Diabetes Diary

Sienna's Nearly 8 Months Old!

2008-08-23T17:43:00.001-07:00

If anyone has been checking this blog, I apologize for having abandoned it! Honestly, we've cancelled our home internet and my office blocks blogger.com... so not only don't I have time to keep up two blogs, but I can't access this one on a regular basis anyway!

I'm still writing regularly at Health Central.com and Sienna is growing up so fast! I can't believe she's nearly 8 months old already. It's gone way, way, way too fast!

Six Months Old!

2008-07-04T17:13:00.000-07:00

This has unofficially become the "Baby Sienna" picture blog! Thanks for visiting :)

As for my diabetes, I'm still blogging over at Health Central. Lately my diabetes management has not been the central focus of my life, as it was while pregnant. However, learning to balance diabetes and motherhood has its own set of challenges, which I'm eager to tackle!

Happy 4th of July everyone!! Here are a few pics of Sienna... she's growing so fast!!

The latest...

2008-04-19T19:32:00.000-07:00

Hi O.C.ers,

I've been so MIA lately! Life is busy with a 3 1/2 month old!

So, I returned to work full time at the beginning of April. It's been a fairly smooth transition, although I miss Sienna like crazy during the day. Luckily, my mom watches her during the day, so at least I'm not missing her and worried about her being in some stranger's care. Ga Ga (that's what we call Grandma) loves Sienna to pieces and dotes on her all day long. What a lucky kid!

In diabetes related news, my pump broke about a week ago. I went on Lantus for a few days. This marked my first period of going pumpless in over 18 months. I blogged about my experience over at my HealthCentral site, but they're not quite posted yet. Suffice it to say, I missed my pump quite a bit. While it was nice to have a break from being tethered to it all the time, my control suffered greatly. I was actually low a lot. Apparently my Lantus dose was too high. What a pain to have to eat so much to avoid going low.

Anyway, life is wonderful, if hectic for our little family. The weekends are precious to Dennis and me now because we get to spend two whole days with Sienna. She's a delightful child, so smiley and happy!

She's growing so fast!

2008-03-16T18:31:00.000-07:00

She's very fun and smiles all the time!

My Little Valentine

2008-02-14T20:24:00.001-08:00

This year I have a new appreciation for Valentine's Day. Sienna is our little love bug! Here are a few recent pictures of her... she's six weeks old already!

She's starting to smile a lot (and it's not just gas), she has rolled over from her tummy to her back at least four times, and she's getting bigger everyday. It's so exciting to watch her personality appear and see her learn new things. Today she was captivated by one of the stuffed monkeys in her bedroom (see photo). She looked at it with these big eyes and giggled when I had the monkey kiss her on the cheek. Oh, so fun!

A Little Scare...

2008-01-28T11:32:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures of our little one. Looks pretty healthy huh? Except, she's not a huge fan of baths yet... we're working on it!

The day after I last posted, Sienna gave us a little scare. Around 7:00 p.m. I noticed some swelling below her right eye. We kept an eye on it for about 20 minutes and it seemed to be getting redder and more swollen. Since it was late, we took her to the pediatric urgent care center. Luckily, because of her young age, they let us wait in a private waiting room, so she didn't have to be exposed to all the germy kids at urgent care! The pediatrician sent us over to the ER at Children's Hospital because she was able to squeeze some puss from Sienna's eye. They don't take any chances with infections in newborns! At the ER, they did a full septic work-up on her... again, taking every precaution because of her young age.What a long and terrible night! Dennis and I sat helplessly as they took four attempts to get an IV in and then had to get some fluid from her spine to test for any serious infections. Sienna put up quite a fight! She peed and pooped on the poor nurse who tried to get a urine sample! One nurse who had to hold her down during the spinal test said she could barely hold her still. She's incredibly strong! In the end, it turned out just to be a little eye infection. She likely had a clogged tear duct that became infected. Must run in the family, both my brother and I had clogged tear ducts as infants. Apparently it's a fairly common thing. We spent that first night in the hospital ER and finally got transferred to our own room at 5:00 a.m. We then spent one more night, while they gave Sienna antibiotics through her IV and waited for the culture of her eye puss to come back from the lab. Happily, she's made a full recovery and is just taking an antibiotic twice daily. She loves it! It's strawberry flavored and she gulps it down :) Anyway, this whole experience was a little unnerving, but ultimately everything is fine. It's nice to know that we've got such amazing medical care here in San Diego. Children's Hospital really, really impressed me!

Sienna

2008-01-16T10:26:00.000-08:00

She's 2 weeks old today!

It's simply amazing how suddenly your life changes completely when the baby arrives. I'm starting to really identify with being her mom.

Right now she's sleeping in my arms, so I'm typing very inefficiently with one hand! Her little arm is curled up next to her face in her usual sleeping position. She's sleeping so peacefully... what a doll!

It's a girl!

2008-01-08T20:05:00.000-08:00

Sienna Cathleen Bonilla arrived at 7:41 a.m. on Wednesday, January 2, 2008. She weighed in at 8 pounds, 5 ounces and measured 20 inches long.

She's our dream come true and simply wonderful!

The big day is here!

2008-01-01T10:39:00.000-08:00

Tonight I'll be going into the hospital to start my induction!

I have been neglectful of this blog over the past several months, while I've been busy blogging about my diabetic pregnancy over at HealthCentral.com. But I've continued to be a faithful reader of many O.C. blogs and wanted to share my joy with our little diabetic community.

My pregnancy has gone wonderfully! I've honestly never felt more healthy and fit in my life. Swimming has been the best addition to my life, and I plan to keep it up forever. Also, eating a lower carb diet has paid great dividends in the weight department. I hope to maintain this diet for a lifetime as well. I've gained less than 20 pounds during the pregnancy. It's pretty cool because I've actually slimmed down in my face, arms, and legs. People keep commenting that I'm "all baby." I never thought I would be one of those pregnancy ladies who doesn't look pregnant anywhere but my belly!

My blood sugars have been darn good, with A1c results of 5.0% and 5.4% during my pregnancy, without very many hypos at all. Still, despite my best efforts, we learned at my 36 week growth ultrasound that the baby's belly was disproportionately large! This is a very common diabetic complication, though one that my doctor thought I might avoid due to the quality of my control and my modest weight gain.

Because of the potential for the baby to be large, my doctor has decided to induce labor about a week early. My due date is January 8th, and the induction will actually begin on the morning of January 2nd. Clearly the doc's not too concerned, otherwise he'd have induced earlier or advised a cesarean section. To the contrary, he's committed to given me and the baby a chance to have a vaginal birth. We'll just have to be careful and not use certain interventions (such as the vacuum or forceps) because of the risk of injury.

So, the plan is to go into the hospital tonight to begin the cervix ripening process. This should get me dilated to 3 or 4 centimeters, before starting the IV of Pitocin tomorrow morning. I was pleased to learn last Friday that I was already 50% effaced and dilated 1.5 cms! Upon hearing this news my doctor remarked, "That's an inducible cervix!"

I've been carrying high and at this point still haven't seen the baby really "drop." However, I'm having other symptoms that the baby is descending into my pelvis. Mostly, my left hip is pretty sore, especially when I walk! Also, I have these sporadic sharp, nerve pains in my groin area that run down my leg. I'm continuing to feel the baby kick (or knee) me in the rib area quite often. Even though my pregnancy has been fairly easy, I'm starting to get uncomfortable now. I think this is nature's way of making mother's eager for labor!

If you're curious about more details about my diabetic pregnancy, please check out my posts over at HealthCentral. It's been great keeping such a detailed record of my experience. It's truly been a joy!

The picture I've attached was at 30-31 weeks. You can see my pump tucked into my bra strap!

I'll be sure to write soon and post some pictures of Baby Bonilla as soon as possible! Happy New Year everyone :)

Walk for Diabetes and my new reward system

2007-09-28T12:11:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday O.C.! I don't know about you, but this week felt loooong! I'm excited for the weekend, especially since we're registering for baby items tomorrow :) What fun!

I figured this would be a welcoming audience to hit up for JDRF Walk donations! Dennis and I will be participating in the October 14th walk in San Diego. If you have $5 or $10 to spare and would like it to support research for type 1 diabetes, please contribute to our walk efforts. Click here to access my page through the JDRF.

In other diabetes news... I've recently devised a reward system for myself. This diabetes & pregnancy management isn't easy! I've decided to start patting myself on the back for a job well done. I blogged about the details of my plan here.

Also, for those of you dealing with diabetes without the addition of a baby on board... I went into more detail about one of my healthy resolutions: playing with temporary basal rates.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!!!

Uh, not quite...

2007-09-18T11:07:00.001-07:00

My husband called me this morning to alert me to an article regarding CGMS on msnbc.

I took a minute to see what the mainstream media outlet had to say about a topic we in the O.C. already know a lot about.

Right off the bat, the title, "Diabetics Swap Finger Sticks for New Sensors" is misleading.

Currently, CGMS have not replaced finger sticks. While they're a great tool for spotting trends and catching yourself before you get far out of range (either high or low), diabetics have to do a finger stick to confirm their blood glucose level before taking any action such as eating or administering insulin.

I did appreciate how the article explains that having a CGMS does not necessarily mean improved blood glucose control. Like Amy was saying yesterday, just having the numbers doesn't do any good if patients don't know what to do with that information.

Furthermore, "noncompliant" diabetics who won't test their blood a few times per day, are not going to wear a sensor all the time either! Not to mention the fact that the information obtain from a CGMS must be verified by a finger stick before meals or corrections, patients will still have to get over their fear or dislike of testing their blood sugar manually.

What a big, exciting headline over nothing new.

A Lesson Learned

2007-09-11T11:56:00.000-07:00

So, we all know that fat and protein influence blood sugar, right? But, I am often so focused on the carbohydrates in my meals and snacks, that I forget to factor in other aspects of the meal, like a high fat or high protein content.

This has really bad results when you add pregnancy induced insulin resistance to the mix!

My current post at HealthCentral.com: It's Not Just the Carbs! describes my recent experience with miscalculating for a meal of nachos, onion rings, and chicken wings!

Check it out... you don't have to be pregnant to appreciate, and commiserate with this one :)

The Dietician

2007-08-30T11:01:00.000-07:00

Hello O.C. Family! I hope everyone has fun plans ahead for the Labor Day weekend. Dennis and I will be settling into our new place! I'm sure that sounds like drudgery to many people, but I love "nesting" and organizing, so I'm really looking forward to 3 days of unpacking and setting up our new home. Last night we started painting the baby's room :) It's a soft, mint green... very cute!

Anyway, what's up with the post title?! I'm hoping you'll stop by HealthCentral.com and read my latest post about my recent dietician appointment. I think my fellow diabetics will appreciate my justifiable gripe! Anyone else have a dietician horror story to share? :)

To be fair, my next post will discuss all the important info I learned from the dietician. I'm back to meal planning and carb restrictions. Oh joy!

Contentment

2007-08-10T09:17:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday O.C.!

Now that I'm writing professionally :) about diabetes and pregnancy over at HealthCentral.com. I think I'll use Kelsey's Diabetes Diary as an outlet for my less organized ramblings... things only my faithful O.C. family might appreciate!

I have felt incredible joy lately. I don't know if it's the pregnancy "glow" or what, but life feels very full, productive, and inspiring lately. Of course planning for our child is central to our hopes for the future! My diabetes care and the pregnancy itself are great! I already boasted about my low A1c, but more than that, all of the baby's tests have come back wonderfully, as well as the test on my kidney function. My weight gain has been very modest, while my belly has grown substantially! I'm swimming 4 days a week which feels great and is keeping me quite fit.

Also, we decided to move into a larger place. Initially, I figured we'd be fine in our one bedroom apartment with the baby, for at least 6-9 months. However, we started having some service issues with our current residence, and figured we'd look around for a two bedroom. We only checked into one place, and it turned out to be perfect! 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, in an adorable neighborhood right next to downtown. We hit it off with the condo owners and are set to move in at the end of the month!

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE organizing! So, moving right now is really fun! I'm in this major clear clutter mode, which is making me feel very productive. Between my undergrad and grad programs, both in the humanities realm, I've collected hundreds of books. I've been sorting through them and donating some to our local library, while selling some of the textbooks! I'm still keeping a sizable collection, but it's nice to pare down, and make room for some new books!

Part of my clutter clearing craze (whoa, alliteration!) is my new realization that stuff just doesn't matter that much. If something isn't useful, why have it? I loved this line I heard the other day: "If you have to put something in storage, that means you don't use it." Aha! Light bulb moment for me. I really want to establish this kind of mindset toward "stuff" with our children. Spoiled kids drive me crazy! I want to raise kiddos that appreciate their possessions and recognize how darn lucky they are in the whole scheme of things. Donating items so other people can use them just makes me feel great!

Anyway, it's been very fun and productive preparing for this move, the baby, and basically a whole new chapter in the Bonilla family's life. Also, my mom is moving to San Diego in 2 weeks!! It's going to be great to be able to visit with her whenever I want, and to watch her experience this new adventure in her own life. Plus, our little one is going to benefit from having an amazing grandma, while Dennis and I'll get the occasional night out :) It's very exciting!

I guess to sum up, I'm in "nesting" mode... looking within at our life, what we want to create for our children, preparing our home, etc. It's fun, it's fulfilling.

Life is good.

Waiting on Insulin...

2007-08-01T08:39:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I did a site change after my breakfast bolus. The number of units I was able to use from that change? 2.3 units. Yes, I was that low on insulin.

Because of a bunch of factors, including some insulin going bad in the Central California heat last month, a nurse calling in the wrong prescription to my mail order pharmacy, and general incompetence by said mail order pharmacy, I was making my current supply of insulin last as long as possible.

Actually, I had amazing numbers last week because I was watching my carb intake, and avoiding highs, which would require larger amounts of insulin to correct.

However, my luck ran out Tuesday morning. I couldn't possibly make it through the day, much less the morning with 2.3 units of insulin. (By the way, I didn't realize how much insulin it takes to prime a pump! What a waste!!) My order of 5 vials of Humalog was due to arrive the following afternoon. Argh!

I called my two favorite people in the world right now, (other than you, honey!) June and Michelle, the CDEs at the Diabetes and Pregnancy Group. Michelle called me back as soon as she got into work and put in a prescription for one vial at my local pharmacy.

By 10 a.m. I was up and running with new insulin, and a much happier disposition. :)

If you have a minute, check out my latest post at HealthCentral.com. It chronicles my quest to Prepare my body for baby.

I'm now 17 weeks along, and the baby is the size of a large avocado!

My diabetes anniversary, a new blog, and a pregnancy update

2007-07-27T08:35:00.000-07:00

Today I've had diabetes for 14 years.

I've now had diabetes for more years than I lived without it.

My mom bought me a bunch of maternity clothes to celebrate my anniversary... she's pretty much the only person who makes a big deal of it. Gotta love moms :)

Today the administrative group at work are going on a harbor cruise around San Diego Bay for lunch. Though it's unrelated to my anniversary, I'm enjoying it as a special treat on my "special" day.

My other big news is that I've began a blog on my diabetic pregnancy over at HealthCentral.com. See my first posts, here and here.

I've excited, and a bit nervous because they've designated me the "expert" on diabetes and pregnancy for the site! Krystle, the producer has given me a lot of guidance and made me feel so welcomed, it's already been a wonderful experience.

All is well with the baby and me. I'm really enjoying the second trimester, and generally loving being pregnant. All of the food aversions and nausea had abated, and my energy level is back to normal, or maybe even higher!

Maternity clothes are fun, and I'm really starting to need them around the waist. However, oddly enough, I haven't actually gained any weight yet. My doctor said to relax and be happy about that, when I expressed concern that I hadn't gained the 5-10 pounds all the books recommend. I think that swimming has really helped me stay toned, while obviously some mass is moving to my middle, or else I'd be able to button my pants :)

Blood sugar-wise, my control is pretty darn good. However, every high reading sends me into a bit of a panic, worrying that the little one is being hurt in some way. The doctors have assured me that a solitary high reading isn't going to harm the baby... but still. I'm taking comfort in my latest A1c: 5.0. I guess all the testing and correcting works, even if there are some high blood sugars scattered in there.

The Poff Wedding

2007-07-18T15:40:00.000-07:00

My little sister got married on Saturday! The wedding was wonderful, the weather perfect... we couldn't have asked for a better day!

Blood sugar "wise" the weekend wasn't great. I didn't feel nervous or stressed, but maybe I was during the actually wedding day, attending to my Matron of Honor duties and all! I houvered around 180 mg/dl for a few hours before dinner, despite constant corrections. I'll write that off to nerves. Then, after testing around 11:00 p.m. and seeing 104 mg/dl, the night of the wedding, I proceeded to leave my meter at our ranch while Dennis, my best friend Michelle, my mom, and I went down the mountain to our hotel. I realized the blundder when I arrived at the hotel, it was after midnight, and I was sleepy. So, I just bolused a half unit figuring I'd rather be low (since I feel my lows quite well) and correct, than run high during the night. I woke up around 7:30 a.m. and felt a little low, I had about 4 pieces of dried apricot. We then stopped by a drive thru coffee stand where I got a decaf latte and a blueberry scone. I bolused three units and hoped for the best. At 10:30 a.m., when we arrived back at the cabin, I was reunited with my beloved meter. Nearly 12 hours without testing was incredibly difficult, but I was rewarded when I tested and saw: 104 mg/dl. Aw, dumb luck!

The only other diabetes related fun this past week was sharing my pump holster with my sister's bridesmaids, who'd never seen such a thing before! Also, I got my upgraded Cozmo pump (I had it delivered to my mom's house). I haven't had a chance to figure out much of the new features, but so far I like that it lets me enter exact carb counts and change boluses by 0.05 a unit instead of just 0.1.

Here are some pictures from the wedding, Enjoy :)

Me, Michelle, Beth

Dennis and Me

Mr. and Mrs. Poff

Michelle and Me at the ceremony site!!

The Power of Unclogged Tubing

2007-06-29T11:40:00.000-07:00

Wednesday night before bed, my blood sugar was elevated due to underbolusing for my dinner of spaghetti with whole wheat noodles. I corrected, and set my alarm for midnight, to make sure I was coming back down.

Midnight: 119 mg/dl. Good, better.

5:30 a.m.: 241 mg/dl. WTF?! "Damn," I thought, "those noodles, sometimes they do cause a delayed spike, I'd forgotten."

Fairly aggressive correction bolus, since I'd be waking up for the day shortly anyway.

6:45 a.m.: 239 mg/dl. Now, really, what's going on?!?!

Detached the pump and checked it out by filling the tubing. Nothing comes out. Message: Blockage Detected.

4 units via syringe, change the tubing and reservoir, low carb breakfast. Good to go.

I called Smiths Medical (Cozmo) to ask why it takes so long to get a blockage detected message when, obviously, I hadn't been receiving adequate insulin for quite some time. Apparently, that message is triggered by the amount of back pressure in the pump, which must exceed 5 units before sounding the alarm. My basal rate doesn't create enough pressure, thus I will only see the blockage message during a large meal bolus, or when I try to fill the tubing.

I suppose going forward, whenever I have an unexplained high reading, I'll try to fill the tubing before delivering my correction bolus. With the pregnancy, I hate to stay high any longer than absolutely necessary.

The night, with my happily, unclogged tubing, my blood sugars were much better:

9:30 p.m.: 122 mg/dl

10:15 p.m.: 111 mg/dl

Midnight: 70 mg/dl (10 grams carb)

4:00 a.m.: 83 mg/dl (5 grams carb)

7:00 a.m.: 85 mg/dl.

Upon reading those numbers off to my husband this morning he responded, "Amazing what some unclogged tubing can do!" :)

*** In other pump news... even though I technically missed the deadline for my Cozmo upgrade, the nice folks at Smiths Medical extended the offer, and I was able to complete the test and submit a new prescription a few weeks ago. I've been waiting for my color pump to become available, so I haven't received it yet. However, we're going out of town for two weeks starting Tuesday, so I called to make sure we weren't going to miss it. It so happens that they were planning to mail it out yesterday. I had them change the address to my mom's. I will receive my shiny new pump with all it's extra bells and whistles next weekend when I arrive in Humboldt! Nothing like a new gadget!***

A High Fasting Blood Glucose

2007-06-25T13:02:00.001-07:00

As I'll assume you all know, a type 1 diabetic pregnancy brings with it the quest for extremely tight blood sugar control (without too many lows, of course, since that's so simple!)

I'm working very closely with my OB and a CDE at the University of California, San Diego who I just adore! They're quite knowledgeable and have a great "bedside manner" and are wonderfully supportive and helpful.

Dennis and I met with the doc and our CDE on Friday afternoon. We got to see the baby via ultrasound (again!) This child already has nearly a photo album full of pictures! Now that I'm almost done with my first trimester (tomorrow kicks off #2) we could see everything more clearly, including a little wave :)

Before we got to the fun of seeing the little one again, we went over my blood sugars. The CDE went through the week's numbers and highlighted lows in blue and highs in red. I laughed out loud when I saw one of my fasting numbers highlighted in bright red: 101 mg/dl I told the CDE that she'd upset a lot of diabetics by telling me that was a high reading!

Of course, I understood what she meant... my goal is to wake up at 90 mg/dl, so technically 101 mg/dl is high :)

Being a bit of a perfectionist, I proceeded to have an amazing overnight blood sugar that evening. I attribute this to what we ate: Green Curry soy "chicken" with brown rice and veggies from this amazing vegan fusion restaurant. Soy definitely has a great blood sugar stabilizing effect!

I had some ice cream before bed, when my blood sugar was 79 mg/dl, bolused.

