I'm lucky to have pretty good insurance here at my job. Yeah, yeah, all insurance companies are tough to deal with and all the terminology and lingo can get stupid complicated but I also have access to a great case manager to help with stuff like that.
So through our employee "wellness" program for the upcoming year (July 2013 - June 2014) we're having a free pre-screening day with a free consultation with a health coach. First we thought it was optional, but now we realize, if we want to actually even be in the wellness program this year (we earn points towards days off or $$ in our paychecks) we have to do this.
They're going to check bp, cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose and cotinine (which is tobacco if you're like me and don't smoke and have no idea what that is). Then they'll check other biometrics and send us over to the health coach.
I have a strong feeling that I'm going to know just a smidgen more about my health and body than these people....
"Hi, I have Type 1 diabetes and Hashimoto's;" {at this point I imagine a blank look as they digest the word 'Hashimoto's'} "my last A1c was July 3rd and it was 5.9; oh and here's my glucose sensor that checks my blood sugar every 5 minutes--ha, looks like I'm a little high right now, but it's been exactly two hours since I ate and I have insulin on board, so I'll just let it do it's job before I freak out about that number; I don't know what my cholesterol is but I'm sure if it was anywhere near bad my doctor would be pushing statins at me; my blood pressure is always really good at my doctor's visits and I'm trying to remember to check it when I'm at a grocery store with one of those free machines--my last bp was 111/78 two weeks ago; I know my bmi and hip to waist ratio might be high but I've been eating rabbit food for several months now with no change on that front; I've cut out soda, processed foods, and refined sugar and I've been gluten free for almost two months now. So now, stranger, you go ahead and coach me on how to do this better than I've been doing. Hm? No advice for me, you say? Thanks, sign my paper so I can get my 500 points and get back to work. Kthnxbai."
As I said, it's free--otherwise I wouldn't bother. Might get a laugh or two out of it all.
Showing posts with label DOC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DOC. Show all posts
July 24, 2013
January 2, 2013
oopsie
I've been gone a while, huh? Thanksgiving to Christmas is always a busy time for everyone, but we really weren't that busy. We had one Christmas party to attend early in December and then of course the various and random visits to parents and in-laws around Christmas day and New Years. I guess I've just been lazy!
Everyone is blogging about the new year and their new goals--most people are refusing to call them "resolutions" though. The word "goal" seems a little more forgiving and lenient for if/when you fall short of what you set out to do.
I haven't made any new ones. Mine are a continuation of last years that really didn't even start until February-ish. ;)
Although now that I think back on it, last year's goals may have been a continuation from the year before that. Or actually, the year before THAT since 2011 was kind of distracting with a new house and wedding and all that jazz!
My biggest goal is to get my insurance to cover a Dexcom system for me. The third party who reviewed my appeal last year stated that I did not have enough middle of the night lows to justify my insurance coverage for the system.
(Apparently that is all she thinks a Dex is good for.)
She also stated I could achieve better control on my own.
Number one: she obviously does NOT have diabetes herself;
Number two: she may be an endo, but she might not be the most up-to-speed on the newest technology;
Number three: middle of the night lows are scary and so so so annoying! Why should I have to put myself through that to "prove" I need something?
Number four: this past year I have had the best control I have had in a long, long time. Her telling me it wasn't good enough is like a slap in the face (see Number one).
I have my first endo appointment of the year next week. We'll see how that goes. I'm meeting with a new doctor since my previous PA is on maternity leave for another few weeks. I'm a little nervous about meeting her and if our personalities will mesh well. But the good news is that it will probably be the only time I have to meet with her.
This Christmas was my first with my Omnipod and even though I ate drastically fewer sweets than in previous years, it still felt like too much after cutting out almost all of them in months prior. I burned through pods/insulin faster than normal because of the junk I ate. I burned through my last pod a full 24 hours early and had to change out this morning. Fun.
So no more wasting money burning through pods & insulin! Fewer carbs! A good doctor visit! And a happy new year!
Everyone is blogging about the new year and their new goals--most people are refusing to call them "resolutions" though. The word "goal" seems a little more forgiving and lenient for if/when you fall short of what you set out to do.
I haven't made any new ones. Mine are a continuation of last years that really didn't even start until February-ish. ;)
Although now that I think back on it, last year's goals may have been a continuation from the year before that. Or actually, the year before THAT since 2011 was kind of distracting with a new house and wedding and all that jazz!
My biggest goal is to get my insurance to cover a Dexcom system for me. The third party who reviewed my appeal last year stated that I did not have enough middle of the night lows to justify my insurance coverage for the system.
(Apparently that is all she thinks a Dex is good for.)
She also stated I could achieve better control on my own.
Number one: she obviously does NOT have diabetes herself;
Number two: she may be an endo, but she might not be the most up-to-speed on the newest technology;
Number three: middle of the night lows are scary and so so so annoying! Why should I have to put myself through that to "prove" I need something?
Number four: this past year I have had the best control I have had in a long, long time. Her telling me it wasn't good enough is like a slap in the face (see Number one).
I have my first endo appointment of the year next week. We'll see how that goes. I'm meeting with a new doctor since my previous PA is on maternity leave for another few weeks. I'm a little nervous about meeting her and if our personalities will mesh well. But the good news is that it will probably be the only time I have to meet with her.
This Christmas was my first with my Omnipod and even though I ate drastically fewer sweets than in previous years, it still felt like too much after cutting out almost all of them in months prior. I burned through pods/insulin faster than normal because of the junk I ate. I burned through my last pod a full 24 hours early and had to change out this morning. Fun.
So no more wasting money burning through pods & insulin! Fewer carbs! A good doctor visit! And a happy new year!
November 13, 2012
advice for arguing
I need some advice from the diabetes community out there.
My insurance has denied coverage of a Dexcom system for me 2x now. I've submitted all the requested paperwork, had my doctor write a letter of recommendation, and even wore a sensor for a week's trial.
They still hate me.
They don't find it medically necessary because I don't have lows in the middle of the night and I don't have lows where I need assistance (which is, hello, a good thing).
I know the insurance industry is completely backwards when it comes to stuff like this. I bet I could get them to give me any other expensive pill out there. And gladly. But when it comes to an amazing machine like the Dex? Nah....she doesn't need it. She just needs better control.
Well, you know all those patients on cholesterol medication just need better control to stop eating so much junk food.....
I digress.
So I have decided to appeal again and want to write a detailed letter to them stating facts and figures as well as including some information about the less tangible side of diabetes--the emotional aspects of it. But I cannot decide where to begin.
Where would you start and what information would you include??
My insurance has denied coverage of a Dexcom system for me 2x now. I've submitted all the requested paperwork, had my doctor write a letter of recommendation, and even wore a sensor for a week's trial.
They still hate me.
They don't find it medically necessary because I don't have lows in the middle of the night and I don't have lows where I need assistance (which is, hello, a good thing).
I know the insurance industry is completely backwards when it comes to stuff like this. I bet I could get them to give me any other expensive pill out there. And gladly. But when it comes to an amazing machine like the Dex? Nah....she doesn't need it. She just needs better control.
Well, you know all those patients on cholesterol medication just need better control to stop eating so much junk food.....
I digress.
So I have decided to appeal again and want to write a detailed letter to them stating facts and figures as well as including some information about the less tangible side of diabetes--the emotional aspects of it. But I cannot decide where to begin.
Where would you start and what information would you include??
August 9, 2012
Food
As a diabetic, carbs are the enemy.
