Waking up Low

I've had more morning lows than I care to count.

When I have a low in the middle of the night it usually wakes me up.  I don't know what it is that wakes me but I'm so grateful that my body recognizes the low enough to rouse consciousness and alert me to the situation.  I stumble around in the dark and get some glucose in then usually just crash back into bed.

When I wake up with a low I immediately have a headache.  Sometimes I get this strange feeling that a low is pulling me deeper into sleep.  That kind of scares me.  If I don't wake up... how low will my blood sugar drop?  Sometimes I get migraine like symptoms with a low.  Bright spots in my vision, bright spots when I close my eyes in the shower.  That makes the headache start to pound.

Morning lows put me in a bad mood.  After having kids, I've become less of a morning person anyway.  Add a low to the morning routine and I'm basically an angry bear in the morning.  Sigh.

Lows always suck.  But lows in the morning... those are the worst!

Insulin Pump Set Change Process

Been a long while since I've blogged.  There's a lot behind that and I'm not sure how to get back "in to" it except for to just jump right in.  I may have written this before but I just don't like to focus on my diabetes all of the time.  I'm glad that there are diabetes blogs out there for others to read should they do so but I don't always have the head space to make it MORE a part of my day than it already is.  I'd rather focus on living my life as the normal person that I feel I am.  That isn't to say that I don't focus on taking care of myself because I certainly spend plenty of effort doing that, I just don't care to blog about it (or even talk about it) constantly.  You won't see much about diabetes on my Facebook page or on my family blog.  There is MORE to ME than just diabetes, diabetes news, diabetes articles, diabetes research... I am so much more interesting than all of that.. and again I don't mean that in a negative way.

ANYWAY, I have realized recently that there are some people who are interested, possibly curious, about my life with diabetes.  And that, I don't mind sharing.  I have lived in my new location for just about a year and many of the people I now associate with, my friends, don't know a whole lot about diabetes like some of my friends whom I've been associated with longer have already learned from me about my condition.  So, for their benefit I've been posting little snippets on my Instagram and Facebook.  When the reaction is positive, I tend to be more willing to share more... a little.

SO... Here's what I've recently shared.  It's nothing new.  It's stuff people who wear insulin pumps already know, but for some of my new friends, they were fascinated. They had no idea I could chose where I want to put my site, that I could move it every three days, and that I could wear my pump in any place I want to.  I wear my insulin pump on the belt clip and apparently in the same location on my waistband that one of my friends thought it was permanently in that spot at about four o'clock on my belt.

Without further ado, I give you the process of changing out the insulin pump set in a step by step post.

Going from right to left, top to bottom here are the steps of changing out my site- or my pump.

1. (not pictured) I rewind my pump, remove my old site and throw away the tubing, reservoir, and infusion set.
2. (top left) fill the reservoir with enough insulin for three days (300mL for me)
3. (top middle) attach the reservoir to the tubing (the little blue thing that's on top of the insulin vial in photo 1 is thrown away
4. (top right) I insert the full reservoir (now attached to the tubing) into the pump... I should have taken a different photo.
5. (bottom left) Fill  or prime the tubing by holding down the ACT button.  In this photo you can see 2.6 units being primed into the tubing.  I hold that down until it reaches about 14 units and then I see drops coming out of the needle and no air bubbles in my tubing.  Sometimes it takes more units and sometimes it takes less.  I like the longer tubing ( I think it is 42 centimeters long or something) so it takes a few more units of insulin than the shorter tubing but that length just works better for me.
6. at this point I attach the insulin pump- see next photo

7. This needle goes into
8. my arm, hip, or stomach (let's be honest, I NEVER use tummy sites- bad experience)
9. I pull the needle (blue piece and attached metal needle) out and the plastic cannula 6mm long stays inside of my body for the next three days.


Just as a bonus here's a BRIEF explanation on  how pumping insulin works.

I use fast acting insulin only mine is called Humalog but there are a few other brands and names.  I have programmed my pump with the help of my doctors and logging my blood sugars to meet the needs of my body without food or exercise throughout the day.  This type of insulin delivery is called BASAL insulin.  It is like my baseline.  So hypothetically if I am fasting all day long this is the amount of insulin I need throughout the day and night.
The second way I give insulin is through BOLUSING or a BOLUS.  I give a bolus of one unit of insulin for every gram of carbohydrate I eat.  So, if I eat a meal of 30g. of carbohydrates I need a bolus of 4.2 units.
To take it a step further, my pump and my glucometer (blood tester) communicate with each other wirelessly (blue tooth) so at a meal time I will test my blood sugar and the value gets beamed to my pump.  Then I count the carbs in my meal and enter my bolus.  If my blood sugar is high I need one unit of insulin for every 25 points over 100 mg/dl that my sugar is.  So... if I were eating a meal of 30 carbs and my blood sugar was 125 I would need 5.2 units instead of 4.2.
Conversley, if my blood sugar is low then I need a little less insulin.  So if I tested and my blood sugar were like, 65 then I would take about 2.2 units instead of 4.2.

