Another week
Another week of exercise logged. It will get tougher, as I've got some new projects starting soon, but I think I can still get it done.
I've scheduled around the other activities, so that should help.
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Another week of exercise logged. It will get tougher, as I've got some new projects starting soon, but I think I can still get it done.
I've scheduled around the other activities, so that should help.
Is a bag a gadget?
I bought a big diabetic travel back with a cold pak from the diabetes store, and frankly it just wasn't big enough.
Had a gift certificate from Amazon so broke down and finally brought a Pump Pak. Wish I had years ago! It's Very nice! Very big and much better made than the Medicool bag.
If you want your own, you can get it here -- yes I get a referral fee.:
Another mom update. She still hasn't heard back from her doctors but she sees doctor that discovered the elevated blood sugar next week.
I told her to ask for a script for 90 days -- testing 4 times a day. It takes a couple of weeks to process so she'll have a good cushion when she gets that. I explained then she can test her blood sugar after meals so she'll know what is going on.
Her blood sugar was at 16* -- don't remember the last digit, but it is going down, so meds and diet are working.
Well, I ended up wasting two Inset II sets. And this is why I think that you have to have a full box before you truly know if a set is right for you.
I put in my fourth set this morning. Everything looked good. Not sure what went wrong with the first set.
I decided to go shopping and walked right past my emergency bag -- which was probably a good thing in a way, because I didn't have any Inset IIs in it.
I decided to go shopping and get rid of my gift cards (I love gift cards, and got quite a few from parents this year -- please send more!) I ate breakfast late and in the middle because my blood sugar was high this morning and I wanted to see if my changes worked.
Ate, then had to go to the restroom. I don't know if I pulled the set off taking my clothing off, or what -- but since my blood sugar was 186, I suspect that was the case.
Here's the bad part -- I had no replacement sets and at least one stop I wanted to make. Debated, and decided to make that stop which of course took longer.
I still like the Inset IIs better than the originals, but they haven't eliminated human error -- as when I got home, instead of pulling the paper off the set, I pulled the set off the needle!
So that's how I wasted two sets.
My insurance company has a chronic disease management program they call Lifemasters. I've had two phone consultations with them so far.
So far, they seem good. Right now we seem to be in the set up mode. She verified my medications, I gave her some lab work they wanted last time, and she suggested that they send me a blood pressure monitor but will arrange for that in a few visits.
It also sounds like they might be doing some online stuff.
So far, it seems good.
Her A1c is 11.4 so she's been in trouble for a little while. She's waiting to hear from her doctor's office on getting a quicker appointment and is going to talk to them about diabetes education and maybe even seeing an endocrinologist.
Did I miss something?
We're we promised that the Abbott / Therasense Navigator would be out this year? Guess it didn't happen.
We're having a nice quiet stress free as possible Christmas. Husband loves his new gift and I got a great deal on it.
Hope everyone else is having a good Christmas!
How many times do YOU give your rights away? I know I have.
Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog: Diabetic Sues Over Nightclub's Syringe Ban
Diabetic Sues Over Nightclub's Syringe Ban
Summer before last, I didn't participate in my Master's graduation because they didn't allow purses and I didn't feel like fighting it.
I have chosen not to go for a particular certification because dealing with the diabetic limitations was just too much work?
Maybe we DO need to start fighting more.
Another week of exercising finished -- an easy week since I was off school.
My fasting blood sugar wasn't great this morning, but my TDD is slowly going down and my weight is going down rapidly. I'm 3 pounds less than I was when I finally go the courage to weight.
Next week and half will be hard since our food service has shut down for the holiday. I had my last dinner last night and have a lunch today.
I really do believe the adhesive is better. My first set stayed on better than the old Insets. I've just done my first change -- and am now on my second set. I do believe that it doesn't hurt as bad going in, though most of the time, the Insets are pretty good.
She took my advice and went to a doctor's office. She got one that she hadn't seen before and got scripts for test strips and for an oral med. She will get her A1C back next week and currently has an appointment for Feb 3. A bit far out in my opinion.
I'm having her write what she eats down.
My mother had some blood work up done last week and her blood sugar - non fasting was 400.
She went to a neighbor's and tested it today and it was over 200.
She is in a typical high blood sugar mental state -- in denial, etc. I told her that this was not an emergency room visit, but an immediate, go see the doctor now, especially since it's Thursday at noon. I told her don't wait for the doctor to call but go to the office and see the first available doctor.
I also told her that I wanted them to bring her blood sugar down immediately, and then see about diet and exercise.
I'm betting money that her doctor is going to be too conservative for my taste.
I also told her I wanted her to have an immediate A1C.
Of course, now I have a double whammy in my medical history. But at least she's 70.
