National Diabetes Month

So...November apparently is "National Diabetes Month" so I thought I'd give everyone a bit of insight in to what it's like to live as a Type 1 - insulin dependent diabetic. I was first diagnosed with this disease 13 years ago just after I had my second son.

First off, as a Type 1 diabetic, my body does NOT make insulin so no diet I go on will ever change that fact that I need insulin. It will, however, lessen some of my need for it. That's why I really like the Trim Healthy Mama way of eating. It's very diabetes friendly and I've been able to see a huge improvement in my blood sugar numbers. I still have a little way to go, but they are the best they have been in the last 13 years.

That's also why I opted to get my tattoo a couple years ago. I should wear a medical alert bracelet and did for the first few years, but when my original one broke, I couldn't find a replacement one I liked so I decided to just go permanent. That is also why I wear an insulin pump - 24/7 with very little breaks. I can only take it off for an hour to shower or swim. Other than that, it's on me. This is a vast improvement though from the 4-5 shots (or more) that I would have to give myself every day. My pump also gives me much more flexibility in when I eat and exercise.

Exercise makes your body use what insulin you have more effectively. Since I always have insulin running (it's called a basal rate), by wearing a pump I can turn this rate down so I don't have a low sugar during or after working out. Since I work out four times a week, this is really helpful for me.

It's also important to realize that Type 1 diabetics could eat the same thing every single day and something would go wrong and blood sugar affected. For example, just today I experienced one of the worse reactions to a high blood sugar that I have ever had in my 13 years as a T1.

A normal range of blood sugar is 70-100 for most people. Typically diabetics are allowed to go a tad bit higher to 120, but that's really the max.

My pump was getting low on insulin this morning. It alarms when I have less than 15 units left. That will typically last me a couple of hours. Since we were heading out to church and I didn't want the alarm to keep going off, I knew I needed to change the setting and add insulin.

When I say setting or "infusion set" this is what I mean:

Not my body.

I wear this exact same style of infusion set. It's placed with a large needle that is removed once placed. There is a plastic "needle" or cannula left behind through which my pump infuses insulin - much like a small IV. The section being held in the hand above is the part that can be removed. It's attached to the tubing which is attached to the reservoir that holds my insulin inside my pump. There is a motor inside that works to push the insulin through the tubing, kind of like an electric syringe. However, I did change everything out just before leaving for church. And that's when things went wonky.

Our church does somewhat of an "intermission" after worship songs. Children in grades preK-8 have Sunday School during the service so this is when they all leave, people can use the restroom, and do any last minute things that need doing before the sermon begins. I felt "off" and could tell I had some lactic acid building up in my system. This meant all the sugar in my system had no where to go. It couldn't get in to the cells and was building up in my blood stream. Ketones were forming which are never a good thing for a diabetic! I decided to test and my sugar was over 500 at that point. So I took a correction bolus and settled in to listen to our pastor.

However, within a half hour I could tell things were getting worse. The lactic acid was awful. I knew the longer I sat, the worse it would get, but I also wasn't even sure I could make it to the bathroom to test my sugar. I finally decided I really had no choice. I grabbed my meter and stood up. My legs were so stiff as I walked to the bathroom  that they weren't moving like they should at all.

Again I tested my sugar and it was still over 500. I once more took a bolus of insulin but at this point had figured out that something was not working with the new set I had placed that morning. I most likely hit a pocket of scar tissue which means my body wasn't absorbing the insulin like it should. I don't typically carry insulin or supplies with me on day-to-day outings except for my testing meter. I only carry backup supplies if I'm going to be gone overnight anywhere. So, I had no way to fix this until I went home and thankfully church would be wrapping up in the next 15-20 minutes. The walk helped move some of the lactic acid so my legs at least were working somewhat properly when I headed back to my seat.