Woke up at midnight to test: 117 mg/dl.

Slept through the night (I think the healthy dinner digested very easily because both my husband and I slept like rocks) to wake up at 8 a.m. at 88 mg/dl!

Ha, take that "Ms. 101 mg/dl is high!" :)

Dreams... and a Big Announcement

2007-06-14T09:47:00.000-07:00

It seems like dreams have been a theme around the O.C. today... Kerri's fiance Chris is dreaming about lows, zombie's and English muffins, while Johnboy had a stressful dream about baseball. I too have been dreaming a lot lately.

In last night's dream, I was breastfeeding my brand new baby. The night before I dreamt that my husband and I were feeding solid food to our newborn, which of course choked the baby and I had to perform CPR on my day old child. Any guess what these dreams mean?!

Yes, I'm pregnant! 10 weeks and 2 days to be exact :)

I've been wanting to tell my OC family, but thought it would be wise to get through the first trimester (well, almost) before sharing the news. I've feeling pretty good about this pregnancy, so I figured I'd go ahead and spill the beans now.

Here's a recap of my pregnancy experience so far:

First of all, the timing couldn't have been better. I officially turned in my MA thesis on May 9th and took the (positive!) pregnancy test that evening! I'm such a planner... it was hysterical that things actually came together all at the same time. My family came down for my graduation a week and a half later, so I got to tell everyone in person, which was really special. Plus, another great timing aspect is that I'll be done with my first trimester at the end of June, just in time to be the Matron of Honor in my sister's HUGE wedding on July 14th. Dennis and I will be in Humboldt County for over a week helping with the final preparations. I'll be 3 1/2 months, so I should be having some energy, but not showing too much yet!

One thing that's great about having a diabetic, "high risk" pregnancy, is all the ultrasounds you get to have done. I already have a dozen pictures of our little one! We've had three separate ultrasounds, with the first one at 6 weeks and 3 days. It's very comforting to get to see the baby, and the heartbeat :) so often.

Morning sickness reared its ugly head early, and I threw up at my desk at work once (in the trash can, luckily!) Since then, I've been sure to eat every three hours or so, which helps a lot with the nausea. Also, taking my prenatal vitamin at bedtime has been a great help!

My most severe symptoms, if you will, have been an incredible sense of smell, and food aversions! Things I used to LOVE, like chicken, for example, now make me totally sick! The most frustrating part is I cannot plan my meals like I used to because I never know what's going to be appetizing from hour to hour. I used to plan meals for the week, cook for my husband and myself, and we were all set. Now Dennis and I are eating different things most nights because some random dish will appeal to me at the last minute. It's very odd.

We're starting to discuss whether or not to find out the gender of our baby. Right now we're leaning towards not finding out and being surprised. Mostly because we don't have a preference either way; we're going to stay in our little one bedroom apartment for at least the baby's first 9 months, so planning a nursery isn't really an issue; and we'd kinda like to have the experience of not finding out once, and we're only planning to have two children. Any thoughts on this issue would be greatly appreciated :)

So, that's the news... We're having a baby!!

Me Meme

2007-06-08T09:59:00.001-07:00

1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought? The flatiron isn't going to fix this bedhead!

2. How much cash do you have on you?
Nada, I just used my debit card for a $1.29 purchase, sad.

3. What's a word that rhymes with DOOR? Store.

4. Favorite planet?
Jupiter, I did a report on it in third grade, and it's been my favorite ever since.

5. Who is the 4th person on your missed call list on your cell phone? My mom.

6. What is your favorite ring tone on your phone? The Notre Dame Fight Song :)

7. What shirt are you wearing? Fuchsia tee and black hoodie sweater.

8. Do you label yourself? Sure, but I fit lots of labels!

9. Name the brand of the shoes you're currently wearing: Privo.

10. Bright or Dark Room? Bright fluorescent office lights.

11. Why is there always a missing question? People loose count...

12. What does your watch look like? It's dark gray and doubles as an insulin pump!

13. What were you doing at midnight last night? sleeping

14. What did your last text message you received on your cell phone say?
My husband's phone number when he paged me.

15. Where is your nearest 7-11? I have no idea!

16. What's a word that you say a lot? Fun!

17. Who told you he/she loved you last? mi esposo, Dennis.

18. Last furry thing you touched?
Probably a dog in the park, my husband pets every dog we pass!

19. How many drugs have you done in the last three days?
Two- Insulin, prenatal vitamins.

20. How many rolls of film do you need developed? Zero.

21. Favorite age you have been so far? 27 has been pretty great so far :)

22. Your worst enemy? simple carbohydrates!

23. What is your current desktop picture? two adorable kittens... we need a pet.

24. What was the last thing you said to someone?
"This Paris Hilton thing is so ridiculous."

25. If you had to choose between a million bucks or to be able to fly, what would it be?
Probably the cash :)

26. Do you like someone? yes, I like a lot of people.

27. The last song you listened to?
I can't remember! Something on the radio on the way to work.

28. What time of day were you born? 6:20 p.m.

29. What's your favorite number? 11

30. Where did you live in 1987? In the house where I grew up in Eureka, CA.

31. Are you jealous of anyone? Not really.

32. Is anyone jealous of you? Not that I know of!

33. Where were you when 9/11 happened? In my dorm at St. Mary's College.

34. What do you do when vending machines steal your money? Sigh and walk away.

35. Do you consider yourself kind? Yes, almost to a fault.

36. If you had to get a tattoo, where would it be? Somewhere tastefully hidden.

37. If you could be fluent in any other language, what would it be?
Spanish... I'm working on it!

38. Would you move for the person you loved? Definitely.

39. Are you touchy-feely? Yes!

40. What's your life motto? The first stanza of the Serenity Prayer.

41. Name three things you have on you at all times:
my pump, my meter, my wedding/engagement rings.

42. What's your favorite town/city? San Diego, CA & Washington D.C.

43. What was the last thing you paid for with cash? A Chocolate Croissant! :)

44. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it?
A few months ago to my Nana.

45. Can you change the oil on a car? Sadly, no.

46. Your first love: what is the last thing you heard about him/her?
He was working in Africa for a Navy Contractor...

47. How far back do you know your ancestry?
My paternal grandpa has traced it back to the 1400s... I'm named after an ancestor from the 16th century named Hannah Kelsey.

48. The last time you dressed fancy, what did you wear and why did you dress fancy?
For my MA graduation last month!

49. Does anything hurt on your body right now? Not right now.

50. Have you ever been burned by love? Yes, but in hindsignt it was for the best.

51. Do you have a crush on any bloggers? No, I need to read more blogs...

52. Where would you like to live? If San Diego were more affordable, I'd stay here forever. I'm looking forward to an adventure in another state... maybe Colorado?! We'll see.

Thigh Sites

2007-05-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

I have a question for all of you pumpers out there...

On Saturday, I inserted my first thigh site. I was pretty pleased with myself :)

However, over the last couple of days, I've noticed a delay in insulin absorption. I'm had some highs after meals, and my correction boluses are definitely taking longer to kick in that they did in my stomach sites. Is this typical?!

I've resorted to giving myself insulin injections in the tummy to bring highs down, which is inevitably followed by lows (rage boluses, I must admit.)

Anyway, anyone have some insight into the thigh site issue?! What do you do to counteract the absorption delay... just bolus earlier?

Thanks everyone :)

Emergency Room Visit

2007-05-09T07:35:00.000-07:00

I spent the early hours of Thursday morning in the emergency room.

Fortunately, my ailment had nothing to do with diabetes. I've been ignoring a nagging knee injury for the last couple months. I'm pretty sure I twisted my left knee doing Tae-bo in my living room. Man, I really need a better story! Anyway, if you're wondering, doing roundhouse kicks and sidekicks on carpeting is not a good idea. Your plant leg cannot be completely steady, allowing your knee to twist unnaturally.

Anyway, since life was hectic with school and work, I figured I'd just wait to have my knee checked. I'd workout occasionally, but always with a couple days of rest in between.

Last week, I jogged a couple of miles on the treadmill on Tuesday. I felt fine on Wednesday. On Thursday morning, I couldn't straighten my left leg or put any weight on it. I freaked out! It's very scary not to be able to walk, when you were painless just hours before.

Dennis figured out which ER we should go to, and drove me right over. In hindsight, we probably only needed an urgent care center, not the ER, and luckily the hospital was nice enough to bill us accordingly, saving us $75 in copay fees.

The doctors tested my knee (mostly just pulling and pushing and asking me if it hurt) and concluded that I probably have a tear in my meniscus. They referred me to the orthopedic clinic, which couldn't fit me in for an appointment for a week. So, I spent Thursday through Sunday laying on the couch, icing and elevating my knee. I learned how to use crutches. Dennis and I watched a lot of movies and the NBA Playoffs.

I've been back to work for three days now, wearing a huge brace to immobilize my knee. Very cool...

So, tomorrow I will probably have an MRI and find out whether I'll need surgery to repair my meniscus. I know it's a really routine procedure, but hopefully it'll heal on its own. Anyone have experience with this kind of injury?!

I learned a valuable lesson through all of this, to take better care of my body! Last year I had a TERRIBLE sunburn and got heat stroke (on a separate occasion), now this knee thing. I tend to feel invincible and thus, do stupid things that cause myself unnecessary pain. I really need to be nicer to my body.... that way, it'll be nice to me :)

School, Work, Family, Diabetes

2007-04-18T08:59:00.000-07:00

My life has been so crazy busy lately. I've barely had time to test 12 times per day, log my blood sugars faithfully, and change my pump sites, let along post. I'm looking forward to a substantial slow down soon!

School

My thesis is (almost) done! At this point I hesitate to say I'm finished because my thesis chair keeps making small changes each time he reviews it. However, he told me a couple weeks ago that he only wanted to see one more draft, which I'm giving him this afternoon! If he indeed just skims it, I should be turning it in officially by the end of the month!! I don't know what I'm going to do with myself once this is done... but I'll think of something :)

Work

I work for a CPA firm, and yesterday was the tax deadline. Thus, we've been working overtime, Saturdays, etc. for the last month. To make things even crazier, not only have I been helping with tax return processing, but my group, the auditor's, have had tons of financial statements to finalize. When it rains, it pours, right?! We celebrated with a Hawaiian themed lunch yesterday and a happy hour at Karl Strauss brewery in the evening. I over bolused for the jasmine rice (apparently it doesn't have as many carbs as sticky white rice?!) and chased a low most of the afternoon. Then I indulged in two pints of Amber Lager, yum! A nice end to a hectic time.

Family

My sister's bridal shower is Saturday!! I'm flying to the bay area Thursday night to meet my sister and my best friend. The three of us will drive to Humboldt that night. I'm so excited for some quality "girl time" and a road trip! I've got some last minute planning items to take care of, since my mom and I are throwing the shin-dig. If anyone knows of some fun bridal shower games, please let me know! We've got some ideas, but I'd love to hear of others. My sister's finance is also from our hometown area, so this shower is going to be large... we invited 65 people and are expecting 50 plus. It should be fun!

In other "family" news... Dennis and I are working on adding to our own :) We were unsuccessful the first month, so we're keeping our fingers crossed for this month! My A-type personality wants to plan this whole thing to death, which I know is impossible, so I'm letting go and praying that everything happens in the right time. But man, I'm hoping it's soon!!

Diabetes

Things are going fine on this front. I doubt I've maintained the 5.6 A1c result from February, but all in all, things are good. Now that I'm not on birth control, I'm noticing much more dramatic changes to my basal and bolus needs during different times of my cycle. It's all new to me and very odd. However, having a CDE and a doc check all my blood sugars and rates weekly sure helps! Sometimes I just flat out disagree with them... like when my doc suggested giving myself 2 EXTRA units at meals if I'm over 130 mg/dl! I knew this would result in many lows since my typical meal bolus is between 3 and 4 units! At the end of the day, we know our bodies, we live in them.

Fun story... On Saturday afternoon, Dennis and I were at Starbucks reading and working on my thesis. After we'd been there a couple hours, Dennis looks out the window and exclaims, "Look a dog!" This is very typical because he loves dogs and wants one desperately (we just can't do it in our 6th floor, downtown apartment). I glanced out the window, sort of annoyed it be interrupted from my work. Then he says, "Hey, isn't that that Doctor?" I look up to see that the dog's owner is Dr. Steven Edelman. Dennis recognized him from the TCOYD conference we attended in November. After we discussed who it was and watched the doc stroll around outside with his pup, Dennis encouraged me to go out and say "hi." I hesitated and we stayed put for awhile.

When we left, Dr. Edelman was sitting out front, so Dennis went by to pet his dog and I introduced myself. I felt kinda awkward bothering him when he's obviously enjoying a day off, but he was really nice and engaging. We actually watched his dog, Luke for a few minutes while he ran in to Starbucks for some coffee :) Then we had a 15 minute chat about diabetes, continuous glucose monitoring, my last A1c, getting pregnant, etc. Of particular interest in our conversation was his encouragement to me about getting a Dexcom. Turns out, one of Dennis's coworkers also has type 1 and is a patient of Dr. Edelman's. She successfully got her insurance (which is the same as ours) to cover the Dexcom! He suggested I talk to her about it, since I'd have a good chance because of trying to get pregnant. He also said he has a letter template to share with me that outlines the need for continuous glucose monitoring!

So, now that life is finally settling down a bit, I know I should seriously look into the Dexcom. The only way I'd get one is if I can get my insurance to cover it, so I have to at least try, right? I'm still relatively new to pumping (7 months now) and I really can't imagine having another thing on my body all the time! But I know it would be so good for the tight control I need while pregnant. I'm a little torn, but I'll start the process of gathering information when I return from the shower weekend.

As I'm looking at all the things going on in my life lately, I recognize how overwhelming it's been, but more importantly, how extremely blessed I am. Blessed to be healthy, happy, achieving my goals, and being with my family and friends. Things like this tragic event at Virginia Tech make me realize, more than ever, how fragile life is and how senseless, random things happen to people.

I hope everyone has a fun, relaxing, and safe weekend!

Here we go again...

2007-03-20T15:05:00.000-07:00

Sorry for being so MIA lately... I'm rapidly finishing my thesis (it's due in less than 2 weeks) and trying to make a baby! So, I've been busy :)

I had to share this with my diabetic/PWD friends...

Yesterday the San Diego Union Tribune ran an article regarding Padres pitcher David Wells being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

Wells is quoted as saying "This is a major lifestyle change. I don't want this going to Type 1 diabetes." WTF?!

Here we go again... the mass media complete misunderstanding of diabetes! And now this ridiculous baseball player (I'm a huge baseball fan, by the way) gets all authoritative on a complex disease that he's had for all of, what, a week... maybe.

So, I promptly emailed the reporter the following message:

I had to write to correct one of Mr. Wells comments regarding his diabetes diagnoses.

Type 2 diabetes does not "go to" or "turn into" type 1. They are completely distinct diseases, with type 1 being caused by an autoimmune disorder and type 2 caused by heredity, eating habits, and inactivity.

I understand that what he probably meant to say was that he'd like to avoid having to take insulin.

Nonetheless, his comment was ignorant and should have been caught by someone on your reporting staff. Instead this article serves to perpetuate the public's misunderstanding of the different types of diabetes.

Please, in the future, when reporting on diabetes, be sure to clearly understand the differences between type 1 and type 2, so that these damaging misunderstandings do not continue.

I doubt this will really do any good... but it made me feel better to send it!

Seven Meme

2007-03-02T08:56:00.000-08:00

Seven things to do before I die:

Raise a healthy, happy family
Run a marathon
Watch all 100 Films on AFI's Best Films List
Go back to Martinique
Learn to speak Spanish fluently
Travel the world
See a cure for diabetes (I can dream, right?!)

Seven things I cannot do:

Go a day without telling Dennis, "I love you"
Whistle.
Go back to injecting insulin.
Eat black licorice.
Loose my faith.
Turn a cartwheel.
Stay angry.

Seven things that attracted me to the Mister:

That smile!
Enthusiasm and knowledge about sports and fitness
Love for his family, friends and God
Killer sense of humor and great laugh
Curiousness
Finding fun in everyday activities
Compassion

Seven things I say:

That's fun!
I've got a plan...
Amen.
I love you.
I've got to study.
How silly.
Te amo.

Seven books that I love:

The Country Under my Skin
The Glass Lake
Black Like Me
Labyrinth of Solitude
Confessions of a Shopaholic
Atlas Shrugged
The Search for God at Harvard

Seven movies that I've loved (at different times and in no particular order)

Father of the Bride
Sleepless in Seattle
When Harry Met Sally
Dead Poet's Society
Everything is Illuminated
Little Miss Sunshine
Steel Magnolias

I tag anyone and everyone who wants to participate :)

I'm Ready...

2007-02-23T15:02:00.000-08:00

For the last 5 weeks I've been writing down every blood glucose result, all of my insulin boluses, each gram of carbohydrate and everything I eat...

On Wednesdays I fax these logs to the CDE and she calls me on Friday with any changes...

I've been pumping with my Deltec Cozmo for 5 months now...

For the last year and a half my diabetes has been on the forefront of my mind as I lowered my A1c from 7.3 to the low 6's and learned more and more about how my body reacts to carbs, basal rates, exercise, etc....

All of this in order to prepare my body for a future pregnancy.

Finally, I'm ready because my current A1c is: 5.6

Now for the fun part... getting pregnant! Wish me luck :)

Help for a New Diabetic

2007-02-16T12:59:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!

I'm been absent from the O.C. lately, though not by choice. Between work, my thesis and insanely tight diabetes control, life is just passing me by these days.

Hopefully my thesis will be done in about 6 weeks!! Yeah!

Then we can focus on pregnancy and all that fun stuff :)

In the meantime, my best friend, who works as a counselor at a small Catholic middle school in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco left me a voicemail yesterday about one of her students. He was recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. He's having a hard time adjusting to the disease (like we all did) and needs some words of encouragement.

I'm planning to draft the email early next week, so I thought I'd open it up to the blogsphere. What should I tell him? What were the things you wish you'd known when you were first diagnosed?

Thanks everyone, I'll be sure to report on what words of wisdom I come up with.

Have a great weekend!

Me, as a Pumper

2007-02-06T11:38:00.000-08:00

I've been pumping now for nearly 5 months... seemed like a good time for an update on my experience as a pumper:

First of all, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Cleo 90 sets! They're so easy and painless, and actually pretty darn cool. I get such a kick out of the way the tubing "clicks" onto the set. I've had a little trouble with getting new sites to stick, but usually just when I'm in a rush and don't allow the IV prep to dry enough. Even then, I just apply more of the prep and it sticks wonderfully. Not to jinx myself, but I haven't had any sites come out on their own yet :)
I've found that the "Insulin on Board" junction helps me a lot. When I'm having a snack and my blood sugar is where I want it to be, the pump helps me to know just how much insulin I need to cover the food without stacking insulin. I've also learned that "IOB" can be misinterpreted: it does not mean "Look, I can eat 30 carbs, and the pump recommends zero insulin!!" I have to figure in what I've already eaten!
Sleeping with my pump on has been a breeze! I often hear fellow O.C.er's talk about being tangled up in their tubing, but I've never experienced it. Since I'm a side-sleeper, I just clip my pump to my shorts or PJ pants, right in the middle of my stomach. I tuck the tubing in the band (like I do with my regular clothes) and the pump moves with me as I turn between my sides during the night. Couldn't be easier!
Bolusing before meals helps SOOOO much with postprandials! I never realized how slow insulin really was until I started bolusing 20-30 minutes before meals. I've been as low as 70 mg/dl at breakfast, bolused for my cereal and waited 20 minutes to eat. I didn't bottom out and my one hour postprandial was awesome!
I love the pump for eating in public places. I never really minded drawing up insulin and injecting at the table before, but now I'm so happy to be free of it! Nowdays, I'll test my blood on the way to eat, say in the car or at home before we leave. If it has been awhile since a bolus, I don't need to test right before I eat... thus, when it's time to bolus, I just pull out the pump, punch in the carbs and deliver it. So, much easier than dealing with injections!
The pump has helped me pinpoint what caused particular blood sugar rises. When I was on lantus, I didn't know what necessarily caused a high reading. Now, when I have something atypical, like honey roasted peanuts after dinner, and I climb steadily through the night, I know that was the food choice, not my insulin dose that caused the spike.
I'm able to monitor my eating and stay within a goal range for carbs per day with the pump. My Cozmo (and I'm sure other pumps) have a History screen where I can see my insulin delivery for many days, as well as my basal as % of TTD and carbohydrate totals each day. For me, if I stay under 150 carbs in a day, and less than 26 units of insulin, I see better blood sugars and maintain my weight. With a quick glance, I can see how I'm doing, and not freak out too much over days like the Superbowl when my insulin total was closer to 35 units!
I'm still surprised by how quickly the pump incorporates into ones life. My husband and I were discussing this on Sunday. He expressed that it seemed like forever ago that I was doing injections. I reminded him that it was only 5 months ago! I agreed that it would take me a couple mintues to feel comfortable doing an injection again!

This little pump has become my constant companion, and I don't mind him much at all. Sure, certain pairs of pants make him harder to tuck away, but we figure it out. There's something comforting about having my insulin with me at all times, and the control I want is much easier to achieve with this device.

Postprandials

2007-01-24T07:36:00.000-08:00

Thanks so much for the great responses guys!

So, the thing is, I already eat low GI foods... whole wheat everything and all that good stuff. The ideas about lowering basals after meals is very interesting. I'll have to look into that.

