The Great Battery Eater

I am a high maintenance girl.

My weakness? No, it's not Jimmy Choo heels or Prada purses. Nor do I dine on fillet mignon and sip champagne circa 1905 on a nightly basis. My gold colored Nugget cannot be called a luxery car, by any stretch of the imagination.

"That'll be $17.99."

Grinding my upper teeth into the back molars, I think that is bad, even for CVS. It's just a 4 pack of batteries, for crying out loud!

Granted, they are lithium batteries. Because my Animas goes through them like tasty little after dinner mints.

And the semi-cheaper alkaline options? Well, the store brand lasts for about ten seconds and the name brand(Energizer,Duracell)last about two weeks. I swear the lithium doesn't last much longer then that, though Animas promises 5-6 weeks. I have never gotten that..never. Is it just me or do other people only get about three weeks too?
(if you have an Animas pump feel free to chime in)

So, after handing over the equivelent of $17.99 (ECB's, etc) for 12 more weeks of Pump Power..there are still other things. Like Pings,and other meters, and the normal battery-sucking household devices that you cannot use rechargeables for. I have device addiction. (plenty of upkeep $$'s for the following)

there's the pump...

and the CGM...

and an iphone..(it's necessary for D, I swear-the news of a cure will come from
Twitter!)

and the other medical stuff(infusions,etc)

and the regular diabetes supply costs,etc.

The annual cost of which, is well into the classification of upper class.(Rich) If insurance didn't cover it,I would not have it.(except the iphone but that's another story. I would eat gruel to be able to afford my iphone.)

But the cost of the batteries is just too much. It seems to me it's getting LESS effective, my Cozmo was extremely energy-efficient.(didn't have as many cool features but those batteries lasted forever)

Get it together, Animas. $4 a battery, $74+ a YEAR. Needing a new battery so often is not very earth friendly, or 21st centuryish. (since they don't encourage rechargeable batteries)

Healthcare Reform On a Napkin

This is awesome.

Healthcare Napkins All

View more documents from Dan Roam.

(found at: http://www.slideshare.net/danroam/healthcare-napkins-all)

The England Chronicles: A Royal Journey

On Day 3, we slept in, until 9 am. (since it was DoItYourSelf day) At breakfast, I decided to try Bubble and Squeek a traditional English food made of leftover vegetables(?) I was expecting some black breadish type food to show up,but what mine looked like(and tasted like) was a small, round, hash brown.Only it had other flavors,besides that of the potato, running through it so who knows what was in it. Hubby had an omelet, which he didn't really care for.(it was pretty bland)

We then walked downtown,past the houses of Parliament and the big old statue of Oliver Cromwell sitting out front, to Buckingham Palace.(for the changing of the guard)
On the way...we saw a familiar face:


(hello, Mr. Ex-President, nice to see you here!)







There were a zillion people there,needless to say, so we really didn't get close to the gate(or them). And no, we did not try to make them laugh. The flag was flying, which meant Queen Elizabeth was not in residence. So the state rooms were open to the public. We didn't have time to go in there..we were off to Westminster Abbey.



At which point and time, my digital camera died-for good. Fiddling with it,deleting old photos, and swapping out memory cards failed to free up any more space. You weren't allowed to take pics inside the church anyway(not like that's every stopped anyone)

The admission price was rather steep(15 lbs per person), so I was amazed to see tickets(I counted five,altogether) carelessy strewn all over the place. Inside, and outside. Someone could treat their whole family and not pay anything. So anyway..we saw all the burial places of the great. Queen Elizabeth 1(she's buried on top of her sister,Mary), Henry VIII, the Poet's Corner, etc. Got some of the audio guides, and spent several hours just wandering around and being educated.

But we had another mission...a familial one.


This dude designed three of the manhole covers in Westminster Abbey. I don't think that what I actually took a picture of was one of them,but it's the closest thing I could find to that. He is my kinda-sorta-ancestor(Thomas Crapper was not married but the ancestry is the same,from some sibling of his).We didn't make it over to his grave(which is in another cemetery,halfway across London). That's my link to Westminster Abbey.

We then took the Tube to Kew Gardens, where, upon viewing the greenhouse/fish collection/aquatica I flopped down on a bench,dead beat from about 10 hours of constant walking. My husband walked around for an hour and took pictures of the flowers. Being August, it was not quite as colorful as it could have been but there were still alot of flowers. I like flowers, but not as much as he does.(he could probably make an entire trip out of visiting various gardens, etc.)
Has supper at a greasy little place near one of the Tube stations(I had bacon for breakfast, bacon chips for lunch, and a bacon sandwich for supper and henceforth decided I was DONE with bacon for the rest of trip) and eventually found our way back to the hotel after a lengthy delay with one of the trains. Another day, done.

The Schwarzenegger Surprise- #1 With a Pencil!

I've blogged about my dad's amazing abilities with a pencil before(check this out: ) He's done it as a hobby for about 6 years now.

Apparently, Arnold Schwarzenegger (no joke) surfs the Internet.(I'm guessing YouTube was where he found it)Which lead him to my dad's website,and he wanted a pic of one of the presidents so he had one of his people contact my dad to commission one. My dad,who really wants to do a pic of Arnold too said he could do one of Arnold which was ok with Arnold so holy cow,they are flying my dad out to California to meet Arnold and present the portraits.(don't worry, people of California,its not being payed for with state funds)

I'm so proud I think I could bust right now. Way to go, Dad!(I don't think they're allowing family to tag along but I hold out hope)

The Sunday Freebies Itouch/Iphone App List

#1 Flash for Free. Cost: Free. A camera app that allows you to brighten up your pics. It's nice to have pics that don't look like they were taken at the bottom of the Black Lagoon.

#2 Parachute Panic, Lite. Cost: FREE. A fun game.

#3 MyCokeRewards. Cost: FREE. A way to enter your Coke codes, on the go. And I don't think its actually texting..which is good for my AT&T bill, texts are really expensive.

