Giving Thanks

Well, I didn't make it for NaBloPoMo....
I got sick during the same week that my hectic online class started doing two chapters per week, and everything just fell apart...but now I should be back!  I got a bit of a break in school and work due to the holiday, so I got to catch up on all my stuff....

Today I just wanted to say that I'm thankful that I am here, with a good job, and the ability to further my education. I am thankful that I have a wonderful family that I can talk to and be with.  And I am thankful that I have a wonderful man in my life who supports me in whatever I try to do. 

And on a health related note, since its Diabetes Blessings Week, I'll make note of a couple D-related things I'm thankful for too..

I think the biggest thing I'm thankful for in this regard is the fact that having diabetes has forced me to take a better look at my eating and exercising habits.  While I'm still not on the exercising bandwagon (and should be), I have learned a LOT about food and what it does to my body.  I'm not perfect (and even if I was I don't think it would matter), but I know what works and doesn't.

I'm also thankful that it ultimately introduced me to the joys of blogging.  I know that might sound silly, especially since I don't blog anywhere near as much as some other people I know, but I really enjoy writing things down a few times a week.  Its helped me better evaluate what I'm feeling and thinking.

So there you go :)

Happy thanksgiving and turkey eating day everyone!!

blue

I have no idea what to write about today, but I forgot to post a picture of my blue fingernails from Friday for Diabetes Awareness Month leading into World Diabetes Day on Sunday.

And by the way, it is really difficult to try and take a picture of your own hand while not having too much or too little flash.  I don't know if you can even tell, but the fingernails are kinda light blue and sparkly.  Had to get it semi-professional for work!

Sorry for such an incredibly boring post!  I'll be back on track tomorrow! :)

Today is....

Today I did the Big Blue Test to show support for World Diabetes Day.  I tested at 2:00 and my BG was 121.  Then I made my boyfriend go walk in the cold with me.   It was incredibly cold, even once we started really walking, so a big thank you to Dustin for braving the cold with me! We did 3/4 mile in the 15 minutes that we walked, and when I tested again I was 98.  So that just goes to show the positve power of exercise!

After that I went shopping with my sister, so I got in some MORE exercise than normal today, which was good.  Amazingly I did not drop below 95 the whole time I was out, so that was good too.

Remember, though... exercise is good for every day, not just World Diabetes Day, and advocating for diabetes awareness should be every day too!

Endo Experience - Part 2

After my incredibly awesome (NOT!) experience with the diabetes education part of my meeting, she did finally show me a couple of pumps.  I got to play around with the Revel and the Ping and I still like both of them.  I honestly don't think I have an opinion between the two.  The big plus for the Ping is the remote bolusing and the waterproof part.  I don't do a LOT on the water, but it would be nice to know that I can.

After that she hooked me up to an iPro.  Its a continuous glucose monitor for professional use.  The professional use part means that I can't see any of the numbers, which is a bummer, because I'm quite curious and won't know the results until my next appointment in mid December.  But its interesting!  I didn't realize that it needed a giant piece of adhesive plastic wrap covering the whole thing.  Although it makes sense, I just never really saw it before.  For a while on the first day I was afraid to move as much, thinking I would pull it out or pull the sticky thing off, but then I got used to it.  I'll be going in tomorrow for them to take it off, but so far its still stuck on there real good and I haven't even really noticed it there, even sleeping on it.

The other interesting thing is that my actual endo came in with the results of my labs and everything was good.  My A1c has dropped from 6.5% in August to 6% now (big yay!!), and everything else looks excellent, including my cholesterol.  BUT.. there is something funky going on why my thyroid.  She actually wasn't really sure (or maybe she just didn't explain it to me fully?), but they think that my thyroid is being sluggish based on some numbers that were a little off.  So they put me on a tiny little dose of Synthroid.  Unfortunately, she wants me to have the brand name, which means its way more expensive.  I'll try it for now though. As for that, though, I'm putting together a bunch of questions because I don't know a lot about the thyroid issue, so I want to find out more and then talk to her again.  Apparently 2 of the numbers were within normal range and then one number was off the charts high, so its kinda weird I guess.

Anyway, enough for tonight...  I'm heading to bed!  But I'll be back tomorrow for the Big Blue Test!

