The Last Post - 30 Health Posts in 30 Days

Wow.  I'm impressed that I actually was able to do 30 post in 30 days.  Well, I guess I ended up doing 31 posts when we found out about Kyra.  I don't think that I have ever blogged this much or even talked about diabetes this much in such a concentrated time in my entire life!  I really appreciate all the support that has been given in writing all these things.  I'm just actually impressed that anyone read all of that writing.  Geez.  I think that it was really good for me to get it all out.  I'm not one to talk about these things so it was kinda therapeutic to express the good, the bad and the ugly with what I have to deal with all the time.  In my blogging, I have also been able to read other diabetic's blogs and see that my sister and I aren't the only ones who feel this way.  That you can take a time out for a pity party and go back to life as normal again.  I've had times when things were rough and I was told to just suck it up, so seeing that every diabetic has their ups and downs has been very nice.

The night Kyra was diagnosed I emailed Ashlee and Carrie to let them know what was happening.  Their responses were words of comfort and I appreciate their friendship.  Carrie mentioned something that I thought was interesting as well.  She said, " What I think is interesting is that you've been doing your awesome 30 blog posts in 30 days all about diabetes and your experiences... not a coincidence, I think!"  I agree.  The Lord has his hand in everything and we just need to trust what he has in store for us.  If Lisa and I were both given diabetes in part to be a support to Kyra, then it has all been worth it and all plays into having that faith that can get us through any trial in life, to make us the people we are, to help us return back to our Heavenly Father.

Thanks for taking the time to read my rantings about diabetes.  I hope that something was learned!

Oh, and Merry Christmas from me and my sisters! ;)

This post was written as part of NHBPM – 30 health posts in 30 days: http://bit.ly/vU0g9J

Complications - 30 Health Posts in 30 Days

I guess I haven't really talked about the complications of having diabetes...probably my least favorite subject in the world, but here it goes!

Diabetes is silent, slowly killing or destroying.  You could have horrible blood sugars and not really feel anything bad just yet.  It isn't until down the road that these complications start to manifest themselves.

Here is a list of complications that come with diabetes (This list was taken directly off of the American Diabetes Association website...my comments are in red):

Eye Complications

Keep your risk of glaucoma, cataracts and other eye problems low with regular checkups.  (AKA going blind)

Foot Complications

Learn about neuropathy (which can cause numbness in the feet) as well as other complications.  (AKA amputations)

Skin Complications

Stay alert for symptoms of skin infections and other skin disorders common in people with diabetes.

ABCs of Heart Disease

Know your ABCs so you can maintain a healthy heart and manage your diabetes.

High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)

High blood pressure—also called hypertension—raises your risk for heart attack, stroke, eye problems, and kidney disease.

Mental Health

Deal with natural emotions like sadness, anger and denial before they lead to depression.  (I read somewhere the other day that diabetics are 50% more likely to have depression and 20% more likely to have anxiety.)

Diabetes and Hearing Loss

Diabetes and hearing loss are two of America's most widespread health concerns.

Diabetes and Oral Health Problems

Research shows that there is an increased prevalence of gum disease among those with diabetes.

Gastroparesis

Get treatment to help you manage gastroparesis, so that you can be as healthy and comfortable as possible.

Ketoacidosis (DKA)

Know the warning signs of DKA and check urine for ketones, especially when you're sick.

Neuropathy (Nerve Damage)

Nerve damage from diabetes called diabetic neuropathy can lead to many kinds of problems.

Hyperosmolar Hyperglycemic Nonketotic Syndrome (HHNS)

Blood sugar levels rise dangerously high in HHNS, a rare and serious condition.

Kidney Disease (Nephropathy)

Keep your diabetes and blood pressure under control to lower the chance of getting kidney disease.

Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD)

Talk to your doctor if you have mild leg pain, troubling walking, tingling in the legs, or other symptoms of PAD.

Stroke

Maintain target levels for blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol to reduce your risk of stroke.

Stress

Relax! Making lifestyle changes can help reduce mental stress and manage your blood glucose levels.