#4 Gumdrops. Cost: FREE. A Tetris-like game..the colors connect,and pop out. Seriously addicting.

#5 Cardster. Cost: FREE. You can plug your membership card #'s in this, it generates a barcode and you don't have to carry around a million cards in your wallet/purse.(as well as not having to worry about forgetting to bring a discount card) It's great. Occasionally, the barcodes don't scan but the cashier can still manually put in the number.

#6 Meta Squares. Cost: FREE. I haven't played this yet, but it looks interesting.

#7 Sheep Launcher FREE! A cute game where you launch your sheep into the stratosphere, attempting to collect as many points as possible before getting to the Moon.

#8 Offender Locator, Lite. Cost: FREE. It may not be great at locating all the registered sex offenders out there but it gets the word out that your neighborhood may not be as safe as you think it is..and you still need to track your kids whereabouts.

#9 Discovery Channel. Cost: FREE. Lots of video clips,shows,news, quizzes,plenty of entertainment.

#10 Parking Pal. Cost: Not quite free, .99. But if you're like me, and can never remember where on earth you parked it's totally worth it to be able to quickly tap it into your iphone. I have tried writing it on paper slips, and invariably, they get lost (or thrown out) too. This is a great idea.

Diabetes: Doin' it UK Style

Our second day's itinerary included a visit to Warwick Castle. Now armed with my camera,husband, and trusty bottle of Diet Coke, I hardly minded the 2 hour drive to get there. Our Scottish tour guide(whose name I don't remember) gave us some UK Road System 101 in the meantime.

Motorways- the "interstates" of England.

A Roads- other major roads.

B Roads- backroads, non-important. Coaches do not travel on B roads, it is too physically difficult to maneuver and impossible to get off, should you get stuck.

Motorways have a "M" in front of their respective number. Otherwise, you just have to guess whether its an A road or a B road. There are a heck of alot of roundabouts in England, to better manage the flow of traffic. No such thing as a stop sign. And it was all backwards, so you get off the motorway on the left, as well as merge to the right. Periodically, you'd see these areas where you could pull off to get gas, food, etc. Like a rest area but it didn't go off the highway system. I really liked that, because at least in my state you have to get off the interstate and go hunting a good 5-10 minutes for a restaurant, etc. Finally got to Warwick Castle.


Didn't have time to do much of anything..there was 1.5 hour time limit at each place. Every place was so big that you could spend the entire day there, so you had to just try to get some of the more interesting aspects of the site. But we did see a catapult, go through the state rooms(lots of regal stuff and portraits) and get some photographs of the drawbridge, etc. All of which were taken with hubby's instant camera, so I can't post the pics here but it was very interesting.

Warwick Castle website

A quick lunch...of salad,diet coke, and chips. Chips were kind of rough on the throat going down but I needed it for carb energy, had a lot of walking to do that day.

Then it was off to Stratford-Upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare. Avon is just another Old English word for river-there are several river "Avons" in England.




Went through the visitor center..went through Shakespeare's birthplace.Shakespeare had an incredibly brief(51 years?) and tragic life. His only son died at 11(Hamnet),and shortly thereafter, Shakespeare decided to go to London(leaving behind wife and two daughters).Shakespeare stayed there until he retired,at about age 43. Moved back and died just 3 years later. Both his daughters married, but only one had a kid that got married, and later died without children. Hence ended the direct line of William Shakespeare. There was a garden,and a town full of souvenir shops begging to be explored. Discovered the UK equivalent of a "penny puncher" machine. I collect stamped pennies, so I thought that was pretty neat. In a regular penny stamper, you put in a penny and two quarters, select the design, and turn the handle to flatten the coin. In the UK version, you put in a pence and a pound.(coin) So it costs you about $1.61 to do it. I didn't have any pence so I tried a penny, since they are about the same size/thickness. It didn't work-jammed up the machine, much to my embarrassment. Had to find another machine.

And then we drove through the Cotswalds, which is a very rural, agricultural part of England. They grow alot of wheat,canola, strawberries, etc. there. It used be to be a very big sheep-raising area, sheep owners lived like kings and their were alot of castles, manors, etc. Drove by the birthplace of Winston Churchill(Blenheim Palace),didn't go in though. Saw alot of thatched roofs, which they cover with wire mesh to keep the bugs/birds out of it. Thatched roofs are very expensive to maintain-and the sad part is, even if you wanted to change your roofing you sometimes can't because its protected under some "historical preservation" laws. So every 10 years you have to shell out another $10,000 or so to get another roof.And they burn really,really easily..our tour guide pointed out one that had been rebuilt after the house burned to the ground. The insurance on those things must be horrendous too.

The town of Oxford:



Oxford was interesting..because Oxford University is not really an actual university, its just the governing body for the 39 collages that make it up.And all of those collages offer the same degrees,there's really no difference in them. It's really just one big fraternity/sorority deal, if your family has always gone to Collage X then you are going to apply to go to Collage X.(and hope you get in) Oxford was founded by some monks,(in the 12th century?) who were trying to provide a non-French alternative for schooling. Initially, the townspeople and the students did not get along well at all(at one point,there was a battle)..it was like any university town.(down through the ages-funny how that is) Students can be a pain in the gluteus maximus.

So we walked around the town, seeing a few of the collages and doing some more shopping.

In Oxford, we popped into a pharmacy because I wanted to see what kind of meters that use in the UK.(Only my long-suffering husband would put up with something like that..normal people do not go into foreign pharmacies unless they have to) Their "One Touch UltraEasy" is the exact same thing as the One Touch Mini. However, the number on that meter was 8.5 mmol...which converts to 153 mg/dl! which would never sell in the US. All our meter displays read somewhere in the neighborhood of 104 mg/dl, because we're all dedicated PWD who take control and never,ever,ever had evil readings that high. (yeah,right)



Back on the bus by 4:50, we drove back to London. The traffic was pretty horrific(Sunday night, all the weekenders were returning). Suddenly,a long sleek black Saudi Arabian(I assume) car streaked by our bus, jaunting me out of a doldrums reverie. It was one gorgeous car, no doubt owned by some rich oil tycoon. The lisence plate was in Arabic, and the steering wheel/driver was on the left-not something you see every day in England.

