The human body is really, really amazing.
(No really, just keep reading)
The not-quite-right feeling hits me around 10 am. Am I dropping? No, I'm 153, its a long drop
to Hypoland. But just to be sure, I swig down half a bottle of juice, put the pump on suspend.
10:40 AM- I check again, this time I'm 100. Really unexpected. Commence to finishing juice, eat
a sucker as backup.
11:40 AM- Low # 3,599 strikes full force, right between the eyeballs. I am dizzy, shaky and out of juice. So I eat a York bar(32 carbs) and a butterscotch(8 carbs) knowing it won't work as fast as juice, but hey, its better then nothing...
12:10 AM- Low feelings dissapate, leaving in their place a RAGING hunger. It is not a "low" hunger, it is a concentration-camp-haven't-eaten-for-a-week hunger. Fortuantly, its lunchtime,
so I trot off to the cafeteria + rapidly consume:
-1 packet Hot Pockets
-a banana
-crackers 'n cheese
- medium sized bag of Cheetos
-another chocolate bar
-20 oz Diet Coke
4 PM- Finally up( at 396), I bolus 6 units + leave work.
5:30 PM- The feeling strikes again, the meter reads a cranky 123.
-pb sandwich
-mountain of mac 'n cheese(leftovers night)
-mountain of baked beans
-baked chicken wing
-V8 drink
I'm amazed at my body's ability to consume vast amounts of food, (and not gain any weight, its like my metabolism speeds up) and I'm amazed at the hunger. (where that came from, I couldn't say, this is not PMS week) Is it from dropping-or do I just need it?
------------------------------------------------------------
It looks like there may be another "low" streak in the works. According to the endo,
such experiences are likely due to non-ovulatory vs ovulatory cycles (because it always begins
as menses is ending, a couple of times a year). Thrilled me to death to learn that its completely unpredictable as well, there's some sort of basal temp testing you can do(to learn what type of cycle it is, I assume) but there's no "fixing" it. (everything makes you low)
Guys have it EASY, they don't have hormones playing havoc with their blood sugars every month (And pregnancy) till menopause!
-----
And speaking of food, our town's 4th of July 3rd annual Hotdog Contest is coming up.
This is a horrible experience for a D to partake in...but I had the burning desire NOT to let
anything, including the D, stand in my way. I was in the first one(missed it last year)
-12 contestants(10 guys, 2 girls)
-12 long hotdogs PER contestant (buns included)
-1 gallon pitcher of water to wash hotdogs down.
-4.5 minutes on the first round.
2 minutes into the round, I'd just finished my 3rd hotdog + starting to feel the effects( knew I'd never win the thing). 2.5 minutes and 2 hotdogs later, my stomach was rebelling + I was actually glad I'd lost the contest. (although I did beat out 6 big, hunky guys!)
My prize?
-a quart of ice cream (took it home)
-a though dislike of hotdogs for the next 6 months
-the look on my mother's face when she found out what I'd done
- the 300 range numbers that graced my meter for several hours later
- a yellowish-red-water-soaked tshirt to take home and wash
- no one even GUESSING that this 5"2 gal had D..
The winner chugged down 12 hotdogs (in 3 rounds).
Tres impressive.
(I'm going for 6 this year)
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Saturday, June 24, 2006
When the Lights Went Out
Pitch Black.
Can't-see-your-hand-in-front-of-your-face-black.
Scary Black.
Not-gonna-move-till-they-fix-the-lights-especially-if-I'm-in-the-john-black.
Is this a retinal detachment?!?
A blood curdling yell pierces the darkness, keenly sharpening my already on edge nerves.
"Lucy must be playing with the electrical system again," a nearby coworker dryly observes.
I grin, yet I'm relieved that its not just me." Think so?"
"Absolutely."
I lift my head back and yell like the best of them.
It feels good, this oppurtunity to yell out my
frustration (at a world in general) doesn't come around much.
"Yeeeeeeeeeeeehhaaaaa!"
"Geez, Heidi, it's not a vacation, don't get so worked up." (This from a person who hasn't gotten excited in something for over 20 years...)
There it goes, I feel better already. Maybe, just maybe, I'll make it through the rest of the working
week.
"Don't blame Lucy for everything," another coworker chimes in. "Might just be a bad thunderstorm."
The main overhead lights flicker briefly.
And die, yet again.
"Nice going," coworker #1 grumbles. "Ticked her off."
"Nah, Lucy is a NICE ghost," coworker#2 retorts. "Wouldn't hurt a flea."
" Yeah? Maybe not HERE, but what about back then? Must've been some reason they did
away with her."
"Hey you guys," I cut in, "It doesn't matter. Just be glad for the break, it would suit me fine
if the lights NEVER came on."
"Yep, then they'd issue flashlights and make us do it in the dark. Wouldn't that be fun?"
Sunlight streams in from a distant open window.
"Oh darn, its not raining- its gotta be Lucy then."
15 minutes later, backup generators cut lights on.
Breaktime's over, folks.
Long ago, our Distrobution Center was an Indian burial ground. In the 1850's, supposidly an Indian princess was buried alive(at said site) and has haunted
this place ever since. We get the occasional power failure (weird, unexplaned ones) several times a year but its been a long time since anyone has claimed seeing "our" ghost. I wouldn't
know if "Lucy" actually is real, the one person I knew who claimed to have seen her has since
quit. (Lucy is a pretty shy ghost, apparently)
We should give tours at Halloween.(if nothing else, it'll scare the kiddies senseless, which is
the general idea of that holiday)
Can't-see-your-hand-in-front-of-your-face-black.
Scary Black.
Not-gonna-move-till-they-fix-the-lights-especially-if-I'm-in-the-john-black.
Is this a retinal detachment?!?
A blood curdling yell pierces the darkness, keenly sharpening my already on edge nerves.
"Lucy must be playing with the electrical system again," a nearby coworker dryly observes.
I grin, yet I'm relieved that its not just me." Think so?"
"Absolutely."
I lift my head back and yell like the best of them.
It feels good, this oppurtunity to yell out my
frustration (at a world in general) doesn't come around much.
"Yeeeeeeeeeeeehhaaaaa!"
"Geez, Heidi, it's not a vacation, don't get so worked up." (This from a person who hasn't gotten excited in something for over 20 years...)
There it goes, I feel better already. Maybe, just maybe, I'll make it through the rest of the working
week.
"Don't blame Lucy for everything," another coworker chimes in. "Might just be a bad thunderstorm."
The main overhead lights flicker briefly.
And die, yet again.
"Nice going," coworker #1 grumbles. "Ticked her off."
"Nah, Lucy is a NICE ghost," coworker#2 retorts. "Wouldn't hurt a flea."
" Yeah? Maybe not HERE, but what about back then? Must've been some reason they did
away with her."
"Hey you guys," I cut in, "It doesn't matter. Just be glad for the break, it would suit me fine
if the lights NEVER came on."
"Yep, then they'd issue flashlights and make us do it in the dark. Wouldn't that be fun?"
Sunlight streams in from a distant open window.
"Oh darn, its not raining- its gotta be Lucy then."
15 minutes later, backup generators cut lights on.
Breaktime's over, folks.
Long ago, our Distrobution Center was an Indian burial ground. In the 1850's, supposidly an Indian princess was buried alive(at said site) and has haunted
this place ever since. We get the occasional power failure (weird, unexplaned ones) several times a year but its been a long time since anyone has claimed seeing "our" ghost. I wouldn't
know if "Lucy" actually is real, the one person I knew who claimed to have seen her has since
quit. (Lucy is a pretty shy ghost, apparently)
We should give tours at Halloween.(if nothing else, it'll scare the kiddies senseless, which is
the general idea of that holiday)
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
8 Cool Things I've done in my life
8 seems so, insignificant, but that's all the years I've had diabetes. (Counting the Summer from
Heck) Circa Kassie's Cool Meme, here is mine:
1. Was born (1981) just after midnight, in a small hospital in Western Virginia- the same hospital my grandmother(1911) and mom (1951) were born in. (continuing the grand tradition)
I was small, (a preemie) I was ugly, and I had the biggest head the doctor had ever seen. After running multiple tests on me, they concluded I'd just inherited my
father's big head. Eventually, the rest of my body caught up,(in porportion) but I'm still big headed about some stuff. (I like to think its all brains)
2. From 1986-88, we lived in Jackson, MS. Very differant from Virginia, it only snowed once
(about enough for a snowball) and ice storms were frequent. When the tornado sirens would go
off, my "spot to hide" was in the bathroom closet dirty clothes hamper. (not very pleasant smelling) Fortuantly, the tornados never struck anywhere close.
3. Participated in multiple sports( soccer,tennis basketball, table tennis, baseball, rollarblade hockey)
all my life... (and only broke a kneecap, once)
4. Got my first "real" job at a daycare center, stayed at that job 1.5 years.(Summer '99)
5. Got my permanant job, (in retail) after finishing HS. (Sep. 2000)
6. August 2000 to present- have given blood 29 times.
7. May 2001- Got an article published in the ADA's "Diabetes Forecast." (Reflections)
8. Jan. 2006- Moved out(on my own). Discovered more of what life in the real world is all
about. Still trying to get myself better organized, which may take awhile (before the love of my life sweeps me away to Paradise, I need to reform my act). How did my parents ever manage this? D just makes me more unorganized..
That's my life in a nutshell. Of course, I've done more then this- just can't list it all!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yesterday I discovered TWO of my 100 ct. boxes of test strips had expiration dates of 4/06.
Darn. So the question arises, do I use them? I got a refill last month, I'm pretty sure that Caremark sent them (I have alot of test strips floating around at the moment) but I removed the labels and (thus) the proof. I'm sure they won't want to replace them. So it looks like I'll have to use 'em up(quickly)....and put aside the box I'm currently working on.
Heck) Circa Kassie's Cool Meme, here is mine:
1. Was born (1981) just after midnight, in a small hospital in Western Virginia- the same hospital my grandmother(1911) and mom (1951) were born in. (continuing the grand tradition)
I was small, (a preemie) I was ugly, and I had the biggest head the doctor had ever seen. After running multiple tests on me, they concluded I'd just inherited my
father's big head. Eventually, the rest of my body caught up,(in porportion) but I'm still big headed about some stuff. (I like to think its all brains)
2. From 1986-88, we lived in Jackson, MS. Very differant from Virginia, it only snowed once
(about enough for a snowball) and ice storms were frequent. When the tornado sirens would go
off, my "spot to hide" was in the bathroom closet dirty clothes hamper. (not very pleasant smelling) Fortuantly, the tornados never struck anywhere close.