Wow!  It's a good thing I know how to do a little math!  But don't worry because really my insulin pump has all of my own calculations entered and it really does all of the math for me!  ;) Maybe I'll do some screen captures and photographs of insulin deliver for my next series of Instagram photos.

PS: If you're still way down here reading this entire post you can look up on this blog for my tag "a day in the life" and see the series of posts I did back in 2007 for a more comprehensive look at my daily diabetes routine.  Not much has changed even though it's been 7 years, diabetically speaking.

Busted Pump

Went to take my lunch bolus the other day when my pump just up and broke.  The most ironic thing about that was on my to-do list for that very day was to call Medtronic and see if I needed to replace my pump due to a crack in the battery chamber that had been there for over a month.  I was probably going to make that call about an hour after my pump just quit working on me.

So, I went to take my bolus for lunch and my pump wouldn't deliver the insulin.  This is the error I received.

The crumbs on the table give it a special touch, don't you think?

So, I did what any reasonable diabetic would, and commenced to FREAK out.  I rewound the pump and reloaded the reservoir (after disconnecting) and came upon the Motor Error again.  A good friend was helping me through the freak out and suggested I try new tubing and reservoir.  I did that and still got the same error.  I tried it with a new battery and still got the Motor Error.

I called Medtronic in Singapore after searching for their number.  Left a frantic voice mail and continued freaking out.  I was pretty well panicked but somewhere in the mix I took an injection to cover my lunch.  I called my husband and he was able to dial internationally and connect me with Medtronic in the US.  

Thank goodness, because I hadn't heard back from the "local office" at all.  

I went through with support at Medtronic and they confirmed that my pump was indeed busted.  They told me that my pump is covered under its' warranty until June of 2015 so they would send me a new pump.  THAT'S when I told them that I don't actually live in the United States and that I in fact live 9,000 miles away in Singapore.  The customer service representative wasn't really quite sure what she should do but she said they'd send me a pump through their global office and that "global" would be contacting me soon.  

I searched through my diabetes cabinets for my back up pump and couldn't find it.  I guess I gave it to Hurricane Sandy victims?  I can't remember.

With the help of a friend, I was able to calm down enough to figure out a reasonable number for a Lantus dose and take that (about an hour after my pump died).  I called my local doctor and left a voice mail for him to call me back so that I could make sure I'd taken that Lantus shot correctly, to let him know that I was taking injections, and to tell him that my pump was broken.

Busted Pump aftermath 

By the way, if your pump breaks, it's good to have a back up pump.  But if you don't have that, it's a wise idea to have some long-acting insulin on hand.  I'd also suggest having your basal rates, correction doses, and carbohydrate ratios written down.  Luckily, I had a Lantus pen in my refrigerator so I was able to switch over to Multiple Daily Injections (MDI) until a new pump arrived.   I didn't have Humalog (or anything similar) in pen form, which kind of sucks, but I had syringes and plenty of bottles of Humalog so for boluses and corrections, I just used that method.  

I'm not sure if it was just by coincidence or what but later that day, the Medtronic rep was at my doctors office and after I called them back a second time, the two of them returned my call.  My doc told me that I was taking my Lantus the way I was supposed to and that the Medtronic rep had a loaner pump I could use until my new pump came from the states.

Here's how I figured out how much Lantus I should take.  I added up all of my basal rates to find my daily basal total.  I took that amount divided by two every 12 hours.  Technically, you could take the whole thing in one shot every 24 hours but Lantus doesn't quite work as well as fast-acting insulin so if I only took an injection every 12 hours, then I could adjust that amount in 12 hours instead of waiting an entire day to do so.    

It wasn't until the end of the next day that the Singapore office received word that the US team had received a report on my pump being broken and that a new one was en-route.  They figured it would take about a week.  Something I hadn't realized before was that ALL Medtronic pumps come out of California.  Asian, European, Australian, and American pumps all come from the same place.  Huh.  Guess that just hadn't occurred to me before.  At least, I'm pretty sure that's how it works.  

Anyway, about a day and a half later, the Medtronic rep came to my house with a loaner pump.  I was sure relieved to go off of MDI even though it had only been about 36 hours.  I hooked that sucker up and was off and running.  

The next day, in a moment of clarity, I suddenly remembered where I'd stored my back-up pump.  I felt like an idiot for not remembering, but was still comforted by the fact that I did indeed have a back-up should I ever need it.  Since I was already using the loaner pump, I didn't bother getting my own back-up pump out. While thinking I had donated it to the Red Cross was a lovely idea, I'm glad I have a back up.  Especially now that I know a replacement is going to take a week to get here.

It was exactly one week to the day that my replacement pump arrived.  The rep was nice enough to come out to my house again and deliver it.  I gave him back the loaner pump and hooked in to my new pump.  It's been working well since then.