Our tour guide dropped us off near a Tube entrance. We'd arranged to meet Caro and her fiance Ian at 7(it was then 6:40). After 30 minutes of us getting nowhere,she called my iphone and eventually found us/took us to the restaurant.(Porters-they have great traditional English food) Otherwise, we would have never found it.(the street signs in London are incredibly obscure/non-existent)

That was so much fun-I don't remember what all we talked about, but I remember Spi-Belts,weddings and UK/US healthcare being part of it.(and I concur-SpiBelts are awesome!!) I couldn't go to London and NOT meet them,it was just as important as all the other things on my to-do list.It felt like a little bit of familiarity, to meet up with another blogger. We wish you guys much happiness together!

Here's proof:


And amazingly, I was only 200 after the (lots of carbs) meal,and 123 by the next morning. Sometimes things actually work out.(all the walking I did that day definatly helped)

Across the Atlantic Soup(part 1)

"Passport, please," the immigration officer requested.

Finally! The journey of 5,500 miles(give or take-having to fly all the way to Detroit first) ended here, at London Heathrow, at the end of another really, really, really long line in a facility that either didn't have air conditioning or all their units are broken. And then again-it rarely gets hot in London, so why bother? The US line was 2 miles long..while the UK/European Union passport holders zipped on by. As luck would have it, the honeymooning couple who must have hated our guts because we refused to give up our seats on the 7.5 hour flight over had been stuck in front of us for the past hour. Just in case both of us were trying to forget it ever happened. Yeah, those were our seats and really, they should thought of that prior to the flight but I still felt marginally guilty that they couldn't sit together. I'd gotten a couple of hours of shut-eye on the plane but excitement kept me running. As per docs orders, no diet coke yet.

After getting through security and picking up our bags we wandered out to the main area where our driver picked us up and took us out to the "Car Park", loaded us up, and drove us to our hotel. It looked like London, it felt like London, it smelled like London..it must have been London. Humongous old buildings, smoke stacks, driving on the left side of the road...it keeps one enthralled with the utter novelty of it all. It was a 45 minute ride to our hotel, the City Inn Westminster. We get there, attempt to check in-room isn't ready yet, go eat breakfast (it was at this point that I discovered the joys of trying to read a UK cereal box-6 languages and yet STILL no clear carb count, they just list the total weight of the food in grams so I just gave up and SWAGGED everything) and tried again. Eventually we got checked in and and went off to the first day's itinerary with a tour group. St. Paul's Cathedral:



And the Tower of London:



And saw the Crown Jewels, that was a 20 minute wait. Of course, no photography WAS allowed inside the buildings.(and I was too tired to take pics that day) I had difficulty believing they are the actual jewels and not replications, like any Joe Blow can waltz in and see them with very little security. They have a person in each room-but for the most valued artifacts in English history,that deserves a 20 person detail, at least. I guess I've watched Pink Panther too many times.

Our tour guide, a very bright and peppy individual by the name of "Sandra", was funny as all get out and kept us all suitably entertained by the wild and whacky stories of past tour groups. Like the time their coach(aka bus) broke down in the Cotswalds,2 hours from civilization(and a replacement bus). But by 4:30 pm, nothing in the world (not even exciting stories about Ravens) could keep me awake any longer, I was totally bushed(and staggering around like I was drunk). We skipped the Tower Gift Shoppe(bad,bad tourists) and Thames cruise and went back to the hotel to get some shut-eye. Our wonderful tour guide dropped us off within sight of the hotel, which is good because we were still really clueless about how to get around London. Upon getting back to the room, we discovered that
our mini-fridge still felt more like a sauna then the a coolant device and the "engineer" couldn't come out to look at it until Monday because it is a weekend. Whatever.(this hotel was rapidly approaching the list of places to avoid staying at on future visits) I was certainly not putting my insulin in there,I could not afford to waste any more insulin(2 vials frozen at the FFL hotel's fridge last month, 1 vial baked in my car), I had two vials remaining and nothing must happen to them(must last another month) till I could get home and order more. The room was fairly cool though, so I just left them out. Bg was drifting down, so I ate something and proceed to pass out. Woke up 45 minutes later, still around 100 and going down. In my state of brain deadness, I thought it was a good idea to disconnect for an hour or so and reconnect when we ate supper. Well, 11 hours later I awoke with a 365 and all the wonderful feelings that go along with that(but was surprised it wasn't worse!) Corrected, drunk water, and craved Diet Coke with a passion. Ate breakfast(heavy on the protein, light on the carbs!) and our tour bus picked us up and took us to the bus station where I immediately blew a cool 1.60 pounds(that's $2.60 USD, in case you were wondering) for a 500 ml bottle of Diet Coke. Which is not as big as a US bottle, and twice as expensive. But man, was it worth it.(having not had any in 18 days)It was like liquid Heaven.

small copper coin=pence
gold, thick coin=pound
large, octangular coin=50 pence
small grey (dime-ish looking) coin= 5 pence
Large, circular coin=ten pence
Other octangular coin=20 pence

I didn't see any 2 pence coins. There are no pound notes in the UK, so when you flash a five or ten note be assured you will be getting quite a few POUND coins in change. And yeah, I'd say they weigh about a pound each. It took awhile for this concept to truly sink in, and my change pouch subsequently acquired quite a bit in change because I had a fear of looking like an idiot American tourist who couldn't give proper change and giving a large note is much safer. I semi-got over that fear as I became more comfortable with the coinage.

Visited a currency exchange booth, got lots of 20 pound notes.

(More to come....)

A Cartoon a Day

just because I think they're funny...
(from the Diabetes Health website)




(having lived on plane food 2 out of the past 14 days I can really identify with that one!)

