Obat Diabetes

Every single time I think about (or attempt to start) basal testing, that’s the line that goes through my head- cause I'm weird like that. Sidebar: I LOVE the movie AIRPLANE!

But seriously- it looks like I picked the wrong week to start basal testing.

As of late, my numbers have been all over the place. I’ve been running low after dinner straight on towards midnight and waking up with high numbers the past 3 days.

The Trend graph on my borrowed CGM looks like the letter M, except of course when it looks like the letter W.

I’m not used to this crap- my a1cs are normally around 6.8. Is this what 6.8 looks like?

I don’t bloody think so!

I’m getting frustrated for several reasons, all of them valid.

1. I don’t like the thought of not eating and I don’t like the thought of being still.
2. Lets face it, the morning high numbers are not the best way to kick start my day folks.
3. There’s a chance that I might be fighting off an infection that’s causing these highs (I have to get a molar pulled and my sinuses are still clogged,) and there’s also a good chance that I’m just making excuses for said blood sugar highs.
4. Basal testing during the Easter weeks makes it difficult to enjoy Sunday’s carrot cake.
5. I have a meeting with Gary next week to discuss my basal rates and have to turn in my borrowed cgm, so the whole window of testing my basal rates is running out and I need to take my “big girl” pill and get on with it. So I am.

Today’s basal test will commence at 1pm and last until 10pm. No eating, lots of blood sugar testing, and of course, uber amounts of bitching on my end, which should make work veeerrrryyy interesting~

“We have clearance Clarence.” Proceed with the basal testing- and don't call me Shirley!

War is hell - so is basal testing…

Yeah, I don't think this would work!

Can I just share with you how much I hate packing?

So Friday was JUST ONE OF THOSE BLOOD SUGAR DAYS.

IT started with a 3 a.m low. One of those cold sweat, lip numbing, stomach dropping, wake you up out of bed lows. My blood sugar was 36 and I was shaking like a leaf in the wind.
I drank two (maybe three?) 5 ounce glasses of cranberry juice and tried to wait patiently for my numbers to go up, and finally at 3:50 I was able to go back to bed.

Cut to 7:15, when I wake with a blood sugar of 246-LOVELY.

I bloused accordingly, poured my coffee & jumped in the shower.

I felt tired and overwhelmed-It was a travel day for work and high numbers and road trips just don’t mix!


AND NEITHER DOES DRIVING AND LOW BLOOD SUGARS.

@ 8:30 I was 166 and bloused for 15 grams of carbs to cover my Ezekiel Bread toast and cream cheese, enjoyed it immensely and went about my work.

Now here’s where things get kind of screwy - I’ll let my Twitter tweets tell the story.

Diabetesalic: prepping for the road & which I didn't have 2. SO tired on so many levels. Need wind in my sails& a song in my heart - any suggestions? 9:34 AM Mar 27th from web

Diabetesalic: meant wish I didn't have to - this is what happens when your tired type & have are treating a blood sugar of 51 9:35 AM Mar 27th from web

Diabetesalic: "have are treating???" OK -Typing while low ='s MORETIC a.ka. Moron Diabetic Move 9:36 AM Mar 27th from web

Diabetesalic: Seriously Diabetes, I need u 2 listen to me& maintain good numbers 2 day. No lows or highs on the road 2day-not a good day for it -Agreed?! 10:25 AM Mar 27th from web

Diabetesalic: SERIOUSLY DIABETES –What’s w/the 65 blood sugr??? u were like 51 an hr ago - Can't drive at 65 no matter what the damn signs say. 11:19 AM Mar 27th from web

I needed to leave at Noon for my appts and had literally been treating the lows all morning,

Left the house at Noon with a number of 100. I lowered my basal rate to 0.75 and ate 2 Reese’s Peanut Butter cups in the car.

1:15 Arrived at my first appointment and my number was 123.

2:30 MY next appointment was at 2:45 and I arrived 15 minutes early. My blood sugar was 101. Had a juice box and a Coconut Larabar (SO GOOD btw) and was good for another 2 hours, which was good because I would be there for at least 2 hrs. I also created a temp basal rate of 0.50 for those 2 hrs…just in case.