Not really. My lazy, no good pancreas is my enemy.
Unfortunately, that's saying part of me is my enemy....and I'm pretty sure that's not possible. Or at the very least, kind of dumb.
So. . . . . . . . . . .
Carbs are the enemy.
I used to be a serious carb addict. All my life, my best friend has been a certain snack cake queen (wow, say that three times fast!). Those ooey, gooey, chocolatey, sugary, three-bite sized treats. Pasta was sooo good too. And donuts! Oh, those sour cream donuts I used to get at the bookstore when I was at GSU. They were only .50 so of course I got two at a time. I walked around a LOT on that campus, so I needed the energy.
I loooooved diet soda too. Diet Cherry Coke and Diet Dr. Pepper were my favorite. Fresca was good when I wanted a kicky little change. But I'd drink regular Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi when we were out at restaurants. I wasn't too picky. Diet drinks are "free" in the diabetes world, so I felt like I wasn't depriving myself of what everyone else had when I could get a fizzy beverage with dinner too.
That all changed in January and February of this year. I started to get serious about what I was putting in my body.
I wish I could say I was becoming more aware of my temple and wanted to honor God by using it in a better fashion. . . .but that's really not true.
I started reading about what refined sugar and artificial sweeteners do to a human body.
Needless to say, I was disgusted.
I immediately quit drinking sodas of any kind. In fact, I think there are still some store brand diet drinks under the counter in my kitchen. I may as well toss them.
(Why not give them to someone, you ask? Why in the world would I do that?? There's no one I dislike that much that I would say, "Oh, here, I was cleaning out my kitchen and came across this poison that I don't put in my body anymore and I'd like for you to have it."
Nuh uh.)
So anyways. Its been water for me since February of this year, with some coffee, Zevia, and a couple glasses of unsweet iced tea here and there. Oh, and almond milk which is surprisingly delectable. The first sip was like, "Hm. . .this is different. Nutty." But now I chug the stuff. At 1 gram of carbs per CUP, it's basically a freebie, diabetes-wise. It's all about texture for me, and I think almond milk has a nice smooth texture that's close to regular milk.
I eliminated artificial sweeteners as much as possible. A couple popped up in unexpected places, but once I was aware of them, they were gone. I also severely limited my refined sugar consumption.
In the past couple of months, I've slid away from my vigilance and my hips are proving it. It started with my birthday and just went downhill from there.
Actually . . . now that I look at it from that angle. . . I think I've been off the wagon longer than I was on it.
Ew.
Dr. Bernstein talks about the law of small numbers. (Disclaimer: I haven't made it all the way through his book. I'm still working on digesting the first few chapters. It's a lot!) The more I use my pod and aim for that elusive 100 blood sugar, the more I can see he's right.
If you're hammering a nail for a picture frame, what sense does it make to stand across the room and run full tilt towards the nail while trying to aim with your hammer? No, you stand next to it and tap slowly, only a few inches from the nailhead. Right? Right.
Fewer carbs, less insulin, less room for error. So that's what I'm going to try and get back to. Along with adding more veggies to our diet.
I'm going to say this . . . .and I know people who know me will gasp in shock. . . . but I bought some red, yellow, orange and green peppers today to TRY. JUST TO TRY!!!
Gosh people, calm down.
I also picked up some fresh green beans, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, blueberries, olives, and avocados. I guess you can say we're going to go partial Paleo. I'm not quite ready to give up all the cheese we eat, but I'm fully ready to give up pasta and grains. I've been buying bread without HFCS, but it's still a lot of carbs for me to be eating in one sitting. The only other thing I can think of (when we don't have leftovers from dinner) to use for lunches is lettuce wraps. Worth a try.
I hope I can find enough variety for our meals to keep me interested for at least a couple weeks so I can truly give this a shot. I've proven to myself that I have the willpower. I came home a few weeks ago and thought, "Wow, an ice cold fizzy drink would taste pretty good right now." I didn't have any around, so it was easy to avoid the temptation then. But the next morning, driving to work, passing QT where the soda fountain called my name. . . ? Not quite as easy, but I still did it.
I'm really not even a fan of the Zevia anymore. It just doesn't taste good to me.
So here goes everything. We'll see what happens.
Well. . . maybe as soon as the cinnamon rolls from Ikea are gone. . .
 |
| From Pinterest, courtesy this gal |
July 27, 2012
Wasted
Thursday, about 12:30 a.m. my pdm went off. I knew I was due for a pod change, so I'd taken it into the bedroom with me.
"Change pod now. 8 units remaining." (Or something like that. Hey, I was half asleep!)
I hit the "OK" button and went back to sleep. 8 units would get me a few more hours.
4 a.m. it went off again. This time it was flashing "LOW" at me, without a specific number.
Huge sigh.
Roll off bed. Grab glasses. Shove them on my face. Stumble to living room. No extra lights needed, kitchen light over the sink is enough.
Yank open drawer of the dresser where I keep all my supplies. Grab replacement pod. Three attempts to shove drawer back in, make a mental note to rub a bar of soap on the drawers. Later.
Sit on couch, push buttons, yank old pod off of my right arm. Fill new pod with insulin. Push more buttons. Wait. Rub left arm with alcohol swab. Beep from machine. Smack on new pod. More button pushing.
Wait again.
Click.
Click.
Click. THWACK! Check site. Clear, good. Push button. Stumble back to bed.
Remind my body not to turn over onto my left side. Snuggle up on my right side for the first time in 3 nights.
-------------
Fast forward to about 8 p.m. Thursday night. Our little Yoshi is running around the living room. He has so much energy. Of course, being 9 (10???) weeks old, that's kind of expected. I'm trying to eat something because I'm starving and my sugar was 46. How does THAT even happen??
I felt it a little, but NOT like normal. Juicy juice to the rescue. Commence eating pizza quesadilla.
Yoshi keeps attempting to scale Sophie's cat perch. She's getting fed up with him, so I'm attempting to allow him to run around, while diverting his fast-as-lightning attempts to get to her. This entails me standing guard in front of it, swooping down to catch him and turn him around. He's running so fast and I catch him so fast that his little feet keep running in the air as I turn him.
Unfortunately, one of those times, I hit my left arm--exactly where my pod is stationed--on the corner of one of the perches. Sophie laughs.
Ok, she didn't, but I assume she would've. She's mean like that sometimes.
"CRAP!" At first I think I just hit it straight on, but after turning around to look, I can see that the adhesive has pulled up at the top and I can see down underneath the pod. I can fit my index finger in it and feel the cannula has pulled out.
Loud sigh. Replace. More beeping, pushing buttons, click, click, click, THWACK! Use the needle to suck the insulin out of the old pod, shoot it back into the vial for use another day.
-------------
Another fast forward to about 10 p.m. I'm about to go to bed, standing in the bathroom making faces in the mirror...yes, that's kind of normal for me. All of a sudden.....
"BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE...."
You get the idea.
"RAWER!!!" (Yes, I say RAWER. I channel baby dinosaurs when I get mad) Now I'm really frustrated. The new pod, number 2 of the day, is malfunctioning.
BACK out to the living room. Nothing on the pdm. How is the pod alarming and there's no helpful information on the pdm?
I make J shine the flashlight on his phone down onto the pod to see if he can see the cannula. "Yeah, I see it. It's in your skin."
Phooey on you, pod! I hit the ok on the machine and it tells me: "Pod deactivated."
