Diabetes: A Day In The Life

~ JodiLea

OK. Let’s forget that I have an insulin pump in a box – for a while. Before we journey though that adventure together I would like to explain how my everyday routine is like now – before using a pump.

My day begins with a finger stick and a blood test to show my ‘fasting’  sugar level.  DiabeticDailyChart  I write this number down on t0day’s page in my booklet of blank diabetic charts. Blood sugar readings are only one of many rows & columns this sheet has.

Sometimes, like this morning, I wake up early with low blood sugar. I hate this because at 4:00AM I do not want to have breakfast. I drink 1/2 cup of juice, and I try to go back to sleep. Not happening. By 8:00AM my blood sugar is way high before breakfast. Why? Because my liver panicked and dumped glucose into my blood stream. At least that’s what I’ve been told. So, now I not only have to figure out how much insulin I need to take care of breakfast, but how much I need to correct the “high”.

So.. I guess I should have eaten breakfast at 4:30AM.  There are no columns for glucose dumping livers on my chart, so I need to jot down that question for my CDE. And I should get a large piece of paper!

There are three calculations I have to do to give myself NutritionLabelthe correct dose of insulin. The first one is to figure out the grams of carbs I plan to eat.. The second takes the # of grams and divides it by my insulin to carb ratio, which is 1:12 currently. And then I test my blood sugar. If it is over 160 I must add the correction dose [ (BG – 150) / 40 ] to the carb ratio, giving me the total number of units of insulin to inject. All these numbers + the foods I eat are written on my chart.

NovologSyringe  Now I can inject my insulin (into my stomach, as I’m told it works more effectively that way), eat breakfast and take oral medications. Prior to lunch and dinner I repeat the above. If at anytime during the day I feel “icky”, I test my blood and treat any low sugar incidents..

Before lunch and dinner the above steps are repeated. If I happen to be out and about at meal time the routine goes on. I carry my glucose meter, insulin “pen”, meds, emergency juice/glucose tabs and a snack, with me at all times, because I never know if plans will change. And they almost always do. I really need a bigger purse!

Medical Equipment
Entourage for a Diabetic

Around bedtime, my phone alarm goes off to remind me to take my long acting insulin (Lantus). I must have the alarm because I can’t seem to remember. For years, I used to take it in the mornings and even though I’ve done it in the evening for years I often forget until very late at night and that screws up the routine, don’t ya know.

Well, that pretty much sums up a regular day.  It gets really interesting when I have to travel or go to a convention where my schedule is not my own.  Sometimes it feels like all I do is poke myself with needles. Oh wait – that might be quilting… 😉
Pincushion

BTW – quilting pins hurt WAY MORE than diabetic needles!

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photo credit: Jodi Lea
photo credit for vial & needles: NapInterrupted via photopin cc

photo credit: marlana via photopin cc

It’s Here! It’s Here!

~ JodiLea

My insulin pump arrived today – Yeah!   NovologSyringe

I haven’t opened the large box yet, because I’m 40% excited and 60% terrified. This pump thing is a major lifestyle change and y’all know how much I love change! Even good changes, like getting rid of syringes and insulin pens.

Even though I am curious, I don’t want to get ahead of the game plan I’m working with the Certified Diabetes Educators (CDE’s). They are committed to preparing me with the knowledge I need to have and records I need to keep in order for the doctor (an endocrinologist) to accurately program the pump to work with my ratios, etc.

I, actually we (because I made hubby come with me), had a class this morning in Modesto. A 2-hour drive there and back for a 1-hour appointment. I have counted carbs for years, but this class was about insulin pump carb counting – a very detailed and meticulous way to account for every single carb to be ingested.

Carb counting has always been important for diabetics. If you are using an insulin pump that acts like a pancreas, slowly dispensing a constant dose of insulin over time and it will give you evenly spaced out insulin to help your body absorb the carbs you eat at meal time.

The next class is Dec 30th. The CDE will review my logs and give me a test.  I have homework to do before the class. HOMEWORK!? I’m so happy it is not calculus.

So, I will be reading materials, looking up carbs, fibers and fats, doing math and writing everything I do on a big chart, during the holidays. I hope your holidays are a bit more festive 🙂

I sure hope I have time to blog in between all this crap stuff…

!LIGHTS_

A Merry Christmas to All and a Happy New Year!

Diabetes: Rumors VS. Truth

~ JodiLea ~ 2 Comments

Type I Diabetes runs in my family, so I grew up in a ‘diabetic friendly environment’. Occasionally, I forget that the lucky non-diabetic people have limited information about how we (people with diabetes) live with the disease and it’s consequences.

So… before I begin to write posts about my adventures with starting on insulin pump therapy, I want y’all to have  some background knowledge and dispel any ridiculous incorrect information you may have heard about the disease (or its victims).

Diabetics cannot have any sugar or they will go into a coma. Although it is true that we need to severely limit our intake of sugar, eating sugar will not make us fall over into a deep sleep.

Coma happens to diabetics that are not being treated or have not been diagnosed. An undiagnosed diabetic who does not eat sugar or a lot of carbohydrates, can still have drastically high blood glucose levels, and over time, will eventually become ill enough to be comatose.

If you eat too much sugar you will get diabetes. Totally not true. Ever.

DiabetesTesting
Severe low blood sugar

High blood sugar is more dangerous than low blood sugar.  False. Low blood sugar (under 60 mg/dL) can  cause sweaty clamminess, shaking, irritability, or violence. Severe low blood sugar (under 40 mg/dL) can cause  seizures, hallucinations, brain damage and death. High blood sugar over time will cause nasty complications, but not the immediate danger low blood sugar does.

Taking good care of yourself can make your diabetes go away. Totally not true. Ever. Diabetes is a disease that causes your pancreas to stop producing the insulin that helps your body break down sugar.

While it is true that a better diet and more exercise will help your body regulate glucose levels, your pancreas will not regenerate its way back to health. (Dammit!)

Diabetics have to eat meals based on recipes in ‘diabetic cookbooks’. No, we don’t!  We can eat any foods ‘normal’ people eat. We only have to ‘do the math’ to adjust our insulin dose and watch portions of carbs and fat.

People always ask me “can you eat this, or have that?” Yes, I can have a piece of that wedding cake. Or fruit salad. Or Christmas cookie. But I shouldn’t have any more than that. It’s a matter of proportion and choice.

Friends worry they will offer me something “bad for me” or “tempt me” into eating things I can’t have by eating them in front of me. STOP worrying! Prepare whatever menu you would like. I know what I should and shouldn’t eat. It is my responsibility – not yours.

I hope that by answering the questions that I am asked the most, will answer questions you may have about diabetes. If you have questions not answered here, please submit your question below. You may also submit diabetes related subject you would like to know more about  🙂

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photo credit: DeathByBokeh via photopin cc