Another blogger's thought on DLife
Candid Diabetes: Two out of Five
I'm not the only one not impressed ... though the JDRF commercial didn't get me -- but then I'm not a little kid person and I'm still coming off the school year.
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Candid Diabetes: Two out of Five
I'm not the only one not impressed ... though the JDRF commercial didn't get me -- but then I'm not a little kid person and I'm still coming off the school year.
Diabetes In Control - Target Goals Not Being Met Even in Specialty Diabetes Center
Though I do think the clinic I go to does a great job.
They've just moved into bigger, new office, with more room. It's VERY nice.
Diabetes In Control - AACE Announces New A1c Standard of 6.5% and Lower
This organization is urging lower A1C's. Probably not a bad idea, though it's tough to do on MDI (shots).
Survived the dentist and without needing extra insulin. He told me it wouldn't hurt this time, and it didn't, well, it irritated my jaw -- I broke it in a bicycle accident years ago, and have had problems with dentists ever since. He did a crown prep, my number 2 tooth is literally crumbling from all the repairs.
I'm going to be glad to have that done and behind me. It's been giving me trouble for the past 6 months.
The other good news, is that I've gotten the ginivitis under control, which is supposed to be more prevelant in diabetes. I'm sure the GERD is behind the tooth problems I've been having.
An a major brag -- I got our doorbell working finally. It hasn't since we moved in, and for a while we had a wireless electronic doorbell that I didn't like much. I'm almost feeling ambitious enough to try to get a chime for the backyard -- there is wiring for it. I figured out by using the internet -- did a search on doorbell, and found http://doityourself.com/
Mike posted a comment to my post on too many hosts -- and he is right -- they DO try to cover too many topics. They really should go to an hour, and even then, go with ONE topic at a time.
I hope they were just getting out there.
One thing about their channel -- there isn't much going on it anyway. Have you looked at their schedule? Most is paid programming, and of course, I'm sure DLife is really a form of that too.
FYI: I do have a bit of knowledge of this type of thing -- I once had a radio talk show -- it was a local one hour call in show where we also covered something new -- at the time, a lot of our slots were paid for by Microsoft, since Windows 98 was the next new thing.
It was paid for by a local computer store, though we solicited advertising as much as possible. Thus, the featured products. So DLife may very well be organized the same way.
Resounding YES!
I really liked my IR1000. It was easy to program, easy to bolus, etc. BUT I didn't always check my blood sugar on time and I wasn't always sure how to correct.
The IR1250 -- but the IR1200 would have served the purpose as well -- has made all the difference in the world on my control. It reminds me to test my blood sugar and tells me how much insulin I need. I've got it set to remind at 2 hours after the last bolus, and if I am busy can ignore it, and it will faithfully remind me until I tell it to stop.
Unfortunately because of the recall, I don't use the food list enough. I'm also not sure I like the calorie king database because it uses more characters in the food names than the old database did. I'd kinda of like to have both databases!
I also like the fact that it is smaller, very few people notice I have it on which is a plus, but not entirely necessary.
I still don't get why people are up in arms about this. The President repeated his stance on this today:
He doesn't feel that government money needs to be spent on something this controversial. The JDF and other groups are free to raise money and support embroyic stem cell research. He just refuses to spend government money on embroyic stem cell research. Money can be spent on adult stem cells, cord stem cells, and the existing lines. He doesn't think that the government should be financing the possibility of destroying life. I'm happy with that.
Frankly, I'm not sure government money should be spent on researching diseases anyway -- and I feel that it should be privately funded. Then it is up to the researchers to determine what direction they should go.
I think that the government needs to be involved in protecting us from our enemies and in financing the mandates they are putting in place when it comes to educating our children.
Got back a little bit ago from the CDE visit. I related the last stress day at work to her and she indicated that it was entirely normal -- basically I'd gotten another note to meet with the PTB and at the end of the meeting, my blood sugar had shot up to 210 -- and I had been keeping it in the 100-150 range before than.
The sad part about that is that you don't have any indication other than feeling bad, that your blood sugar has shot up that high. A lot of people will attribute that to the stress and not check.
I'm sticking on the Apidra for another month, and she's hoping the Cleo clinical trial will start in July.
I see her again in 4 weeks.
I did tell her about my goal for the summer, which worried her a bit. Basically I want to take off the 12 pounds I gained from the stress this spring, and another 25 pounds. It won't be a great loss if I don't get quite that far.
A really good article that explains what dog agility is about.
This is the sport I currently do with my dogs. Both of my girls really love dog agility, and it's a way for me to measure my physical ability. Or lack there of.
Any dog can have a champion day | csmonitor.com
Before I did dog agility....