WHAT?? Whyyyyyyyy?? Whiney voice. I pull it off and then I can see it's majorly kinked. Like, almost in half.
Third pod. Buttons. Beeping. I think I'll try my stomach again. Left side, lower than normal. Clicks. Done. BED.
Mental note....no rolling over onto my left side tonight.
So, an accomplished day. I wasted 2 pods. Woo-hoo.
What did YOU do on your Thursday??
On a better note, I'm finally going to get to trial the Dex. I go to my CDE on the 7th to have her put it on me (I'd like to attempt that myself, but whatevs), then back to the doc on the 14th to have her go over my results with me. Hopefully (and I can't believe I'm saying this) I'll have some lows that I can catch before them become Lows or even LOWS. But I'm more excited about catching the spikes. I hate spikes.
I have a feeling my week is going to look like this:
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
That wouldn't be so bad if it were the stitching I wanted to do on my sewing machine....instead of my sugar levels....
"Change pod now. 8 units remaining." (Or something like that. Hey, I was half asleep!)
I hit the "OK" button and went back to sleep. 8 units would get me a few more hours.
4 a.m. it went off again. This time it was flashing "LOW" at me, without a specific number.
Huge sigh.
Roll off bed. Grab glasses. Shove them on my face. Stumble to living room. No extra lights needed, kitchen light over the sink is enough.
Yank open drawer of the dresser where I keep all my supplies. Grab replacement pod. Three attempts to shove drawer back in, make a mental note to rub a bar of soap on the drawers. Later.
Sit on couch, push buttons, yank old pod off of my right arm. Fill new pod with insulin. Push more buttons. Wait. Rub left arm with alcohol swab. Beep from machine. Smack on new pod. More button pushing.
Wait again.
Click.
Click.
Click. THWACK! Check site. Clear, good. Push button. Stumble back to bed.
Remind my body not to turn over onto my left side. Snuggle up on my right side for the first time in 3 nights.
-------------
Fast forward to about 8 p.m. Thursday night. Our little Yoshi is running around the living room. He has so much energy. Of course, being 9 (10???) weeks old, that's kind of expected. I'm trying to eat something because I'm starving and my sugar was 46. How does THAT even happen??
I felt it a little, but NOT like normal. Juicy juice to the rescue. Commence eating pizza quesadilla.
Yoshi keeps attempting to scale Sophie's cat perch. She's getting fed up with him, so I'm attempting to allow him to run around, while diverting his fast-as-lightning attempts to get to her. This entails me standing guard in front of it, swooping down to catch him and turn him around. He's running so fast and I catch him so fast that his little feet keep running in the air as I turn him.
Unfortunately, one of those times, I hit my left arm--exactly where my pod is stationed--on the corner of one of the perches. Sophie laughs.
Ok, she didn't, but I assume she would've. She's mean like that sometimes.
"CRAP!" At first I think I just hit it straight on, but after turning around to look, I can see that the adhesive has pulled up at the top and I can see down underneath the pod. I can fit my index finger in it and feel the cannula has pulled out.
Loud sigh. Replace. More beeping, pushing buttons, click, click, click, THWACK! Use the needle to suck the insulin out of the old pod, shoot it back into the vial for use another day.
-------------
Another fast forward to about 10 p.m. I'm about to go to bed, standing in the bathroom making faces in the mirror...yes, that's kind of normal for me. All of a sudden.....
"BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE...."
You get the idea.
"RAWER!!!" (Yes, I say RAWER. I channel baby dinosaurs when I get mad) Now I'm really frustrated. The new pod, number 2 of the day, is malfunctioning.
BACK out to the living room. Nothing on the pdm. How is the pod alarming and there's no helpful information on the pdm?
I make J shine the flashlight on his phone down onto the pod to see if he can see the cannula. "Yeah, I see it. It's in your skin."
Phooey on you, pod! I hit the ok on the machine and it tells me: "Pod deactivated."
WHAT?? Whyyyyyyyy?? Whiney voice. I pull it off and then I can see it's majorly kinked. Like, almost in half.
Third pod. Buttons. Beeping. I think I'll try my stomach again. Left side, lower than normal. Clicks. Done. BED.
Mental note....no rolling over onto my left side tonight.
So, an accomplished day. I wasted 2 pods. Woo-hoo.
What did YOU do on your Thursday??
On a better note, I'm finally going to get to trial the Dex. I go to my CDE on the 7th to have her put it on me (I'd like to attempt that myself, but whatevs), then back to the doc on the 14th to have her go over my results with me. Hopefully (and I can't believe I'm saying this) I'll have some lows that I can catch before them become Lows or even LOWS. But I'm more excited about catching the spikes. I hate spikes.
I have a feeling my week is going to look like this:
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
That wouldn't be so bad if it were the stitching I wanted to do on my sewing machine....instead of my sugar levels....
July 12, 2012
"That's some patch!"
Traveling to Pennsylvania the other day, we stopped for lunch at a fast-food restaurant connected to a gas station. While I was standing at the end of the line, a man and what seemed to be his grandkids came up behind me.
I could see him out of the corner of my eye and I could tell what was coming. The conversation went something like this.
He craned his neck towards me and his eyes bugged out as he ogled my pod, currently located on my right arm.
"I've seen patches before, but that's some patch!"
So I nicely explained (yes, I was nicer than I wanted to be) that it was my insulin pump.
"Is that right?!?" He was astounded.
I knew what was coming next.
"You know, my wife and I both have diabeatus. Type 2. She's worried about this one getting it," and he indicated his grandson next to him who looked to be about 12.
I tried to nod politely as the line moved forward.
"I have the peripheral neuropathy in my legs. They just ache all the time, especially when I sit a long time. I just can't go [places] as much as I used to."
He kept talking and I made the appropriate noises as I studied the menu, trying to figure out what I wanted before it was my turn in line. (Don't you dislike those people who stand in front of a menu for 5 minutes, but can't seem to start their decision making process until they're at the register??)
"Well good luck with your pump. I hope it keeps working for you."
I said, "Thank you," and to the grandson, "You be careful too, keep your carbohydrate intake down and stay active."
I'm not very good at talking to strangers, especially when I'm boarderline low and food is within reach. But I hope that kid remembers and takes care of himself.
I could see him out of the corner of my eye and I could tell what was coming. The conversation went something like this.
He craned his neck towards me and his eyes bugged out as he ogled my pod, currently located on my right arm.
"I've seen patches before, but that's some patch!"
So I nicely explained (yes, I was nicer than I wanted to be) that it was my insulin pump.
"Is that right?!?" He was astounded.
I knew what was coming next.
"You know, my wife and I both have diabeatus. Type 2. She's worried about this one getting it," and he indicated his grandson next to him who looked to be about 12.
I tried to nod politely as the line moved forward.
"I have the peripheral neuropathy in my legs. They just ache all the time, especially when I sit a long time. I just can't go [places] as much as I used to."
He kept talking and I made the appropriate noises as I studied the menu, trying to figure out what I wanted before it was my turn in line. (Don't you dislike those people who stand in front of a menu for 5 minutes, but can't seem to start their decision making process until they're at the register??)
"Well good luck with your pump. I hope it keeps working for you."
I said, "Thank you," and to the grandson, "You be careful too, keep your carbohydrate intake down and stay active."
I'm not very good at talking to strangers, especially when I'm boarderline low and food is within reach. But I hope that kid remembers and takes care of himself.
