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

Traveling With Diabetes - 30 Health Posts in 30 Days

Oh packing to leave on a trip is always so fun.  I always think that I'm going to miss bringing something or not enough of something.  It isn't as big of a deal when I go visit my sister since she has all the stuff that I would need anyway, but going anywhere else and especially out of the country it gets a little nerve wracking checking and double checking that I'm bringing everything.  Not only that, but I pack about half of Costco with me when I travel.  You can't always stop to eat in some foreign country, so I always always bring a TON of food snacks with me and then when I go out for the day my  purse or backpack is fill to the brim with things like granola bars, fruit leather, trail mix and fruit snacks.

Then comes the airport.  When I go through security, I just take off my pump and put it in my purse and walk right on through.  It got a little trickier when they started doing the x-rays and I had my CGM sensor on.  I would usually warn them before hand and sometimes I had to show it to them afterwards, or get patted down or get wanded.  Sometimes nothing.  It really just depends.  I almost got stuck in Panama because they did a pat down and wanted to know what my CGM was and couldn't understand what I was saying in English and finally just let me go.  I usually have a wallet card that certifies all my equipment, but I had switched my wallet before going and didn't have it.  Hmm...speaking of which, I hope I can remember where it is right now too...  Anyway, usually airports in the US are really very nice about it.

Before getting the CGM sensor I usually just let myself run a little high with my blood sugars.  With running all over the place and having low blood sugars kinda puts kink in things, it worked out ok.  But with the sensor, I don't have to worry about it as much!  Although traveling adds stress to your body and stress makes your blood sugar levels go higher anyway.  So, yes, when I travel, my sugars usually are out of whack.  I also have to remember to change my pump clock when I go out of the country so that I'm getting the right amount of the steady stream of insulin at the correct times.

So, as I have mentioned before, I can sleep through the alarms on my pump with the CGM sensor, or just turn them off and go back to sleep, but it still takes a while for me to wake up to turn them off.  When I travel I am usually sharing a hotel room and a bed with someone.  I shared a bed with Ashlee when we went to Ireland and every time my alarms went off, she would wake me up very nicely and then ask if I was dying.  I would tell her I was ok and she would turn over and go back to sleep.  Now contrast that with when I have traveled with Lisa and shared a bed with her.  If an alarm goes off in the middle of the night when I'm sharing a bed with Lisa she starts hitting and punching and kicking me to wake me up.  If I don't wake up fast enough she tries to take my pump off of me and push random buttons to turn it off.  I laugh every time!  After a couple days of this I usually feel bad and therefore change the sensitivity of the alarms, but it is always very entertaining for me cuz I probably don't feel as bad as I should for waking people up :)

About seven years ago I went to Hawaii with my parents, Lisa and her two kids.  I had just gotten the Animus pump and it stated that it was waterproof.  So, our second day there I went out into the ocean with it for a little bit.  When I got back to the beach...oh yeah, it was dead!  NOT so much waterproof.  I called Animus and they had to overnight a new pump to me in Hawaii.  It was kinda a pain, but thank goodness Lisa was there so that I could attach to her pump throughout the day to get insulin.  I was told that when I go out of the country that I'm supposed to call up the makers of my pump and they will send me another pump to take with me on my travels to have just in case.  Had no clue!  I actually have never taken them up on that seeing as though I can just bring syringes with me, but it is a nice idea!

Then, about a year ago I went with some friends to Prague/Austria in December.  It was Sunday and we had just finished up church in Prague and hopped on a bus to go to Austria for a few days.  When I got onto the bus I took out my blood tester and apparently the cold had just killed my tester!  PANIC.  I dragged my friends to pharmacy after pharmacy trying to see if I could get a tester there, but all of them would have needed to order them and it would have taken about three days.  We would be heading back to Prague before they would get to Vienna.  Drove me crazy to have no idea where my blood sugar was, so as soon as I got home I ran into my house and found an old tester.  Needless to say, I now have an extra "travel" blood tester that is in with all of my luggage!