3. Participated in multiple sports( soccer,tennis basketball, table tennis, baseball, rollarblade hockey)
all my life... (and only broke a kneecap, once)
4. Got my first "real" job at a daycare center, stayed at that job 1.5 years.(Summer '99)
5. Got my permanant job, (in retail) after finishing HS. (Sep. 2000)
6. August 2000 to present- have given blood 29 times.
7. May 2001- Got an article published in the ADA's "Diabetes Forecast." (Reflections)
8. Jan. 2006- Moved out(on my own). Discovered more of what life in the real world is all
about. Still trying to get myself better organized, which may take awhile (before the love of my life sweeps me away to Paradise, I need to reform my act). How did my parents ever manage this? D just makes me more unorganized..
That's my life in a nutshell. Of course, I've done more then this- just can't list it all!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yesterday I discovered TWO of my 100 ct. boxes of test strips had expiration dates of 4/06.
Darn. So the question arises, do I use them? I got a refill last month, I'm pretty sure that Caremark sent them (I have alot of test strips floating around at the moment) but I removed the labels and (thus) the proof. I'm sure they won't want to replace them. So it looks like I'll have to use 'em up(quickly)....and put aside the box I'm currently working on.
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Weave Me the Sunshine
Why?
Why do people go jogging in the dead of night, with absolutely NO reflective clothing/gear
on...
Why do some folks take a siesta (right in the middle of a 4-way intersection) so they'll be assured
of getting their left handed turn (while the rest of us are forced to wait for them?)
Why are there male gynocologists? (Enough said, you might love yours, but I find it hard connecting to a doc whose never PMS'd in their lives)
Why is the carb count on sugared cereal NEVER right?
Why do some folks just keep reproducing (and mistreat the ones they've got) while others spend tens of thousands to be able to adapt just one child off the streets? Why is it so hard
to adopt?
Why is a cure always "Five Years" away?
Why does a fresh crop of bills always arrive in your mail box right after you pay off the old ones?
Why is so hard to change an a1c?
Why does it always rain a monsoon the weekend the lawn needs mowing/trimming?
Why do pumps always die on holiday weekends?
Why do people park in TWO parking spaces....
Why do people feel the need to eat themselves sick at buffets? (myself included)
Why do very fat people only have to pay for one seat on airplanes, when they take up 2-3?
Why is the genetics of diabetes so tricky- antibodies may increase the risk, but no one will
predict when you'll get it.
Why does that fancy Lamborgini Contash (at work) always park so close to you you're afraid to breathe when you get out of the car- you don't want to hurt it...you don't have that kind of insurance..
Why is it impossible to totally defrost the windshield of your car on a cold, frosty morning-
and you're forced to drive to work with it half-done, you're fortuante not to get in late(or have an accident)
Why do test strips work their way into so many odd places?
Saturday, June 10, 2006
C- Day (x 7)
C-Day
The setting is an Ophthalmologist’s office.
Act 1.
Resident: I’m afraid you need surgery- it’s the only thing that might help, no guarantees. We can’t visualize the retina, so its unclear if there might be more problems, but its worth a shot. Since you’re underage- it’s the guardian’s decision. What do you think?
Patient: (looking over at parent) Uh, Mom?
Mother of Patient: (slowly) Ok. When can you do it?
Resident: We’ll set it up pretty quick-as it’s an emergency. Ever had surgery before?
Patient: No.
Resident: We generally use general anesthetic for all our younger patients so they don’t freak out. Elderly folks don’t get as upset with people digging around in their eyes, so we use local with them. But it’ll be fine. We’ll stage them two weeks apart, so if there’s an infection or other prob with one it won’t spread to the other eye. Let me read you the risks.
(long list of rare risks)
Any questions?
Patient: No. I’m totally freaked out about everything now, I’m scared to death.
Senior Purple-Shirted Resident:
Hey, you’ll be ok. Most people come through this with flying colors. I’ll be doing your surgery.
Patient: Ok.
Act 2.
Scene: PreOp room- June 10, 1999.
Patient: Uh, Nurse? I think I’m low, could you check my bg please?
Nurse: Oh, I forgot about that. Let’s check you.
Nurse: You’re 349.
Patient: (feeling stupid) Ah. Most defiantly NOT low. I cut my Lente in half this morning like I was supposed too.. now I'm high.
Nurse: I’ll get dosing instructions.
30 minutes later.
Nurse: We’ll give you 5 units of Regular through your IV.
20 minutes later.
Anesthesiologist: Well, since you have no more questions- we’re ready to roll! Leaves room.
Orderly: Hi, I’m ready to take you over to the OR.
Patient climbs off bed.
Patient: Uh, you’ll have to lead the way, I can’t see squat.
Orderly: No problem. I’ll also take care of your IV bag- looks like you’re having some problems managing all this paraphernalia.
Patient: Yeah, and if I make it there without this size XXXXL gown falling off it’ll be a wonder.
Orderly: Here, take a blanket.
Wrap Self in blanket.
Patient: Thanks a lot.
Act 3.
Arrive at OR. Climb up on gurney, gown falls halfway off. Feel self-conscious all over again- as the only people you can hear are of the opposite sex…
Senior Resident: Hey there! How are you doing?
Patient: (knees knocking, teeth chattering, heart thumping away) I’m freezing.
Anesthesiologist: Let’s get another blanket-EKG, pulse ox on her..
Resident: So what are you doing this summer?
Patient: Well, I was studying for the ACT-before this happened. I don’t think I’ll be able to take the test this month-it’s in two days.
Resident: It’s ok-you’ll do fine when you take it.
Attending Supervising Physician: Are we ready?
Anesthesiologist: I’m just going to give you something to relax, you’ll breathe deeply and then you’ll wake up in the recovery room. Here we go…
Patient: (thinking) Maybe this is my last five seconds on earth.
Uncomfortable cramping sensation in legs, shift up.
Act 4
Recovery Room.
The sound of coughing.
Nurses Voice: Are you ok? (Worried)
Patient: Cough some more phlegm. Me? Opens eyes. Yeah, ME! (estatic) I’m alive!
Nurse: Um, yes you are. How do you feel?
Patient: Tired.
Nurse: We’ll let you sleep a bit longer before you go home. The surgery was successful.
Patient: Thanks.(falling back asleep in 2.5 seconds)
Act 5.
Opthamologist’s office-the next day.
Senior Resident: Let’s peel off your eye patch now, see how that eye is doing.
Takes off eye patch.
Eye promptly fills with water. Irratation- or tears of joy? I can see the resident, I can see the eye chart, I can see everything. I’d kiss the resident, but that’s probably a no-no.
Senior Resident(after through exam): It's doing great, we can probably do the other one in two weeks.
June 24- Second surgery also goes off without a hitch.
Closing Scene: Patient resolves to take better care of diabetes- heck, maybe even get one of those new-fangled pumps...All joking aside, the gift of sight does make one's life infanintly more fufilling.
------------------------------------------
Ah, Kansas. Had a good time, but its not exactly a popular tourist spot. My boyfriend's folks were nice(the hugging type, but nice) and I survived the multiple family reunions, graveyards, hot muggy nights(hotel ac's didn't work half the time) and limited internet access. (the hardest part) The only reason people go to Kansas(if they don't already reside there) is probably for family reunions. I can see why Dorothy wanted to get out of there(in the first place)
I exibited the patience of Job and didn't eat a single unhealthy dessert, it is quite impossible to explain (to some folks, older ones in particular) the fine details of carb counting/etc. Its hard enough to explain it to my boyfriend, ((what I can/can't eat at certain times) I probably should send him a copy of some basic Diabetes 101 books. Like Understanding Insulin Dependant Diabetes by Peter Chase,MD. I'm not going to marry someone who constantly rides me about my "diet." Everything I eat, I try to cover appropriately with insulin. If his elderly relations do it to some degree thats ok(one only has to go through that 1-2 x a year)
-----------------------------------
And when I got home, THIS is waiting for me:
Season 6! (Took 3 weeks to arrive from Australia)
(it really does rock, Caro)
Thursday, June 01, 2006
I believe I Could Fly!
Given the price of gasoline,this might be a cheaper alternative. (At least, you'll make someone's
day. "Hey look, Honey- there's another whacko in the neighberhood!")
(The Family Reunion...)
I'm just not ready. (In addition to displaying Rarius Extremius Maturius over the course of a 5-day weekend, I'll probably have to answer zillions of questions regarding diabetes, not precisely my favorite thing to do. My family is bad enough-what if his is WORSE?)
Aughhhhhhhhhhhh.
day. "Hey look, Honey- there's another whacko in the neighberhood!")
(The Family Reunion...)
I'm just not ready. (In addition to displaying Rarius Extremius Maturius over the course of a 5-day weekend, I'll probably have to answer zillions of questions regarding diabetes, not precisely my favorite thing to do. My family is bad enough-what if his is WORSE?)
Aughhhhhhhhhhhh.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
A Day in the Life of an Physician
The Story of an Ivy League Doctor
AKA...
(academia disenchantment from the patient perspective)
So be sensitive to your patient's needs.
AKA...
(academia disenchantment from the patient perspective)
When I was 18, I went to Yale
Praying the whole time that I wouldn’t fail
For my father is a surgeon, and my mother into psych
I’ve been programmed from the very start what I was gonna like.
Well, I worked very hard and I kept my nose clean
Kept busy in anatomy with hearts and eyes and spleens.
I knew that I could I do it- I knew most everything
And I graduated Mag.Cum Laude to get my classes’ ring.
On graduation day, my very first stop
Was a very exclusive clothing shop
They monogrammed my jackets, and pressed my silk screened tie
And off I promptly went to (3 letter medical school acronym) to apply.
My first official night on call, it truly was a blast
Wracked up twenty-two admissions and an old friend from my past
My resident smokes pot, and I really gotta go
There’s just too much to this doctoring I doubt I’ll ever know.
I kept my eyes open, and I kept my mouth shut
As I learn all the hospital scuttlebutt
I learned who has got the hots for whom
And the nurses hate the techies in the Operating Room.
Derm was pretty gross, saw a Basal Carcinoma
To me, it was anything BUT a Fascinoma
Is it Lyme, or Leprosy, its quite hard to tell
One thing is very certain, though- the patient is not well.
