The Magnesium Wars

For the most part, the tall people get all the breaks, they are the Olympic champions.(except maybe gymnastics)
Swimming
Beach Volleyball(Kerri Walsh/Misty May-Treanor are KILLERS)
Diving?
Running(duh)
Basketball(double duh)
soccer
cycling
etc..
It's kind of sad, because even if you have the drive to excel you can't be a champion unless your body type matches up.

My electrolytes tanked again and had to have more IV magnesium.They didn't admit me because it wasn't "critical" (its hard to get in the hospital and even harder to get out + the definition of critical varies by the physician) but if the dierrea doesn't stop and I don't start absorbing the supplements I'll probably be back in there. The gastro dr sent off more bloodwork + cultures to make sure its not antibiotic associated. None of which I'll know the results of, since its a weekend.
Also my FIL has taken a turn for the worse, is in hospice,and my husband flew out there today because its not expected to be much longer. I'm not going, much as I feel guilty about not being there I've got problems of my own. A cross country flight would kill me. I'd originally wanted to go down and help my parents with their big fair exhibition, but its more likely they'll be coming up here and bailing me out. Life sure gets weird sometimes. My dad donated his Obama portrait to the Democrat booth and his McCain portrait to the Republican one and they both absolutely love him now. Both parties love you..how's that for mind-blowingly amazing?! My mom says they are passing out balloons and when a Republican gets a hold of an Obama balloon or vice versa, they immeadiently pop it, it sounds like WW3 in there. (hilarious!) Ah, the sights and sounds of an election year.
I got an ipod touch..don't really need the iphone but I really like all the features.(such as internet) Plus, my contract isn't up, so I gotta hang onto the cellphone awhile longer. It's weird having a non 410 area code,I am definatly the weirdo.(the entire state is 410) I'll be selling my old ipod on Ebay.

New neighbors are moving in this weekend, and they are the closest neighbors we've got.(we live at an intersection) They apparently have two humongous dogs.. and we have two cats. Perfect neighbor combo.

The Tale of a Morphine Shot

There are certain things in life that you can't see yourself ever experiencing, until you actually do it. Take, for example, not eating, not drinking, and not being hungry but not nauseous either. My SIL recently went through a month long process by which she did neither, post pancreatitis. I never thought that would be possible for a D.(I love my Diet Coke) The stomach needs its food.

Until last Thursday.

It started at 11 AM prompt,abdominal pains that came in waves + as expected, necessitating much time spent in a certain small room. But there was something weird about this pain...it was severely constipating and 2 hours later, when was over, there was still pain. No appetite. By 5:30, I thought it prudent to go to the ER, its not the dierrea that concerned me, it was the lack of dierrea. Nothing is budging. My gut, with the exception of the odd stomach bug, is a healthy gut..no surgeries, diseases, or other issues down there but this is weird + the pain is not getting any better. It's pretty busy that night and the PA on duty just thinks I've got the local bug(or whatever), it's rather difficult to make her understand its not the dierrea, its the now lack of it, that concerns me. Thankfully, there is an MD over her...who comes in, pokes around on my belly,and decides I need a CAT scan. Blood work comes back, white blood cells are high. Start antibiotics, move me to another part of the ER.
3 hours pass, get through the CAT scan, watch the final episode of "Hopkins" + hope I'm not going there. At 1 AM prompt, two doctors(never a good sign) march into my room with the results and inform me of a bowel intussusception, I need to be admitted and possibly have surgery. The nurse on duty that morning, seems a little different when it comes to D care-she's taking bgs every couple of hours(very overkill compared to everyone else in the hospital) she has a daughter on the pump. She "gets it" and informs the surgeon I can't go off my pump. She freakin' rocked.(would be that she could be cloned)
3:30 am, I'm admitted. I don't sleep and at 5:30 am the other side of the room starts to stir. Tries to get out of bed, pulls out catheter, etc. In general, is a busy girl for the nex two hours. Alarms keep going off, nurses keep coming in and at one point she engages me in conversation. I tell her she could ask the nurses(not that I could help her, I've got too much hardware on myself to be going anywhere) and she lets loose with a string of unflattering words regarding my character. Alzheimer's is bearable if you're the nurse(and getting payed) or if you're the family member and have memories of a time when that person was with it, but when you're the unrelated roommate it isn't. By 7:30 three nurses are in the room, trying to control her and I wish someone would give her a huge shot of Haldol, I'd do it myself in a heartbeat. Room-mate-icide is a perfectly acceptible option under those circumstances. Fortuantly, 10 minutes later they put me in another room where its much more peaceful. The surgeon comes by and says they need one more test to see if I need surgery. Go down to barium and xray. 3 pm the surgeon comes back and says I don't need surgery, my bowel has straightened out + it does that sometimes. Whether this means I can go home is debateable but I'm on my last(don't ask how old) infusion set and I need more. (it is looking very bad) I call up my endo's office, right across the street and my endo calls me back promptly. By 4, she delivers sets and resevoirs + some "pump hospital info" that I know Wendy in particular, would just love. Basically, I have to agree to be the perfect little diabetic for however long I'm in there or its back to injections for me. Performed a perfunctory exam, made sure I had an appt. with her relatively soon(Sep), and ordered a thyroid test.(what is it with endos and thyroids?) At 5, I get a pain shot while the hospitilist is talking to me and immediately become a blithering idiot. The hospitilist isn't releasing me yet, neither liquid or food is a possibility at this point and the barium has swept through my intestines like a bottle of Drano. Husband comes by to keep me company, but I'm in lala land for the next 12 hours. Bg stays steady at 185, 165.(it's easier when you can't eat) More antibiotics, more IV bags.

Sat. morning dawns and I feel much better. Breakfast is a clear liquid diet, but it stays down. 3 pm, the surgeon come by and again tells me I can go home. A new hospitalist comes by and tells me I can't, my potassium is in the tank + with the dierrea its not a good idea. GI doctor comes by, and says I may need that test where you swallow some camera if my dierrea doesn't resolve. Get moved to another room.

Sunday- They want to move me back to the room with the room mate from heck,I refuse.
I get a room mate. It's freakin' official, I'm getting bored to tears. I would do anything to leave. Morning blood draw, breakfast, internal medicine doctor comes by to inform me my potassium still sucks and do I have any ideas about why, since I've been pumped and pilled full of it for 2.5 straight days? That would be yes, you'd better check my magnesium, I have a kidney issue and leak it like a sieve. It gets pretty low sometimes. Gastro dr comes by and perclaims me good to go, dierrea has temporarily stopped. Run check on magnesium. Eat lunch. Watch Olympics. Do cross stitch. Meanwhile, all 10 relatives of room mate show up and party hardy from 10 am to 8 pm. I don't really mind, they are funny + very pleasant. Internal medicine doc shows up again and informs me that I was right, my magnesium level was 1.0(bordering on heart attack) and unless it got better with two bags of IV mag. I wouldn't be going anywhere. 5 hours later, it wasn't. Another night spent in paradise. Another bag of mag. Dierrea reappears.

Monday morning: Tank up on more mag,potassium, Immodium. Dierrea stops. Only three of room mate's relatives today.(better...)Internal medicine doctor comes by again, another gastro doctor. Another blood test. 5pm, internal medicine doctor comes by and says my mag. and potassium are now normal and I can go home.I could just kiss him, I'm more then ready to get out. The great thing about IV magnesium is it doesn't cause dierrea but you also can't get it without being in the hospital. Gotta schedule appts with my primary care doc to recheck levels + watch the gut if it reappears but it really feels great to be out. Missed my internet, my blogging,that was the worst part.I didn't have much severe pain, it was more an issue of the fallout of the event that kept me in the hospital. Narcotics also knock me out for a long time + I hate asking for them.(although, ibuprofen is freakin' harder to get then narcotics when you're in the hospital, it takes five hours to get the orders written, delivered, and dispensed. If you've got a headache, smuggle in your own) Oh, and yes, my room mate is a type 2 and has absolutely perfect blood sugars(110-130) despite being on Byetta, metformin, and 70/30.(weird combo) I, on the other hand, range from 170-400 and get chewed out by the nurses on a regular basis.