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

Placement - 30 Health Posts in 30 Days

When you have an insulin pump you really have to get creative with where you hide it.  Sometimes this little box can seem HUGE.  You can always tell when a female has diabetes because it is harder to hide on a female's body than on a male's...they can just stick it in their pocket and no one knows any differently!  Normally I just clip my pump to my pants.  Not a big deal.  Most people think that I'm a freak with a pager...  When I wear a dress it gets a little bit more complicated.  I do have this little spandex thing that goes around my thigh that I can put it in.  Although when I go to give myself some insulin it looks really awkward with me attacking my upper and inner thigh!  I used to wear my pump in my bra, back when I had an animus pump, mostly because the clip that comes with that pump is HUGE.  My friends had to get used to me digging around in my bra to get the pump out whenever I needed to use it!  Or I had to be sneaky to get it out in public, sometimes it didn't work so well...and sometimes my shirt would reveal a small box in between my boobs...awkward...  

At night I used to just clip my pump to my pants and not think a thing about it.  I've actually had a lot of questions about where I put it when I sleep.  I never felt it, so it wasn't a big deal.  Now that I have the sensor I clip it to the top of my tank top in hopes that I can hear the alarm if it goes off in the middle of the night.  If I clip it to my pants, I can't her a thing with my down comforter over me!  

Another fun thing is having to deal with the weird protrusions coming out of my stomach...aka...the sensor and the place where my insulin pump is attached to me.  Try putting on a semi tighter shirt or swimming suits and you can see all these weird pumps on my stomach...it is very attractive.  I usually just wear a shirt over my swimming suit

Speaking of swimming...not only when I go swimming do I have these funny looking bumps but then I clip my pump to the top of my board shorts...man, I look cool doing that.  It is also kinda a pain to deal with a one piece swimming suit and being connected to my pump and then when I need to take off my pump to get into the water...yeah...that's a fiasco and a sight to see!  

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

Being Employed With Diabetes - 30 Health Posts in 30 Days

Sometimes it can be tricky to have diabetes and a job.  A lot of times I have to take off time from work to go to doctors appointments, or I show up late because I had a low blood sugar and waited until my blood sugar level was higher so that I could drive safely.  There are also the times where either my sensor's battery dies or my pump runs out of insulin when I'm at work and I have to go home to fuel up again.  I have to make sure that I'm not low before going into a meeting.  I'm lucky that if I do go low at work that I can just stop whatever I'm working on and grab something to eat.  I'm lucky that I work in an environment that is very conducive to this disease.  They are flexible with me and have even dealt with me changing my pump set right in the office before!  

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

Rough Nights - 30 Health Post in 30 Days

So there are times when I just have a rough day with diabetes.  My blood sugar won't go up, my blood sugar won't go down, it keeps going up and down, my pump ran out of insulin, the pump is alarming for highs, lows, weak signals, low battery, the list goes on and on.  Diabetes issues don't tend to take a break when night time comes along.  Let me give you an example of a really rough night...

10pm:  Getting read to go to bed, pump alarms saying that insulin is running low.  Shut it off figuring that I have enough insulin to get me through the night.
11:00:  Crawled into bed.  Pump alarms that my blood sugar is going low.  Get out of bed and eat something.
11:15:  back into bed.
11:30:  Alarm telling me that the CGM needs to be changed.  Get up and change the CGM.  Note that I will be woken up in two hours to calibrate (testing your blood sugar and entering it into the pump so that the CGM has a number to go off of to convert the number it is getting from the fluid in my body into what my blood sugar level is).
12am:  Back into bed.
2am:  Alarm telling me to test my blood sugar so that I can calibrate the CGM.  Test my sugar, it is high, calibrate and give myself insulin.
2:30:  Alarm telling my my blood sugar is high.
3:30:  Alarm telling me that I've run out of insulin.  Get up, change my pump set and fill pump with more insulin.
3:45: back into bed.
4:30:  Alarm that my blood sugar is low.  Get out of bed, eat something.
5am:  Back into bed.
7:30-8am:  Phone alarms start going off telling me that it is time to get up to go to work.
8am:  Last wake up alarm goes off...in my daze of sleepiness I turn off the last alarm and fall right back to sleep.
10am.  Wake up panicked because I am now an hour late to work.
11am:  Show up to work 2 hours late.  Good thing my boss loves me!