Now its off to Endocrine, the type 2's in denial
Are making it quite difficult to keep my pasted smile
The type 1's need new kidneys- theirs are fully shot
Cuz each was diagnosed with D, a diaper-wearing tot.
Let’s go to Ob-gyn, see some cute, small preemies
Is that a sudden gush of blood that’s making me feel squeemy?
Birth is very wonderful, but sick kids sure do holler
I think I’ll find some other way to make my daily dollar.
Cardio was fun, but as I walked through the door
Old ladies had M. I.’s- man, they all hit the floor
The CCU was full, the chiefs said go away
I lasted one full hour on that sunny day in May.
So where’s my special niche- maybe its in psyche
As I’ve been saying all long, as just a little tyke
My mother gave me therapy, I’ll feel your deepest pains
There isn’t anything, in front of me, for you to be ashamed.
But I think I’ll be a cancer doc- play hard life and death
As the patients look in fear to me, when they can’t catch their breath
I’ll supervise the interns, and attend the M and M’s,
All the time while acting that I CARE about them!
Now I have a fancy office on the very first floor
And the patients come from all around, because they need to hear more
The world, it does my bidding, not the other way around
Those nights spent sobbing in the bathroom seem such a distant sound.
( But there’s more to this sad tale
Then my pen can ever tell
Cuz when you’ve passed, and come up top
And really think that you’ve arrived- 360 to the stop
All of life comes down to this- we all must make the choices
But I am here to tell you, that bigger bucks, and razor red Rolls Royces
Will not stop the clock from slamming down your own blunt coffin nail.)
So be sensitive to your patient's needs.
Thursday, May 25, 2006
All Work and No Play....
Gluco-Burst (Artic Cherry)gel is good stuff. Layed in a goodly supply(Krogers had a half off sale), along with various other D supplies. I also purchased 10 candy bars, which no doubt looked pretty weird to the cashier-but hey, its my money.
The blood sugars are doing much better (disaster averted). Still, I've had 4 numbers (this week) below 140, and one of them was a 36. Not a very number-friendly week.
And tomarrow? Tomarrow, I take my logbook to get my diabetes control anylized to the nth degree (by the CDE) Control is not remotely possible, neither is an a1c under 7. Not without a miracle (or continous glucose moniter). I have great hopes that they'll be available soon- one way or the other.(Either I convince the insurance company, or pay out of pocket for it myself) Its more of a war zone out there- and I'm glad some days just to have survived. Every day lived successfully with diabetes, no wonder WHAT actually transpired, is a cause for celebration. Kicked it in the rear once again. My SIL (as a cardiac nurse) sees many young PWD's up on her floor.(making the connection that they took rotten care of themselves) 30 years later, though, if you get cardiac complications who can really say its because of that? D-care has changed so much over the years, and I think I'd be very glad to see my 47th birthday,even if I had cardiac problems. Other things, (like genetics and smoking) count very strongly too. How many of those young PWD's also smoke? (quite a few, probably) Its not just diabetes thats a serious risk factor,but its always the biggie.(one that people look at)
Some bright individual hacked into my Ebay account+ listed a fraudulent item, putting their original email address in the auction listing so people would contact them directly. My regular email was immeadiently flooded with Me-Me-Me (Sell to me) offers for this high-priced Super Deal.
I promptly changed every concievable password, alerted Ebay, and closed down the listing, taking steps to secure my account. And then I emailed the would-be seller(in the hopes that I could get his reg.address + track him down). He didn't spring for the idea, informing me that he could only accept bank-to-bank transfers. I'm kind of dissapointed that he didn't take the bait, I'd like this guy to spend the next 15 years in jail. I'll think of something. I'm not stupid, and he obviously isn't either... I had the strong urge to tell him precisely what I thought of him, but that would be the last I'd see of him.
Thank goodness for a LONG weekend, I'm so glad this week is over. I intend to pamper myself to the gills, my initiary includes:
Friday- CDE appt, lunch at Golden Corral(buffet), shopping trip(Old Navy, Rite Aid, Bath and Body, wherever else), library, reg. doc appointment.
Sat.- Free meal at Chick-Fil-A,(breakfast) see Baltimore (Orioles'?) baseball game with b-friend...do some more clothes shopping on trip back. This weekend is 20% OFF weekend for all TJX employees, so I should be able to get some great clothing deals.
Sunday- Sleep.
Monday-Sleep.
Tuesday-Who knows, who cares-I'm lovin' it.
Wednesday-Back to work.
Sunday, May 21, 2006
One Sunday Morning
Its 1:14 AM, my blood sugar is in the upper stratisphere(200-400) and it WON'T COME DOWN. I can't sleep (as the ketones bounce along with the bg, turning my stomach to mush + my throat into a second Sahara). I want to puke(but can't, it takes more then DKA to make me puke).
This has been going on approximently 13.5 hours. I've taken 4 extra shots of Novolog, to get the blood sugar +ketones down + I am now 205, small ketones.
The reason for this "bad D trip"? Extreme stupidity (on my part), I should have never gotten
a naval piercing. (May my mother NEVER read this blog) Funny how many sets I've gone through and never had one, now this. Suffice to say, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to connect the dots(infection=high blood sugars)
It might be true, D's are more prone to infections of this sort, but I didn't exactly take stellar care of the piercing. Regardless, I've changed my mind about having one- I want it out and healed up, navals can take up to a year to completely heal. The next time I decide to get a piercing, I'll just get a second set in the ears...(safer territory)
Next step=doubl(ing) of basal. I should probably call the intern on call, as thrilled as that will make him/her. I need an antibiotic + to clear up this situation but I'd rather wait till Monday to see the doc, if at all possible. Not possible, if the ketone situation doesn't get any better.
Stupid diabetes. (highs make me cranky as heck, in case its not immeadiently obvious)
This has been going on approximently 13.5 hours. I've taken 4 extra shots of Novolog, to get the blood sugar +ketones down + I am now 205, small ketones.
The reason for this "bad D trip"? Extreme stupidity (on my part), I should have never gotten
a naval piercing. (May my mother NEVER read this blog) Funny how many sets I've gone through and never had one, now this. Suffice to say, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to connect the dots(infection=high blood sugars)
It might be true, D's are more prone to infections of this sort, but I didn't exactly take stellar care of the piercing. Regardless, I've changed my mind about having one- I want it out and healed up, navals can take up to a year to completely heal. The next time I decide to get a piercing, I'll just get a second set in the ears...(safer territory)
Next step=doubl(ing) of basal. I should probably call the intern on call, as thrilled as that will make him/her. I need an antibiotic + to clear up this situation but I'd rather wait till Monday to see the doc, if at all possible. Not possible, if the ketone situation doesn't get any better.
Stupid diabetes. (highs make me cranky as heck, in case its not immeadiently obvious)
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Reflections upon Diabetes(andJulia's Meme)
Sometimes it all gets overwhelming (this generally isn't because of a bad D-day).
Coworker: "So, Heidi, what DO you spend your money on? You must be loaded-you don't have a family,mortage, OR other things of that nature..."
What do I spend my money on? Copayments for meds, copayments for dr. appointments, a sizeable weekly paycheck cut for that medical insurance, low blood sugar treatments, assorted herbal remedies to assist with managing the D- and all the other monetary struggles of the single working person. Diabetes dictates one's career path, its the primary reason I haven't finished my BD by now.
They say diabetes makes you a stronger, better person. I think, the only (positive) thing diabetes ever did for me was to make me more compassionate towards the health struggles of others. To see the person-not the failures that got them into that situation. Isn't that the heart of true medicine- helping the patient? not blaming them for their disease..
Quote for the Day:
From Disease, I have learned much that Life could not have taught me any other way.
- Goethe
I think I would be a much better person without the diabetes...
(any good effects that may have come from D I could still learn somewhere along life's path)
Thyroid results came back low.
Endo wants me to start taking Synthroid, once again. I was on it once, after the diabetes diagnosis (for about a year). Then (in my infinant teenage wisdom) I decided to stop, remarkably, my yearly tests have been normal. Except this last time. I had the thyroid antibodies at diagnosis, so I suppose it was only a matter of time before I needed it permanantly.
"You'll feel much less tired...and if you decide to get pregnant, its important to have normal levels.."
That's all fine with me- but I don't remember if it affects basal requirements?
Julia's Meme
1. Pretend you're stranded on a desert island. You already have shelter, water, batteries, an abundant food supply that doesn't revolve around coconuts and even a cabana boy/girl to minster to your, erm, needs. However, you need some intellectual entertainment. Give me your top five desert island:
Books
1. I want to go home! -Gordon Korman. (a kid book, but adults like 'em too. They're too funny)
2. Foxtrot(comics)
3. Zits! (comics)
4. Anne Rice books
5. My novel(when I get it published)
Movies
1.Flight of the Navigator
2. Complete dvd box set of ER(seasons 1-12)
3. Ladder 49
4. The Sound of Music
5. The Fugative
Albums (NOT compilations of your own making)
and tell me why these make the cut.
-Just give me a radio..
2. Now, pretend you won the lottery. It's a huge amount, although not sickeningly huge. After you've given away your chunk to charity, paid off all your bills, set up savings/trust funds for kids and self and given money to deserving family and friends, you're left with $5 million, which you must use to build a house. Where would it be? What would it look like? Tell me how you'd furnish it and then describe your first party there.
I'd build it in Switzerland, it'd be a chateau with all the basics of life(private movie theator, spa,pool, etc.) located close to a ski resort. Basically, big. I'd host a weekend diabetes conferance, but it'd all in be in English.(I don't speak French or German...) Everyone is invited, but you'd have to buy your own plane ticket (don't think I'd have much of the 5 million left over).
3. If you could have dinner with five people from history, living or dead, who would they be? What about five fictional characters? What would you serve at each dinner?
Abraham Lincoln
Neal Boortz
Nicole J. Baker
Ronald Reagon (pre Altzimers!)
Winston Churchill
Legolas-he's extroidinarily cute.(Went through a bleach-the-hair phase, when LOTR came out)
Garfield
I'm going to only serve ONE dinner, I hate cooking. Either that, or we'll just eat leftovers the other 4x!
Virginia Ham(Fried)
Corn on the Cob
Baked Potatoes
Chocolate Meringue Pie
Mint tea
4. Describe your least favourite and best characteristics. (are we talking about physical characteristics here?)
Least Favorite- I'm too short.REALLY too short. My 6'4 brother uses the top of my head as a elbow rest.
