Living With Diabetes

Diabetes In Control - Daily Weighing Helps People Lose Weight, Prevents Gain

Whenever I have successfully lost weight, I have been obsessive about weighing. I often weigh twice a day. I'm very realistic about it, and use it as a tool -- if I am up a little, I think about what I did and how I could do differently. If I am down, I celebrate.

In order to lose weight, I have to actively think about it all the time, or I end up gainning weight.

Daily Weighing Helps People Lose Weight, Prevents Gain

Posted by at 8:20 PM | Permalink

It worked out okay though -- went I went to the restroom here at school, I pulled off my set. It was very cold, and I knew my room was going to be cold so I went ahead and changed it there. I also did NOT want to do it in the restroom as it would take a while.

Quite a few people walked in and out of the teacher's lounge, but no one commented on what I was doing. I managed to get the set changed with no problem.

That's the second time I've done a set change in a public place without anyone really noticing. Of course, I inject that way all the time.

Posted by at 10:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

My blood sugar is back where it should be this morning, so the corrections worked. I'd rather that the basal rate worked.

Oh well.

On another note, I did everything last night that i shouldn't for the GERD and was up several times. You'd think I'd learn.

DFW IUG Meeting tonight.

Posted by at 6:46 AM | Permalink

While my blood sugar has been good ALL day including this morning, I have had another one of my evening spikes. 245 this time. I've upped my 6:30 pm basal rate, and I'll keep an eye on it.

It's even more frustrating, since I did my cardio and everything else!

Posted by at 10:00 PM | Permalink

I've updated my Main Index and have put my links to my about page, hints, and rules back on top. Also have listed the mobile site link.

Posted by at 8:46 PM | Permalink

I've created a WAP version -- mobile phone version of my website. Mostly because I have a Treo, and it makes life easier to check on entries, and also because I can.

Mobile Version (WAP)

Posted by at 8:17 PM | Permalink

Maggie did Q today and is not Maggie, NA, NAJ

The best part, is that she had one of her panic attacks just as we were about to run Open, but she still ran well.

Posted by at 6:42 PM | Permalink

I think yesterday went well until noon, and then fell apart.

i felt rotten today, and came home very stiff and very sore. I'm going to bed early, but trying to stay awake for a little while so I don't wake up too early.

The blood sugar went better today. I think part of the problem was waking up last night, but then I couldn't have done the correction.

I'm going to download everything in the morning, and send a PDF to my CDE and see what she thinks.

Posted by at 6:09 PM | Permalink

Today I just feel bad. Probably due to the wreck in front of the house at 3:00 am. I woke up, called 911, checked on the people, determined they were drunk, advised the police, checked my blood sugar which was high, corrected and went back to bed but the commotion kept me awake.

My blood sugar has been around 135 all morning but that hasn't helped.

I would have liked it to be a tad lower.

Marcie and I had two decent runs making only one mistake in jumpers.

I've eaten lunch and have gotten Maggie ready to go and am waiting to walk her course.

Posted by at 12:02 PM | Permalink

I'm home now, and my blood sugar is back to 108.

So I guess I'll leave this basal alone and watch it again tomorrow.

Posted by at 4:27 PM | Permalink

It got busy. Maggie classes came back to back.

The good news is that an hour after lunch I was at 165 and I stayed in that range most of the day.

Maggie did Q in Novice JWW.

All in all I don't think I ate any more than normal and the blood suar was better. I think I up my afternoon basal starting at 10:00

Posted by at 4:05 PM | Permalink

This is the fun part. I'm at 249 after the second run. I ran hard but we made a mistake in the middle. Very out of breath at the end.

I really need to eat but not sure I should.

Posted by at 3:51 PM | Permalink

After my second walk thru blood sugar is 108 so I ate some sugar. the world can laugh at me because I don't have the carb counts in my Treo for most of what I brought. I can look them up in the internet but didn't want to take the time to find them.

Next break I'll do that.

Posted by at 11:18 AM | Permalink

I should say something about this run.

We had moments of brillance but Marcie just wasn't with me at the beginning. She had her table freakiness, missed a weave pole, and just did something weird at the beginning.

I ran well, no chest pains after, but normal can't breathe at the end. Even got a front cross in but gee I don't know where.

Posted by at 10:51 AM | Permalink

I went into the ring with a 129 and came out with a 137. ThatLs a lot better than usual.

I grabbed a stick of cheese and took a walk.

Bad news: major thunderstorms are coming through and Maggie is deathly afraid. This site has not been good to her.