Granted, this doesn't happen all the time but all of these things can happen during the night and do, sometimes just a few, sometimes none and sometimes all.  At this point my body has learned to sleep through my pump alarms for the most part, so instead I wake up with the battery on my pump dead because it has been singing to me all night!

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

The Nicest Thing - 30 Health Posts in 30 Days

I'm a pretty independent person.  I don't usually tell people when my blood sugar levels are high or when they are low.  I pretty much just deal with it, because a lot of the time, they can't tell anyway.  After getting diabetes, my parents let me take care of when I tested my blood sugar or how much I ate and how much insulin I took.  My mom even forced me to take on the responsibilities of dealing with making my doctors appointments, prescriptions and insurance issues...this was probably a good thing seeing as though as soon as I got kicked off my parents insurance, I could deal with my own insurance and new doctors like a pro!  But sometimes you do need a little help...One Christmas my family went up to Tahoe for a family getaway.  The evening after we got there, I went to check my blood sugar and my tester was no where to be found.  PANIC.  The rest of my family was either watching a movie or playing a game and I went around asking if anyone had seen my tester.  Everyone mumbled a no and went back to what they were doing except for my sister, Jennifer.  She got up and helped me look for it until we found it.  I'm not sure exactly why I remember this incident so clearly, probably because I was so grateful for someone to help me in my time of need and panic.  Granted this was the same sister who offered to give me a shot of insulin in my butt the first week I was diagnosed..I still haven't taken her up on that...

I feel like most diabetics like to do things for themselves, but when this situation came up and I wanted some help, help came, even if it was as small as helping me find my blood tester.

P.S.  This is also the only biological sister that does not have diabetes...we're not sure exactly how she lucked out and was the one out of three to not get it!  She sometimes gets jealous and wants to test her blood sugar whenever she's around her diabetic sisters...we indulge her on that one :)

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

I Don't Remember - 30 Health Post in 30 Days

Since I was diagnosed at the age of 11 and I don't have the best memory, I don't really remember what it was like before I had diabetes.  I am lucky that I got 11 years of not having to deal with this disease, but really I just can't even understand what it would be like.  I don't remember what it is like to not count carbs, to exercise without worrying about my blood sugar going low.  I feel naked if I don't have my insulin pump on.  There was a time that I wasn't wearing a pump because my old one broke and they were sending me a new one...my stomach felt so smooth without any tubing stuck in it and without this little box attached to my pants.  I don't remember a time when my fingers weren't calloused from testing my blood sugar or when I didn't have to worry about being thrown in a pool for fun, fearing that my pump would get wet and die.  I don't remember a time when I didn't have to go to the doctor at least every three months.  I don't know what it is like to not always be carrying a purse with me that contains a blood tester, glucose tablets and a ton of food...just in case.  I don't know what it is like to not stand in line at the pharmacy for forever only to be told that they don't have all that I ordered or that my insurance has issues with what I ordered.  I don't remember a time when I wouldn't go more than a few months without having to call up my insurance and have to fight them over one thing or another.

I don't remember a time when I didn't wish that there was some sort of a cure for diabetes.

I also don't remember a time when I was ashamed of being diabetic or a time when diabetes didn't make me a stronger person.

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

Blog Post Comment - 30 Health Posts in 30 Days

Here are the questions and comments from the post two days ago...

 Callie J said...

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Still in normal range? :) Glad to hear you're doing well.