I did some conformation and a lot of dog obedience. I had the number 1 Obedience beagle in the country for 8 years, according to Front and Finish Magazine, and was recognized by the National Beagle Club in 1990.
As a result, I got into pet therapy, which was very hard on me, but fun for the dog.
Later, as a result of the dog obedience experience, I got into Police K9 Training and was a certified instructor for several years.
I've got an appointment with my CDE and with the dentist. The fun part about the CDE appointment is that a drunk driver took out the bridge in front of the office. Also, the office has moved.
The fun part about the dentist, is that we start putting a crown on a tooth.
All things I've sort of put off -- or just couldn't do because of the school schedule.
DLife brought this up, but only touched on it briefly. One of the reasons I'm on insulin, is that I could in no way control my diabetes on oral medications.
One of the primary reasons I couldn't, is that you take a fixed dose of medication and have to drastically modify your diet. Not only what you eat, but when you eat.
Well, I couldn't do that. I still can't do that. Right now, I can control what I eat, but not how much and when. I know it sounds weird, but the more I try to do it, the worst it gets, and the worse I feel. Its how I have coped with stress all my life. Once the stress hold lesses, it will get easier.
However, right now, I'm waking up wondering what I could have done to make this year better. I can't quite figure it out, and may yet realize I just did the best I could -- but in the meantime, I'm still stressed out.
I think I just figured it out. There are too many hosts, and none of them are the type to take the back burner, and let their guests talk.
They continually interrupt their guests.
Apparently I'm one of the few patients in the practice who come from them from the south -- they are moving, and they are quite a bit further away to the north.
One thing I want to check is whether they still work with the same hospital -- the closest hospital treated my husband very well when he had to be hospitalized, though I figure if I am in the hospital, I will be seeing a specialist, and it won't be the primary care physician as the main doctor. It's much easier to go back and forth from that facility than any other.
Here's the thing I like most about the pratice: if I need to see my doctor, I will get in on the same day. If I want a routine visit, I can get it within 2 weeks, and get the first appointment of the day. Also, he's been taking walk-ins on Satudays.
He also spends a lot of time going through charts. I had carpel tunnel surgery BEFORE he had me as a patient and he asked me about the experience, etc. He still makes some assumptions based on appearance -- yes, I do work out, and I have a home gym. That always bugs me.
I've been on a sliding scale myself -- BUT had basal insulin.
The whole time I was on sliding scale, I always felt like I was on a rollar coaster. I also gained a lot of weight.
The other thing that bothers me about sliding scales, is that they are always based on a linear relationship when insulin and blood sugar are both geometric in nature.
Good news -- the contacts are being made in a new material which is wetter. I can already feel the difference.
However, I'm having trouble switching eyes -- I think that is a function of being a bit tired.
We always give the contacts a few days to settle -- especially since my brain needs to reset before we know for sure if these are right.
That helped -- the Sonata put me to sleep, but I didn't feel any worse this morning than I do any other. Not something I want to do on a regular basis, but if it can get me back on track when it comes to sleeping, that's what I need to do.
The more I think about the conversation the doctor and I had about his kids (middle school aged), the more it has helped me.
I'm off to the contact lens doctor -- another "put off". My bifocal eye has been driving me nuts! I'm getting it checked and will reorder since I am almost out -- I have one left.
If you are at the bifocal age -- especially just starting out -- using contacts, and going to a good contact lens specialist pays off. My prescriptions are constantly changing, but neither I or the practicer seem to mind that I need to check in every few months and get a different prescription for one eye or the other.
I was able to go to bed early, but woke up about 11:00 and can't go back to sleep -- just tried, so I took a sleeping pill and am going to try again in a bit.
Right now, my biggest problem is that I can't get over how one individual treated me this year. She made my job infinitely harder by not doing her job, and she stood by literally and kept her mouth shut when someone else was tearing me down.
It's sad, because I've had respect for everyone else that's been in that position. In the past, I've worked with those people extensively for a mutually beneficial relationship for the school and the kids. In fact, I just heard from another person that the last person in that position thinks the world of me.
Yeah, this is real cryptic but I'm trying to work it out without revealing too much to the world. Lots of people have been hurt in the workplace by inappropriate blogging.
It was a good school year though, even with the problems. The test scores were actually very good, the kids that didn't put any effort in flunked, and the kids that did put effort in it did well. One of the things I like most about my district is that they hire teachers to write finals for all the courses. I know a lot of teachers don't like that, but this way, I know if I covered what I was supposed to or not. It would be nicer if I would know BEFORE the time the finals come out, but at least this confirmed it.
I don't have to think about work until the first week of July. I am doing 3 days of staff development and a conference then. Plus I have my classes.