5:30 Appointment ran over because I seriously think God likes toying with me sometimes. Checked my sugar (AGAIN) before I jumped in the car and it was 106, could feel myself heading south. Ate a Fuji apple & 5 (maybe 8?) chocolate Reese's mini eggs I’d snagged from my friends son's birthday party and was 136 when I arrived home @ 7pm.


IT was a CRAZY numbers day, BUT I got through it – So yeah know….I got that going for me!

PS My numbers were normal from the moment I stepped in the door Friday night and continued all weekend. Go figure?

I’m trying to become more organized in my life- and that’s not easy for me- it really isn’t - AND IT NEVER HAS BEEN.

But as this life continues to get busier and the stress levels continue to fluctuate (and tax season is like, next week) I need to get my crap together!

I haven't reached hoarder proportions and I'm not dirty.

Howard Hughes I’m not. You won’t see me walking around using Kleenex boxes as shoes or instructing my friends to use 15 tissues when opening the front door to my domicile.

I’m clean, and I like being clean. I clean my bathroom every Saturday, I’m a firm believer in closing the lid on my saline solution and putting the cap back on my toothpaste when I’m done –some might even say I’m a bit militant when it comes to those things.

I’m a laundry technician (I really like doing laundry and am quite Type A when it comes to temperature settings,) and I have a thing about washing hands. Now there’s a STRONG possibility that the washing hands thing is related to testing my blood sugars. BUT I also think dirty hands are gross- unless you’re gardening or working with your hands at the moment.

I need to develop some organizational expertise when it comes to my immediate surroundings.

So I’m taking the time to pitch, purge, sort, file and discard. Some days I get a lot accomplished, and other days (nights during the week) I barely scratch the organizational surface.

What does this have to do with diabetes? Well, in my quest for a firmer grasp on efficiency, I’ve found and noticed a few things related to life with diabetes.

1. Going through old handbags that I plan to donate to Goodwill, I’ve found spare infusion sets and unused lancets
2. Speaking of lancets, even though I stopped ordering lancets with my testing supplies 2 years ago- I have 17 boxes of unopened lancets (each containing 100 lancets for a total of 1700 lancets) at my disposal. Anyone need a box?
3. I found an extra box containing 250 test strips in the back of my closet that are still a few months shy of their expiration date. How the hell did I miss not having them? Those vials of strips have moved to the front of my test strip drawer. Yes, yours truly has a desk drawer that is completely filled with testing supplies including lancets and test strips in chronological order according to expiration date. For an organizationally challenged person- I have my good moments~
4. On the inside, side portion of my bedroom closet I have two shelves out of 6 ( they resemble cubbyholes) for my pump supplies. This works well in theory, but I still have 2 boxes of infusion sets on my bureau. I need to get in the habit of keeping ALL said pump supplies in their designated cubbyholes.
5. I have an insane amount of shoes in my closets- and I can’t bear to part with a single pair- even the ones that kill my feet or aren’t deep enough for my customized orthotics.

So does anyone have any organizational issues or suggestions?

Your issues and or advice don't have to be diabetes related, but on the flip side, it absolutely can be.

BOTTOM LINE: I’m open to any and all suggestions and will take extreme comfort in knowing that I’m not the only person out there who suffers from a chronic lack (inconsistency might be a better descriptive) of organization.

So I was all set this morning to fast- I really was. I'd psyched myself out on Sunday that from 9 a.m until 5p.m. today, I was going to FINALLY start my basal testing and fast the day away! Just so I'm 100% clear- I'm not a fan of fasting, AT ALL. But fan or not, it needs to be done.

Sundays blood sugars were great, except for the after dinner lows. For some reason my blood sugars kept going south after dinner and no matter how much I treated, my blood sugar was showing that it was still under 80. I tested and tested again- fearing that my meter my be off the mark- and yes, the numbers fluctuated between 100 and 75. The number on my borrowed CGM, (on loan to me from Gary Scheiner, a friend and CDE who is helping me w/my basal rates) was reporting a number somewhere in between - I didn't know what number to go with! FDA- please take note of the meter numbers!