Ich Bin Ein Marylander

Olympic Champion..Baltimore resident, #1 Ravens Fan:


(apparently, he also attends Ravens games so I might just might see him, if I go to a game!!!)

Go Katie Hoff!!!!


(ok, I confess, I still don't like(hate) the Ravens but I think the place is growing on me. Just maybe, its possible to feel like a Virginian and a Marylander simultaneously.)

If PWD's ruled the World

...there would be a cure. Pure and simple. But in the absence of a cure:

1.Police would check for a medical alert first before throwing you in the car, destination night in the slammer.

2. Children with diabetes would be able to check blood, etc. in the classroom, in short, be able to manage their D without the teachers/lawyers/ whoever going beserk.

3. At convenience stores, there would be 101 types of diet sodas/flavored waters/teas/carb free drinks and one 2-3 "real" drinks, in case you needed them for a low.

4. Your car would have a built-in bg meter and you couldn't start it without testing(being at LEAST 80) initially and every 2-4 hours.

5. CGM's would have mandated, 100% coverage.

6. Bathroom stalls would each have a little ledge to balance meter, etc. Bathrooms are extremily unhygenic places to do the diabetes business but everyone ends up doing it there, sometimes.

7. Saying "Should you be eating that?" would be a criminal offense, punishable by 6 months of hardcore CDE brainwashing and the concurrent diet of black bread and water.

8.Test strips and insulin would not cost $1 each +$110/vial, respectfully. Supply would far outstrip demand.

9. Swimming pools would come equiped with an optional "Low Station" booth, which could be stocked with tabs, juice, glucagon, etc. And we'd not be banned from access to food or drinks.

10. Lifeguards would be trained in giving glucagon.

11. Endocrinologists would have to pass a "Trial by PWD's" ever five years, to make sure they were fit to be practicing medicine.

12. Fashion designers would incorporate more hidden pockets, etc, into pump friendly clothing.

13. Being "HIGH" would not cost you your job.

14. Toilets would automactically check for ketones, when you flushed.

15. Once a month, there would be a national "I Hate Diabetes" day + anything you wanted to destroy(of your own, that is) or eat, would be perfectly permissable.

16. Spas would give out "Pamper the Feet, Keep the Feet" massage vouchers to every PWD.

17. Caffeine would be measured and recorded in beverages. (I know I'm not the only one who spikes from it!)

18. Movie theaters would have built-in back lights on the back of the seats for testing blood sugar in the dark.

19. Hospitals would not discharge you with a blood sugar level of 390 mg/dl.

20. We would not callously ignore the unconscious individual laying on the subway platform..honestly, who does something like that?(read the news) We know what its like to be in need of assistance)

21. Every restaurant would have nutritional info for everything on their menus.

22. Meters would come in the full spectrum of colors..per gratis.(why pay $70 when you can get one free?)

23. Duct tape and pump tubing would fix anything.

24. We'd all have the same weird symptom at 70 mg/dl and we'd be able to recognize and treat before it progressed.

25. Test strips and empty vials would be biodegradable.

26. Meter's would be 100% accurate. None of that +/- 30% crap, what you see is what you are.

27. An a1v under 6 would put you in the Diabetes Hall of Fame...right up there with Gary Hall, JR.

28. Meters would spontaneously combust, if your average was too high.(I hate a high average, it's like screw this for the next 2 months!)

29. "The Dawn Phenomenon" would be the name of the next blockbuster summer horror movie flick.

30. People would not be judged, on how many accountermants they needed to live a healthy life..your not a weirdo for needing a pump, glasses, wheelchair,CGM, etc.The personality of the person,would speak for itself.(not the preconceived notion of what the individual could or could not do)

31. The "Quilt for Life" would be a permanent exhibit in one of the buildings in DC.

That's my list..what do you guys think it would be like, if PWD's ruled the world?

The Numbers Game

This wasn't the session(It's Not Just a Number's Game) I'd envisioned myself ever attending, to be perfectly honest, I'd wandered up+ over to this section of the hotel intent on finding a computer and easing my internet-deprivation pangs ASAP. There was nothing on the time slot agenda to suit the tastes of this finicky type 1.

And then I saw it. Maybe it wouldn't be so boring, I'd met the guy several years ago at my first FFL and he is anything but boring. I wander in, and sit next to another renegade type 1. (you could tell, by the green wristbands...everyone who didn't have type 1 diabetes wore orange wristbands)

Take 1, roll tape recorder. Two minutes in, I know that it's worth my time to stay-this guy has hit the nail on the head. It's mentally refreshing to hear someone else(someone with 40+ years of diabetes under his belt) hate diabetes with such a fervor and his sense of dry humor is right up my ally. I'm not sure how many of the parents would have rushed out and backed their car over their kid's bg meter as a form of therapy but everyone is enjoying the mental image of doing that. As a family therapist specializing in D for over 30 years, he's been around the block, seen every trick a kid with D can pull and his ways of dealing with those situations are extremily unconventional- making both the kids AND the parent(s) hate his guts.(temporarily)

I think many of the great psychologists/therapists have a screwed up youth, and where diabetes is concerned, which fuels the desire to help people.Back in the 60's, they didn't really talk about it and blame was rampant so I'm sure his was pretty difficult as well. Heck, it's still hard 30 years later, my parents didn't deal so well with it either. Being involved in your kid's life,even if they are a teenager is a must. (you certainly don't want them to turn out like me!) Also, the most important factor in a kid's a1c 1 year+ later is the ability of the mom to "keep it all together"(Dstuff,life in general) I thought that was pretty interesting.(if I were to have a child with diabetes,their a1c would probably be horrendous)

"Is that you beeping?" the woman on my left asks.

Of course it is..I have 4 electronic devices on my person, and three of them are going off. Cozmo is reminding me it's 1.5 hours after the meal, the Dexcom is telling me I'm over 250, and a pump I'm trial-ing with saline is going off too.

Not just a number's game, but I do feel the urge to rip them off my body + forget that diabetes even exists. They didn't have to do this in 1925, worry constantly about postmeals and pre-meals and malfunctioning sensors. Numbers
can be the absolute worst part about diabetes, in the absense of complications.


(check out Yoda's little pump!I meant to include sound clips from the lecture, but they didn't record very well.)

Total Copay: $0

This is pretty cool....heck, he's probably a better diagnostician then the local ER doc!

Tapped

We have a diagnosis.

I have experienced gastro symptoms, dizzyness, at various points since last year.
The gastro symptoms reached their zenith earlier this year + haven't really bothered me on a consistent basis.(not like they were) So I assumed whatever was causing that, was gradually getting better.

On a wild shot,my doctor ordered a spinal tap.

And it came up positive for various markers of inflammation. So he ordered a head MRI(completely normal)

And ordered another spinal tap, to see if anything had changed.Today, I called them back to find out the results
and the results are unchanged, so its his professional opinion that I have Mollaret's Meningitis,a sort of chronic inflammation that doesn't show up on MRI and can occur without fever. Meningitis can also explain the puking. Mollaret's is really rare so he is running several other tests to make sure its not caused by a viral agent. I don't know that there is any treatment other then supportive, have an appointment this Friday to discuss it all.
This is beyond weird,mind blowingly weird, weird, weird.

Notes from a Spinning Planet: FFL Recap

It wasn't just for the kids. (though it was mainly for them)

Nor the celebs with type 1.

Nor the parents + siblings.

Nor the doctors/researchers/medical professionals.

Nor the renegades who didn't quite fit into any of the groups. This wasn't middle school(although some of the renegades did eventually meet/hang out, just like middle school)

It was bigger then that, we were there for what we had in common, not what we didn't.(how else could I think of topics of conversation (other then the weather) (cold turkey) if it weren't? I'm not much of a talker.

No, I happen to think it was for all of us...how you could go to a conference with over 3000 informed,passionate (for a cure) people and not be inspired would be beyond me. It's not just what you learn, it is the total experience. For me, just being there was motivation to keep going.

