Living With Diabetes

CBS News | The Other Woman | December 31, 2005�23:04:34

I've watched this episode every time it's come on, for two reasons -- it is set in Hattiesburg Mississippi, where I went to college, and because of the insulin pump angle.

First, the insulin pumpers all get upset by this one, but I think they've renarrated it, and it shouldn't set them off as much.

Basically, a doctor, with Type 2 diabetes was found dead in his bed. He was wearing an insulin pump -- they should a Minimed 508, but that really doesn't matter.

Wife claims that he died in his sleep. She sets off alarms with the coroner though (he says), because she demanded the pump and the insulin vials back.

They did a toxicology and found some drugs in his system that didn't belong there. Because of the type of drugs, one of two things happened. He put them in the pump or she did.

Either way, she was found gulity by a court of law, and lost her appeal.

The insulin pumpers have gotten upset in the past because the narrative used to say that he had diabetes so bad, he needed a pump. It didn't say that this time. In fact, they hardly mentioned the pump -- the narrative on the page listed is pretty close to the actually show.

However, it's highly unusual for Type 2's to have a pump. I know of a few, mostly because I'm on the list.

My acquintances that know about the pump think mine must be worse that most because I use a pump, but people who "get" me, know the truth -- I'll trust technology long before I will trust chemicals.

Posted by at 10:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I live in Farmers Branch, TX. We had a wild fire on Tuesday -- it wasn't near my house, and while we're in a very suburban area, I don't worry about my house. Much. Especially since "we" water the park and we water our yard (both have sprinker systems).

Anyway, get this -- there is going to be a "public display of fireworks" shortly after midnight tonight in Dallas. Yep!

And get this -- it is for a wedding.

Here's the deal. They have a permit, and the city burn ban allows it. They also have a professional pyrotechnics unit doing it, and fire department standing by that they are supposed to be paying for.

I'll admit, I eloped. I eloped because I couldn't see wasting money on one day. So I'm not ever going to get this at all, but still.

It seems to me, if you were responsible citizens, you'd call off the firework, and take any money that you save by not having it and given it to a charity that helps the wild fire victims.

But then I'm just too practical.

And now I have another reason not to live in Dallas.

Here's the local news story:

Posted by at 10:04 PM | Permalink

I'm not big on looking back. But this has been a good year for me in a lot of respects.

Before this year, I was able to follow my doctor's directions and keep my blood sugar normal for normal days. However, I wasn't good at adjusting for abnormal days. While I don't feel I've mastered it, I do have confidence to try different things, and have the knowledge to be able to adjust. That's something I've just gotten good at the last few months.

While I haven't lost any weight recently, I haven't gained a massive amount over the holidays which is a good thing.

I'm really looking forward to getting through this school and deciding what I want to do next year. If I want to stay at my school (I've been here 14 years), I will probably have to teach Algebra and focus on non-English speaking kiddos.

I would like to teach a group of students who have 100% access to the internet. I've put the word out on that, and we'll have to see what happens.

I definately want to stay with my district IF I keep teaching, I'll be getting a longevity stipend starting next year.

With the master's and the experience, I could go into a different area. However, one thing I've found this year, is that I like teaching better than I like teaching with computers. I just wish I could do both.

Posted by at 12:57 PM | Permalink

Plucked From Africa, but Still Isolated in Their Classes - New York Times

I do think we do a better job. My job, half the day, is to teach nonEnglish speakers math. I've worked with a bunch of students -- started with 10, we've moved 50 thru, and have about 80 now. What we do, is test them. Mine are at the lowest level and they stay with me until they can speak and read some English. Then they are moved to sheltered classes. If they don't do well in those classes they come back -- so far, only 1 has.

Posted by at 11:55 PM | Permalink

Went to the doctor and he diagnosed patella-femoral syndrome, gave me Celebrex and sent me home with some exercises.

He wants me to slow down on the walking, but I need to do it both as exercise AND to maintain my classroom. I have been keeping off of it a lot the last two weeks, but I won't be able to do that.

I probably shouldn't do dog agility either, from the leaflet he gave me. The good news is that none is scheduled until next Thursday (class)

Posted by at 10:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

That's the name that Abbott labs gives their PC based Diabetes Data Management System. I just installed it, and while it isn't intuitive, the data can be exported, edited, and imported into Animas EzManager.

If anyone needs directions, let me know, and I'll provide.

It's free software, just call the 1-800 number on your Flash or Freestyle meter and ask for it.

Posted by at 12:42 PM | Permalink

This week is tough. I really want to get back to school and get this year done and over with.

I've cleaned house as much as want to. I do need to do laundry but would like to wait until Monday or at least the weekend.

I am spoiling myself at lunch. something my father taught me. the best restaurants have good lunch menus and the portions are smaller.

So I did Red Lobster yesterday and am doing Saltgrass today. May do Italian tomorrow.

After I ate lunch I got up and couldn't walk right for the first few steps. so I broke down and called my primary care physician for an appointment.

Posted by at 12:20 PM | Permalink

I kind of thing I know what is going on -- my biggest problem is that I miss my Diet Gourmet food! I think I'm having some side effects from Symlin due to the different food.