The first of my agenda is get things taken care of that I've been putting off. Saw the primary care physician today about sleeping meds. I'm not sure I'm going to need them tonight. I'm exhausted.
I'm seeing the contact lens doctor tomorrow, the dentist and CDE on Tuesday.
Then I'm concentrating on the car and the house. Inspection is due on the car plus the $#@#$ check engine light is on. The outside lights aren't working.
The rest of my time is resting, exercising, and taking care of myself.
And in a few weeks, I'm going to an 4-day agility trial in Monroe and hopefully my family will visit.
I think I'm going to try to take some bus/commuter train day trips. I threaten that every year.
It's the last day, and I'm waiting for a teacher to finish using one of my student computers.
Blood sugar was okay this morning, so yesterday did not throw me too off track. Unfortunately Thursday is my late night, so I got to bed late, and then woke up at 4:00 am not able to go back to sleep.
Well, I was tired and able to go back to sleep at 6:30, but that was when I need to be up and moving.
Got the blood sugar down where it belongs without insulin.
When I got home, I did 20 minutes, even though it's an off day and snacked on protein. If I can just keep this all under control and not lose it this time.
I have lots of thoughts... Met with my stessors, well, only one. They wanted to tell me where my classroom will be next year. It's seriously not a problem and not worth a meeting.
Though the blood sugar shot up to 270. I'm on my way downstairs to walk it off.
A Shot in the Dark: Bloody Peach Vanilla Cake!
I was reading this article and feeling sorry for both Josephy and his mom, Sandra. I can imagine nothing harder than being a mother of a child with diabetes. As a high school teacher I watch parents and students struggle with each other all the time and I've glad I made the choice to be a bystander and not a participant.
Anyway on the treat thing -- I'm comparing it to this week here at school. I've avoided two events completely because they had the wrong timing for me and the wrong foods. Having just come off a massive non-compliant episode, I just didn't need the events. I am honestly -- scheduling a meal at 3:00 pm doesn't work for me at all. It's either too late or too early. The other event was at 1:30, which isn't much better.
This morning, I did "give in". One of our long term teachers who is retiring brought a little bit of everything: fruit, chocolate and crackers. Of course, everything she brought turns to sugar, but at least everything was prepackaged, easily countable, and portable. I grabbed an apple and a small piece of chocolate (one of those minatures), and brought them upstairs to eat after my postprandial reminder went off.
She was super pleased with herself for thinking to bring stuff that people like me could eat, and I sure wasn't going to burst her bubble -- besides, I could have choosen to toss the items and she would have none the wiser.
Social situations can be hard.
The person or persons bringing the food honestly do so out of pride, admiration, or just a way to show that they care. Too many people take rejecting food they give as rejecting them or at least the recipent can feel that way. It's even harder when they are trying to do the right thing -- I'm learning though to tell people that it isn't the right time for me to eat, and take it and find a way to get rid of it later.
I'll say, either I just ate and I'm full, or give some other legimate excuse. That usually works.
I've gone a couple of months without pulling a set off, but managed to do it yesterday morning.
I had been pretty pleased with myself, though I do faithfully carry extras and I have been worried about having to float.
The biggest danger time for pulling a set off, for me, if the first few hours after a set change. I alternate sides plus I was wearing slacks instead of a dress.
Just as I yanked, I could feel the tubing in my hand, but it was too late.
Lots of reasons I HATE doing that. First it hurts. Second, sets aren't cheap. $10-15 a piece, and the insets run the high end. Third, everytime you put a set in, you run into the danger of having it inserted wrong. The good news, is that I can't remember the last time I had an Inset set fail, the last time was months ago, and I had pulled the set towards the end of the set life, and pulled the cannella out without pulling off the adhesive.
I was able to change the set in my classroom without anyone noticing, but mostly because I was wearing a two-piece outfit, and could get to the set without disrobing.
My plan is to be able to buy all new clothes at the beginning of the school year (having lost weight), and high on that plan is to make sure everything I buy is seperates. I'm going to miss my walk in closet.
You see, I absolutely refuse to change a set, test my blood sugar or inject in a room that has a toilet in it. Especially a public restaurant. Have you see the studies where they show how the entire room has a high bacteria count and that they find particles of feces and urine in the air and stalls. There isn't enough alcohol in the world to prevent a infection in that situation. It gives me the willies thinking about it. And those were "clean" restrooms.
We're lucky if they get serviced once a day and that's usually just to remove the trash.
I was hoping to finish the school year without having the stressors bother me again, but no such luck. Got a note in my box. I vow though that this time I'm not going to let it get to me.
Three times it has caused me to stop sleeping, three times it has pulled my energy level down, and three times it has affected my eating. I've finally got everything under control. I don't need this.