(and that's all for today,first day back home and I'm catching up on everything(including sleep)

The Forgotten Patient

On a non-D message board that I frequent, an individual posted about the problems he was having with his diabetes..this being your regular run of the mill website, there were the usual admonitions to suck it up and take care of it, along with the tales of aunts/uncles/cousins/dogs dying gruesome deaths from it + how it would be him, if he didn't start trying harder.

That made me see red..here's this guy, he has type 2 diabetes and little D education..he gets sick,ends up in the ER with a blood sugar of over 500-the ER doesn't refer him to anyone, they treat his bg w/insulin and fluids and kick him right back out. Continues to take his Metformin, and his blood sugars continue to hang out in the 300-400's. Doc tells him to increase his Metformin(apparently no ketones)but he's still high.. this guy needs to be on insulin. He's going to switch doctors, but right now he's floundering around with no support whatsoever.

Nope, this guy isn't the forgotten patient.(as sad as it is) The forgotten patients are the sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, children, wives, husbands, friends, grandparents, grandchildren, etc.. their loved ones die from diabetes, and they don't get the real scoop- they are left to make their own theories about how rotten a person they were, not to take care of themselves. And the doctor's quick "they died from diabetes" does nothing to alleviate the automatic blame placement.Mentally, these people need more then the bare-bones facts..they need to know what a complex mess it is.

This is diabetes. Even people who try, may eventually get complications, and pass away from them. There is nothing moral about it- yet "you're killing yourself" is the phrase on millions of lips, millions of tombstones, millions of doctors' conversations. Yet, someone who is driving too fast, gets into an accident, and gets killed is never accused of killing them self.

We need education, THEY need education, that diabetes is not some simple x-y-z equation and you live happily ever after. Doctors need to tell the families that their loved ones weren't horrible people intent on killing themselves as quickly as possible. Honestly, the many impediments to good control...(financial-if I had no health insurance, I'd be in significantly worse control then I am now, skimping on test strips,cheaper insulins, etc.) emotional...other illnesses...lack of a good, basic diabetes education..

the list never ends. Shouldn't we be trying to help people, giving them what they need, and not making them feel even worse about the situation then they already do? Who DOESN'T know that this isn't the right path, even if they're merely ignoring/engaging in deep denial about the diabetes? They know, they just don't want to face it. There are steps to accepting a chronic disease, and it can take a pretty hefty combo of things to get a person to start caring.

I guess the only real solution is to come up with a cure, then we can all forget about the archaic disease called diabetes + start blaming people for other diseases.(although I can't think of any that incur so much blame as diabetes)

Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth

Next week.

Next week, I throw my junk into the biggest suitcase I can find, and take to the skies.

Final Destination: The CWD Friends For Life Convention, which might as well be another planet, it is so different from normal life.

I'll roam with ax chopping murderers(oh, wait,that's ME-not her!) j/k Wendy, meet (and re-meet) other D-Bloggers(Tudiabetes in there as well), see my ex Endo that I haven't seen since the funeral, drink alot of alcohol while working on my tan(great thing is, everyone will have glucagon kits! if I need bailing out), laugh, (probably) bawl, and have another amazing time of my life. It won't be absolutely perfect, because my husband can't come, but hopefully next year.

I cannot WAIT...
(I'm mostly packed already..and even have a letter from my endo for the unintellegent TSA agents)

Pies in the Sky

Got an "A" in my psych class, I really wasn't expecting that at all.(since I went into the final with a B average)


This was kind of a bummer morning..got a glossy flier in the mail, advertising some research study(which I'd hoped would be an investigational cure type), excitingly called about it,but it was just an inhaled insulin study.(two groups, inhaled "Generex" insulin and the nph/regular group) People STILL use NPH?? that was the most shocking thing about it. I mean, the control group should at least get to use humalog/lantus. No way I would e.v.e.r. use NPH/regular again, and it's doubtful that I'd even EVER use inhaled insulin.
Darn.Missed the cure boat..I had my hopes sky high that there was some kind of therapy out there that was not toxic to the rats...and had been approved for trials in humans.Kind of like INGAP.

Wednesday Morning Comin' Down

1.Well I woke Wednesday morning, with no way to hold my head that didn't hurt

And the Diet Coke I'd had for breakfast, wasn't bad, so I had two more for dessert

Then I stumbled to the nightstand, grabbed my meter and blew off all the dirt

Checked right in at 303..and knew I was was more then ready to greet the day!


2.I'd blown my luck the night before, with Chinese food-complete with all the fixin's

As I changed my set, the needle bled and so I screamed like the dickens

Then I drove by a DQ, and caught a glance of someone eating ice cream

And well, it took me back to something

That I knew I'd lost somewhere, somehow, along the way.




On a DQ restaurant sidestreet

I'm wishin' so, that I was cured

Cuz' there's something in a Sundae

That makes the body, know you'll pay

And there's nothing short of DKA

That's half as effective, as the threat

Of a dripping, gooey Sundae

Putting you in loads of debt.




2.Though I know a pump won't ever stop the swinging

And sometimes, its too hard to sort the choices life keeps flinging

As I headed home, and somewhere very close a fire truck was shrieking

It echoed through my memories, reminding me of all those yesterdays.



On a DQ restaurant sidestreet

I'm wishin' so, that I was cured

Cuz' there's something in a Sundae

That makes the body, know you'll pay

And there's nothing short of DKA

That's half as effective, as the threat

Of a dripping, gooey Sundae

Putting you in loads of debt.


P.S. I know D's can have their cake/ice cream + eat it too..+ I'm not bashing that, but bgs are still going to spike+ crash + eating carb rich foods are a tremendous struggle for me to get right)

Cartoon of the Week (#2)

(totally unrelated, but very funny!)

Flying Solo

"Is there a doctor or paramedic on board?" the flight attendants, moving around the mostly sleeping cabin, inquire.

My husband gives me a poke. "Ask if you can help."

"I'm NOT a paramedic."

But there are no doctors on board.

No nurses.

No paramedics. I believe that anyone with money would not be flying packed-rat class on the world's worst airline, red-eye to LAX on a Saturday night. Three hours delayed, to boot.

In the news, when people have an onboard emergency, a host of medical personal(physicians, surgeons, flight nurses, etc.) pop up from out of the woodwork and work feverishly to save that person's life while the pilot makes an emergency landing. Trained people, knowledgable people, people you WANT to be working on you. Not some petrified young EMT who has never done CPR solo( the codes I've been involved in, the paramedics were all over it and the best thing I could do was not get in their way and hand them the appropriate tools at the appropriate times). Except on Manniken Annie, and that hardly counts.

But I appear to be the only one. How can one just sit there and do nothing, and be able to live with yourself later on? Despite the incredibly poor timing (I wouldn't want anyone like me to be working on me) you can't just do nothing. I pledge not to lose them, or my own cool. (until later) I briefly consider the legal ramifications if this individual dies while under my offered services, no good Samaritan Laws protect you if you're a medical professional. Guess I'll be spending the next X years in jail.

Thunk, thunk, thunk. That's the sound of my own heart,racing fit to beat the top qualifier in the Indy 500. Dexcom blood sugars immeadietly begin to go up.

They aren't having chest pain, difficulty breathing, or a heart attack. Just an apparent run-of-the-mill stomach bug.

Thank you, God. Although I could do CPR, I would prefer the first time not be at 32,000+ feet, solo responsible for someone else's life.(aren't flight attendants supposed to be trained in CPR/AED? What do they think the doc/paramedic has, an advanced cardiac drug box with them?)

Finally my bg levels off at 250 mg/dl. I'm really not ready to fly solo on this one, the next person to have a heart attack would be me.

Another Piece of History

Diabetes Gettysburg Address..(thought about it when I read this.)

Four score and four years ago, our Canadian brethren brought forth, on this continent, a new medication, conceived in ingenuity, and dedicated to the novel idea that billions should not die.