I was dumb enough to enter her and bring her to a New Year's Trial a few years back and forgot Texans have to make a lot of noise at midnight especially in the rural areas.

So we may leave when Marcie is done.

Posted by at 10:23 AM | Permalink

Things are going well. My bloodsugar was 129 after breakfast. I'd done one good walk thru before testing my blood sugar.

I did 36 carbs for breakfast, bolused for 18 and did 20 units of Symlin.

Posted by at 8:56 AM | Permalink

I woke up about 1:30 with sympthoms of hypoglycemia. Not bad though. Tested and was at 108, so I ate a serving of sugar and bolused for the carbs and went back to sleep.

I figure the end result proves I did things right, because I woke up with a blood sugar of 108, which is a good morning blood sugar for me.

Here's the difference between the two events -- the earlier 108 was a crash, where I was on my way to a lower blood sugar, while this 108 is a stable one. It's hard to explain if you haven't been through it, but a stable blood sugar feels very different from a dropping blood sugar.

I've also read some studies where there is a definate lag time between brain blood sugar and fingerstick blood sugar.

Not only does this tell me that my bolus rate is set right for that time of day, but it also tells me that my nighttime basal rates are pretty on the money. I haven't touched them.

I go to .80 at midnight
Then 1.05 at 4:00 am to counteract dawn phenomenon.

One of my biggest debates with myself, is when do I want the higher agility rate to kick in -- remember that we're always working 2 hours ahead -- meaning if I want a higher basal rate at 8:00 am, I need to make the change at 6:00 am. So that's what I've done. I go to 1.45 at 6:00 am

Posted by at 5:36 AM | Permalink

I was in the car, on the Treo when I started on the other Agility Experiments and got side tracked.

I've posted on this before I think, but one of the things I don't do well enough with my pump is adjusting my basal rate. That's one of the things I'm working on.

We've been able to come up with a pretty good basal rate that works well during the week, which is a good thing, since that is usually 5/7 of my life. However, I have spend spending weekends chasing mild highs.

So first, I set up a basal rate I've called weekend, and set it to my evening rate all day. I still was chasing mild highs, so I upped it by 10%. I think its better, but I haven't had enough days to judge.

I've also set a rate for my agility trials. That one will take a bit more tweaking, but the good news, is that I have two days this week and 2 1/2 days next week to work on that one. That one is now 10% higher than the weekend rate I established.

That's one reason I packed extra food. I've also restocked my emergency food supply, just in case. I talked to a diabetes sports specialist about this about a month ago, and he convinced me that on agility trial weekends I shouldn't focus on losing weight, but I should focus on keeping my insulin levels low enough to compete better. I also shouldn't be as tired, since the high blood sugar levels I've been experiencing on trial days, wear me out.

I also think that if I mentally feel better, the dogs will do better. Marcie is more affected by my physical well being that Maggie -- and if I am not as tired, I will run faster.

Anyway, we'll see how it goes.

Posted by at 9:31 PM | Permalink

I've picked up a variety of both low carb snacks and regular foods.

I've also picked up some items to keep food hot with as my Diet Gourmet lunch was a salmon taco and I can't imagine eating it cold. My Sunday lunch has soup so I'll want that hot too.

The main reason I'm posting under Gadgets though, is that I picked up a new gadget. I have a one-time use camcorder from CVS. I already had someone tape a run with Marcie, and I'm going to try to get different people to tape with either it, my Kodak digital camera or my Treo.

I really like having a short video clip of an agility run on my Treo, as it makes it ieasier to explain what agility is to my students. Especially the non-Eghlish speaking ones, though it's probably just another way to convince them that their teacher is nuts.Actually that probably true of both populations.

But it will be interesting to see which one is easier to put on the Treo, and which one is better quality.

It will also be nice to get rid of the run I have -- it's about 40 pounds ago, and about 2 years ago, and Maggie runs much queiter now.

Posted by at 3:32 PM | Permalink

It went extremely well. My husband and I went to Steak and Ale like we planned. Service was great but the kitchen was slow.

He had the turkey feast and I had the prime rib feast. Only problem was that I had run out of syringes and didn't realize. I also didn't tke my emergency bag so didn't have backup. If we had taken my car I would have.

My blood sugar was 114 this morning so I did good.

Oddly enough it seems I only need my emergency bad when I don't have it. That's not true as I can only think of two times I didn't have it and needed it and lots of times when I did and had it.