At least for a little while -- blood sugar is still stable and part of the issue may be that I've loosened up on choices a bit, but my blood sugar isn't as low as it was and my insulin use is stablizing.
I think I'll end up with a TDD under 50.
Energy level is definately improving.
I've gotten almost everything out of my classroom -- I give my last final tomorrow morning and thankfully they are my best class.
Check out is Friday morning, and I'll have to wait until grades come back. I think I'll go in a bit later than 8:00 am since they won't be in that early.
Now you know why I had her make mine with white beads, and use both the flat tag AND a dangle.
And do what I did -- ask a couple of paramedics if they would notice it. I swung by the fire station to ask mine. It also isn't a bad idea if they know you, but then I live in a small town (suburb of Dallas), and the fire station is less than 3 minutes away from a phone call.
Diabetes Mine: Too Pretty to Save My Life?
The consensus was that they were at least as likely to notice that as a plain steel bracelet, but they think they would notice the tubing and pump first.
Of course, you don't pump, so you don't have visible (to a paramedic) signs available.
I've been able to pull my insulin usage down from 110 units a day -- and uncontrolled, back to under 60 units a day -- controlled.
Energy level is slowing coming back -- workouts aren't as hard, and I'm not gaining weight -- though I'm not sure I'm losing weight either.
I've got two more tests to give, one tomorrow, one on Thursday, and signout on Friday. I've probably got one more box of things to take out of my room and I'm done.
This summer I'm focusing on finishing the Master's and getting over this year, both mentally and physically.
Which is a GOOD thing.
Postpranial blood sugars are still lower than I like, which means I have an opportunity to have a low.
I'm came close to a low again during exercise today, so grabbed a small granola bar. Though it isn't many calories, they still do add up.
That's one of the problems, if I am having to eat to match insulin, I will definately gain weight.
If I can drop the total insulin usage, I'll lose weight.
Workouts are finally starting to get a bit easier too.
I've had two readings of less than 6.5 on the pump -- unfortunately not the very last ...
AACE Announces New A1c Standard of 6.5% or Lower
Dr. Jellinger announced a new A1c standard of 6.5% or lower for patients with type 2 diabetes. The new standard is part of a more comprehensive effort to prevent diabetes complications. AACE is embarking on this effort following the results of a report outlined at the briefing that showed two thirds of Americans with type 2 diabetes are not in control of treating the disease. The majority of people with diabetes in all 50 states had A1c levels above the guideline, and 61% had no knowledge of the A1c test or of their own personal A1c level.
Animas Corporation? and Nicole Johnson Baker want to know all about your diabetes hero!
I'm still not impressed though. So far, we've seen 4 episodes.
In the family of former relationship talk show host JoAnne Hart-Rogers, more popularly known as Mother Love, diabetes was lightheartedly downplayed as "just a little sugar." But after her diagnosis with the disease in 1990, the woman known for making audiences laugh knew it was time to pay attention. "I decided I didn't want to be dead," she said.
Products / Product Specifications - Insulet Corporation
Here's the new insulin pump specifications. Right now, I can't see the advantage.
I would agree that tubing is a pain in the rear. On the other hand, the most sensitive and most hard to design part of the whole pump happens to be the set. I misinsert at least 2 times a month. Yesterday was the last time I screwed up, I was in a hurry and didn't wait until my skin was dry.
I really don't see it working that well for a Type 2 since it holds only 200 units. I also can't see that the unit that goes on the body is much smaller than the current Animas pump. Let's face it, the Omni pod has to be big enough to hold a AAA battery + 200 units of insulin. That's a big lump. In fact, it has to be at least as large as the Animas 1250.
It's also got to be waterproof and adhere to the skin.
The PDM looks interesting though and the fact that it works with the Freestyle.
My husband and I finally got to this -- he hates crowds, so no way was he going this weekend. There were NO crowds tonight.
It was a good movie and since we all know how it ends, I won't tell anything else -- I kept fussing over the reviewers for doing that.
My dad took me to the first Star Wars. I was still in high school and we weren't allowed to go to PG movies by ourself. Trust me, I saw it a bunch of times after that.
I saw the second one with my dad too -- he got WAY too much enjoyment out of the first, not to go with him for the first.
He wasn't able to go to the 3rd, he was too sick then, but I brought him home stuff from the theater.
Anyway -- this is a bit diabetes related -- I don't get to use this feature often, but did tonight. My pump went off 2 hours after the popcorn to tell me to check my blood sugar, and I was able to test in the theater and correct due to the backlights on both Flash and pump.
I really like that feature of the Flash.
