Comment from Mom

Not too many people in my real life read my blog... but my most faithful reader is my mom.

We were discussing my latest thoughts on the pump (more about that later) last night. Our conversation moved to the topic of the O.C. Mom said that the thing she likes best about our online community is how supportive and caring everyone is. I agree whole-heartedly. When you're dealing with so many individuals, each with their own way of doing things, you might find a bit of self-righteousness or stubbornness.

It's the opposite with our group. Everyone is quick to share what works for them, while always prefacing it with "whatever works for you is great!" The camaraderie that comes from a shared struggle is just awesome. I'm sure many of us don't have other type 1 diabetics in our everyday lives, so it's great to be able to share your thoughts and feelings with other people who know "exactly what you're going through."

So, I thought I'd share my mom's praise for our group.

Plus, I'd like to ask for prayer and happy thoughts for my mom today as she undergoes thyroid ablation. It's not a super serious procedure, but she'll be radioactive for a few days, so that's sorta worrisome.

However, an ablation doesn't sound as bad as what I called it for the last few weeks. I kept saying, "My mom is having her thyroid obliterated."

Well, kinda.

A pat on the back for Kelsey

Today was my quarterly endo appointment.

judgment day, if you will.

I quizzed my husband last night, "What do you think my A1c will be?"

"Hmm. What was it last time?"

"6.4."

"It'll probably be about the same."

"Man, taking the easy way out huh?!" I teased him.

(The reason I asked my husband to guess is because he's had an odd ability to guess my blood sugars lately. He's been within 5-10 points or exactly correct a lot lately! Weird.)

Anyway, my A1c has been consistently in the 6.2 to 6.4 range for the last year. I'm quite pleased with this, especially considering I'd never even broken into the sixes before! However, since I'm trying to prepare my body for pregnancy, I was really hoping to get it a bit lower.

Another reason for wanting a lower result is that I'm still on MDI. Yes, I'm one of the few pump holdouts in the OC. With the prospect of pregnancy looming, I knew my endo would be pushing the pump even harder. Having a great A1c would be proof that I didn't need the pump to achieve good control.

I know the pump has it's virtues and I've researched it extensively, but remember, I'm the person who passes out when she gets her blood drawn! My aversion to the pump is simply the fear of having something permanently inside me and the inconvenience of having the pump attached to me. Plus, starting to pump while dealing with being pregnant does not add up to success for the change-phobic Kelsey.

That said, I'm interested in the Omnipod and CGMS, so I'll have to deal with my phobia at some point. I'll just wait until the advantages of the systems outweigh my fears!

Today's result was.... drumroll please :)... 6.0!

A pat on the back indeed.

In which I receive a phone call from the ADA...

On Saturday I was neck deep in thesis work when I got a phone call.

It was a representative from the ADA, since they're working for a cure for my disease, I didn't give them the typical telemarketer brush off.

The very polite woman began the call my mispronouncing my last name. It's Bonilla, and it's pronounced in Spanish. Thus, it rhymes with "tortilla" not "vanilla."

I corrected the pronunciation and she replied,

"Oh hello Ms. BoniLLa" (wrong again!)

Whatever, I thought.

She verified my address and explained that she'd be sending out some info so I can get donations. Fine. Good.

Then she asks me: "Does anyone in your family have diabetes?"

"Yes, I have type 1."

Her voice gets very serious and she says, "Oh! I'm sorry. How are you feeling?"

I cheerily reply, "Great, thanks!"

"Do you have to take the insulin?" She innocently asks.

I replied matter-of-factly, "Yes, I have type 1."

"Oh, I'm so sorry!"

Her last apology was not because of her misunderstanding about type 1's needing insulin. Rather, she expressed pity that I had such a devastating disease that was obviously so bad that I needed "the insulin."

I mean really! Can the ADA not give their phonebank operators like 5 minutes worth of training on diabetes?!? I appreciate the work the ADA does, but it's pretty insulting when they call diabetics and the "representative" knows NOTHING about the disease.

Actually, the whole thing gave me a pretty good laugh. Ignorance in other people is pretty hilarious!

What I'm grateful for today...

This morning I went in for my quarterly blood draw for the A1c test.

As I've mentioned before, it's not uncommon for me to faint during a blood test, or an IV insertion, or even when I got my ears pierced (but that's another story!) I'm the weirdo diabetic that faints during medical procedures, lucky me.

Lately I've been hitting up the only Lap Corp in San Diego that's open on Saturdays. However, on our last trip, my husband (poor guy) and I waited for 2 hours! Ridiculous! What made it worse was the technician. He was a nice enough guy, but he proceeded to give me a running commentary on how hard my veins were to find, how "rolly they are, and hard to pin down." This is not something a fainting prone person needs to hear as they're trying to keep from passing out!

Instead of dealing with the masses on Saturday (a wasting a perfectly good summer day in San Diego), I decided to get up early and get the blood draw out of the way this morning.

The technician at this Lab Corp knows me because she was the fortunate one to watch me pass out a few months ago! She is always very nice and told me to just lay down and relax. This woman is such a pro!! The entire procedure lasted... 30 seconds, maybe. She knows my veins are nearly invisible, so she ties off my arm and gives me the stress-ball type thing to squeeze. She doesn't comment on my unfortunate vein situation, she just finds it and gets it done!

So, today I'm grateful for the wonderful lab tech who makes this icky part of diabetes management much easier for me to deal with :)

Maybe I should learn her name.

Lows, Lows, Lows

My blood sugar has not been over 100 mg/dl for the last 24 hours!

This week I realized that my high running blood sugars over the weekend were likely attributable to the Lantus vial that was nearly out... so I switched to a new vial Tuesday evening. That new Lantus is working overtime!!

Yesterday I gave myself 5 units of humalog all day... typically I do 10-11 units per day, so 5 is nothing! I did have a low carb lunch, but still.

The most annoying stretch was last night: I was 80 mg/dl at dinner. 2 chicken garlic enchiladas from Trader Joe's, 56 carbs. 2 units humalog. Two hours later, at 9:15 p.m. I was 58 mg/dl. For a bedtime snack I had half a whole wheat english muffin with peanut butter and jelly with 8 oz. non fat milk. No humalog. 8 units Lantus at 10 p.m. At 2 a.m. I woke up with a 56 mg/dl. Gulped down 8 oz of orange juice and fell back into bed. Woke up for good at 5:45 a.m. with a 51 mg/dl. What fun!

Since I started doing the bulk of my Lantus at 7 a.m., I've been having some high post breakfast readings. But, to be on the safe side today, I only had 1 unit of humalog for my breakfast. At 9 a.m., 3 hours post breakfast, I was 78 mg/dl (and my 7 a.m. Lantus hasn't started to peak yet!)

I suppose dropping my Lantus dose might be a good idea. In fact I gave myself 2 less units this morning than normal.

Pretty amazing how much better fresh insulin works huh?!

Diabetes Inspiration

Here's another quote that is inspiring when dealing with the day in and day out struggles of diabetes management:

"I discovered I always have choices, and sometimes it's only a choice of attitude." -Abraham Lincoln

This is especially important to remember when those pesky highs sneak up on you! I found myself feeling a little down yesterday... I thought "what's bothering me?... oh yeah, the blood sugar result I just got was 200 mg/dl, that's why!" It's amazing how much our "success" with blood sugar can affect our mood. When you realize how many times we're going to test our blood in our lives, that's a lot of opportunities to be bummed out.

Time for an attitude adjustment!