For now, my game plan is to bolus early for meals. This way the insulin is kicking in when I start to eat. Sometimes I'm waiting too long, like this morning when I woke up at 88 mg/dl, bolused for my 51 carbs of cereal and milk and then waited 20-25 minutes. After I ate my breakfast I felt low. Not fun. I'll have to be sure not to wait too long to eat.

Besides that, I had awesome results yesterday with my early bolusing:

Breakfast: 70 mg/dl

Postprandial: 105 mg/dl

Lunch: 94 mg/dl

Postprandial: 100 mg/dl

Dinner: 81 mg/dl

Postprandial: 77 mg/dl

I tested 11 times yesterday and my range was 70-124 mg/dl.

Now, if I can only keep this up for the next year or so :)

Getting ready for baby...

2007-01-22T14:34:00.000-08:00

I'm been MIA around the blogsphere as of late, because my thesis is slowly but surely nearing completion. Now, if my advisor would only get back to me about our next meeting...ARGH!

Friday afternoon my husband and I cut out of work early to attend our "Pre-conceptional consult" appointment with the Diabetes and Pregnancy Group at UCSD. I first contacted the CDE, June almost a year ago! Well we were finally ready to met the doctor and discuss my strategy for a healthy, diabetic pregnancy.

I felt so, so, so great about the appointment. This group is going to help keep me very healthy! My husband and I had a great rapport with the doctor right away. Both he and the CDE were supportive and really listened to my input. Since we were the last appointment of the day, we spent over an hour with both of them... simply amazing! I haven't had that kind of concentrated attention from a medical professional in years!

Now, onto the hard work.

My fasting blood sugar target is 90 mg/dl (not too bad, that's what I've been aiming for).

My premeal blood sugar target is also 90 mg/dl or less (again, that's been my goal).

My 1 hour postprandial target is 120-130 mg/dl (here's where I'm having the problem!!!)

I've always tested 2 hours after meals, never just 1 hour. As the CDE noted, "If you're 130 mg/dl at 2 hours, you could've been 170 mg/dl at one hour... we don't want that." Oh man!

So, for the past two days, by 1 hour postprandial blood sugars have been steadily in the 150 to 190 mg/dl range. Opps, a little too high.

I'm thinking that the answer is to bolus about 20-30 minutes before meals, so that the insulin is kicking in just as I'm starting to eat. Now, it's just a matter of getting into that habit. I'd become pretty comfortable with adding up my carbs and bolusing (or injecting) just as I was starting to eat. Aren't these antilogs supposed to be a lot faster?!

Any tips from diabetic mommys-to-be would be greatly appreciated! :)

Welcome 2007!

2007-01-02T12:45:00.000-08:00

I'm not big on New Year's resolutions. Mostly because they're a bit cliche and most people are over them by Valentine's Day. Why resolve to do something on January 1st, that could've as easily been started last week or two months ago? The idea of "starting over" in a new year hasn't resonated much for me in the past. However, for some reason, this year I'm very much feeling like the changing years marks something important in my life. I can look back on 2006 with many wonderful memories, and great successes like starting the pump! Many of the emotional, spiritual and physical changes that I experienced in 2006 have set me up for what's to come in 2007 and beyond.

So, this year, my goal, focus... resolution, if you will, is Discipline.

Huh?! Doesn't sound so great does it?

Let me explain my interpretation of discipline. I share Julie Andrews' view:

Some people regard discipline as a chore. For me, it is a kind of order that sets me free to fly.

I know I've shared this quote here before, but it really fits my goals for 2007. This year, my first priority is to finish my Master's thesis, which is due April 2nd. I'm also preparing my diabetic body for pregnancy. All the while I'll be working full time, planning a bridal shower, attending both of my sibling's weddings, etc. Life is full :)

The only way I can accomplish these goals is to stay disciplined. I must go to Starbucks (or the Library I suppose!) each afternoon after work to study and write my thesis. It doesn't matter if I don't feel like it that particular day, I must go if I want to meet my deadline.

On the diabetes front, we all know how important discipline is... choosing to log my blood sugars, food and insulin; exercising regularly, choosing healthy foods and resisting the treats.

Also, my husband and I are trying to reach some financial goals this year, which means budgeting properly and not spending unnecessarily.

All of these goals reinforce one another to a certain extent. If I plan my lunches ahead of time by grocery shopping for healthy items to take to work, I'll be doing well by my body, and saving money by not eating out. Also, by keeping my blood sugars steady, I'll be mentally able to focus on my thesis. And the biggie, if I don't finish my thesis by April, I'll have to pay for another semester of tuition just to turn the thing in!

So, discipline will be my friend this year.

I'll be healthier, in mind and body, when I achieve these goals... and that's freedom afterall, right?!

Holiday Recap

2006-12-27T09:47:00.000-08:00

A belated "Happy Holidays" to everyone!

I'm back at work today, feeling sleepy and wishing our holiday break was longer. My husband and I had a delightful Christmas. We decided to stay in San Diego this year and have a quiet little holiday. It was wonderful! We went to Midnight Mass on Sunday night, saw two enjoyable films: "The Nativity Story" and "The Holiday." I absolutely LOVED "The Holiday," so, so cute! We had ham, baked beans and these delicious twice-baked potatoes for Christmas dinner and enjoyed many holiday movies at home. It was so relaxing, and we didn't get all caught up in the consumerism of the season, which felt good.

So, my husband and I both work in professional offices. As administrative staff, we each received lots of goodies from our co-workers, most of which came in the high sugar, carbo-loaded variety! Wow, so much chocolate. I indulged a bit, and my blood sugars responded as we'd expect. I chased a couple highs (especially after enjoying Chocolate Babka with our morning coffee!) which luckily came down pretty quickly, but nonetheless were bothersome.

Then today, I did a site change. I changed the reservoir and tubing last night (since I was down to just a few units) but figured I'd wait until morning to change the site, that way I didn't have to worry about a bad site overnight. I dragged myself out of bed this morning (we slept in every day this weekend!) and ate my Cherrios. Since I'd given my breakfast bolus through the old site, I didn't want to pull it right away in case that might cause some absorption issues. Instead, I inserted my new site, switched the pump over and kept the old site in until a couple hours after breakfast. This was the first site I'd ever pulled out at work, so I went to the restroom to remove it. I was met with my very first "gusher!" Oh man! I'd heard about these, but in my three months of pumping hadn't yet experienced one yet. It wasn't all that bad, but it is a little disconcerting when it just won't stop bleeding! It must have taken 3-4 minutes for it to stop gushing (man, I hate that word!)

The worst part is that now I have a red blood stain on the bottom edge of my white sweater... lovely. Well, now that it's dried, it's really more like a rust orange stain... gross!

I'm really glad this is a short week at work! My best friend is coming down on Friday, so we're trying to iron out our New Year's plans. The three of us will probably do one of the dinner packages at a local club/restaurant. With our baby plans for '07, this might be my last chance to really "go out" for awhile, so I'm going to make the most of it!

Once 2007 is ushered in, I will be 110% focused on my thesis!! This is a must since my deadline is April 2nd. I'm very easily distracted lately with thoughts of babies, but I've got to push that aside and get my project done first! (Can you tell I'm trying to pump myself up for this?!?)

Oh, wish me luck!

Diabetes and Life

2006-12-14T09:54:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone!

My latest epiphany regarding diabetes care is that blood glucose control can be greatly improved with a bit of effort. Major realization, I know.

Last week my blood sugars were elevated due to a combination of fighting off a cold and my period. I keep coming to the conclusion that I need to up my basals a little late. Next month I'll just set a higher basal during my period and see what happens.

This week I've been doing some basal tests overnight (meaning no snacking before bed), exercising, and logging consistently. The difference in control is incredible! I also set my target BG in my pump to 110 mg/dl instead of the conservative 120 mg/dl that the pump trainer set for me. This alone made a pretty big difference. I'll be setting this down to 100 mg/dl shortly, and then eventually 90 mg/dl next month.

Why the big change to my target? Well, in mid January I have a "pre-conception consultation" with the Diabetes and Pregnancy Group at UCSD! This meeting will be to advise me on the kind of control they'd like to see during pregnancy. Luckily my last four A1c tests have been under 6.3, so I'm good to go to try to conceive. We're excited!

However, before a little one can arrive, I need to finish my master's thesis. I'm pretty far along in the process, but I need to do a final re-write in the next few months. My deadline to complete the study (in order to graduate in May) is April 2nd. Wish me luck!

Other big things are coming up too:

My sister and her fiance both graduate from Cal Poly (her with a Masters and him with his Bachelors) in mid-June.

Their wedding is mid-July at our family ranch in northern California. They're expecting 400+! WOW! I'm the matron of honor (I can't believe I'm a "matron" already, but whatever!) and my husband is a groomsmen. We plan to take over a week off work to help out.

The shower that my mom and I are throwing for my sister will likely be sometime in June, but we need to plan it around the graduation.

Then, my brother is getting married at the end of July! Their wedding will be at a winery in St. Helena, which is near Napa, California.

WOW! I'm tired just thinking about it all. However, they're all joyous occasions, and I'm really looking forward to all the time with my family. Especially since my husband and I are having a quiet little Christmas just the two of us this year.

So, amongst all the things I have on my plate, I need to have the BEST diabetes control I've ever had. I'm feeling okay about it though. My new little machine makes achieving this kind of control much easier than injections.

In the end my body and the baby will have to come first, no matter what needs to be done!

Updates

2006-11-30T09:10:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I've been MIA on the blog sphere lately... not too much to report diabetes-wise, after such a "diabetes focused" stretch a couple weeks ago. Here's what I've been up to:

My mom came to visit for a week over Thanksgiving! She lives in Eureka, CA which is 800 miles away from San Diego (it's on the coast, just south of Oregon). That's way too far away!! My mom and I are extremely close, and it's miserable only seeing her a few times a year. Her latest visit reaffirmed mine and my husband's resolve to move up north (probably not to Eureka though!) in the next few years.

Anyway, we have a very active week with Mom. We ate dinners out, went to an amazing exhibit at the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park. It was photos of migrants all over the world, with a huge section of Mexican immigrants in San Diego. It was a very somber experience and just incredible. Afterwards we ate In-n-Out Burger and checked out the new Bloomingdales. The irony of this juxtaposition was not lost on us.

We also did our share of shopping! We skipped out on Black Friday however, what a zoo! My mom figured she'd buy our Christmas presents while she visited, instead of trying to ship everything. Very fun :) The two of us (Dennis stayed home to watch football) went to the outlets on Sunday afternoon. They're right next to the Mexican border (literally there are signs that say "Left Turn- No US Return" right near the outlets. It's a very cool experience to be near an international border for the day. You'd think it would be a clear cut US/Mexico cultural change at the border, but actually San Ysidro, CA feels more like Mexico in many ways. Very interesting.

Instead of hitting the malls on Friday, we took a leisurely drive up to Julian. This is the same little town Dennis and I visited on our anniversary. We loved it so much and really wanted to share it with mom. So, after our typical Starbucks stop, we headed east.

I rode in the backseat. In hindsight, this was not a good idea.

When we arrived I definitely felt sick. We strolled around awhile and then I tested my blood. Uh oh, 70 mg/dl and 3 units still on board. Damn! I over bolused for the zucchini walnut muffin! I gobbled down some M&Ms and kept looking around. I was feeling worse by the minute.

Another test 25 minutes later yielded 43 mg/dl. Great! I consumed a whole bottle of apple juice while we sat on a bench. We'd only been in Julian for 40 minutes or so, and I felt terrible.

Once my blood sugar rose a bit, I tried to be a trooper and keep looking in the little shops. I felt awful. Finally, I told mom and Dennis, "I'm just going to sit in the car for awhile."

I laid down in the back seat with the windows open and just felt nauseous. When my loved ones returned about twenty minutes later they said, "You're sick, let's go home."

It's about an hour drive back to San Diego. When we arrived at the next town, Ramona, I asked Dennis to stop so I could get some gatorade. My blood sugar was still not over 100 mg/dl. At the Chevron station I emptied my stomach! Totally!

I'll spare you the details, but I threw up twice more that day. I took some Pepto and had some Campbell's Chicken Noodle (the best when you're sick!) and felt fine by 7 p.m.

What the heck was that?! We considered food poisoning, but I highly doubt that from baked goods... I guess it was just motion sickness from the drive up. The road is incredibly curvy and I haven't sat in the backseat for that kind of drive in years. I don't get motion sickness typically, but I do remember curvy roads getting to be as a child. How odd.

Speaking of illness, I've been taking Airborne like it's going out of style! My mom came down with a terrible cold during the last part of her visit. So far so good, Dennis and I aren't experiencing symptoms. But, my blood sugars have been slightly elevated, so I'm wondering if my body is trying to fight off the bug. Hmmm.

Well, it's almost December... the season of giving, and the season of runny noses, sore throats and coughing!

Thanksgiving Eve

2006-11-22T10:12:00.000-08:00

My mom arrived yesterday for her week long visit! I'm so excited! We've got a long list of things we want to do and tomorrow we'll just be cooking, eating, and watching football. I'll give my little pump quite a workout, I'm sure.

This post will be sort of all over the place, but since I only really post at work, I need to share some things before the long weekend.

First of all, I witnessed the miracle that is blood sugar control with an insulin pump on Monday. Here's what my readings looked like:

7:00 a.m.- 85 mg/dl
11:30 a.m.- 84 mg/dl
5:00 p.m.- 85 mg/dl
7:45 p.m.- 78 mg/dl
9:30 p.m.- 115 mg/dl

There is NO WAY to achieve this kind of control, without hypos, on injections. Even with the pump, these days are few and far between (as verified by my string of low 200s yesterday!) But still, I was so impressed with my pump and encouraged to eat healthfully and low carb as I did this particular day.

Next, I wanted to respond to Scott's question in his comment to yesterday's post. When I first starting pumping, I set my "duration of insulin action" to 3.5 hours. During the first few weeks, I kept running into a situation where I'd test 2 hours post pradial and be high. I'd want to correct, but the pump said not to correct due to "insulin on board." Then, two hours later, I'd still be high. My rationale was that my "duration of insulin action" was set too high. I moved it down to 2.5 hours. When I asked John Walsh about this situation he responded that the problem was due to underbolusing for the meals, not the duration setting. Duh! He also explained that having an accurate setting for your "duration of insulin action" is important when testing basals. Otherwise you might think your basal rate is too high or low, when really those issues are due to bolus insulin. Interesting.

Now my setting for insulin action is 3 hours. A little on the low side, but its working for me. Also, if I'm high and I'm pretty sure I'll need to correct, I can override the pump's suggestion, something I wasn't too comfortable with when first starting the pump.

Finally, on the eve of Thanksgiving, a few things I'm thankful for:

My loving and supportive husband, Dennis
My wonderful mom who among many other things, taught me to sew, so that I can alter my pockets to better accommodate my pump.
The great people at ADA, JDRF, TCOYD, etc. who work hard on behalf of people with diabetes.
The O.C. because it keeps me inspired and sane!
My professors at SDSU who encourage and push me to be a better historian.
My faith and our favorite little church in Old Town.
Gravy at Thanksgiving!
My insulin pump and the very friendly and helpful folks at Smiths Medical.
The community of Barrio Logan and its heart in Chicano Park, which has motivated me and provided me a wonderful place and people to study.
Football, especially when the Dolphins are winning.

Mostly I'm thankful for my life, and for peace, health and happiness.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

My Weekend, Part 2: TCOYD!

2006-11-21T10:41:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday, my sleepy-eyed husband and I woke up at 6 a.m. to get ready for the TCOYD Conference! Since it was held just 15 blocks from our apartment, we walked to the Convention Center, grabbing our Starbucks Peppermint Mochas on the way!

What an amazing event! If you get an opportunity to attend one of these conferences, do it! They're very informative, and even if you know most of the information, it's a great source of inspiration (and reminders too!) Headed by Dr. Steven Edelman, of San Diego, this conference always ends the year, sort of like a homecoming :)

The first morning session lasted over two hours, while Dr. Edelman and Dr. Polonsky (see yesterday's post) gave their presentations. I experienced a typical situation for me whenever I'm sitting in confined situations, i.e. class, church, presentations, etc. I overdo it in my attempts to keep my blood sugar from going low. It's so odd because I feel my lows very well and always have something with me. For some reason when I'm in an environment where it seems inappropriate to be eating, I freak out and end up going high. This is where a CGMS would serve me very well!

Anyway, their presentations were great and really set the tone for the day!

We then had a break, when people could browse the vendor displays in the exhibit hall. We stopped at the Minimed booth to look at their CGMS. The representative asked me if I used a pump, and I replied, "Yes, I have a Cozmo." She then asked me how long until my warranty ran out, to which I replied, "Not for awhile, I've only had it two months." She didn't have much to say to us after that. Kinda rude. This pharmaceutical world seems kinda cut throat!

Later we stopped by the Smiths Medical booth and I got to meet Allison, the rep who I'd been corresponding with via email. She was the one that gave my name to Dr. Polonsky for the insulin pump therapy interview. It was great to be able to put a face with a name!

After the break, 5 speakers gave brief presentations (they each led a workshop later in the day.) Dr. Edelman's wife, Dr. Ingrid Kruse a podiatrist presented "Be Sweet to Your Feet." It was great and it reminded me why diabetic foot care is so important. It also made me incredibly sick to my stomach! The pictures she showed us of foot injuries and ulcers were almost more than I could take! Gross.

Other presenters were CDE Diane Pearson who talked about our glucose meters being "little laboratories in the palm of your hand." She was really enthusiastic and fun! Fellow diabetic Bill King, the marathoner inspired me to get back into running. A diabetes specialist from Canada, Dr. Ian Blumer (or the Canadian Dr. Edelman as he was referred to!) talked about how to make your endo appointment a success. Very practical and useful information (which also made me realize I need a new endo!) And finally, Diabetes Advocate Kriss Halpern (a lawyer with type 1) discussed some of the ways diabetics are discriminated against. I'd never even considered a lot of the issues he brought up. Quite educational.

So, that was our morning. Intense!

After a nice, low carb lunch (with a list of carb counts... so cool!) we headed off to our first breakout session of the day, Diabetes and Women's Health Issues. Being married and in my mid-twenties, I chose this session because I hoped to learn more about pregnancy issues. Well, I was in the minority. The endo giving the presentation turned out to be an expert on diabetes during menopause. The majority of attendants were older, type 2s. Can you guess where the discussion led?

My poor husband! We sat in the front row and he kept sinking deeper and deeper into his chair as these women launched into very graphic descriptions of their personal "women's health" issues. Did I mention Dennis was missing the Michigan v. Ohio State football game for this?! He's the best :)

So, I learned a lot about how diabetes will be affecting my body 30 years from now, so that's good. I managed to slip in a couple questions about pregnancy and thyroid issues, but that was about it. Oh well, live and learn.

As we left that session, I said to Dennis, "See all that we women have to deal with?"

To which he replied, "Yeah, I was thinking: How do you guys even get up in the morning?"

Hysterical laughter ensued. :)

Our last session of the day was on insulin pumps and CGMS. I didn't learn a whole lot that I didn't already know, but John Walsh helped me to understand one of my misconceptions about the duration of insulin action features, so that'll be helpful.

Wow, quite a day. I'm so glad my husband shared this experience with me, because he learned a lot about what this disease really entails. As for me, I came away very inspired to keep working on my control, particularly my standard deviation and avoiding hypos.

The day was perfectly capped off when we returned home to see that the football game had indeed been recorded.

Plus, football is so much more fun to watch when you can fast-forward through the commercials :)

My weekend, Part 1

2006-11-20T13:01:00.000-08:00

First of all, thank you for all the nice comments on our gala photo! I made my husband read the comments, and I'm pretty sure he's getting a fat head over the whole thing!

This weekend ended up being very "diabetes focused."

On Friday afternoon, I took a traffic-filled drive up to Encinitas to be interviewed about using an insulin pump. None other than Diabetes Psychiatrist extraordinaire Bill Polonsky of the Behavioral Diabetes Institute interviewed me at his home. My interview will be used along with many others to form a video about people's apprehensions to beginning pump therapy. Dr. Polonksy asked me all about my fears regarding the pump (of which there were many!), what finally "clicked" for me, and how it's been working out. The crew was really nice and supportive. We had to deal with the occasional plane flying overhead, truck backing up, and construction noises, since we were filming outside. This made it challenging because I kept having to stop in mid-thought and then had to remember what I was saying!

What a great experience!

It always makes me feel, I don't know, special I guess, to be around people who are working on something diabetes related. I'm all of the sudden the "expert" in the room, or at least the one living with the disease. Having someone ask me about the mental and emotional side of diabetes was very cool too. It's something that often gets pushed aside in the never-ending quest for good blood sugar control.

I told Dr. Polonsky about my google search for him and how Dr. Glaseroff was my first "diabetes doctor." He thought this was pretty cool too! They've been friends for years, so he wanted to know my opinion of him as a doctor. I loved Dr. Glaseroff, so it was pretty much a love fest! After the interview we tried to call my old doc, but couldn't get a hold of him. What a small world :)

My husband got to meet Dr. Polonsky at the TCOYD Conference the very next day... more on that tomorrow!

Firm Gala

2006-11-17T13:11:00.000-08:00

Last weekend my office had their "holiday party." Kinda early, I know, but with all the businesses in San Diego trying to have their parties on the few weekends in December, it can get tricky to find a cool place.

Anyway, it was pretty fun! I know these things are notorious for being awkward, or places were one or two inappropriate people get really drunk... but it was actually fun. I've worked there for a couple years now, so my husband has meet some of my coworkers. He chatted about sports with my friend's fiance, so he was happy! There was a casino night too! I've only played blackjack a couple times, in Reno mostly, but I'm really good. Well, really lucky I guess is more like it. We'll have to plan a Vegas trip soon!