Now, we are engaged in a great global war of chronic disease- testing whether, a group of diabetics, we can long endure. (With toes and teeth intact) We are met on a battlefield of that war- the field of research. We have come to dedicate a portion of ourselves, to eradication of that dread disease, that sucked the last breath from their dying lips. It is altogether proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate-we cannot consecrate- we cannot ever do enough. The brave individuals, living and dead, who have struggled (and continue to struggle) consecrate it far beyond our poor power to add or detract. Rather, it is for us, the living, to be dedicated to this last remaining task- that from these pitied dead we take increased devotion toward ending diabetes- that we here resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this planet shall have a new birth of freedom, and that this disease, of, for, and by the people- shall rapidly perish from this earth.

Have a great 4th, everyone. We enjoy so many freedoms, and the "life" (in the life,liberty, and the pursuit of happiness) part is a biggie(one that PWD's, prior to insulin, did not have).

Dreaming with the Dexcom

I've had plenty of diabetes dreams, and I've had lucid dreams (something I never knew other people experienced too, until I took psych). Never had a diabetic lucid dream although this one kind of came close. I always thought my dreams lasted for about a millisecond and the seemingly endless high or low were just exaggerations. But my textbook, informed me that dreams unfold in real-time. I didn't think it was possible to have a low lasting over 30 minutes without A. waking up or B. going into seizure. Dexcom has proved me wrong.(apparently, I do have a glucose producing liver at moments when it actually counts)

I think it would be kind of neat to be dreaming about a low or high(which translate into feeling hungry and thirsty, in the dream) and see how low or high I actually am, and for how long. (corresponding time chunk) Not that difficult, because if I wake up suddenly, most of the time I remember my dreams. Lucid dreaming is pretty hard/rare though, you can't just decide to do it. (dumb luck)I may know that I have diabetes in my dream, but not that eating or drinking will not cure my symptoms.So I'm merrily eating mountains of pancakes or drinking gallons of water and it isn't doing any good at all.(till I wake up) I don't know if wild bg variations make for more nightmares, probably not, I've always dreamed alot. The problem with using the Dexcom to track this is the Dex has a tendency to shriek/vibrate its head off anytime you're outside of the range so you really don't get a chance to wake up naturally from the dream. And there are certain safety features(under 55, over 400?) that even if you have the alarms off those safety alarms will still boot in.

Sometimes I turn the fan on high and put the dexcom under the bed so it won't wake me up but it will still read. For the most part, I have good internal cues to wake up when low but its not always right away. The dexcom will wake anyone up,(usually I put it under my pillow) but deciding whether to treat that (usually) high is another story altogether. It's best to be very, very conservative at an hour where you're so exhausted that a low is the last thing you need. Bottom line, I'm grateful for the chance to correct the situation before it gets out of hand..even if it does wake me up all night long some nights.

Are We There Yet?

I'm rather exhausted, the D-care well reflects that. Cannot wait till Wed..the grand final exam in psych and being free, free, free for the next 6 weeks. In the meantime, I have a quiz tonight(quizzes twice a week do not make for happy students) and a paper to improve upon. I think I'm just stuffing info into my brain just to have it come right back out the other side, I hardly remember the stuff we studied at the beginning of class. I do not have high hopes for this final,but I hope at least for a B.

Lately, the evening entertainment has been a grand post-supper drop-a-thon, usually with still 1-2 units onboard. So I treat with junkfood and 30 minutes later I'm 40-60 and diving into the tabs/juice. A couple hours after that, it spikes, drops, spikes, drops all on its own. Overnight basal rates would take hourly checks to figure out, and I'm too tired for that. Whoever thinks that an overnight blood sugar(with the proper basal rates) is largely a creature of containment is sadly mistaken. Went to bed 120, woke up 144 but during that time I spiked to mid 200's twice, spent an hour near 70, another hour near 80-90, finally evening out to 140's.(which I woke up to) That's gonna take some time to figure out.
I gotta get back in the game, stop eating junkfood/exercise more. Maybe when this class ends.

Weeding out the Wardrobe

It's a sad fact that approximately 3/4 of my casual shirts collection is diabetes themed.

-4 FFL tshirts, emblazoned with the names of every major D sponsor out there.
-2 JDRF walk tshirts, again, emblazoned with the names of D sponsors.
-A blue "MiniMed" shirt, lettering in white. Not overtly screaming the "hey, I'm
diabetic!" label (most people don't know what Minimed was) but still diabetes
themed.
-A weird pump pack shirt, from back in the Minimed days.
- A "I run on Insulin" tshirt.
- A "Test, Don't Guess" D-Life promo tshirt.
It's safe to say, that I'll be acquiring several more next more(at the upcoming FFL conference). I never set out to be the diabetic billboard child but I guess at least some of the time, I am. (I do wear some of them out in public) I can't just throw them out, they're perfectly good shirts.(not until they wear out) Sometimes I wish they would though, so I could have a more "normal" wardrobe.
I do like this one though..

(from CafePress)

Can't get away from the D..it will haunt you just opening up your dresser drawer!

My "Twin" Blog

For some reason, when I typed in my blog url this morning it kept bringing me here... Eventually, I had to backtrack through someone else's blog roll.(to get here)

Extremely weird, I was under the impression Blogger doesn't recycle url's. But its almost the exact same one(minus the www).
10:17 am, and I feel the need for a strong drink coming on. Too, too weird.

The Case of the Serial Coke Spiller

Dear Abby,

I have a re-occurant problem, I spill my diet coke everywhere. It's not limited to just 12 oz cans either- today, I dumped an entire liter all over the floor in CVS, inconveniencing the shoppers/staff as the river was being dealt with. In the past, I've also dumped my can all over the doctor's office exam room carpet(instantly invoking the executive decision by the doctor to never again let patients and their drinks, into the exam room). I just can't stop drinking my diet coke, please help!!!!

Hopelessly Addicted & Clumsy


Dear Addicted,

You're not alone, others are just as, or more, uncoordinated then you are. I'd suggest duct-taping a sippy cup when you're out in public, and NEVER unscrewing it.(until you've finished) In the meantime, you may want to consider getting help for your diet coke addiction-it's very unhealthy + with the amount of caffeine you're scruffing on a regular basis, it's not wonder you've got the dexterity of a two year old.

Abby

Meme Mosaic

My creation, originally uploaded by type1emt.

Didn't realize I was posting a very offensive picture, it was the first picture of Heidi Klum that I came across. My apologies, to anyone that I have offended, I didn't mean to.

More Notes from Psych Class

Overheard:

Professor: And in anorexia nervosa, the individual slowly wastes away until they-??

Student: Disappear?

I think the entire class cut loose on that one. Though in a sense that's correct, there's not much left of the individual even if they don't die. Diabetes and several other chronic diseases that make losing weight dangerously easy are powerful weapons, one that most physicians will never know about because even if you don't have diabulemia + to the best of your ability try to do it right, highs and elevated a1cs plague most of us.(so health care professionals can only guess) Unless the individual is made (self) aware of/gets help for their disorder things won't go very well for them.(even worse then normal eating disorders)

On Board Air Force One

For real. Maslow would call it a peak experience, and I heartily agree(it's not every day a Joe Blow gets to get so up close and personal with a piece of American history). This is the old Air Force One-the current one is twice as large + boasts a movie theater, gym, etc,etc..Obama or McCain have alot to look forward to. The old Air Force One was flown from 1974(Nixon) to Sep.8, 2001. (Bush) It was pretty cool, inside AF1 there was a communications center, presidents quarters, staff quarters, kitchen, press gallery, situation room, kitchen, and bathrooms at the back. Really, really long.(not very wide) Wanted to get inside pictures, but there were five security people on hand to make sure that wasn't happening. Oh well...got plenty of pics of the outside of the plane.
I highly recommend it, if you're ever at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

Across the Great Divide: The U.S. Open

How weird is it, when the hospital is located right next to the Torrey Pines golf course? Close enough to walk outside, across a parking lot, climb a fence, drop, and you're on the course?