I dropped my bolus rates again, and they are still a bit too low. While I didn't crash, I definately had a few moments of hypoglycema. I'd already done a few carbs after working out, but not many, and tested at 88. It was after testing I felt the low though. It was over fast at least.
I've been using my Treadmill faithfully since I got it, and I have an exercise ball and free weights.
I'm thinking about adding this to my home gym:
The Sports Authority - Exercise: Home Gyms: Weider MAX Resistance System Gym
I need to spend some more time on it, but I like the price, delivery and installation is $169 more.
I love Sunday mornings, when we aren't showing in agility, because I take things at a REAL slow pace.
Today I got my workout down, and then jumped into the pool. It is SO nice for it to finally be warm enough to use.
I "cheated" abit, I ran completely out of insulin at about 10:00, so I just pulled my pump off and set and went without for an 1 1/2 hours.
My blood sugar has gone up about 5 points, but I think the correction I just put in, and the workout will get it back down.
What's even better -- Sunday is my day to do lesson plans and there aren't any to do!
CNN LARRY KING LIVE
Panel Discusses Diabetes
I really think that all the diabetes bloggers should read this, since there are some very rational discussions of the current issues in diabetes.
Dr. Peters expresses her opinion on upcoming cures, especially stem cell research. They also express their opinions on "forbidden" foods, especially sugar.
Couple of interesting things to note: I had not idea that Nicole Baker was a paid spokeswoman for Animas -- (it's misspelled in the transcript). I think they should fix that.
I'm still having to drop basal's, etc. I'm also still not where I was before the change to Apidra and the recent stress attack.
BUT my insulin usage is slowly creeping down, working out is easier, doing everything is easier, but I still am not sleeping through the night, and my energy level is low.
The good news, is that yesterday was our last full day. We've got four days of exams, then a checkout day on Friday.
I don't start my next round of classes until June 6, though I am looking forward to that.
Big yeah, the pool is finally warm enough to swim in -- I spent a few minutes in it earlier today, and am planning to go back in a few minutes now that I have a swim cap. One thing I don't like about the pool is that I have long hair and I spent the summer with it damp.
I went to Sports Authority to get my swim cap and I checked out the weight machines while I was at it. I'm thinking seriously of getting a BowFlex, but I can't decide which one or where to get it.
What I really like about the Boxflex, is that it is like my treadmill and the bed in the study -- it folds up out of the way. I really like the idea of having everything in that room with the ability to fold up and move.
If someone needs the bedroom, I just fold up the treadmill and move it, I can even move it to the living room so I can keep exercising while we have visitors.
I know it is something I'll use, I use the treadmill at least 6 days a week, and use my free weights at least every other day. And it's certainly WORTH the money, so I suspect I'll probably go back and order one to be delivered either next Friday afternoon, or the week after.
Eating the salad without bolusing got me back on track.
We also had some lovely agility runs. It was incredibly hot, which I personally love, but the big black beagle has trouble with. Marcie's competing at the top level in AKC agility, and does a very nice job of it, and the fun match was no exception.
Maggie did well too, she actually stayed with me through the whole second run.
I was keeping a close eye on the blood sugar, as I really don't want to freak the girls out by having a low blood sugar crash.
I loaded up the beagle girls after a quick dinner and workout. We're off to a fun match. Blood sugar is 99 so I've stopped off for a Sonic salad and diet limeade and I think I willskip the bolus. With the insulin on board i'm in danger of crashing.
I think i'll pick up some CadberrySwepps sugar on the way to, just in case.
---
From my Treo
I loaded up the beagle girls after a quick dinner and workout. We're off to a fun match. Blood sugar is 99 so I've stopped off for a Sonic salad and diet limeade and I think I willskip the bolus. With the insulin on board i'm in danger of crashing.
I think i'll pick up some CadberrySwepps sugar on the way to, just in case.
---
From my Treo
Amy at http://www.diabetesmine.com comments:
Obviously, I disagree. I do think you have to "look a gift horse in the mouth" sometimes if ethics, hypocrisy, and/or dangerous messages are at stake.
Of course Cadbury also makes some "good" products. That is not the issue. On the whole, they represent the companies that are fostering BAD HEALTH with their aggressive marketing of sugary, non-nutritious foods. I think we do well to question their motives here...
Yes, it is good for the ADA to get an influx of money, but at what price?
Amy -- and the rest of the people who think this way is guilty of wrong thinking about food. I think that is very dangerous for both diabetics and parents. There are really NO wrong foods.
Gee, I ate a Snickers bar this afternoon. It tasted very good, and it solved a problem I was having -- I was having trouble maintaining my blood sugar level. I choose a Snicker's bar over several other vending machine choices primarily because of the combination of sugar, chocalate and peanuts. There are times I'll choose pure sugar -- if I am having a sudden crash. Other times I might choose chips.