I used my "thigh thingie" to hold my pump under my pretty dress. Worked out well! The pump helped me keep my blood sugars under control, not perfectly, but at least no lows. I had my share of wine, but skipped the dessert. Whenever I indulged in alcohol in the past, I would have a low that night and have to cut my insulin boluses by a lot the next day. With the pump, I just set a temp basal and woke up with a fasting blood sugar of 84 mg/dl. Yeah!

All in all it was a very nice evening! Here's a picture of me and my hubby :)

Meme of Threes

2006-11-17T09:26:00.000-08:00

I borrowed this meme from Kerri. Felt like a good post for a Friday!

Three Things I Do Every Day:
Test my blood, kiss my husband, say "I love you."

Three Things I Wish I Could Do Every Day:
See my mom, dad, sister, brother and best friend; make someone smile; make a difference

Three Hopes I Have for Today:
That I have something worthwhile to contribute to Dr. Polonky's pump therapy project, a successful basal test tonight, and to be re-inspired to work on my thesis this weekend.

Three Things I Hear:
My coworker chatting, the air conditioning system humming (it's been 80 degrees all week!), and the photos from our Firm holiday party downloading.

Three Ways I Have Changed my Life:
Matured emotionally, moved to San Diego on my own, followed my heart.

Three People I Wish I Could See Again:
Justin Keele, my father-in-law Jesus (whom I never met) and my Papa.

Three Items I Wish I Owned:
A CGMS (Definitely Kerri!), the entire set of the Great Books and a puppy!

Three Wishes I Had When I Was Young:
To be a Supreme Court Justice (honestly, Sandra Day O'Connor was my hero!), that diabetes would be cured, and live happily ever after!

Three Fears I Have:
Losing someone I love, failing, becoming jaded with the world.

Three Things on My Desk:
Lots of pictures of my husband and me, my Suzy's Zoo calendar, a copy of the Serenity Prayer.

Three Thoughts in My Mind:
I can't wait for my mom to arrive on Tuesday! Have those pictures finished loading yet?
I'm so ready for the weekend and the TCOYD Conference tomorrow!!

Infusion set success!

2006-11-16T16:19:00.000-08:00

Thank you Bernard, Megan and Johnboy for your words of wisdom!

I did an infusion set change today. I must have let the IV prep dry just the right amount, because it stuck perfectly!

It's so awesome to have the OC as a resource! I love to read posts from other diabetics about their own struggle, because it makes me feel "normal." I love sharing my thoughts about diabetes and life and having people respond, "I get that." And, it's totally awesome to ask some little random question and get real world feedback! So cool.

Also, I inserted this set on my side. This was big for me, since I'd been sticking to my stomach for sites. However, there's not a ton of surface area there, so it was time to start trying new places.

So far so good!

Elation after anxiety

2006-11-15T13:43:00.000-08:00

I've been a bit anxious the last few days, anticipating today. I had two appointments this morning. First, I saw my endo for my quarterly check-up and then I met with my thesis chair to review my rough draft. All the while I was missing work, using sick time, expecting to find dozens of projects awaiting me upon return to the office.

Since I've been pumping, (almost two months now) I've had many highs! They haven't lasted too long, but I've seen more 300s and high 200s than I had for many months. So, my A1c wasn't looking good in my mind. One thing I've realized from pumping is that my string of great A1c results were due to many lows! I was using my basal for 70% of my TDD, which meant I was always "almost low." Great for the average, not so great for everyday life. Anyway, I was expecting my lab test to have gone up by half a point or more. My friendly nurse (who was also my pump trainer) gave me the result: 6.2. Cool :) However, I was in that low-all-the-time phase for a good 5-6 weeks of the 3 month period this test covers, so I think the averaging is working in my favor again. Though it's good to know that those highs haven't wrecked havoc on my overall control.

Couple observations at the endo's office:

While waiting to be called in, a young guy, probably around my age (26) came in to get a letter from the doctor to allow him to take his insulin onboard an airplane. He was very friendly to the nurse and mentioned that he called a couple days ago to have the doctor prepare the letter. It seemed like the letter wasn't ready for him. He said, "Oh, no problem. I can always come back for it." He proceeded to wait at least 20 minutes for the doctor to sign the letter.

I thought to myself: Isn't it amazing how type 1 diabetics make room for their disease in their life? I'm sure this guy had better things to do than wait for this letter, but he needs it to do a simple thing like fly in an airplane. He resigned himself to this fact and was perfectly pleasant, if not overly friendly, about having to wait. I too had to wait excessively for the doctor after I met with the nurse, at least 40 minutes. I just read a book I've been needing to finish for my thesis and didn't complain (though I was about to!) What am I going to do? I'm so used to taking this time out of my life to meet with my endo so that I stay healthy, I don't complain about it or expect exceptional service.

It's very interesting the major and minor ways that diabetics, particularly type 1s, have made accomodations for their disease. We have to, I suppose, but it still deserves recognition.

Oh, I also received my flu shot at this appointment. I lied down, as usually, but it was really nothing. Still, I felt accomplished :)

After the doctor's I headed out to SDSU (San Diego State) for my meeting with my thesis chair. This professor has had my rough draft for three weeks. We've met each of the last 4 Wednesdays, and he keeps telling me he'll review it, but hadn't yet! Oh, the frustration! I was anxious about this meeting because I was fairly sure he'd have some feedback for me. I dreaded the idea that he'd respond with something along the lines of, "What are you doing here?! Let's start over!" A bit of an unrealistic fear, but my fear nonetheless. Also, I was afraid of my reaction to his comments. Taking criticism is not something I do particulalry well. I'm a big fan of affirmation :) I've been preparing myself and praying that I would take his comments well.

My fears were indeed unfounded, he gave me wonderful, constructive feedback! I still have A LOT of work ahead of me, but his criticisms were all the things I knew deep down weren't up to par yet. It felt so good (and very stimulating) to discuss my topic indepth with an expert in the field.

To make a long explanation as short as possible, my thesis is on a Chicano community in San Diego called Barrio Logan. I'm writing about the racialization of social space and how it works to disadvantage inhabitants of those spaces along political, class and social lines. Also I'm focusing on the community building activities and cultural identity that activists have created in this neighborhood. I find it very interesting!

Not only was I concerned about my professor's comments on a personal level, but I had set myself a goal of turning in my thesis right before Christmas (there are administrative reasons for this deadline.) If he had a lot of criticisms and suggestions, it would push back my completion date. However, I finally got real with myself this week and realized that, sure I could turn my paper in in a month or so, but it wouldn't be all that great. I've decided to take the extra time and write something that I can be proud of, and that will benefit the community I'm studying.

When I returned to work, nothing much had piled up for me (leaving me time to blog about my day!) I just ran out with a co-worker and got myself a delicious enchilada lunch as a treat for successfully making it through my potentially stressful day!

So, as the title of this post suggests, I'm feeling good!

Infusion set issues.

2006-11-13T10:51:00.000-08:00

I've been using the Cleo 90 infusion sets and have been quite pleased with them.

The issue I'm experiencing lately is they're not sticking properly when inserted! A couple weeks ago I had one that stuck perfectly! Simply gorgeous :) However, since then, they're not sticking!

I end up wetting the edges with the IV prep and resticking it while it's wet. This lead me to believe that perhaps it would stick better if the IV prep wipe hadn't completely dried. Not so much. Now I'm wondering if I'm doing something else wrong?!

Anyway, I have an endo appointment on Wednesday where I'll see the nurse that trained me on the pump, so I should get some help then. But, if you're a Cleo user and have any advice, I'm all ears!

Side note: I actually LOVE the Cleo sets, they're painless and very easy to use. This issue is certainly due to user-error!

How Diabetes has Touched my Life...Lately

2006-11-10T13:57:00.000-08:00

Each and every day diabetes touches our lives through blood tests, boluses, carb counts and decision making. I'm always interested in the less routine ways that diabetes gets incorporated into our day to day, very busy lives.

(1) Quarterly blood test for my A1c. As previous posts have illustrated, getting my blood drawn is somewhat upsetting for me. I've passed out several times and now I just lay down each time! Today I was freezing cold in the lab, so my rolly-polly veins were even more illusive than usual. The lab tech (who's awesome) asked me if I'd had much water lately (the answer was "not really") because I guess being dehydrated makes blood draws even more difficult? Anyway, blood was drawn, and I've bought myself 3 more months before I have to go through that again!

(2) I've been emailing back and forth with a Dr. Bill who's organizing a video project to help diabetics decide if they want to start pumping. He's interviewing current pumpers about their experience, fears before starting the pump, etc. I'm really excited to participate! The interview will be next Friday, so I'll give you the scoop then.

His latest email explained that the location of the shoot isn't decided yet, but it might be at his home. Hmmm. I don't know this guy... maybe I should make sure he's legit. So a quick google search lead me to a familiar site: DiabetesMine. Oh, this is Dr. William Polonsky from the Behavioral Diabetes Institute and the author of Diabetes Burnout (which I have and read!)

Yeah, I'd say he's for real!

As I was surfing this info on Dr. Bill, I found something very cool. Yesterday, down here in Southern California Dr. Polonsky held a seminar with Dr. Alan Glaseroff. Dr. Glaseroff has type 1 himself, lives in works in Humboldt County, and was my first "diabetes doctor" :) How very cool that he and Dr. Polonsky worked together (though not so cool that I missed their seminar yesterday). What a small world this diabetes community is!

(3) On November 18th, my husband and I will be attending the TCOYD San Diego Conference. I've been waiting all year for this weekend! I just missed the conference last year, so I left myself reminders all over my Outlook Calendar to make sure I'd register on time! The coolest thing about this event, is that it's held in downtown San Diego, just a 15-20 minute walk from our apartment! We'll be strolling over to the conference with our Starbucks in hand next Saturday morning.

So, there are a few unique ways that diabetes has been incorporated into my life lately.

I'm excited about two of the three things :)

Happy D-Blog Day

2006-11-09T12:41:00.000-08:00

I'm proud to have Type 1 Diabetes.

That's not to say I don't hate having diabetes... but I'm proud of how I'm dealing with it and proud to be associated with other strong, vibrant, healthy people like the members of the O.C.

I've always been a bit of an A-type personality. (I can hear my mom laughing as she reads this!) My family and friends might argue I'm more than "a bit" of a perfectionist. I'm pretty organized and enjoy having lots on my plate. I may complain about it, but I'm happier having too much to do than not enough.

When I think about the things I accomplish on a daily basis, diabetes is one of the things I pat myself on the back about. Whether my last blood sugar was 100 mg/dl or 300 mg/dl, on a deep, personal level I know that I'm fighting the good fight against diabetes. What other people take for granted: eating when and what they want basically, you and I have to struggle with everyday. That's awesome (in an awe-inspiring way, not a "cool" way).

So, today on our Diabetes Blog Day, my message is that we should feel proud of our hard work. Proud for our daily struggle more than for our degree of success. Whatever else you accomplish and strive for, on top of that, you're a diabetic (or a PWD, depending on your preference).

Thank you, Diabetes O.C. for showing me just how amazing my fellow diabetics are... it makes me that much more proud to be one.

Question for the Ladies

2006-11-08T08:28:00.000-08:00

I have a pumping during your period question...

Here's what happened: Last night I ate some chicken friend rice from Trader Joe's and half a cup of edamame for dinner, along with a few squares of chocolate! I've learned from experience that soy protein provides a gradual blood glucose rise for me, so I set a 2 hour combo bolus. At bedtime the bolus had just completed, I had almost 3 units on board and my blood sugar was 124 mg/dl.

Went to sleep.

Woke up at 2:40 a.m. (I wake up almost every night to go to the bathroom between 2 and 3 a.m, so I just test while I'm up) I was 134 mg/dl. Since I've been pumping (6 weeks or so now) whenever I test in the 120-150 range in the middle of the night, I wake with a sub 100 reading at 6:30-7 a.m. My basal rate is 0.70 all day (which I know I need to do some testing for) but I've never had issues with dawn phenomenon.

Anyway, woke up for good at 6:15 and tested at 202 mg/dl! WHAT?! I fully expected to be around 90-100 mg/dl given my experiences the last month or so.

My question is, was the rise due to my menstrual cycle or the soy at dinner?! I've heard that women need to change their bagels during their period, but I haven't been pumping long enough to learn what change I need to make. Any suggestions? What do you do?

I don't have good data from Monday night because I had apple pie before bed and had to correct a 303 mg/dl at 3:00 a.m., so I woke up with a 90 mg/dl. I suppose I could see what happens tonight without eating the edamame and then have some soy for dinner one night while I'm not having my period. Now that I'm writing this, it seems like the menstural cycle is a more likely culprit, but I've definitely had weird prolonged rises from soy in the past.

Advice... please!! :)

Five Random Facts About Me

2006-11-07T09:23:00.000-08:00

Thanks Johnboy for tagging me :)

1.) Yesterday was my second wedding anniversary! My husband and I took the day off from work and explored the adorable little mining town of Julian, about an hour northeast of San Diego. We had a beautiful day, and it was so relaxing!!

2.) I love Suzy's Zoo stuff! I always send her cards to people and have calendar's all over the place. I just love how cheerful the characters are. It's become my signature thing!

3.) When I was 16 years old and had only been a licensed driver for a month or so, my family was on a ski trip in Bend, Oregon. I was driving our family van with my parents, brother and sister in the car when we hit black ice. I tried to correct, but kept overcorrecting. I then slammed on the breaks and we did two 360's before coming to a stop facing oncoming traffic. Everyone was fine, but it was VERY scary! My little brother never let me hear the end of it.

4.) I love to sing. I'm not very good at it, espeically compared to actual singers like my mom and my best friend. But I love it anyway. My favorite part of mass each week is grabbing the music book to see what songs were singing that day! My husband endulges me and asks, "What're we singing?" first thing when we slide into the pew!

5.) I don't know what my natural hair color is anymore. I've been coloring it pretty much since high school and now, at almost 27 years old, I'm trying to find out it's natural color! It's some shade of light to medium brown with some red mixed in. The quest continues....

That was tougher than I thought it would be... I couldn't think of anything about myself this morning!! It's my Monday, that's my excuse.

So, now I tag: Caren and LaLa. Enjoy :)

My life lately

2006-10-25T13:11:00.000-07:00

I don't have one cohesive topic to discuss, so here's my lazy bullet point list:

After nearly a month of pumping, I've discovered that Socrates was right: "The wisest is she who knows that she does not know." Basically I've decided to forget everything I knew about controlling my diabetes with injections and let the pump teach me how it works. Three times in the last week I had heavy dinners with a good about of fat, carbs and protein. Had perfect blood sugars upon going to bed and woke up in the night super HIGH! Oh, that's what a combo bolus is for... duly noted. I'm still learning a lot.
On Sunday I saw an old high school friend at church. This is kinda cool because I live 800 miles away from where I went to high school, and my old classmate lives in Los Angeles (he went to college at UCSD, so he visits frequently). Anyway, this is also cool because he has type 1 diabetes too! We dated (you know the "going out" kind of dating) our freshman year of high school when I had diabetes and he didn't. We weren't very close during our sophomore and junior years, but then senior we started chatting again in Physics class. Just before Christmas that year, he was diagnosed with type 1. I visited him in the hospital and we've shared that "diabetic bond" ever since. He's been pumping forever, and I always felt sort of embarrassed for not being on the pump, so I was REALLY excited to see him last week. I showed him my pump proudly. Turns out he's got the Minimed CGMS with the upgraded pump... very cool.
I just turned in my rough draft of about half my thesis to my committee chair. Keeping my fingers crossed that his comments are constructive, and that he's basically pleased with it!!
I've been listening to my friend's CD on repeat for the last couple weeks. Another friend from my hometown, she's currently finalizing her first studio album from Epic records. She's phenomenal!! I was so excited to see her live in San Diego a few weeks ago. It's very cool to see someone you've known as a child, succeed in something they're so gifted at. In junior high we lined up next to one another in gym class- her last name is Bareilles and mine was Barnum- so we were paired up a lot. I remember asking her to sing me "Total Eclipse of the Heart" all the time, she's always had a gorgeous voice. Well, now she's got the voice and an amazing song writing talent. She graduated from UCLA with a degree in communications and she uses words in her lyrics that you'd never imagine being in a song... and it works beautifully. Anyway, her name is Sara Bareilles and hopefully you'll be hearing of her soon :)
My sister's dog is having puppies around Thanksgiving. She and her fiance bred their two German Shorthair Pointers, really great dogs. I want one of the puppies, but we live on the 6th floor of a highrise building downtown, not a great dog place. Time to start thinking about settling somewhere bigger... and more permanent.
To end this brain dump on a diabetic note... after all the trouble with dinner boluses last week, I really focused and had a great result last night. We had meat loaf and baby red potatoes, I did a combo bolus 50/50 over 2 and 1/2 hours. At bedtime I was 124 mg/dl, at 3 a.m. 98 mg/dl, had 2 oz O.J. and woke up at 6:30 a.m. at 113 mg/dl. WOW, I love this pump!! :)

Sometimes you just have to laugh at yourself...

2006-10-18T10:08:00.000-07:00

The last 18 or so hours of my life have been humerous (in hind-sight). Here's the rundown:

Yesterday was a typical crazy day at work. I was running around, finalizing financial statements all day and finally got to take a breath at about 4:45 p.m. My plan was to do a basal test overnight last night. Per the instruction in Pumping Insulin, I figured I'd eat dinner at 5 p.m., so I'd have a solid 5 hours between my dinner bolus and bedtime. So, on my drive to pick up my husband, I downed a PB&J sandwich on whole wheat. I bolused for 57 carbs, after calculating the carbs the night before (I even used a tablespoon to measure the jelly!) I had a haircut at 6 p.m. Came home and enviously witnessed my husband watching the NLCS game while drinking Sierra Nevada Pale Ale's (MY favorite!) Tried to hide my resentment at him enjoy the beers while I was fasting for my basal test.

I tested my blood at 7:30 p.m. and was met with 213 mg/dl. NO!! So, I did a small correction (had IOB already). At 9 p.m. I was 195 mg/dl. Frustrated, I did another correction. Went to bed at 9:15 p.m. Woke up at 2 a.m. with my blood sugar at 48 mg/dl. Nice. Basal test out the window at this point. Rather than have my typical O.J. for a low, since I was starving, I dug into the peanut butter and chocolate chips with two glasses of non-fat milk. (I like peanut butter, can you tell?!) I set an extended bolus for my obvious overcorrection for the low. Got back into bed... can't sleep. I've had this happen before, when my body starts digesting all that protein and fat, it doesn't sleep. WHY, OH WHY didn't I just have some juice?!? Lay awake for over two hours. Annoyed at my husband from breathing, or touching me, or doing anything!

My blood sugar stayed in the low 200s throughout the rest of the night, regardless of my repeated corrections. Woke up at 230 mg/dl and corrected. (Finally was 119 mg/dl by 8:45).

Got dressed in a hurry this morning in order to get to work early so I can leave at 4 p.m. to work on my thesis. (Yes, I have WAY too much on my plate right now!) I'm tired and hungry and VERY irritable. My very helpful husband got up early to move furniture because we're having the carpets cleaned today.

As I'm leaving, weighed down with all my bags, my husband calls to me "Can you move your books real quick?" I have books for my thesis stacked all over the living room.

I sighed, "Babe, I'm exhausted, can't you move them?"

He replies, "You know what order they're in."

I snap, "They're not in any ORDER!" while I start stacking them on the kitchen table.

As I finish moving the books, my husband enters the living room, "How am I going to move the table since it's covered with books? Can you put them on the couch?"

"Fine!" I start tossing the books on the couch. While my husband moves the table into the kitchen.

"Bye!" I yell as I pick up my bags to leave.

Wait, the table is now blocking the front door. I struggle to edge the table ever so slightly so I can squeeze out the door. Not working.

I drop all my bags and yell, "Damnit Dennis, the table is blocking the door!"

He comes out and yells back, "Don't yell at me! Just move it!"

So I shove the table back, grab my bags and march out the door. I can hear my husband muttering, "You better not have broken a leg of the table!"

An hour later I called my husband and sheepishly apologized for being so irritable. I also reminded him that I NEED him to help me if I'm going to work full time, write a thesis, be a wife, get my diabetes in perfect control for our upcoming pregnancy, etc. He's totally on board.

The reason this is so funny is that it's completely atypical for us. I'm pretty easy going, and my husband even more so. We don't really fight or even have many disagreements. Wow, was I in a mood this morning.

I was so frustrated with the pump. I'd tried hard to do what I was supposed to in testing my basal rate, and it totally blew up in my face. Obviously I didn't bolus enough for the sandwich and then made a poor choice in correcting the low... but man! So frustrating.

I think I'm going to test my nighttime basal by trying to eat an earlier dinner, so that my dinner bolus is pretty much out of my system by 10 p.m. Eating as early as 5 p.m., however, doesn't seem like the best way to test, since it's not at all my habit. Wouldn't it be better to see how my basal works on a typical night?

Ironically, my overnight blood sugars Monday night were superb! I was 113 mg/dl at bedtime, had 4 oz of milk and woke up at 6:30 a.m. with my blood sugar at 98 mg/dl.

Maybe I didn't need to test my basal rate at all!

Frustrations

2006-10-11T10:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had one of my few "I HATE diabetes" days!

Here's what happened:

Work has been crazy lately! I just switched positions in my department and now I provide administrative support to 50 people, instead of 7. I'm busy ALL day! Plus, there's a bit of a learning curve, so I'm dealing with goof-ups a few times a day. Plus, I'm PMSing, which always makes things better!