When I tweeted, posted on Facebook and Instagram a picture of my "Motor Error" I was really surprised to hear from many Medtronic users that they'd experienced the same thing.  One follower told me he's had SIX pumps with errors needing to be replaced.  With the exception of my 508 having an unfortunate run-in with the banister thus cracking the screen, I've never had to have a pump replaced until the Revel.  This is now my third Revel pump.  I'm really curious if they'll be a recall on this pump due to the motor error sometime in the near future, but I suppose time will tell.  

Part 2: New Doctor, lots of Tests

So my new Doc, Dr. Lee, decided to have me get a full panel of blood work.  I was to be fasting and have all of the blood in my body drained out for testing.  Not really, but this list was LONG!  I was actually really glad though, because I've been wondering about some things and feeling like others weren't properly treated.

Anywho, I got a taxi after 40 minutes of waiting in the rain and headed down to the medical center for labs.  Little did I know, the results were gonna be scarier than that dang needle.

The same day that I had my labs done, I went to my doctors office to have a CGM inserted for my blind trial.  Again, he wanted a blind trial so that I wouldn't be interacting with the CGM but rather to collect the data and make adjustments to my insulin regimen.

One week later, I went back to the doc to upload the CGM data, review that, and talk about my labs.

The week that I was wearing my CGM, my doc wanted me to be recording all of my blood sugars, meals, and insulin doses.  Introducing the mySugr app.  Very cool, highly recommend it!  It was a great little app on the iOs and I found it was easy to use and maybe even a little entertaining.  I logged everything really well for seven days and haven't used it since. What can I say?  I gave up on logging a LONG time ago!  Plus I log all of my calories on MyFitnessPal so that's just way too much time on logging!

I digress.  So, I went back to see Dr. Lee.  First we went over all of my labs.

Testosterone & Estrogen tests were normal: no PCOS (whew!)
Lipids (Cholesterol): bad (CRAP!)
Hashimotos (thyroid): still uncontrolled even though I take thyroid meds (SIGH)
Uric Acid (proteins in urine detecting kidney function): high (SHIT!)
Celiac (allergy to wheat): Positive (double SHIT!)

Then we went over my CGM and it was fine.

So, basically, my blood sugars are under control and I don't have PCOS but other than that I'm a complete mess.

This was REALLY HARD news for me to swallow.  Really.  Hard.

I'd seen a doctor about my thyroid and possibly having Celiac previously but I was never actually tested for Celaic.  I played around with gluten free for about a month and then I decided to move across the globe and basically forgot about all of it.

This time though, it's time to face the facts and realize what I already thought I knew.  Celiac. Positive.  And no more wheat for me! That SUCKS!

As for the Cholesterol, I'm just gonna go ahead and say that I had already had a high cholesterol come back and this one wasn't really a surprise.  In the states though, my beloved Dr. Day told me I could wait until I was 35 before starting on any medications.  Not this Doc.  He wants me on a low dose of Statins.  It took me almost a week to take that first pill.  So far no bad side effects so I think I"m good there.  And if it protects my heart, then I'll do what I gotta do.

Hashimotos.  or hypothyroid.  So I've got that.  I have been taking thyroid meds for quite some time and I knew they weren't enough.  I saw some whack job at the beginning of last summer and he wasn't doing it for me so I quit him and ignored it.  Until now.  I'm on double my dose from before and finally able to wake up in the morning!  Hooray for that!

As for the Uric Acid, I got to do the ever so enjoyable 24 hour urine collection.  I never heard back from them so I'm assuming that test was fine.  Geez!  I don't want to find out that my kidneys aren't working well.  Guess I gotta stay vigilant and do everything I know to keep this dreaded diabetes under control.

Celaic.  Damn. I can't believe I have Celaic.

Switching over to gluten free has been difficult.  I think that's compounded with the fact that I live in a freakin expensive country and it's hard to pay for regular groceries let alone switch it all up and eat a different way.  I had some really good go-tos back in the states when I tried this before.  Some of those things just aren't available here and I've resorted to eating eggs all the time.  Not really, but... really!  I am so bored and need some good gluten free meal ideas.  Particularly lunch.

I guess after a few months of focusing on the big move, and home-schooling my oldest due to some unforeseen circumstances, it is time to focus on me and my health again.  It's hard when you're a mom and have another life outside of taking care of diabetes 24/7.  But it's wake up calls like this that kick your butt into gear.

I didn't reach out to many in the DOC about all this, but it's time I put this story out there.

Update on my progress to follow.

New Country, New Doctor (part 1)

I've totally neglected this blog.  And at this point I'm sure no one is reading it.  I'm not sure if I should just delete it or... try to keep it up better.  I think the stories I tell (about Diabetes) are important and valuable for some to read and I really love it when someone has a question about something specific and I realize that I've written a nice long post on the topic.  The only problem I have with consistently blogging about diabetes is that I HAVE ANOTHER LIFE.  I mean, Diabetes is my life, but it's NOT my life and I don't want to spend ALL of my time talking about it, or writing about it.  So.  Yeah.  That's why I don't blog here much.


HOWEVER, there have been a few things recently that I should really put out there.