My Endo Experience! - part 1

So as I mentioned yesterday, I went to the endocrinologist again. This visit was scheduled for diabetes education, iPro hookup, and pump demo. In addition, my endo had been trying to reach me this past week with my lab results, so she popped her head in and talked to me a bit too.

First, the diabetes education. I think the reason I got to have the “educational” part is because I mentioned that when I was first diagnosed back in 2005, and then again when I started insulin last September, nobody ever really TOLD me anything. I learned about carbs from a counting class my mom took me to with her. I learned about other stuff by hearing things in various communities and forums and then researching them. I have done a LOT of research about my condition over the past year, and I feel that I’m pretty well educated. And I think my endo did too. So I think she only scheduled it for me because the same lady did the pump demo, and she figured I’d get a little info out of it.

I got a Workbook! Now if I had gotten this Workbook back when I was first diagnosed, or even when I was scared into taking care of myself, it probably would have been very helpful. There is a lot of good information in here on understanding what diabetes is, what highs and lows can feel like and do to you, meal plans, physical activity, and so on. I am, however, VERY grateful that this woman was not the one teaching me the information!

The visit started out poorly because she first had to ask me what type of diabetes I had. Then she reached out and patted my shoulder and said “well honey, we need to make sure that you follow your diet and exercise plan! We don’t want your diabetes to graduate to type 1! Then you’d have to go on insulin!”

I blinked a few times at her. And then I said, “um.. I already take insulin.” At which point she proceeded to tell me that that was good, but I should really want to get off of it so I don't become a type 1.

This is the diabetes EDUCATOR!!

So I told her that I didn't have type 1, and that with type 1 you have antibodies that kill off your beta cells so they CAN'T make insulin, but that I'm definitely a type 2, so I make some insulin but its not doing its job. And then I said "right?" like, to make sure she didn't think I was trying to tell her how to do her job.

From that point I just kind of sat there amused with the whole thing. At one point she told me that I should lower my cholesterol intake.

ME:  I'm still learning about diet, so how much a low cholesterol intake be?
HER:  well.. hmm.. oh.. well do you eat eggs?
ME:  yes
HER:  well thats it! eggs!
ME:  eggs? well, I knew that. I don't eat an excessive amount of eggs though. How much is too much?
HER:  Well, you probably normally eat like one or two?
ME:  yeah probably
HER:  yeah, thats it.

again with the "sigh"!!

And then we finally moved on to pump stuff, which was also rather disappointing... and which I will talk about tomorrow, because its just been a long bugger of a day!

Goodnight!

diabetes education at its finest

I am totally exhausted tonight, so I'm just going to make a quick post. 

I'll expound on this tomorrow, but.... today I went to my new endo's office again to get hooked up to an iPro (a CGM but for doctors, so I can't see whats going on), take a look at a couple of pumps to see if I'm interested if my insurance will cover it, and to meet with the diabetes educator.

Well....
The iPro is kinda cool... The pumps (MM Paradigm Revel and OneTouch Ping) were cool and I want to check into the insurance ...
... and the diabetes educator told me that I better take care of my diet and exercise or else my type 2 diabetes will "graduate to type 1"

sigh
really????

more to come!

Have you viewed the video??

If you have not viewed this video yet, you need to!

For every view of this video, insulin will be donated to kids who need it.  Its only about 2 min long, and they're aiming for 100,000 views by this Sunday, November 14, for Diabetes Awareness Day.  Its all part of the Big Blue Test, so be sure to check it out!

It was GOING to be Wordless Wednesday...

While we were in Las Vegas over the summer, we ate at this really nice place, and I really really wanted to get a picture while we were there but for some reason I didn't have my camera or my phone on me at that particular point in the trip.

The reason for the picture was that there in this beautiful restaurant, with beautiful place settings and ambient lighting, sitting next to the silverware on the linen napkin, and awaiting the dish of pasta that I was about to eat, was my insulin pen.  And it just amused the heck out of me at that point.

So I couldn't title this post Wordless Wednesday.  And while this is the opposite of "a picture is worth a thousand words" hopefully my words can draw the picture for you.

D-Blog Day: 6 things people should know about Diabetes

What is D-Blog day, you might ask?
D-Blog Day was started back in Diabetes Awareness Month 2005 by Gina Capone. Its focus is “to help unite diabetes bloggers and create awareness about diabetes.”