Also, my knee is still bothering me. My biggest clue that there is a problem is a bruise mark on my knee. I'm okay if I stay still, but when I start walking it gets worse.

So far I've been shoving my workouts to my off days. Especially the cardio ones.

I'm gotten off my normal schedule and I'm trying to get back to it. I especially need to be back on it for Thursday -- I've got labs first thing in the morning.

The good news is that my basal and boluses seem to be set correctly -- I'm waking up with a blood sugar in the 90's each day.

Here's some fun news -- We went to a credit card system for our Flexible spending plan. They said save receipts and they would ask for them. Well, November rolled around, no one asked for September, so I dumped them. Good news, the medication receipts are all online, so was the receipts for Animas. That left the dentist and my contact lens doctor, and SaveOn over at the grocery store, and no one gave me a bit of a problem with duplicating the reciepts. So I picked up everything, packed it up, and shipped it off.

Anyway, Diet Gourmet opens up again on Monday, and I'm counting the days.

Posted by at 6:05 PM | Permalink

I've been sick all through Christmas Eve and Christmas. I'm not sure why though. My stomach was upset all day Saturday, very sore and achy, and then had a sore throat and was achy on Sunday. Also very upset stomach on Sunday.

It's better today.

The weird part is that my blood sugar has been pretty low.

Posted by at 8:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

BD Diabetes - Educational Literature - Your Insulin Adjustment Workbook

Your Insulin Adjustment Workbook

Posted by at 8:31 PM | Permalink

I think I blogged about this before. One of my goals this December is to spruce up my home gym, make it more comfortable and usable.

For example, I started out by replacing the broken computer -- a home brew PC -- with a MacMini. It's smaller, cuter, and works. I actually did that in October.

My next goal on that front is to get it a better monitor, but for now, it's fine.

For my birthday, I got a bench and resistance bands. I actually like working weights MUCH more than I like cardio, and I need to get more different workouts going. I need to work with the iShape people to see what we can do to rotate the workouts and making them more interesting. I may need to just start using the Shape Magazine.

the latest project is to move the TV and upgrade the cable service on it. I took my husband's broken digital box that he doesn't use, and traded it for a DVR. That helps, as I am watching movies in pieces. One of the problems, is that the time period that I usually work out doesn't have great TV. Mostly news and commercials.

Well, we went to Ikea today, and bought a bookshelf that puts the TV up higher. Fun diabetic story here -- I decided NOT to take my emergency bag. And then also forgot my Treo. My two hours post-pranial alarm went off and I was 110. We hadn't got to Ikea yet, but I knew we wanted to look at the built bookshelves first, meaning we had to walk through a guarter of the store, and then find the actual boxes we wanted, walking another quarter. That did not feel like a good idea.

I told my husband that I wanted to find a convenience store before we found Ikea and stop for a minute, just as the Ikea store popped up. But I did remember they had hot dogs and figured that would do. I almost just grabbed a snack, but the hotdogs are only $.50. So I had a hotdog and then we went shopping.

My husband started to give me a hard time about assemblying my Christmas present before Christmas, but I finally broke down and put it together this evening at about 11:00 pm. After I got done, my pump buzzed for a 2 hour check, and I was at 106. Going to bed at 106 does not sound like a good idea to me, so I did stop for a snack.

By the way, the bookshelf looks great, I've taken some pictures of it, but man, it wasn't easy to build. I do really well with instructions, and but not all with pictures. It didn't help that we bought a corner unit so it wasn't exactly symetrical.

I really like it though.

I've also learned I need to carry my bag -- I had tuna fish and crackers, crackers, AND candy in it, but the hot dog was good.

The best news, is that we bought a height extension "just in case" -- my husband is 6'0 and I'm 5'4, and I knew that the 43" shelf would work fine, but he thought I'd need the extra 12" of the extension. I'll take it back in the middle of the week next week and buy some cool storage boxes.

Anyway, the home gym thing is working out. I think I might want to do something to beef up the weight training though. I'm thinking about a personal trainer once in a while.

Posted by at 1:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I was telling one of my Type 2 friends, on the phone, about how I was testing different monitors and one of the things I really like about my endo's office, is that they are very free with "samples" from Reps.

I am however, having trouble putting this down on paper.

One of the primary care physicians I've had was also very open about giving patients "samples" from the drug reps. Whenever he started me on a new medication, I left with at least a months supply. He was also good about making sure you had a "cushion". His philosophy, one that my endo's office seems to share, is that if he could give you at least as much medication that would equal your copay.

The endo's office is even better, as it gives me an opportunity to try technology with out it affecting my pocket book. One thing that has ALWAYS irritated me about blood glucose monitors, is that they only give you 10 test strips (if that) in the box. I'm sorry, but you can't figure out if you like a meter with 10 test strips. Yeah, I know that represents 2 weeks of testing in the average Type 2 (rolling my eyes). However, I screw up at least 3 test strips when I try a new meter.

I encourage all health care professions to use the drug rep's sample medications to give something back to your patients. I personally find it a win - win. And a few times, I've tried the samples and they didn't work well for me (thinking of Provigil), which was great, because then I wasn't out a pharmacy co-pay.