So most of you know that I recently moved to the other side of the world and now live in Asia; one degree above the equator, in the tropics, on a tiny little island, city, country called Singapore (no, not Japan or China or the Philippines).  Anyway, there are a lot of things about diabetes which were affected by my diabetes, or maybe it's the other way around.

First of all, I had to find a new doctor.  I asked some really great resources for help on referring me to a doctor here in Singapore.  Several people suggested this one doctor in particular so I figured he would be a good one.

I basically waited until the last minute to book an appointment.  I'm not sure why I was dragging my feet.  Maybe because I had plenty of other things to adjust to what with living in a new country or whatever, maybe it's because I REALLY like my old doctor and didn't want to face the fact that I am going to be seeing someone new for the next two or three years.  Dr. Day, if you retire before I get back, so help me!

Getting ready to go see my doctor.  I was so nervous! 

He was.  or... is, or whatever.

The first appointment I had with him went REALLY well.  I was very pleased with the experience and found him to be VERY thorough in getting to know me, my diabetes, and my health history.  He took my HbA1c and looked at my blood glucose data. He decided that he'd like more data and asked me to do a week on a blind CGM so that he could use the information to adjust my basal and bolus rates.  He also ordered a FULL panel of blood work.

I wasn't really pleased with my a1c but given the disruptions to my life the previous three months, I decided to give myself a break about it and aim for better next time.

Stay tuned for part two.

Making Friends

Met a new friend.  Decided to go on a hike with this friend.  The hike was intended to be a long one.  About 3 or 4 hours.  So, naturally, being diabetic, I had to think about ways to prepare for low blood sugars along the way.  My sugars were doing really well, staying within the normal ranges so I decided to lower my basals by 50% like I would during any exercise and carry three packages of mentos with me.  That's more than enough to cover any lows I may have had on the trail, as well as share some with the boys, and their new buddy.

It's really awkward, you know, meeting someone new and having to jump right in with, "so, I'm diabetic and..." But... I feel like, when doing this kind of activity, it's probably better to bring it up right away rather than, you know, try to explain while having a low or something.  

New friend has a kid.  This kid is basically a big fat brat.  He's asking for my stash of candy pretty much right away.  I tell friend that it is hard to have candy in front of kids when, you know, they're gonna want you to share, but that I always explain to my classes (substitute teacher) that they'd much rather NOT have the disease than share my candy, or juice, or orange or whatever it may be that I'm treating with.  And, I don't go out of my way to openly eat it in FRONT of the kids, but sometimes you have to, especially in my profession.  

So she says to me, "yeah, and I guess if they eat too much candy they can get diabetes too" UGH!  Really?  So I politely say, "no, not really, actually you're more prone to get it by genetic predisposition than by eating too much sugar"  "Oh, I guess I don't know that much about diabetes anyway".  

Right, I hadn't noticed.

Had tea with another friend and when I explained to her that I wear an insulin pump because I have diabetes her reaction was, "Oh, you have it THAT BAD?"  "yeah", I said.  

I mean, I don't expect everyone to know everything about diabetes, not by a long shot.  But since moving, I've noticed this kind of becoming an issue for me.  

I'm usually one to meet friends pretty easily.  I'm outgoing, friendly, talkative, and usually that ends in me rapidly making good friends with a lot of people. I'm usually really open about diabetes.  Don't mind telling poeple about it, don't mind people asking about it.  Until recently.  

I've had kind of a hard time adjusting to my new life here, in Asia, thousands and thousands of miles away from home.  For some reason, well, I know what the main ones are, but anyway, it's just been... difficult.  Add to that the fact that making new friends means they don't already know about diabetes like my friends back home already know about it... it's just added to the stress of it all.  

I mean, how do you just go up to a person and explain that you have this chronic condition?  It's so damned awkward.  I'd take the silly questions my OLD friends had over explaining it new for the first time any day.  

Traveling with Diabetes

Below are my experiences in traveling with Diabetes. Recently, I moved to Singapore from the United States. I was in four air ports around the world. I have taken many flights previous to this journey whilst having diabetes. I've also been on road trips and have blogged about my pumping vacation last summer for a trip to the beach here: http://sugarfreesweety.blogspot.sg/2012/07/pump-vacation.html

Disclosure: I am not a doctor nor a TSA agent. These experiences are my own and as always, your diabetes may vary.

I've got SLC International Airport down to a science when it comes to wearing an insulin pump. But, I had never taken a year's worth of insulin across the world with me. So, I was a little bit worried about how that would all play out but it turned out fine.

I looked it up on the TSA website as well as asked them on twitter (and they responded!) about how to travel with diabetes supplies.  There I found out that I could indeed take a year's worth of insulin as well as the ice packs necessary to keep it cool on the 21 hour journey.  The website just said that I had to declare my insulin before putting it through.  Easy enough, I thought!

As I approached the security check, I told them that I had insulin and ice inside my bag.  The TSA agent asked that I separate them.  I pulled out both my insulin and my ice and put them in the totes provided and sent them through security.  I hid my pump under my shorts and easily walked through security. No issues and on to boarding.