July 10, 2012
New Developments
It's been a busy week since my last post. We enjoyed a somewhat relaxing 4th of July and ate dinner at my parent's house. The next day a few of us left on a girl's trip to PA. We stayed with my aunt and cousin and had a great time. We could only stay two days, then had to head back.
While we were there, I wanted to stop into the Habitat ReStore. We have one here in our town, but I haven't been able to find anything good there. And not good as in "perfect condition, needs no work," but good as in, "surely I can do something with this." So I was ecstatic when we walked in and I realized it was the size of a warehouse. I probably could have spent the rest of the day in there poking around, but there was no a/c and even though they had a good many fans blowing, it was still pretty stuffy. BUT I found this great light that I'm going to paint red and hang in my kitchen. I think it needs rewiring, but "my electrician the brother" (as my husband said one night) can handle that if I decide I can't. Then my mom found a great little wooden chair that just had to come home with me. It's kind of sad looking because it needs SERIOUS cleaning, but once I do that and give it a nice paint job with some distressing, it's going to look great in our bedroom.
Here's a fairly dark pic of both that I took this morning as I ran out the door. They're being stored in the garage until I can get around to cleaning them.
And FINALLY for the most recent and cutest item of business....meet our new furbaby Yoshi.
We rubbed that purple towel on his momma before we left, so he was pretty calm during the car ride.
His big sister isn't quite sure what to make of him yet, but her curiosity will win out and I have a feeling they'll get along just fine.
While his siblings were busy trying to claw their way up my jeans (and succeeding!), he snuggled right up in my hand and started to lick me, then fell asleep.
So far he likes to be around us and likes to hear us talk to him. I think his eyes are still changing - they're a pretty blue/green mix right now. His momma had green eyes, so we'll see how his end up. Today is his first day all by himself, and I'm going to pop home over my lunch break and check on him.
I think it might be hard to give both cats equal attention for a while. Yoshi is just so cute and playful and Sophie will allow you to play with her on HER terms, which is typical. Someone needs to stop trying to win her love with tuna fish and lunch meat though. . . ahemahemhusbandahemahem. She's gaining a few pounds.
On the diabetes front, the trip to PA was my first trip with my OmniPod system. I was anticipating some issues, but really didn't have any.
The only minor issue I had was that, when I went to the pharmacy three days before we left to stock up on Apidra, I was told my insurance wouldn't allow me to have any more until Sunday--the day we were returning from the trip (also the day the pharmacy is closed...but whatever). I called my doctor's office and left a message, but wasn't able to get in touch with them until we were already on the road. I had borrowed a Humulog pen from my brother and took some Lantus that I had. I really only ended up being one day short. It was kind of nice being able to take a pod break, if only for a day. I took the same amount of Lantus that I had been taking before I started on OmniPod and was anticipating some lows, but had none. I didn't want to take Lantus too long before my pod expired, so I took it about 8:30 a.m. I allowed myself to run a little high while traveling and wasn't sure exactly how long all of the Lantus would take to work it's way out of my system. By the time I got to the pharmacy yesterday morning and got a new pod on I had decided to reduce my basel rates by 30% for the next 8 hours. Total SWAG, but it seemed to work. My numbers have been pretty steady since and I suspect there's still some Lantus working in the background.
I'm not one for all kinds of funky calculations and tweaking of my rates....it seems like a good idea, but I just cannot put that much brain power into it. My diabetes has to fit my schedule sometimes, not the other way around. That's why I love how the OmniPod system does all the bolus calculations for me and keeps track of how much is already in my system, etc.
The worst part of traveling is coming home and having to unpack!
 |
| Farmland in Amish Country |
 |
| My cousins' pup Charlie who's never known a stranger. Sweetie pie! |
 |
| Taken from the car, I ended up with powerline poles in every shot. |
 |
| Gettysburg as we passed through |
 |
| Pre-dawn over the Susquehanna as we were leaving on Sunday |
Here's a fairly dark pic of both that I took this morning as I ran out the door. They're being stored in the garage until I can get around to cleaning them.
 |
| At $8 each, they were a steal |
And FINALLY for the most recent and cutest item of business....meet our new furbaby Yoshi.
We rubbed that purple towel on his momma before we left, so he was pretty calm during the car ride.His big sister isn't quite sure what to make of him yet, but her curiosity will win out and I have a feeling they'll get along just fine.
While his siblings were busy trying to claw their way up my jeans (and succeeding!), he snuggled right up in my hand and started to lick me, then fell asleep.
So far he likes to be around us and likes to hear us talk to him. I think his eyes are still changing - they're a pretty blue/green mix right now. His momma had green eyes, so we'll see how his end up. Today is his first day all by himself, and I'm going to pop home over my lunch break and check on him.
I think it might be hard to give both cats equal attention for a while. Yoshi is just so cute and playful and Sophie will allow you to play with her on HER terms, which is typical. Someone needs to stop trying to win her love with tuna fish and lunch meat though. . . ahemahemhusbandahemahem. She's gaining a few pounds.
On the diabetes front, the trip to PA was my first trip with my OmniPod system. I was anticipating some issues, but really didn't have any.
The only minor issue I had was that, when I went to the pharmacy three days before we left to stock up on Apidra, I was told my insurance wouldn't allow me to have any more until Sunday--the day we were returning from the trip (also the day the pharmacy is closed...but whatever). I called my doctor's office and left a message, but wasn't able to get in touch with them until we were already on the road. I had borrowed a Humulog pen from my brother and took some Lantus that I had. I really only ended up being one day short. It was kind of nice being able to take a pod break, if only for a day. I took the same amount of Lantus that I had been taking before I started on OmniPod and was anticipating some lows, but had none. I didn't want to take Lantus too long before my pod expired, so I took it about 8:30 a.m. I allowed myself to run a little high while traveling and wasn't sure exactly how long all of the Lantus would take to work it's way out of my system. By the time I got to the pharmacy yesterday morning and got a new pod on I had decided to reduce my basel rates by 30% for the next 8 hours. Total SWAG, but it seemed to work. My numbers have been pretty steady since and I suspect there's still some Lantus working in the background.
I'm not one for all kinds of funky calculations and tweaking of my rates....it seems like a good idea, but I just cannot put that much brain power into it. My diabetes has to fit my schedule sometimes, not the other way around. That's why I love how the OmniPod system does all the bolus calculations for me and keeps track of how much is already in my system, etc.
The worst part of traveling is coming home and having to unpack!
June 4, 2012
Communion
For those who aren't aware, the hubs and I currently attend two churches--we alternate every week. We're still praying and trying to figure out where God wants us permanently.
(I say "we're"--I mean, J is praying....I'm trying to pray, but my attitude keeps getting in the way. I'm working on it.)
BUT two churches means double the communion services. I usually enjoy the communion services, but it seems like I've been in an awful lot lately. "My" church does communion once a quarter. J's church has communion the first Sunday of the month. In all the months we've been attending both churches, we've only hit on his church's communion service once about a month ago.
But last Sunday, at my church, was communion.
Then this Sunday, being the first Sunday of the month, we did communion again at J's church. I think Easter threw us off somehow because now we're on track to hit J's church again at the first of next month.
Ok, I grew up Baptist. The order for the communion service was, we pray, then the crackers get passed out first, the pastor says a word from Scripture then says "Let's take together" and we all eat the cracker. Repeat for the wee cup of Welch's.
So about a month ago, my first experience at J's church went a little differently. They're Church of God and a bit more....enthusiastic....about things than us Baptists. Not that I mind. Us Baptists need a little more oompf most of the time.Having worked at LifeWay for
...and that the concept was pretty simple. The execution during the church service, however, was a little quicker than I'd expected.