As I said before -- there are no "bad" foods and really no "junk" foods. Carbs aren't bad, protein and fat isn't bad. We need all of them, we just have to choose wisely.
There are no bad food manufacturers, either. The ADA is not accepting money from evil doers at all.
As for parents, labeling food bad or forbidden DOES lead to food disorders. I've seen it in my students, and I saw it in myself and others in the numerous attempts at controlling my weight in group settings.
One of the healthiest things you can do for children is to teach them how and when to eat appropriate foods. Not labeling things as bad or forbidden. That goes for a lot of other items we ingest too.
I'm REALLY having to watch things today. Now that I've got my food intake under control, and have the blood sugar under control, I'm running a tad low. I was at 116 fasting but by the time I got to school and got some running done, I was down to 95.
I did grab something to eat and am testing every hour and before I get in the car.
Here's the fun part. Your total daily dose affects your carb and correction factors. This is documented in "Pump Insulin". As my total daily dose goes down, that means my ratios go up, which means I end up with a lower total daily dose. Which means I have to adjust ratios again, etc.
My basal rate may also be a tad high, though most of the time when I'm not eating and bolusing or exercising, my blood sugar is staying stable, just low.
I've gone through this before, and it just means you test more often.
And a very long day. But Thursday's usually are. I call it my Girl Dogs' Night Out.
I have dog agility with both Maggie and Marcie (photos are at http://www.kweaver.org/photos/) We drive over an hour to class, Maggie's class starts at 7:30, and Marcie's at 8:30. Then it's about a 45 minute drive home, provided that TxDot or some idiot driver hasn't fubarred the roads. For some reason, Dallas drivers HAVE to drive 20 mph over the speed limit at that time of night.
There are a couple of reasons we drive that far -- it's pretty hard to find enough land in the city of Dallas to do a proper dog agility class. Second, I'm pretty picky when it comes to instructors.
Anyway, after a full day of class, where I spent the day with my blood sugar cruising around 110 most of the day, and post pranial after lunch at 130, I went off with the dogs. After supper and getting ready, my blood sugar was at 95, so I grabbed Snicker's minature and a couple of lifesavers. Was still at 95 a half hour later, so did a second dose.
Also hit the temporary basal at -20% at 5:30 and grabbed a hot dog right before class, so I would have a bit of sugar (from the bun, the hot dog is to slow things down) to keep from going low.
When I finished class, I was at 140, and was 125 when I got home, so I hit another Snickers Minature a few minutes ago, so I don't have to worry about going low in the night.
I'm also going to up my boluses -- I haven't had to correct all day, and have been lower than I like postpranial.
That also means my TDD will go down (TDD = Total Daily Dose).
I've been under 65 units for the past 7 days! That's not bad, considering in end of my crisis I was doing 120+ units.
In fact, I'm going to be a VERY adament that I think that the diabetics who are criticizing the ADA for accepting donations from Cadbury Sweppes are at the very least, very short sided, and that the very most, very bigoted.
I went out to the Cadberry Schweppes, and as I suspected, they make more than "junk food".
Cadbury Schweppes plc | our brands | find a brand
I personally don't label anything as junk food, or forbidden food, first of all that is VERY dangerous and can lead to eating disorders. Yeah, I've been treated for an eating disorder myself, though I thought the process was a waste of time. (And for another post).
I've been involved in non-profit organizations before, and am a teacher at a public school, and one thing I've learned, is to NEVER EVER look a gift horse in the mouth. Maybe it helps being a drug dog handler and knowing that most of the funding you are getting are from confiscations, but frankly, I'm not to proud to take any money given and use it.
I also bet that the very people who are condemning the ADA buy Cadberry-Schweppes products on a regular basis. Mott's Apple products, for example, or how about Welch's products, or even Sunkist products?
For over a year I was the only one, and now they are cropping up all over the place!
Welcome into my head, to my most private and intimate Thoughts.
Yes, I am still using it. I have another vial left.
I finally have my blood sugars at "normal". Today I was running around 110 with a total amount of insulin since midnight of 11 units. No corrections etc.
Lunch was 78 carbs, and 2 hours after I was at 141. Couldn't ask for much better.
I'm down to below 55 units of insulin, though may go up today. I tend to eat more on dog agility nights, partly because of the drive, partly to make sure I don't go low during class.
I still use more insulin with Apidra than I did with Novalog, though that might change if I can keep my exercise level up and my carb intake level low.