The reason I choose to hide my pump is purely from experience.  The insulin pump has NEVER set off the alarm.  But, I've been leery of taking it through before, thinking it would set off the alarm.  A couple of times, while traveling through SLC int. I showed them my pump, told them what it was, and then proceeded through the metal detector.  Because I had shown them my pump, and NOT because it set off the alarm, I got the pat down.  As security measures increased, and full-body scanners, and full body pat downs came around, this process also involved an extensive full-body pat down.  Personally, I do not think a simple insulin pump warrants such treatment.  It is a medical device, OBVIOUSLY  a medical device.  It is also VERY COMMONLY worn and used by millions of diabetics in the United States. Therefore, I see no reason why a pat-down is necessary.  Especially when it doesn't set off the alarms.  The entire process would make me more and more frustrated and I just HATED the entire process. The ONLY positive side was that my husband had to deal with the kids, their shoes, coats, bags, the stroller, and whatever else our family of four was traveling with... for just a few minutes, while I was held up in security.  He usually had it under control by the time I finished and all I had to do was put on my shoes and follow them to the gate.

So.  One time when traveling to see the in-laws, I decided to hide my pump by wearing it clipped to my underwear (I ALWAYS wear my insulin pump with the belt clip) underneath my jeans.  No issues.  Whatsoever!  so... that's what I've done from now on!

But.. I digress. In San Francisco, we didn't have a lot of time.  So little, in fact, that unbeknownst to us, our bags didn't make it.  Security at the International gate at SFO was basically a nightmare.  It was HOT and extremely crowded.  The line was moving very slowly.  If we hadn't had business class priority, we probably would have missed our flight... maybe.  I followed the same procedure I had done in SLC but this time I made the mistake of ASKING the TSA agent whether or not I should separate my ice from my insulin inside of my carry on.  He agent told me that I did NOT need to do so.  And... of course, my bag was held up.  The boys' bags were also held up for some reason which they decided NOT to tell us about.  Damn those crayons!  ha ha ha.  Anyway, The woman on the x-ray side started chewing me out about not separating my ice from my insulin and I got right up in her face.  I was NOT losing my cool, but very firmly, and calmly, I said to her, "THAT is why I specifically asked about it.  I asked him, (pointing), right there, if I should separate my ice and insulin inside my bag before I sent it through the belt because they told me to do so in Salt Lake City and he told me that I did not."  "And that is why I ASKED SPECIFICALLY".
"Well," she responded "you should always do that."
"Well, that's why I asked" I told her again.
Eventually, our bags were all cleared through security and we were on to the gate at Singapore Airlines.

Our layover in Korea wasn't really long.  I think we had about an hour.  It was like 4:00 am our time and we all did very well with being awake at that time.  I have to give it up to the Koreans, their Incheon airport was fantastic.  Security could not have been easier.  It was 6:00 pm local time and there was no line whatsoever.  A nice man helped us all put our belongings into bins and carefully guided us though security.  No issues with the insulin, ice, or any other bags!  Quick, easy and so friendly.

By the time we made it to Singapore, we'd been en route for 21 hours.  My blood sugars did very well the whole time.  I did check them quite frequently, as recommended.  My insulin was still cold by the time we made it to our hotel and everything arrived safely... except for our bags.  ALWAYS carry on your diabetes supplies, even if you are taking a year's worth!

Product Review: iBGStar

So I did a really dumb thing and bought a meter without doing proper research; because of that, I thought I'd do a product review so that you can hear what I think.

The Positives: 

The meter was really cheap.  I've seen some of my "friends" post pictures of their blood glucose readings from their iBG Star meters and I thought it looked like a nice meter.  I found a really good deal on Walgreens and ordered it.  I think the meter cost me $5, shipping included!  Score.

I just discovered that I can use the meter WITHOUT  plugging it into your phone.  So, it is a very, very small meter.  But don't forget the test strip vial and your favorite lancet delivery device AKA poker.

I did like the log book.  That is easy to use, easy to read, and easy to make changes in my insulin and basal adjustments.  I really like that.  The graphs, logs, and statistics are all very easy to read and use.  I can email my data to my HCP if he even has an email address and then we can use that at our appointment.

It's a crowd pleaser.  Everyone loves that I can plug my meter into my iPhone and test my blood sugar.  And it does a really fun graphic while it's processing.

The Negatives: 

The strips are VERY expensive.  I called my Endo and asked one of the nurses to call in an Rx for strips to my pharmacy company.  Another mistake I made was that I did not look in to the price of said strips.  I was charged $318.00 for 90 days worth of strips.  My usual co-pay for 90 days (One Touch Ultra Link) is $50.  So, wow.  I was kind of shocked by that.  Once I'd received the strips, I could not return them.  So I was stuck using these expensive strips, hopefully making them last as long as possible.