Go check them out!

And if you haven't yet got in on the Chocolate Relief Act, go score yourself some free chocolate.(every Friday, from 9AM-6PM EST)

Marcus and the Post-Tonsillectomy Hamburger

"What kind of pain will it be-sharp,searing,dull ache,pulsating,or burning?"

"All of the above," my surgeon asserts, snapping the chart shut with a sense of finality. "It will be the worst sore throat of your life."

"Great.Might as well get it over with, then."

It's the morning of July 16,and my pre-op blood sugar is hanging out at 189. I have bolused, but the stress is already doing a number on my blood sugar. All in all though,it is isn't 50 and it isn't 300 so I'm not too upset about it.


Anesthesiologist stops by. OR nurse comes in,and my pump reminds me that the battery is about to die. (whoops, forgot to change it last night) Since its alkaline, and I don't think they'd appreciate it going off and emitting the Shriek of Death in the middle of the operation(the shriek of death does not stop unless you change the battery,which they wouldn't know to do), I ask the OR nurse if they have any spare AA batteries. He finds me one. I work on repriming and reloading it,as the anesthesiologist looks mildly annoyed that I'm not to ready to go in right that very minute.(I'm sorry, but it does take a few minutes) It's annoying how a doc can take an extra 30 minutes,but if the patient does that they're wasting the doc's time. The second I'm done,its off to the OR, I bolus another correction for the steroids they're going to pump into me and drift away.

The first thing I'm aware of, post-surgery is that my surgeon was absolutely telling the truth-the pain is all of the above. There is a Redwood growing in my throat,and grunting hurts, much less trying to talk. The second thing I'm aware of,is if I try to lie down flat my throat blocks up and I can't breathe at all.Small sips of water help this,but upset the stomach and make me retch, worrying the post-op nurse that I'm going to start bleeding again. Husband gets lost trying to find the place and takes several hours to pick me up. Get home. Take monster doses of every drug they have given me,doze off(on side,still impossible to breathe lying on back) My mom has come up to help out for a few days.Night #1, no sleep, despite the painkillers. Get a fever. Drink Gatorade,eat Popsicles, take meds,put in eardrops, rinse repeat. By Sunday though, the fever has let up and presumably I shall survive so my Mom leaves. Blood sugars are actually pretty good when you don't want to eat anything, except treating even mild lows SUCK because even swallowing liquid sends shooting pains all the way down your throat and up to your ears. Most people do not even feel like eating ice cream,its too darn thick.

Monday night, I decide to fix some scrambled eggs. Drank some Gatorade after that, and went to irrigate my throat. It was red, so I continue irrigating to get the gator aide completely out and the clumps of blood kept coming. After 20 or so minutes of that,(it was about 9 pm at that point) I was afraid I'd injured something and I was going to bleed to death and going to the ER was the best course of action given talking was extremely difficult and that's ultimately what the on-call doctor would say anyway. I was freaked out. Needless to say, when we got to the ER their definition of emergency was different from my own so it was another couple of hours till I saw a real doctor. Still bleeding. The doc said they didn't have the facilities to re cauterize,and called up the on call ENT doc and since I wasn't gushing great quantities of blood I'd probably be fine till morning. Discharged. Next morning,back in the ENT office, the doc took a look at my throat and decided to recauterize it. Hadn't eaten/drunken anything that morning, other then the pain meds so it was back to the OR. When I woke up,the pain was not very different from what I'd been feeling all along so it wasn't some huge shock. More recovery. I dreamed about eating BK hamburgers, because the surgeon's name was Dr. Hamburger.(that was a really weird twist to the experience) Have not had any bleeding since then,it scared the stuffing out of me that I would bleed to death right there.

Two weeks out, saw my surgeon again today and he says it's healing well. With each day that passes, less risk of bleeding again, but still cannot drink Diet Coke or take Advil for (other) pains till at least Sunday. I can semi-talk now,(short paragraphs) before it starts hurting again and it doesn't hurt near as much.(I still prefer to talk Chewbaccan though,but no one else can understand me when I do that) Can eat soup, soft pasta/foods,and ice cream without invoking a horrible backlash. I don't know how people can immediately eat ice cream after a tonsillectomy,I couldn't for a long time. The only foods that actually felt pleasurable were Popsicles and Beef broth. YTMV. The Redwood is now a Maple,and I think I am over the worst of it now. I now believe that it should be mandatory for every kid to get their tonsils taken out, because it is very much worse as an adult. I never even knew a throat could feel like that.

Type 1, Live! on Fear Factor

I just had to do it.

Mainly, because there was a singular lack of sane people around to talk me out of it. Everyone else was at Disney, or the FFL hotel. It was just me, so I had made up my mind to do whatever I wanted to do.

The late afternoon rain fell in sheets, turning the semi-backed Orlando sod into a lake, once again.

"Lisence, please," the girl at the stand requests.

I whip out my lisence, stand on the scales.At 5"2, I barely qualify heightwise(5" to 6"2) and at X lbs, lets just say I am at the lower end of the weight requirements.

"Come on over here."

We stand around, filling out forms. The questions are invasive, personal,not for the faint of heart.

Do you have a fear of crowds?
Do you have a fear of embarressing yourself in front of 2000 people?
Do you have any medical condition that might be aggravated by excessive jerking, etc?
Do you have asthma?
Are you pregnant?
Do you relinquesh rights to sue Universal Studios should you be injured/maimed/killed?
Do you have any issues with seeing your body in Spandex?(unforseen pscyhological effects)
Etc....

And then, mini boot camp. We all do jumping jacks for five minutes, stretches for another five.(although it felt like alot longer)Apparently, the purpose of this pointless exercise was to weed out the seriously unfit among us.(of which I am one but it actually didn't weed me out)

Further selection down to ten people. We all crowd around a small tv screen to view what we'd be getting into. Due to PC and all that jazz, they've got to take one girl, and I am more then happy to be that girl.