The Scoop on Sugar - Youth Zone - American Diabetes Association
The Scoop On Sugar
dLife: Welcome to the Blogosphere
Welcome to the Blogosphere
I had to stop in the middle of my cardio again, with an 85. This time I did turn on the temporary basal. The good news, is that I had not eaten dinner yet, so stopped and ate dinner.
I've got my TDD usage down below 50 -- not bad when my blood sugar is under tight control again, and I was doing around 100-120 units a day.
Oprah has done a really good show today -- I think she called it "The Fat One in the Family".
It's a really good show on how beating people over the head with obesity doesn't help them and in fact hurts them.
Two overweight women with thin families were on and it showed how the thing members of their family were hurting them and sabotaging any weight loss attempts made.
It's not just that way with weight, but with diabetes care too. Except for the health care team -- outside people really can't help a diabetic (Type 1 or Type 2) take care of themselves -- except in the case of youngster's with diabetes, but that's another story.
I've said this before -- I'm lucky, my diabetes did not come on gradually, but suddenly. I have another factor on my side, I know I have a ticking time bomb -- 2 generations of my family, my father and both of his parents, were diagnosed with diabetes at approximately the same age, and within 10 years, each of the three of them suffered a severe cardio vascular complication.
I still have to take it one day at a time, and there are days when I can't deal with diabetes as well as I should. It is going to be that way with all diabetics, no matter what way they are treating their disease. Pumping, shots, pills, somedays it is just TOO much.
And part of the reason it gets to be too much, is that depression is a major complication. It is a part of dealing with most chronic diseases.
I've already commented on this post, but I want to expand upon it further.
One of the huge misconceptions is that sugar leads to diabetes. It doesn't.
Type 1 diabetes is known to be an autoimmune problem. Ingesting sugar has nothing to do with getting diabetes, or even preventing complications. What you have to control is the amount of sugar that is in the blood stream. While sugar itself metabolises to sugar in the blood stream so does any other carbohydrate, and so does protein, but at a much slower and lesser rate.
Type 2 is believed to be linked to obesity, but that again doesn't mean that consuming sugar leads to diabetes. It doesn't mean that all obese people are going to become diabetes, and it does not mean that non-obese people will not become diabetes.
I believe that any press in the news that ignores the cause and effect factors, or exagerates cause and effect factors is doing harm. I've blogged on this in the past, and so have the other diabetes bloggers.
There are many ways in which the popular press is harming diabetics. First, the more that an obese person is pushed to lose weight, the harder it can be for them to do it. It becomes even harder when that person has uncontrolled blood sugar, because uncontrolled blood sugar causes them. It's a weird mechanism, but what is happening, when the body doesn't get enough insulin, the body isn't getting enough fuel, and as a result, the body is literally starving. In fact, sudden, rapid weight loss is a sympthom of diabetes.
Anything that can get in the way of good glycemic control, and that includes mental attitudes is harmful to the diabetic, no matter the cause.
The temp bolus at -20%, two hours before my workout worked. Though I did one dumb thing, and that was a correction bolus 30 minutes into the temp. When I finished my cardio, I was at 95, and immediately ate dinner.
It feels so good to have the food cravings gone and to have the GERD attack under control -- still have some acid but not like I did, my thoat isn't burning, for example.
This one is a Type 1 who is trying to get pregnant and already has one child.
I haven't posted much about the IR1250 since it was replaced, but I had a bit of a problem yesterday that one of the IR1200 features "fixed".
I went low during my cardio session, had to stop and eat dinner and then resume to prevent a crisis. What I should have done, was to set my temporary basal about 2 hours before the planned session.
It wasn't a problem before because my blood sugar was running too high in the afternoon, and I needed the cardio session to help bring it down.
Since I tend to work out about 4:30, I set an alarm to go off at 2:30. Then I can decide if I need the temporary basal or not.
New Theory Places Origin of Diabetes in an Age of Icy Hardships - New York Times
This article does go through what each of the diabetes types are. I don't know if the research supporting the theory is true, but it is an interesting theory.
Here is her diagnosis post. She's a Type 1 -- diagnosed as a child and is currently facing a probably complication.
I think it is important when I do go out of control, to figure out why so maybe it can be avoided in the future.
The best thing I could do, but probably won't happen, is to NOT resort to eating when I'm stressed out. Even better would be to avoid getting stressed out in the first place, but since I can't control the outside world and this one was outside generated ...
If I do get into the situation, I need to make better choices, and if I do eat, avoid carbs. Unfortunately though, the best comfort foods are pure sugar.
The things I did right included exercising. I only skipped part of one week. I also did keep up with my blood sugar.
One other thing that I should have done differently, and would have ended the episode was to increase basals along with boluses.
My heartburn is finally subsiding, and I actually got my insulin usage below 60 units today without trying. I tweaked my correction factor by 1, so that should help bring usage down too.