Best Characteristic- People automatically subtract 10-12 years off my actual age, so I get by with alot of stuff grown-up folks usually can't..lol.(And I'll be carded till I'm 50) I've been told its a wonderful thing to look young, maybe in 10 years I'll totally buy that.
5. And finally, answer James Lipton's Ten Questions:
What is your favorite word? Chocolate
What is your least favorite word? diabetes
What turns you on? Any guy in a silk,striped tie.
What turns you off? Old guys with goatees + ponytails.
What is your favorite curse word? don't curse.
What sound or noise do you love? the wind blowing over a body of water.
What sound or noise do you hate? belching/burping
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Journalism
What profession would you not like to do? undertaker!
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
"Well done, good and faithful servant."
(I do believe in Heaven, obviously)
Coworker: "So, Heidi, what DO you spend your money on? You must be loaded-you don't have a family,mortage, OR other things of that nature..."
What do I spend my money on? Copayments for meds, copayments for dr. appointments, a sizeable weekly paycheck cut for that medical insurance, low blood sugar treatments, assorted herbal remedies to assist with managing the D- and all the other monetary struggles of the single working person. Diabetes dictates one's career path, its the primary reason I haven't finished my BD by now.
They say diabetes makes you a stronger, better person. I think, the only (positive) thing diabetes ever did for me was to make me more compassionate towards the health struggles of others. To see the person-not the failures that got them into that situation. Isn't that the heart of true medicine- helping the patient? not blaming them for their disease..
Quote for the Day:
From Disease, I have learned much that Life could not have taught me any other way.
- Goethe
I think I would be a much better person without the diabetes...
(any good effects that may have come from D I could still learn somewhere along life's path)
Thyroid results came back low.
Endo wants me to start taking Synthroid, once again. I was on it once, after the diabetes diagnosis (for about a year). Then (in my infinant teenage wisdom) I decided to stop, remarkably, my yearly tests have been normal. Except this last time. I had the thyroid antibodies at diagnosis, so I suppose it was only a matter of time before I needed it permanantly.
"You'll feel much less tired...and if you decide to get pregnant, its important to have normal levels.."
That's all fine with me- but I don't remember if it affects basal requirements?
Julia's Meme
1. Pretend you're stranded on a desert island. You already have shelter, water, batteries, an abundant food supply that doesn't revolve around coconuts and even a cabana boy/girl to minster to your, erm, needs. However, you need some intellectual entertainment. Give me your top five desert island:
Books
1. I want to go home! -Gordon Korman. (a kid book, but adults like 'em too. They're too funny)
2. Foxtrot(comics)
3. Zits! (comics)
4. Anne Rice books
5. My novel(when I get it published)
Movies
1.Flight of the Navigator
2. Complete dvd box set of ER(seasons 1-12)
3. Ladder 49
4. The Sound of Music
5. The Fugative
Albums (NOT compilations of your own making)
and tell me why these make the cut.
-Just give me a radio..
2. Now, pretend you won the lottery. It's a huge amount, although not sickeningly huge. After you've given away your chunk to charity, paid off all your bills, set up savings/trust funds for kids and self and given money to deserving family and friends, you're left with $5 million, which you must use to build a house. Where would it be? What would it look like? Tell me how you'd furnish it and then describe your first party there.
I'd build it in Switzerland, it'd be a chateau with all the basics of life(private movie theator, spa,pool, etc.) located close to a ski resort. Basically, big. I'd host a weekend diabetes conferance, but it'd all in be in English.(I don't speak French or German...) Everyone is invited, but you'd have to buy your own plane ticket (don't think I'd have much of the 5 million left over).
3. If you could have dinner with five people from history, living or dead, who would they be? What about five fictional characters? What would you serve at each dinner?
Abraham Lincoln
Neal Boortz
Nicole J. Baker
Ronald Reagon (pre Altzimers!)
Winston Churchill
Legolas-he's extroidinarily cute.(Went through a bleach-the-hair phase, when LOTR came out)
Garfield
I'm going to only serve ONE dinner, I hate cooking. Either that, or we'll just eat leftovers the other 4x!
Virginia Ham(Fried)
Corn on the Cob
Baked Potatoes
Chocolate Meringue Pie
Mint tea
4. Describe your least favourite and best characteristics. (are we talking about physical characteristics here?)
Least Favorite- I'm too short.REALLY too short. My 6'4 brother uses the top of my head as a elbow rest.
Best Characteristic- People automatically subtract 10-12 years off my actual age, so I get by with alot of stuff grown-up folks usually can't..lol.(And I'll be carded till I'm 50) I've been told its a wonderful thing to look young, maybe in 10 years I'll totally buy that.
5. And finally, answer James Lipton's Ten Questions:
What is your favorite word? Chocolate
What is your least favorite word? diabetes
What turns you on? Any guy in a silk,striped tie.
What turns you off? Old guys with goatees + ponytails.
What is your favorite curse word? don't curse.
What sound or noise do you love? the wind blowing over a body of water.
What sound or noise do you hate? belching/burping
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Journalism
What profession would you not like to do? undertaker!
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
"Well done, good and faithful servant."
(I do believe in Heaven, obviously)
Thursday, May 11, 2006
D-blurb(s) of the Week
We take a break from the normal, humdrum, painfully dull, diabetes self- recordings to bring you the latest and best D-Bits from 'round the world. (Yes Julia, I am working on those questions-but they require some major thinking, and it'll take me a few days...)
From the Czech Republic:
Got Islets? Get monitored!
Comments: Kind of interesting, but if the iron just decomposes anyway in the body...no way to moniter the existance of the islets. (Defeating the entire purpose)
The History of Diabetes Forecast:
From this: (November, 1948)
(In the early years, "Forecast" had a blue cover(this made everyone happy + cheery about reading it, as blue urine test=excellent control). Later, they switched to other colors as blue got pretty boring, and eventually, to pics on the front...)
To this: (December, 1998)
Lastly this:! (June 2006)
I wonder what it'll look like in 2048, if there still isn't a cure.
Need a Cat? Someone in the UK needs to adopt this sweetie.
I've considered getting a cat (it might turn out to be a great hypo-alert animal), but I don't have the time to properly care for it. (As selfish as that sounds-its true, and if you can't properly provide(food/shelter/medical care) for any animal, you have no business owning one)
CWD's Whats New lists are TRULY exciting reading. Especially the journal articles (exotic research studies), that generally have one of three effects:
A. Sigh, roll eyes, backclick. You knew all that stuff anyway. (it's nothing new)
B. Email a knowledgable friend for an interrpretation- you haven't managed to get past the first two words...
C. Gasp and stare in wide-eyed horror as you learn yet ANOTHER potential D-problem that nobody ever told you about.
I prefer the newspaper articles that tell of PWD's living happy, sucessful lives.
They've changed the rules on Lantus:
So now one could probably safely mix L+fast-acting. If I were on Lantus, I still wouldn't do it. It feels so WRONG, like one of those set-in-stone unbreakable diabetic laws (it has been around since 2001, so its practically that)
Surfin’ DCCT
(With apologies to the Beach Boys and Ray Stevens!)
We’ve a case of the ‘beates, it’s a ‘98
Its got a meter and a pump and its doing just great
We’re loyal to the party, and the party line
But us ‘betics (or PWD's) got to have a little fun sometimes.
We were having us a party, getting nice and drunk
When the leader of the type 1's (a green haired punk)
Keeled over like an anchor, he was trying to show
Half a keg of the best, would not get HIM low.
Now here we be
Surfin’ DCCT
(Surfin’, Surfin’, DCCT)
Hello CCU
As I’m turning blue
Yeah, we’re getting kinda drunk, getting totally layed
C’mon Honey Sugar, tonight we’ve got it made
We don’t wanna start no Endocrine Fight
We just want to smoke and drink and party tonight!
You thought the company exotic when you “did the Dew”
Till you met the charming nurses up in ICU
One prick of the finger, and we all flipped
There’s been a mutiny on board Denial’s Ship.
Let’s you and me
Keep the DCCT
(Keep it, Keeppp the DCCT)
My Hba1c
Is now 5 point three.
Yeah, now I’ll be real good, cuz I don’t plan to go
Up to my endo’s- to watch him blow.
It won’t be all bad, my friend, you just wait and see
A better lot you’ll have when you keep the DCCT.
From the Czech Republic:
Got Islets? Get monitored!
Comments: Kind of interesting, but if the iron just decomposes anyway in the body...no way to moniter the existance of the islets. (Defeating the entire purpose)
The History of Diabetes Forecast:
From this: (November, 1948)
(In the early years, "Forecast" had a blue cover(this made everyone happy + cheery about reading it, as blue urine test=excellent control). Later, they switched to other colors as blue got pretty boring, and eventually, to pics on the front...)
To this: (December, 1998)
Lastly this:! (June 2006)
I wonder what it'll look like in 2048, if there still isn't a cure.
Need a Cat? Someone in the UK needs to adopt this sweetie.
I've considered getting a cat (it might turn out to be a great hypo-alert animal), but I don't have the time to properly care for it. (As selfish as that sounds-its true, and if you can't properly provide(food/shelter/medical care) for any animal, you have no business owning one)
CWD's Whats New lists are TRULY exciting reading. Especially the journal articles (exotic research studies), that generally have one of three effects:
A. Sigh, roll eyes, backclick. You knew all that stuff anyway. (it's nothing new)
B. Email a knowledgable friend for an interrpretation- you haven't managed to get past the first two words...
C. Gasp and stare in wide-eyed horror as you learn yet ANOTHER potential D-problem that nobody ever told you about.
I prefer the newspaper articles that tell of PWD's living happy, sucessful lives.
They've changed the rules on Lantus:
So now one could probably safely mix L+fast-acting. If I were on Lantus, I still wouldn't do it. It feels so WRONG, like one of those set-in-stone unbreakable diabetic laws (it has been around since 2001, so its practically that)
Surfin’ DCCT
(With apologies to the Beach Boys and Ray Stevens!)
We’ve a case of the ‘beates, it’s a ‘98
Its got a meter and a pump and its doing just great
We’re loyal to the party, and the party line
But us ‘betics (or PWD's) got to have a little fun sometimes.
We were having us a party, getting nice and drunk
When the leader of the type 1's (a green haired punk)
Keeled over like an anchor, he was trying to show
Half a keg of the best, would not get HIM low.