I was tired, I had work in the morning and I wanted to catch some ZZZZs.

Finally at 11:30 p.m, I decided to lower my midnight basal rate and had a few teaspoons of one of my favorite guilty pleasures, peanut butter and jam on a spoon.

Cut to 6:45 am this morning- when I awoke too my borrowed CGM buzzing to tell me that my blood sugar 279 while my meter reported that I was 291.

I did a bolus correction for the 291 and 15 grams of carbs because coffee makes my numbers go north- and high bg or not, this Diazon was not skimping on her morning coffee!

Anyway, my basal testing is pushed back yet another day- Can you say PSYCH-OUT?

Today is National Make Your Own Holiday Day – I kid you not Diabetesaliciousness readers- it really is.

So in honor of this fantastical holiday, I’ve decided to make up my own holiday called: “Every PWD (Person with diabetes) in the World With Diabetes ROCKS DAY”.

Why? Because I absolutely believe that every single person in the world with diabetes does rock!

PWDs “ROCK” on many levels, such as but not limited too:

1. We deal with diabetes 24 X 7, 365 days a year- and are not diabetes exempt from vacations, religious holidays, family emergencies, or mental health days. So yeah, WE ROCK.

2. We deal with the Diabetes Police on a daily basis and no PWD that I’m aware of has committed bodily harm to said members of the Diabetes Police. Again- WE ROCK!

3. Whenever one of our people (a.k.a. PWDs) needs help, other people with diabetes are there to lend a helping hand! WE ROCK

4. PWDs speak the same diabetes language- without ever having to utter a word! We get and accept one another- faulty pancreas and and all!

So my friends, HAPPY “EVERY PWD IN THE WORLD ROCKS DAY!”

If you’re a PWD, give yourself a hand, because YOU ROCK!

If you’re a Type 3- tell the person with diabetes in your life how much they ROCK!

Dear Mom and Dad -

I don't think I ever said it before, but THANK- YOU so much for taking care of me; Debbie, and Donna.

God give you 6 kids and 3 girls with Type 1 Diabetes

I don't know how you did it.

How did you take care of us all those years ago, before the technology and research?
Before the open forum of communication on the net and the freedom of carb counting and insulin pumps?

Back in the days when urine testing required fizzy pills and glass tubes, a clumsy and and inaccurate way that was used to measure our sugars way back when...Until Blood Sugar machines the size & weight of a brick came about.
These antiquated "machines" took 5 minutes to calibrate and another 5 minutes to measure your sugar. They were far from portable, required metal lancets that hurt like a bitch, and God only knows how accurate they really were. They were also VERY expensive. You bought one with money that we didn't have so that we could gain control. Instead of thanking you, I bitched about it.
I wanted to be NORMAL & fought you tooth and nail. I'm sorry.

I don't ever remember you crying when I was diagnosed. I know you did, but you kept your tears behind closed doors and in the dark. You always entered my hospital room with a smiling face and a bunch of new "Romona" books for me to read.

I just did the Diabetes math. I was 8 at my diagnoses, Donna & Debbie we're both 12.
Donna is 20 years older than me and Debbie was 14 years older.

So, if I've got the math down correctly, 1st came Donna at the age of 12. When she was 18, Debbie was diagnosed at the age of 12.

Which means you had 6 years before 1 Diabetic daughter became 2.

You had 10 years before 2 Diabetic daughters became 3.

Donna had married and moved out four years earlier by the time of my diagnoses.
Your daily diabetes family life was just getting easier when I joined the Club of D. It must have been so hard for you to handle...And even harder for you to hear.

Mom and Dad, I'm so sorry that my diagnoses hurt you, and for what all our combined diabetes has put you both through.

You never let us feel sorry for ourselves. I never grew up with a hatred of diabetes. Though deep in my heart, I hated what it did to you. I think it really helped when dad sat me down long ago in my hospital room and said; "Kelly it is what it is, do what you have to." And I did.
Daddy knew from experience, because he was a T1 as well.