Well, it happened. First day of the U.S.Open, zillions of cars trying to park on the hospital lot and hospital security going nuts/spitting bullets trying to keep people out. Identification was needed(appointment card)to park on the hospital lot. Bloodwork, transfusion, took about 7 hours. The oncologist comes in for about five minutes, answers a couple of questions and dissipeirs again. He is a jerk if I ever saw one.(got a real VIP complex going on there) The nurses/staff were great, fortunately. They were complete opposites
from the doc. Next week they will be doing more chemo and inserting a port-o-cath to make injections/draws/transfusions easier. Things seem to be staying the same right now in terms of blast count, it will take more chemo to see if it will work.

Right before leaving, we went out and watched some of the Open. Over 42,000 people a day attended, so it was a real beehive of activity. We didn't see Tiger but could hear the periodic OOOOOOOH's from the admiring, star-struck crowd when one of the favorite's in the threesome hit a good shot. And predictably, my cellphone had died so I couldn't even get any good pics.

Darn fence, wish I had been on the other side.

This One's for You, Dad

artist extroidenaire...and I hope you get some traffic off of this.(I really like how there's one page blank, waiting for the November winner)

Notes from a Spinning Planet: California Bound

Tomorrow, we fly to California, it's not a vacation..my husband's dad is really sick, he has acute lymphocytic leukemia complicated by the fact that a bone marrow transplant is out(age over 65)and his back(disks) is in rough shape + they can't do surgery for that because his platelet count is so low. Right now they are doing chemotherapy(Dacogen) injections and blood transfusions.(and strong painkillers)
Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Speechless

My order of Cleo's arrived today. No more using Sils! and amazingly, Medco did not screw it up. I was getting ready to just buy them OOP and try to get reimbursed later on, low and behold my insurance then decides to cover them. No problems. I will never understand insurance companies.


And the other big news of the day..I've just had my fifth low of the day.(at 3 pm) 2 last night. I think the heat must be impacting my bgs big time.(it happens, sometimes, irregardless of the temperature outside but the heat is the only thing I can think of that may be triggering it) I think I need to start pumping glucagon, instead of insulin. Latest low occurred just 30 minutes after lunch.(with 3/4 of that insulin still on board) Hence the need to eat even more food. I'm waiting for that day when it absolutely refuses to come up and I have to go to the hospital, where they'll know absolutely nothing about D and of course, my endo will not be there to bail me out.(it'll be a weekend) My brain cells will be mush anyway, and I'll be lucky to get out of there alive.Handing over my control to clueless medical professionals is not always the best option.(off to eat B&J's, I'm not making sense, even to myself)

Weekend Renovations

How do I trim the size of my header? (specifically, the big ugly blank space to the right)

thanks, guys..

Notes from a Spinning Planet: Delaware (& Beyond)

A couple of weekends ago, I took a trip. It was really fun.. though quite torturous at times, as it was prime time yard sale weekend + I couldn't stop. (I stopped anyway, at about 4 out of 100+ that I drove by) I should have started earlier, so I could stop at more of them. Anyway, I did acquire a very nice croquet set for just $2... so it was worth stopping.



(you've read Allison's account of it..so I won't bore you with the details, but boy, it was fun!!) I really need to get a pair of sunglasses, but I don't spend much time outside. Hence the squinting.

A couple of days before the trip, I took my car in to get the air conditioning checked, they filled it up & checked for leaks. No way would have I survived the trip WITHOUT it, my car is like an oven. Well, a week later it had ceased to work (again). Took it in again..and evaporator or something is cracked. They'll have to take out the dashboard(an all day job) to replace it, at a total cost of $772.08. (plus tax)

Agggggggh my first car cost less then that! I've never, ever, EVER had a car bill like this, even with things overheating + smoking up a storm. Just WOW. I'm still in shock.. of course, its not imparitive that I replace it but the likelihood of surviving a summer without doing it isn't very high. No more road trips, till I can get this fixed.

Notes from a Spinning Planet: Psych 101

"I want to make one thing perfectly clear," the instructor continues, his eyes seemingly boring into every single one of ours, simultaneously. "If I see you texting during my class, you'll be asked to leave."

My insulin pump begins vibrating, reminding me of a post-meal bg check. I put my hand in my pocket and will it to shut up, be quiet, malfunction, something... You'd think a psychologist would be more understanding, not so rigid with the rules.

Next to go, is my Dexcom, it gives the high beep. Still postmeal, so I'm hoping the insulin just hasn't kicked in.

Half-time: 370. Either I underestimated the carbs, or my set is bad. I give a correction bolus.

An hour later, I check the Dex again. It's been HIGH for about 40 minutes, the bolus didn't do any good. BG check: 570. I'm so tired I just want to fall asleep at my desk but there's another hour of class to get through. Freud is twice as boring as usual, I wonder what his assessment of the situation would be. The repression of bodily functions leads to a state of post-traumatic stress in the individual with chronic illness..which triggers depression and the desire to guzzle gallons of diet coke and stay in bed for the next 24 hours. Perfectly normal, right?

And my brand new textbook has a backward cover, in another odd twist to the day. Going to be a very busy month, its an accelerated course(8 hours a week) and our first test is Wednesday. I just hope that the instructor doesn't tell me to leave when he sees me fooling with my pump, etc.(Yes, I can explain about the D, but I'm hoping that won't be necessary).

Tracked

Until today, I've never cried.(from it) Until today, the pain of a needle has never sent me over the edge. Until today, I have never witnessed the extreme callousness of someone who just doesn't give a flip + is just waiting till 5 PM and the end of a workday.

The needle was large(not 16 gauge, but large and entirely un-necessary for 3 lousy tubes of blood) and I was expecting a shock but not like that. The phlebotomist shoved it in very fast, and I've never felt that kind of paralyzing pain before. I've been tracked up on both arms for usable veins, I've given donations of blood many times, and I've had a few Arterial Blood Gases in my time. I've had IV's, and blown IVs. I've had gushers, and I've had sets hit nerves. None of them compared to this.

I dissolve-erupt into a fountain of tears, the phlebotomist grabs my arm roughly, slaps a band aid on it and tells me to have a nice day. Shows me the door. No apologies, no inquires as to whether I was ok. I think that that is what hurts the most, I understand people make mistakes(and I'm ok with that) but deliberately reeking physical and mental damage is extremely unprofessional. I guess I've just been extremely lucky, in that phlebotomists have always been polite, at the very least..they can't all be painless but all I really want is respect. I won't be going back to that facility, the bruise goes deep to my soul.

The Last of a Trilogy: Hail to the Chief

Washington's digs aren't nearly as big as Jefferson's or even James Madison's. But he
had alot more land/various outbuildings.
(plus, at Mt. Vernon there is an actual food court in the visitor's center...ice cream sure hits the spot, much more so then a lukewarm cola from some vending machine)

Anyway, we finally made it up to Mt. Vernon on Memorial Day. Place was packed,as usual.(its open 365 days a year)
It was the final stop on the "3 Presidents" tour, having been to Monticello and Montpelier over the past 2 years.



Washington preferred simplicity, but even he would have balked at this:



Family Bible:




Washington family pew:



Watering can:




A cooking pot so large you could take a bath in it:



Washington is watching you:(this was pretty freaky, as you moved his eyes moved with you)


His surveying equipment:



The dock:(during spring fishing, they could catch up to 1.6 million herring in just 6 weeks!)

href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Umm4FAhrHoTzrV30yusewRw2nYA1dy6e4BWzRj-rf5ofYw4U6NhcPjCNhae0yGi2TCVk_6Mq1aCj12m4IfpZ_lGrKq5exOcuMyk8d8dNNfLQ7RyEGKy7DBvJ-EWGB0zDw_X5VA/s1600-h/potamac.jpg">




This is how they got around:(riding chair, which was apparently much more comfortable then the carriage)



and a carriage:



His tomb:


Inside the main house, of course, no flash photography was allowed. We also took the audio tour(headphones,device) and that was definatly worth it,found out alot of extra stuff that guides weren't around to tell us.
All in all, I must agree his assessment of the place:



I would love to live there...situated on a hill RIGHT above the Potomac River, thus breezy + a temperate climate. I would not love to be bled four times before dying, but apparently Washington died of the throat infection(went out riding, got sore throat, it progressed, had difficulty breathing/fever, his doctors bled him four times the day he died, he suffocated-it was a 36 hour illness) Today, they theorize that antibiotics would have cleared it right up. Horrid way to go.
Interesting fact..his only surviving(well, the only one who had kids) offspring(a step great-grand daughter) married Robert E. Lee, they had 7 kids(none of whom died,during the Civil War) and I'm sure that's how the Custis-Washington legacy survived. Kudos to Lee, even if you don't like how he fought for the South.