Now here we be
Surfin’ DCCT
(Surfin’, Surfin’, DCCT)
Hello CCU
As I’m turning blue
Yeah, we’re getting kinda drunk, getting totally layed
C’mon Honey Sugar, tonight we’ve got it made
We don’t wanna start no Endocrine Fight
We just want to smoke and drink and party tonight!
You thought the company exotic when you “did the Dew”
Till you met the charming nurses up in ICU
One prick of the finger, and we all flipped
There’s been a mutiny on board Denial’s Ship.
Let’s you and me
Keep the DCCT
(Keep it, Keeppp the DCCT)
My Hba1c
Is now 5 point three.
Yeah, now I’ll be real good, cuz I don’t plan to go
Up to my endo’s- to watch him blow.
It won’t be all bad, my friend, you just wait and see
A better lot you’ll have when you keep the DCCT.
Monday, May 08, 2006
Weekend Bargains
I'm a bargain hunter-I'll shop for anything. And in this rural community, some of the biggest events of the summer are the town yard sales. There are two of them that everyone (and their cousins) comes to, one was held last weekend, and the next will be held the 2nd weekend in June. I am fortuanate enough to live (now) right smack dab on what will be the busiest street in town, come June 9.
Bicycles, trucks, cars, vans, rollarblades, wagons, buggies, and go-carts will converge on this little piece of nowhere. Hispanics, Russians, Old Order Mennonites, West Va Hillbillies- the air will abuzz with a hundred clashing dialects not soon revisited on any other part of this country.(to my knowledge)
Borrowed a large slab of wood from my folks, that will be one of my main set-up tables. Still need to get some smaller card tables. My mom and I will take turns manning it( one shops for more junk, the other watches).
I got alot of deals on Saturday...
2 NIP zip disks
3 new Home Interior candles
decent pair of steel toed working boots
NIP shoelaces
dry erase (calander)
a Lego building table( which I'll either resell on Ebay, or give as a gift)
cute frog desk organizer
craft stuff
set of 4 quilted placemats
a Pegasus t-shirt
several cassettes
jar of homemade jelly
Part of the fun of extreme yard-sale-ing is figuring out what effect 6 hours of walking will have on your blood sugar. I decided I didn't want to deal with lows, I'd take my pump off and just shoot up for whatever I ate.
7 AM- 150. Ate breakfast, bolused, took pump off.
9 AM- My car being parked over a mile away, I knew I didn't have much choice about discreteness in diabetes care . I needed to test, I might need to shoot up, and I couldn't help it if half the world had to watch.
So, I found a corner, crouched down, and pulled out my little black kit.
A lady stared (trying to look like she WASN'T staring). From that look, I knew she knew I had diabetes + she was worried that I'd keel over at any second. Either that-or I am a drug addict, getting my fix!Her fears were confirmed by a syringe-in-the-abdomen 30 seconds later. Wide eyed horror flashed across her face.(Like "Why is she doing that HERE?!?")Finishing up my business, I quickly exited that yard sale before anyone else could observe this private ritual. (or call the cops) I don't like to make people uncomfortable, but I also don't like being made to feel like a drug addict or worse..
10 AM- I need a snack, so I buy a BBQ sandwich and Diet coke.
10:30 AM- Low.Drain juice, stagger along side of road, thinking about the cruel irony of getting low JUST when the food should be working! Daydream about CGMS's, and catching 99.9% of these things before they happen!
11:30 AM-226. Conservatively shoot 1U.
12:30 AM-156. Finish up yard sales, go home. Eat lunch, take nap. Wake up 210, feeling more like 500, drink 2 liter bottle of Diet Coke.(and half a gallon of water) Must have got slightly deydrated from the exercise.
It was fun though, I just need to better figure out my basal needs in these circumstances.
Bicycles, trucks, cars, vans, rollarblades, wagons, buggies, and go-carts will converge on this little piece of nowhere. Hispanics, Russians, Old Order Mennonites, West Va Hillbillies- the air will abuzz with a hundred clashing dialects not soon revisited on any other part of this country.(to my knowledge)
Borrowed a large slab of wood from my folks, that will be one of my main set-up tables. Still need to get some smaller card tables. My mom and I will take turns manning it( one shops for more junk, the other watches).
I got alot of deals on Saturday...
2 NIP zip disks
3 new Home Interior candles
decent pair of steel toed working boots
NIP shoelaces
dry erase (calander)
a Lego building table( which I'll either resell on Ebay, or give as a gift)
cute frog desk organizer
craft stuff
set of 4 quilted placemats
a Pegasus t-shirt
several cassettes
jar of homemade jelly
Part of the fun of extreme yard-sale-ing is figuring out what effect 6 hours of walking will have on your blood sugar. I decided I didn't want to deal with lows, I'd take my pump off and just shoot up for whatever I ate.
7 AM- 150. Ate breakfast, bolused, took pump off.
9 AM- My car being parked over a mile away, I knew I didn't have much choice about discreteness in diabetes care . I needed to test, I might need to shoot up, and I couldn't help it if half the world had to watch.
So, I found a corner, crouched down, and pulled out my little black kit.
A lady stared (trying to look like she WASN'T staring). From that look, I knew she knew I had diabetes + she was worried that I'd keel over at any second. Either that-or I am a drug addict, getting my fix!Her fears were confirmed by a syringe-in-the-abdomen 30 seconds later. Wide eyed horror flashed across her face.(Like "Why is she doing that HERE?!?")Finishing up my business, I quickly exited that yard sale before anyone else could observe this private ritual. (or call the cops) I don't like to make people uncomfortable, but I also don't like being made to feel like a drug addict or worse..
10 AM- I need a snack, so I buy a BBQ sandwich and Diet coke.
10:30 AM- Low.Drain juice, stagger along side of road, thinking about the cruel irony of getting low JUST when the food should be working! Daydream about CGMS's, and catching 99.9% of these things before they happen!
11:30 AM-226. Conservatively shoot 1U.
12:30 AM-156. Finish up yard sales, go home. Eat lunch, take nap. Wake up 210, feeling more like 500, drink 2 liter bottle of Diet Coke.(and half a gallon of water) Must have got slightly deydrated from the exercise.
It was fun though, I just need to better figure out my basal needs in these circumstances.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
One Batch Novolog
Ingrediants: (x 10)
100 units Insulin Aspart
16 mg glycerin
1.50 mg phenol
1.72 mg metacresol
19.6 ug zinc
1.25 mg disodium hydrogen phosphate dihydrate
0.58 mg sodium chloride
Mix throughly, do whatever weird funky chemical reactions necessary. Bottle in 10 mL vials.
Sell to unsuspecting PWD's, $85+/vial.
Makes: 1 happy PWD, lasts 10 days-1 month.
Discard remainder.
I've gotta say, there's some pretty weird sounding stuff in there. No matter how safe it may be,its a little bit freaky to think its all being pumped into my blood stream. Especially the disodium hydrogen phosphate dihydrate!
I guess that's why it's so darn expensive...
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Up and Down
This hasn't been a good week.
Yesterday, my check bounced the bank, I had to take out a cash advance(on my rent), and the endo's office called me to reschedule a much-needed appointment. My landlady informed me that I'm "breaking" the lease(by not mowing every week) and I'd better shore things up (or July will be Moving Month). I dropped my pump on the concrete floor(at work), its amazing it didn't crack/chip/blow up. And I had another exotic low at work, caught it though. I do not like these new low symptoms. (weakness in legs) I have a mountain of dirty laundry, but haven't had time to visit the laudrymat(along with everything else). And there is nothing to eat in the refridgerator, as I burned the pot of goulash(i.e., a little bit of everything) yesterday evening.
Butttt....
the blood glucoses are really, really stable. That's one good thing. Have only had 1-2 numbers over 200, and two lows since Sunday. Which, for me, is amazing. Usually, when I'm stressed to the skies, bgs follow suit.
More amazing numbers to follow, as I slave over my lawn tonight! My brother has loaned me his mower, but I don't have a weedeater(so I'll either have to pull them out, or use scissors).
Yesterday, my check bounced the bank, I had to take out a cash advance(on my rent), and the endo's office called me to reschedule a much-needed appointment. My landlady informed me that I'm "breaking" the lease(by not mowing every week) and I'd better shore things up (or July will be Moving Month). I dropped my pump on the concrete floor(at work), its amazing it didn't crack/chip/blow up. And I had another exotic low at work, caught it though. I do not like these new low symptoms. (weakness in legs) I have a mountain of dirty laundry, but haven't had time to visit the laudrymat(along with everything else). And there is nothing to eat in the refridgerator, as I burned the pot of goulash(i.e., a little bit of everything) yesterday evening.
Butttt....
the blood glucoses are really, really stable. That's one good thing. Have only had 1-2 numbers over 200, and two lows since Sunday. Which, for me, is amazing. Usually, when I'm stressed to the skies, bgs follow suit.
More amazing numbers to follow, as I slave over my lawn tonight! My brother has loaned me his mower, but I don't have a weedeater(so I'll either have to pull them out, or use scissors).
Sunday, April 30, 2006
I AM: ME! (Meme)
I am: ME! (PWD, Republitarian, writer, musician, insulin-pumper, EMT, nursing student, retailer,etc.)
I want: a happy, healthy family. (hopefully without my lousy genetics)
I wish: for a continuous glucose moniter
I hate: cooking. I'd rather clean..
I miss: spontainialty, to just hop in the car without the customary stash of medical supplies/food.
I fear: middle of the night hypos, that I'll never finish my (nursing) degree.
I hear: The neighbor kids, splashing in the pool, enjoying a sunny April afternoon.
I wonder: when there will be a cure.
I regret: Never telling the pediatric CDE she was a wonderful person. Never seeing past the end of my own woes, to see anothers. Funerals are too late for too many things.
I am not: organized.
I dance: to many types of music.
I sing: and I don't care that I sound bad!
I cry: over the sappiest novels/movies, and when I am exausted.
I am not always: a dedicated worker.
I make with my hands: crossstitch, gardens, a sparkling-waxed Nugget, and an interesting blog.
I write: because it is "art" to me
I confuse: words that sound the same
I need: more money...
I should: get a life.
I start: many things
I finish: Finish? What's that?
I tag: You!
I want: a happy, healthy family. (hopefully without my lousy genetics)
I wish: for a continuous glucose moniter
I hate: cooking. I'd rather clean..
