12 Years of a New Normal

Today marks 12 years I've been living with a new type of normal.  I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes on  April 29, 2001.  Since then I've gotten married, moved SEVERAL times, had two kids, and done many, many, other things.  Diabetes isn't very predictable, never reliable, but for me, it's pretty normal.  It's weird that I've had it longer than I've been married, before my kids were ever born, and nearly a third of my lifetime.
But, I do, and I press forward- most of the time.  It isn't always easy, but I try to deal with it the best I can, roll with the punches, and I definitely try to live my life doing the things I'd do if I didn't have it.  I try not to let it hold me back.
The other day I was thinking about diabetes, and the fact that my kids don't know me as anything else than a mommy who has an insulin pump and checks her blood sugars.  So, I thought I'd grab my camera and ask my son a few questions about it.  Apparently I didn't have much memory in my camera, so the video cuts short before our interview actually ended but you get a good idea of it anyway.
Here it is.

The Low that Wouldn't Treat

My son woke up at 10:30pm sick with the stomach flu.  I was hoping he'd go back to sleep and not be sick again.  Boy, was I wrong.  He was sick every 30 minutes for the next several hours.  At around 1am I turned my early morning swim alarm off.  By 4:00 am he'd finally fallen asleep.  At 6 my husband got up for work and I was so alert with taking care of my son throughout the night that I was afraid I wouldn't be able to fall back to sleep.  I texted my sister and let her know I wouldn't be able to watch her kiddos.  Luckily, Grandpa was home from work so she didn't have to miss.

Gladly, I got a little more rest until almost 8 am when it was time to get Little Brother off to school.  I thought it would be great to sleep while he was at school so that The Boy and I could get a little more rest but by 9 am he was ready to be up for the day.  I jumped in the shower, didn't bother with hair, make-up, or regular clothing and started in on a long day of cleaning.

The smell of sick was so strong that I decided I'd better go ahead and clean and disinfect the entire house.  I've never cleaned so much of this house in a single day before.  I did several loads of laundry: all of the bedding, bath mats, towels, and cleaning rags.  I cleaned all three bathrooms, bedrooms, and all of the floors.  Man, this house feels big!

The Boy did okay but he was definitely sick!  I tried my best to keep him isolated and just sprayed Lysol on everything else.  Usually, when I clean like that, I'll have a massive low-blood sugar.  But, for some reason, it never came.  So I never stopped.  I worked on cleaning the house from about 11am until 7pm; seriously like all day almost without stopping.  I didn't feel much like eating and barely did all day.  I had a couple of apples, some toast, and a yogurt.  That was about it.  I'm not sure why my sugar never dropped but it did spike at one point.  Even after correcting that, I never fell.

But last night, my blood sugar made up for it.  I've had many a middle-of-the-night lows but never one like I had last night.  I desperately wanted a hot bath after "dinner" so I soaked for a little while and the Dexcom alerted me that I was low when I was just about ready to get out.  So I dressed and scooped myself a heaping 1 cup serving of ice cream and enjoyed it.  I was still falling when I started drifting off to sleep so I treated with 4 glucose tablets and fell asleep.  About 2 hours later I woke with another low.  Tested, treated, and reduced my basal to 80%.  Usually, that would send me high.  Nope!  Not this time.  An hour and a half later I woke with ANOTHER low, tested, treated, and reduced my basal again.  I was shocked when I woke to a flat-line at 100 mg/dl on the Dexcom screen.  By the time I ate breakfast my number was 85.  Such an odd series of events for me.

Why I Love Exercise (with Diabetes)

So, I'm a huge advocate for exercise.  I love it.  I haven't always done it, but when I'm consistently exercising, I feel so much better, and I really start craving it.  

Most of the time, I do cardiovascular exercise.  I love cardio.  I'm addicted to it.  I don't do as much weight training as I should, and I put it as a last priority when it comes to my workouts, just not my strong-point.  I love to swim.  Swimming is my most favorite of all the exercises.  It's the only thing I'll get out of bed early to go do.  I learned to swim at a very young age and was a competitive swimmer in High School.  I was never very good, but compared to most people my age now, I'm a great lap-swimmer.  I also really enjoy bike riding.  I started taking Spin classes in my college days and have picked it up again in the past year or so.    I've tried Zumba a time or two but I'm not really in to aerobics or dance classes so much.  I run, but only when I have to... like when zombies are chasing me or something.  No, I run jog because it's part of triathlon and I know that it's really good for me. I am absolutely terrible at running, horrendous.  