On Monday night I have a bedtime snack, thought I'd covered it with insulin and had a 350 mg/dl at about 3 a.m. Great. I proceeded to be "high-ish" all day yesterday. Hmmm. I was too busy at work to think much about it. At 4:30 p.m. I tested: 397 mg/dl. WTF?!?! Okay, time to check the pump which indicates that there is still 40 units of insulin in the reservoir. I try a "Fill Pump" and get a "blockage detected" alert. I call Smiths Medical. Got a very helpful rep on the phone. He walks me through opening the reservoir and trying a "Fill Pump" without the tubing attached. Got the same blockage message. I remove the reservior and comment to the rep, "It sure looks like its empty." I turned it upside down... it was completely dry!

Apparently my faulty pump set-up skills made the reservoir count off. Great.

I drove home from work (since I'd worked through lunch, I'd already put in 8 hours anyway) and called my husband and my mom crying. So frustrated!

I love my pump, really I do. I'm just going through all the growing pains of starting out. It wasn't that I was frustrated with the pump, I was just frustrated with diabetes. I had planned to do some thesis writing after work, which I couldn't do because I didn't bring any insulin to work with me (aside from in the pump). I HATE when diabetes interferes with my life.

Anyway, I'm over it now and my pump is happily pumping along. So, here's another potentially frustrating diabetes moment, that was kinda funny too:

On Sunday my husband and I took a walk down to Seaport Village. This is one of our favorite places in San Diego, and luckily walking distance from our apartment. I was at 190 mg/dl before we left, so I did a correction bolus and brought my meter and some raisins along. A couple miles into our stroll, I decided to test: 283 mg/dl! What?!? HOW?! Totally frustrated and thinking my pump must be malfunctioning, I did a correction of almost 2 units. We kept walking a bit, and suddenly I remembered: when I put some raisins in a small baggie, I had raisin gunk on my fingers... I even recalled licking my finger afterwards. Which finger did I just test?! So, I tested again: 130 mg/dl. Oh boy! Since the correction bolus had already completed, I did a temporary basal rate of zero and we headed to the cookie cart!

My sweet husband patted me on the back for being so quick to remember the sticky fingers, so that I caught the potential low before it happened. Yeah, well not quick enough, I thought.

Well, at least it was an excuse for a delicious cookie :)

Pump Successes and Failures

2006-10-06T10:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I expereienced both the good and the bad of pump therapy.

I got to work yesterday and realized I only had two test strips with me. I've been incredibly sleepy lately (have I mentioned I'm writing a thesis and working full time?!) and have been pretty forgetful. Case in point: I realized at 4:30 p.m. the other day that I had two completely different earrings on!!

Anyway, I had two strips, when I usually use 4 or more during a typical day of work followed by thesis writing at Starbucks. Hmm. I had to trust the pump and just see how I felt. I tested at 11 a.m. 107 mg/dl. Had a bagel with cream cheese (such a no-no before the pump!) bolused for 75 carbs. At around 2:30 I had a small soup and a few Doritos; bolused for 30 carbs. Used my last test strip at 4:00 p.m.: 110 mg/dl. I still had almost 1 full unit on board, so when I had my nonfat, sugar-free vanilla latte at 4:45, I didn't bolus. When I got home at 7:00 I came in at 111 mg/dl. WOW! I love my pump :)

Before dinner I did a site change because I was down to 18 units in my reservoir. I didn't like my first site... so I pulled it around 9 p.m. and entered a new one. After a light dinner, at 9:30 p.m. my blood sugar was 244 mg/dl. Hmmm. A half hour later it was 282 mg/dl. I gave myself 2 units of insulin by syringe. Okay, I'll spare you the play by play of testing, bolusing and injecting... but at 11:30 I'd had it and called the support line at Smiths Medical.

Here's the thing, these highs after site changes have happened during my last three changes. Last Friday night I hit 400 mg/dl and felt TERRIBLE! I scared my husband, who'd never really seen me "sick" with diabetes. But, then the pump would kick in and be fine.

So, I talk to the support person and come to find out, I haven't been priming the pump correctly. I was basically doing all the right steps, but bubbles were obviously forming and thus I was getting air, not insulin, during the first 8-10 hours of each site change. This morning I remembered the post and comments on Jen's blog about bubbles in tubing. I was doing EVERYTHING wrong. Due to my hectic schedule, I wasn't often home long before I did a change, thus I was using very cold insulin straight out of the refridgerator. Also, I've also forgotten to fill the vial with air before drawing up insulin, I did it with my syringes too.

Well, I've learned a valuable lesson about pump set up now! I'll cut myself some slack, today makes exactly 2 weeks on the pump... I'm expected to have some start-up challenges, right?!

Question for the O.C.

2006-10-03T14:44:00.000-07:00

I'm new to pumping and am realizing that my old insulin to carb ratios don't apply anymore. Thus, my new approach is to "trust the process" of the pump to see what new rules apply now.

Today my lunch was a Progresso Lentils bowl. The package said it contained "about" 2 servings. Each serving had 24 grams of carbohydrates with 3 grams of those as fiber.

My blood glucose was 101 mg/dl before lunch with 0.30 units on board from my post breakfast correction. My trusty pump factored all of that in, of course.

I programmed in a 48 carb meal and set an extended bolus over 30 minutes because of the slow response of the high fiber meal. The bolus came to 3.70 units.

Here I am, 2 hours later at 49 mg/dl with 1.85 units still on board!

I've already gobbled down half a Whatchmacallit bar before I posted this, so I'm on the upswing now... but what happened?!

Hmmm... I exercised this morning, so that might have helped me use my insulin more efficiently. I haven't determined a different basal rate for days I work out yet. But, this doesn't seem to be a basal issue... definitely an overdose on the meal bolus.

Here's the question: Should I have compensated for the high fiber content of my meal by lowering the total carb count? (I think I've heard this is the case for pumpers... but I haven't come across it myself yet.) OR Was the "about" 2 servings an inaccurate figured and I should have rethought my count? OR should I have set my extended bolus for a bit longer? I'm sure I'd still have gone low, but maybe not so quickly?

Thanks for any insight you might have guys!! Today I ordered the book "Pumping Insulin"- so help is on it's way!

Meme Time!

2006-09-29T15:25:00.000-07:00

I have enjoyed reading the meme currently floating around the OC, so I thought I'd borrow it from Kerri, who borrowed it from Sandra, who borrowed... well, you get the idea!

The Meme~

1. Do you still have tonsils? Nope, they were yanked during my Spring Break from college my sophomore year.

2. Would you bungee jump? Never.

3. If You Could Do Anything In The World For A Living What Would It Be? I'd like to have Samantha Brown's job, hosting Great Hotels and traveling the world.

4. How many tattoos do you have? Zero.

5. Your favorite fictional animal? Smokey the Bear... I'm from the Redwoods after all.

6. One person that never fails to make you laugh? My bestest friend Michelle.

7. Do you consider yourself well organized? Yes, actually. I've learned the virtue of organization is sanity. It's the only way I've been able to work full time while in grad school.

8. Any Addictions? Just insulin, I'm hooked. Oh, and peanut butter.

9. From what news source do you receive the bulk of your news? The Today show.

10. Would you rather go to a carnival or circus? Either... funny, I've never been to the circus, since my maiden name is Barnum!

11. When you were twelve years old, what did you want to be when you grew up? A lawyer. My dad's one and I guess I didn't have much of an imagination.

12. Best Movie You've Seen This Year? Everything is Illuminated. Funny, poignant, historical... everything I like!

13. Favorite alcoholic drink? Rum and diet coke. Or Amber Bock (a Michelob beer).

14. What is the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning? Cuddle my husband for five more minutes.

15. Siblings? Brother, Rob and sister, Sarah. Both younger. We're all within 3 years... our mom's the best!

16. What is the best thing about your job? They've allowed me to work my schedule around school. Even though my degree has nothing to do with their business! (My masters is in history and I work for a CPA firm.)

17. Have you ever gone to therapy? Yes, therapy is great. I'm still benefiting from the few months I went in college.

18. If you could have one super power what would it be? Healing, definitely.

19. Do you own any furniture from Ikea? Over half our apartment is furnished by Ikea.
Fun stuff.

20. Have you ever gone camping? Have I mentioned I'm from the Redwoods of Northern California. Camping was a given.

21. Gas prices! First thought? What a scam!

22. Your favorite cartoon character? Hewy, Dewy and Louie. Our parents used to call us that... so I'd be Hewy.

23. What was your first car? When I was 16, I took over my dad's 1982 Jeep Wagoneer. You know the ones with wood paneling. We affectionately called it "The Woody."

24. Do you think marriage is an outdated ritual? Nope, it's the best. I highly recommend it.

25. The Cosby Show or the Simpsons? The Simpsons.

26. Do you go to church? Yes. We love our little Catholic church in Old Town San Diego.

27. What famous person would you like to have dinner with? Dan Marino.

28. What errand/chore do you despise? Vacuuming and doing the dishes. That's why those are my husband's chores!

29. First thought when the alarm went off this morning? I'm still sleepy!

30. Last time you puked from drinking? Over 3 years ago in Tijuana, Mexico. Tequila shots... enough said.

31. What is your heritage? Mostly Norwegian and German, with some English, Scottish, Irish mixed in. I'm a true Euro mutt.

32. Favorite flower? Gerber daisies.

33. Disney or Warner Bros? Disney. Even though I've extensively studied the historical impact of Disney on our American culture of conformity. I still love it! Plus, my husband loves it even more!

34. What is your best childhood memory? Christmas mornings.

35. Your favorite potato chip? Jalepano flavored are yummy.

36. What is your favorite candy? M&Ms.

37. Do you burn or tan? Oh, I used to tan as a kid. Now, I get scorched!

38. Astrological sign? Aquarius.

39. Do you own a gun? Nope.

40. What do you think of hot dogs? They're a rare treat. Especially the ones at Costco!

Join the fun everyone!!

I'm a PUMPER!

2006-09-25T13:07:00.000-07:00

I can now join the club! There's a club isn't there?!

Where to begin?

My training was quite successful. My first infusion site... totally painless! I didn't feel a thing! Tonight will be my first site change, and I'm feeling fine about it. I'm using the Cleo 90 sites, and I think they're pretty cool.

There's certainly a learning curve with this thing! I feel like I need to forget EVERYTHING I knew before and "Trust the process." I understand the theory behind the pump, but I find myself second guessing things. Old diabetes habits die hard I guess.

I've realized that my learning curve may be especially steep.

So, you've heard the theory that your basal and bolus insulin should each account for 50% of your total. That's not an exact science, but pretty close. My ratio while on Lantus was way off! I took 28 units of Lantus per day and only used 10-12 units of Humalog. That's like a 70/30 ratio! You brilliant fellow-PWD's just figured it out... I was using my basal insulin to help cover my meals. If I had done my Lantus and ate nothing all day, I'd have repeated lows! This is NOT the way basal insulin is supposed to work.

I need to readjust my thinking on the general concept of basal and bolus insulin! One factor of this is that I WAY underestimate the number of carbs in things. (Don't worry, a copy of Calorie King is on it's way from Amazon as we speak!) This weekend I underestimated by A LOT! I should have guesstimated the carbs I thought were in the foods and just doubled it. Wow.

Anyway, all in all, I'm so happy to be on the pump. It wasn't nearly the traumatic adjustment I expected :) Even with my failings, I am seeing what a wonderful tool this little pump is. The fine tuning it allows me to do is simply amazing.

This has been a good lesson for me in doing things at my own pace. The progression I took from being a "B- diabetes manger" to getting my A1c consistently in the low 6's to finally started to pump was very natural. By waiting until I was, not only ready, but excited about pumping made the transition very calm and almost, fun!

To thine ownself be true :)

Friday at 1 p.m.

2006-09-21T11:50:00.000-07:00

I spoke to Joann, my pump trainer/diabetic nurse on Wednesday morning.

Work was CRAZY! But I snuck in a few calls to my endo's office to arrange an appointment with Joann. Finally got ahold of her around 11:45 a.m.

I fully anticipated having to wait until next Wednesday, September 27 to be trained. Joann is only at my endo's on Wednesdays until noon, so I had my fingered crossed that she'd be able to fit me in next week.

She did better than that!

Joann explained that she doesn't do pump trainings at the doctor's offices, she'd meet me at my house. I asked her when would work for her and she replied, "How about this Friday?" As in the day after tomorrow!

So, at 1 p.m. tomorrow I'll be training on my pump!! Could this process seriously get any easier?! I'll be pumping exactly 9 days after I made the initial call, asking, "What's the process of starting the pump?"

Hopefully the smooth process will continue through my first infusion site tomorrow!

Big News!

2006-09-19T08:58:00.000-07:00

Preface: From what I've heard, the following explanation of my experience is NOT normal. Though, it should be...

I've been thinking about the pump for the past year. However, I was seriously on the fence about it until I got these comments back to my post: "A Pat on the Back for Kelsey." Going back on NPH for a pregnancy just sounded incredibly unwise. Plus, I started to figure, "I'm afraid of the pump, but I'm going to experience child birth, I've got to toughen up!" It was time to face my fears and apprehension and go for it!

Last Wednesday I called the "diabetic nurse" (that's what they call her, maybe she's a CDE, I'm not sure) at my endo's office. Her name is Joann. I asked her, "What's the process for starting the pump?"

She replied, "I'll give your name to the pump rep, they'll call you and get your insurance information. Once you receive the pump, you set up an appointment with me and we'll do the training."

"Okay. I've been considering the Minimed and the Cozmo, I'm leaning toward the Cozmo, but I was wondering, from your experience, what do you see as the major differences?"

Joann explained, "Well, I wear the Cozmo."

"Oh! You're diabetic?! Did I know that?" I exclaimed.

To conclude our conversation, Joann broke down the differences between the pumps and basically told me, they'll all do the basics, but she's happy with her Cozmo. That sealed the deal!

I'd already pretty much picked Cozmo because of it's integrated pump (which takes Freestyle strips which I already use) and it's ability to use any insertion set. Since I have no idea which set with work best for me, I figured the more options the better. But now, to be trained by someone who uses the same pump, that would be awesome!!

So, up until now, this isn't that extraordinary of a situation... but it gets better.

The rep from Smiths Medical called me that same afternoon. His name is John and he's great! He asked me for my basic contact info and diabetes history and then asked what my insurance was. I told him United Healthcare and he replied, "Oh this will be easy."

Thursday late morning I get another call from John. He told me that everything went through on my insurance and he'd already received some information from my endo. Now he just needed to get the letter of medical necessity from the endo and we'd be set.

Wow, I thought. This is fast. So, I casually asked him, "So what will my copay be for all of this?"

"Oh, didn't I already tell you?"

"No, not yet."

"Let's see... you have a zero deductible and it's 100% covered."

"Really?!? Well, there must be a copay for the insertion sites, right?"

"Nope those are covered too."

I was stunned.

He went on... you have really great insurance, does your husband work for Verizon or Quest?

I replied, "No, but he works for a national law firm."

"Oh, that's it... they must have some buying power."

The thing is, my job also offers UHC, but it's terrible. I knew my husband's insurance was better, that's why I went with it, but this was beyond my expectations.

John went on to explain that I would have to pay out of pocket for IV preps. No problemo!!

Friday came and went. And of course I didn't hear anything over the weekend.

Monday morning, I have a voicemail at work from John. "I have the letter from your doctor, give me a call and we'll finish up the ordering process."

We got in touch around noon yesterday. I chose my color, dark gray. He asked me my height and determined that the 24 inch tubing would be good to start with. He also explained that they can set up a delivery every three months for my pump supplies to automatically be shipped to my house. Great!

So, tomorrow, Wednesday, exactly one week from when I placed my initial call to the nurse, I will have a insulin pump! They're delivering it to my work so I can sign for it :)

Joann is only in the office on Wednesdays, so I'll call her tomorrow and likely set up an appointment to train next Wednesday!

I'm SO excited! But, nervous too. I'm sure the first few insertions are going to be a bit traumatic. (I am the girl who passes out when she gets her blood drawn!) But, just like injections, I'll get used to it. Wow, maturity, what a concept!

As if this post wasn't long enough... one little story on how are bodies are smarter than our meters:

This morning I woke up at 6 am to get ready for work. Felt low. Tested: 142 mg/dl. Wow, huh. Washed my face. Still felt low. Tested: 52 mg/dl.

Yep, that's what I thought.

Random Thoughts on a Thursday...

2006-09-07T12:26:00.000-07:00

Today I tested my blood on my pinkie finger for the first time! I figured if I'm gearing up for the pump, I shouldn't hold on to my childish fears of venturing beyond the middle and ring fingers for finger sticks.
The Miami Dolphins kick off the NFL football season tonight against the Superbowl Champs. Oh, how I pray the Dolphins win tonight and have a good season. Our home is no longer mourning the Hurricane's loss Monday night... but we really can't take another this week!
I'm feeling like things are falling into place with my thesis research. I've gotten in touch with some residents of the neighborhood I'm studying. They've embraced me and my project, for which I'm very grateful. Hopefully they'll do well tonight in their meeting with the city and developers!
I've jumped through another hoop in the administrative side of finishing a thesis... I'm now officially signed up for my thesis courses!
Work is busy and I probably shouldn't have spent the last hour researching insulin pumps online, but I was inspired by Johnboy's post about receiving his! Inspired, envious... whatever :)
I'd really rather be with my husband at the San Diego Zoo today than sitting in the office! When he called a few hours ago, he exclaimed "I'm looking at this baby monkey and he's SOOO cute!" No honey, you're so cute.
Finally, if you have any pump raves or complaints, please feel free to share them. I'm taking an informal survey to aid in my decision process :) Thanks for your help!
Tomorrow is FRIDAY... you gotta love short weeks!

Pumps, pumps, pumps...

2006-09-06T13:53:00.000-07:00

As if I don't have enough on my plate right now, between work and writing my thesis, I thought I'd get started pumping too!

We're really hoping to get pregnant early next year, so I figured I better get used to the pump before I have the added stresses of pregnancy!

So, I have a question for you many, many pumpers out there...

Which should I get?

I know I have a lot of research to do myself. However, I assume there are differences between the Minimed and Cosmo, because people seem pretty devoted to their choices... so I figured user feedback would be a good place to start!

Thanks guys! :)

Comment from Mom

2006-08-29T16:41:00.000-07:00

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

2006-08-23T09:09:00.000-07:00

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...

2006-08-21T14:24:00.000-07:00

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...

2006-08-18T09:11:00.000-07:00

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

2006-08-10T11:15:00.000-07:00

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

2006-08-09T09:44:00.000-07:00

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!

My Michelle!

2006-07-28T08:41:00.000-07:00

I've always appreciated seeing pictures of the folks in the O.C. and I realized that none of you have seen one of me... (I'm in the pink!)

The only picture I had handy is of me and my best friend Michelle. I figured this is a good time to talk about my support system a bit.

I have been unbelievably blessed with friends and family who have the perfect balance of support and respect for my disease. They're the first to tell me how well I handle my diabetes. On the other hand, they never nag me or ask "Should you be eating that?" I really appreciate this, as fellow diabetics can attest!

Michelle was my college roommate for our sophomore, junior and senior years. She'd patiently wait for me to test my blood while everyone else ran off to the dining hall. She'd gently remind me to test my blood while we were enjoying a few cocktails! Michelle never complained when I turned on my light at 3 a.m. to test my blood, or staggered around trying to find something to eat!

Besides her attention to my diabetes stuff, she's just the dearest friend. Even know that we live 500 miles apart, with a quick phone call I can feel right back home in our friendship. She works at a middle school run by the Christian Brothers as a counselor. I strongly believe everyone should have a best friend that's a trained counselor, it's quite a gift! But as she told me the other day when I called her upset and said, "I need a counselor." She replied, "No, you need a friend!" She's the best.

Happy Anniversary to Me!

2006-07-27T11:37:00.000-07:00

Today is my 13th Diabetes Anniversary!

I've officially (almost) had diabetes for half of my life! I was diagnosed when I was 13 1/2, so actually the halfway point will be just after my 27 birthday in January... I'm not quite sure why this seems significant. For the rest of my life, diabetes will be something I've lived with longer than I was free of it... kinda weird.

I thought I'd commemorate my anniversary with a quote I really enjoy, and that sums up the life of a diabetic quite nicely:

"Some people regard discipline as a chore. For me, it is a kind of order that sets me free to fly." - Julie Andrews

The rollercoaster...

2006-07-19T17:56:00.000-07:00

In diabetes lingo, the rollercoaster effect is to be avoided at all coasts. Swinging sugars is another way to describe the giant fluctuations in blood sugars during a day.

What I experienced this week is different, a sloooowww rollercoaster if you will.

So, after boasting about my beautiful blood sugars last week... I proceed to skip my exercise Saturday morning and lay on the beach for five hours. From 9 a.m to 2 p.m., in San Diego, in July, with only one application of sunscreen (but it was 45 SPF!) I think you can see where this is going... SUNBURN!!

This was the worst sunburn of my life. The kind that pretty much ups your risk of skin cancer by a thousand percent!

I never even considered how my irresponsible sun care might effect my blood sugars.

The thing is when you're THAT burnt, you can't put on clothes, which makes going out of the house and being active, fairly unlikely :) Instead I spent the rest of Saturday, all day Sunday and all day Monday (I stayed home from work!) sitting in my living room.

This period of low activity corresponded with my humalog going bad. I can NEVER even finish half a vial before it goes bad. I guess it's good that my insulin needs are low, but it always seems so wasteful to toss half a vial!

