take more insulin.NOW. Go back to !1


!2 Repeat J1,call if bg not coming down.
!3 Go to the ER(if ketones not coming down).That's assuming you're still conscious.

A1-B1. Worried about complications,yes,we feel your pain.America is eating itself to death,T2 and T1 is on the rise,and many people can't even afford basic meds.
Keep your chin up,and do the best you can, that's all we can say.

C1 So,your neighbors cat does its business all over your front bushes?It very likely may have diabetes.See if you can get a dipstick reading off it..and if its positive,you have your answer right there.

2C- 00000000000001
Your latest a1c was 7.6 Keep it up,you'll get there.

D1 I wasn't aware there were any,thought I'd covered it pretty well. Press "3" to schedule an appointment,we should obviously talk about this.

#3 Ok, you wish to make an appointment. How soon?
N.Today
O.Sometime in the next week
W.SOmetime in the next month

N.You're in luck!we have an appointment for you in 10 minutes.Would you like to accept this appointment?
Y or N
Yes-I can make it
No-That isn't enough time to get out of the house,much less to your office.

O. Sorry,nothing available.Switching to W...

W. Thank you, your appointment is scheduled for Dec.24 at 4:45 PM.Have a nice day,and we look forward to serving you!

A:-(((( Eat, eat,and eat.Call us back when you're able to hold a rational conversation(assuming hypos don't resolve) You should really reduce your basals by 0.2 h/hr and your bolus ratios to 1/20. And no, you're not having a second honeymoon.Nor are you turning into another Halle Berry.You're a type 1,and there's obviously a reason for this.

A:) Perfect, huh?Enjoy it while it lasts,because it won't. Please press "2" if you wish to share with the medical community your secrets for a persistantly euroglycemic state.We're all dying to know.

See,there's nothing to be an endo..very predictable.I know what they're going to say before they say it.I know what they should say&don't and vice versa.Even when you're down(bg wise)you're not really "down."(ketones)But its ceased to be a concern,since your bg is now fine..

Of TimTams and Pink Gloves

Australia's favorite cookie has now hit the States, en masse:(thank you,Pepperidge Farm)


Having never been to Australia, I've never tried them before but now I get to.( have known about them for years..via an Aussie Diabetes website. They look pretty good.(and if they aren't...I hope my husband will like them. It helps, being married to a non-D, he can eat the rest of the culinary temptations that really wreck havoc on my blood glucose and I need to exercise restraint with)

And if you haven't yet seen this video, you need to-it's awesome.

Naughty or Nice

For today's post, I refer you over to this medical blog for a really funny(and true) guide to the personality of your physician. I'm not quite sure where Endocrinologists fit in on that chart(Sane:hardworking: nice/or mean, there should also be a dumb/smart option) but it's fun imagining where they'd be.


Go check it out.

Notes from a Spinning Planet: D-Week

This week, I plan to attend four diabetes events..one every evening. Rarely do they all line up in such a nice little schedule(something is always conflicting with something else)

As well as school(I won't be getting a refund, so I'm just going to make the best of it and try to pull off the best grade possible) Just three weeks remaining, in the semester.(and two tests,yippee)

As well as a million & one other things(getting picture take for Christmas cards, etc.) Next week we'll be be flying out to California,& if I thought it was hard posting every day while at home, it will be more so on the road. But I have my iphone(well,when I get a new SIM card for it), and my MIL has a computer so I just have to make time for it.

Tonight's event will be hosted by one of my very favorite (local) speakers..check out this. Full review, tomorrow.(it won't be on the same subject, so I expect to actually learn something)

And I've already told my husband to expect to be a diabetic widower this week..which is similar in concept to a football widow.(only in reverse) I most definatly have a problem with being unable to say no to going to hear kick-butt D speakers. I need this.

Techno X

Today,(or rather, yesterday) my long-suffering iphone went completely beserk and semi-died. No internet capabilities for 23 hours. It has done that before, but only for about 4-8 hours at a time.

So I called AT&T, getting the wrong dept. in who knows what section & didn't get anywhere there,after a very lengthy delay,and several dozen pointless questions, the person couldn't even find the right extension to transfer me to, and suggested I look off my bill. Very (un)helpful, AT&T. (I'd have thrown something at the wall,but the already defunct iphone was the only thing available & I didn't want to throw that)

Checked it again..and voila, it was working! Wow, maybe it was just a weird glitch.

For about ten minutes, which was enough time to look up the (wireless)phone number AT&T (on the internet) for the point of letting them know it was having issues. I then tried to check my email, & got error messages.(it had died, again)


AT&T went through a long testing phase, checking various things out & declared it wasn't a problem on their end.(no out-ages in my area having been recorded)


So I called them again, for the 3rd time. The next step, is to go to a AT&T corporate store and get another SIM card. If that doesn't fix it, it's an Apple problem.

I miss my Twittering..I am so addicted, and it's a very painful thing when you have to go cold turkey.

A Tribute in Blue: Mural, Unleashed

World Diabetes Day-about the blue!!, originally uploaded by type1emt.

(Click, to see the entire thing...)

Beta Phases

Since April, Ebay has been testing the beta phase of their Ebay Bucks program. Basically, in each 90 day period, you earn 2% back on most of your purchases.(excluding Ebay Motors & real estate) And I was fortunate enough to be chosen..granted, 2% is not a huge deal of money but when you are such a hard-core Ebayer as I am every bit helps. ($200 max back per transaction, $500 max per quarter. Though you'd have to spend $25,000 to earn that much back, & not many people are THAT much of spendaholics.