Posted by at 10:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I've got a little extra time in the next week or so, if you want to communicate in a different way, i'm on AIM as beaglemomdallas and on Skpke as kathweaver

Just let me know you are from my blog.

Posted by at 10:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The main reason I strive for tight control is that I physically feel better on a day to day basis if my blood sugar is between 100 and 150. I also believe though, that doing so not only makes me feel better day to day, but it will delay the cardio-vascular complications common to my family. This article confirms this.

Diabetes Study Verifies Lifesaving Tactic - New York Times

But the result also gives rise to questions: Does the same effect occur in people with Type 2 diabetes, which usually occurs later in life and involves an inability to respond to insulin? And why would tight control of blood sugar for one brief period have such a pronounced effect later?

Posted by at 1:26 PM | Permalink

Got a shipment in today of supplies. First, I don't remember if I blogged this, but I was having problems with 43" Inset infusion sets. They weren't sticking and a corner of the adhesive was constantly off of each set when i opened them.

Animas sent me two new boxes to replace what I had left of the lot (I had this problem with the box before, same lot, was having problems with the box I was using and had one box on the shelf). I just packaged up the remaining stuff, and left it out for DHL to pick up.

At the same time, I did my first eStore order, and in the order, added a box of Glucowatch sensors -- the ones I've been waiting for. Here's the weird thing. The sensors had a different expiration date and lot number than the box did. I don't know if everyone checks this things as closely as I do, but I did. It was also weird to me, but they've discovered they came ship the sensors unrefrigatored for 96 hours and they are fine.

Anyway, they want to know what happened with this box, so are sending me a new box, and want me to send this box back.

The only problem is that the issue weirder out everyone I talked to, and they couldn't figure what to do, until I got Lisa in pump support.

By the way, I kinda of expect the sensors to be good longer than 4 months (this were to expire on 04/2006 according to the sticker on the sensors.

Posted by at 1:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Yes, I have a glucowatch and I have blogged extensively about it. I've put most of the entries under the category Glucowatch if you want to read about my experiences.

Yes, it burns. I have two burns right now, one on each wrist, but it isn't as bad if you use the spray they recommend first, and after. It's Cortizone-10 Quick Shot spray. There is a prescription spray too. I got mine from Drugstore.com and it did take a bit to arrive.

I find it useful to verify and test basal rates.

You can not use it if you are going to sweat -- though it does work okay when I spend a few minutes in the hot tub -- I miss about 3 readings after I am in the tub.

For example, I couldn't use it at school last year, because the classroom was about 95 degrees and above, and I sweated a lot. I think I can use it now.

Like the Guardian (it shows trends, not exact readings). Also like the Guardian, the more finger stick calibrations you do the more accurate.

Posted by at 9:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

The lithium battery is working now! I've put on another expired sensor. It's nice to have the expired ones, as I can practice and don't feel like I'm wasting any sensors. I should have some new sensors tomorrow.

FYI: I certainly think after reading about the Guardian, that the Glucowatch is at least as accurate. The other problems though, just can't be gotten around -- not being able to exercise and get readings is a huge problem.

Posted by at 12:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I actually ordered new sessions with my next Animas order, and today decided to pull it out and play with an expired sensor.

Seemed to work well, but dummy me, my battery wasn't fully charged and it went dead and lost all the data. The Quick Shot Cortizone spray really helped with the burn. It itches but isn't uncomfortable. I'll try another run tomorrow after I get my workout done. AND have a fully charged battery.

I am a bit concerned because the Lithium battery in the watch hasn't been holding a charge.

Posted by at 3:32 AM | Permalink

My Online Christmas Card

Posted by at 7:22 PM | Permalink

They wanted to know if I still wanted to do the scope. First I'd heard from them. I thought they were supposed to call the week after Thanksgiving.

Well I told them no but will think about it next break.

Posted by at 4:39 PM | Permalink

I've been playing with the Ultra Smart, and if I didn't already have a Palm with EzManager software, I would consider it.

Here's what I hate about it -- you can't upload data to it. You can manually enter data, but can't do it with the software.

It also takes up a lot of purse space.

So I doubt it will be my main meter, unless Animas makes it the only meter that talks with the next pump. I'm quite sure and I bet the sale of Animas will clinch the deal, that Lifescan meters and the Animas pump will be tallking soon. That's the only feature lacking from the Animas pump that the other big two have.

Actually it probably won't be any of the existing meters as they aren't IR. Just thought of that. They are going to have to come up with a new one.

If I were to come up with a perfect meter, it would have IR, and communicate with a pump, it would have a flashlight on the stirp like the Flash and be Flash sized. The strips would also show you how much blood is in the strip. I like that in both the Ultra and Accu-Chek Strips.

So I haven't decided yet, but I still have a few months to decide.

Posted by at 1:10 PM | Permalink

Got everything I wanted.

UltraSmart meter. I'm trying to decide if I want to fool with it or not. I'm sure it will be talking more intimately with the Animas pump in a few months. Or another One-Touch product.

Script for Novalog -- 4 vials a month. Weirdly enough, it is the same amount I was getting before the clinical trial.