Suffice it to say, I missed whatever verbal cue there was to open the top of the wafer and eat it, then immediately drink the juice. If there was a prayer, I'd missed it while admiring the tidy little packaging that I'd sold for so many years, but had never actually been handed in church. So I quickly stuffed the wafer in my mouth and immediately wanted to spit it out. Bleck! It tasted like plastic (sorry Celebration Cup, but it's true). The hubs looked at me funny. I guess I made a weird face. The juice tasted like typical juice, but then I got to wondering....
...how many carbs are in that??
I understand the symbolism of the elements being the body and blood of Christ.
But I'm also trying to take better care of my temple. I've stopped drinking soft drinks. I've quit anything with aspartame and fake sweeteners and I'm trying to limit my HFCS intake to as little as possible. Juice is medicine, not breakfast. Also, what kind of preservatives are in those prepackaged coffee creamer-shaped buckets of spirituality? (They have a shelf life of 6 months. Short, as shelf-lives go.)
An 8 oz serving of Welch's grape juice is 42 grams of carbs. How much of that juice does a communion cup hold? No idea. Half an ounce maybe? A quarter?
Maybe a quarter of an ounce. Those things are pretty tiny. So, that would be about 1.3 grams of carbs (42 grams divided by 32), plus whatever is in the wafer or cracker. Probably 1 gram. So communion = 2.3 grams of carbs. Enough to take insulin for? Not really.
Enough to raise my blood sugar outside of the range I want it in? Maybe. My insulin correction factor (ICF) is 40. Meaning 1 unit of insulin will bring my sugar down 40 points. So it depends on what my sugar is to start with. By that time of day (usually the end of the church service = noonish) my breakfast (if I managed anything other than just coffee) is about worn off, the tummy is ready for lunch and my sugar could already be dropping....or it could be rising. Do I want to take a minute in church, pull out my meter, test, and bolus for communion? Not really.
Should I? Probably, if I want the tighter control I've been dreaming of.
This Sunday, when the tray came around, I admit, I was seriously tempted not to partake. The girl beside me passed it up. But there's kind of a social stigma surrounding that as well.
Just another example for all you Nons out there of how diabetes infringes on everyday life and wreaks havoc in places you least expect it.
The Baptist Faith and Message by the Southern Baptist Convention (the affiliation I'm closest to, even though I'm not entirely committed to them) explains the Lord's Supper this way:
The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.
I've been participating in communion since before diabetes diagnosis....but I've only been really trying to handle the diabetes for about 3 months now. I know there's bound to be struggles as I figure it out. Yesterday afternoon, as I was pondering this, a verse popped into mind. Philippians 2:12-14 says (NKJV):
"Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Do all things without complaining and disputing,"
Will the little bit of juice and cracker hurt me? Not really. Mentally, it's not quite the same as it was though--an extra effort that non-d's will never worry about. But like the SBC's statement above, it's about obedience. And obedience to God cannot backfire on you.
Now to work on verse 14 above and start taking communion without complaining, focusing on the obedience aspect, rather than the taste of the cracker or whether there was a prayer or not or what everyone else around me is doing.
I'm also entering an alarm on my phone to remind me on July 1st that it's communion Sunday and to be prepared to test my sugar in church before the tray is passed....
May 29, 2012
Happy Back to Work Day
Or not so happy, as the case may be.
I managed to sleep in yesterday until ten thirty, despite having to get up and change out the pod. It started beeping at 4 a.m. and I finally got up to change it somewhere close to 6 a.m. I really thought I'd have more time than that, but when I dragged myself out of bed again to acknowledge the beeps, it told me I had 9 units left. I decided to just do a quick change out so I could sleep.
That was probably the fastest new pod change I've done ever and I'm quite impressed with myself that I managed to do it successfully in my uncaffeinated state. I also moved my site from my left arm to my stomach, so once I crawled back in bed, I was happily able to roll onto my left side, my favorite position.
I had also finally made the decision to go ahead and get the Dexcom. I haven't heard back from the rep in a week and a half, so I emailed him again last night. It shouldn't take that long to get my paperwork together, right? It was already mostly together to begin with. Send me my machine already!! I'm also excited about the $200 rebate that is in effect until the end of June. I think that will bring my cost to around $100.
Last week was fairly slow at work and I'm not expecting this week to be much different--I could be wrong. It's been known to happen! It's fairly tense around here today though, and it's irritating to not be able to guess why.
On the schedule for this week: 1. get my car tag renewed (long story, grr...) 2. GET OUR PASSPORTS SENT OFF!!
We have 131 days until we leave on our big family cruise and I'm pretty excited. My main task for June (after getting the passports mailed off) is to figure out our flights and travel schedule. Airfare is ridiculous anymore. I'm constantly worried that the prices will keep going up and that I should have purchased our tickets when costs were low....but will they go even lower closer to our date?? I'm glad we're not driving the entire way, but I'll feel a lot better once our tickets are bought and flights are confirmed.
The homemade toothpaste I created works pretty well. I just have to keep the baggie sitting in a certain position so it won't leak from the cut off corner or the seal at the top. It was fairly soupy when I finished, but it's been getting a little more paste-like as the days pass. I rinse with a Tom's mouthwash I found on sale at Big Lots several months ago. My teeth feel squeaky clean and I will never buy toothpaste again. Now to convince J.
I am still washing my face with oil and I believe my skin is looking better and better. Yesterday, when reading this post by Jillee about homemade deodorant, I thought about mixing up some of my own. But once in the shower, I looked at my little spray bottle of oil and thought, why not? So...a little spritz under each arm in the shower. I was really, REALLY surprised. No odor at all after 8 hours. Amazing. Even the natural deodorants couldn't do that. I was a little peeved at them. I don't mind sweating, but I don't want to stink! But this oil mixture is the perfect solution. I'll definitely keep using it.
I managed to sleep in yesterday until ten thirty, despite having to get up and change out the pod. It started beeping at 4 a.m. and I finally got up to change it somewhere close to 6 a.m. I really thought I'd have more time than that, but when I dragged myself out of bed again to acknowledge the beeps, it told me I had 9 units left. I decided to just do a quick change out so I could sleep.
That was probably the fastest new pod change I've done ever and I'm quite impressed with myself that I managed to do it successfully in my uncaffeinated state. I also moved my site from my left arm to my stomach, so once I crawled back in bed, I was happily able to roll onto my left side, my favorite position.
I had also finally made the decision to go ahead and get the Dexcom. I haven't heard back from the rep in a week and a half, so I emailed him again last night. It shouldn't take that long to get my paperwork together, right? It was already mostly together to begin with. Send me my machine already!! I'm also excited about the $200 rebate that is in effect until the end of June. I think that will bring my cost to around $100.
Last week was fairly slow at work and I'm not expecting this week to be much different--I could be wrong. It's been known to happen! It's fairly tense around here today though, and it's irritating to not be able to guess why.
On the schedule for this week: 1. get my car tag renewed (long story, grr...) 2. GET OUR PASSPORTS SENT OFF!!
We have 131 days until we leave on our big family cruise and I'm pretty excited. My main task for June (after getting the passports mailed off) is to figure out our flights and travel schedule. Airfare is ridiculous anymore. I'm constantly worried that the prices will keep going up and that I should have purchased our tickets when costs were low....but will they go even lower closer to our date?? I'm glad we're not driving the entire way, but I'll feel a lot better once our tickets are bought and flights are confirmed.