As soon as I got home from church, I gave myself another correction bolus, but this time, I gave it with a needle so I knew it went in. I then changed out my entire setting again - tossing this new one since I can't reuse it once it's been inserted. This really hurts because my insurance company does not cover my pump supplies. They cover my insulin and test strips, but I pay out of pocket for the infusion sets. Even my pump is out of warranty, but still working. This means if it does break, I need to purchase a new one. They run at least $5,000 and up which means I can't afford to replace it so I hope it continues to work until we have insurance that will once more cover it. My pump was purchased when we did have insurance that covered such things. And no, none of this has to do with existing conditions and Obamacare. This all happened years before.

I skipped lunch and finally had just some pepperoni sticks around 2pm (pure protein so it wouldn't affect my blood sugar but would quiet my hungry tummy). By 4:30pm my sugar was down to about 176 and I felt it safe to finally eat something with carbs in it with a good bolus to cover. It was obvious that the insulin I had injected was slowly working to bring down my sugar levels.

I did have a pity party because living with diabetes just, well, it just sucks. There's no polite way of saying it. Every day I have to think about blood sugar, carb counts, exercise, etc - all things that affect my sugar and it can be very overwhelming at times. Then I think about how overwhelming it is to me - an adult - and think of all the families who deal with this insidious disease with their children.

So the next time someone tells you they have diabetes, refrain from thinking it's because they are overweight or eat too much sugar. All those things could be true, but those aren't the cause of everyone who has this disease. In fact, it's thought that mine was caused by a virus. So refrain from giving advice unless they ask. More often than not, we're just doing the best we can with it.

Now I'm off to eat a snack because three hours after I had my meal, I'm now low (62) and thus begins the lovely yo-yo'ing affect of high and low blood sugars. Just for once, I wish mine would stay normal no matter what.

A Friend of a Friend of a Friend

As I've mentioned a time or two here, I am a type 1 diabetic. This means I need insulin to survive. I was 28 years old when I was diagnosed. Since that time they have come out with a new term for those like me who are diagnosed as insulin-dependent at a later age...Type 1.5.

I've talked about my story and how I was diagnosed a time or two here on my blog. This is probably the best one to go read (and no, you don't have to sponsor me for the Tour de Cure - I haven't set up my page yet for this year. ::grin::)

My hubby works for a rather small company. I think the grand total of employees right now is eleven. Thankfully over the last six years he has worked there we have been covered under some sort of health insurance. This is extremely helpful given how much insulin (almost $100 a vial) and my insulin pump supplies cost. Sadly it does mean that our insurance can change from year to year. Every year it is reviewed and the least inexpensive company is chosen.

Now we do live in Maine so that only allows for either Anthem or Aetna to cover us. I have tried in the past to get us quotes from other companies. Once I type in "Maine" they will no longer help us. Highly regulated - that's us! But I digress....

Two years ago our current policy allowed me to go back on a pump after being off for a year. If you want to read how and why that happened you can click here and here. I went back to my original pump and company (the MiniMed Paradigm by Medtronic).

However, last year when our insurance changed my pump supplies were no longer covered. These can be rather expensive. Thankfully I was able to get a three month supply shipped to me just before our coverage changed. By using them sparingly (i.e. incorrectly at times), I was able to make them stretch for almost nine months. However, it was definitely getting close to the time I would either have to go back on shots or find a way to  buy my supplies.

I know, this is turning in to a novel.

Where does a "friend of a friend of a friend" come in?

Two weeks ago I was at my weight loss Bible study class and talk turned to medical things. I made mention that I had found a wholesale company where I could get my supplies for a fraction of the cost. While still expensive, I was happier paying $140 for the two boxes I needed for a month rather than $300. I knew by using them sparingly and wisely I could make them stretch a bit but this was an affordable option.

And just last week I received my first set from the wholesale company. I was pretty happy I had found an affordable way to stay on my pump.

However, today my hubby brought me home a package. I had received a call from UPS a couple days ago that they had a package to deliver but couldn't make it to my house due to the roads. I gave them hubby's work address to deliver to instead.

He brought in a box from Medtronic. Odd. I hadn't ordered from them. I couldn't afford to!

I opened up the box to find two boxes of reservoirs and two boxes of infusion sets. Definitely odd!

Then I looked at the invoice. It had my name for shipping but a friend's husband's name for the billing and ordering. Really odd!