Medco shipped my Protonix. It has been SO aggravating -- they want me to switch to Nexxium that does me no good and is besides just recycled Prilosec.
They have been giving doctor and I a hard time for the past year. This time they shipped a new script with vary a squeak!
So I wake up at 2:15 feeling kind of weird. Sick to my stomach even, though I blamed waking up on Maggie -- but I think she got out of bed because I woke up.
Went to the restroom and then tested my blood sugar. 102 at 2:15 is not a good blood sugar for me, have never seen it that low. Sat and thought for a bit and then finally decided to get up and eat my breakfast (last one for the year from Diet Gourmet).
Now I'm up at 8:44 and my blood sugar is 90.
I guess that will teach me to walk on the treadmill for 35 minutes and then almost immediately go to a TOUGH dog class.
But they were sucking before. So I think it's a change in weight (and not for the good), change in activity level, again not for the good.
However, I suspect I really need the longer cannela.
Did a bit too much today -- I didn't have to do cardio, but got in a full 35 minute session anyway and then ended up doing a Master's dog agility class -- there was a last minute opening(s), and since we're off for two weeks.
Hoping to get in an extra class with Maggie tomorrow and praying for no rain past noon so Macy can play.
I've put in the first Inset too -- no changes in how to "install". The insertion itself seemed quieter and easier but I'll know better after I've used several sets. The bandage part and the connector seem larger, but not excessively so. There is more white to put an IV3000 around if you feel the need.
So far nothing to object to -- still don't have to look at the needle which is good for me.
They sent me a WHOLE box of Inset IIs to try. I signed up for that about a month ago. i will say that I have loved every product I've tried -- okay, a sample size of 3.
But the part I love about this, is that it is a whole box. I've always said you have to try three of anything and probably a whole box of a set -- I found that out the hard way, I tried the Simple Choice -- order a full box and had to return them after about 5 as each time I used them the needle seemed bigger to me.
Yeah, I have needle phobia bad.
I'll start off by admitting I'm not a fan of Minimed, and doing a search on Minimed on this site will explain why.
It's odd on how people get polarized but as I often say -- we are attached to our pumps.
The Seattle Times: Search Results
The pump, about the size of a cellphone, had a safety feature designed to stop the insulin flow in emergencies like this. But the feature wasn't on. The pump had been shipped to Lane with the option turned off, and the device's instructional video devoted only 15 seconds to it, saying nothing about why the feature should be used.
I don't blame Mini-med on this. I do blame her CDE and the endo that prescribed the pump, especially when you see later on in the article:
On Oct. 25, 2000, a Wednesday, Sylvia met with Emily Holing, a diabetes educator at the UW clinic. Holing hooked up Sylvia's pump and showed her how to use it.
This same afternoon, Holing documented two episodes of hypoglycemia for Sylvia, 15 minutes apart. Each time Sylvia needed to drink orange juice.
Sylvia had pizza that evening, then drove home. She wouldn't be heard from for three days.
Friends and family tried calling Sylvia on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, leaving 17 messages. Sylvia's twin sister lived three hours away. On Saturday she traveled to Sylvia's and, with another relative, went inside. They found Sylvia on her bed, unconscious, lying in vomit. Her insulin pump was attached and running.
I wasn't there, I'm not a medical practitioner, but it sounds like that they were probably having problems because she still had her old basal insulin in her system. Thats why I don't like basal insulins (slow acting, Lantus, NPH, what have you). You don't have control of them once you take them.
But I blame the CDE for not making sure that she had a support system in place AND the patient for not having a support system in place. There should have been someone very close to her until they knew she knew how to operate the pump.
The only way I'd blame Minimed is if they were responsible for the pump training. And I checked -- the Animas pumps apparently ship with this feature off too -- mine was and it isn't something I ever think about. I "knew" it was there, but never really thought about it. I have mine on now, but it's set to turn off after 24 hours.
Speaking of not getting excited -- if you go back years ago, you'll see how excited I was about the Therasense Navigator. It was about the time I started the blog. In fact, there was a time when I was more excited about a CGMS than I was about a pump.
Well, it's December 18th, and we still don't see one. Yeah, we've got the Meditronics device and the Dexcom device, but I'm still not excited about it. I still haven't bought either.
I think that the CGMS is probably pretty good for the average Type 1 diabetic -- they tend to lose the ability to know that they are low or are going low, and I still have that. If I lose that, I'll think about spending the extra money.
I would LOVE to be able to rent one to check basal rates. But in the meantime, I'll save my money.
Even one of my students sent this to me. And no, I'm not excited. Do you know how many times they have cured diabetic mice?
Diabetic mice became healthy virtually overnight after researchers injected a substance to counteract the effect of malfunctioning pain neurons in the pancreas.