I cannot use a case of any kind on my phone. I use the iPhone 4s.  It is really not a good thing to walk around with my case off all of the time but this is what I've resorted to due to the fact that I don't want to be taking my case off an on 6-10 times daily.  I know there's a case which keeps the meter plugged in all of the time but I OFTEN plug my phone onto a radio and listen to music in my home, office, and wherever I'm at.  So.. yeah.  Don't like that.

I really don't like haivng to charge a meter.  Finding a battery, even a weird battery, every, what? 5 years? is FINE BY ME.  But having to plug the meter in to charge, ANNOYING!

I don't like how long the meter takes.  It technically only takes about 5 seconds to register a blood glucose, but you have to plug in the meter to the bottom of your phone (or iPod if anyone is still using one of those) and wait.  It has to register the clock, register your last reading, and THEN it's ready for a test.
The graphic on it is pretty cool, but HONESTLY, I do not need a meter to do that.  I don't even need a meter to be in COLOR.  Just tell me the number.

There is no pump sync.  What a pain in the butt.  I hate having to remember the sugar, and scroll up or down to tell my pump what my reading was.  Meters which sync to pumps are MUCH better.  I know this may sound totally snob-ish but Diabetes is a big enough pain, devices which make it easier, I love you!

Errors.  I've had more errors with this meter than with ANY OTHER METER I'VE EVER USED.  When you're paying more for strips than you have for any others, that's just a real, big drawback.

The last thing is Apple's fault.  The meter will not work with the new generation of iPhones and iPods due to the different port they've put on their new devices.  iBG Star will have to go through the FDA again to get approval on a meter with the new port.  That's really lame, Apple.

Overall, I think the meter is too much of a gadgety gimmick.  It's not a practical meter at all.  The cost is outrageous and I'll be happy when I run out of strips so I can go back to my old meter.

Sorry for such a negative post.  If someone had been honest like this about the meter before I bought mine (totally my fault because I didn't read any reviews) then I definitely wouldn't have purchased it.

adjusting to a new schedule

Keeping good control over diabetes means making frequent adjustments.  A friend of mine, and diabetes podcaster recently asked the question; "How often do you make changes to your basal rates?"  This questions means making adjustments to the amount of insulin your body receives throughout the day.  Basal rates are the amount of insulin your body requires at different times in a 24 hour period.  Each time I visit my Endochronologist, like I did about 2 weeks ago, we look at my blood sugars, analyze my A1c, and examine my basal rates.  Usually, we make some little adjustments.  My doctor has taught me that there needs to be a minimum of a 10% change in basal rate for an effect to take place.  I see my doctor every 3 months.  Occasionally we don't make any changes, most of the time however, we do.  I rarely make adjustments to my carbohydrate ratio (the amount of insulin I take for the amount of carbohydrates I consume) but in the beginning I made those changes more frequently.  I also made carb ratio changes when I was pregnant because EVERYTHING changes and gets really wacky when you're pregnant and diabetic.

Anyway, recently, my weekend schedule has changed.  I wouldn't say that it has changed dramatically but it has changed enough for me to notice a pattern of change- for the worse.  So, I've got to decide what I'm going to do to make some changes and adjust to this new change.

Each year, our church schedule changes.  We attend church for a three hour block of time.  Each "ward" or congregation, is assigned a different start time so that the buildings may be shared by more than one ward.  This year, its our turn to attend the 12:30-3:30 block.  AND I HATE IT!  I absolutely detest this schedule.  It's not good for me, and it's not good for anyone else in my family.  Last year we were lucky enough to attend the 9-12 block.  Yeah, it's nice to sleep in on Sundays but I'd much rather be finished with church by noon.  Also, when do you eat?  Either you sleep in and eat a big, late breakfast; or you wake up early and eat two small meals before attending church.  This is what has been really whacking out my blood sugars.  In the 5 weeks we've attended church in 2012, I've had ONE Sunday where my sugars were under control.  The other weeks, I've had one issue or another.  I've been high, I've been low, I've been quickly rising and falling fast.  Ugh.  I cannot figure out this schedule.

Yesterday, it finally clicked that something had been off for five straight weeks, each and every Sunday.  Yesterday I took the day to sleep in.  I slept until 9:00 am like a total slob (for a mom) and didn't eat breakfast until 9:50am.  At that time, my blood sugar had dropped to 59.  I didn't even feel it.  I almost always feel lows. Not this one.  So I ate.  And I ate.  And I probably did eat too much.  And I didn't take any insulin.  So, 2 hours later, my sugar was like 280.  Then I got to take my naked and free shower (where you aren't wearing a pump site or sensor) and put in a new site after my shower.  I bolused and figured I'd come right on down.  Only no.  1 hour after my bolus I checked my sugar and it was 316.  I felt super dizzy.  And super thirsty.  And it just happened to be the first week of the month which means that everyone is fasting.  So I'm taking down at the water fountain when all the adults around me are fasting from food and drink, including water, for 24 hours.  Ugh.  But you do what you have to to take care of yourself, right?
Eventually my sugar came down and I spent the rest of the day fighting lows.  Which leads me to tomorrow's post.