So, Sunday through Tuesday my blood sugars were atrocious!

Luckily, after a workout this morning and a new vial of humalog, I've been in the 90s for the past 7 hours! :)

I'm starting to realize about this disease that things are ALWAYS changing. And trends are big. But trends change very quickly, so it does no good to get worked up over a couple bad numbers (or a week...) inevitably, with a little effort, they get back to normal.

Until another flu shot, vial of bad insulin, stressful day, or a sunburn come to wreak havoc on your management! (those are just some of my blood sugar raisers... I'm sure there are many more!)

Weight-loss struggles!

2006-07-18T16:53:00.000-07:00

This has been a topic I've considered posting about a few times... but for some reason hadn't yet.

Today I was inspired by Nicole's post: "On Being Chubby"

I think most of us PWDs who've had the disease for awhile, have experienced the somewhat inevitable weight gain. My experience with this came at a particularly inopportune time: teenagehood.

Diagnosed in the summer of 1993, I was entering 8th grade and 13 years old. I was one of those silly girls who swore I was FAT! when I weighted 105 lbs! Literally, the most I ever weighed before diabetes was 107. At the time of diagnoses, I was 92 lbs and super excited about filling into size 0 Bongo jeans (well, excited while I wasn't eating, drinking or peeing for the last month!)

I don't know about everyone else, but during my hospital stay they fed me like CRAZY! Huge portions of food (and not all if it very healthy)- trying to fatten me up, since "I'd been basically starving to death!" The amount of food they fed me followed me back to my everyday life.

During the next school year, I remember going up sizes fairly quickly. A particularly traumatic experience was buying shorts with a size 30 waist! :) Ridiculous now, I know!

Junior high lead to high school. I continued to gain weight, slowly but surely throughout high school. I played sports, had boyfriends and great friends, but my weight started to bother me.

Another memory that stands out was when I had a dress made for the junior prom. In order to make the dress look right (since I was biggest in my belly) the dressmaker gave me a C-cup! I had to stuff it! The guys at my high school watched a barely B cup girl turn into a bombshell overnight!!

In college, my self-esteem was pretty low. I worked out a lot, but the college dorm-food and lifestyle was sabotaging my efforts. At my heaviest I was about 165 lbs, which I know is not that much, but I'm short and it had all settled in my belly area. Unfortunately I was in college when Britney Spears and the stomach barring style took off!

Sadly, the boyfriend I chose in college played into all of my insecurities about my body. He'd tell me I was beautiful and then mention "Oh, but you'd be even more beautiful if you lost a few pounds." (Don't worry that man is long gone from my life!)

The issues we diabetics potentially have with our bodies is multi-fold. Insulin doesn't do the prettiest things to our bodies, but we have to have it. We'd obviously rather be less than perfect in the figure department but be alive and healthy! Still, the battle continues.

Through A LOT of exercise and attention to my diet, I have gotten my body to a muscular, fit 150 lbs. My lower stomach roll (I think someone called it the "muffin top" which I loved!!) is not too big, but well defined. It's not going anywhere, anytime soon.

Living in Southern California, I think the pressure to have a perfect body is intensified. This weekend my husband and I hit the beach. The parade of young girls in San Diego with bikini ready bodies is ridiculous!! However, I didn't let it get to me! I proudly wore my bikini with sport cut bottoms (and got terribly sunburnt)!

I continue to work out and eat healthfully, as much for my blood sugar management as weight loss these days. (Though I'm having great toning success with Tae bo Bootcamp!)

My body seem really content at the weight I'm at. If I eat too much one weekend or cut way down on calories, I don't see any difference in my clothes or on the scale. There's a certain freedom in that.

Reflections #1

2006-07-14T11:42:00.000-07:00

I've had this book for years and it just recently made its way to my nightstand and ultimately as my first choice for bedtime reading. Many of you may have heard of it, or already have it. It's called Medications on Diabetes: Strengthening your Spirit in Every Season, by Catherine Feste.

I figured I'd share some of my family quotes and thoughts from this book, since it's inspiring me to consider my mental and spiritual side of being diabetic (or a PWD).

People would consider me an optimist, I've been accused of such many a time. There's nothing in my life that requires a good attitude more than diabetes. If anything can get you down about life it's a disease that demands constant attention and sacrifice! This is a great quote to remind us that our attitude is critically important to our success:

"No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars or sailed to an uncharted land or opened a new heaven to the human spirit." - Helen Keller

A pleasing string of blood sugars...

2006-07-13T15:57:00.000-07:00

As mentioned below, my swtich to a morning dose of Lantus, instead of a bedtime dosing, has worked great for me! I've been exercising very faithfully and working on keeping my diet low carb and healthy! The results are pleasing:

July 11th

7:00 a.m. 102 mg/dl

8:45 a.m. 163 mg/dl

1:00 p.m. 117 mg/dl

6:30 p.m. 133 mg/dl

8:15 p.m. 73 mg/dl

9:45 p.m. 65 mg/dl

July 12th

4:30 a.m. 67 mg/dl

7:00 a.m. 119 mg/dl

12:00 p.m. 173 mg/dl

4:30 p.m. 86 mg/dl

7:00 p.m. 121 mg/dl

10:00 p.m. 138 mg/dl

July 13th

3:00 a.m 97 mg/dl

5:15 a.m. 60 mg/dl

10:00 a.m. 69 mg/dl

12:30 p.m. 97 mg/dl

3:30 p.m. 70 mg/dl

I haven't been above 100 today, and I have eaten moderately, having fruit and yogurt when my blood sugar drops a bit! Nothing below 50 mg/dl or above 200 mg/dl in the last few days! I was typically having lows in the 30s and 40s when I did my Lantus at 10 p.m.

I can see that I'm a little higher than I'd like to be around late morning, that's when the Lantus hasn't quite kicked in to full gear yet. I'll have to think about a higher insulin:carb ratio for breakfast.

Thanks for endulging me, this is very exciting :)

The Times They Are A-Changin'

2006-07-12T08:55:00.000-07:00

the timing of my Lantus injection that is...

I am one of the few remaining MDI users in the Diabetes OC, which I am okay with since my A1C are consistently in the low 6's and I'm pleased with my control. However one element has been bothering me for awhile.

As instructed by my doctor many years ago, I have always taken my Lantus injection at bedtime, usually around 10 p.m. each night. The issue (as many Lantus users can tell you) is that the insulin has a gradual peak around 5-7 hours after injection, which meant A LOT of lows around 5 a.m. I ALWAYS got low on nights after I'd exercised (which I do frequently). It didn't matter how many carbs/protein I had for a bedtime snack, that early morning low would hit every time.

This is frustrating on many levels. First of all, I was sick of having to consume so many calories in the evening, especially after a good workout. Kinda defeats the purpose of burning calories if you're just going to put them right back! Plus, my sleep was always disrupted when I had to correct those lows with more food!

I mentioned this to my endo a few months ago. He's not the best doc, but I'll be under the care of the reproductive endo department in a few months (more about that later!!), so I'm not switching doctors for the time being. When I suggested changing the timing of my Lantus injection, he barely gave the idea any consideration. "Oh, it'll be fine" was his response.

So, a few weeks ago, I finally decided to just make the change. I read a lot about Lantus online and felt confident that the change would serve me well.

I knew it would be problematic if I suddenly just did the Lantus in the morning one day. Since Lantus works for 24 hours, it's important do take your dose at the same time each day. So, over the course of a week or so, I just moved my Lantus injection back an hour or so each night. This was a pain, because I had to set my alarm for 2 a.m., 3 a.m., etc. to give my injection, but it was a small price to pay.

I'm LOVING taking my Lantus in the morning!!

There's definitely been a period of transition though. See, now, I basically have very little insulin in my system overnight. Though Lantus claims to work for a full 24 hours, I find that it tapers off pretty strongly after about 20 hours. Before, I'd need a bedtime snack even if my blood sugar was around 150-170 mg/dl, now I don't need any extra carbs when I go to bed with a blood sugar around 100 mg/dl. That took some mental adjustment.

Also, since it take a little while for Lantus to get working, I am working with my breakfast meals to make sure they're lower carb. However, the other bonus is that now the Lantus has it's gentle peak right around lunchtime, so I need much less insulin at lunch! Also, it's still going strong at dinnertime, instead of wearing off, like it did when I injected at 10 p.m.

It just makes sense, why not have the Lantus working its best during my waking hours, especially the peaks! (Note: I don't seem to suffer from Dawn Phenomenon, luckily!)

I've also experimented with splitting the dose a bit. I tried giving myself 4 units of Lantus at bedtime and then 24 units at 7 a.m. (my total dose is 28 units). I still experienced a few lows with this, but it might be a good option when I'm not exercising as intensely.

So, all in all, I'm really happy with the change and I'm pleased with my ability to take diabetes management into my own hands.

And I excited to tell my doctor about the progress at our next appointment!

JDRF Annual Meeting

2006-06-23T09:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my husband and I attended the JDRF San Diego Chapter Research Update and Annual Meeting. What a great night!

I was sent an invitation because we participated in the walk last year, but we haven't been that involved in the chapter other than that event. I felt a little awkward, like we were barging in on an established group, but my husband marched right to the front for a good seat! I was really touched that he took such an active interest in the meeting.

We sat down to claim our seats before getting some appetizers, when the Executive Director of the chapter, Linda Riley came by to introduce herself. The entire staff was very welcoming, and even my husband, who worried he wasn't supposed to be there because he wasn't diabetic himself, felt right at home.

The highlight of the evening for us was the keynote address by Dr. Steven Edelman, the founder of TCOYD. What a great opportunity to get to hear Dr. Edelman's presentation on "The Latest and Greatest in Diabetes Management" in such a small group (about 75 people), especially in a JDRF sponsored event, so that the focus was squarely on type 1 needs.

I am proud to say that there weren't any advancements or new technology mentioned that I wasn't already somewhat familiar with. I have to thank the OC for that. I don't spend much time researching new products myself, but with the help of Amy and others, I've been introduced to the most important research being done for diabetes.

One interesting tidbit that Dr. Edelman mentioned was the supreme importance of continuous glucose monitoring. He is wearing the Dexcom, and has been for five years! He said that he'd trade all of the other advancements: symlin, analog insulins, the pump, everything for the continuous glucose monitoring technology. He considers it the most substantial piece of technology for good blood sugar control. I can't wait to get one!!

Periodicaly, during the presentation, Dr. Edelman would check the monitor and announce his reading. It was 178 mg/dl at first, and then the alarm buzzed to tell him he'd gone over 180 mg/dl. These were his post-dinner readings, he explained. I told my husband proudly, "My numbers were better than the doctor's during that meeting!" I was 77 mg/dl before the appetizers (and a little red wine) and 121 mg/dl after the meeting!! :)

We also discussed Symlin pretty extensively (not surprising since the event was held at Amylin Pharmaceuticals). Dr. Edelman has also been using this drug for years. Personally, when I asked my doctor about it, he told me I did not need to loose weight (I beg to differ!) Also, my post-meal blood glucose readings are fine, so I suppose it's not imperative, but it does seem interesting. Dr. Edelman made the prediction that Symlin would soon be used by obese patients, even those who don't have diabetes. A weight loss drug... amazing!

All in all it was a very informative and fun night. Perhaps this is just me, since I'm sort of new to the diabetes advocacy world, but I felt a sense of pride last night. Seeing all these people (many who have kids with diabetes) working so hard to find a cure for diabetes, for me and all of you, was very humbling. Having our struggle validated by this organization made me feel cared for, comforted, and respected.

Anniversary Meme!

2006-06-19T10:33:00.000-07:00

I liked this meme that Kassie posted so much, I thought I'd fill it out a month early! My 13th Diabetes Anniversary is next month... so here are 13 Great Things I've Done Since July 27, 1993.

1. Transferred to Saint Bernard's High School and had a graduating class of 44 students! Got to experience great people and a wonderful sense of family at our school.

2. Went to the National Youth Leadership Conference in Washington DC for 2 weeks! Fell in love with DC (again) and felt so grown up flying across the country with one of my closest friends, Beth Morrison.

3. Went on an extensive college search, looking for just the right school. My dad and I had the best time visiting Notre Dame and dreaming of my future.

4. Chose Saint Mary's College of California after learning about the Intergral Program. Spent 4 years reading the Great Books of Western Thought with 14 wonderful friends. Completely changed the way I think and see the world.

5. Traveled to Okinawa, Japan to visit my "first love"- had my heart broken and survived!

6. Went to Martinique for a month with 9 other women (and our male teacher!) to study the colonization of the Caribbean... amazing!

7. Graduated from SMC with a degree and a wonderful friendship with my college roommate Michelle My Belle!

8. Moved to San Diego, got my first real job at a law firm downtown.

9. Supported my parents and siblings while our family underwent some major changes (parent's divorce, family home sold, family dog passed away...rough year!)

10. Met my husband at work and enjoyed our wonderful year of dating.

11. Started grad school at San Diego State University in History and studied like I've never studied before.

12. Had the wedding of my dreams on November 6, 2004.

13. Became a "born-again" diabetic and quickly lowered my A1C to my goal number using injections! Getting my body ready for a baby :)

I can't wait to see what the next 13 years have in store for me!!

Rebound!!

2006-06-15T10:42:00.000-07:00

We've all heard about rebounding blood sugars, most commonly in the form of dawn phenomenon. I knew that severe hypoglycemia can lead to rebounding highs, however I'd never thought too much about it in my personal management. This week I had a really obvious experience with this effect.

On Tuesday I did a strenuous Tae-bo workout after work. My blood sugar was 118 mg/dl before my workout, 97 mg/dl half-way through and after a few ounces of OJ, it was 144 mg/dl about an hour post-workout. I had a normal dinner and gave myself 3 units of humalog. At bedtime I was at 82 mg/dl. Since I am on lantus (administered at 10 p.m.), I tend to get low during the night, especially after a workout. So, I had my favorite snack: 1 brown rice cake with a little PB and chocolate chips, plus 6 oz nonfat milk. At 4 a.m. by blood sugar was 50 mg/dl! I had some OJ and went back to sleep. Upon waking at 6:30 a.m. it was 50 mg/dl again!

In contrast, here was my experience Wednesday:

I was in the low range all morning. After lunch, I made a bad decision and had a slice of reduced fat banana coffee cake from Starbucks. I gave myself some insulin for it, but since I'd been low for a day, I gave myself less humalog than I'd usually need. At 6 p.m., as my husband and I were preparing to run, my blood sugar was 227 mg/dl. Darn! I was angry at the high, so I gave myself 2 units of insulin.

We ran 3.5 miles (which was hard, I'm so out of shape right now!) We came back, and for some reason, I wasn't thinking and didn't test my blood. I could feel the low coming on in the shower. I just quickly finished, and started to heat up dinner. I was hoping not to have to have OJ to bring up my blood sugar and just hurry to eat dinner. But I was really sweaty and shaky. So I tested, 42 mg/dl. Now, I am low quite often, but it's typically at night, or after not eating for awhile. I don't have many lows that feel very intense. This one did! I had some OJ, ate dinner (the same dinner as last night) and felt better pretty quickly.

At 10 p.m. my blood sugar rang in at 80 mg/dl. I was just where I was the night before at bedtime. Since I had gotten low during the night after my workout Tuesday, I figured I'd have my same rice cake, PB, chocolate and milk snack, but just have a little extra milk and chocolate! Instead of getting low, my blood sugar was 248 mg/dl this morning!! WHAT?!

Suddenly it occurred to me... that low before dinner was pretty extreme, hmmm. Was this a rebound effect? I gave myself 4 units of humalog and had a bowl of Vanilla Almond Special K cereal (yum!) Typically this recipe would equal a 70 or 60 mg/dl by 9 a.m. Instead, I tested at 9:30 a.m. and was 324 mg/dl. Again... WHAT?!

3 more units of humalog and 2 hours later I'm 110 mg/dl. Finally.

I think this is a really clear example of rebounding blood sugars. Doing the exact same things two days in a row, only one with a low, demonstrated the effect of a rebound. Thinking back, I've often had those totally out of the blue (or so I thought) numbers that didn't make any sense. I'm sure when I flip back through my logs, I'll find that they followed extreme lows.

I think the connection took me awhile to make because I have "lows" fairly often. But, like I said they're typically brought on my lantus or just occur more gradually, thus the rebound response either doesn't occur, or is just less extreme.

Wow, I'm glad to pin-point this. However, it feels like one more thing I have to factor into my management system. I suppose the real lesson is not to let yourself get real low in the first place, huh?!

My Sister Helps with a Scary Low

2006-06-08T10:03:00.000-07:00

This story isn't about me... in fact, I've never met the subject of this tale.

My younger sister Sarah called me the other day, left a voicemail saying, "Kelsey, I have a story I have to tell you." She did not sound happy, rather a bit weary. I called her back right away.

Sarah is a graduate student in agriculture at Cal Poly SLO. The other day, one of her classes took a field trip to San Jose, CA. On the drive she began chatting with a classmate, I'll call him B. B has type 1 diabetes. Sarah and B spent an hour talking about diabetes. Sarah found this really exciting since she hasn't had many conversations with other people who have type 1. (My family is quite interested in diabetes and all I have to deal with... I've only recently starting sharing more of my experiences with them.)

A few days later... Sarah, B and the rest of their class are in lab. Some of their lab equipment isn't working, so they take an hour break until it's fixed. Sarah comes back to see B laying on one of the lab tables. She gently tries to wake him, because it's time to start their experiment. He doesn't respond.

"Uh, guys? How long has B been sleeping?"

"He's been out a half hour or so."

Sarah notices that B is drenched in sweat even though the lab is freezing. She's not sure what this means. She wonders whether he is high or low. Again, Sarah shakes B, harder this time. He turns to face her and has the scariest look on his face. She's really disturbed by his expression.

"Hey, did B say anything before he fell asleep?" Sarah asks her classmates.

"Uh... he said he hadn't eaten in awhile. I think he might just be hung over, he went out last night."

It clicks.

"Okay, he's low. We need to get something sugary in him."

The professor enters and says he has some juice bottles. Class members run to get the juice while the professor calls an ambulance. They struggle to make sure B is aware that they're trying to give him juice. When Sarah provides the bottle, B grabs it. He knows that he needs it. Two bottles are gulped down with some assistance.

The ambulance arrives within 5 minutes (must be on campus). They squirt glycogen in his mouth and test his blood. 36 mg/dl. The students are asked to leave so B can recover in peace.

Sarah told me this story practically all in one breath. We agreed that it was good she was there, otherwise no one may have questioned B's sudden nap. This event made me think... family and friends of type 1 diabetics are a great resource to all of the other type 1s out there. As alert as Sarah was, I realized there were things I could educate my family about, so they could be even more helpful in an emergency. We all know that sweatiness means a low, but do our family and friends? Alcohol the night before was another clue... one that non-diabetics wouldn't know.

It would be wise to clearly explain the symptoms of hypoglycemia to our family and friends, so they can help us in an emergency, or another diabetic they come across in their everyday life.

I was so proud of my sister for helping another diabetic in need! Great job Sarsies :)

My weekend of dehydration

2006-06-06T12:26:00.000-07:00

We had our first HOT weekend in San Diego... what do my husband and I decided to do? Go to the beach like the thousands of other folks in our city? Escape the heat in an air-conditioned movie theater? Hit the pool? Nope, we play 90 minutes of tennis in the mid-morning heat without being properly hydrated. Sounds like much more fun-huh?!

I spent the rest of Saturday feeling "off." I figured I was just tired from the exercise. Sunday morning the vomiting started. I barely ate all day, gave myself TONS of insulin and sipped down 1 liter of Pedialyte. Good times.

I took Monday off to relax and make sure my blood sugars did not go extremely high.

Two and a half straight days of lying on the couch watching TV sure makes you want to be a productive member of society again!

I'm nothing if not consistent

2006-05-25T13:41:00.000-07:00

My quarterly endo appointment was yesterday. I've begun referring to these visits as my "report card." My doc sees me, and I quote as "one of those really healthy type 1s." I suppose he is comparing me to all the type 2s he sees who require much prodding just to test their blood a few times a day. Anyway, our visits are short with the most notable event being the A1C, hence my report card.

As I've mentioned previously, I started seeing this doc (my first true endo) last July. I hadn't had an A1C in years (college, moving, life, I've got plenty of excuses!) My first report card came back with a 7.3 which wasn't too bad considering my care was at a solid B- level. I decided to get that number down and start preparing my body for baby :) Three months later I was 6.4!! Three months after that: 6.3... then this latest result. Now, I have been working full time and finishing my course work for my masters and intense diabetes care had fallen a bit in my priority list! I told my husband right before my appointment: "I'll be satisfied with anything under 7!" So, my doctor gave me my report... 6.4. Wow, consistency feels good!

The reason this is so exciting is that pregnancy will require this kind of consistent care. I'd actually like my A1C to be closer to 6.0, if not below, while pregnant- but still, just being able to keep things in this range for almost a year feels great!

So, my log book is my closest companion and cooking healthy (and yummy) diabetic meals is my new pastime. I'm getting back into my running which helps the blood sugars greatly.

Oh, and I learned something new (sort of) from the CDE. The night before my appointment, my husband and I went on a 4-5 mile run. I was 90 mg/dl at 9:30 p.m., had a snack and was 150 mg/dl at bedtime. Fearing a low (which occur often after a strenuous workout) I had some O.J. Next morning?! 269 mg/dl! What?! I felt a little dehydrated and I've often wondered if the lack of properly rehydrating lead to higher blood sugars. The CDE told me that is exactly what happens! (I probably didn't need the OJ anyway though). I guess it makes sense... we need extra water when we're trying to get our blood sugar down. It was cool to officially put it together that not enough water can contribute to highs!