There is sort of a joke/saying among the diabetes community that diabetic mice must be easy to cure -- and if you think about it, since they are artificially induced to be diabetic, curing them SHOULD be as easy.
When it results in an actual treatment, I'll get excited. Until then ... I'm going to get on with my life. And by the way, the worst thing that can happen is that diabetics get hope, decide not to take the care they need for good control AND then get to the cure point and find out they are incurable precisely because they didn't take good enough care of themselves.
And I thought going to a workshop in Pittsburgh was a PITA.
It's also sad on how hard it would be to actually live there with diabetes.
I got in another week -- 35 minutes on the scheduled days, and got an extra 20 minute session in on Wednesday.
Exercise should be fairly easy the next two weeks -- we finished school for the year on Friday. I'm planning on recharging.
Santa Claus diagnosed with type-2 diabetes; seeks nutritional solution in time for Christmas
Sorry, but it's just freaky.
My Christmas Website is up at http://www.kweaver.us/
Last night, I put a new set in. This morning, I got up and my blood sugar was 147 -- it is normally around 110. I attributed that to losing track of carbs last night -- I curled up in front of the TV with some crackers.
This morning my blood sugar was 257. Normally after breakfast I'm 150. So I decided the old set or insulin had to be bad, and switched everything out.
Now last year when this happened, I either had to sneak around to change the set, or I had to change it in a teacher's lounge, or god forbid, the nurse's office or the restroom (equally germ ridden).
Today, I waited until my planning period, locked the door and did it comfortably. If I'd had students in the room, I would have done the same in my closet.
It's so nice to be back.
I finished another week -- even doing an extra cardio session. I'm gradually increasing distance and it is going well.
I also got some 15 mg Mobic this weekend, so I'm hoping my dog agility days go better.
The fall semester is almost over -- tomorrow is our last full day, then we go to half days. I'd like to lose 5 pounds over break, but it will be hard -- one problem is that Diet Gourmet will be shutting down for the holiday too.
I would have not known about this at all, if it hadn't been for another blogger.
Web search: Coping with illness
Not sure how I feel about it.
Almost forget -- one of the teachers that was at the dinner meeting tonight is on Exubera. The "bong" isn't as bad as I thought it was when I saw it on DLife. We didn't spend much time talking about it but she said she'd been losing some of the weight she'd gained on Novolog. She's extremely happy with it. I might drop her an email and ask her some more questions.
Not really, but it was weird. I guess I had not put my pump back in my bra right after dinner. Had a dinner meeting with some other teachers. On my way out of the building, plop, my pump fell on the floor, tubing, site and all.... Oh well, I was almost out of insulin, there were several large bubbles in the reservoir and so I'm not too upset. I did wait until I got home and after I'd done my workout before I fixed things.
Unfortunately I've gotten a bit casual about things like that, and I need to tighten up on my control.
However, my blood sugars have been good most of the time.
Marcie and I had several good runs this weekend. She took a 2nd place this morning in Standard, and was 1 second from Qing in JWW. We were clean in JWW Friday -- I had to work Friday -- and had a few minor mistakes in Standard that day.
Maggie is improving -- she actually did weaves without trashtalking (that's what one of my friends calls her bellowing).
The point -- I'm physically doing better just not as well as I was last year at this time.
Marcie had two decent runs yesterday. Not great runs, mom was too stiff from the cold and too tentative during the first run, I was really afraid something would happen. Like another seizure.
Her blood work came back "beautiful" and "negative" which is frustrating.
Just got an email from Allison, I've been nominated as one of *Best Adult with Type 2 Blog*. Vote at http://diabetesoc.blogspot.com/
I've been staying at the same level for quite some time, but was hoping that iShape would step it up automatically. It hasn't.
So I finally went and told it I wanted a higher level. Argh! It took me from 15-20 minutes a day, to 55 minutes, and there was no way, but I finally figured out how to tweak it to give me 25-35 minutes a day.
I still wasn't sure about that.
But I managed to get in all my 35 minutes work outs and have a day to spare. Did that on purpose. I'm playing hooky from school today to do an agility trial, then I have to work at another school tomorrow -- which I hate, and then agility trial on Sunday.
I'm also hoping to get my Christmas pictures made tomorrow, but have two more weekend afternoons if that doesn't happen.
I wrote a nice email to my endo explaining that I had been off the anti-inflammatory for 2 weeks and for 2 weeks I felt like I'd been hit by a truck the day before. Stiff and sore, hard to get up out of bed, etc.
I wanted to have a good agility trial this weekend, so I started back on them and back on the allergy medication (Nasonex), in case the pollen is bad, but it should have all frozen.
It's not the knee that needs it, it's the whole body.
To me, quality of life is more important, plus I'm more active on the anti-inflammatory, so it's easier to control the blood sugar.
I will try getting off periodically, but for now, I need them.