So, let me get to the point here, I know I've got to make a change.  And I hope it will be an easy one.  I just need to wake up earlier.  No more enjoying the ONE BENEFIT of this stupid late schedule, I've got to get up at my regular time and eat breakfast at my regular time.  As for lunch, I don't know.  I think I'll just go for a little carbohydrate and protein combo snack before church and maybe another portion when I get home and then have dinner at the regular time.  That should do it.

I'll let you know how it goes.

10 Facts about Diabetes

Having to test my blood sugar 4-10 times a day is a real pain.

Having to change my site every three days is annoying.

When the batteries in my pump die, replacing them can be inconvenient.

Dealing with the symptoms of low blood sugars is frustrating.

Hyperglycemia side-effects are nauseating and can be life threatening.

However, the thing that bothers me most about having diabetes is others' ignorance about it. AND, the stupid things they say to us.

I've had people ask me questions about my pump, my blood sugars, my insulin, and even my diet. Most of the time people are just trying to find out more, they're curious, and I REALLY don't mind telling them more about it. But when people throw out their opinion when they're uneducated on the topic, that's when I get mad. Maybe mad isn't the right word. Just frustrated or annoyed.

Probably the worst question I've received is one that I hear quite frequently, "Can you eat that?" or, "Are you allowed to have that?" or, "Should you eat this?"

I've also heard, "You're a diabetic, does that mean you can't have any sugar?"

"I could NEVER give myself a shot"

"Do you always wear your pump?"

"Did you bring your food supply?" (this person was referring to my pump)

"Do you need your medicine?" (when I'm low)

"Do you need something to eat?" (when I'm high)

"Don't you think you'll be able to get rid of your diabetes since you're exercising more?"

"You're not too fat for a diabetic"

"You have diabetes? But you're not overweight."

There are some SIMPLE things that I wish ALL people knew about diabetes. I'll be the first to admit that I knew very little about diabetes before I was diagnosed. I also know that for the most part, people are just curious and that their comments aren't meant to be malicious in any way. However, it's pretty much NEVER socially acceptable to talk about another persons weight. Or diet. And if you don't know the way something works, don't be afraid to ASK a question so that you CAN understand.

1. Your pancreas is the organ in your body that makes insulin which controls the blood sugar levels in your body. A normal pancreas delivers insulin when you need it, and does not when you do not need it.

2. Diabetes means you have too much sugar in your blood- Hyperglycemia.

3. Usually a diabetic's blood sugars are too high. To bring them down, they must take their medication; either insulin or pills.

4. Sometimes a diabetic's blood sugars are too low. To bring them up, they must take in glucose by way of eating or drinking something with sugar in it.

5. Neither low blood sugars or high blood sugars are good. Lows can make a person pass out if extreme. Highs are more dangerous in the long run and cause complications like heart disease.

6. There are 2 different kinds of diabetes.

-Type 1: USED to be referred to as juvenile or childhood diabetes. This type of diabetes means that the person's pancreas no longer works and that to STAY ALIVE they must inject insulin; either through a syringe or a pump.

- Type 2: USED to be called Adult Onset diabetes. This type of diabetes means that the insulin your body makes is no longer effective, or as effective as it should be. This type is usually treated with oral medication but some patients also inject insulin.

7. Adults can be diagnosed as Type 1.

8. Children can be diagnosed as Type 2.

9. Currently, there is no cure for diabetes.

10. You could give yourself shots if you had to do so to survive.

I know this post sounds negative, and I'm sorry for that. I'm really not angry or anything, my purpose is really to get more information out about diabetes.

Roller coaster

Posted originally on April 15, 2011

From time to time, a good, in-control diabetic, can have a unexplained roller coaster of blood sugars. This week I experienced one that lasted much longer and had different attributes than any other I've experienced. It was so strange that I just have to blog about it.

This is my roller coaster. For those who aren't diabetic or familiar with normal numbers, I should be right around 100. For me, anything in the 80-140 range is pretty normal- and considered good blood sugars. (Narrative below)

date time sugar
4-10 9:37 am 305
4-10 12:12pm 73
4-10 4:56 pm 199
4-10 9:52 pm 346
4-11 7:52 am 360
4-11 10:57 am 166
4-11 12:40 pm 313 changed my site
4-11 2:34 pm 260
4-11 3:35 pm 231
4-11 4:57 pm 176
4-11 10:07 pm 197
4-12 7:43 am 294
4-12 11:23 am 373 changed bottle of insulin, kept same site
4-12 1:47 pm 322
4-12 2:50 pm 238
4-12 4:21 pm 213
felt quite low at dinner, didn't check but guessed it was in the 50's
4-12 8:28 pm 54
4-12 10:59 pm 57
4-13 2:23 am 48
4-13 5:48 am 170 Husband woke me up to check on me and tell me to test my sugar.
4-13 11:21 am 143

I began this roller coaster on Sunday morning. We have church at 9:00 am and I ate breakfast without testing beforehand, (that was my first error) bolused, and checked my sugar and hour and a half after breakfast as I usually would check my sugar. I felt kind of high and wasn't real surprised at the 305. I took my insulin for the high and drank a little water out of the drinking fountain. By the time we'd made it home from church (three hours later), I was at 73. I ate lunch and probably didn't take too much insulin for it. At dinner I was 199. My mom made a nice spice cake (second mistake) that sent my sugars way high. 346 at bed time, I took my insulin for that and expected to wake up with a normal sugar. Not so.