The homemade toothpaste I created works pretty well. I just have to keep the baggie sitting in a certain position so it won't leak from the cut off corner or the seal at the top. It was fairly soupy when I finished, but it's been getting a little more paste-like as the days pass. I rinse with a Tom's mouthwash I found on sale at Big Lots several months ago. My teeth feel squeaky clean and I will never buy toothpaste again. Now to convince J.
I am still washing my face with oil and I believe my skin is looking better and better. Yesterday, when reading this post by Jillee about homemade deodorant, I thought about mixing up some of my own. But once in the shower, I looked at my little spray bottle of oil and thought, why not? So...a little spritz under each arm in the shower. I was really, REALLY surprised. No odor at all after 8 hours. Amazing. Even the natural deodorants couldn't do that. I was a little peeved at them. I don't mind sweating, but I don't want to stink! But this oil mixture is the perfect solution. I'll definitely keep using it.
May 18, 2012
One Thing to Know
Ooooo....I got (got...took...potayto, potahto) a sneak peek at a few blogs this morning (I try not to read anyone else's before I post mine) and I think what I've chosen to write about is going to be the MAIN theme today.
Here's the topic:
Today let's borrow a topic from a #dsma chat held last September. The tweet asked "What is one thing you would tell someone that doesn't have diabetes about living with diabetes?" Let's do a little advocating and post what we wish people knew about diabetes. Have more than one thing you wish people knew? Go ahead and tell use everything.
If you don't have this disease, you don't get to say a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g. about how I manage it. Period. Curious questions are fine if you truly want to learn in a non-judgmental fashion, but don't give me the attitude or the "If only you would/wouldn't/did/didn't ____" sentence. Right? Because I chose this (eyeroll). This will only make me want to explain to you that D can happen to anyone and maybe YOU should/shouldn't or do/don't do ___. A kind of warning shot across your bow, if we want to get pirate-y about it. Keep pushing me and you'll get more than just the warning shot...arrr. Don't judge me; ask me what you can do to help me when I need it.
I have to clarify by saying
1. When I was still on my parent's insurance, THEY were allowed to judge (ie: lovingly nag) and micromanage me. That's only fair and right.
2. Right now, I give the husband and the doctor/CDE privileges to manage WITH me. That's different.
In the (somewhat) infamous words of my 7th grade classmate summing up his book report in front of the class (ha ha, Renee! Remember??): "Well, that's all I got to say 'bout that."
***Insert slight change of topic....HERE***
(don't you love the asterisk? I use them at work a little too much, but I think they're fun!)
This bit goes back to day 3 of this series. The husband and I took a walk after dinner last night. We walked a block farther than usual, but it was also a longer block than usual with a hill included. Bleck. But I did it. And I managed not to bite my husband's head off when he commented, "Are you okay? You're panting a little..." Yes, dear, just out of shape (as he practically skips along).
Got back to the house, felt good for about...oh, thirty or forty minutes? Then I was like, eh, feeling like the sugar's dropping. It's ok, my meter is right over there....I'll get up at the next commercial break and check.
Two commercial breaks later, I drag my tail ALLLL the way over there (about 6 feet) and check.
38.
Do what now?? Thinking of this post, let's just see about that. Another test strip out, click.
39.
Okeydokey. Two Elmo fruit punch juiceboxes....30 grams of carbs. Should be good. Ah.
Then I jump on my computer and email my friendly Dexcom rep and tell him to call me today so I can order my own system.
Sigh. I had literally been thinking a lot about Dex yesterday and trying to decide yea or nay on it. I guess this was God's way of telling me loud and clear, YEA.
(Ha ha, that reminds me of the movie The Court Jester with Danny Kay where the king is about to knight him and the entire court keeps repeating "YEA, VERILY, YEA." Funny, funny movie.)
In my last bit of news, today will be my last day posting for this series. I may do the post for tomorrow on Monday, but we'll see if I remember to take any d-related pictures. In the words of Phoebe, "Oh I'm sorry, I can't because...I don't want to."
No offense, I just like to be as computer free on the weekends as possible. I unplug, kinda (just computer, not phone). Plus I'm busy getting stuff done that I didn't do during the week.
See you all Monday!
Here's the topic:
Today let's borrow a topic from a #dsma chat held last September. The tweet asked "What is one thing you would tell someone that doesn't have diabetes about living with diabetes?" Let's do a little advocating and post what we wish people knew about diabetes. Have more than one thing you wish people knew? Go ahead and tell use everything.
If you don't have this disease, you don't get to say a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g. about how I manage it. Period. Curious questions are fine if you truly want to learn in a non-judgmental fashion, but don't give me the attitude or the "If only you would/wouldn't/did/didn't ____" sentence. Right? Because I chose this (eyeroll). This will only make me want to explain to you that D can happen to anyone and maybe YOU should/shouldn't or do/don't do ___. A kind of warning shot across your bow, if we want to get pirate-y about it. Keep pushing me and you'll get more than just the warning shot...arrr. Don't judge me; ask me what you can do to help me when I need it.
I have to clarify by saying
1. When I was still on my parent's insurance, THEY were allowed to judge (ie: lovingly nag) and micromanage me. That's only fair and right.
2. Right now, I give the husband and the doctor/CDE privileges to manage WITH me. That's different.
In the (somewhat) infamous words of my 7th grade classmate summing up his book report in front of the class (ha ha, Renee! Remember??): "Well, that's all I got to say 'bout that."
***Insert slight change of topic....HERE***
(don't you love the asterisk? I use them at work a little too much, but I think they're fun!)
This bit goes back to day 3 of this series. The husband and I took a walk after dinner last night. We walked a block farther than usual, but it was also a longer block than usual with a hill included. Bleck. But I did it. And I managed not to bite my husband's head off when he commented, "Are you okay? You're panting a little..." Yes, dear, just out of shape (as he practically skips along).
Got back to the house, felt good for about...oh, thirty or forty minutes? Then I was like, eh, feeling like the sugar's dropping. It's ok, my meter is right over there....I'll get up at the next commercial break and check.
Two commercial breaks later, I drag my tail ALLLL the way over there (about 6 feet) and check.
38.
Do what now?? Thinking of this post, let's just see about that. Another test strip out, click.
39.
Okeydokey. Two Elmo fruit punch juiceboxes....30 grams of carbs. Should be good. Ah.
Then I jump on my computer and email my friendly Dexcom rep and tell him to call me today so I can order my own system.
Sigh. I had literally been thinking a lot about Dex yesterday and trying to decide yea or nay on it. I guess this was God's way of telling me loud and clear, YEA.
(Ha ha, that reminds me of the movie The Court Jester with Danny Kay where the king is about to knight him and the entire court keeps repeating "YEA, VERILY, YEA." Funny, funny movie.)
In my last bit of news, today will be my last day posting for this series. I may do the post for tomorrow on Monday, but we'll see if I remember to take any d-related pictures. In the words of Phoebe, "Oh I'm sorry, I can't because...I don't want to."
No offense, I just like to be as computer free on the weekends as possible. I unplug, kinda (just computer, not phone). Plus I'm busy getting stuff done that I didn't do during the week.
See you all Monday!
May 17, 2012
Dream Tech?
Today's topic is:
Tell us what your Fantasy Diabetes Device would be. Think of your dream blood glucose checker, delivery system for insulin or other med, magic carb counter, etc etc etc. The sky is the limit - what would you love to see?