On my legs. The good news is that the anti-inflammatory the podistric prescribed is helping the leg pain. She agreed that sort of things really slows you down as she recently went through heel spurs herself.

Agrees that my numbers suck and agrees that I need to try going to bed with lower blood sugars. Did some minor pump tweaks. The next two weeks are a good time to try that.

I've got the next three months scheduled on days that are "off" days. January -- Martin Luther King Day, February -- President's Day, March - Spring Break. Also rescheduled the January lab appointment for their last working day in 2005, so I don't have to have someone cover the class.

Posted by at 11:38 AM | Permalink

Back in December 1981 -- I know because it was my last year of college -- I came home from school to find my dad literally dying.

I'd been home at Thanksgiving, and he was bad thing. He and I had to crawl under the house and unstop the sink. He was worse when I got home from Winter Break.

I think it was the very next day -- he had me drive him to the doctor's office to have an upper GI. It almost killed him. I wanted to drive him to an ER afterwards and he wouldn't let me. Why a 22 year old woman lets her father tell her what to do is beyond me, especially ER decisions, but oh well.

They got him in the hospital pretty quickly after that anyway and it was that Christmas he was diagnosed with congestive heart disease and told to put his affairs in order. He went home with an oxygen machine and orders not to leave the house and not to let anyone in the house who might have any type of contagious disease.

It was pretty scary.

So when anyone wants to know why I obsess so much over diabetes -- well, the above is why. I know without a doubt that the barely treated diabetes he was diagnosed with at 42, let to that week.

Posted by at 11:20 AM | Permalink

Certain Drugs May Be as Effective as Surgical Management for...

Certain Drugs May Be as Effective as Surgical Management for GERD

So maybe I did make the right decision by not doing the surgery thing this Xmas. Of course, I can always change my mind, but the GERD does seem better lately.

Posted by at 10:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I've been playing with Freestyle's, LifeScan and Accu-Chek's downloading software.

First, be aware that the Freestyle download software was discontinued. I have the orginal Connect and use it on a regular basis. I did call their 1-800 number and they are sending me new software today. When it arrives, I'll let you know what I got.

Each of the programs are easy to install and easy to operate. I like the Accu-Chek because it uses the same IR port as my pump. I use a serial to usb converter for the Freestyle and Lifescan meters. All download equally well, though the serial port method seems faster (and makes sense).

Each of the programs allow you to export your data to CSV (comma delimited file), that can be opened with Excel. I delete the extra data, and resave the file and import it into EzManager. I've got a macro written for Freestyle Connect.

Freestyle provides the cable and software for free, but you have to order it. Accu-Chek charges for their software ($29.99 + shipping). Lifescan is a free download, but you have to buy their cable also $29.99 plus shipping. By the way, at least one of the online people charge for the software, but you can get it from the website for free.

So Freestyle is cheaper on the cable and software BUT their strips are a high co-pay for me. FYI: I got my cable for free when I tried a UltaSmart Meter, so I've only paid for the Accu-Chek software.

Yes, I'm moving more and more towards going to Activa when my current strips run out -- about three months from now.

Posted by at 2:44 PM | Permalink

I see my CDE tomorrow, and I always like to sit down before hand and right down my thoughts.

I am NOT happy with any of my numbers right now. Everything is higher, including the AtHome A1c I did, my logs, my TDD usage, or worse yet, my weight. Weight has actually gone up lately.

Part of the problem is the holiday season and the weather. With school out, I'm not as active. I wasn't as active even last week because my students were taking exams.

I need to pick up my cardio workouts and do more, but my knee is bothering me. I've been having random leg pains for the past few weeks, but it has settled into my left knee. I've been careful to keep it under my body and not turn on it.

So the things I want to focus on is my random leg pain -- who should I do see about it. Adjusting my basal rates so that I'm not chasing highs, which causing food cravings. I also need the tools to make an informed decision as to which meter I should be using since the PBM has sent information on both Lifescan and Accu-Chek meters. I'm leaning towards going to the Activa since I can download it.

Posted by at 11:12 AM | Permalink

Diabetes Mine: Shameless Plug, and Why the OC Matters

Thank you Amy, for the nice mention on your website. Yes, I agree that the OC Choice Awards are kind of neat. For a very long time, I've been the only diabetes blog, and one of very few patient blogs.

I will have to admit that my parent blog isn't a patient blog, but Robert Cantor's DB Medical Rants. He's someone I really admire.

I'm with you on the patronizing little pats on the head. Actually I get two different reactions -- the figurative pats on the head, and then the people who really admire me for dealing with "really bad" diabetes very well.

Posted by at 10:45 AM | Permalink

Our regional news station -- TXCN -- has been running a story on Diabetes Discrimination. I haven't seen a web link to this case, but basically an older man was not hired because the hiring company determined that his diabetes was under poor control. Basically he had sugar in a urine test, couldn't remember his doctor's name and didn't know his last A1C results.

Frankly, that fits my definition of poor control, but the good news for diabetics in Texas, is that the work place can't discriminate based on that. That makes me feel a bit better, because WHILE I have pretty good control most of the time, I've had a few incidents each year since diagnosis where at the moment, my diabetes was out of control and it has disrupted my classroom.