Posted by at 2:50 PM | Permalink

There are a lot of things to be thankful, even if you are diabetic.

While the state of medical technology isn't all we would want, it is infinitely better than when my dad was diabetic. They didn't have blood glucose monitors and they hold him not to eat sugar. They also didn't have medications, nor did they give him insulin.

Actually they didn't do much of anything for Type 2 diabetes back then.

And not much better for Type 1s, but at least they attempted to treat it.

Posted by at 4:17 PM | Permalink

I was right. He was into seling baratric surgery. He is probahly right in that doing the hiatal repair would make bariatric difficult.

He also said lapband would not be an option. That's probably because of the GERD.

He needs to scope and do a gastric emptying test before surgery.

My inclination right now is to forget the surgery and work harder ar management.

Posted by at 10:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I'm at the surgeon's office and the first qualm is the fact the door said baratric surgeon.

I honestly don't think that I want to go there. I doubt that insurance would cover it anyway.

Lots of paperwork, stuff I have on file with this group any way but oh well.

Posted by at 9:05 AM | Permalink

The upgrade to the Treo has made a difference in the sound quality, not just the phone but PTunes too, I think. Very glad it was available and I upgraded last night.

Ran by Fryes and they had a car power adapter for the Treo so I picked that up, and spoiled myself a bit. I also got a Siig device that I can plug the Treo in and play PTunes music through the FM radio. It works very well. I'm surprised I figured I would be returning it.

Posted by at 10:21 AM | Permalink

My pump, the Animas IR1200 comes with 4 basal rates, but right now, only one is truly useful. Basal Rate 1. I've decided to try to come up with 3 more useful basal rates.

They are going to be weekend, agility, and workshop.

Basically weekend has the same basal rate all day that I use for my evening basal rate.

agility has the same schedule, but the basal rate is 10% higher. I got this idea from another pumper. Basically during an agility trial, I spend the entire day too high, so I'm going to up my basal rate, test more frequently and then eat to prevent lows. That will hopefully prevent some of the fatique I've been dealing with.

The last one is workshop, and hopefully I'll think to switch to that basal rate the night before a workshop. It's about 50% higher all day than my normal basal rate. I should set up my Treo to remind me to switch to that rate the night of December 5th since I have a workshop the next day. Hopefully I just made that adjustment.

Again, the principle is to drop my blood sugar low I will then test frequently to prevent an hypoglycemic episode since I get very physically ill when my blood sugar is too high.

Blogging this helped, as I've gone into my Treo and set events to alarm me and remind me to change my basal rates for the two upcoming trials and the workshop.

Posted by at 7:03 AM | Permalink

I just downloaded and installed the Cingular update.

Man, it was a bit scary because the first try, I got a ROM Update error, but I just followed the directions and everything seems to be working.

I even deleted Volume Care, and called the voice mail and I could hear it.

I'll know better tomorrow how things worked, as its a bit late to call anyone I know to try it out.

I'm trying to make the Treo more of a first gadget of defense. I tend to wait to blog until I get to a big computer because it's easier, but that's why I bought the freaking keyboard! Oh, I need to test that.

I'm actually going through all my software and making sure things are working right -- and found a neat Napster To Go feature I want to take advantage of over the next few days before my agility trial -- "custom play lists" based on what you usually download.

Posted by at 11:32 PM | Permalink

at least if I am at home.

The Haversian Canal: Call an Ambulance, in the US

I live in Farmers Branch, and recently ourfire department won an award for having one of the fastest response times in the country. Also the fire station is so close, that it probably takes them longer to turn on the unit than it does to drive here.

Posted by at 11:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

See http://diabetestalkfest.com/blog/?cat=1 for Talkfest's introduction to one of their users blogging about the Guardian.

By the way, just from the first entry, I pass.

I like my hot tub too much to have to deal with $40.00 sensors.

Not to mention the pool, which is miserable this time of year.

Posted by at 11:18 PM | Permalink

I've got the whole week off and I left with copies done for the two weeks, lesson plans for next week turned in and almost every thing grade.

This week is about taking care of me.

My husband has been out of town which helps that much more though I am starting to miss him..

I'm focusing on working out. I got an hour in on both Saturday and Sunday and so far today have 35 minutes done.

Right now I'm waiting to get my hair trimmed.

I've got depo shot scheduled, contact lens doctor, and the surgeon later on this week.

Tonight I'm doing dog agility and will be trialing this weekend.

It has been relaxing so far, and I've been catching up on sleep.