Me. Five big, hunky guys. Yeah, I won't be winning but I figure its the showing up and trying that counts.

It's a weird feeling as we all march back to the trailer and are met by a friendly assisstant and EMT "Joe". Three of us on one bench, three to the other. We're handed another form, more legal stuff absolving Universal Studios of any blame whatsoever should we die or win a prize BTW where should we send the body/prize? Such a comforting thought. More invasive medical questions, this one asks if I have uncontrolled diabetes. I slightly pause on that one,wondering what exactly their definition of "uncontrolled" is, but I figure they just want to know if I will pass out on stage. Which is what the general public defines "control" as, how frequently one passes out(not what their a1c is,etc.) And I won't be doing that, so I check "no". EMT Joe gives us all dour looks before rattling off things that may possibly happen to us, based on contestants past experiences. Oh boy,scary stuff. Very glad my bp and pulse aren't being recorded for this. Each of us goes back to do a quick camera shot- "Hi, I'm Heidi, and I'm going to win Fear Factor because blahblahblah!"
The assistant hands us each a container of clothes and tells us to go change. So off I go to the women's changing room.

Spandex top
Spandex shorts
Waterpark shoes
Depend type, disposable underwear.Ewww.

As well as removing insulin pump, CGM, all rings,jewerly, green FFL wristband/medical ID. You don't get any of that, nothin must impede the performing of daredevil stunts.I do leave my set/sensor in,I don't figure that matters so much. Because the show takes about an hour, I check my blood sugar(298), give a correction(on the conservative side of things, I don't want to be going low in front of 500+ people) and waddle out to the main area where its jumpsuit fitting time. A crew member helps me into my jumpsuit, and if there were any previous doubts in my mind as to whether or not I was able to breathe, now there are none. It's hot as blazes, and everything is very, very tight. But on the plus side I don't look half bad in Spandex so I'm not worried about the public mortification factor. The producer comes in, runs us all through the first scene. We all go back out to the back of the stage, climb four flights of stairs. Stage crew helps us put goggles on, tighten jumpsuits even more. I ask if it possibly has to be that tight and the stage dude just says "Yes". I'm of a differant opinion,but I don't want to become a pancake should the thing fail so I don't say anything.

Lights, camera, action!

75 feet up. I walk onto the platform, grip bar.

"Pssst, Heidi!"

I turn around. "What?"(its so noisy I can barely hear him)

"Stop bending your knees, it's not time for that yet."

(I think the stage guy is regretting his assignment)

It's hot. My hands sweat profusely, and wiping them on my shorts every five seconds fails to dry them off. And I'm nervous-will it hurt/jerk when I do fall down? Things look so much scarier up here.

3..2...1...

The platform vibrates under my feet. I bend my knees again, and attempt to death-grip said yellow bar. The platform dissapeirs. I look out over the audience, briefly, wondering if there are any other D's in attendance that day. The bar I'm hanging from slopes down, so that's even easier to lose your grip as the sweat from your palms easily slides them off.

Later, the water starts. A fine mist is sprayed at the bars, to make them even wetter and a few seconds after that begins, I'm falling falling falling towards the stage. There is no humongous jolt(much to my surprise),just like that,I'm on the ground. Everyone else falls down, and another contestant and I take the "Walk of Shame."

"So what happened out there?"

"I think I just need to go back to the gym and work on my pullups-I'll be back someday and win this!"

"I like your attitude!" (even if ain't ever gonna happen)

So other contestant and I go back to the changing rooms and wait for the show to totally end before we're released.

This clip is actually from the same day,2 shows prior(it made me decide to apply to go on FF,I was in the audience-took a video clips myself but they didn't turn out):(thankfully, I didn't have to eat any disgusting things which is what I really needed to know before I applied)


All in all, it was pretty neat, kind of like minature skydiving. I might concievable skydive one day, if it is like that. Didn't expect to win, did it for the experience. The first place prize was 4 Universal Studio tickets, 2nd place was 2. And someone in the audience gave me a thumbs up for my attempts.(I had a fan, whoo hoo!) It's kind of neat to be able to do something, even though you have diabetes,it shouldn't hold you back from doing whatever you want to do. Kept expecting the diabetes police to show up and tell me I couldn't do it,had to keep reminding myself that short of them inspecting every square inch of my body, no one knew I had diabetes and it was really none of their business as long as nothing happened.

10 More Awesome Iphone/Touch Apps

I really have to get caught up with the zillion and one things that have happened this month. Vacations. Birthdays. Thousands of people with type 1 diabetes(and family members) coming together. Individuals in tightly clad spandex,doing dare devil stunts. Life and sometimes-not-so-certain moments in the OR. And I'd kind of like to do it before jetting off into the wild blue European yonder(this weekend).

So this is my start.

#1. The Weather Channel. Yeah, it sounds insanely boring, but its pretty nifty to be checking out the immediate/future forcast when you don't have a tv/radio around. Cost: FREE.

#2 Password Shaker. Random password generator, to keep things interesting and un-guessable. You can store the info in the app, so you don't forget them.
Cost: FREE.

#3 Camera Zoom. Takes the standard camera option to a whole new level, you can zoom in and out while taking pictures. Very cool, I really love this app! Cost: .99

#4 Speed Bones Lite.Fun game, that helps you learn the major bones of the body. I will be getting the real version/other anatomical apps to help me with the upcoming anatomy course this fall. Cost: FREE

#5 Battery Status. Tells you how much talk time/internet/audio remaining before your iphone/itouch totally poops out. Cost: FREE

#6 MyConvert. Does almost everything, no mmol/mg/dl converter but hopefully in a future version. Cost: FREE

#7 Drivers Ed. Unseful for the newbie teen or for the older adult brushing up on general knowledge. Cost:FREE

#8 IAreaCodes. Tells you where that US call is coming from, as well as including international calling codes. Cost: FREE

#9 Time Zone Converter. At .99, this is your cheapest option(no freebies) to check on the times around the world from where you are.(if you're not near a computer) Will come in handy, should I decide to call anyone from Europe.