"First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.." he was truly a great leader, without which the United States may not have come into existence. And he could have been President for life, how many leaders today would voluntarily step down after just two terms?

Memorial Day Weekend

Tomorrow promises to be very, very interesting... in more ways then one. I'm excited about meeting other OC bloggers, but the thing that's got me worried will I ever FIND the place.(point #11,I'm horrible with directions. And maps. I always get lost the first 1-2 times till it sinks in the o'le memory bank)
My one consolation, close to the Atlantic, you can't TOO lost, there are only so many roads, all of which will lead you back to major highways in a comfortingly familiar SW direction. So I may be a little late but I plan to get there.

The only thing that would make this even better, is if sense of taste would return. I might as well be eating gruel, for the sensation is the same. So very dead. I usually eat all the disgustingly healthy things I cannot stand otherwise,(during such times)because A. I need it and B. I'd never eat it otherwise. I'm beginning to get concerned,its gone on a little long + the congestion isn't horrible enough to warrant all of that.(sinus infection,maybe?)

drawkcaB dellepS emeM

#1 I eat pizza, pie, and all triangular shaped foods from the crust, to the tip. Precisely opposite from the way most people do it. I started doing this as a teenager, after hearing the story about an American spy in WWII who got caught because of the way he ate his pie. No one is ever going to indite me on something, based on the way I eat. Now its just 2nd nature to eat them like that.

#2 I dislike sweet and salty ingredients in the same dish. Pineapple pizza? yuck. Waldorf Salad? can't stand it. I eat cottage cheese packs one section at a time.(CC first, put jam on bread) because mixing it tasted disgusting. Sweet salad dressings- no go, I prefer salty.

#3 My first car was a '89 Pontiac Grand Am. My second, a '95 Dodge Spirit. Both of them lasted an average of 2.5 years before being I totaled them. Hoping to get more mileage out of car #3.(2 years, 5 months, currently)

#4 I love motorcycles, wish I owned one.(to be a black leathered chick racing down the freeway at 80 mph is a reoccurring fantasy of mine.) My life is pretty dull, in that regard.

#5 I've lived 9 places in 26 years, mostly the result of landlord's offspring getting married + repossessing the houses. Getting married=large scale reproduction plans(especially in Old Order Mennonite country) so we had to move around alot.

#6 I want to give blood in each of the 50 states, before I die.(which also requires actually visiting said states...)

#7 I dislike cooking immensely, I'd rather clean up. I think it has to do with the inconvenience of reading glasses, having to whip them on/off half a zillion times during the process is pretty annoying and I'd rather just heat something up in the microwave to avoid all that. Top Chef, I am not.(but I do enjoy everyone else's cooking..)

#8 I don't wear red, it brings out the zits. Apparently, those teenage hormone's are still runnin' strong and the zits..they never really leave.(been there, tried that)

#9 I have a famous ancestor,(well,kinda,he wasn't married) which unfortunately I can't even blog about due to what he was famous for. (think highly mortifying) Regardless, I hope someday that the billions in royalties will find their way across the Atlantic + to our branch of the family tree(and if it crosses,it will) and we'll all be set, for life.If that happens, I'm going to hire my own researcher and get myself cured.(plan #1)

#10 I wrote my first book at the age of 11. I'm still writing,(nothing published, yet) but my spelling doesn't seem to have improved at all since then. I have atrocious spelling. I once lost a spelling bee in which there were only two people(me, the other kid) and the other kid was 1.5 years younger then I.

Season Finale(s)

I feel a little more alive now.. the fever broke this morning. Yes,it was the flu(not a cold). Haven't had a cold (since last August) and the last time I had the flu was 4-5 years ago so I guess I was long overdue. There's one interesting fact about the flu..hypos are never an issue, you could bolus for a meal, not eat the meal,and still be high 4 hours later. The body requires a lot of insulin when there's a fever.

So anyway, as I was hanging out w/all my paraphernalia last night, alternately watching/crying/sneezing through the season finale of "House" it occurred to me how utterly repetitious and boring season finales have gotten.
First, it was Meredith of Grey's Anatomy going into a coma/near death experience.(talking to Denny Duqette)

Then, it was Eli Stone going into a coma/ near death experience.(talking to George Michael)

Now, it's House/going into a coma/not quite death experience.(talking to now deceased ex-girlfriend)

I can't wait for tonight..maybe one of the Davids in the American Idol Season finale will sing/bore the other one into a coma/and when he wakes up, he'll figure out that there are so many other MORE worthwhile things that he could be doing..
(sorry, a bit of sarcasm there)
Or I'll be bored into one myself. I'm sure I'm missing some of the coma finales, because I really don't watch alot of tv shows but this is just a trend I've noticed.

7 Excellent Reasons to Hang at 300+ Mg/Dl

#1
While attempting a reservoir swap this morning, I cracked the cartridge case+ a piece came off.(on top-you can see the hole) Called Deltec, because it wasn't cooperating(stuck on a certain screen)-put in another cartridge and that worked. Unfortunately, when you chip the cartridge case, it can't hold in the reservoir of insulin and it becomes unsafe to use.(envision 300 units of insulin being jolted into your body) Replacement cap should be here by noon tomorrow, (Fed-Exed)but its back to shots for me. They really should make those things tougher.

#2 I have a cold. Or something. Not allergies, throats don't feel this way for no good reason. Besides, its been raining + my husband also has the bug(which he kindly gave to me) + the pollen count is essentially zip around here. Gonna be a fun weekend.

#3 I'm craving Chinese food, chocolate,ice cream, and pizza. Feed a cold, starve a fever(so the old adage goes) + despite the fact that its about the worst possible thing to eat when you're well, much less sick, high carb stuff is about the only thing I want right now. Really weird.

#4 This.


Just the earth transcending heavenly scent, is enough to put you in full-blown DKA.

#5 It's almost a full moon.

#6 Speaking of months and moons, its simerarily that difficult, basal rates need doubling, week.

#7 Narnia opens this weekend..and Indiana Jones the next. Can't see either, because we're going to go with friends(who are,maddingly, on vacation). Cannot wait.

Hope your weekend is better then this.

My Van Gogh

(click picture for close up)
It may not look like much, but after 3 years and 3 months of periodically slaving away at the thing it is finished. (Hurrah!) This is entirely free form, nothing was off a pattern. The poem is original too. Now to get it framed(but not at Micheal's prices, they quoted me $260+.)While I think this item is valuable, its more of the sentimental kind. I may frame it myself. I intend to enter it the county fair this August. (the murky smudges is the camera's fault.. the actual piece is flawless) I wanted to give it to my EMS instructor(originally) but it took too darn long to complete..

The Wisdom of the Juice Box

Especially as it pertains to difficult-to-treat hypos.

Tucking in the Tubing

In keeping with the "arm sites" experiment, I'm also trying more convenient places to put my pump. There are the obvious places..and if I had really long hair(I don't) I could even put it in there. But right now, my favorite is the Schwarzenegger look:



Pump carrier: ipod arm band. The tubing tucks up nicely, and I look like muscle girl when I pull down my shirt sleeve.(hmmm, maybe I should do the same for my Dexcom on the other side, to match)

Inspirational quote of the day:

"Diabetes is a marathon, not a sprint." I need to remember that, when I get obsessed with doing everything exactly right/right now, the big picture is, you need to balance it with all the other obligations in your life. D will likely be around for many more years(much as we all hope for a cure), this super marathon has many more miles left in it.