I think that that is more that enough information to let anyone know that diabetes just takes everything that you could have and makes it worse.  Awesome.  But the better you take care of yourself then it is less likely to have these issues, although it doesn't mean you are exempt.  Word to the wise, don't ever try to google "diabetes foot" in images.  Gross.

This post was written as part of NHBPM – 30 health posts in 30 days: http://bit.ly/vU0g9J

Crappy Curve Ball - 31 Health Posts in 30 Days

 The picture below is of my oldest niece, Kyra.  The leg you can see in the lower right hand corner is my oldest sister, Lisa.  

Yesterday Kyra was hanging out at a friend's house.  This friend had been diagnosed with diabetes about a year ago.  Before they ate their lunch, they decided to test both of their blood sugar levels.  373 was the number that came up for Kyra.  Lisa made an appointment for her to go to the doctor the next day.  However, after lunch (and drinking a non diet soda) it got up to 492 and then to 539.  Lisa went and picked her up they headed to the Urgent Care.

 They were there for a bit before heading over to the hospital.  They were supposed to stay in the hospital for a few days, but since Lisa is diabetic, they decided that she could help Kyra with everything and they left the hospital this afternoon.

This sucks.  I'm more upset about this than when I was diagnosed...granted...I know what she is getting into.  At least she has much more of an idea than I did.  She's one lucky girl to have so many people around her who care, and not only who care but people who know what she is going through.  Now I know what it feels like to wish that you could take everything away from one person and take it on yourself instead.  But she is a brave girl.  Just another diabetic curve ball in our family's life.  

 Kyra's diabetes starting kit...that's a lot of stuff!

This post was written as part of NHBPM – 30 health posts in 30 days: http://bit.ly/vU0g9J

Bolus Vs. Basal - 30 Health Posts in 30 Days

I still get confused with the two words bolus and basal.  Every time someone says one of those words I have to stop and remember which one is which.  Giving yourself a bolus is when you eat something and you have to give yourself some insulin to take care of it, or when you need to make a correction to your blood sugar level because you are too high, then you bolus (take more insulin).  Each person has a different ratio for this.  When I need to bring my blood sugar level down, I take one unit of insulin for every 30 points I want to lower my blood sugar.  When I eat, I take 1 unit of insulin for every 8 carbs I eat.  There is a lot of math going on here, but thank goodness for pumps that can figure it out for you when you program your ratios into the pump!!!

A person's blood sugar level normally just increases throughout the day, so since my pancreas doesn't work, I have to have a steady stream of insulin going into me at all times.  This is also different for each person AND for each person it is a different amount during different times of the day.  Like during the night my pump delivers  about one unit of insulin over the time period of an hour, for about 8 hours, then during the morning hours there is a different amount of insulin going in for a few hours and then the rest of the day is a different amount again.  This can get tricky because if you change your schedule or something is going on with your hormones, then the amount of insulin you need at certain times can change.  It is a REALLY fun game trying to keep up with it.  And this stream of insulin going through a pump into my body is the basal.

Now one would think that if you have your basal down and your bolus correct, that when you eat everything should work out just perfectly, right?  WRONG.  Sometimes you can be wrong with the carb intake and go high or low, sometimes you have more or less physical activity which you have to adjust for and then there is my favorite.  When I eat something fatty, my blood sugar level will keep on increasing for hours and hours after eating.  Therefore, I keep checking my blood sugar levels and even though I have taken the correct amount of insulin for the carb intake, my blood sugar just keeps on going up, and then I take more insulin and check an hour later and it still hasn't moved or it has just increased again.  Drives me crazy.  However, there is this little function on my pump called the dual wave bolus.  This means that I can set it so that when I eat, it gives me the correct amount of insulin I need to take for the carbs I am eating right then, and then I can also program it to give me the "dual portion" which is me saying to my pump "please deliver an extra unit of insulin each hour for five hours" so that it takes care of the fattiness that is driving my blood sugar up for the next few hours.  Now this is great and good and all, but first off, it is hard to remember to actually do it and secondly, there is no exact science as to how long the fatty food will be affecting my blood sugar levels or even how much higher the food will make my sugar levels as well.  So, each time, it is just a shot in the dark, but heck, when it works well, it is very much so worth it!!