There is one thing that every single person with any kind of diabetes has in common: none of us want this stupid disease. That's a given. We all want a cure. Whatever magical device that takes, that's what we want.
Anyways. Back to reality.
I think, realistically, right NOW what we diabetics need is greater accuracy for the medical companies that make bg systems. I mean, + or - 20% accuracy? Really?? Come on now! It's 2012!
Stacey has a great post on this topic here. I never had the thought cross my mind that there's an accuracy problem for diabetic devices until I read her post. Of course, I'd never really met another diabetic to discuss such issues with in real life (aside from my brother, also T1). It pretty much blew my mind. I did a few test tests myself and while my results did not vary as wildly as hers, it was enough to prove her point.
For us diabetics who can base every decision of our lives on what pops up on that meter screen, a plus or minus 20% accuracy level just doesn't cut it. I think we've all been managing exceptionally well, but how much better could we manage if we had more accurate technology at our disposal? Not necessarily faster technology, or even smaller, lighter, prettier, less noticeable, or customizable technology. Just more accurate.
I know, I know. Look where we were just fifteen years ago. No Dexcom, no OmniPod, no wireless technology like we have now. Think where we could be in another 15 years.
Tell us what your Fantasy Diabetes Device would be. Think of your dream blood glucose checker, delivery system for insulin or other med, magic carb counter, etc etc etc. The sky is the limit - what would you love to see?
There is one thing that every single person with any kind of diabetes has in common: none of us want this stupid disease. That's a given. We all want a cure. Whatever magical device that takes, that's what we want.
Anyways. Back to reality.
I think, realistically, right NOW what we diabetics need is greater accuracy for the medical companies that make bg systems. I mean, + or - 20% accuracy? Really?? Come on now! It's 2012!
Stacey has a great post on this topic here. I never had the thought cross my mind that there's an accuracy problem for diabetic devices until I read her post. Of course, I'd never really met another diabetic to discuss such issues with in real life (aside from my brother, also T1). It pretty much blew my mind. I did a few test tests myself and while my results did not vary as wildly as hers, it was enough to prove her point.
For us diabetics who can base every decision of our lives on what pops up on that meter screen, a plus or minus 20% accuracy level just doesn't cut it. I think we've all been managing exceptionally well, but how much better could we manage if we had more accurate technology at our disposal? Not necessarily faster technology, or even smaller, lighter, prettier, less noticeable, or customizable technology. Just more accurate.
I know, I know. Look where we were just fifteen years ago. No Dexcom, no OmniPod, no wireless technology like we have now. Think where we could be in another 15 years.
May 16, 2012
Day 3: What I Suck At
Ok, so that's not the point of today's prompt, but that's how I'm feeling lately. Blame PMS, whatever. Here's the topic:
Yesterday we gave ourselves and our loved ones a big pat on the back for one thing we are great at. Today let's look at the flip-side. We probably all have one thing we could try to do better. Why not make today the day we start working on it. No judgments, no scolding, just sharing one small thing we can improve so the DOC can cheer us on.
Weeeeeeeell, my biggest thing is exercise. When I get into it, I guess the endorphins get flowing and I exercise more...but it's just getting into it that I have issues with. I was doing great in February, through March, but then when I didn't see the results that I wanted I slowed down, then stopped.
I was on the treadmill 4-5 times a week. I tricked myself by calling it my reading time, MY time. My treadmill has a great little ledge below the controls that's just big enough to prop my Kindle on so I could read my little heart out during my walks. I really do love to read and I don't do it as much anymore, so it seemed like the perfect solution.
I think I was building muscle and not burning the fat like I wanted. I won't go so far to say I had buns of steel, but....yeah, they were pretty awesome. But I didn't get into any smaller sized pants. In fact, the pants that I've been wearing....can't believe I'm admitting this...deep breath....arealittletighter.
Whew.
I tried adding some resistance band exercises and I can feel the burn with just a few of those. I still do these about 3 times a week, but not hardcore or anything. In fact, I did a few this morning (because I got my hair trimmed again yesterday and didn't have to spend as much time fussing with it, so I had some extra time--not because I'm super woman in the morning or anything).
J and I take a walk about halfway down the neighborhood and back in the evenings after dinner on the nights that he's home and it's not raining or super hot. But we meander more than really exercise. It only half counts.
I blame the Lantus that I was on before I started podding. I don't think I'm gaining any more...but I'm not losing either and I think that's because of the non-existent exercise in my life. Too many nights, I claim the "but what if I go low?" excuse and then settle back on my little couch and watch another Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives episode (love that Guy Fieri! I always say the opening line with him). But, you know what? Big deal if I start going low! I should just take a juicebox downstairs with me, set it in the little cupholder on the treadmill, and GO.
So there we go. No more excuses! Exercise more! Don't let the 'betes win!
UPDATE: I just printed off this workout from Fitbie. While I am always skeptical of claims to "blast away belly fat" this one looks challenging enough and a good enough mixture of exercises that I want to try it. The first two weeks seem easy enough. I may extend them another week, but we'll see how it goes.
Yesterday we gave ourselves and our loved ones a big pat on the back for one thing we are great at. Today let's look at the flip-side. We probably all have one thing we could try to do better. Why not make today the day we start working on it. No judgments, no scolding, just sharing one small thing we can improve so the DOC can cheer us on.
Weeeeeeeell, my biggest thing is exercise. When I get into it, I guess the endorphins get flowing and I exercise more...but it's just getting into it that I have issues with. I was doing great in February, through March, but then when I didn't see the results that I wanted I slowed down, then stopped.
I was on the treadmill 4-5 times a week. I tricked myself by calling it my reading time, MY time. My treadmill has a great little ledge below the controls that's just big enough to prop my Kindle on so I could read my little heart out during my walks. I really do love to read and I don't do it as much anymore, so it seemed like the perfect solution.
I think I was building muscle and not burning the fat like I wanted. I won't go so far to say I had buns of steel, but....yeah, they were pretty awesome. But I didn't get into any smaller sized pants. In fact, the pants that I've been wearing....can't believe I'm admitting this...deep breath....arealittletighter.
Whew.
I tried adding some resistance band exercises and I can feel the burn with just a few of those. I still do these about 3 times a week, but not hardcore or anything. In fact, I did a few this morning (because I got my hair trimmed again yesterday and didn't have to spend as much time fussing with it, so I had some extra time--not because I'm super woman in the morning or anything).
J and I take a walk about halfway down the neighborhood and back in the evenings after dinner on the nights that he's home and it's not raining or super hot. But we meander more than really exercise. It only half counts.
I blame the Lantus that I was on before I started podding. I don't think I'm gaining any more...but I'm not losing either and I think that's because of the non-existent exercise in my life. Too many nights, I claim the "but what if I go low?" excuse and then settle back on my little couch and watch another Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives episode (love that Guy Fieri! I always say the opening line with him). But, you know what? Big deal if I start going low! I should just take a juicebox downstairs with me, set it in the little cupholder on the treadmill, and GO.
So there we go. No more excuses! Exercise more! Don't let the 'betes win!
UPDATE: I just printed off this workout from Fitbie. While I am always skeptical of claims to "blast away belly fat" this one looks challenging enough and a good enough mixture of exercises that I want to try it. The first two weeks seem easy enough. I may extend them another week, but we'll see how it goes.