Posted by at 10:08 AM | Permalink

I use 43in 9mm Inset infusion sets on my lower abdomen. Lately, I've been noticing they don't stick as well. The paper is actually coming up before I use them, and the kicker was this morning, the set was completely off.

I called Animas, told them what was happening, and they are replacing the two boxes I have, and am taking the bad set, and the two probably bad boxes.

I've been having problems for several boxes, and I finally decided that it wasn't me. For the longest time, I was willing to accept that since they were longer, they were getting stressed more, but every one I open, has more and more paper curling off.

The possible bad sets are lot 3340090, Ref 100-183-50.

Posted by at 7:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

My birthday -- 46 is in a few hours. 46 bothers me. 46 is the year my father was diagnosed with congestive heart failure after being diagnosed with diabetes 3 years earlier -- the same birth year I was.

Granted, that was 36 years ago, and a wealth of knowledge and technology has come along since then. When he was diagnosed, they told him not to eat sugar and sent him home.

In my case, I was sent home with oral medications and told to make an appointment with a CDE service as quickly as possible.

I've got blood sugar monitors, and the pump. Stuff they didn't even dream of giving to a Type 2 diabetic. Oh, I'm not even sure they had blood sugar monitors -- it was 1982, and they darn sure didn't have pumps. They didn't put Type 2's on insulin. I think he had a urine test but I'm not sure of that even.

My goal is to avoid my father's fate as much as possible by keeping the best control I can.

Posted by at 10:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I am seriously thinking of switching to the Aviva meter. Mainly because the co-pay is considerably cheaper than the Freestyle strips, and partly because Freestyle is paired with two pumps I don't care for. Also, my last two "visits" with customer service on the phone left an off taste.

One of my issues with the Aviva meter, was the non-ability to download, which you now can. I sprung for the $29.95 for the Compass software, which I am impressed with. It was easy to load and works well.

The good news, is that the IR port that came with my pump works just fine with the Aviva meter -- one of the things I was hoping for. I didn't want to have to deal with another peripheral.

I sure wish the meter would work directly with EzManager and my Treo, but that's just hoping for too much.

And yeah, Roche is Distronic -- or should I say Roche bought Distronic -- but I kinda of like the Roche pump, too bad they have never been able to sell one in the US.

I'm going to snag one of each of the Lifescan meters from my CDE on Tuesday, try each of them for a couple of days and decide which I'm ultimately going to switch too.

All of them sadly, take up more purse space (and pocket space) than the Flash.

Posted by at 4:51 PM | Permalink

First, I worry a lot. I get it honest. For example, I spent the last few days worrying that my DOTC agility entry wouldn't get in. It's a trivial thing, but we only go to a few agility trials a year -- just the ones in the local area. Plus they have increased the entry limits, so I shouldn't worry any more. But I do. First, I've screwed up my entries before, and have gotten the wrong address on the envelope. I do that about once a year. There is also the opportunity to mail the entry too early.

But about Animas.

I like dealing with a small company that is committed to one product. For example, Therasense was great. All of their employees cared, the few times I've talked with them. Before Abbott bought them, I dealt with customer support about 3 times. I will admit I've only dealt with Abbott customer support once, but I wasn't super impressed at the time. Maybe they are better now.

And maybe Animas won't change. That's what I am hoping for, but I haven't been impressed by the diabetes support by the large companies. I also have not been impressed by the Lifescan meters. But I am going to give both the One Touch and the One Touch Ultra another try when I see my CDE on Tuesday.

Posted by at 8:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Diabetes - How Frequently Should You Test?

My primary care physician and I went around and around on this, and I finally solved the problem by going to a endo who is a pump expert.

If you look at my logs, I tend to test 6-12 times a day. The 6 is on the way low side. I'm having a bad day if I am testing 12.

Here's my schedule.

I always test first thing in the morning. That's going to tell me how I did the day before, and tell me how today is going to go. If I am high, I screwed up yesterday. Also, I'll have high blood sugars all day.

I test 2 hours after each meal, that way, I can adjust any dosage that I was off on, and I often test before my meals -- that's often 2 hours after the last correction.

I tend to test if I am driving and I haven't eaten recently -- that's usually right after school. I also try to test before I go to bed.

If I haven't eaten recently, I will also test during exercise, and sometimes after, just to make sure I'm not going too low.

I'm sure my phamarcy service would prefer I tested less, but they haven't given me a problem over it.

Posted by at 5:01 PM | Permalink

The Diabetes OC Website: Nominees for Diabetes OC Blog Choice Awards 2005

Nominees for Diabetes OC Blog Choice Awards

Please vote! And yes, this site has been nominated for Type 2 blogs.

Posted by at 4:53 PM | Permalink

Animas shares soar after acquisition news

I'd read an article perdicting this about a year ago, and figured it would happen someday, it will be interesting to see what happens.

First Therasense, and that acquisittion sure has not helped the Navigator.

Animas shares soar after acquisition news

Posted by at 2:07 PM | Permalink

My feet are REALLY bothering me. I thought it was because I am on my feet all day, but I haven't been since Tuesday since I'm giving exam (one left tomorrow morning!).