I immediately emailed my friend to ask what was up.

My Bible study leader goes to church with the man who ordered the supplies for me. He is a rep for Medtronic. She said I needed some supplies to get me through for a bit, could he help me? Apparently he could as I received the supplies in the mail today.

I've never met this man and I've only met his wife a few times at a VBS we did together a few years ago.

However, I wanted to publicly thank them. I had been thinking today before my hubby came home that my one box each of supplies would not last me three months. I could probably stretch it to just over two but it wouldn't go for 12 weeks unless I did some "cheating" again. And that messes with my blood sugars. All of this happened without me even realizing that my hubby had two months of supplies for me sitting in his office. I now have three months to figure out what to do and save up to order again from the wholesale company.

Thank you so much Debbie, Jim, and Brenna!

Researching Life

As I've shared before on this blog, I'm a diabetic. Seemingly a Type 1 diabetic, although I was diagnosed at age 28 with this disease. But why did I say "seemingly?" Simply because of a few articles I've read that say what I truly have is Type 1.5 or latent autoimmune diabetes of adulthood (LADA) simply based on the age of onset. I do know that my body makes antibodies against my islet cells. That if I stop taking my insulin, my blood sugars will spike & I will most likely die or at the very least end up in the hospital - not a good thing.

I do know that my first endocrinologist was very surprised that I was making antibodies & gave me the diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes. Simply put, I have to take insulin for the rest of my life because my body no longer makes it.

For the first year, I took daily insulin injections which really is a misnomer. I took injections four to five times a day. I was happy when a new insulin came out called Lantus. Lantus is a 24-hour insulin that does not peak. I took one shot each night before bed & it stayed at a steady rate all day long, helping to keep my blood sugars low between meals. Prior to that I took an insulin called NPH which lasted about 6-12 hours so I had to take two shots of this. But I could mix it with my insulin for meals. Lantus can not be mixed so it added a shot to my daily regimen.

Then I started on my insulin pump by Medtronic. I used their Minimed Paradigm pump & loved it. It made my life so much easier & the control of my diabetes was tighter. My quarterly HgBA1C was lower. HgBA1C stands for hemoglobin A1C which is a blood test that gives your "average" blood sugar for the last three months. It's the most accurate way to determine this since you can't lie about what your sugars are - blood tells. The docs like to see if below 7%.

Of course, you all know how this turned out. If not, click HERE to read what happened when I switched pumps a year ago.

So now that I am back on "daily" insulin shots, I'm finding that my control is horrid. My average blood sugar is well over 200. The normal range should be 70-100. I'm finding that a sugar in the low 100's brings on hypoglycemic symptoms even though my sugar is fine. I'm finding that I'm starting to have neuropathy in my toes again (sharp pins & needles feelings that HURT). This is NOT good. Not good at all.

However, it's serving as a large wake-up call.

I know that I need to loose weight. I've known this for a very long time. I joined Hot for the Holidays to keep me motivated & accountable. It's working to some extent. I've lost a whopping 1.5 pounds since I started - four weeks ago. At this rate, I'll meet my goal in about 17 years - if I did my math right.

I know this is more than just a weight issue. It's more than just a food issue. It's even more than just a health issue. It's a heart issue. So very much a heart issue.

I know that I need to make some major changes around here. I need some major "stick-to-it-ness" to move forward. I need an attitude change as I tell my children frequently.

So I'm spending some time tonight while my boys are watching mindless TV too late at night (I know but it's Star Wars: Clone Wars & they have to put it on late & we have no way to tape it & it's just me & the two older boys right now so I'm letting them) I'm spending some time researching my life.

I'm looking up stuff about the glycemic index. I ordered some new workout DVDs off eBay (Zumba). Before I go to bed tonight I plan to have an eating plan written out for tomorrow as well as an exercise plan. I'm recommitting to this goal I have. I even took a quiz on Spark People about my motivation. It said I was at this point in my goal searching. I'm ready to make a difference in my life.

I'm tired of being fat. I'm tired of having out of control blood sugars. I'm ready to be healthy. I'm ready for a change in my life. I'm ready.