#10 Waterslide. A fun, summer-ish app. Cost: FREE

The Worst Job at Disney

...is not, contrary to popular belief, being the ride operator of the Disney attraction "It's a Small World." If you've ever been on that ride, you know just how horrible that song is.(especially having to hear it all day,every day)

It was the final day of vacation, and time to bid Adios to the Coronado Springs Resort/remaining Friends for Life conventioneers. I was up at 7 am, to complete the arduous two-hour packing process.(otherwise, it was have taken twice that, unpacking) Humongous green duffel bag=stuffed. Humongous suitcase=equally stuffed. That is why I fly Southwest, they are cheaper then cheap but at least there are no checked bag fees. Rather then stay up till post-midnight doing all that, I chose to wake up early. So after packing up,eating a quick breakfast, and calling the Magical Express to update my pickup time my roommate and had all our junk transported to the Coronado storage room.(she also checked in some bags,which I couldn't do, as SW is not on the preferred list) Went to the business center to print out my boarding pass. As I'm sitting there, trying to make method from the madness, my Dexcom starts shrieking at me. Being post-meal,of course I ignore it. Five minutes later,I start to feel low and whaddya know, that was actually a low alarm. I pay the $1 fee and stumble out of the room, in the general direction of the drink machines, until my room mate points out that I'm missing my mug(free refills) so I go back and get that from the business center and take off in a hypoglycemic hurry for the food court. A full mug of Orange soft-drink later, I'm good to go.(refill with diet) Get on bus for Downtown Disney. The only people on the bus are T.O.P.S. (Take off Pounds Sensibly) Conventioneers. Several of them have diabetes, and one actually has a pump. When they hear we have diabetes, we are presented with honorary Tinker Bell bottle caps/magnets. That was really sweet of them.
At Disney, employees tend to be a little more talkative then at your run-of-the-mill theme park and you're expected to remain pleasant for the constant barrage of the following comments.

"Have a Magical Day!"
"Where are you from?"
"Are you having a wonderful time?"
"Is this your first time at Disney?"
"Have a Magical Day!"
(rinse, repeat)

I was sufficiently upset from the previous day's Disney Police encounter to not be having a Magical Day. Not that I wasn't having a good time, it's just that I was upset at Disney/Ebay seller who ripped me off/etc.

Wander through Downtown Disney, eventually making it to the big store where room-mate decidedes to go in and I head off to McDonalds,being 122 mg/dl and hungry as a horse. She isn't so hungry, being in the 300's. After lunch, I head to the Lego store to find some Star Wars characters as a souvenear for my husband. I entered the store, where you can fill a large cup for $12.95(various bricks,etc.) I get a cup and commence to filling it, trying to avoid tripping over the zillion little kids everywhere. There is an employee there, patiently picking up and restocking EVERY little Lego piece as it falls on the floor. No small task, the floor is constantly being littered with hundreds more Legos as screaming little kids digging into the containers fling Legos left and right, all over Creation. To add to the mess, I accidentally dump my diet Coke and transform the Legos into a sea of wet, sticky Legos. Employee comes over and wipes it up with paper towels.
She deserves a medal-that has to be the worst job at Disney. I sure couldn't that, day in and day out. I thank her, and pay for my purchases. Head over to the Big Store(aka The Wonderful World of Disney) and wander around looking for my room mate for 30 minutes. Do alot of shopping, run into some more FFL people(I swear we're all magnetic), head back to hotel, rescue stuff from storage. Room mate leaves on 3:45 bus, I leave at 4:15, get to airport, do curb-side check-in(which is good because I could not physically budge that humongous duffel) Browse shops, go through security, go to S'barro for a slice of pizza. As I'm paying for my pizza, an employee knocks a container of red marinara sauce off the counter. It goes flying through the air, hits the floor, and splatters all over my left tennis shoe.I was not able to get it all out, so I'll have to wash it. Accidents happen,I wasn't mad, but it would have been nice if they would have given my a discount for that. Ate supper, boarded plane, and it was uneventful from there.

10 Rules of D-Etiquette

1. DON'T offer unsolicted advice about my eating or other aspects of my diabetes.
2. DO realize and appreciate that diabetes is hard work.
3.DON'T tell me horror stories about your grandmothers or other people's diabetes.
4.DO offer to join me in making healthy lifestle changes.
5.DON'T look so horrified when I
check my blood sugars or give myself an injection.
6. Do ask how you might be helpful.
7.DON'T offer thoughtless reassurances.
8.Do be supportive of by efforts for self-care.
9.DON'T peek at or comment on my by numbers without asking me first.
10. Do offer your love and encouragement.
-Sent from the IPhone

Red Light, Green Light

Stop.


Stop right there.


Stop, and immerse yourself in the sights,smells,and sensory experiences of summer. Because it now IS summer, despite a frigid May, and a extremely dubious June. I'm sure you were wondering if was ever going to get here. The thermometer confirms it to be true.(80+degrees,finally)

----

Go.

Go drink diet coke by the case, I will be. Especially since I'll be going cold turkey
(not by choice!) for two weeks.(following tonsillectomy) That will be hard,if I don't get caffeine in some form I will turn into THAT person,the one you would pay good money not to ever have contact with. I have alot of sympathy for people who cannot quit smoking because I am just as addicted to my caffeinated diet coke.

Go Live Long, and may all(or most) your blood sugars be under 140 mg/dl(or whatever range you consider good) this holiday weekend!


(and I'm going to California and Florida,so next post will be in a couple of weeks)

Casey Jones

Come all you PWD'rs, if you want to hear
A story about, a D with no fear
Casey Jones was the 'betic's name
On a trip to his Endo's, in a hurricane.
At 8:30 one morning, in the pouring gale
He kissed his wife,after checking email
He climbed in his car with his logbook in hand saying
"This is my trip to my (a1c-happy) land."