I miss: spontainialty, to just hop in the car without the customary stash of medical supplies/food.
I fear: middle of the night hypos, that I'll never finish my (nursing) degree.
I hear: The neighbor kids, splashing in the pool, enjoying a sunny April afternoon.
I wonder: when there will be a cure.
I regret: Never telling the pediatric CDE she was a wonderful person. Never seeing past the end of my own woes, to see anothers. Funerals are too late for too many things.
I am not: organized.
I dance: to many types of music.
I sing: and I don't care that I sound bad!
I cry: over the sappiest novels/movies, and when I am exausted.
I am not always: a dedicated worker.
I make with my hands: crossstitch, gardens, a sparkling-waxed Nugget, and an interesting blog.
I write: because it is "art" to me
I confuse: words that sound the same
I need: more money...
I should: get a life.
I start: many things
I finish: Finish? What's that?
I tag: You!
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Famous PWD's
Me....
With the old Cozmo Case:
With the new Cozmo case: (that just came in the mail)
I can't decide which I like better- differance(s) between the cases include:
Old
-Flap cover over screens(accidental bolus protection)
-Doesn't look completely "medical"
-Slightly smaller
New
-No plastic covering menu screen/ buttons (Ease of bolusing)
- Sturdier black clip, pump not so likely to "fall off" waistband
-Stiff, needs breaking in(obviously)
There's a new D-life video on Jason Johnson:
Elliott Yamin- Still in the running for American Idol!I've car-chalked my back windshield, to show my total support (until he wins...or gets kicked off) We're rootin' for you,Elliott! ( I would post a pic, but the rest of my car needs a good wash(it's not very photogenic)
With the old Cozmo Case:
With the new Cozmo case: (that just came in the mail)
I can't decide which I like better- differance(s) between the cases include:
Old
-Flap cover over screens(accidental bolus protection)
-Doesn't look completely "medical"
-Slightly smaller
New
-No plastic covering menu screen/ buttons (Ease of bolusing)
- Sturdier black clip, pump not so likely to "fall off" waistband
-Stiff, needs breaking in(obviously)
There's a new D-life video on Jason Johnson:
Elliott Yamin- Still in the running for American Idol!I've car-chalked my back windshield, to show my total support (until he wins...or gets kicked off) We're rootin' for you,Elliott! ( I would post a pic, but the rest of my car needs a good wash(it's not very photogenic)
Monday, April 24, 2006
Drama in the Workplace
Had one of those truly mortifying lows yesterday, about 45 minutes before the end of work. 30 minutes before, had tested 133, put a temp basal till the end of work.(1.5 hrs) Started to get lightheaded, figured I was probably low, ate/consumed candy-but it wasn't enough. Then my knees buckled, and I was kneeling on the floor. I couldn't get up, after a couple of minutes of trying, I gave up and just sat back down on the floor, leaned against the side of the lane.
"You ok, Heidi?" a coworker in the next lane over asks.
"Fine," I lie, as I drain a bottle of juice. "I just need to sit here awhile, I'm having a low."
"Go right ahead- you look terrible!"
5 minutes pass. Word of the drama in lane #3 has reached the ears of two other coworkers, who pro-offer mini-Butterfingers, Kisses, and hard candies. This is a really weird low, I'm not dizzy now,my legs just won't support my body.
20 minutes later, I'm feeling slightly better. Stand up, and finish the order I'm working on(takes less then five minutes). Clean up work area.
3:30 pm-Quitting bell rings. Phone rings.
I answer.
"Why on earth didn't you let me know you were having problems?What happened?"
The voice of my supivisor jars me back into the realities of the working world.
" I'm fine, just got dizzy and I had to sit down. They gave me candy, I was having a low blood sugar."
"That's good, but if it ever happens again, I need to know about it. Are you ok now?"
"Yes."
It's called Saving-the-Company's Gluteus Maximus- if I would've injured myself on my journey to the floor, the company would be liable for medical costs/employment compensation. This isn't the first time I've had a low blood sugar there, but the last bad one was 4 years ago, I can generally treat/work through my lows. (nobody even knows I'm having them) If I took off for every low I'd ever had, I wouldn't get anything done! (and my supivisor wouldn't either)
I went home, fell into an exausted sleep for 3 hours, and rechecked my blood sugar.
120. (this was 4 hours after I took my pump off)
Now, to figure out what had caused this rapid low. Thought it was a new infusion set prob, on the wise advice of people who know me just a bit too well, (I tend to keep my infusion sets in to long) but an hour post-supper my abdoman began rebelling against my Healthy Choice lunch, now I'm thinking none of it absorbed, hence the rapid drop in bg.
Healthy Choice- the next great way to lose weight, one way or the other. Called in sick today, as its still wracking its way through my system.
The DC Expo was great, despite getting there rather late (1:30 p.m.). I underestimated how long it would take me to get there on the Metro, but fortuantly the Convention Center was right on the Metro line. And there were plenty of helpful folks directing people towards the Expo(on the upper floor) Downstairs, the American Dental Association was having its thing (quite appropriate, actually, I wouldn't have minded listening in on some of those speeches).
I registered, and begun making the rounds.
2 hours later, figured it was time for a blood sugar check. (And why waste a strip...when there was a station set up to do it for free?) So I filled out a couple of permissary forms, got it checked (475, yay) got an a1c done, asked an endo a burning question I had, and completed the rounds.
It was definatly free pedometer day- everyone from NovoNordisk to Blue Cross/Blue Shield was passing them out. I got 5 differant pedometers. (I doubt it will inspire me to exercise more,though) Saw a Cleo sample, (very, very cool-I want some) partook of the various sugar-free-but-still-loaded-carbohydrate samples, and acquired too much stuff.(as usual)
Supper at Union Station, watched Ice Age 2, and back on the Metro.
Then the real fun began. It was raining hard, and I took a wrong turn coming out of the parking garage. Ended up circling Baltimore via the Beltway, for the next 2 hours. Eventually, I made so many wrong turns that I made my way back to DC, saw my "exit" that would put me back on the road I needed to be on, and was fine from there. Got home at 3 AM, extremily glad I don't have to deal with that madness every day.
Gas was $3.07 for a gallon of regular, that night. (vs the $2.87 around here) This isn't a political blog, but the whole situation is getting more +more ridiculous. Its not price gouging, when the supplies of crude oil/refined gasoline are gradually getting used up. And if we're not going to drill for more oil, we can expect those prices to keep going up. We need more efficient cars, and another source of fuel. (sooner or later, we are going to run completely out of gasoline and have to deal with these issues!)
I don't even get mad anymore(over the prices of gasoline), it could be much worse. (and I'm sure it will get much worse!)
"You ok, Heidi?" a coworker in the next lane over asks.
"Fine," I lie, as I drain a bottle of juice. "I just need to sit here awhile, I'm having a low."
"Go right ahead- you look terrible!"
5 minutes pass. Word of the drama in lane #3 has reached the ears of two other coworkers, who pro-offer mini-Butterfingers, Kisses, and hard candies. This is a really weird low, I'm not dizzy now,my legs just won't support my body.
20 minutes later, I'm feeling slightly better. Stand up, and finish the order I'm working on(takes less then five minutes). Clean up work area.
3:30 pm-Quitting bell rings. Phone rings.
I answer.
"Why on earth didn't you let me know you were having problems?What happened?"
The voice of my supivisor jars me back into the realities of the working world.
" I'm fine, just got dizzy and I had to sit down. They gave me candy, I was having a low blood sugar."
"That's good, but if it ever happens again, I need to know about it. Are you ok now?"
"Yes."
It's called Saving-the-Company's Gluteus Maximus- if I would've injured myself on my journey to the floor, the company would be liable for medical costs/employment compensation. This isn't the first time I've had a low blood sugar there, but the last bad one was 4 years ago, I can generally treat/work through my lows. (nobody even knows I'm having them) If I took off for every low I'd ever had, I wouldn't get anything done! (and my supivisor wouldn't either)
I went home, fell into an exausted sleep for 3 hours, and rechecked my blood sugar.
120. (this was 4 hours after I took my pump off)
Now, to figure out what had caused this rapid low. Thought it was a new infusion set prob, on the wise advice of people who know me just a bit too well, (I tend to keep my infusion sets in to long) but an hour post-supper my abdoman began rebelling against my Healthy Choice lunch, now I'm thinking none of it absorbed, hence the rapid drop in bg.
Healthy Choice- the next great way to lose weight, one way or the other. Called in sick today, as its still wracking its way through my system.
The DC Expo was great, despite getting there rather late (1:30 p.m.). I underestimated how long it would take me to get there on the Metro, but fortuantly the Convention Center was right on the Metro line. And there were plenty of helpful folks directing people towards the Expo(on the upper floor) Downstairs, the American Dental Association was having its thing (quite appropriate, actually, I wouldn't have minded listening in on some of those speeches).
I registered, and begun making the rounds.
2 hours later, figured it was time for a blood sugar check. (And why waste a strip...when there was a station set up to do it for free?) So I filled out a couple of permissary forms, got it checked (475, yay) got an a1c done, asked an endo a burning question I had, and completed the rounds.
It was definatly free pedometer day- everyone from NovoNordisk to Blue Cross/Blue Shield was passing them out. I got 5 differant pedometers. (I doubt it will inspire me to exercise more,though) Saw a Cleo sample, (very, very cool-I want some) partook of the various sugar-free-but-still-loaded-carbohydrate samples, and acquired too much stuff.(as usual)
Supper at Union Station, watched Ice Age 2, and back on the Metro.
Then the real fun began. It was raining hard, and I took a wrong turn coming out of the parking garage. Ended up circling Baltimore via the Beltway, for the next 2 hours. Eventually, I made so many wrong turns that I made my way back to DC, saw my "exit" that would put me back on the road I needed to be on, and was fine from there. Got home at 3 AM, extremily glad I don't have to deal with that madness every day.
Gas was $3.07 for a gallon of regular, that night. (vs the $2.87 around here) This isn't a political blog, but the whole situation is getting more +more ridiculous. Its not price gouging, when the supplies of crude oil/refined gasoline are gradually getting used up. And if we're not going to drill for more oil, we can expect those prices to keep going up. We need more efficient cars, and another source of fuel. (sooner or later, we are going to run completely out of gasoline and have to deal with these issues!)
I don't even get mad anymore(over the prices of gasoline), it could be much worse. (and I'm sure it will get much worse!)