I'm alternating pain and numbness. I will admit that my feet are wider than some of my shoes, but this is getting ridiculous and worrisome. I've been careful to wear my widest shoes.

I think I'll give my foot doctor a call and schedule a diabetic foot visit, since it really is worrying me. And I'm not saying nueropathy on purpose.

Posted by at 11:26 PM | Permalink

Sandra confirmed that this is a nationwide sale (or at least a sample of two so far).

I'm definately going to stock up -- be sure you check the expiration dates though!

Posted by at 10:50 PM | Permalink

I think it was $10.99. I picked one up today and horrors, my A1C was 7.5. I was a bit afraid of that, my blood sugar hasn't been as stable lately as I would like.

Knowing that is good, though.

Posted by at 4:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Scott's Web Log: Novo Nordisk Overtakes Lilly For Leadership in U.S. Insulin Market; Patients Will Likely Benefit

Interesting take on Novo Nordisk.

Lilly lost me, because I am allergic to their preservative. Didn't realize that until I went on the pump, I thought the burning sensation was just part of the injection.

I find Novolog much easier on the body, and reacts a bit better -- I use slightly less insulin on Novolog, though that might be a function of the preservative reaction.

Posted by at 6:45 AM | Permalink

I said a little about it on Sandra's Blog (A Shot in the Dark) but it's our population that makes the difference.

I hired on there 14 years ago, when we were artifically 30/30/30. 30 white, 30 black, 30 hispanic and 10% other. Artificially as it was done by court order. We had a lot of interesting programs to get us that way. One was a scholarship program, that if you would go to a school in our district where you were the minority, you would get your college tutition paid if you want to a state supported college.

What makes it so cool, in my opinion, is that with that history of diversity, and with the diversity we have, we just don't have the problems with cliques and social exclusion that a lot of schools have.

I did my student teaching at a much bigger school, that had a huge majority in one race. As a result, lots of students felt excluded. Even worse, they broke up by social/economic groups too, which we don't see much of either. I really hated that experience, because you felt like you were always the referee.

So do have some cliquiness, but it mostly has to do with what kind of student you are. The AP kids tend to hang together, mostly because they have classes together.

One of the things that I think helps the most, is that we have a common feeder school, so all of our students attended the same middle school also.

We haven't had the problems with the New Orleans kids that some of our other schools have, more proof to me, that we're more accepting than most.

Anyway, as a teacher, it's fun, since the kiddos on the whole seem to accept anything that comes their way.

Posted by at 11:11 PM | Permalink

Sandra asked about my pizza experiment.

Here's what I did detailed:

I took 20 units of Symlin first.

Then I ate pizza, counting sliced.

I then bolused for half of the pizza I ate, and did a combo bolus. 50% at the time of bolusing, and 50% over 4 hours.

I'm not sure if Symlin was the key or not, to tell the truth.

I also made a correction at the end of the movie, per my pump. Though I only bolused for half of the correction.

Posted by at 7:28 PM | Permalink

I weighed today, and of course, checked my blood sugar, and even after the few excursions in the last week or so, and even with the higher insulin usages, between the agility trials, the workshop, and the holiday season, my weight is still good, and the blood sugar is good.

The next few weeks will be "different". We've got one full day of class left, then 4 days of exams, then a little over 2 weeks for break.

I'm going to a weekend basal rate for the duration.

I'm working on a few projects to make things better. I've been having trouble doing longer walks on my treadmill. A lot of the problem is boredom -- when I do exercise, there isn't a lot of good TV on. I've decided to at least switch to a digital cable box so I can watch movies, but I'm also thinking about putting DVR box in that room. It's a bit more expensive each month on the cable bill, but if it will keep me on the treadmill longer, it will be worth it, and I can always change my mind.

I'm also thinking of expanding my weight routine. I've about convinced my husband that a weight stack would be worth it for me, and I might get something small for Christmas. I have been thinking about a fold up unit, as I am starting to run out of room the study.

Some good news, my GERD isn't bothering me as much. Even my pizza night, I didn't have problems. I think what has helped more than anything is to stop eating salad in the evening. I like to get a really salad, with lots of lettuce and while it fills me up, I think it's just too hard to digest in the evening, so I am limiting those to the afternoon.

Posted by at 10:07 AM | Permalink

A really good organization is the Diabetes Exercise and Sports Association. I was just wandering around the forums, and there are several active Type 2's that talk about being recently diagnosed, and shocked to be diagnosed as they were physically active.

Very interesting.

Posted by at 12:14 PM | Permalink

I may have figured pizza out. Last night, husband and I had pizza and watched a movie together -- it was a very nice evening.

We watched Knights of South Bronx, a movie about chess in schools.

I did Symlin, and did a combo bolus, then a correction at the end of the movie and ended up with a blood sugar of 101 this morning. Don't think I could have done better! I'll confess, I did four pieces, did a combo bolus for 60 carbs over 4 hours. I think -- I'll double check that the next time I download my pump. And I checked, and yes, it was for 4 hours.

And hey, I don't have to worry about being in starvation mode for a few weeks.

Excellent movie. First you have to understand that Rich and I met at the Dallas Chess club and did all our dating playing chess. To make the marriage work though, I had to quit playing. We were just a little too competitive. It works much better with us doing seperate competitive events.