Exercise with diabetes can be tricky.  Sometimes very tricky.  But for the most part, it's an essential part of controlling blood sugars.  For me, I always notice a difference when I'm exercising and when I'm not, in my blood sugars. When taking insulin, you have to be careful about how you dose your insulin, and what carbohydrates you eat, but once you figure it out through trial and error, it works as an excellent way to control blood sugar levels and insulin resistance or sensitivity.  Here's a bit about what I do to make it all work.  

Swimming Method: 

My favorite time of day to exercise is morning.  I either go before breakfast at 5:30am or after breakfast at 9 o'clock.  When I go at 5:30, I swim.  My pump is not water-proof so, I obviously don't wear my pump during those workouts.  I test my sugar, take my thyroid meds and hit the door.  If my sugar is low, I drink a juice and head out.  If my sugar is high, I usually take a 60-75% correction and go.  If it's normal, I just go. I leave my meter on the deck and have some juice and tabs in my bag.  I've used them once.

Spinning/ Cycling Method: 

When I exercise at 9 I usually take a 50% bolus for my breakfast.  I do corrections as usual, usually.  If I'm low, I sometimes don't take any insulin for breakfast.  During my workout, I lower my basal.  Usually 50% for the duration of the workout works fine for me.  Some have said that you should lower your basal an hour to two hours before a workout, but for me, that isn't necessary.  I have learned that if we're doing intervals or anaerobic exercises during my spin class (intense cardio) I need to lower my basal to about 30% of normal or I will go low.  I can feel my lows coming.  I cannot recover my heart rate as well and I sometimes get nauseous.
Often I get off at the half-way and test.  I do wear a heart rate monitor during that class.  I wear it for training purposes, to increase my athleticism.  There was once that I had to leave a workout because my son stole the Capri sun out of my bag.  And there was another time that I was taking symilin and I dropped to 40 5 minutes after arriving at the gym.  So, yeah, it doesn't happen very often.  Occasionally, spinning and swimming can give me an adrenalin boost and pump my sugar UP and it's so freakin weird.  But, that's why you test.  My correction boluses work normally for me.  

Running Method: 
When I run, I usually wear my pump with a lowered basal (usually about 60%), but sometimes I take it off, because it's a pain to wear on my running shorts.

During competition, my sugars ALWAYS go high.  Must be the adrenalin.  

The Results:   

When I was training for my triathlon I would test my sugar before a workout, 100.  Take 50% bolus, eat.  Lower basal to 50%, exercise for up to 2 hours, test half-way, take in SOME carbs, and test afterward.  usually, I was right at 100.  nice!  It really does work.  I never used to think that I could exercise with a normal blood sugar, thinking that it was better to run a little higher before, but now that I've experimented with it enough, I realized that that method isn't necessary, or optimal.

So, for as far as benefits, I think you know that it's so good for your heart.  Your muscles, your overall health.  But for diabetes, there really isn't anything I've found that helps me control my sugars quite like exercise.  

There are those time when it sucks, of course, but hell, you get that WITHOUT exercise too.  

Happy St. Patrick's Day

There has been a lot on my mind lately about diabetes.  I've been going through some really great times, some pretty awful stuff, and trying to balance it all within a normal, active life.  I have been pretty terrible at blogging.  I'd like to change that.  I'd like to blog more.  But in reality, I know I probably won't blog to regularly.  I don't want to make excuses, but I do have a lot going on in my life right now and with a smart phone, I just don't find myself logged in to a computer too often.  I'm going to try.  There are a few posts I'm going to work on getting posted.  Stay tuned.
Thanks all!
Love,
jen

Happy St. Patrick's Day
yes, I eat cereal with sugar in it.  SHOCKER!

48 things about SugarFreeSweety

1. Were you named after anyone?

I was kind of named after my dad.  My middle name is a twist on his middle name, which he went by, and I gave my first born son a name which is a twist on that.  You follow? 

2. When was the last time you cried?

Probably a couple of days ago, I cry a lot.

3. Do you like your handwriting?

Yes.

4. What is your favorite lunch meat?

Turkey.  I could eat it every day!

5. Do you have kids?

2 boys. 3 if you count my husband.

6. If you were another person, would you be friends with you?

You bet!

7. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Moderately

8. Do you still have your tonsils?

Yes.

9. Would you bungee jump?

I did that once.  I will NEVER do it again, nor sky diving or any other free-falling type deal.

10. What is your favorite cereal?

Honey Bunches of Oats.  We love cereal at my house, we have an average of 8 boxes at any given time.  But I like the grown-up types. 

11. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?

No.  Is that a thing?

12. Do you think you are strong?

Yes.  Thank you, Diabetes.  And thank you, swimming. 

13. What is your favorite ice cream?

Mint chocolate chip, am I right, Mel?