Here's what I find: the more I eat, the more insulin I use. That sounds like a big duh, but I don't mean that when I eat twice as many carbs, I use twice as much insulin. It's closer to twice as many carbs, three times or four times more insulin. If you read pumping insulin, it does make sense. Dr. Bernstein lives by that -- he calls it "small numbers".
But Atkins (and the rest of the lo-carb gang are right). The more carbs you eat the more you crave. I get in this vicious cycle.
So yeah, I COULD eat what I want with pump, but that means I use more insulin, crave more carbs, gain more weight.
If I eat less carbs, slower carbs, I stay off the roller coaster and the cravings.
YMMV (Your milage may vary).
I managed to do 40 minutes of cardio (though I had to split it and eat dinner in the middle as I started to go low).
I'm still having reflux problems so I'm doubling up on the Protonix.
But the best part, is that I haven't had food craving problems all day to day.
4 full days, 4 exam days, 1 teacher day. (Yes, I counting).
GERD and constipation.
I have the worst case of heartburn, but as I am able to cut down on the amount of food I eat and when I eat, it should go away.
I am losing weight though, once I get past the constipation. And I feel better. Mostly because my blood sugar isn't swinging -- and it is definately not swinging now! And it is fairly low.
If I can keep this up a bit longer, my carb ratios should go back down.
I'm hoping since it is subQ, my oby/gen will be more willing to let me inject myself.
RxNews? Newsletter: FDA Update - RxSolutions.com
Depo-subQ Provera 104TM
I've managed to keep my TDD under 70 for the past 4 days. Starting to feel a lot better. Blood sugar is still under 200 all day, which is good. Fasting blood sugar was high this morning.
I think I'm going to focus on not eating in the evening unless my blood sugar is less than 120 before I go to bed. I'm still a bit worried about going low in the night.
While I only lo-carb in a crisis, anytime I can choose something that doesn't spike my blood sugar as much, I'm happier and probably healthier.
I do watch what kind and how much sweetner, because many of them do cause problems. The sweetners in low carb candies for example, are notorious. However, they still affect my blood sugar, just not as quickly as regular sugar.
Low Carbs? Who Cares? Sugar Is Latest Supermarket Demon - New York Times
Woke up this morning with good blood sugar. First time it wasn't too high in weeks. However, I did get woke up by a thunderstorm and power failure and was able to check and adjust twice.
The best news though, is that I'm getting my insulin usage more stable. I'm back down to below 65 consistently and was between 80-100.
Best news -- we've got 5 more full days.
Bad news -- I'm getting anxious and want to get started on my classes, but can't until June 6.
I've been able to stick to very reduced carb, and keep my insulin dosage low. I've also been able to keep my blood sugar under 200 for about two days. If I can keep it up, I know things will get better.
I think I'm going to make it. We've got two weeks with kids, and then one teacher workday. And actually, we've got one full week with kids, then we go to the exam schedule. Two weeks from today is final check out.
Blood sugar was high this morning, and I've got the dentist to deal with this evening. He's supposed to do two fillings in my lower jaw, but they aren't bothering me, and the tooth next to the one he just worked on broke. It hasn't bothered me, so I've waited.
I'm finally getting my blood sugar where I want it. It's been horrible lately -- even did an A1C, and it's the highest it's been in ages. 7.4 I was getting better A1C on MDI!
The key is to stay full without affecting blood sugar. That means lots of protein and lots of salad.
Once I can get the blood sugar down and under control, the cravings go away and food isn't a problem anymore.
In case anyone is wondering, yes, I am still working out, but between the stress at the workplace AND mostly messing with Apidra, my eating has been out of control.
I'm still on the treadmill almost every day and doing weight almost every day and using iShape to schedule and track that. I REALLY REALLY recommend iShape, and I'm going to start taking full advantage of their message boards again.
I've been thinking and saying all along, that no cure is ever going to happen unless they understand the mechanism that makes Type 1's diabetics.
Study at UCDHSC Identifies Crucial Islet Target in Type 1 Diabetes; Finding Is Likely to Transform the Study of Diabetes Autoimmunity
I do think Canada has the right to decide who can emigrate (as I think we do too).
The Globe and Mail: Diabetic prevented from moving to Canada
But Canadian immigration officials rejected the application, on the grounds that his mother, Gizella Szebenyi, has Type 2 diabetes. Mrs. Szebenyi, who was 61 when the application process began, was able to compensate through her diet for the fact that her body does not produce enough insulin. Now 73, she still does not use insulin or any other medication, and has never sought medical treatment.
I do think it is odd that they would accept someone HIV positive before diabetes.