This years topic is: 6 things you want people to know about diabetes.

ONE: Your Diabetes May Vary. (thank you for the phrasing!)
Every diabetic, whether they are type 1 or type 2, will have some things that are similar. Everyone with diabetes needs to watch what they eat and get enough exercise. Some type 2’s take insulin. Some type 1’s take the same oral meds that type 2’s take. But EVERYONE’s diabetes will vary, sometimes greatly, from others. I can eat a bagel and not even think twice about it, but even a small slice of pizza kicks my diabetes butt. Other people can eat tons of pizza but fall over at the thought of a bagel.

TWO: Food is not just food anymore.
Paying attention to what you eat is an important part of diabetes management. Its not as simple as “don’t eat sugar”. All diabetics should pay attention and eat healthy. Some may count carbs, others may use an exchange program, some use who knows what else. If you are taking insulin as part of your diabetes medication, you probably have to calculate and do math for everything you put into your mouth. You CAN eat sugar, you just have to think about it first!

THREE: Diabetes is for life.
Once you have diabetes, you have it forever. For a type 2, this is important because while you might be able to completely lose your symptoms by eating well and exercising, you will always have diabetes. You might be able to hold off those symptoms for a very long time, and you might be able to have normal blood sugars, but you will always be a diabetic.

FOUR: Insulin doesn’t make your diabetes “worse” than someone else’s.
Insulin is a medication used to treat diabetes. Some people use it, some people don’t. Some people REQUIRE it. But that doesn’t mean their diabetes is worse.

FIVE: Moods may swing along with your blood sugar
Me, I get super cranky when I’m low. Other people have mentioned being depressed when they’re low, and cranky when they’re high. I think its important for people to know that if you’re acting like a jerk, or an idiot, or sarcastic, or moody, there might be a reason for it, and to chill out until you can fix it!

SIX: If you have diabetes…. You can do it!
While being diagnosed with diabetes can be very very very overwhelming at first, it DOES get easier! You will learn how to do all the stuff you’ve been told to do, whether that’s taking insulin injections, counting carbs, starting an exercise program… whatever… you will get used to it, and it will become easier to deal with, even if it will always be a pain in the butt.

Mouthwatering Monday

Well I just realized that yesterday’s post didn’t post, so I hope it doesn’t affect my NaBloPoMo!

Quick update on the Victoza (in case people are actually reading my blog for the purpose of seeing how it is going). I moved up to the 1.2 mg dose of Victoza on Saturday night and I will definitely say that I’ll be pushing it to just before bedtime from now on. I’m definitely feeling the “slight nausea”. I had been trying to decide if it was just coincidence and I was just coming down with something but I don’t think so. It seems like about 45 min after I take the shot I feel kinda queasy. I felt that way last week while I was ramping up and I definitely feel it now. I’m hoping that it goes away, because that was kinda the big thing for me NOT wanting to take it. My weight is still within range of normal. Since starting it I had gained 3, lost 4, gained 2, which means that I’m 1 pound up from when I started it, but we’ll see how that continues!

Now to continue to the 30 Days of Diabetes Blogging suggested topic for today:

“Mouthwatering Monday: What is your favorite entrée, and how does it affect your blood sugar?”

I love food. This is clearly one of my issues. But since going on insulin I’ve been really making a huge effort to eat better. I do ok sometimes, other times I don’t. My favorite entrées generally include tons of carbs, which are obviously not great. I love cereals and pastas and breads and potatoes. I love desserts.

Its hard for me to pick a favorite, especially since it varies so frequently. It depends on if I’m thinking of everyday foods, or only special foods. It depends on breakfast , lunch, or dinner. It depends on fast-ish or homestyle cooking. One of my favorite foods that is actually pretty good for me is the Fuji Apple Chicken salad from Panera Bread. I’ve only just recently become a salad person, so I’m still really picky about which ones I like, and that one is good and also leaves me feeling like I ate enough.

But then another thing I love is Chicken Fried Rice. Which is just sooo bad, all over the place. And it just wouldn’t be the same with substitutions, so when I do eat it, I just deal.

I guess the thing that actually affects my blood sugar most though is pasta. Even if I try to cover it right, it always really hits me harder than I expect.