Posted by at 2:27 PM | Permalink

Official weight today was 40 pounds since my initial visit with the Endo, and 15 pounds since Symlin.

We're leaving everything alone, though I am thinking of the option of skipping Symlin for evening meals if the surgeon can't fix me.

I see him on Wednesday

Posted by at 1:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Panel to Set Standards for New Continuous Monitors - Meters - Diabetes Health magazine

Panel to Set Standards for New Continuous Monitors

Posted by at 10:30 PM | Permalink

The HooK: DR. HOO- Byetta: A new weapon, but not a gun

DR. HOO- Byetta: A new weapon, but not a gun

However, the article is inaccurate when it talks about Symlin.

Posted by at 5:41 PM | Permalink

I woke up twice last night with heartburn. I'm really tired, but thankfully we have a week off next week and maybe I can get some rest. The awaking is really getting to me.

Also the teeth thing is getting to me. I am convinced the reason I've been having so many dental problems is the acid in my mouth, combined with blood sugar problem.

Yes -- I'm writting down why I need this surgery so I don't chicken out.

Of course, I don't know yet, if the doctor wants to do it. The first time I saw a surgeon for my carpel tunnel -- he didn't want to do it. I'm glad now -- because I ended up with a hand specialist who did an excellent job.

Posted by at 6:57 AM | Permalink

Optimal Initiation of Insulin in Type 2 Diabetes

I definately have done better on insulin alone. Last A1c was 6.0.

Posted by at 9:53 PM | Permalink

Hopefully I still have the comments working. The Spambots found me again.

Posted by at 7:00 AM | Permalink

I've lost two more pounds which I didn't really think would happen this week because my appetite was almost out of control this weekend. Also my insulin level was higher, because most of what I was craving was high in carbs.

I feel really good about the weight loss I've experienced so far on the Symlin, because it is fairly slow -- 2 pounds in a week is a lot for me, but I can definately say that starvation was not involved this time.

Also, the changes I've made in my life are definately sustainable.

I've been meeting some other goals -- last night I was able to do 30 minutes on the treadmill without stopping. And it was at 2.7 mph.

I've been having to break up workouts due to either leg or foot pain, and will often do as little as 2 1/2 minutes at a time to get a workout down -- In fact did that on Saturday, but primarily because I was trying to increase my speed to 3.0.

I'm off all next week, so in addition to getting all my medical issues dealt with -- I'm seeing the surgeon, my CDE, and getting a Depo shot, I'm going to try to double my cardio workouts.

Posted by at 5:49 AM | Permalink

I see the surgeon next week.

I ran the following past my principal and he was cool with it -- I'm seeing a surgeon next week and I am planning to get an operation over the break, is it okay with you, if I do it exam week -- that will give me an extra week to recover. He said he was sure he could get anyone to give a test. I do need to spend some time and come up with a decent exam for the ELI kiddos,

I've also run this past the husband.

Here's the deal. Every time I work out, I have problems with heartburn. Almost every single night it wakes me up. It's not as bad as it was with the expired Nexxium -- that was the utter worse I've seen in ages. But I am still waking up. Most of the time I can roll over and go back to sleep but a lot of times I go ahead and get up, or have to get up and deal with it.

I was having chest pains after lunch today. I'm 99% sure it was GERD. This is really sucking.

Basically, the last time I was able to get rid of the GERD sympthoms, I was on Propulsid (sp), and had lost about 50 more pounds than I've lost so far. Well, the Propulsid isn't available, and it's going to be another year before I see 50 more pounds.

Sigh.

Well, at least I have my ducks in a row.

Posted by at 9:31 PM | Permalink

Here's the weird thing, I was diagnosed with Restless Leg years before I was diagnosed with diabetes.

Diabetes In Control - Restless Legs Syndrome Common in Diabetics

Restless legs syndrome can be a major cause of sleep disruption in this population

They also say it causes a lot of my "wake ups" but I don't notice that near as much as I do the GERD wake ups.

Posted by at 9:05 PM | Permalink

Here's another attempt at a continuous glucose monitoring device.

Diabetes In Control - Continuous, Non-Invasive Glucose Monitoring Device, Shows Positive Results in Cl

Glucon announced last week the recent trial results of its flagship product, Aprise, a continuous, non-invasive, glucose monitoring device. The data was presented by Glucon V.P. of R&D Dr. Benny Pesach at the Diabetes Technology Society Standards Workshop on November 10, 2005 at the Fifth Annual Diabetes Technology Meeting in San Francisco.