Mom, you posted the ADA diet on our kitchen wall, right behind my seat at the kitchen table.
You measures portions fanatically, right down to the grape. You'd dole out 12 grapes for my snack. I'd give them back and say in a venomous "Keep Em! Who can eat 12 grapes?!" But u were just doing your job and never wavered. I never experienced chicken with the skin on it until I was 21, and to this day, have never had a class of OJ that was more than 1/4 of a cup.
I don't even drink juice anymore.

.
Dad, you body surfed and swam in the ocean every summer, and you shared your love of all water sports with me. Together we became part of the waves, while maintaining good numbers.
You rode your bike every morning, and when you passed by my bus stop Freshman year, I was embarrassed instead of proud. I'd give anything to see you peddle your bike one more time. I'm sorry.
You and mom took long walks every evening with the dog and u ou always said exercise was the key.

You were meticulous, bordering on the insane, about what you put in your body.

A militant soldier when it came to food. Only skim milk, fruit, and eating only whole grain bread before it became the rage. While I longed for "Wonder Bread," you put the kibosh white bread of any kind. I thought you were mean, but you were smart because you still let us enjoy ice cream.

Diabetes took so much from you both, most namely your daughter Debbie.
Daddy, you never recovered from her loss. Every time you spoke of her death, I heard sadness and anger all mixed together. It broke a part of you that all my jokes couldn't fix.

Mom, you cared for her (for all of us,) with such gusto that you're heart literally started to skip beats.
The scariest moment of my life was when you and Debbie were both in separate hospitals.
I came home from school to an answering machine full of voice mail that told me nothing and everything.
I knew one of you had gone to heaven. I was so scared it was you. I felt so guilty (yet relieved, because I still had a mom) when I heard it was her.

What got me thinking about what you both did for me?

All the parents of Diabetics kids whose blogs I read. I hear what they go through everyday and I immediately think of you both. They tell me what you wouldn't.

Parents of diabetics are a different breed entirely.

They are strong, keeping a smile on their face when they take care of their kids, even when they feel like crying out in pain.
These parents have the strength to say "no" to their kids, even when every fiber of their soul wants to say yes to them.
Strong enough to take their kids blood in the middle of the night, insert infusion sets that make their babies cry, give-up gluten with a smile that never seems forced, and count carbs until it becomes second nature to everyone in the family.

These moms and dads have the fortitude to let their diabetic children grow to become independent young adults. Even when they know that independence means that their kids will make conscience mistakes in order to fit in.

Diabetic parents hate the disease, but are strong enough to not let their kids hate it, because if they did, their children would never learn to accept and love themselves.

To every parent in D-blog land, THANK-YOU. I know when your kids are old enough, they will tell you themselves, and they will have meant from the bottom of their hearts.

To my parents, THANK YOU. I wouldn't be here today if you hadn't worked so hard to keep me healthy.

You taught me to pick myself up by my bootstraps and move forward. I hope I'm making you proud.

Love You Both!
Kelly
#6

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome. Anne "Anna" Bradstreet

Lately, things have been crazy hectic- and time has been an issue with everything.

As far as Diabetesaliciousness goes, writers block has been staring at me square in the face as of late.

On the work front, I’m ending one contract job (which I’m happy about) and continuing with another – which makes me smile. I’ve also been lucky enough to garner a couple of freelance writing and consulting gigs in the diabetes arena and that fact reminds me that hope does indeed float~

On the health front all seems to be OK. Eye tests are great and I’m inching closer to the dreaded basal tests. They start at the beginning of next week with my friend Gary Scheiner. I’m not thrilled about the basal testing, but I am looking forward to the results.

I’ve been known Gary since 2006 and he’s been a great help in keeping me off the “Screw The Basal Testing - I'm Fine” track!

I’ve been obsessively testing my blood sugars (more so than usual- I'm going through test strips like freaking water!) as of late to get into the swing of the whole basal testing thing and I’ve already learned a few things.