Made of Honor

A year ago today, I said yes to the most wonderful man in the world. It's been a life changing, wonderful year..and I wouldn't trade it for anything.
(now to go watch Made of Honor..very appropriate movie to watch, on one's 'versary, sooo romantic)

A Pumping First

That River in Egypt

This has been a very exhausting week, and if I never again set foot in a Kmart/Sears store it will be too soon. I completely abhor them.

It makes me just about ready to sign up for THIS, the ultimate lazy excuse. (the only problem, you have to be a perfect physical specimen to participate) I sure could use $17,000. But the strict schedule(being awake 16 hours, asleep 8) would be extremely difficult, if I'm in bed, I want to go asleep. It would be ok if they just induced a 90 day coma and did what they wanted to me. Wake me up, hand me the check, and I'd leave.

My car got flooded several nights ago(windows open, thunderstorm, dead sleep= several inches of water inside) so its been kind of disgusting/smelly. Great thing is, I still had to drive all over the place..and its still rainy, so nothing is really drying out. I hope next week is sunny.

The blood sugars have been a mystery, fairly ok but sometimes when they're just sitting on 90-130 and you feel hypo it drives you absolutely nuts. Because you aren't hypo, multiple checks have confirmed that. And you're also not dropping, so that's not to blame. Effects of caffeine..maybe, who knows. I don't drink caffeinated coke everyday though, and its been happening everyday.(and on some of the real hypos,come out of the blue) I have to learn to deny myself the urge to treat/eat.(not very easy)

Tomorrow is Mother's Day.. go out there and do something special for the moms in your life! (wife,mother, grandmother, etc.)

A Chapter Meeting of D.E.S.A.

Long, long ago, the Diabetes Exercise and Sports Association was named I.D.A.A.(International Diabetic Athletes Association) They dropped the diabetic and the international parts for the sake of political correctness. Anyway, I learned that and a whole slew of other goodies at last night's founding chapter(Baltimore D.E.S.A) Doug Dressman(Executive Director) and Rick Philbin(Animus, diabetes exercise guru) were on hand to kick things off, and then a local CDE falicitated the meeting. (held, where else, at the most humongous health club I have EVER seen, it was like a Super Walmart with two stories. If it weren't so far, I'd consider joining it.)

So...it was inspiring. All these triathletes/marathon runners/cyclists/mountain climbers/parents of kids with D, and about 7 CDE's from every hospital in the state.(And just plain me..there to learn, from the pros) I think it will be a good group, DESA is not just about type 1's. It's for the type 2's, parents, and anyone who knows someone with diabetes. DESA is about "hookups", (not that kind, mind out of the gutter, please)matching people to people with similar interests. (type 2, type 1, CGMS users, etc)

The DESA International Conferance will be held in Toronto this year. Of course, that's totally infeasible to attend but the entire schedule sounds really amazing- not only do
you learn from the experts, you get a darn workout every day(whether you were planning to just kick back, eat yourself into a stupor, and fall asleep during the lectures) or not. Then on Sat..they have a soccer tournament.(Italy vs The World)
I love soccer, have played it since I could walk all the way through high school. Never got any awards, because kids on homeschooled teams just don't, but I'm still good.(to toot my own horn) It would be cool to play on a team again.

Refreshments: tofu sandwiches and water. I've never had tofu sandwiches before, they were actually good.

Now.. I want to get a Running on Insulin t-shirt, it will inspire me to greater heights. That's one of the cool things about diabetes..we get to wear t-shirts like that! Non D's don't.

Remember Me, part 1

This is military appreciation month.. go here for ideas on how you can show support. Some of us fight battles within ourselves, and some of us fight the external battles-its a good thing everyone doesn't have diabetes.(not sure which is more difficult, but I rather suspect the diabetes wars are) I wonder if people in other countries(like Israel, where military service is mandatory) who have type 1 can be in the military. Anyway,I am grateful for their sacrifices..and just wish that so many of them didn't have to pay the ultimate sacrifice.(that doesn't make me bitter about current administrations though)Freedom isn't free,and if someone I loved died defending this nation I'd have to honor that.(through the pain)

Golden Tickets

The night air, slightly nippy, had the pollination enrichment impact of a swarm of honeybees over a field of flowers. Pollen, pollen, everywhere, reeking havoc upon the sinus systems of the individuals who suffer from seasonal allergies.

"Please just open," the girl in front of us moans.

Ahh,Choo! I sneeze, grab a tissue from my pocket, and nod my agreement. 7 more minutes till we get to go in. Hope the tissue stash lasts that long.

"Ticket?" a store employee inquires.

"You bet!" (that is one of the reasons I'm here...)

7:30 pm. The doors spring open, and as we, the favored few dash through the entrance, the employees(lined up on both sides) cheer us madly. Very, very, bizarre. I've never been cheered like that before.(I could totally dig the celeb paparazzi life, it was nice)

First, we head for the stockpile of Wii's...obtain one, wander about the store, husband goes off to get us some drinks. I'm browsing in the video section when a women asks me if I'm staying and gives me her raffle ticket. Look at the stoves/ranges + get a cheaper one, but still nice.(ours is pretty old) Hang around store, until...

8:58 pm. "Will ticket number #20019006 please come up to the front, you've won a $50 gift card."

I start jumping up and down. "That's me!" (the ticket the women had given me, not like I ever win anything otherwise) Last drawing of the night. Pick up gift card, check out. Use the gift card I already had, save the one I just got.

Get home, and realize we'd failed to get the freebies that you were supposed to get as you walked out. Winning that gift card made me so excited I forgot about the other stuff.(I'm going to try to call about it today and see if I can still get it, since I have the ticket) Head for the Claritin, which (in addition to the adrenalin still pumpin') revs me up so much I don't get to sleep till 1 AM.What a night.

------------------------

And the results are in.. 35 minutes with the endo.(5/5/08)

Blood Pressure: 135/89 (I'm never that high???)
Thyroid antibodies: positive, I apperently have Hashimoto's but the levels are normal for now.(so I don't need any meds) Weird..because at diagnosis, the antibodies were negative but the levels were screwed up so I had to take thyroid medication for a year.
Cholesterol:(LDL) barely normal, but normal, thankfully
Kidneys: fine for another year, no protein
Hemoglobin A1c: 9.0. (up 0.5) Hasn't been that bad in awhile.

Give me a gold star, someone. I can fully explain the 9.0(had a run of 300-500's for over a week) but it is still embarrassing. Back to trying..weird thing is, numbers have been pretty great over the last week and endo didn't have to make many adjustments(just overnight).

Weight: Lost 6 pounds. Guess that's good.

Another Role Model

# May 1, 2008 8:27 pm US/Mountain

Jay Cutler Reveals He Has Type 1 Diabetes
CBS4 Broncos Insiders Sign Ups: Get Broncos Email Updates or text 4broncos to 66247 for free wireless text updates
Reporting
Vic Lombardi
DENVER (CBS4/AP) ―

Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler has been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, he told CBS4's Vic Lombardi Thursday.

Cutler's business manager Marty Garafalo confirmed the illness Thursday night to the Associated Press.

Cutler told CBS4 he dropped eight to ten of pounds towards the end of the 2007 season and that he was not throwing the ball with as much force as he had in the past.

"I"m just excited about this year now that we know what the problem was," Cutler said. "I'm not the first person to get it and I won't be the last person to get it."

CBS4 medical editor Dr. Dave Hnida said Cutler may actually see improvement in his play now that he has a diagnosis and is getting treatment.

"He should look for a long and healthy [life]," Hnida said. "New things are popping up every day and the disease will one day be curable. It's just a blessing he caught this one early and I bet his advice to you would be to get screened if you have any signs or symptoms. You don't need to be an NFL quarterback to beat diabetes." (Read more in Dr. Dave's Blog)

The 25-year-old Cutler found out about two weeks ago that he was diabetic and needed daily insulin injections, Garafalo told The Associated Press.