The first quarter, due to several large purchases(airline tickets,etc.) I got about $23 back. The credit works as a add-on to your paypal payment, when you buy something on Ebay. Happily, I spent that..and then I had a problem with an Ebay Seller, who ripped me off big time.(on Disney tickets) Eventually, Paypal refunded my money but then Ebay didn't like the fact that I'd earned bucks off a transaction that got cancelled & they put me in the negative, buck wise.

Quarter #2's purchases went toward erasing that negative debt. UGH.

It's now quarter #3,and I'm back in the red. I still wish Ebay didn't punish you for being ripped off by a seller..something which happens more often then not. Ebay could really make me more of a loyal customer if it would A. up the percentage back rate and B.slash their horrendous selling fees. But its better then nothing, and I'll take it. There's really no alternative to Ebay, and for all the inconveniences, the amount you can save makes it worthwhile.(cost, and time wise)

Youtube: Mary Wells, 1982

Because I love this song-LOVE IT. Mary Wells rocks it.

Saying Yes...to the Hypo(D-Blog Day '09)

National D-Blog Day, 2009


Almost 2 years ago I made a vow, one that I intend to keep. Forever.


But almost 11 years ago, I made another vow..to myself, that I'd beat this thing they called diabetes. That I'd go to the funeral of the doctor who told me I'd be dead(within 15 years) of heart disease,retinopathy,neuropathy,renal failure,blindness,and amputations. That I'd have a career, marry, have kids, and grow old.(he's still alive,for the record, and I hope he's gotten a clue since then)

Unfortunately, to avoid complications, or even to slow them down, that requires sacrifice. Dietary moderation, exercise, etc.

And alot of lows. I am not a big fan of lows, in any way, shape, or form but the more normal your bgs, the more you will have them. Some people absolutely love them and court them as fervently as any wooer, for me, they simply are, more then that,death by hypo is my greatest diabetes fear.I kind of think that the people who love them, have had too many of them(and have an IQ of about 70 now). They also have probably never seized, or had a huge whopping glucagon needle shoved into various body parts, or vomited on rescue personal.

There's really no way around it, even with the best of technology at your fingertips(CGM, pump) you will have lows. The best you can hope for, is that that that technology helps you catch/correct any serious ones.

Reluctantly, I will say yes to the(mild) hypos..and hope that one day good control will not include such unpleasantries. Because that's the best technology can deliver, for now.

The Demise of a Ping

Fact: I never should have signed up for NaPoBloMo. I don't recall it being so hard to do last year.(maybe it was because everyone was doing it?) Be that as it may, this week(happily) has three days already carved in stone(what I shall blog about). Beyond that, though,the ideas are just periodic blips on the radar.


On Thursday, my Ping Remote let loose with a 2 minute shriek and promptly died, displaying an Error 1 just before doing so. Error 1= a call to customer service, and I did so. I should mention that I don't use the Ping consistently, and hadn't at all that day. I use all Lifescan meters, and as long as there's one of them around, I'll use that.(it's usually a One Touch Mini one)

Did you know that you can now order supplies 24/7, on Animas' website? If I didn't before, I sure do now- because for 30 minutes I listed to that endless recorded loop-de-insanity. And I am sure there are ways to cut that out but I don't know how. (I'm also sure that an endo's office could use that as a way to brainwash their D-patients-" You WILL exercise 30 minutes a day. You WILL exercise 30 minutes a day. You WILL exercise 30 minutes a day...") Figuring that the one Customer Service Person was taking an extra long coffee break, I just hung up. (surely if they were actually answering calls the wait time would not be 30+ minutes) Another peeve is, they don't give you any sort of estimated wait time(again, not really necessary if they don't get many simultaneous phone calls) This was about 3:30 pm, not in the middle of the night. So I called my rep and left her a message, thinking that maybe she could help, or at least tell me that the Error message was nothing bad. Well, 6 hours later still no callback from her, so I called Animas again & since it was after hours, they patched me through to someone & they said I needed the whole shebang replaced. Meter AND pump. I think it's a RF thing,each ping remote is specific for that pump? The pump, was fine to use solo but not the remote so they were replacing both of them. Next morning, the rep called me back(by that time, the problem had been taken care of). By Sat. morning, the replacements had arrived.(which I plan to hook up when the current reservoir runs out) Not the easiest of exchanges, there are a few things about the pump companies that is less then five star service.

Dear Newspaper X

Dear Newspaper X,

On Saturday, November 14, thousands of people around the world will come together,
to raise awareness of diabetes, an annual event named World Diabetes Day.



But there are many millions of people YET to be diagnosed. The American Diabetes Association estimates that of the over 23 million people(8% of the total US population), about 6 million don't even know they have it. 1.6 million new cases will be diagnosed this year. Nor is this solely a US problem, cases of diabetes are exploding rapidly across the globe. In China, there are over 40 million people with the disease.

There is no cure for diabetes..but there is treatment. However, to the millions of people that don't even know they have it until presenting to a hospital emergency room with a heart attack, or waking up one morning blind from the effects of it, these people never got a chance to treat it. World Diabetes Day seeks to raise awareness of this disease, and the need for regular screening & treatment. So much suffering could be averted, if people could be diagnosed & treated early. Until there is a cure (for both type 1 and type 2), this is the best we can do.

I hope you will consider running a piece about it in your newspaper,(pre-, or on Nov. 14) this is a subject that cannot be ignored.As a type 1 diabetic,I know first hand the difficulties of the disease,but I am committed to awareness/education, because diabetes can be successfully managed. The effects of diabetes can be devastating, not just to the individuals afflicted but to the families and friends of those individuals. The voice of the media is the most effective way of getting the information out there.


Sincerely,

X