1. I barely eat after breakfast and have to force myself to eat lunch. I’m just not that hungry during the day and I’m not really sure why. This of course means I’m famished towards the end of the workday and start to run low around between 4 and 6 pm.

2. I get hungry at night and that’s a problem because I find myself not only treating my low before I eat dinner, (which is a balancing act in and in of it self,) but I also find myself grazing after dinner – Again, not good for my numbers or my waistline. As far as weight goes, I haven’t gained or lost any… so that’s good. I’ve managed to stay at the same weight all winter. BUT I’m still about 7lbs from where I’d like to be.

3. I need to get back into the habit of exercising more. It’s been a long, cold winter and my cardio has been off. Even though the size 8’s still fit, I need to get tighter in the muscle department. So along with swimming, I’ve decided to do more weights and stretching, AND put some air in the bike tires and start peddling again. It’s a cruiser not a racing bike, so no finish lines to cross p no pressure there.

I rode a bike when I was in Florida and I forgot how much fun (and what great exercise) bike riding could be – I can’t wait to start!

I’m itching for changes in my life, both big and small. I’m the only person who can make these changes happen by doing what needs to be done. It's a daunting thought at times, but totally doable as far as I'm concerned.

I believe that every single one of us is capable of making changes that will help us in life. Everyone can make changes- it's the actual doing that's hard.

What changes (little or big, diabetes related or not) are you planning to make for spring?

I'm in need of some more endorphins today. According to Life Legend, " Endorphins are natural, morphine-like compounds that raise the pain threshold, produce sedation and induce euphoria."

Basically, endorphins make you happy - They combat stress, they make your skin look brighter - and they make you naturally high - but not in the blood sugar sense of the phrase~

To quote Elle Woods: Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands, they just don't.

Since I don't have time to exercise today, because of the whole having to work thing/office /Friday being the busiest day thing foe me! But lucky for me, laughter also releases endorphins (and according to some, laughter lowers blood sugar and burns calories) so I'm all for laughing !

So, in honor of it being Friday, the fabulousness of endorphins & laughter's benefits as a whole, enjoy the following & LOL to your heart's content!

And I "double dog dare you" not to sing along!

I've been tagged by two different bloggers ( Colleen & Naomi) regarding the 6 word memoir.
You know the one, where you
1) Write your own six word memoir
2) Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you want
3) Link to the person that tagged you in your post, and to the original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere
4) Tag at least five more blogs with links; and
5) Leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!

I'll agree to tag 8 since I was contacted twice.
HERE IT GOES.
Kelly K
Funny, loyal, surprising, sensitive, strong, & "ironical"
who I tagged.
Hannah
Windy
Diane
Penny
Ninja George
Kerri
Marcus
Justine
Young Crazy Diabetic Kids Hanging Out & Causing Mayhem - I love it!!
I was contacted last Wednesday (I'm a little late, I know) by Danial Opalacz, a student at Colby College in Maine.
Danial and his friends have started on On-line community called Young Diabetics
For, you guessed it, Type 1 teen and college age diabetics. The idea came aboutafter a good was diagnosed with Type 1.
When I diagnosed, I remember my father telling me not to tell any potential employers about my diabetes or the DMV. My father kept it a secret for most of his life. I haven't.
Today, it's all about communicating, sharing, and owning our diabetes. I'm always happy to give a shout-out to an organization that will allow for that. Check Young Diabetics out and see for yourself.
MY very own Diabetesaliciousness Diabetic Supporter!
On April 19th, my wonderful young cousin Margaret and her wonderful young mother Ginny are participating in JDRF's South Carolina Walk to Cure Diabetes.
This is their second year walking and I'm so proud of them! These Chiclets are committed to finding a cure for their friend who was diagnosed at the age of 4, and a boat load of cousins who are all Type 1's. If you 'd like to donate to their team, here's the link. http://walk.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=extranet.personalpage&confirmID=86987972
Give them a big " THANKS" and tell them that you think that they're Diabetesalicious!!!