He said Cutler was managing his disease and "in no way is his football career jeopardized."

Some 21 million Americans have diabetes, meaning their bodies cannot properly turn blood sugar into energy. Either they don't produce enough insulin or don't use it correctly. With the Type 1 form, the body's immune system attacks insulin-producing pancreatic cells, so that patients require insulin injections to survive.

"It's something that he's dealing with and something a lot of other people have," Garafalo said. "Even though it's a serious condition, it's a condition that can be managed. That's the way he's treating it right now.

"Everything's fine," Garafalo continued. "His condition is fine."

Cutler, entering his third NFL season, threw for 3,497 yards and 20 touchdowns last season after supplanting Jake Plummer with five weeks left in the 2006 season.

The 6-foot-3, 233-pound Cutler was taken by the Broncos with the 11th overall pick of the 2006 draft, becoming the first Vanderbilt player taken in the first round since 1986.

Cutler is expected to hold a news conference Friday.

Three other notable NFL pros have played with Type 1 diabetes. Jay Leeuwenburg played for the University of Colorado Buffaloes and went on to have a 9-year NFL career. Wade Wilson, currently a quarterback coach for the Dallas Cowboys, played in the pros for 17 years. Cornerback Mike Echols of the Tennesse Titans also has the disease.

Other athletes who have competed with diabetes include Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Clarke, Charlotte Bobcats forward Adam Morrison, golfers Scott Verplank, Michelle McGann and Kelli Kuehne and Olympic swimmer Gary Hall Jr.

(in for the haul..its amazing how upbeat/positive he is just two weeks after diagnosis,when I'm sure it still feels like the end of the world!) it's nice to have role models, but I wouldn't wish anyone that I admire/respect get this disease. It's the toughest.
(my humble opinion, two weeks after my diagnosis I was doing my darnedest to prevent people from learning I had it)

Oysters on the Bay

There's a semi-annual event we like to attend, a seafood extravaganza of sorts.. located at a gazebo-type place next to (where else) the Chesapeake Bay. (The Bay is huge, so I trust I'm not giving away private info with that statement) Anyway,last weekend we show up, get our tickets, and start right in on the ham/beef sandwiches(sliced right there, I've never seen one of those slicers) on choice of rye/wheat bread, find our assigned table and socially mingle. Beer, tea, coke, diet coke, and water is free, and flows in abundance as the DJ blasts out canned dance music at the top of the decibel scale, strobe lights streak across the floor. It was impossible to hear oneself think, so the only recourse was to keep eating + drinking (until you either popped or passed out). Go back for more..some sort of sweet fish dish, mashed potatoes, green beans/carrots, chicken leg. By which time, I'm rapidly approaching satiety and haven't even yet gotten to the piece de' resistance, the oysters.(kind of the entire point of the event)

I get in line again.

"You look like an oyster fan!"

Hmm, interesting assumption. "I've had them approximately three times in my life, I'm not sure I'm at the "fan" stage yet."

"But you love 'em, right?"

"They're ok." (try to block out painful memories of the oyster soup of two years ago)

"How many?"

"Two."

"Plates? or pieces?" Laughs.

"Err, pieces. Oh ok, make that three, they look small. Thanks."















Blood sugar at 159 mg/dl. (a safe number, if these don't stay down.) Eat oyster #1, just like I remember it..like eating ketchup covered, crunchy-snot-dotted eggwhite. (the red stuff is not even ketchup..its salsa)Not even much taste, the sensation is what's annoying about it. By number three, I'm glad to have only gotten three. Guess I'm just not a raw food sort of person, I can't believe people pay top dollar for these.

Pic of the Bay:














Go back inside, finish up with cake(definatly stuffed to the gills at that point).
Around 9 pm we left..it was fun.(any later and the number of drunken individuals would probably have made it not so fun) Only it was odd that the oysters came from Louisiana, NOT the Chesapeake Bay. It wasn't exactly a genuine Bay party, but it was 95% of the way there.

Random Blogging Thoughts on the Smart Pix & Apidra

Several years ago,I participated in a research study..and the end result, was this. At that point, it definatly wasn't a plug-in device, it was a computer program on a PDA that you had to manually enter the info.(blood sugars, hypo treatment, how you felt symptom-wise on a 1-5 point scale) Took way too long,it was a pain in the butt. And it took an entire week to spit out a number.(up to 0-50?) Most of the time..I was on the "Extremely Variable" range, though by the end of the study I'd worked that down to a "Slightly variable" range. Seeing those numbers inspired me in a way that my a1c didn't, it was real, it was now, and there was a chance to make it better. Now I'm wondering...would getting such a device be worth it? of course I have five million meters (including Accucheck) so that's not a problem. The scientist in me likes trying out new toys..I may get one with part of the tax stimulus check.(based on my SS#, should be in my checking account by May 16) And I think I heard a rumor that Dexcom will soon be compatible with all the meters.
(someone correct me if I'm wrong) Not having to use a Ultra all the time will be more convenient.

Also..does anyone out there use Apidra,(or have tried it) and why did you switch/love/not love about it? No insulin is "fast" enough, if the effects can still be seen up to 4 hours post-bolus.(though Novolog has proved the best(out of Regular,Humalog,and Novolog) thus far. Novolog, has this lovely little tail that drops me in the final hour-half/hour and its annoying sometimes.(when one is high, it's ok but when you're normal and not expecting a drop it's not welcome)

And one final thought..don't the individuals in this article look kind of young to be practicing medicine? The doc,in particular,I'm not sure if he could even grow a beard.
(this is a not a commentary on how well they do their jobs,from the sounds of it, they are very caring and up-to-date on things) They just look, really,really young.

Date my Diabetes: A 24/7 proposition

Ever seen that new tv show Date my House? Prospective home buyers get the chance to "try" out the house, before purchasing it. Anyhow, on the show there are ten cardinal rules to "dating" a house.

Top 10 Rules for Dating a House

1. The first impression matters, so beautify your house before any prospective dates check it out.
2. Attractive houses that have put in a little extra effort always get more dates.
3. You can look and you CAN touch.
4. Don’t just judge on looks; get to know more of the house’s potential on your date.
5. Go ahead – find out what your friends really think of your date.
6. Shoes and shirt not required on your date!
7. Don’t keep your hands to yourself – check out my frame and my plumbing.
8. You should get intimate and spend the night with your date right away - make sure the house fulfills all of your needs.
9. Give your date a chance. You might just fall in love after you get to know the house.
10. Even if your date needs some improvements, it doesn’t have to be the end of the relationship!

Here are some rules for dating when diabetes is involved:

1. First impressions matter..so never delve into the horror stories on the first date.Act like you are in control.(even if you don't really feel like it)
2. The people with the matching pump cases always get the best dates.
3. You can look but you'd better ASK before you touch. Someone's life is at stake, and they don't want you adjusting their pump settings if you don't know what the heck you're doing.
4. Don't just judge on looks..insulin pumps aren't the most attractive items, you should get to know the person.
5. Go ahead, find out what your friends would do if you checked the other person's bg when they were lying on the floor unconscious. Scream? Pass out? You need to get some new friends..
6. Shoes are required on the date..proper footwear is something every D needs to keep in mind.
7. Don't keep your hands to yourself..cook them something.(healthy + delicious)
8. You should get intimate and learn about their toys(pump, meter) right away. It's a tremendous turn-on, for a D.
9. Give the (person with diabetes) another chance. Try to overlook the bright red spot of blood adorning the bottom of their shirt, accidents(gushers) happen.
10. Even if your diabetes care truly sucks, you're not out of the game yet. (as the book of Ecclesiastes says, better a live dog then a dead lion) Get back in there and give it another whiz.

I'm so glad I'm married and don't have go dating with diabetes all over again. That was a real trip, at times.

Now dating my endo...(trying them out) is a whole other story, that would (with one of them)have been a horror series right there.