Posted by at 9:04 PM | Permalink

Byetta will probably be a bigger money maker for Amylin since there is potential more patients for Byetta than Symlin (Symlin is for insuiln users, Byetta is being tested with oral medications).

BYETTA Shown to Reduce Blood Sugar Levels When Added to Patients Treated With TZDs

A1C, a measure of glucose control over the previous three months, improved by approximately 0.9 percentage points at the end of the 16-week study for subjects receiving twice daily 10 microgram subcutaneous injections of BYETTA in addition to their usual TZD or TZD plus metformin regimen, compared to those on their prior oral medications receiving placebo. At the beginning of the study, the average A1C of study participants was approximately 7.9 percent. Sixty-two percent of subjects receiving BYETTA who entered the study with an A1C greater than 7 percent achieved an A1C of 7 percent or less compared to sixteen percent of similar subjects on placebo. The American Diabetes Association recommends a target A1C of less than 7 percent.

Posted by at 8:50 PM | Permalink

I ordered another device and received it today. It is an eZwrap from Animas. It slides into your IR1250 (or 1200) pump and gives you a place to wrap up extra tubing.

I just installed it and it works well. The shortest length works well if I use my upper adbomen but I have to use the next longest lenth for my lower belly. However that means I end up with too much tubing.

Worth the cost.

Posted by at 5:10 PM | Permalink

First thing was to put Multiclick lancing devices in all my testing kits (3). No excuses now.

Second thing was to put new batteries in all my meters. I figure the batteries in them are over a year old, maybe older. It's a little silly in my opinion to try to prolong battery life -- they are what, $4.00 a set of batteries, when I am affecting my health.

My next goal is to get all the new Diet Gourmet food in my database so I'll log food better.

Posted by at 6:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I took a good look at my logs today and tweaked my bolus ratios. Hopefully that will help.

Posted by at 8:10 PM | Permalink

Today is World Diabetes Day (it's the anniversary of Banting's birth, I think), and was very surprised we weren't doing "official" d-blogging today and someone picked a different day.

To mark World Diabetes Day, I urge everyone to take a moment and access their diabetes care and see if there is something you could be doing different to get better control. I know I can find something I can do better.

At the same time, plan your Thankgiving dinner in advance. My husband and I go out to dinner each year, usually Steak and Ale, and I know what I am going to eat and what I need to do to minimize the damage. It really does help.

Posted by at 1:59 PM | Permalink

My blood sugar is 110 so I did get the high fixed. I took some Sonata to help me sleep, as I often have trouble getting to sleep on Sunday nights and last night was no exception. I did wake up before 4:00, went to the bathroom and went almost right back to sleep, but my throat was burning.

Never did wake up enough to test my blood sugar.

Here's to hoping I'm preventing the high tonight.

Posted by at 6:05 AM | Permalink

But it isn't the site because I've gone down to 230. I finally gave up and ate something. And I've just turned my temporary basal up by 20%

One of my goals for tonight is go get to bed at a reasonable time, even though the Wizard of Oz is on. I'd love to stay up and watch it, but then that means I'll be cranky all week.

I did break down and eat a sandwich at 8:00. Hopefully that won't mess me up too much. And I think I'll take my meter to bed with me, just in case I wake up.

Posted by at 10:28 PM | Permalink

My blood sugar has been high almost every evening. I've been slowing increasing my basal rate, and I've been correcting, and by morning, my blood sugars are fine.

Right now, I'm at 270 which is extremely high for me, but that also explains why my vision is blurred and I'm craving sugar.

I corrected, and I upped my basal by .025 units again. I know I under bolused, because I forgot to check the carb count on my food before I cooked it but this is ridiculous. I also know that some of the weekend issue is because I exercise in the morning on weekends instead of the afternoon.

It's kind of a vicious cycle by the way -- my blood sugar will be high, I get sluggish and it stays high. Or I give into the sugar craving. Or both.

Posted by at 7:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I've got a new Treo gadget.

I've been resisting the Bluetooth earpiece foreve, but I hate dealing with wires, and the Treo phone just really isn't convenient when it comes to actually talking to people. Sorry folks, but it is big and clunky and if there is any humidity in the area, you get the screen damp.

So I got a Palm brand Treo headset. I like the sound I get when I talk to my mom in the truck and she can hear me, so it's passed that test. Now I need to start using the phone more at home. I do pay enough for it -- I've got unlimited local calls and 500 minutes of long distance a month, so I should use it.