Express Lane

2006-05-23T15:30:00.000-07:00

I've decided that we "frequent flyers" at the lab should have a special express lane for our blood drawings...

My husband and I spent just under 2 hours waiting to get my blood drawn on Saturday morning! There is only one lab in San Diego open on Saturdays, so myself and everyone else was there bright and early at 9 am! What a great way to spend a beautiful weekend (can you sense my sarcasm?!)

Then, once I FINALLY get in, the guy kinda gives me a hard time for wanting to lie down. I said, "Yeah, I'm a fainter" and he responded "Oh, I've never had anyone faint on me before!" Well, I'm not going to indulge you, sorry! He then gave me a running commentary of how hard my veins are to pin down... "Wow, they really roll don't they?" According to him I was his numerous "tough case" that morning. Why do technicians feel the need to tell me about my veins when I obviously have issues with the whole ordeal?!

Anyway, I was fine. Laying down makes all the difference in the world. I don't care that it's sort of lame, I'll just lay down for my blood drawings for the rest of my life :)

Three more months until I have to hit up the lab again... I think I'll go Friday morning and just be a little late to work!

Interviews!

2006-05-09T10:32:00.000-07:00

I've been MIA lately due to extreme paper writing! Luckily I got on Allison's list of interview questions, so here's a blog to make up for my month long absence:

1. How did you become a Christian?

Well, I was baptized Catholic as a baby, so for some people they'd consider that moment as when I became a Christian. But I know what you mean Allison... When my siblings and I were young, there were two religious summer camps nearby, one Catholic and one Protestant. My mom looked into Camp St. Michael's for us, but she didn't like the fact that they split kids up from their friends. Sending her young kids to camp for a week without anyone they knew did not appeal to her. So, she sent us to Triumphant Life Camp (TLC). I attended this camp for 6 summers. My brother, sister and I had to defend our Catholicism a lot, explain that we didn't worship Mary, etc. But the biggest impact TLC made on my faith was the personal relationship with Christ that my Catholic upbringing had sorely lacked. Also, my parents were involved in an ecumenical retreat organization. My family's faith was always Christian, we just practiced it through Catholicism. My husband is Catholic (He's Mexican, so the ties to the church are deep rooted) however he also feels that to believe Jesus is your savior is the key to Christianity rather than all the dogma. We got married by a good friend of our family who is a non-denominational ministerhadn't e hadn't yet established a relationship with a Catholic parish when we got married in San Diego. We're now in the process of deciding how we want to raise our children. There are a lot of things I don't agree with in the Catholic church and I'd love to raise my children without all the "Catholic guilt" stuff. However, we believe in the Eucharist and love the tradition of our faith, especially as part of our family history. So, we'll see. To answer your question Allison, I've sort of always been a Christian and I've rededicated myself to my faith many times over the years.

2. How did you meet your husband?

Actually, at work. So I'm the one telling people, "sure, go for that office romance!" I moved to San Diego to be near my college boyfriend after graduation. I worked as a receptionist at a big office downtown. Dennis (my hubby) was the file clerk at the firm. We were great friends right away. We're both huge sports fans, so we chatted about that endlessly. My college relationship was extremely unhealthy and Dennis was a great person to share my feelings with. One day we decided to bar hop around San Diego to watch the NCAA Tournament... everything changed that day. We had the most amazing time, just talking and getting to know one another. A week later I finally ended my old relationship and Dennis and I started dating. We tried to take it slowly, but I guess you don't have that much control over how quickly feelings develop. We were married a year and a half later. One thing to know about us is that we have a 17 year age difference... He's 43, not 9! It sounds like a lot, but it's really not a big deal at all. As my soon to be brother-in-law told my sister: "It just seems like Kelsey should be with someone more mature." It's amazing how well we fit as a couple. It has definitely made me learn that as far as looking for a mate, you can't limit yourself to age, race, etc. Love comes in the most wonderfully unexpected packages!

3. Why did you go back to school?

The funny thing is, I didn't know I really wanted to study history until I was a year into the program. Here's the background: my undergrad degree was a Great Books Program. We read everything from Plato and Aristotle to Shakespeare and Freud. It was amazing! After that experience, I just wanted to read and learn forever. I looked into Philosophy grad programs, but reality set in that there are very few jobs for a MA in Philosophy. History seedid notlike a better fit. Since I didn't take a single traditional history class in college, jumping into the discipline as a graduate was tough. I had the most amazing, challenging professor my first semester and I cried every week. It was tough! But now, with my coursework almost done (next week!) and just my thesis ahead of me, I love history. I'm excited to teach it (hopefully at the junior college level) and it's truly changed the way I see the world.

4. What is one thing you have always wanted to do but have been to scared to try?

Two things immediately come to mind: start the pump and have a baby. Of course I haven't wanted to have a baby forever, but the feeling has been strong for over a year and I'm nervous. But, as soon as my thesis is finished (or nearly so) we will be trying. I'm blessed to be in San Diego where they have an amazing Reproductive Endo program that will help me every step of the way. I'll conquer that fear. The pump is something that I'm realizing would probably be good, but I HATE, HATE, HATE the idea of having something stuck in me all the time. Keep in mind I still pass out when I get by blood drawn for my A1C. I know I'd eventually get used to the insertion sites, but that first week, month... would be miserable. I'm thinking I might feel better about a tubeless pump, or a pump that integrated with a continuous glucose monitor because then the advantages would definitely outweigh my fears. So far my A1Cs have been good enough (6.3-6.5) that my doctor's aren't pushing me to start it. We'll see!

5. Who is your inspiration?

I have so many... Jesus is the inspiration for my life, everything I do and everything I am. My love for God leads to all the human love I've been blessed with. Dennis inspires me to live each day with a smile and love unconditionally. My mom inspires me as a mom, a nurturer. My dad inspires me with his peace. My best friend Michelle inspires me to "let my light shine" and treat everyone with respect. My sister Sarah inspires me to be confident and hold my chin up. My brother Robert inspires me to be passionate and daring. My mother-in-law inspires me to be wise and to learn Spanish! My friend Beth inspires me with her independence and silliness. My future children inspire me to take excellent care of my body and soul.

Now it's your turn! Here are the instructions:
Leave me a comment saying "interview me." The first five commenters will be the participants.I will respond by asking you five questions.You will update your blog/site with the answers to the questions.You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Happy Interviewing! :)

Gotta love technology!

2006-04-10T09:34:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been thinking about our finger stick blood sugar monitors... I'm been reading at different sites that the number we get when we test our blood is actually quite arbitrary. Test twice in one minute and you'll get two different results, which sometimes vary quite a bit.

On Friday evening my husband and I had a wonderful dinner from a new "Good Carb" cookbook my mom got me for Christmas. Beef and spinach burritos! I'll have to post the recipe, because it's great! Anyway, as the cookbook suggests, it's pretty low carb and I went in to dinner with a 92 mg/dl. Great! I gave myself 3 units of insulin and fully expected to need a bedtime snack. We settled in to watch "Super Size Me"- if you haven't seen this film, you have to watch it! We don't eat much fast food as it is, but now I will NEVER eat the junk! It's so sad that the high fat, refined carb food industry spends billions of dollars advertising their products, thus people get fat and have all the corresponding health problems... meanwhile our health care system is falling apart. This is not a good equation!

Anyway... after the movie it's 10 p.m. time for my lantus and my bedtime blood glucose check. It rang in at 305 mg/dl!! What?! First of all I felt kinda low, well not super low, but like I'd need a snack before bed. This couldn't be right. I joked to my husband "maybe the film about all that crappy food actually raised my blood sugar!" I didn't believe my meter so I tested again... 94 mg/dl... yeah, that's more like it. I tested a third time just to make sure. That one was 95. Okay, confirmed.

How crazy is that?! I'm so glad I didn't trust my meter and give myself a correction dose. I would've gone to bed and totally bottomed out. Crazy!

Highs and lows

2006-04-05T16:46:00.000-07:00

I just want to rant right now...

So, this weekend my husband and I were up in Northern California for our niece's confirmation. I was her sponsor. We had a lovely weekend, hanging out with family, watching basketball, drinking beer (just a few for me) and relaxing! I had a couple of outrageous blood sugars due to pizza, Mexican food and no exercise (it poured the whole trip).

Back to work Monday and I was still running a little high, but nothing I couldn't correct. I noticed my humalog looked a little cloudy, so I started a new vial last night. I've still had a few weird highs. Two hours after lunch today I was 213 mg/dl, even though I did 1-2 units more insulin for lunch than I'd usually need (knowing that I've been high and not being happy about it!) I gave myself 2 units of humalog our of sheer frustration!! So, I'm doing the mail this afternoon and feeling low... sure enough at 4:30 pm I tested and was 48 mg/dl! Opps! Didn't really need 2 units to bring it down!

I guess I'm realizing that those carefree, throwing caution to the wind and eating what I want, drinking what I want and not exercising, weekends are not going to be apart of my life! It's not so much the days of relaxing that do me in, but they can lead to a high streak (or as my husband called it, a "tailspin") that is so frustrating!!

Now I'm off to read for a few hours, then to the grocery store... the schedule I have to keep for the next 6 weeks in order to get all my school work done is insane, literally, I might go insane!

23 Days...

2006-03-23T13:16:00.000-08:00

My streak made it 23 days...

Well, I made a strategic decision to change my exercise streak. Working out every single day is not realistic for me. I'm not trying to worm my way out of this (or maybe I am!) but here's my reasoning:

On Tuesday I woke up at 5 am to get dressed and ready for work which began at 6:30. No real time to exercise before work, unless I wanted to get up at 4 am, but I think we can all admit that's a bit excessive. I worked from 6:30 to 3 pm, drove to class, attended my Latin American history seminar from 4 to 6:45 pm. My blood sugar had been good all afternoon and was 106 mg/dl as I left class.

Here was the dilemma. If I exercised at 106 mg/dl with no insulin working in my system (my last humalog injection was over 6 hours ago) It would probably raise my blood sugar. If I gave myself some insulin at 106 to exercise, I would definitely need a snack to avoid a low. That 150 calorie snack would be just a few less calories than I'd burn in a 30 minute workout. If I skipped the workout, I'd be at a perfect blood sugar to have dinner. See the problem? If exercise is about burning calories and ultimately losing weight (which it is for me) than eating something just to workout doesn't make a lot of sense. Don't get me wrong, I do eat a snack before exercising quite often, but when you know the workout is going to be pretty weak, it doesn't feel worth it.

My exercise "streak" has been altered, but not abandoned! I'm thinking of doing a weekly streak. In order to have a week count, I'll have to exercise at least 5 days out of the week. This way I can take breaks throughout the week when my schedule doesn't permit a good, long workout. Also, I'll exercise more strenuously during my five workouts than I would when I'm trying to fit in something everyday. Like, this past week. After taking Tuesday off, I woke up early Wednesday and did my long, tough Tae-bo workout.

Today I also don't have time for a workout. I have the same work and school schedule as Tuesday and tonight is the Gonzaga vs. UCLA basketball game at 7 pm. This game is huge in our house. It's actually the first real test of our marriage. Dennis (my husband) is a UCLA Bruins fan and I'm a fan of Gonzaga and my diabetic buddy Adam Morrison. My husband and I are big sports fans. Watching baseball, basketball and especially football is a large part of our life together. But, in our three year relationship we've never seriously been for opposing teams. Someone may very well be sleeping on the couch tonight :)

I'll keep you posted on my weekly exercise streak. After this week, I'll have four consecutive weeks of at least 5 days of exercise. Not too shabby!

Go Zags!!

Musings on Saint Patrick's Day!

2006-03-17T11:01:00.000-08:00

I like lists. Lists are good. Especially when you have a bunch of random thoughts without any real theme to link them. (I doubt this format will work for my thesis... darn!)

Today is Saint Patrick's Day and I'm wearing a new green shirt that looks much more electric green than it did in the store.
My boss is Irish and just sent an email to the shareholders and our department asking if we'd like to join him for some green beer at 11:30 this morning. He stated: "I might need somebody to watch me to be sure I get back by one as I have been known to disappear into the bowels of numerous Irish pubs downtown on March 17th if not adequately supervised, I might not return till Monday!" I have a great boss.
My streak is now at 19 days. Fitting in at least 30 minutes of exercise everyday is tricky. But once you're committed to it, you find a way. Case in point. I woke up late on Wednesday and didn't have time to do my Tae-bo before work. I HAD to do some reading after work. Hmm. When can I workout? I brought my running shoes, socks and a t-shirt to work, through them on at lunch and took a 40 minute walk up an down a large hill by my office. I took advantage of the weather in beautiful San Diego: 65 degrees, brillant sunshine with a strong breeze!
A side note to the beautiful weather comment: San Diego is amazing! That's why so many people want to live here and the median home price is almost $600K. Ridiculous!!
It's NCAA Tournament Time!! I love it! I ran three miles on the treadmill last night while watching the Gonazaga Bulldogs come back and defeat Xavier! I was so excited. If NCAA basketball was on everytime I ran, I'd be 105 pounds. Seriously. Adam Morrison is the most amazing player and I'm unendingly impressed with his ability to manage his type 1 diabetes during such intense games. (See previous blog on Adam).
The timing with the tournament and my thesis writing is not good. This week was spring break and I did just that... took a break! But, I don't have the luxury of time right now. I have a 30 page chapter of my thesis due at the end of April and my research has been minimal so far. Please pray for me.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day. I'll be having a green, low-carb beer by 6 p.m. tonight! Cheers!!

Highs and dreams?!

2006-03-09T13:40:00.001-08:00

I dream a lot more when my blood sugar is high. Anyone else experience this?!

I tend to get low at night, particularly when I exercise. Sometimes in my desperate attempts to keep my blood sugar up, I over shoot it and end up high.

How do I know I'm high in the middle of the night? Not only am I thirsty and restless, but I dream a ton! Sometimes they're bad dreams... like last night :( But whether they're nightmares or pleasant dreams, I dream constantly when I'm high.

I have crazy dreams in general. When I tell people my dreams, even folks who are into dream interpretation, they're like "you're just weird!" It's as if my brain just downloads every random thought I've ever had and mixes them up. Quite amusing in the light of day actually :)

So, that's it. My thought for the day is: What's up with dreaming so much when my blood sugar is high?!

The streak is alive... but barely!

2006-03-08T08:21:00.000-08:00

So, as I've mentioned previously, my days are literally scheduled to the minute this semester. Trying to fit in this 100 day streak of exercise is actually a bit ludicrous. However, I am loving my blood sugars with all this exercise, so I'm really working to accomplish the streak!

Last night I thought I might end it at 8 days...

Since it was Tuesday, my only free time to fit in a quick workout would be after my class, before dinner, from 7:15-8 p.m. I was sitting in my Latin American History class. We took a ten minute break at 5:20 p.m. I figured I should test so I could ensure a good blood sugar for my post-class workout. I search through my purse and my bag for my little black kit containing my meter. Huh, don't see it.

Now, my kit is black and both bags are black, so this momentary feeling where my heart jumps into my throat as I ponder "where would I have left it?!" hits me just about every other day. I'm getting used to it and just take a breath and slowly search around the bottom of the bag until my hand inevitably lands on the familiar object wedged in the corner. This time that didn't happen.

Darn, I must have left it at work! I vaguely remember testing before I left. Hmm. This stinks. If any of you are familiar with San Diego, you know that it is incredibly spread out! I live, work and go to school (SDSU) all in the city of San Diego. However, we live downtown (south), I work in Scripps Ranch (north) and SDSU is east. The drive from school up to work and back home would take me 35-45 minutes, depending on traffic. That cuts seriously into my workout time. (Plus, I need to get to bed no later that 10 pm so I can get up and do Tae-bo at 5 am the next morning).

I resign myself to having to run back to work for my kit and figure, "I'll start a new streak tomorrow." After class I rush to my car with the small hope that maybe it fell out of my bag when I pulled a notebook out that I didn't need. I open the car door and right there on the driver's seat is my kit!

"Oh right, I tested my blood in the car before walking to class." I'm such a nerd. I'd been convinced that I had to make this totally inconvenient trip up north for my kit and even called my husband to tell him so. Opps.

The next obstacle to overcome was changing my mindset about exercise that night. Since I thought I wouldn't be able to do it, I was kinda okay with restarting the streak and just relaxing that night. Ahh! We really are our own worst enemy! But, I got home and found that my husband had just finished a run, so it was good ol' spousal competition that got me to hit the gym!

So, I got to fit in a 30 minute treadmill workout after all! :)

Counting the tae-bo I did this morning... the streak is alive and well at 10 days!!

Let the Streak Begin!

2006-03-02T08:32:00.000-08:00

So, I'm attempting to join John and others in a 100 day exercise streak.

I'm in a good routine of Tae-bo on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. I can get up early and do them before having to be at work at 8 am. The difficulty for me are my Tuesdays and Thursdays. I start work at 6:30 am; leave for class at 3 pm; have class from 4 to 6:40 pm; get home, make dinner, study, and try to be in bed by 10 pm, so I can wake up the next morning at 5:00 am to do Tae-bo.

Hmm. We have a gym in our apartment complex, so sneaking in a workout is a possibility. In fact, this Tuesday our class was cancelled for student/professor conferences, so I still left work at 3 pm and had a nice walk/run on the treadmill for 35 minutes. It had been awhile since I ran, so it felt good to get back into it.

I guess I'll try to hit the gym for a quick half hour when I get home from class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It won't be my most intense workouts, but at least it'll keep the streak going.

I am constantly AMAZED by how much exercise helps my blood sugars. I did Tae-bo Saturday, but not Sunday or Monday (plus my period started, which we women know can wreck havoc on blood sugars!) and I went over 300 mg/dl on Monday! It's been months since I was over that mark!! Since my workouts Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning, I've been golden, never over 150 mg/dl! Plus my insulin needs are really low!

With all the stuff I'm cramming into my life this semester, I really NEED to exercise to keep my energy and blood sugar control. So, even though it'll be tough to fit everything in, I think it'll be worth it.

So, my streak is starting off at 2 days already... Wish me luck! :)

Food... Our Friend?!

2006-02-22T09:30:00.000-08:00

I've been reading a lot of blogs about food choices lately, and it got me thinking.

I was always a skinny girl (of course I didn't think so at the time!) I had good eating habits and didn't like a lot of junk food. Then, diabetes struck! At 14 years old I suddenly started gaining weight. (We're all familiar with the diabetes weight gain thing, so I don't have to elaborate!) Then I started college. I remember being over at the house where I was a nanny and physically not being able to stop myself from raiding the pantry. Now, maybe it was the college dorm food I was subjecting myself too, or something, but I just HAD to eat Cheez-its, chocolate kisses, chips, whatever the house was stocked with. I didn't have great self-esteem at the time and I had pretty much reached my highest weight (admittedly not that much, around 165, but I'm 5'3'').

Fast forward 7 years and I now have a very healthy relationship with food. It dawned on me the other day, that I don't think about food much at all anymore (in that craving, have to have it sort of way.) When and how did that change?!

Well, first of all, I left my negative, hurtful college boyfriend that liked to tell me, "You're beautiful, but you'd be even more beautiful if you lost "x" number of pounds." And met my amazing husband who loves me for me! What a novel idea :) I'm sure maturity had something to do with it too, but I know a lot of adults who struggle with food.

Not that I'm the expert on this, not by any means... but I feel like I have some insight on this because somehow my attitude towards food changed without me even noticing it! That's to say that it's definitely a process and not going to happen overnight.

First of all, food is fuel for our bodies. There are so many great foods that our bodies need! We all the know the usual suspects: fish, whole grains, fruits and vegetables, low fat dairy, nuts, etc. Trying to fit all of those healthy food into our diet leaves a lot less room for junk food!

Also, I try to think of my eating from the big picture perspective. If I want to indulge, say in my favorite unhealthy food a cheese enchilada...yum, I do it. But then I eat a lot of vegetables for the next couple days and balance out my nutrition needs and calorie intake. Everyone knows we can't limit our favorite foods completely, we'd never be successful. Here's a good example: there is a great Mexican food place about 1/4 mile from my work! They have an enchilada special on Wednesdays, where you get the enchilada, rice and beans and a soda for $4. You can't beat it! Well, I took full advantage of the special for quite a few months! Suddenly the meal didn't satisfy me as much and I felt guilty every time I ate there. I decided to wait awhile between visits. I even marked it off on my calendar and only allowed myself to eat there once a month. It worked well. I ate better and when I splurge I loved the food and didn't feel guilty! Instead of forbidding food from your diet, how about making a point of having it every once in awhile and really enjoying it. I'm serious, mark it on your calendar and look forward to it!

Okay, there's my two cents on the food issue. It's seriously an ongoing battle for all of us diabetics. Not only do we deal with the normal food things like eating for comfort, boredom or just because it tastes good, but then you factor in the blood sugar maintenance aspect of food... You end up with a big mix of reasons to eat or not to eat, it's overwhelming!

We have to eat to live. Food shouldn't be our enemy!

I Hate Diabetes!

2006-02-16T07:28:00.000-08:00

I think the diabetes stars are aligned against us right now... well at least me, and I noticed Kerri has been down about our disease lately too. I'm sure there are more of you out there.

I Hate Diabetes!

My frustration right now is due to a week of high blood sugars! I believe the culprit is a vial of lantus that went bad over the weekend, but I continued to use it (unknowingly) until Wednesday night. The vial was getting towards the end and I had it in my purse all weekend since my husband and I were babysitting and away from home for two nights. I guess it got kinda hot and just went bad. (I'm not sure exactly how insulin "goes bad"- if anyone can give a more scientific explanation, I'm all ears!)