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Adventures in Bolusing
I don't like Coke, Cherry Coke, Vanilla Cherry Coke, or any other carbonated, highly sugared, beverage.
But pretty much anything Diet, I'll drink- be it Coke, Pepsi, or Brand X. It isn't the sugar angle(that has me discomforted), it just tastes WEIRD. I never treat my lows with soda, unless its the absolute only thing available. I'd sooner eat glucose paste( another totally yucky thing, in my humble opinion) then drink coke. Apparently, some PWD's don't feel this way- they'll actually drink regular, and bolus for it. There is nothing whatsoever wrong with this. (heck, I will happily bolus for a mixed drink) So it must be the sugar-carbonation combo ( take either one seperatly, and my taste buds have no problem with it) that throws my taste buds in a whirl.
So what could induce me to voluntarily drink a 20 oz bottle of Cherry Coke?
Coke's newest promo.
In every Coke-Pepsi-Mt.Dew promo, the coded caps come out first on the regular drinks. (As that's good marketing sense, most people drink regular) Several weeks later, the diet drinks get them. (Except the Diet Pepsi movie ticket promo-that's exclusively Diet)
But the updated Diet Coke products are at least a week away, from making their grand appearance. And I wanted to start saving points NOW.
So I bought a Cherry Coke, did a split combo(1/2 then, 1/2 over course of 2 hours, I drank it over 2.5 hrs) and checked my blood sugar every hour. I am not used to bolusing for soda, since I rarely drink it.
1 hr later- 209
2 hours later- 213
3 hours later- 210
Very consistant, at least. I did a corrective bolus, (as my stomach rapidly churned up acid) sucked on hard candies/bolused for hard candies, and swore I'd never do that again. Not even for a bottle cap. Not worth it.
There's been some changes with the BGAT study, I've got to do some more follow-up paperwork soon(instead of in a year). I'm really not that fond of paperwork... but they sent me another E-gift Certificate, ($50) so its ok.
But pretty much anything Diet, I'll drink- be it Coke, Pepsi, or Brand X. It isn't the sugar angle(that has me discomforted), it just tastes WEIRD. I never treat my lows with soda, unless its the absolute only thing available. I'd sooner eat glucose paste( another totally yucky thing, in my humble opinion) then drink coke. Apparently, some PWD's don't feel this way- they'll actually drink regular, and bolus for it. There is nothing whatsoever wrong with this. (heck, I will happily bolus for a mixed drink) So it must be the sugar-carbonation combo ( take either one seperatly, and my taste buds have no problem with it) that throws my taste buds in a whirl.
So what could induce me to voluntarily drink a 20 oz bottle of Cherry Coke?
Coke's newest promo.
In every Coke-Pepsi-Mt.Dew promo, the coded caps come out first on the regular drinks. (As that's good marketing sense, most people drink regular) Several weeks later, the diet drinks get them. (Except the Diet Pepsi movie ticket promo-that's exclusively Diet)
But the updated Diet Coke products are at least a week away, from making their grand appearance. And I wanted to start saving points NOW.
So I bought a Cherry Coke, did a split combo(1/2 then, 1/2 over course of 2 hours, I drank it over 2.5 hrs) and checked my blood sugar every hour. I am not used to bolusing for soda, since I rarely drink it.
1 hr later- 209
2 hours later- 213
3 hours later- 210
Very consistant, at least. I did a corrective bolus, (as my stomach rapidly churned up acid) sucked on hard candies/bolused for hard candies, and swore I'd never do that again. Not even for a bottle cap. Not worth it.
There's been some changes with the BGAT study, I've got to do some more follow-up paperwork soon(instead of in a year). I'm really not that fond of paperwork... but they sent me another E-gift Certificate, ($50) so its ok.
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Five Years on Sunday
I'd better just post this now...because I don't know if I'll be back (or awake enough) to post Sunday. The ADA Expo is Sat, and I may turn it into a weekend deal.
7.5 years with diabetes. Five, on the pump. Five year (increments) anniversaries always feel like big ones.
There's the "1" year (diabetes for one year, pumping for one year) anniversary- you think you know everything.
5 years- You bemoan the fact that there STILL isn't a cure, or a decent continuous glucose monitering system.
10 years- I expect to feel old, but I hope diabetes technology will have GREATLY improved. Always knowing what your bg is, would be so wonderful.
15 years- By then, a cure. Period. End of discussion.
But back to that day...
Monday, April 23, 2001 dawned clean and clear. I was more then ready- I'd been waiting months for this day.
6 A.M. (knock on parents' door)
"Dad, can we leave now?"
"NO-it's 6 AM. We don't have to be there till 9:30. Go back to bed."
7 AM (knock on parents' door)
"Can we leave NOW?"
"No, we're leaving at 8- we're not getting there really early!"
8 AM (knock on parents' door)
"Can we puh-lease leave now?"
"Ok. (sigh) Got all your stuff?"
"Daddd, of COURSE." (teenage indignation)
9:30 A.M.- Sitting in the CDE's office, impateintly waiting for the other trainee to show up. My dad, after talking to the CDE, leaves. (I'm a big girl, I'll pretend to be fine for the next 30 hrs.)
10:15 A.M. - Still no other trainee. I've bounced around, triple-checked my new pump + supplies, visited the restroom and read the the too numerous journal articles lining the walls of the room. Things need to start, before I go nuts.
10:30 A.M.- 12 year old trainee shows up, with her mom. It's re-training for her, she's already on a Disetronic.
Carb Counting. Basals/Boluses. Infusion sets. A brand new world.
And a brand new meter- the One Touch Ultra has hit the market. Pediatric CDE gives us both one, along with strips/lancets/ Minimed sets.
Blood Sugar Check- its time to put the training in action. 5,4,3, 2,1- I'm never going back to the 45 second Accucheck. This meter is so unbelievable.
236.
My fellow trainee smirks from across the table. "Ha ha, I'm 186."
Brief irratation at this immature juvenile. "Big deal, that's not a great number either."
Mom isn't watching. "Andi (CDE)- can I get you to look at her stomach sites? I'm really concerned about them."
CDE looks at them, studies them, analyzes them to the nth degree. Leaves room.
"She's got a rash- better stop using the stomach for awhile, put lotion on them. Talk to Dr. (X)
if they don't clear up."
CDE is busy quizzing me on what to do next. "How much insulin would you take for a corrective bolus?"
3 units, ok. Knew I'd be high anyway, I'd skipped the prior evening's Lente. (as per instructions)
12 year old is punching in her bolus like a pro. Well, she has been pumping 7 months. I try not to gape. Someday I'll be doing that.
Stuff all my new stuff into my supply box, self-consciously adjust the pump onto my jeans waistband, and prepare to move on out.
Next Step: Admission.
"Here, I can take that." My CDE relieves me of the supply box, I've only got my duffel bag and backpack to take care of now.
Past the Medical School Auditorium. Down the elevator. Down more hallways.
I see a sign for the Morgue.
"Are we near the morgue?!?"
"Yes, this is the basement."
I wish I hadn't asked. Probably lots of people who didn't take to pumping, ended up down here.
Up another elevator. Around to the cafeteria.
"Hon, I can take your stuff up. You can eat lunch with (the dietician), and she'll bring you up when you're done."
I hand over the rest of my stuff. "OK, thanks."
We have a very healthy lunch- which the dietician payed for. I couldn't eat anything sweet, until boluses were figured out, but I wasn't hungry anyway. Dieticians can be nice people- despite the intial awkwardness. She made sure I bolused appropriatly, for every bite.
Lunch being over, we headed up to the pediatric ward, where the nurse/intern on duty were waiting.
First, its the nurse's turn. Tons of paperwork. A blood sugar check, revealing a number deep into the 400's.
She freaks, and goes to tell the intern.
The intern shuffles in. Tall, skinny, shaved head. Facial complexion a chalkish white-green. Either an Ex-Member of the Grateful Dead, or having some serious medical issues himself.
"What're you in for?"
Brief confusion- aren't they supposed to already know this stuff?
"Starting an insulin pump."
"Ok. What's that?"
"Ummmmm, its a pager type thing, and it goes through a tube to my skin," I reply, wishing I could explain it better.
"Ok." Nothing on his face reveals whether he gets what I'm talking about. Suddenly, I wish very strongly that my own endocrinologist would show up + prevent an ensuing disaster. I don't feel confident that this guy knows squat about type 1 diabetes.
"Ok. Let's talk about your current medical history."
Yes/No/Yes/No.
Diagnosis: Perfectly healthy in every regard, except the D.
He reads the nurse's note. "Checked ketones?"
"Yeah, I'm moderate."
"Ok. Let me check on something." Leaves room. Comes back in. "Take 8 units."
I remember how to bolus, and I do so. Take nap, drink fluids, feel rather nauseus.
6 pm- Supper arrives, on the dot. I eat half of it, bolus for the whole thing.(still feel high)
8:30- 121.
Hourly blood sugar checks, all night. Study for final exam, watch movies, fall asleep.
7:30 AM- Ped. Endo checks in.
"Your overnight basals are great...you were between 110-121 ALL NIGHT. Still have to adjust the daytime. Couple of hours, we can discharge you."
8:30 AM- I eat breakfast, bolus, and promptly skyrocket to the mid 300's. Not so simple, this pumping thing.
9 AM- Intern pops back in, medical student in tow. "Wanna show my student your pump?"
I do so(while the intern scribbles in the chart). Medical student is duly impressed.
9:30 AM- Ped CDE pops in again, reviews various things. I still feel incredibly dumb, but figure eventually I'll know it all.
12 PM- Lunch time. Unfortuantly, I'm still mid 300's, and I have got ketones (yet again). Ketones= no discharge, and I'm in panic mode (thinking I won't get discharged in time to make my final exam, and if I don't make it to that class, I flunk). Of course, the more I worry about it, the higher my bg goes. I bolus well, skip lunch, and pray to get discharged quickly.
2:30 pm- Mid 300's, but ketone free.
"Ok, we can discharge you."
I'm packed, and ready to go in a matter of minutes. I call my parents, and my mom starts out to come get me.
3 pm- Still waiting on discharge paperwork. I may have to start walking, if these people don't hurry up. Can't be late for class!
3:15 pm- Admit to the other side of the room. Chat briefly with the mom, think how lucky I am that I just have diabetes.
3:30 pm- Nurse arrives with discharge paperwork. I sign, grab belongings, and make a beeline for the elevator.
3:35 pm- Mom arrives, picks me up.