I guess food is still a learning curve for me! :)

best way to exercize!

So we got a Kinect for the Xbox yesterday. It is so cool! We got the Adventures game that came with it, we got Dance Central, and we got the Sports one (which we haven’t even gotten to try yet). I have to say that I am very excited for it! My whole reason for wanting a Wii (which we didn’t get) was because I wanted Wii Fit so that I could have something fun to do for a workout so I could start exercising.

The Kinect seems like it will definitely do the job for a workout! We played the Adventures game together and it was lots of fun and we both were breathing heavy afterwards, and then we did the Dance one and…. well… if I can figure out how to dance then it will be a great workout. I’m a horrible dancer, and totally klutzy, so me trying to figure out these dance moves, even with instruction, is difficult at best. But even so, it was fun to just TRY to do the moves!

I’m really excited to start getting some exercize though! With my schedule for work and school right now it seems like every single day is just so busy. By the time I get home, get some homework done, and get dinner moving, its already late. I think my brain tries to overthink thins though. I don’t want to eat too late because that’s supposed to be bad for weight loss and stuff, and I don’t want to exercize too late because that’s supposed to cause problems sleeping, so on some days I just don’t know what to do, so I just sit and watch tv or play WoW, although that’s rare these days too.

But we’ll see how it goes! Hoping to drop some pounds so that when the time comes that I want to have a baby I’ll be in a good weight range. Of course, it will also help with the insulin amounts I hope, so that I don’t have to take quite as much.. which will be really helpful if the pump goes through.

Yay!

the one about the new endo

I just started with a new endocrinologist last week. Actually, I never had an endo before, just my PCP, so I guess “new” is a relative term. I also completely forgot to take a picture of the waiting room so I’ll have to do it when I go back. Which will be in less than a week.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a type 2 but I also take multiple insulin shots a day. I’ve also talked before about my multiple drug regiment (2 diabetes pills a day, 2 types of insulin, cholesterol lowering drug) so I won’t go into all that stuff again. One of the drugs I was taking was Januvia which was supposed to help my beta cells work better when they were supposed to, like after eating. And it did! My mealtime insulin doses when down both when I restarted the metformin and also when I started the Januvia.

I told my endo that I want to eventually get pregnant, and while I’m not there yet, I’d like to have my body prepared so that it can handle the pregnancy good. So here’s what we are going to be working on:

1. Better diet and exercise. I’ll be seeing a dietician next month to learn more about food, cause that’s an area that I’m really lacking in knowledge on. I’m also supposed to start/keep exercizing.
2. I’m apparently an EXCELLENT candidate for a pump, even as a T2 (which can cause some difficulties sometimes), so I’m going to be checking out some pumps with a demo from the pump lady at the clinic next week. My choices apparently are Animas Ping, Minimed Revel, and Omnipod. (I might talk about this more soon, so any opinions are more than welcome!!!)  Even if I can manage to get my diet and exercise in control, my endo thinks (and I agree) that I’ll most likely need insulin during pregnancy anyway, so this will get me started.   If I’m going to be poking myself as part of my diabetes management, I’d rather do it every 3 days than 5 times a day, so I’m VERY excited about the pump. Now to see if my insurance will cover it. Or rather, HOW they will cover it.
3. I’m going to stop taking the simvastatin for my cholesterol (even though it worked so well) because its not going to be best for pregnancy. I’m supposed to start taking 1200 mg of Omega-3 Fatty Acids everyday instead. I haven’t researched this yet, so again, opinions anyone?

And then here’s the confusing thing. All this stuff about whats good for potentially eventually getting pregnant, but I’ve been put on Victoza, which is replacing the Januvia, but which I will NOT be taking while pregnant. So umm.. what was the point? I think I’ll be going OFF the Victoza when/if I get approved for a pump.

BUT!

I am excited about the Victoza! This is an injectable drug for type 2 diabetics that is similar to Byetta. It’s job is to make my beta cells work the way they should. That’s why they had me stop Januvia, because its pretty much the same thing. However, this is supposed to be better than Byetta and easier on the body because its like a 97% match to your body’s hormones, whereas Byetta was only like 50% or so (disclaimer: I don’t have actual facts about he Byetta!!). It can still have similar side effects like nausea, headaches, etc, but maybe not supposed to be as bad. Here are the good things about Victoza that I like. It is supposed to:

1. Push my beta cells to work better and release the right amounts of insulin when I eat, lowering BG levels.
2. Tell my liver not to release more glucose when its not supposed to be.
3. Help with weight loss! Yay!