This post was written as part of NHBPM – 30 health posts in 30 days: http://bit.ly/vU0g9J

Sometimes I Like to Mess with People - 30 Health Posts in 30 Days

Sometimes you gotta mess with people.  It makes my life much more interesting.

When I was in high school...and I'm dating myself here...pagers were all the rage.  I never had one, but it sure looked like I had one with my insulin pump.  It was against the rules to have your pager at school, so the hall monitor ladies would confiscate pagers as they pleased.  Most of the ladies would remember that my pump was, in fact, a pump and not a pager...all except one.  This one lady would pull me over in the hall every time I we were near each other and would tell me to give her my pager.  It kinda got annoying after the 800th time of explaining that it was keeping me alive and not a machine to alert me of a friend wanting to get a hold of me.  So, one day I apparently had had it.  She attacked me again and told me to give her my pager and so I did.  I pulled up my shirt, detached the tubing from my stomach, unraveled the whole thing and placed my insulin pump in her hands and walked away without saying a word.  She, of course, followed me and gave it back.  Weird, I never had a problem with her and my 'pager' ever again!

Also, my best friend while we were growing up would ask me all the time how I was.  I would tell her that I was ok and nothing to worry about because it would be a while before my feet would fall off.  This always kinda freaked me out so even to this day she is still much more concerned about my feet than any other part of my body or physical ailment.  It is pretty entertaining for me! :)

P.S.  If you see me messing with my pump and ask if I am dying, more often then not, I'm going to answer with yes, I am dying...oh and for an extra special treat...sometimes if you ask me if I'm dying and I will start going into fake convulsions just for the fun of it :)

This post was written as part of NHBPM – 30 health posts in 30 days: http://bit.ly/vU0g9J

I Still Remember... - 30 Health Posts in 30 Days

I still remember… Free write a post that starts with the line “I still remember…”

I still remember the day before Thanksgiving in 9th grade.  Everyone was home and prepping the feast for the next day.  I'm sure I had slept in that morning.  I had gone out into the kitchen to see what was up and then went back into my bedroom to check my blood sugar before eating breakfast.  It was 130.  I went back out into the kitchen and had put down a piece of bread in the toaster and was waiting for it.  The next thing I know, I'm being held up by family members and being forced to drink a concoction of orange juice and kero syrup.  I don't know what was going on, but they kept on telling me to drink and so I did as I faded in and out of consciousness.  When I really came to, I was sitting at the table still being forced to drink that mess. Jennifer was putting my hair in a pony tail as I puked and then would have to drink more.  Apparently I had passed out and fell backwards hitting my head on the counter top behind me.  The paramedics got there pretty quick and put me on oxygen and one of the guys was even a member in our ward.  They loaded me up into the ambulance and headed to the hospital.  While in the ambulance they tested me blood sugar and it was 40, but they weren't sure how accurate it was.  My mom followed behind the ambulance.  I chatted with the guy in the back and he asked if it would be funny if we covered me with a sheet while my mom was looking...I advised him that it probably wouldn't!  They took me into the hospital and into a room where they drew my blood twice and checked my heart with some electrodes.  With all the sugar that was in my system, my blood sugar had jumped to over 400.  After a few tests and some rest, I was able to go home.

We are still not sure exactly what happened that day.  Whether I just passed out for passing out's sake or if it had to do with diabetes.  Not sure if the blood sugar meter in the ambulance was accurate or what, but that was the first time it happened and hasn't happened since.

This post was written as part of NHBPM – 30 health posts in 30 days: http://bit.ly/vU0g9J

Never Have I Ever - 30 Health Posts in 30 Days

Never Have I Ever. You stick to your guns – now tell us about what. What is something you’ve never done but want to. What’s something you’ve never done and won’t budge on?  

Never have I ever participated in some sort of clinical trials for a cure for diabetes.  I would love to be able to be one of those people that they try stuff out on.  Totally worth it to me!  I tried signing up for it once, but apparently you had to live in Boston to take part in the study.  Dang it.  Why doesn't Salt Lake do something like that?

This post was written as part of NHBPM – 30 health posts in 30 days: http://bit.ly/vU0g9J