Anyway, I've been eating less and giving myself huge doses of humalog for the last three days! I now have two doses of the good Lantus in my system, but I guess it'll just take a couple days for it to fully get back to normal?!

I Hate Diabetes!

Here's an example: after giving myself tons of insulin, I'm 90 mg/dl at dinnertime- YEAH! So I eat a light dinner of 3 oz salmon and some pasta/veggie dish and give myself 4 units of humalog, that's twice what I'd normally need for that dinner. Two hours later I'm 66 mg/dl :) I gave my husband this awesome bouquet of sugar cookies for Valentine's Day and wanted a bite. So, I had half of one (they're pretty big) and 8 oz nonfat milk. Normally, I wouldn't need more insulin for that snack with that low of blood sugar at bedtime, but given these crazy numbers, I gave myself 2 units of humalog and then my normal 28 of the (now good) Lantus. This morning I woke up and tested at 6 a.m. and was 207mg/dl. NO! NO! NO!

The thing that kills me is that I feel terrible! I realize how much better I feel with good blood sugars, it's an AMAZING difference! I'm tired and moody and unfortunately still have a TON of work to do. Motivation is not my friend right now.

I Hate Diabetes!

To add insult to injury (Literally) I hurt my knee this week. My prior post about Tae-bo still stands, but be sure you're doing all the exercises properly. Apparently I wasn't turning my plant foot out enough, so when I did a bunch of roundhouse kicks on Monday morning, I hurt my left knee. It's all swollen and obviously I can't work out, which is making me feel even more blah! I momentarily thought there might be a connection between my twisted knee and all the highs, but I guess that's pretty unlikely :)

So, thanks for reading my really uplifting blog this morning! These days will be few and far between for me. But I agree with the comments to Kerri's post, we're all allowed to not be strong at times. This disease requires us to "be on" all the time, and no one can do that. I'm just going to take a little time to remember that...

I Hate Diabetes!

Upsetting Endo Experience with a Happy Ending

2006-02-15T13:44:00.000-08:00

So, today was my quarterly endo appointment. I had my blood drawn for the A1C last Friday and was all set to see my doctor. I've been going to this doc for about 9 months and previously had a good rapport with him.

I get to the office at 10:25 a.m. for my 10:30 a.m. appointment and proceed to wait about 45 minutes before being called back to an exam room. Pretty typical, but I did notice how crowded the waiting room was. The CDE came in first and we had a short chat. She doesn't seem all that educated, in fact I informed both the CDE and the endo about the emerging Omnipod during my last visit.

Anyway, the doc comes in and hurriedly asks how I'm doing. He brings up whether I am interested in the pump. I'm momentarily confused since on two of my previous visits we've discussed the pump and he even said that "it's not for everyone" and since I'm maintaining an A1C in the low to mid 6's, it wasn't necessary. I told him (again) that I'm not interested in going on the pump, though I'd like to look into the Omnipod when it comes on the market.

He then mentions that since I'm planning to get pregnant in about a year, I should get my A1C down to 5.6 and says that my current A1C of 6.3 is "okay." This is the same guy that told me three months ago that my 6.4 was wonderful and that A1Cs in the 5's usually mean a lot of hypoglycemia and thus are not necessarily to be the goal. Now I'm really confused... or more accurately, annoyed!

Finally (about 3 minutes total have elapsed since the doc entered) I tell him I need new prescriptions. I do the mail order plan and need them written out for 3 months supplies with 3 refills:

He asks me how many test strips I need and suggests, "300 a month?"

I quickly do the math and reply, "Sure I can use as many as 10 per day."

He then looks at me disapprovingly and says, "How about an average of 6 per day, so I'll write it for 540 strips for 3 months."

What?! How in the world did he go from 10 a day to 6?! I was a little too surprised to say anything, but luckily remembered to ask him for a 100 strip prescription to fill locally, since I'm pretty low on them right now.

After writing the slips, I asked him if they were for a whole year (he has these really weird looking prescription slips and it wasn't obvious that the appropriate refills were listed.) He rudely answered, "Yes, that's one prescription, refilled 3 times, which makes a whole year!" And then he left.

I sat on the exam table, kinda stunned for a minute, before I realized "I guess it's time to leave."

I went to the reception desk to get my next appointment and give her my co-pay.

I mention to the girl "Wow, he's really busy today."

She replied, "Yeah, it's Wednesday. That's his diabetes day."

I ask, "Diabetes day. What does that mean?"

"Oh, he sees about 30 diabetics on Wednesday mornings."

Well, that explains it! I ask her, "Can my next appointment not be on a Wednesday morning?"

"He has here that he wants to see you on Wednesday morning."

Great. Fine. That will be my last appointment with him.

Now, I understand that doctor's are busy. And really, since I'm not changing my care or anything, there's not that much to discuss. However, I know other endo's look at glucose meter print outs or go over log books, neither of which he's done. This doctor is older and not up to date on diabetes advancements at all. If I just needed a doctor to get my A1Cs done and give me my prescriptions, I could go to my primary care physician.

I called the office back and informed them that the doctor wrote my test strip prescription for far less that I need. The nurse took down the correct numbers and said she'd mail me a slip for that amount. We'll see...

So, back at the office, I made some calls to the UCSD Endo Department. They have some of the best doctors and particularly a great Reproductive Endo group. I have a call into them and hope to get in as a new patient in a few months. So, maybe this was a blessing in disguise...

Okay, literally as I'm typing this I got a call back from the UCSD Reproductive Endo group and just had a delightful conversation with one of the CDE. I'm very excited about the program they have there and I will be in really great shape for my future "high risk pregnancy."

Funny how things work out :)

Exercise and Diabetes

2006-02-13T14:09:00.000-08:00

Exercise and diabetes are difficult to balance. I'm sure we all have experienced this truism. Sometimes your blood sugar is too high or too low when you want to work out, other times you bottom out in the middle of your routine or have an unexplained high or low after you've finished the exercise.

However, since exercise is SO good for our diabetes control, it's important to find a way to fit it into our diabetes management.

Here is my experience, for what it's worth: Until about a year and a half ago, I was a "runner"- and I use that term loosely :) I ran about 3-5 miles per day/4 days a week. I usually ran after work, around 5:30-6 p.m. I'm on humalog and lantus injections, and I do my lantus at bedtime. I would have to load up on carbs not to get low in the early morning hours after a run. I hated it because I felt like all the calories I'd burnt running were being replaced to keep my blood sugar up! I slowly but surely lost a few pounds, but felt frustrated with the amount of effort it all took.

For the last 6 months, I've had an insane schedule of work and school, so the only time I have to work out is at 5:30 a.m. I got these Tae-bo tapes (there are a ton of different ones!) Each workout is about 45 minutes and it's amazing! The workouts are challenging and it works wonderfully doing it first thing in the morning. I test first, if I low I drink about 4 oz of OJ; if I'm high I do a unit or so of humalog. I don't have to eat more throughout the day to combat lows, I just have a much higher insulin to carb ratio for breakfast on the mornings I workout, like 30:1 and I still have a snack later. It's worked great for me. In fact, even when my schedule opens up, I will always be a morning exerciser from now on; there are so many benefits!

I've been so jazzed about my new workout and been wanting to share my enthusiasm with the O.C. If anyone is interested in Tae-bo, I'd love to tell you about the tapes I've found. There are a lot of different ones, which is great because you can grow with the program. I'm about to start the Tae-bo Bootcamp series which will surely kick my butt! :)

May I introduce...

2006-02-10T16:16:00.000-08:00

Adam Morrison.

Some of you may not be aware of this guy. He's one of the standout college basketball players this year, not to mention the last two years, and has a good chance of going #1 in the NBA draft. He plays for Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash -which is in the West Coast Conference with my alma mater St. Mary's College! :)

What's so special about this guy, besides his basketball skills? He's a type 1 diabetic. Can you imagine playing basketball at the intensity of Division 1, or soon, the NBA? Adam is ready for the challenge!

Here's the link to an article and interview with Adam:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?columnist=katz_andy&id=2326080

I'm sure you'll all catch the reporter's mistake when he mentions needing a "shot" a "boost" when Adam's blood sugar is low. Funny how people can't get that straight!

I think Adam is going to use his disease to advocate for all of us. I've very excited about his promising future, both on and off the court.

Tag, I'm it!

2006-02-09T08:02:00.000-08:00

Okay, I'm tagging myself... I have been kinda MIA on the posting lately (too much school and work are my excuses) so I don't blame the OC for forgetting me :) But I've been reading everyone's lists and loving it, so here goes...

Four jobs I’ve had in my life:

Nanny
Receptionist in a law firm
Teaching Assistant at SDSU
Administrator for the Litigation Department of a CPA office (current)

Four movies I can watch over and over:

Father of the Bride (1 and 2)
Sleepless in Seattle
The American President
40 Year Old Virgin (love Steve Carrell!)

Four places I have lived:

Eureka, CA (born and raised)
Moraga, CA
Oceanside, CA
San Diego, CA
I'm a California girl :)

Four TV shows I love to watch:

The West Wing
Friends
The Office
Sportscenter

Four places I have been on vacation:

Martinique (the Caribbean)
Okinawa, Japan
Maui
Alcapulco, Ixtapa, Manzanillo (honeymoon cruise!)

Four of my favorite foods:

cherry tomatoes
enchiladas
salads with thai peanut dressing
cereal with lots of nonfat milk

Four websites I visit daily:

Six Until Me (I, too, use her as my jumping off point for updated blogs.)
myspace
www.justinkeele.com (memorial website)
www.times-standard.com (hometown newspaper)

Four places I'd rather be right now:

In our cozy bed with my hubby!
Eureka, CA hanging out with my mom
Playing with my nephew
Laying on the beach in Ixtapa, Mexico

Quirks!

2006-01-31T08:57:00.000-08:00

I only do finger sticks on my middle two fingers. That gives me four fingers total, with two sides each, for a whopping total of 8 places to “prick” my finger.

This method seems entirely normal to me, but upon reading other blogs, I realized that maybe it’s a Kelsey-quirk and not a routine practice. The way this developed was simply habitual. When I was diagnosed at 13 I had a terrible phobia of needles. (I passed out when I got my ears pierced!) So, giving myself injections and testing my blood was traumatic. I’d sit on my bed with the lancing device against my finger for literally 20 minutes before having the courage (or impatience) to finally push the button.

I think the reasoning for sticking to just the middle fingers was this: the pinkie finger is too little and fragile, the index finger is too sensitive and we use it the most, and I had serious issues with thumb sticks from particularly traumatic blood tests at the pediatrician’s office (they used a razor blade looking device!)

So, 12 plus years later, I’ve developed pretty good calluses on my middle two fingers at the two places where I test. You can feel them more than actually see them however. I guess I’m a pretty good healer… and a real creature of habit!

Don't you hate it when...

2006-01-25T09:05:00.000-08:00

you don't factor something in to your insulin dose or food decisions and end up low or high?

Lately I've been eating less and being more aggressive with my insulin. Good control has largely been the result of these efforts. However, sometimes I determine my insulin dose simply based on the carbs I'm eating or what my blood glucose currently reads. Or I'll decide to have a snack based on my blood sugar without thinking through whether I'm on the way up or down. There are so many other factors!

Here's an example... Well two actually. Last night we had a late dinner (my husband and I ran around town looking for a book I'm supposed to have read for class tomorrow, since Barnes and Noble can't seem to remain faithful to their shipping dates!) Anyway, I did my dinner shot a little after 8 p.m. I was 139. I was eating about 70 carbs, with a good amount of protein. As I got ready for bed and did my lantus at 10 p.m., my blood sugar was 142. I tend to get low in the early morning, so I had about half a granola bar and some milk. I woke up at 5 a.m. and I was at 242 mg/dl. What?! Well, now that I think about it, the time between my dinner test and my bedtime test were only 2 hours apart and I had a lot of protein, I was probably going up at bedtime, not down. Also, I have lows at night when I exercise, which I hadn't done in two days. I know these things, why didn't I consider them when deciding whether to have a bedtime snack?

So, at 242 and about to exercise this morning to a Tae-bo tape which I love! I gave myself 1 unit of humalog. About an hour after my workout I was at 89 mg/dl. Great! I had my breakfast of Frosted Mini Wheats and milk and gave myself 3 units (I have cereal down pat!) I get to work and immediately start to feel low, I'd just done my injection an hour ago! I tested and was 70 mg/dl. Uh oh! A light yogurt was scarfed down as I realized: "Kelsey, you still had a unit of insulin in your system from before your workout, plus obviously your body is using the insulin more efficiently due to the exercise!" I just had my 60 carb breakfast and automatically did 3 units (my ratio is usually 1:20) without consider what insulin I already had in my system or what other factors would be effecting my blood sugar! Frustrating!

I suppose I just need to think through a few extra factors before deciding my food and insulin choices. Or maybe it's getting up at 5 a.m. everyday that's messing with my focus :)

Perfect Peepers!

2006-01-18T14:17:00.000-08:00

It's had been five years since my last eye exam.

I don't really have any excuses, and actually the OC is responsible for making me go have my eyes checked. I knew diabetics could experience complications involving their eyes, but it wasn't registering very high on my radar screen until I noticed other bloggers were having their eyes checked regularly. With my increased attention to diabetes care, I decided it was time for a check-up. Oh, and my husband scheduled me an exam! (It's okay, I schedule his doctor's appointments... we take care of each other!)

Our appointment was last Saturday, and it was really cool! The doc has been taking care of my husband's eyes for years. My hubby has a really unique astigmatism and has to have special contacts, so he and his eye doc are old friends. I thought we'd each have our appointments alone, and that they were just scheduled back-to-back. Dennis (that's my husband) mentioned to the doc as they were going back for his exam, that I'm deathly afraid of the glaucoma machine. You know the one that puffs the air into your eye! I had a terrible experience years ago, when my family eye doctor had to try to get a reading on the "puffer machine" but I kept pulling away and closing my eyes. Finally when I was nearly in tears from the fear, he said "Okay, you're young, I bet you don't have glaucoma!" So, Dennis tells the doctor about this and he decides to call me back to the exam room. He let me hit the button to puff the air into my husband's eye. Thinking that this would make me more comfortable, I guess. Well, it worked because when the doctor made me sit in front of the dreaded machine, I opened my eyes wide and got readings on both eyes the first try. I felt like I had overcome such an obstacle.

I think we're getting at the real reason I avoided the eye doctor for so long!

Anyway, we both went in the exam room. The doc had me go first because he had to dilate my eyes. We started asking some questions about how diabetes affects the eye. Our doctor gave us the most thorough explanation about diabetic retinopathy. I was amazed! The doctor examined my eyes and kept commenting on how great they looked! He was teasing my husband because his vision is pretty bad... but we figured, he has poor eyesight, I have diabetes... we all get something!

I was so glad I went to the eye doctor and learned more about how my diabetes affects my eyes. Now I have yet another measuring stick for my diabetes care! Plus, when you have a chronic disease, isn't it nice for a doctor to tell you something is Perfect?! :)

5 Random Things

2006-01-11T08:42:00.000-08:00

I don’t know if I’ve been officially tagged or not, but since I’ve been sort of MIA on my blog lately, I bet not. I love the idea of 5 Random things, so here are mine:

1. I love soup. I eat it a lot. I never go to a restaurant without asking what the “soup de jour” is. My favorite is probably Chicken Tortilla, which can actually differ quite a lot from place to place. When I go out with a group to lunch or dinner, I’m often the only one ordering soup, and I sometimes order it as my entrée. Of course, you have to avoid the really creamy soups, since they’re full of fat. Luckily I enjoy the soups full of veggies and broth. Yummy!

2. I was born and raised in the Redwoods. I’m from Eureka, a small coastal town in Northern California. Giant Redwoods are all around us. Since it’s where I grew up, I don’t realize how amazing they are to people who haven’t seen them… but I’m told that many people are totally impressed by these huge trees. They are beautiful.

3. Sports are one of my favorite things. I love to play them, especially softball and tennis, but I also really enjoy watching them. I can watch sports I’ve never even played, like soccer and volleyball. My favorites though, are baseball, basketball and football. My husband is an even bigger sports nut, so we’re like two peas in a pod (lots of food metaphors!) My favorite teams are: the Miami Dolphins, University of Miami Hurricanes, San Francisco 49ers, Phoenix Suns and the team closest to my heart, the San Francisco Giants.

4. My hands are really small and chubby. I’m sort of petite, but my hands are really small, and no matter my weight, they’re chubby! The imprint of my hand I made in kindergarten looks like a 2 year olds. Oddly, my palms are pretty much normal sized and my dad says that we have “Norwegian rowing hands” because apparently big palms help with rowing?! I’ve never rowed anything.

5. My undergraduate major was a program called Integral. It’s a Great Books Program that spanned basically all of Western thought. Classes were seminar style, so 15 of us would do a reading and come to class to discuss it. We read everything from Homer and Plato to Marx and Nietzsche. We also studied Ancient Greek as our foreign language so we could translate parts of Aristotle and the Book of John in the Bible. Our math tutorials started with Euclid and covered Ptolemy, Copernicus and Newton. We traced the development of philosophy, language and mathematics as they developed in the western world. I miss that program and my classmates a lot. I know this education colors my thinking of the world and I’m so grateful to have had this experience.

So, those are my five. I think everyone's been tagged, but if not, please jot down your five things. It's fun to hear about the "non-diabetes" related things in our diabetic friends!

2006!

2006-01-03T09:09:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year all!

My apologies for ignoring my blog over the Christmas vacation. I spent the last week and a half visiting family and friends in Northern California in the middle of terrible winter storms! Fun! Actually, my husband and I somehow managed to plan our travels perfectly around the worst storms and faired much better than, for instance, my mom and her boyfriend who traveled from Eureka to Sacramento in 11 hours (that trip should take 5-6 hours tops!)

I assume I'm not alone in realizing, once again, that the holidays are no friend to the diabetic. My blood sugars didn't end up terribly high, but they were running higher than I'd like. Now I'm trying really hard to get them near perfect again, so my A1C next month isn't totally blown!

I'm very excited for 2006! There is a lot of work ahead of me, and hopefully some fun! Next semester I will be taking two graduate classes (the last of my course work) and working full time. I'm very motivated to get my classes finished so I can begin my thesis! Once that's done... it's baby time! :) Honestly, I'm most excited about starting our family, but I need to get this degree finished. Plus, I still want some time to get my body baby-ready as far as my blood sugars. I was excited to reach my lower A1C, but maintaining that level of control is another battle.

So, if there are any diabetics (particularly type 1's) who've had a baby, I'll be interested in picking your brain over the next year! I'm pretty nervous about the pregnancy and especially the delivery, mostly because I'm a big wimp! :) I know I'm stronger than I give myself credit for (at least that's what my mom says!) but any words of encouragement would be greatly appreciated.

One last note: Now that I've attempted to join the blogging world, I have a lot of admiration for the great OC bloggers out there. It takes a lot of thought, energy and dedication to come up with interesting topics for posts and to blog faithfully. Thanks for doing what you do and inspiring the rest of us!

"It's the most wonderful time of the year"

2005-12-23T10:04:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays Everyone!

I hope you all have a relaxing and healthy holiday with your family and friends!

My husband and begin our trek from one end of California to the other (San Diego to Eureka) at noon today. Wish us luck!

Cycles

2005-12-21T07:42:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking a lot lately about how diabetes is cyclical, at least for me it is. And I suspect that others have the same experience. I started my ultra tight diabetes care around mid-August and successfully lowered by A1C from 7.3 to 6.4 in just over three months. Man, I was feeling good about myself! Then, the flu shot I received in mid-November sent me for a week of highs, then of course the holidays kick in and now I find myself in a less than wonderful diabetes phase!

Maybe I let my guard down after learning I could and did lower my blood sugars. It's frustrating though. I guess I'm realizing that great diabetes care requires that intense level of focus and care all the time!

I've noticed this cycle of highs and lows on a smaller scale too. When I exercise for a couple days, I'll be low for awhile. Then, I must be tired of being low all the time, so I let myself go a little high, but then it's too high, so I correct and have a period of lows. It's not like swinging blood sugars, just one big overcorrection, but rather a few days of lows, followed by a few days of running a bit high, etc.

Does anyone else experience this? It's probably a symptom of not being as intense about my care as I was a couple of months ago. Time to get back on the wagon :)

Lowest Reading Ever!

2005-12-13T10:13:00.000-08:00

This past weekend my husband and I went up to San Luis Obispo for my sister's graduation. On Friday night we went out to Japanese food, yummy! I had sake for the first time. Kinda like rubbing alcohol I have to say. Anyway, I don't know if it was the sake, overdosing for the bit of white rice I ate, or the excercise from the morning... but Friday night I woke up, felt low, tested and came in at: 25! Yes, you read that correctly. I know because I checked my meter memory three times! I just could not believe it.

I know our readings can be off by a certain range, but still... that's pretty low. The scary thing was I didn't feel that low. I've always been able to feel my lows and I always wake up at night. However, since I've been getting my blood sugars down into a better range, I notice that my lows feel differently. I used to feel shakey and kinda tipsy :) but now it's more like I zone out and feel spacey, then I realize I should test. My husband woke up with me and when I told him my number he grabbed my hand and held it while I chopped down a Snickers with Almonds. Three hours later I was only 82 and I proceeded to be kinda low all day.

So, that's my story of my lowest blood sugar reading ever! My previous "record" was 30, but that was at least 7 years ago. Let's hope this record stands up a lot longer! :)