So I started taking it last week and doc wanted me to do the 0.6 mg dose for 7 days so that the drug is introduced to my body and stuff, and that means that tonight I’ll be starting on the 1.2 mg dose, which is where I’ll want to be staying. I have not had any real side effects except a LITTLE bit of feeling funky. Not quite nausea really, but funky. And on my scale I’ve dropped 3 pounds. That might or might not be coincidence. So I’ll keep updating!

Wordless Wednesday (on Friday)

Wednesday the 3rd was “Wordless Wednesday” on the suggestion list for 30 Days of Diabetes Blogging,and their helpful suggestion was to post a pic or a video about the three most important things that help my diabetes management. Its not Wednesday, but does that really matter? :) So here goes!

 1.

 Obviously my meter is one of my most important tools. It tells me if I should or shouldn’t eat, and what, and when, and how much insulin I should take… etc etc etc

 2.

I am a freakishly devoted logger. Even with my meter having nice storage capabilities with graphs and time stamps and all kinds of records, I log everything. Everything I eat goes in there. That way if I remember eating it and can look it up, I can also see how it affected my next reading. Every number goes in there, from BG tests to insulin doses to BP readings while at the docs. One thing that its REALLY done for me is the reason they recommend keeping a food journal. Its shown me what I eat and when so I can see where my problem food areas lie.

 3.

And of course, the bestest guy I’ve known (aside from my daddy!). Dustin was already in my life when I was kinda forced to make the big changes to my diabetes care. He learned right along with me about counting carbs and stuff, and of course he’s the one who has to deal with me being super cranky when I get low. So yeah, he’s a pretty important part of my diabetes management  :)

a very linky post

Among many others, the Diabetes Research Institute is focused on finding a cure for diabetes.  A fun way that YOU can help their campaign is by donating to “Be Part of the Cure”.  Not only will you be donating to help find a cure, but with just a $10 donation, you can upload your picture to go on the C-U-R-E banner, which is just pretty cool.  You can even search the photos to find yourself or anyone else you might know!  If you donate a minimum of $50, you get a mousepad with the CURE mosaic on it.  In addition, the first $25,000 will be matched by Animas and Lifescan, so there’s another reason to donate!

If you haven’t done so already, be sure to check out the video at BigBlueTest.org, developed by the Diabetes Hands Foundation.  If they reach 100,000 views, Roche Diabetes Care will donate $75,000 which will benefit Life For a Child and Insulin for Life.  What that boils down to is that every view of the video will translate to a weeks worth of insulin for a child who can’t afford it.

AND!

On November 14, Diabetes Awareness Day, be sure to do the Big Blue Test!  Help raise awareness about how important testing and exercise are for all diabetics.  Here’s what you need to do: 

1. On November 14 at 2 pm, test your blood sugar.
2. Get active for 14 minutes.
3. Test again.

4. Go to BigBlueTest.org and input your results.

That’s it! Click some links!

feelings.... nothing more than feelings....

So I posted yesterday about recently going off of my insulin regimen as an experiment, per se.

One of the things that I thought was really interesting was my feelings while I was doing it. Even though I’ve technically been a diabetic since 2005, I didn’t really take control of it until about a year ago. That was when they wanted to put me in the hospital for severe DKA and instead just put me on insulin. Since then I’ve paid attention to my meds, paid attention to what I eat… all of which means that I’ve complained about testing and shots and carbs and math too.

And yet, something felt wrong. It wasn’t that there was actually something wrong. At first I thought I was just stressed because of my new schedule which included school. But that wasn’t it. I finally figured out that I was missing my regular diabetes schedule.

You may ask (and I was), how can you possibly miss poking yourself 4-5 times a day with a needle and having to count every bite of food that you eat?? And believe me, it wasn’t the poking myself that I missed, it was the routine!

Its strange how quickly we can become accustomed to doing something, even something unpleasant, and integrating it into our daily lives. It was still somewhat of a relief when I gave up my experiment and started taking the shots again. Not only did my schedule fall back into place, but I felt like I had control again, so that was refreshing.