Casey Jones
Climbed in his Chevy
Casey Jones
Dexcom in his hand
Casey Jones
Stable at 120
Taking a trip to his promised land.


Through the visibility was zip, still he drove
Around the inlet, near the cove
Everyone knew by the engine's groan
That that old piece of junk's was Casey Jones.
Well, Jones called his endo, said I'll be there
Because this a1c will be something to share
Endo said Casey, that may or not be
It'll be something I'd certainly love to see.


Casey Jones
Climbed in his Chevy
Casey Jones
Dexcom in his hand
Casey Jones
Stable at 120
Taking a trip to his promised land.


There in the roadway, in the swirling rain
Casey saw a friend, and it clicked in his brain
Threw open a door, and grabbed his bud
Before his good D-pal became one with the mud.

Well, a hand on the wheel, and the other popping tabs
Casey had it together: in both brains and labs
His friend raved, man you're too good a D
To get a 8.0 on your next a1c.

Casey Jones
Climbed in his Chevy
Casey Jones
Dexcom in his hand
Casey Jones
Stable at 120
Taking a trip to his promised land.

Headaches and backaches, no sunshine's ray
Are all a part of the 'betics day
But the grit and the guts and the good true friends
Will take you through life's horrendous bends.


Casey Jones
Climbed in his Chevy
Casey Jones
Dexxom in his hand
Casey Jones
Stable at 120
Taking a trip to his promised land.

And here's the original Johnny Cash version:


(till about half way through the video + the very end)

Deep Throat

As previously mentioned, I've had some problems with re-occuring strep throat. Last months being pretty horrific.

Today, saw local ENT doc on the advice of CVS Minute Clinic, which is rapidly approaching their "We can't treat you anymore,you've got some real issues and need to see a real doc" tolerance limits. I haven't reached that limit yet, but 1 more time would probably be it.

This month's was just a sore throat. Not much else, no fever, no nothing. Just a sore throat, so seemingly non-threatening it could be allergies or anything. But up went the blood sugars,and strep test was subsequently positive.

And the semi-cure for repeated strep, is a tonsillectomy. I have the options of waiting to see if I get strep again, or scheduling surgery for the middle of July or the middle of August. Because the beginning of July and the end of July I'll be on two-week vacations. And in mid- August, school starts up. Or taking penicillin for the rest of my life. I've decided to have it done in the middle of July, I'll have a two week window to heal up before Europe.

Anyone else have their tonsils out?what was it like?

Weekend: Wrapped

1. Returned study pump...impression, not worth a plugged nickel. Assuming it was the polypeptide medication. Study doc and researcher are now in a quandary over whether or not that part of the study needs to be repeated,(because of strep) if in four weeks my insulin requirements vary greatly from what they have this week I will have to repeat it. That's two more Boost tests, and another gallon of blood leached. The blood leaching might conceivably improve my a1c, if it weren't for the over 500 for two more days factor. Can't see how that is going to improve anything. I hate being over 500,it feels so yucky and icky and horrible. Apparently, I'm not alone in the "over 500" category, one guy actually went up to 650. (their meters read up to 850) I also think I'd like more compensation if I'm going to have to do this again.(there's the cost of gas, and the $4 tunnel toll) I don't want to mess up their study and they have to find someone else but I also hope they'll be understanding of the inconvenience of putting oneself through two more times of utter D-heck for this.

2. New Niece! hopefully it works out for bro and girlfriend, both the mom & infant are doing fine... my parents went down and saw them Sat.afternoon.(baby was born on Friday)

3. Other then that, and the never-ending abysmal rain, I really need to get back to the gym, seeing the depressing average on my meter makes me think it will take some pretty major watching the preprandials,postprandials,and everything else to even do damage control on my next a1c. Team Type 1 will be rolling into MD at the end of the week,and that will be marginally exciting. Hopefully inspire me toward more exercise.

The Placebo Effect

"Come in!" Ginny, the research coordinator, greeted me with enthusiasm(first requirement of the job, you have to LOVE people) as I cracked open a door, seeing if anyone was in that room.

The place. The place where history will either be made, or broken, was buried so deeply in the most obscure part of the multi-billion dollar sprawling medical complex that it had taken me a good ten minutes of wandering around, asking various people where the Surgical Endocrinology Lab was and THEY even not having a clue. Employees, who've worked on that floor for years.

I entered, peeling off my jacket as the warm air hit various body parts,instantly making it feel like a sauna, despite the coolness of the outside air. Ginny liked her haven on the warmer side of things.

It appeared much like the setup of the other research lab, recliners,racks of tubes, tables, several people running the lab tests and a short-white-coated-incredibly-young-looking medical student helping out. It's truly scary that there are now doctors younger then I..and that most people my age are now residents. Ack-I am old.(when did that happen?) Signed papers, had IV put in, drank 2 cans of chocolate Boost, and watched the CGM drift up from 114.

Research doctor wandered in. Ironically, his last name was the same as the research doc down in Virginia. I swear I can't get away from that last name, its too weird how it worked out. Another 2 people came in, they were pre-pancreatic (perhaps a Whipple?)surgery. They drank the Boost/glucose tolerance thing but of course they weren't getting the hormone. Research doc patiently answered all my questions,and asked a bunch of me(to make sure I passed the "should be in" test). Their drug is actually made in the lab and has had no effects in either rats, or humans.(and they make it in their lab so its not from some animal) There will be 4 visits, 4 weeks apart. (2 this week, 2 4 weeks from now)

Visit #1
-100 carbs of Boost
-IV blood draw every 15 minutes for 3 hours
-Get hitched up to study pump that contains either placebo saline or the pancreotic polypeptide.