Callie is one of my dear friends from living in the Terrace.  She married another one of my friends and they just had their first child, a little girl named Maggie!  In five years...I plan to still be in range.  I know that I have clearly gotten out of range before, but especially with having the CGM I am not scared to adjust my insulin rates on my own now.  Before I wouldn't touch them and actually have never changed them without a doctor doing it all until about a month ago.  Other than that, I see myself as retired and living on an island!  :)

November 16, 2011 9:45 AM

 Mandi said...

I definitely read your blog. ummmm...a question...lets see. do people every confuse your diabetes with type 2, and does that bother you?

Mandi is my second cousin, I love seeing that family keeps up on each other because I secretly stalk her blog as well!  People do confuse my diabetes with type two.  Telling me that I should be able to control my diabetes with diet or even that they think that I shouldn't have eaten so much sugar as a child or something.  It can get annoying, but I have to remember that they don't know and I probably wouldn't know except the fact that I have it myself.  

November 16, 2011 12:58 PM

 Natalie Smith said...

I think you have done a great job of living a good life even with the challenges that you have had :)

Natalie is my best friend's sister in law...we had a great time hanging out at her other sister in law's wedding a few months ago and she has the most adorable children and I love reading her blog!  Natalie's comments are always so supportive and I appreciate our long distance friendship!  :)

November 16, 2011 4:15 PM

 Miss Chris said...

So great to read you're doing well. :) It's always nice to hear the doctor say something is "normal".

Chris is one of my new blogging friends.  She has a blog that talks about her life with MS...you should all check it out!  I agree, Chris, it is always nice to hear that everything is normal, especially when sometimes with things like diabetes, something could be wrong and you don't even know it.

November 16, 2011 6:18 PM

 jenny said...

Hi! They said that diabetes is something that you would get from your ancestors. Can I avoid that? Our relatives have diabetes and they said that I'm doomed to that kind of sickness. BUT, I really try my hardest to eat healthy foods, exercising, drinking lots of water. Help!

Jenny-sounds like you might be talking about Type 2 Diabetes...check out this page for more information on risks for diabetes:  Type 2 Diabetes

November 16, 2011 9:13 PM

 kp said...

I would like lots and lots of stuff from your personal life. Juicy stuff. Like so juicy you'd need to take insulin after. (see what I did there, I tried to make a diabetic joke). And I loved the last post. I have the impossible love on a plate I made at color me mine in my closet.

KP and I were roommates from 2005-2007 and life long friends...seriously, this girl is amazing!  The funny thing is that if I had juicy stuff in my life to tell, she would for sure hear it!  Probably the juiciest thing I have to say is that I need to find some new fake crushes!  (I'm not interested in any of the guys I know, so I have to come up with "flirting friends" I guess you would call them!  

November 17, 2011 5:21 AM

 Lisa said...

Uhmmmm why aren't u going to Breaking Dawn tonight?!?! There's gotta b one other twihard out there for u! Calling all crazy twihards!

Lisa is my sister...my oldest sister who has diabetes.  I blogged about her already, so you can click here if you want to know more about my relationship with her.  She's a little bit of a Twilight nut and doesn't understand why I'm not going to the midnight showing of Breaking Dawn.  Well, Lisa...I like to sleep when I have to work in the morning and I promised you that I would get someone to go with me this weekend!  

Thanks for all your questions and comments!  

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

Highs and Lows - 30 Health Posts in 30 Days

This is going to be my attempt at explaining what it feels like to be high or low, for me anyway.  Granted, your body gets used to where ever it is at.  Say, I was high all the time, so then I wouldn't feel the symptoms as severely as I could, but when I would go low, then I would feel low much sooner than I should.  And the same is for the reverse.  If I was low all the time, or even just in normal range, I could feel highs more intensely and wouldn't feel lows until I was really low.

Low blood sugars occur when there is too much insulin in the system and therefore I need to eat food to bring my blood sugar up.  High blood sugars are when I have too much sugar in my blood and I need to take insulin to bring it back down.