Although, I am more than a little OCD, so it really comes as no surprise that I was glad to be in control :)

the one that needs a disclaimer...

Disclaimer: I would like to point out at this time that I am NOT a person with a medical degree (yet), or a certified diabetes educator, or anything like that.  I am just a person with type 2 diabetes making my own decisions about my health.  This does not mean that I don’t follow my doctor’s recommendations and orders, it just means that I might make decisions at times that might make me look like I’m not a good patient.

Now on to my post :)

For about a week in the middle of October I stopped taking my rapid-acting insulin.  Don’t panic, it wasn’t a bad thing necessarily.  I am a type 2, I have been eating healthy-ish, I was (am) taking not only long-acting (Lantus) and rapid-acting (Novolog) insulin but I was also taking Metformin and Januvia as well. 

My Lantus dose was normal (for me), but my Novolog had gotten to the point where I was taking only a little with my meals.  One day I ate my bagel for breakfast and totally forgot the shot.  About an hour and a half later I remembered and tested, panicked, thinking I would be high, but I turned out to be lower than my fasting BG was.  Weird, right?

So I thought about it and decided to do an experiment and see if I could get off the insulin and start being just on the oral meds.  I made sure that I tested all the time and paid really close attention to what I was eating and whether I was high or low.  And I had plenty of both highs and lows, which was interesting.  What I discovered is that at this point in my life I can’t just take oral meds.  My numbers never really got out of control, and they actually stayed really steady for the first few days.  But then they just started slowly climbing.  At the end, I was having only slightly elevated fasting levels, but as soon as I ate something I would be living in the 200’s for the whole day. 

That was when I gave up.  I mean, I had the means to control it at my disposal, so I went back to it.  I have no problem being on insulin.  I have very tight control.  I am not one of those people that is scared to give it a shot (pun intended).  Yeah, I was kinda pushed onto it, and of course if I could get away from it I would.  I’d love to lose some of that weight that might be associated with being on insulin, but I don’t have a problem where I’m at today.

And now I actually have an endo and a lot of changes are being made, and I have a ton of appointments in the next couple of months.  I’ll be posting more about that in the next couple of posts too.

Diabetes Awareness Month!

Holy moly! I have not posted anything in so long!

I’m sure that my loyal follower(s) have been sitting around crying over my lack of totally fascinating posts, and for that I am truly sorry!


November is Diabetes Awareness Month with World Diabetes Day coming up on November 14! There are all kinds of things going on this month, so be sure to check out other blogs around the community and see what people are doing! Sarah at Sugabetic started SAE Day which is to encourage you to Support, Advocate, and Educate about diabetes. That’s November 1, so I’m sorry I’m pushing it out there a little too late!

On WDD, November 14, be sure to check out and participate in the Big Blue Test to raise awareness for diabetes!

November 9 is D-Blog Day, started in 2005 by Gina Capone. This years topic is: 6 things you want people to know about diabetes. You can find out more by checking out her post here.

November is also NaBloPoMo, or National Blog Posting Month. The basic idea is to post something in your blog every day for a month. Actually, I think you can try to do it any month you want, but November is the big month and they award prizes and everything! If you’re interested, you can check out NaBloPoMo.com and give it a try.

In honor of World Diabetes Day and Diabetes Awareness Month, and since it is NaBloPoMo, I am going to attempt the 30 Diabetes Blogs in 30 Days. They’ve got some great ideas on their site as to what to post about, and since I’m a slacker at posting sometimes, I’m going to take advantage of any help they want to provide! So here goes!

The suggestion for today is an introduction… “Tell us about yourself! Why did you decide to start a blog or share your blog with us?”

Overall, I’m pretty normal. I’m a geek… I love my World of Warcraft, my chainmail armor, my Stargate TV shows. I am also a student aiming for a degree/certification in medical assisting. I’m hoping to one day be a wife and a mother. I have an absolutely wonderful boyfriend who makes me feel special even when I’m being cranky.

I’ve talked before about my varying degrees of success with having Type 2 Diabetes. I decided to start blogging because my situation as a T2 seemed to be so different. At the time I wasn’t finding many T2’s that were taking insulin, especially, so I wanted to talk!

Anyway, enough about me for the day :)