Posted by at 4:48 PM | Permalink

Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Sports

Kory Koontz can wrestle a rope around a steer's hind legs in a few seconds. To compete against the best rodeo cowboys, he's got a trusty horse, a two-gallon hat and dusty boots.

He also has an insulin pump, a blood glucose monitor, lancets, and a pocket full of test strips.

Posted by at 8:12 AM | Permalink

A commenter asked about mixing Symlin and Insulin. Absolutely DO NOT play games with Symlin. As much as I like it, it can cause random hypo's if you don't follow their guidelines exactly.

Go back and look at my history on Symlin. I was injected 30 minutes prior to meals and had two hypo reactions within 30 minutes of eating. It was very weird to go through it.

One of the reasons you can't mix Symlin and insulin is that they have different pH levels. While insulin isn't always comfortable, Symlin almos always burns as a result.

The funny thing is that I poopooed the article on the dangerous of Symlin, and then got hit up by the very problem within the next week.

Again though, we were doing something off label. I really advise that you don't.

Posted by at 5:32 AM | Permalink

I think I accomplished something. I had complained about the last workshop we were given and Monday's workshop was cancelled!

At least I won't be out of my classroom unwillingly.

However, I did just finished my substitute plans but I am ahead on my other stuff, especially copies, so that makes me happy.

Posted by at 10:55 AM | Permalink

I really like Accu-Chek's Multiclix lanceling device as there are no sharps to dispose up. Walgreen's has it on "sale" for $19.99 and has an instant coupon for an additional $10.00 off. That means the device itself (with 12 lancelets) runs $9.99

I'm going to snag another one this weekend.

While I like the size of the one that comes with the Flash, it huts. The Multiclix doesn't.

Posted by at 8:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I've been suffering from GERD all day because last nigth I stress ate. I haven't done that in ages, but I have a workshop this evening and one all day Monday, so I started getting stressed out over it.

I woke up exhaused, my throat full of acid, and it hasn't gotten any better.

The sad thing is I KNOW I can't do that. The calories aren't good for me, certainly the carbs aren't. The good news, is that it's the first time I've stressed eaten for a while.

Posted by at 4:54 PM | Permalink

First of all, you have to know that I am a "dog" person. I have bred dogs, and I have had dogs with genetic diseases. Thus I "get" genetic disease, on a very crude basis, but I get it.

There are two types of genetic problems.

Some involve single genes -- we find them pretty easily in the dog world. They are usually recessive, and you see them pretty quickly. Recessive genes in dogs cause things like white color in boxes. It's also associated with deafness in boxes.

Some involve multiple genes -- hip dysplasia is a good example. We're pretty sure multiple genes cause the problem, and that simple elimination of affected dogs from the gene pool won't solve the problem.

But here's the problem with diabetes. Diabetes itself is not a disease. It can't be. Not with the multiple types. Diabetes, in my opinion, is a group of sympthoms that are common to several different diseases. Some may be genetic, some may not.

There is a very interesting article about genetic medicine in the New York Times about the Mennonites in Pennsylvania. Read it. After reading that article I came to this conclusion: I think that we're going to find that some types of Type 1 diabetics are genetic in origin and can be avoided if the environment is controlled. However, I think it is going to be a while before we understand Type 1 diabetics fully.

I think it will be even longer before we get a handle on Type 2 diabetes.

Posted by at 8:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I will admit I "cheated" in a way, I wrote my blog entry last night, and kept it inactive until I got up this morning.

I wanted to make sure that I remembered and got the entry up. Welcome to all the commenters, I'm going to get to everyone else's blog this evening after I've gotten my workout in and have eaten dinner.

Sorry about the commenting being off. I wish someone had told me. I thought I had it fixed, but it just wouldn't stay that way.

Hopefully the commenting is back on.

Posted by at 5:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It really does.

I've been diabetic -- officially diagosed -- over 4 years now. I've done it a bunch of different ways.

When I was first diagnosed I was on oral meds. It drove me nuts. Nothing I did really affected my blood sugar. And I couldn't get my blood sugar down fast enough to suit me. You have to know that I went from almost normal blood sugars, to really screwed up blood sugars in the space of literally hours (for those who are new to me and the blog, I was pre-diabetes for years, but didn't get diagnosed until I "flunked" a glucose tolerance test. I suspect that I had been doing a pretty fair job at controlling things through diet and exercise, up until the test.

I switched to MDI pretty quickly and tried that route for almost a year, but kept gaining weight. I also had a problem with rollar coasting blood sugars.