5:30 pm- Deliver speech on childhood diabetes, (final exam) get an "A."
6:00 pm- Classmate gives speech on kids with diabetes/insulin pumps, looks in my general direction, and tells me I might want to consider getting one. I am too incensed/embarressed to merit an intelligent reply, I hunker down in my seat and glower darkly.(A. It was a really bad speech, and B. I'd wanted the topic) And I see her Disetronic, for the first time that semester. Never knew she even had diabetes, thought she just knew someone with it.
I mutter something to the effect of "Maybe" and long for class to end. (Never told her I'd just gotten a pump)
Every "Pumpversery", I go out to eat (pump anniversaries are much more fun then dx anniversaries!) Don't know where yet- as I still may be in DC.
7.5 years with diabetes. Five, on the pump. Five year (increments) anniversaries always feel like big ones.
There's the "1" year (diabetes for one year, pumping for one year) anniversary- you think you know everything.
5 years- You bemoan the fact that there STILL isn't a cure, or a decent continuous glucose monitering system.
10 years- I expect to feel old, but I hope diabetes technology will have GREATLY improved. Always knowing what your bg is, would be so wonderful.
15 years- By then, a cure. Period. End of discussion.
But back to that day...
Monday, April 23, 2001 dawned clean and clear. I was more then ready- I'd been waiting months for this day.
6 A.M. (knock on parents' door)
"Dad, can we leave now?"
"NO-it's 6 AM. We don't have to be there till 9:30. Go back to bed."
7 AM (knock on parents' door)
"Can we leave NOW?"
"No, we're leaving at 8- we're not getting there really early!"
8 AM (knock on parents' door)
"Can we puh-lease leave now?"
"Ok. (sigh) Got all your stuff?"
"Daddd, of COURSE." (teenage indignation)
9:30 A.M.- Sitting in the CDE's office, impateintly waiting for the other trainee to show up. My dad, after talking to the CDE, leaves. (I'm a big girl, I'll pretend to be fine for the next 30 hrs.)
10:15 A.M. - Still no other trainee. I've bounced around, triple-checked my new pump + supplies, visited the restroom and read the the too numerous journal articles lining the walls of the room. Things need to start, before I go nuts.
10:30 A.M.- 12 year old trainee shows up, with her mom. It's re-training for her, she's already on a Disetronic.
Carb Counting. Basals/Boluses. Infusion sets. A brand new world.
And a brand new meter- the One Touch Ultra has hit the market. Pediatric CDE gives us both one, along with strips/lancets/ Minimed sets.
Blood Sugar Check- its time to put the training in action. 5,4,3, 2,1- I'm never going back to the 45 second Accucheck. This meter is so unbelievable.
236.
My fellow trainee smirks from across the table. "Ha ha, I'm 186."
Brief irratation at this immature juvenile. "Big deal, that's not a great number either."
Mom isn't watching. "Andi (CDE)- can I get you to look at her stomach sites? I'm really concerned about them."
CDE looks at them, studies them, analyzes them to the nth degree. Leaves room.
"She's got a rash- better stop using the stomach for awhile, put lotion on them. Talk to Dr. (X)
if they don't clear up."
CDE is busy quizzing me on what to do next. "How much insulin would you take for a corrective bolus?"
3 units, ok. Knew I'd be high anyway, I'd skipped the prior evening's Lente. (as per instructions)
12 year old is punching in her bolus like a pro. Well, she has been pumping 7 months. I try not to gape. Someday I'll be doing that.
Stuff all my new stuff into my supply box, self-consciously adjust the pump onto my jeans waistband, and prepare to move on out.
Next Step: Admission.
"Here, I can take that." My CDE relieves me of the supply box, I've only got my duffel bag and backpack to take care of now.
Past the Medical School Auditorium. Down the elevator. Down more hallways.
I see a sign for the Morgue.
"Are we near the morgue?!?"
"Yes, this is the basement."
I wish I hadn't asked. Probably lots of people who didn't take to pumping, ended up down here.
Up another elevator. Around to the cafeteria.
"Hon, I can take your stuff up. You can eat lunch with (the dietician), and she'll bring you up when you're done."
I hand over the rest of my stuff. "OK, thanks."
We have a very healthy lunch- which the dietician payed for. I couldn't eat anything sweet, until boluses were figured out, but I wasn't hungry anyway. Dieticians can be nice people- despite the intial awkwardness. She made sure I bolused appropriatly, for every bite.
Lunch being over, we headed up to the pediatric ward, where the nurse/intern on duty were waiting.
First, its the nurse's turn. Tons of paperwork. A blood sugar check, revealing a number deep into the 400's.
She freaks, and goes to tell the intern.
The intern shuffles in. Tall, skinny, shaved head. Facial complexion a chalkish white-green. Either an Ex-Member of the Grateful Dead, or having some serious medical issues himself.
"What're you in for?"
Brief confusion- aren't they supposed to already know this stuff?
"Starting an insulin pump."
"Ok. What's that?"
"Ummmmm, its a pager type thing, and it goes through a tube to my skin," I reply, wishing I could explain it better.
"Ok." Nothing on his face reveals whether he gets what I'm talking about. Suddenly, I wish very strongly that my own endocrinologist would show up + prevent an ensuing disaster. I don't feel confident that this guy knows squat about type 1 diabetes.
"Ok. Let's talk about your current medical history."
Yes/No/Yes/No.
Diagnosis: Perfectly healthy in every regard, except the D.
He reads the nurse's note. "Checked ketones?"
"Yeah, I'm moderate."
"Ok. Let me check on something." Leaves room. Comes back in. "Take 8 units."
I remember how to bolus, and I do so. Take nap, drink fluids, feel rather nauseus.
6 pm- Supper arrives, on the dot. I eat half of it, bolus for the whole thing.(still feel high)
8:30- 121.
Hourly blood sugar checks, all night. Study for final exam, watch movies, fall asleep.
7:30 AM- Ped. Endo checks in.
"Your overnight basals are great...you were between 110-121 ALL NIGHT. Still have to adjust the daytime. Couple of hours, we can discharge you."
8:30 AM- I eat breakfast, bolus, and promptly skyrocket to the mid 300's. Not so simple, this pumping thing.
9 AM- Intern pops back in, medical student in tow. "Wanna show my student your pump?"
I do so(while the intern scribbles in the chart). Medical student is duly impressed.
9:30 AM- Ped CDE pops in again, reviews various things. I still feel incredibly dumb, but figure eventually I'll know it all.
12 PM- Lunch time. Unfortuantly, I'm still mid 300's, and I have got ketones (yet again). Ketones= no discharge, and I'm in panic mode (thinking I won't get discharged in time to make my final exam, and if I don't make it to that class, I flunk). Of course, the more I worry about it, the higher my bg goes. I bolus well, skip lunch, and pray to get discharged quickly.
2:30 pm- Mid 300's, but ketone free.
"Ok, we can discharge you."
I'm packed, and ready to go in a matter of minutes. I call my parents, and my mom starts out to come get me.
3 pm- Still waiting on discharge paperwork. I may have to start walking, if these people don't hurry up. Can't be late for class!
3:15 pm- Admit to the other side of the room. Chat briefly with the mom, think how lucky I am that I just have diabetes.
3:30 pm- Nurse arrives with discharge paperwork. I sign, grab belongings, and make a beeline for the elevator.
3:35 pm- Mom arrives, picks me up.
5:30 pm- Deliver speech on childhood diabetes, (final exam) get an "A."
6:00 pm- Classmate gives speech on kids with diabetes/insulin pumps, looks in my general direction, and tells me I might want to consider getting one. I am too incensed/embarressed to merit an intelligent reply, I hunker down in my seat and glower darkly.(A. It was a really bad speech, and B. I'd wanted the topic) And I see her Disetronic, for the first time that semester. Never knew she even had diabetes, thought she just knew someone with it.
I mutter something to the effect of "Maybe" and long for class to end. (Never told her I'd just gotten a pump)
Every "Pumpversery", I go out to eat (pump anniversaries are much more fun then dx anniversaries!) Don't know where yet- as I still may be in DC.
Friday, April 14, 2006
A Bunny a Day...
Keeps the glucose hoppin'!
I was fully intending to eat this 1-lb chunk of heaven on earth, before my youngest brother showed up, bearing gifts:
A complete 31 inch tv, dvd , and vhs system with an impressive sound system. It took some rearranging of my (already cramped) living room to get it all in.
Nice.
Of course, there's a reason he is getting rid of it- end of summer, he's going to Naval boot camp (so he's getting rid of stuff now)
Then, he cleaned out my refridgerator (what he didn't eat, he threw away), discovered the chocolate bunny, and the rest is history. Oh well- there's always Post-Easter specials. (I'll find another one)
And then my sweetie sent this over:
Flowers for Easter!:-)
My insurance company has denied coverage for infusion sets, period. (and they are still holding to their 400 strip/3 month policy)
I am so frustrated- and confused. Who on earth do I appeal to? I can't appeal to my insurance company, they don't do prescription services anymore. Can't appeal to the prescription supplier- because they don't make the policies, they follow them.
So I called up Corporate Headquarters HR yesterday. They told me I had to file appeals with my local HR manager.
Hmmm, this is amazingly difficult. (even for an insurance fiasco)
Have a wonderful Easter, all.
I was fully intending to eat this 1-lb chunk of heaven on earth, before my youngest brother showed up, bearing gifts:
A complete 31 inch tv, dvd , and vhs system with an impressive sound system. It took some rearranging of my (already cramped) living room to get it all in.
Nice.
Of course, there's a reason he is getting rid of it- end of summer, he's going to Naval boot camp (so he's getting rid of stuff now)
Then, he cleaned out my refridgerator (what he didn't eat, he threw away), discovered the chocolate bunny, and the rest is history. Oh well- there's always Post-Easter specials. (I'll find another one)
And then my sweetie sent this over:
Flowers for Easter!:-)
My insurance company has denied coverage for infusion sets, period. (and they are still holding to their 400 strip/3 month policy)
I am so frustrated- and confused. Who on earth do I appeal to? I can't appeal to my insurance company, they don't do prescription services anymore. Can't appeal to the prescription supplier- because they don't make the policies, they follow them.
So I called up Corporate Headquarters HR yesterday. They told me I had to file appeals with my local HR manager.
Hmmm, this is amazingly difficult. (even for an insurance fiasco)
Have a wonderful Easter, all.
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