14. What is the first thing you notice about people?

I’m not really sure.  I NEVER know people’s eye color or notice what they’re wearing.  Maybe facial expression?  I’m not sure. 

15. Red or pink?

blue

16. What is the least favorite thing about you?

My weight.  Mostly my belly… L

17. Who do you miss the most?

My sister-in-law.  She’s serving an LDS mission in Portugal.  Emails only. 

18. What is the technique that you need to work on the most?

Patience, that’s more of a virtue.  Standing up on my road bike. 

19. What color shoes are you wearing?

Just socks.  They’re blue.

20. What was the last thing you ate?

Chicken stir-fry.  Yum.  Also, go me for cooking!

21. What are you listening to right now?

Fox News

22. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?

Hmmm… blue/green or teal

23. Favorite smells?

Babies, citrus, and clean things.

24. How important are your political views to you?

Very.  Sorry if I offended you around election time. 

25. Mountain hideaway or beach house?

BEACH!!! All.  The.  Way. 

26. Favorite sports to watch?

Basketball, football, swimming

27. Hair color?

Dark brown

28. Eye color?

Brown

29. Do you wear contacts?

yup

30. Favorite food?

I like crunchy things, like crackers, and fruit, lots of fruit.

31. Scary movies or happy endings?

I hate scary movies.  But I’m more in to action than happy endings. 

32. Last movie you watched?

Zero Dark 30.  See?  Oh, that IS a happy ending though…

33. What color shirt are you wearing?

Gray, with silver dots that spell “diet coke”  So cute, got it for $4 in Vegas, wear it all the time. 

34. Summer or winter?

SUMMER

35. Favorite dessert?

Cookies and Ice Cream

36. Strength training or cardio?

CARDIO, CARDIO, CARDIO

37. Computer or television?

Both.  Usually at the same time. LOL

38. What book are you reading now?

Hmmm… suggestions?  

39. What is on your mouse pad?

Mouse pad?  Hello… that is SO 6 years ago!  The one on my desk has a picture of my 2 kids… it’s cute.

40. Favorite sound?

That click/fizz when you open a diet coke, the crunching of snow under your feet, and the ding of a text message.

41. Favorite genre of music?

Probably pop… I also like country, Latin, and alternative.

42. What is the farthest you have been from home?

The Dominican Republic.

43. Do you have a special talent?

I can say all 50 states in about 30 seconds or less, I know my alphabet backwards, and… I’m a REALLY great teacher! 

44. Where were you born?

San Diego, California

45. Where are you living now?

Salt Lake City, Utah

46. What color is your house?

Blue

47. What color is your car?

Red…. Wait a minute… my husband picked the color.

48. Do you like answering 48 questions?

Sure!  You should do it too!  

World Diabetes Day Postcard Exchange

I think the idea of the World Diabetes Day Postcard Exchange is so fantastic.  Thank you, Lee Ann for all of your hard work putting this all together.  I think your work is meaningful and important.

I'm a substitute teacher (currently, I taught full time for 8 years) and I knew I'd be teaching today. So, I thought it would be really fun if I had my class make some postcards for the exchange.  They loved it.  I gave them a mini lesson on diabetes, taught them about what the exchange was all about, and let them be creative for a little while.

They came up with some really great things!  Some of them, I REALLY love!

I'd like to send them to you.
I've already been paired up with 3 people, and I'm sending one to my partner from last year who has become someone I communicate with daily.  But, I still have about 20 more to give out.  If you'd like me to send you a postcard, please leave your name and address in the comments, email me at: sugarfreesweetie@gmail.com or DM me on twitter @sugarfreesweety.

Thanks!

Jen

American Association of Diabetes Educators (Utah Conference)

I had the amazing opportunity to attend the Utah Chapter of the American Association of Diabetes Educators conference in Salt Lake, Utah. It was a three day conference for nurses and doctors. I was asked to attend as a patient and live-blog the event on twitter. I used the hash tag #AADEUT if you’d like to see what was written you may search for it. I was also asked to write a summary on this blog at the conclusion of the conference. As part of attending, my entrance was paid for and my meals were provided. I’m a local so no transportation or boarding fees were covered.

So, now that the disclaimer is out of the way, let me tell you a little about the AADE conference. The conference was very well done with a full three days of speakers and classes. As I said before, this was an educator’s conference. I am not an educator, nor am I a nurse or training to be one. However, all of the information was very relevant to me as a diabetes patient and I learned a lot. In attendance, there were nurses, educators, dietitians, doctors, and pharmacists. They attended the conference to gain more knowledge about the work they do in their practice.