Kinights of the South Bronx is a feel good movie. It doesn't show any of the bad aspects of chess -- or even teaching for that matter. I think it is a really good movie for both chess players and teachers but just realize that it only shows the good side. Of course, seeing only the good side of teaching is a good thing at the end of a semester.

If you want to see a more balanced view of chess, Searching for Bobby Fischer is a better movie in my opinion, but still doesn't show the bad aspects of youth chess as bad as it could be. I suppose that some of our experiences with parents and chess might have influenced us not to have children. Yeah, they can be pretty abusive.

Posted by at 8:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Once my head started working today -- about 8:30 -- I switched over to my new "weekend" basal. This was the first time I had used it, and while I ran a bit high this morning, this afternoon, it is working very well. I'm going to tweak on it a bit more, but I'm pretty pleased with what I've accomplished.

Now none of the basal experiments and new basal rates I've come up with are entirely new. They are based on the normal basal that my endo and his CDE have set up for me. I've just increased that basal by a percentage that has worked for me using my temporary basal setting.

Posted by at 4:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

We are having a bout with an ice storm -- temps below 30, heck below 25 most of the time -- and we had rain yesterday, so most of the school districts, including mine, shut down.

I always get irritated at the news reports -- they always find some "damn yankee", who criticizes the area for shutting down. I've been down here 20 years, and I have been very thankful every time we've shut down. My district is very conservative about shutting down -- quite a few districts shut down yesterday but we didn't. I was a bit concerned, but we got through the day, and apparently got every student home safely.

We have had some other times when I thought we should have shut down, but we didn't. There are some major concerns when you are a district as big as we are: quite a few of our students will not be supervised and worse yet, a bunch of them did not get lunch today. The supervision doesn't matter with my kids, since I do high school, but it is a problem for the younger kids.

I hate the timing, but it will work out for me. We start finals on Tuesday. I was a bit worried that I would not be able to fill all three days with review, but two days will be just fine.

When I went into school yesterday I did two out of the three things that would make it easier for me stay if we couldn't have gotten home. One was to leave my contacts at home and wear glasses. The other was to make sure I had enough insulin on me, and to carry an extra meal -- a tuna salad package.

The glasses thing was funny. It really bothered my ELI students more than anything. One group thought it might I was tired. The others just wanted to know. However, it did give me problems, as I have good far vision with my glasses but absolutely no near vision, and the Algebra students needed to do some graphing. I ended up leaving them to do the graphing on their own.

When I review, I like to make sure that I work each review problem for the students and that they have recorded how to do it. I'm sure that my students won't study, but you never know. I work very hard to make sure I do my part.

I have to relate something funny -- at least to me. They moved about 25 students out of my classes, as they were over crowded, and gave them to another teacher -- the AP Calculus teacher who is VERY good at what she does.

She came to me yesterday upset because she says the students don't like her, and like me better and tell her that all the time. I already knew this, because they tell me that when they see me. However, I don't think it's personal on either side. These were students who were all working for me, and were my best students. I think if they had had her first, and had come to me, they would still feel the same way. I also am not sure that there is anything that she can do differently to change things.

Posted by at 3:17 PM | Permalink

I've been reading Printcrafter's posts also, and unlike some, I'm not anxious to run out and get one.

Unlike the pump I paid for out of pocket -- I don't see a direct benefit. First, I'm fairly hypo aware. Second, I don't tend have any. Maybe that's a function of being a Type 2, but the only time I seem to have lows is when I am exercising, and they are pretty easy to prevent.

The annoyance factor looks pretty high too. The inserter is pretty nasty looking, and having that much extra bulk on the body seems annoying too.

For someone like me, I think having the ability to wear something like that for a week at a time, and then return it to the doctor's office would be the best model. I know that the doctor's office has the gold version, but I think it would be more useful to be able to see what is going on.

I'd love to borrow one for a few days to learn how to deal with some specific meals. I still don't do pizza well at all, and I also have trouble with Mexican meals.

Posted by at 4:31 AM | Permalink

I went to insulin early, and have never regretted it. Frankly, I have had better control and freedom. It's even more true since I went to the pump.

Resistance to Insulin Therapy Among Patients and Providers

Patient and provider attitudes differ significantly across countries, controlling for individual characteristics. Patients rate the clinical efficacy of insulin as low and would blame themselves if they had to start insulin therapy. Self-blame is significantly lower among those who have better diet and exercise adherence and less diabetes-related distress.

Posted by at 9:59 PM | Permalink

I set up a new basal rate and adjusted it last night for workshops.

Basically I've found that using the temp basal at 50%+ helps, but there is a problem with temporary basals. For one, you can accidently turn them off and I've done that.

I've set up the extra basal and I switched over to it last night. I plan to switched back to the normal basal tonight and have the Treo programmed to remind me.

Here's the good news. I ate breakfast at 7:15 and I just checked and my blood sugar is at 146, definately within the parameters I've set.

Four hours after eating and my blood sugar is 122 which is extremely good. So far everything is working well.

I left the workshop with a blood sugar reading of 117. A major victory! Hopefully repeatable.