So this is how I feel when my blood sugar is high:
My lips feel chapped
My eye sight can get blurry
thirsty
I have to go to the bathroom more often
There is a left over sweet taste in my mouth
I feel like I am going to throw up (Some diabetics throw up when they get too high, I never have actually thrown up from being high)
Tired and lethargic

When I feel low:
I get a twinge of hunger even when I probably shouldn't be hungry
What feels like a slight electric vibration goes through the bones of my forearms and legs
I want to lay down and fall asleep and not deal with it
I get confused
I can feel my heart beat
Irritability
Weak
Sweaty
I see spots
Panic
The world seems slightly sloshy

Each low and high are different.  I can be low one day and feel everything I listed and another day I can be just as low and feel nothing of what I listed.  Same with high blood sugars.  Who knows why they are different.  When I was younger, my lows felt different than they do now even.

I really have to listen to what my body is telling me all the time.  It is much easier now that I have the sensor, but even that is 15-20 minutes behind, so I usually can predict a low before I hear the alarm.  Other times my pump alarms a low is predicted and I haven't felt a thing.

The lowest I have ever been and checked my blood sugar was 22.  (Non diabetics are usually between 80-100)  I had taken some insulin for something I was going to eat and fell asleep before going to eat it.  I woke up, felt weird, checked my sugar and ran to the fridge and ate orange juice concentrate.  I felt like I was in a tunnel.  I start feeling low around 75-65.  When my blood sugar is around 45 is when I really really start feeling like crap and seeing spots.  The highest I have ever been was 700...if I remember correctly, I think that my pump site was infected and I hadn't checked my blood sugar for a while.  I felt like crap, so I took insulin and fell asleep until it went back down.  With my bloodsugar levels in control now, I can usually feel the high when I'm around 190.

To recover from a low, I usually only need about 15 carbs to bring me back up, but that also depends on how low I am or how much insulin is in my system.  It takes about 10 minutes for the sugar to get into the blood stream and about another 10 minutes to feel normal again.  (So, about a 20 minute recovery from a low, on average)

When I take insulin for a high blood sugar, it takes about 15-20 minutes for the insulin to start working and then my blood sugar should be back to normal levels within an hour to two hours...of course this is all depending on insulin already in, what has been eaten, etc etc etc.  It is annoying to wait for a high to come back to normal, let me tell you!

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

Questions and Comments - 30 Health Posts in 30 Days

So, for the most part, I can't really tell who is reading my blog unless you leave a comment.  So for this blog post I'd like to ask anyone who reads this blog (and would like to) to post with a comment or a question that I can respond to in a couple days in another post.  Questions and comments can be anything you want...from about diabetes, to my over all health, to my personal life.  The sky is the limit!

P.S.  Went and got my blood and urine lab work done today...everything is in normal range!

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

This One's For You, Baby - 30 Health Posts in 30 Days

"This one’s for you, baby. Dedicate a song to your condition."

I'd like to dedicate Hot n Cold by Katie Perry to diabetes.

I think it is pretty self explanatory...   

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

LOL - 30 Health Posts in 30 Days

LOL post. Write a post about a moment that made you laugh. Or a video, picture, blog post, or something else that made you laugh.

This cartoon still makes me laugh every time I look at it.  My old roommate, Kristen, was the one who showed me this...probably back in 2005 or 2006.  It makes me laugh cause it is so true, but at the same time, I personally would have taken the cookie!  (I'm pretty sure she made that observation at the time she showed the cartoon to me as well...)  I also have this on a shirt...thanks to Kristen, we decided that we should make our own funny shirts one time.  I decided to put this cartoon she found for me on an orange shirt, and she put this one on her shirt:

It's ok...we know we are funny!  While we are talking about funny things and Kristen...here is a video that always makes me laugh...sorry...it has nothing to do with diabetes, but I get a kick out of it!

Note that she's wearing the shirt we made!

I definitely miss Kristen as a roommate...she was also convenient to have around because she is in the medical field...peace of mind, people....peace of mind!

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