March 3, 2011

Pre-Pregnant


Back in December I finally went to see a Diabetes Specialist upon request from my general Dr.  When I got there, Dr. Day checked out the information from my pump and my meter and said that it really looked like I needed to change my insulin rates.  So, he told me what to adjust them to and I did so.  Then he told me that I should look into getting the continuous glucose monitor.  I told him that my insurance didn't cover it.  He told me that I should talk to the nurse about it.  I then went in and talked to the nutritionalist for a bit before heading over to see the nurse.  One of the very first things she said was "So, Dr. Day says that you are single, but that could change at any time, right?"  I was like...uhm...not bloody likely.  She kept at it until I agreed that anything was possible and she basically had me married off in about a month and pregnant in two months to Mr. Right.  Then she told me that I was pre-pregnant!  What the?  Isn't any woman who is not pregant pre pregnant??  So she told me all the information about how I am of child bearing age and that if I were to get married and want to start a family that my A1C levels would have to be at a certain number for about 6 months.  So, she informed my insurance company that I was pre-pregnant and they approved for me to get the sensor!  I also had to pay some money to upgrade my pump to the newest and greatest, but it was totally worth it!  We waited to order the sensor until after the new year and then I was trained on it on January 28th and started wearing it that day.  I have heard that most people have a love/hate relationship with the sensor, but mine has mostly been a love/love relationship...other than when my pump has a weak signal and when I have to calibrate at times that are not convenient for me.  BUT, other than that, I have really enjoyed it!  I think that a lot of people want to rely on the sensor to tell you where your bloodsugar level is at all times,but it really is about a 15-20 minute delay in your sugar levels, but it shows me if my bloodsugar levels are trending high or low and that is what I really want to know in the first place.  Who cares if my blood sugar is 120 if it is trending high and will be 300 in 30 minutes?  The sensor also alarms me when it predicts that my bloodsugar levels are going high or going low or when it is high or low.  By my next Dr. appointment on Valentines Day, my A1C level was down more than a full point since my first appointment with the specialist in December.  My Dr. said that it was only going to get better!  I asked him a few questions and since then it has been pretty rare for my blood sugar level to go over 200, even after a spike from eating!  Ok, enough talking...I'll put a couple pictures up.  I tried to write this in the most basic diabetes terminology ever, but that is hard, so I hope most of you can understand what I am talking about!
Don't mind the gross tape...it just keeps it attached and from getting wet.

4 comments:

Tracy Mills said...

I'm going to start telling people that I am "pre-pregnant". ha ha

Summer said...

wow i learned so much

and amazing that we are all walking around pre-pregnant

you look GREAT in the first stages of your non pregnancy allison darling

YAY for new tech stuff that helps you =)

Laura and Jared said...

Well, if being "pre-pregnant" got you the good glucose monitor . . . here's to being "pre-pregnant"!

Tiffany Rumsey said...

What an informative post! So, what exactly do you have to do to calibrate your pump?