Said pump, is a Disetronic T10 Panomat insulin pump probably from the 1980's, it is dirt-old and HUGE. Twice the size of my little Ping. They use this pump, because its the only pump out there that can deliver pre-programmed boluses and not have a basal rate. My job, is to do absolutely nothing at all. Do not press any of the buttons, check out the various screens, or drop it in the toilet. It also isn't waterproof, nor does the set detach, so I have to put it in a little baggie and hang it around my neck while showering.(and swimming for 3 days=OUT). I feel like I'm back in the dark ages.
-get payed for first visit($50)
-Recheck bg, (530) correct blood sugar
-Get Meal Voucher, wander on down to cafeteria where everything looks incredibly unappealing and I spend most of it on diet drinks because I'm that thirsty.

(pump return on Friday)


I really think I got the placebo this go-around, the research doc said I likely wouldn't be able to tell the difference but bgs have stayed their normal wackiness(perhaps from getting strep again,who knows,3rd time in 3 months,I'm a strep magnet) so either I'm not getting Wonder Drug or being sick is just minimizing the positive effects. Who knows. Next time I would get the real thing, if I got the placebo this time. Wonder Drug is supposed to make the highs not so high and the lows non-existent. Also got to meet the researcher who has been doing this for the past 20 years,that was pretty neat,drug company sponsorship might actually happen.

That evening, went to pump club, the guest speaker was an ophthalmologist from JH.(one of the members asked her doc to be the guest speaker) JH docs tend to think they are the cream of the crop and other places are 2nd rate or don't even deserve mention. I happen to think the place I got my eye care was pretty great(and cutting-edge) too, so the attitude of said doctor annoyed me a bit. He took our questions/talked about all things eyes for two hours.
Some points he made:
-new treatments are in the works, but lasars are the sole means of treating retinopathy and the lasers of today are very much more precise then those of 20 years ago.
-smoking ups your risk of macular degeneration by 400%. Besides upping glaucoma and retinopathy.
-Teenagers are walking into his office with severe proliferative retinopathy, and most going blind. Freaky scary.
-the goals isn't a cure, its to give you another 40 years with minimal damage. D is going to inflict damage, no two ways about it, the goal should be to limit that damage. He then looked around the table, demonstrating his point by saying that X,X,X you have eye disease, kidney disease, nerve damage(for the record, he gave me till age 84. I was ecstatic,84 sounds pretty good in my book,my a1cs are not longevity material). Apparently we're all disasters, waiting to happen. It was bothering, because thinking of yourself as half-dead and just waiting for the other half to fall apart as well is not really how one should be approaching life.
-young people who have cataract surgery are much more likely to need a lasar-capsulotomy to clear up hazing but I got lucky.
-sunglasses are really not that benifical in terms of reducing UV damage, they did a study on Bay crabbers (those who wore sunglasses vs those who didn't) and damage was the same.
-eyeballs actually shrink when the retina has detached(I'm not sure if this means they get smaller in the socket?)

(at that point, my own eyes were probably as round as saucers-freaky piece of info)

Bottom line is, there's no Plan B for blindness.(when they've done all they can do) You've got to do everything in your power to keep your body, and your eyes, healthy.

On Top of Mount Everest

Today, I'm going to talk about Mt.Everest. Apologies if you were expecting an earth-shattering post about CGMS, pumps and polypeptide hormones.(today) I'll be getting to that.(if you want earth-shaking, may I recommend Southern California)

I'm not a big fan of heights, mountains, or the Disney Ride. But my diabetes loves it.


This is today's reading, reaching its lovely 538 mg/dl peak about 11:30 am. (From 114 initially) Not surprisingly, from the 100 carb Boost-Fest with no bolus allowed(except for basal). Fortuantly, I was allowed to correct 15 min after that, and fortunately, it didn't go over 600. That would have been even more of a pain. I will just point out some mountain climbing, bg similarities.

-Going down is easier then coming up. MUCH easier.

-Hydration is important. Diet Coke and water are your best friends. They will save you from certain disaster.

-Mountain Climbing isn't fun. Unless you're a masochist, and feeling tired,cranky, and incredibly thirsty is really your thing.

-Everything looks different from the top. It's like being in a brain fog, if not a natural one.

-Don't do it alone. Call someone, buddy up. The mountain will kick your Gluteus Maximus faster then you can say "Leaping Lows!" In mountain climbing, as in life with diabetes, you need friends to help you out sometimes.

More to come..

Last of the Type 1's

I've done the guinea pig thing before. It was an intensive, grueling experience; not for those who love A. their sleep or B. their (real, or illusion) state of being in control. Because in diabetes research, your goals are not their goals and vice versa. You sign your rights over to them, going into it you realize ADA type control will not likely be your lot because they tend to have an un-natural fear of anything under 100, trying to keep you more like 180. For a brief period, you just accept it and move on. (you don't have any choice about it sometimes)

The last study I did, I experienced the joys of the Medtronic CGM for the very first time. I hated it, it was off from the One Touch Ultra and the hospital meters by 50 (mostly 70-100) points at all times. NO amount of calibration could make it come back into line. But it was beyond coolness, to be able to see your blood sugar info without testing. So while I played with it(I sure hope they've improved the accessibility of it, because it was good and confusing) the endo fumed with minuscule doses and five minute blood tests. The CGM, was not very useful during the process, so it was largely ignored. (why they even incorporated it into the protocol beats me)

Fastforward almost 2 years later. The CGM I use(Dexcom) is pretty accurate, most of the time. Another research study is in the works, with the "guinea pig" aspect of it for real, with a non-FDA approved substance. Apparently, it hasn't killed/maimed/had any side effects in rats, or of any of the other 9 type 1's to have tried it.(it is a substance produced by the pancreas) Said CGM, will be instrumental in determining whether the stuff really works. I'm both nervous and excited, I've never done anything of this nature. I realize this is something most type 1's would NOT do,its still experimental but to me,I'm a sucker for research studies. And this one, will be pretty weird. (I'm the last person to have to complete the study,before they analyze the results/reproduce on a larger scale-hence, the "Last of the Type 1's" post title.) Hopefully,I won't be the one fatality.
Further details next week.

(when it all starts, bright and early Tuesday morning)