By morning I was 360, normal after breakfast, high again at lunch and changed my site after lunchtime. This is usually where my blood sugars would even out and start getting normal again. This time, I went another 24 hours with high blood sugars.

I decided that my insulin bottle must be bad and took out a new bottle, and switched out my reservoir. I didn't change my site though because it had gone in really well and I was happy with the way it was feeling. I think I changed my basals up a bit but I'm not sure. That sort of did the trick but it took quite a while. When I changed my insulin, my sugars came down and by that night, I was having a lot of lows. Usually when I have a lot of lows I'll have them between highs or regulars. This time, I had 4 low blood sugars in a row. After the first one, I ate. After the second one, I had some juice and went to bed. I also lowered my insulin to 75% and changed my basals back. After the third one, I just couldn't believe it! I woke up sweating and just astonished at the 48 on the screen. I drank a bunch of orange juice and ate a piece of bread too. I wanted to let Husband know that I wasn't doing well but I didn't want to wake him up, so I sent him a message on Twitter and asked him to check on me in the morning. When he did, I had finally begun my climb back into the normal range and have pretty well maintained that throughout the day today. What a mess! It is so hard on my body to go through these blood sugar swings.

Out of Control

Post originally written on October 11, 2008

So my blood sugars have gotten a bit out of control lately. Waking up high several mornings in a row- random high and low sugars. I decided it was time to put the CGM on for a while. On Wednesday of this week my sugars went like this:

6 am: 130 - okay normal

12 pm: 80- wonderful

4 pm: 256- arg

9 pm: 405! what?!

So I had my sensor in that day but it ended at lunch and I didn't feel like starting it up again because it had kept me up in the night for 2 nights in a row beeping every 40 minutes to tell me my sugar was high- 305!

I was hoping to sleep well this night so I was just going to start it back up in the morning. Well, apparently that was a bad idea because when I changed my site around 5pm I guess that's what gave me the dramatic high. So I bloused 9.5 units and then changed my site. When I pulled it out it looked fine- so I'm sure that's just a wasted site- arg. I've been having this problem when I change to a new site that about 2 or 3 hours later I'll be up in the 300's. So I started doing more sites in my tummy instead of in my hips like I always do thinking that those areas of my body might have too much scar tissue or something like that. But, this site was also in my tummy so that shouldn't have been the case- who knows!

I just hate it when I have a high blood sugar and its just 10 times worse when I can't quite figure out what it was that made my sugar go up so stinking high.

The last couple of days have been so much better. The graph on my pump for the last 24 hours has nearly been a straight line. I think I'll probably just wear this sensor until it dies and then evaluate my settings further and move on with those.

HI

Post originally written on May 23, 2008

So last night was pretty scary as it goes for diabetes. I had the highest high I've ever had since the day I was diagnosed (actually it was higher last night). So here were the events leading up to this high.

I hadn't gotten much rest on Wednesday night because baby decided he wanted to stay up all night long. I started feeling pretty tired and kinda ill. So I laid down and then I decided I'd get ready for bed. I checked my sugar and it read "HI".

That's bad.

So I checked again and got the same reading. Well, since I didn't exactly know how high "hi" was, I decided to try to bolus about 9 units. I guzzled a bunch of water down and went back to bed. While lying there, I checked on my site and realized that it had completely come out. So, I wasn't getting any insulin. That's bad on a normal night, but this particular night I had decided to get a mango drink at Taco Bell to go with my dinner (free coupons online btw). I usually NEVER eat more than 70 carbs at any given meal, but last night I was feeling saucy or, rather sugary, and so I had 120 carb meal.

Anyway, I decided I'd better pull out my better meter and test to see if it would give me a number. It read 578!!! Yeah, that's the highest I've ever been. So, I changed my site and let my pump do the math, I needed to take 15 units of insulin. So I bloused 5 and took a 10 unit shot. I then checked my sugar every half hour for the first two hours. I decided that after it had only come down 6 points in the first hour that I should take another 5 unit shot.

Then I tested my keytones and they were luckily negative. My blood sugar had just dramatically risen because of the meal and no insulin. So I drank some more water and went to bed.

I checked my sugar ever hour or two until it finally came down to about 250. I decided it would be okay to take more insulin at that time and bloused 5 more units. By 5:45am when baby woke up to eat again I was at 48.

Husband brought me some apple juice and my sugars were surprisingly normal today.

Gave us quite a fright last night though. I'm just glad I wasn't feeling really ill throughout the whole thing, and I did get SOME sleep.