Given the length of the conference, and the amount of classes, I simply cannot write about it all. I’ve decided I’ll give my overall thoughts as well as talk about three specific speakers who I think this audience can most relate to.

The first was our keynote speaker, Ginger Vieira. Ginger spoke about motivating your patients by listening. By telling her own story, she was able to convince the educators in the room that it’s important to be a good listener and to motivate your patients by asking the correct kinds of questions. She shared her own story of diabetes and finding an endocrinologist who could understand the human side of diabetes. Sometimes blood sugars are out of control for no reason, or for really silly ones, like one autumn the apples in Vermont were really large. Ginger shared some feedback that she received on her Facebook page when she asked fellow patients with diabetes, “What advice do you have for your CDE?” I remember sending out this tweet: “So many great comments I'm unable to write them all. The mood in the room is thoughtful. These CDEs are REALLY listening! #AADEUT.” Ginger instructed that the visit with a CDE or Endo should not be a judgment zone. Patients feel a lot of negative emotions regarding their diabetes; they don’t need to be judged on top of it. The main point she made was that at CDE really needs to listen and then ask the right questions. This way, he or she is motivating their patients to make the changes necessary to improve their own health. Ginger is a life coach specifically working with people who have diabetes. She’s learned to ask patients what they want to achieve and works with them to guide them to success.

Her speech rang true to me in so many ways. I generally take really great care of my diabetes, but I can still relate to the statement; “Don’t treat us like idiots. I live with diabetes every day.” Her talk was really motivating and I know that the CDE’s in the room were able to see her point of view and understand it. I know that they were indeed motivated to be less judgmental and more helpful. Ginger can be found at: http://living-in-progress.com/ on twitter as @Ginger Vieira and by email at ginger@living-in-progress.com Check her out, it will be worth your while.

The second speech I’d like to highlight was given by Shara Bialo who was our concluding speaker of the conference. Shara spoke on Rising to the Emotional Challenge of Diabetes Care: The importance of getting personal. Her speech was incredible. She shared her own diabetes story, and it wasn’t an easy one. To summarize, she was diagnosed at the age of 8, took charge of her own care at a very young age, and was pretty well out of control until her early twenties. At that time, she met an amazing diabetes educator who changed her course and prepared her for the possibility of pregnancy. Like Ginger, Shara’s story was so amazing and really drove home the point that people with diabetes want to be healthy, live long, complication free lives, and sometimes, they just need help getting there. The amazing people who have chosen to work in the field of diabetes care are those who can help us get to those healthy lives, and stay there. Shara is on twitter as well at: @SharaSays

Lastly, I’d like to talk about a speech which really caught us all by surprise. I was really curious about his topic as I looked through my conference schedule. Dr. Lawrence Fisher’s speech was titled: “Diabetes Distress and Depression: Improving Motivation for Behavioral Change” He took a nice long time showing all sorts of research before the figurative light bulb in the room was turned on. We all saw where he was going with it. First, he made the point that clinical depression and diabetes distress are two totally different things. They are not related, and they do not have the same symptoms. He noted that most people have not been asked about distress related to, or brought on by their diabetes. The root of his presentation was this:

“We have become so focused on: delivering information, addressing plans for behavioral action, identifying barriers to behavior change, measuring behavior change that we have neglected to address adequately the very feelings, beliefs and expectations that actually drive the behavior we would like to see changed!!! So, the point is, get to the bottom of it. Address the feelings that are maybe even subconsciously driving the poor care behaviors.”

It was so good. Such a good speech, I really related to a lot of what he said. I know that I don’t have depression. But sometimes, I do feel distress over the care of my diabetes. It IS overwhelming; to have to take care of it 24/7/365 that sometimes it is just too much.

There were many other things that I learned throughout the conference. But the main thing I realized was that, as educators, they care about the work they do, and they care a great deal for the patients they serve. If you are interested, I suggest you go back in to twitter and read the #AADEUT feed for the dates of November 7, 8, and 9. You can also access all of the information including PowerPoint slides at: www.tinyurl.com/aadeutah2012 I hope you enjoyed reading my feed, and thank you so much for all of the retweets, comments, and interactions that I’ve received. In all, I had 17 new followers added throughout the course of the conference and retweets potentially reaching an audience of 10,159 twitter users. I had several interactions with fellow PWD throughout the conference via twitter and email.

 Thank you, Michelle Litchman @michlitch and David Winmill @dwinmill for inviting me and giving me this opportunity. I’ll just throw it out there that I’d be more than happy to do this again, for another event. I’d also be more than happy and totally willing to participate on any patient panels where my experience as a Type 1 diabetic, diagnosed as an adult would be beneficial.