Tag: Diabetes

Insulin Pump Saga: Making the Choice

~ JodiLea

First of all, I want to say that it’s so exciting to see so many companies out there making life easier for diabetics! Easier when you use their products, but not easier to make a decision…

The next step on my “pump-to-do list” was to meet with a Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE) who specialized in all the different pumps available through my health plan.  There were 5 options for me to explore, and every one of them had features I wanted. However, every feature I wanted was not available in one product. So not fair!!

My CDE said all the pumps were good products, so any choice I made would be OK with her. She sent me home with large packets of information (manufacturer’s propaganda) about each product.  My ‘homework’ was to decide on one. I mulled over 3-days. Deciding, then doubting myself. Re-reading about each one, deciding again, just to doubt again the next morning.

You may have noticed that I have a very hard time making decisions. Even on silly things, like which day do I cook tacos. So this was mind numbing!

I wanted a Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) included in the pump itself so I would not have to wear 2 devices on my person. There were pumps that would use wireless technology to gather data from the CGM. But alas, no pump had CGM capability. Yet. I’m sure it is coming soon – but I had to decide now instead of later.

Then, it occurred to me to pay attention to my normal routine and see how each one would fit in.

Which one did I choose?

OmniPod-logo   The OmniPod® by Insulet.  I had to consider the fact that I am extremely clumsy and  uncoordinated. So the thought of having to deal with tubing made me cringe. The more I thought about it, being around grandchildren and dogs that could be playing and… you get the picture.  I realized that I needed to go with the tubeless pump that worked via remote control. You had to stick your fingers all the time, but your remote was your test meter and tells the pump what the reading is.

You fill the little device with insulin (3-days worth) and then you attach it to your abdomen, or back or arm. To insert the cannula, you select and the remote tells the unit to insert.  And later, if a CGM is necessary, it will be compatible. How awesome is that??!

The little “pod” is the easy part. It’s the remote control I will need a lot of training and practice with.

I’m pretty confident that I can handle this. After all, I use 3 remote controls to play a DVD, and the OmniPod only needs one  😉

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If you are interested in exploring pump options for yourself or some one else, these are links to the leading pump manufacturers/products that I had to choose from:

General Information:

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

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