May 15, 2012
Love of My Life
Today's topic is: "Living with diabetes (or caring for someone who lives with it) sure does take a lot of work, and it's easy to be hard on ourselves if we aren't 'perfect." But today it's time to give ourselves some much deserved credit. Tell us about just one diabetes thing you (or your loves one) does spectacularly! Fasting blood sugar checks, oral meds sorted and ready, something always on hand to treat a low, or anything that you do for diabetes. Nothing is too big or too small to celebrate doing well!"
I don't feel that I do much particularly well, especially when it comes to diabetes. I deal with what needs to be dealt with, learn from mistakes, and move on. So today I want to focus this post on my husband and give him the huge pat on the back that he deserves.
I've been diabetic for over 13 years and have known my husband for half that time now. I can't remember the exact time that he learned I was diabetic (was there an exact time, babe??), but it has always been a non-issue in our relationship. After our wedding in November 2011, I knew I needed to get the D under control and he was there to help me and keep me accountable. I can honestly say he's done a great job. I needed him there to nag me about checking my bg for a few weeks until it became a habit again. He's a good nag! :)
A couple months ago, I heard the term type 3 diabetic* and told him that was him. Once I actually explained what it meant, he stopped panicking. :) He is always checking in with me to make sure that I feel ok, that I don't need anything, that I've checked my sugar recently. He's made a super effort to learn about this disease and how it affects the two of us and how it is NOT the same as his grandfather's (t2) diabetes. I could MAYBE handle this without him, but I never ever want to.
So thank you, babe, for loving me, for supporting me, for pushing me when I need to be pushed, and for jumping into this crazy life with me. I love you. You make my heart smile.
*For those wondering, a type 3 diabetic is a term thrown around in the interwebs for people who aren't diabetic themselves, but care for or help care for someone with diabetes.
I don't feel that I do much particularly well, especially when it comes to diabetes. I deal with what needs to be dealt with, learn from mistakes, and move on. So today I want to focus this post on my husband and give him the huge pat on the back that he deserves.
I've been diabetic for over 13 years and have known my husband for half that time now. I can't remember the exact time that he learned I was diabetic (was there an exact time, babe??), but it has always been a non-issue in our relationship. After our wedding in November 2011, I knew I needed to get the D under control and he was there to help me and keep me accountable. I can honestly say he's done a great job. I needed him there to nag me about checking my bg for a few weeks until it became a habit again. He's a good nag! :)
A couple months ago, I heard the term type 3 diabetic* and told him that was him. Once I actually explained what it meant, he stopped panicking. :) He is always checking in with me to make sure that I feel ok, that I don't need anything, that I've checked my sugar recently. He's made a super effort to learn about this disease and how it affects the two of us and how it is NOT the same as his grandfather's (t2) diabetes. I could MAYBE handle this without him, but I never ever want to.
So thank you, babe, for loving me, for supporting me, for pushing me when I need to be pushed, and for jumping into this crazy life with me. I love you. You make my heart smile.
*For those wondering, a type 3 diabetic is a term thrown around in the interwebs for people who aren't diabetic themselves, but care for or help care for someone with diabetes.
May 14, 2012
I'm the Newbie
Today's entry for d-blog week is this: It seems the most popular thing about Diabetes Blog Week is that it helps us find blogs we weren’t reading yet and connect with some new blog friends. With that in mind, let’s kick off Diabetes Blog Week by making some new connections. Think about the d-blogs you read that you think we may not know about and introduce us to one that you love!! Let’s all find a new friend today!
Since I’m the newbie and still learning my way
around the blog-o-sphere, I thought I would mention a couple bloggers that I
discovered when I began this journey a few months ago. Here’s the story:
After a doctor’s visit in March, I was so frustrated with my current doctor. Exact words were, “Keep doing what you’re doing, only better.” Do what now?? It’s like I had attained “average diabetic” status, and he expected no more from me. That wasn’t good enough.
After a doctor’s visit in March, I was so frustrated with my current doctor. Exact words were, “Keep doing what you’re doing, only better.” Do what now?? It’s like I had attained “average diabetic” status, and he expected no more from me. That wasn’t good enough.
So I started my research online. Imagine my
surprise that there was an entire community of diabetics out there that I could
simply click to connect to! The first blog I started reading was Stacey from
The Girl with the Portable Pancreas. I quickly discovered Sysy, then
TuDiabetes, then Lisa, Meri (whose life completely amazes me more and more with each post), and especially Kerri. I was amazed at all the people who were fighting this diabetes
fight just like me. The list goes on—but I know any time I have a question or
just need to vent about my struggles, the DOC is only a click away.
So thank you all, from the bottom of my heart.
May 8, 2012
Diabetes Blog Week
Well, kids, looks like I'm going to be taking part in this next week. Perfect timing for a newbie blogger such as myself.
In other news, I attended OmniPod training in Atlanta yesterday. My CDE was really nice and very knowledgeable. I've been using a borrowed OmniPod system for just over two weeks and have found it really easy to learn. If you can handle technology like smart phones and do more on your computer than just play games online, you can work this thing easy. I got my basel insulin rates tweaked, but of course we can always tweak them more if I determine these aren't working as well as I want them to (which, not sure yet, but I don't think they are).
I had to show my CDE that I knew how to put on a new pod while I was there at the training, so last night after I got home, I sucked the insulin out of the pod I took off. Accidentally spilled some on the coffee table and got it on my hands. Sophie tried to lick it off me, but I didn't let her. Extra insulin is probably bad for cats in some way, right? I've heard of some cats having diabetes, so I'm assuming more insulin in a non-diabetic cat would be bad. Also she doesn't have the best, most healthy taste in noms, pun intended. There was an incident with Jeremy's bengay covered shoulder once...
This past Saturday was our 6-month anniversary. Marriage is fun! Not always a walk in the park, but we knew that going into this. We've had great examples in our parents' marriages. We didn't do anything to celebrate, unless we should count eating Ikea cinnamon rolls together. Which should count, I think. That reminds me--only 6 more months until we can bust out that amazing wedding cake from the freezer downstairs! Have I mentioned that it's glittery? Because that's AWESOME!
Photos courtesy of my awesome cousin, Michelle whose photography absolutely blows me away.
In other news, I attended OmniPod training in Atlanta yesterday. My CDE was really nice and very knowledgeable. I've been using a borrowed OmniPod system for just over two weeks and have found it really easy to learn. If you can handle technology like smart phones and do more on your computer than just play games online, you can work this thing easy. I got my basel insulin rates tweaked, but of course we can always tweak them more if I determine these aren't working as well as I want them to (which, not sure yet, but I don't think they are).
I had to show my CDE that I knew how to put on a new pod while I was there at the training, so last night after I got home, I sucked the insulin out of the pod I took off. Accidentally spilled some on the coffee table and got it on my hands. Sophie tried to lick it off me, but I didn't let her. Extra insulin is probably bad for cats in some way, right? I've heard of some cats having diabetes, so I'm assuming more insulin in a non-diabetic cat would be bad. Also she doesn't have the best, most healthy taste in noms, pun intended. There was an incident with Jeremy's bengay covered shoulder once...
This past Saturday was our 6-month anniversary. Marriage is fun! Not always a walk in the park, but we knew that going into this. We've had great examples in our parents' marriages. We didn't do anything to celebrate, unless we should count eating Ikea cinnamon rolls together. Which should count, I think. That reminds me--only 6 more months until we can bust out that amazing wedding cake from the freezer downstairs! Have I mentioned that it's glittery? Because that's AWESOME!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)