My life has really changed for the better because of the pump. It allows a lot of flexibility -- and I don't even utilize everything that makes it good. For example, ever since the recall, I have not been using the Food list, and I should. Lately I've been slowly working on customizing mine.

I also don't use the temporary basal enough. I'm trying to use it more though.

I really think that more Type 2's should consider pumping. It really DOES make a difference.

However, diabetes still sucks.

I've gone low with no explaination, I've gone high with no explaination. The only way to deal with it, is test often, and fix whatever goes wrong when it goes wrong.

Posted by at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Man, it's important to have a good medical team, and to keep good eyes on your numbers.

Yesterday freaked me out, but I knew it was coming -- all weekend I was lower than I normally in on the weekend, so I wasn't surprised to see some lows yesterday.

Decreasing all my bolusess so far today has worked (I haven't seen tonight's numbers yet).

I also dropped my morning basal by the lowest amount. I'm always nervous about adjusting basals, and like to take that slow.

My numbers were very "normal" all day. A bit high after breakfast, but I don't think I've every really gotten the bolus right for that particular breakfast and I am always high after it.

Correction worked and was around 100 before lunch, and was right at 140 2 hours after. It was at around 100 again before dinner.

I know that the changes I've been experiencing has been due to weight loss. As of this morning, I've lost over 40 pounds since I started seeing an encronologist for the first time (spring break, year before last). I've also lost over 35 pounds since I started on Sylmin, and I've lost 25 pounds since the start of the school year. It shows.

Unfortunately my energy level to get through the day isn't higher. Part of that is just due to the schedule I have. However, I do handle my dogs better in agility and can run courses better.

Posted by at 7:58 PM | Permalink

I just checked my weight, and I also just downloaded my pump, and I've hit a couple of new lows -- my average TDD is less than 33 units a day, AND my weight is the lowest it's been in the evening.

I am thinking of making my official weigh in day Wednesday, since I tend to weigh the least that day of the week. I tend to eat more on the weekend because a) I have more time, and b) some eating is boredom eating.

Posted by at 9:00 PM | Permalink

Actually I fill like I am runing a lot low. I was running a bit low all weekend, and then this morning, two hours after breakfast was at 90, and a bit confused. It got worse.

I ended up eating about 4 lifesavers with no insulin.

My blood sugar at lunch was 90, and is 130 now, 2 hours after lunch with a few gulps of real Coke.

This is probably a side effect of the weight I have been losing.

Posted by at 1:27 PM | Permalink

Last night was the first time since I've been playing around with medication that I slept all night. I did a Protonix in the morning and again at night. So that looks like that is the best solution. That was even after eating a salad after 8:00 pm and some Snickers minatures (blood sugar was lower than I like to go to bed with).

I'll have to contact the doctor's office and get that going.

Posted by at 6:39 AM | Permalink

I finally got my MacMini set up downstairs in my "gym". It took reinstalling everything, because I never could get the display to work with it, with the resolution I had set up on the good monitor upstairs, and I couldn't get the MacMini to stay at a lower resolution. Very odd.

But that's okay.

More weirdness. I bought a cheap Mac keyboard from Fry's, and it wouldn't work on it, even though I could get a PC keyboard to work through it's USB port. And Fry's could get it to work on their computer. I got a replacement though and it works fine.

I've pretty much have it set up the way I want.

I'll probably get a second one later, as I love the form factor. I would like this one to be wireless and to have more memory.

Posted by at 11:01 PM | Permalink

Last Friday I was freaking out, because I wasn't using as much insulin and I had a hypoglymic episode. Today I was fighting high blood sugars all day.

So here's what my day was like --

Once a semester, I take a class period off, and teach a class on operant conditioning for one of my best friends. We show operant conditioning in action with Marcie, my beagle. We've done this for a bunch of years.

So I left the house early, with her in tow.

A meeting was scheduled in my classroom at 8:00 am, and the presenter met me outside my classroom as I am dropping my things off, so I take an extra few minutes to set up my computer and video projector for her.

I then have 1st period, and I get two new students. One a new enrollee, who knows from where, and another kid is a REALLY poorly behaved student. Also one of my kiddos showed up, after a not seeing him for about two weeks, and he had to make sure everyone knew he was there. At first I thought it was the dog, but once I got rid of those two -- the one went to content mastery, I sent the other out because he wouldn't calm down.