Posted by at 2:59 PM | Permalink

One of the fun thingss about this weekend is that on Saturday, I met a pumper.

He was diagnosed at 3 and was put on his first pump at 8, I think. So he doesn't remember not being diabetic, and barely remembers not being on a pump.

It was awesome to meet someone who understood what I was going through, especially the physical sympthoms of being high and being low.

At the same time, we have a really different set of experiences. I am still really new to the pumping world. There are a lot of things I don't do well yet -- agility is one of them.

But it was really need to met someone with the common experiments.

Posted by at 8:35 AM | Permalink

Here are videos from our agility weekend. The first is a fun match, the next three are our clean runs, and the last is our "goof".

http://tinyurl.com/84hk4

Posted by at 9:55 PM | Permalink

My bolus rates aren't working as well as they were last week. I've been consistently high after each meal. 163 after lunch.

I think it is really interesting, and sort of in a way, documented in the book "Pumping Insulin", that the more insulin you use the more you need, and vice versa. Since I went 3 days with using 50 units a day, it is going to take a few days for my body to adjust downward to the 30 units a day rate, especially since I have a workshop tomorrow, and I'll probably using about 40 units that day.

Posted by at 1:51 PM | Permalink

I'm incredibly stiff today, but other than that, am fine.

My TDD insulin usage was way up all weekend -- just around 50 units a day. My weight is up a little, but not substantially.

This week will continue to be interesting, as I have a teacher workshop tomorrow. That means I'll have to increase my basal rate around 50%. I've got a basal rate in my pump for that now, which I plan to review after today, and switch to in the evening.

My blood sugar this morning was 111, a bit higher than the previous mornings, but not bad. Not correctable.

All in all, I'm glad I did everything I did. To recap the weekend -- in fact, I don't think I posted much about Sunday:

On Friday, Marcie and I took two first places with Clean Runs. One in Excellent Standard Perferred A, One in Excellent JWW Preferred B. Times were substantially below regular course time.

On Saturday, Marcie and I took a first place with a clean run and again, substantially under course time. Excellent Standard Preferred A, and finished her AXP title.

She is now Bettner's Byte of Magic, OA, OAJ, AXP, AJP, CGC

On Sunday, last run, Maggie had a clean but very ugly Open run, getting a first place and her first Open leg.

So in 10 runs, we placed 1st 4 times.

The best part, though, is that I came home all three days feeling pretty good. Was able to do a workout on both Friday and Saturday, but was too stiff to move Sunday. The only thing I'd change, would be to wear more layers of clothing on Sunday. Man, it was cold.

Posted by at 6:21 AM | Permalink

But it only makes sense, but also explains why I've had to change my bolus rates a bit. My TDD (Total Daily Dosage) of insulin is up to 40 units a day.

I've so far had 4 days of dog agility trials, today will be the end for a while.

Speaking of which, my blood sugar was 104 this morning, which is extremely good for me. Especially after 2 days of trialing.

I've also only have 5 more full days with my students, and then we go to exam schedule -- I will probably need to switch to my weekend rate at the beginning of finals and stay that way until the students report back.

One of the things I've recently done that I think will REALLY help, is to program reminders in my Treo to remind me to change the pump to different rates in advance. So I've just set up reminders for winter break -- mostly to delete the ones telling me to set the pump to a normal rate.

That's what kept me from using a weekend rate the most, having to remember to set the pump.

Posted by at 6:30 AM | Permalink

My blood has stayed smooth all day. We blew our fourth run but learned a lot about what we need to do to be successful in the ring.

Maggie doesn't weave well at home right now so I don't expect to be successful.

Posted by at 7:30 PM | Permalink

Blood sugar was 110 this morning. Did 60 grams of carb with 20 units of Symlin and bolused for 30.

I did not check before my run but was 157 after which is great. I handled well and we got our 3rd Q and 3rd first place in a row. I finished her title and she is now Bettner's Byte of Magic, AXP AJP OA OAP CGC

I am very happy with my day so far. I have 3 runs to go!

Posted by at 9:40 AM | Permalink

I left the trial with a blood sugar of 105. It was 110 when I got home and ate, about an hour later.

But better than that, we took 2 1st places and had two perfect runs. When I get the videos back, I'll post a link to them (I'll put them on the Photo album site).

People were talking about how much weight I've lost, how much better I run, and how good Marcie ran. It was VERY VERY NICE!

Posted by at 7:18 PM | Permalink

Came out of the ring shaking after a fabulous run. Don't know yet but I think I Qed.

Blood sugar was 147 after.

Posted by at 2:59 PM | Permalink

I have a 3 day trial this weekend starting in a few minutes. I turned on my Agility basal rate last night about 10:00 pm, had a high and treated it, and got up with a 101.

Ate about 40 carbs for breakrfast and exercised without bolusing and then did a set change.

First bad news, is that my set came off in the restroom at the show site so had to do a partial set change (set only)

Ate 120 carbs at lunch did Symlin (20 units) and bolused for 60 carbs.

An hour later, I'm at 157 o I am keeping a close watch on the blood sugar for the day.

Posted by at 1:12 PM | Permalink