4th period, just as I finish lunch, my ELI specialist showed up. I knew she was coming but not sure what she planned. She observed me teaching 4th period, and we spent my planning period going over what happened and how I should do thing.

I "fixed" the things she pointed out and taught my 6th period class. It was a good thing, but hard on the blood sugar apparently.

I was absolutely done in 7th period, but I did finally make it home. Of course, no planning got done, and no papers got graded and I'm going to have to do all this weekend.

My blood sugar is finally back down, but I'm up to 40 units again today with no additional calories.

Posted by at 9:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Close Concerns

Not only have see better A1C's since starting insulin, I've done something I haven't been able to do without it.

Lose weight. I've lost around 25 pounds since starting Symlin in June. I had previously lost around 15 pounds over a year time period, and it was a horrible struggle.

Losing weight on Symlin is extremely easy.

I've reduced my daily insulin usage from over 120 units per day to recently around 33 units. My A1C went from 6.9 to 6.0

I have not gone completely without problems. With the weight lose comes constant diligence to insure that I don't go low. In fact, I had two hypoglymic events last week. It's taken some time to figure it out, but I've determined that I can no longer dose prior to the meal, but have to dose immediately. I had been dosing 30 minutes before the meal to avoid a high blood sugar reading post prandial. We're figuring with the weight lose, I've also gotten a reduction in insulin resistance.

I've gotten very good at tweaking bolus rates.

Posted by at 11:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Pressure On Pumped Insulin - Forbes.com

Recently we made the comment that in our view the insulin pump market was growing at 12% to 14% a year, rather than the 20% mentioned in the Animas conference call. Several subscribers have asked how we came upon our numbers.

Posted by at 10:25 PM | Permalink

First, I survived the workshop almost -- except that the presenter showed up late (she claimed she was told 8:30), and half the participants did too.

Sorry, but my email said 8:00 am, and that means 8:00 am, not 8:30, and certainly not 9:00.

I started geting a bit too low at lunch, but that was because a) they didn't serve us lunch, and b) I had to walk into a cave to get lunch. Next time (on the 14th), I'll be bringing my own.

I wish that my coworkers had a bit more tact, both of them showed up extremely late. Also, one didn't notice that I had very carefully staked out an end of the table so that no one would sit next to me. Instead, he sat down on top of me. I'm sorry but I do not like people breathing on my testing equipment, especially when I am using it, and I do not like people who attempt to read what I am doing on my Treo (Palm computer). The worst part, is that everytime I got up to use the restroom, his chair was closer to mine when I got back. He's not from the US, and certainly not from the south and has not realized cultural bounderies.

Of course, I don't know why I was surprised he was late, (actually I wasn't). So far he has not every once been on time to any thing.

Yes, I was in a nasty mood yesterday and it really never got better. Not having the correct materials and the presenter not having them either didn't help. Yes, it was a bit of disaster.

But the rest of the good news! I got on the scale this morning and weighed 264.6. A new low! I'm still being very careful not to go into starvation mode, but at the same time I'm trying to lose enough weight to make some difference on the GERD. Obviously I'm a long way from that, since I was awake again at 4:30 today and couldn't get back to sleep. I really don't want to do the surgery thing, but it is looking more and more that I might have to.

I go back on the Protonix in a few days, so I'll have to see how that works out.

Posted by at 6:19 AM | Permalink

I've got to go to a teacher workshop today. Hopefully they will feed us, they have for the last few, since I cancelled today's food. The good news, is that the food has been healthy each time.

I've already turned up my pump 50% and plan to test a lot. I'm trying to decide what to do about breakfast, it should probably be fairly low carb since my fasting was at 120.

I'm still having problems with the GERD, I run out of Nexxium in a few days and will be going to Protonix again right after. I'm going to wait at least a week before I decide what to do.

I'm still taking quite a bit less insulin, but my blood sugars have been slowly raising and I am currently about borderline control. I've decided to do 1/4 of my insulin dose for the next few days with the Symlin and see if that helps. Corrections never work as well as taking insulin with food.

Weight is still good, though of course, I would like it to be lower. I'm at 266.x right now, and I'd love to be under 265.

I'm close though.

Posted by at 6:55 AM | Permalink

The good news first -- my weight is back where it should be.

The weirdness? I am still not bolusing for meals and only bolusing corrections and small ones at that. Well, breakfast was still fairly big -- but I had a high carb breakfast yesterday.

Insulin usage is rapidly decreasing.

Tomorrow will be interesting since I'm doing the workshop thing.

Posted by at 6:06 AM | Permalink