The A1C: When Reality Strikes

After three months, sometimes a Type One may begin to feel confident in their attempt to control such a perplexing disease.

Then . . . reality strikes.

 

 Although I think we saw this one coming (T1Trio High's)

 

Daniel's A1C Result: 9.7

Caleb's A1C Result: 9.3

Hannah's A1C Result: 8.3

 

After reviewing the numbers, I can concur that a little "tightening of the ship"may be in order. This would entail things such as: 

More units of insulin for carb intake (insulin to carb ratio), our correction factor (how much insulin for high blood sugars), . . . less stress. :) 

You get the idea!

I'm not worried, the Type One Trio is stuck with playing this game for life . . . techinically, we are all a bunch of rookies! We'll get the hang of it . . . 

It's not optional.

Life on Batteries!

It - - - is - - - Amazing!

Coming into this new stage of Type One, I had my doubts. But now that I am functioning fully on my pump, I can definitely say that I love it.

I went into the appointment feeling a little hesitant. After attending both Hannah's and Daniel's pump meetings, I always came away with the same fact:

Pump Appointments = many hours in doctor's office.

However, this appointment ended up being absolutely amazing!

The best part was my pump educator. Only a few minutes into our conversation, I began to notice that he seemed more knowledgeable then any of the other pump educators. . .

Come to find out, he has had diabetes since he was thirteen, and has been pumping for 18 years!

As I stated in a previous post, there is nothing like meeting another Type One! Once my brain acquired the information of his "Type-One-ness," it was all uphill from there!

On the way back from the doctor, I barely had the pump on for an hour and yet a certain sense of freedom came over me. With only one hour on the pump, I had already given the equivalent of four shots - without actually giving one! 

~ Freedom ~

No doubt this coming week will include "bumps in the road," but I'm looking forward to living out the rest of my days . . . on AAA batteries! (I know, I like that phrase)  :) 

 

WDD: Our Celebration

HAPPY WORLD DIABETES DAY!!!

I hope everyone has been having an amazing month raising awareness for Type One! ;)

Today, my family decided to celebrate World Diabetes Day by visiting the enormous city of Chicago!

As a family, we decided that we would visit the Holocaust Museum in Skokie, IL, and then proceed to the Woodfield Mall for some "leisure time" in the afternoon.

The Holocaust Museum was amazing! Whenever I look back in history to such tragic times, I find that it helps put my own difficulties in perspective. Walking throughout the museum, I was constantly overwhelmed with the emotion of the horrific atrocities suffered by the Jewish Nation. 

Following the museum, we headed to the Woodfield Mall. Here we walked around an enormous building full of . . .  "stuff", and created our "Human Blue Circle" to mark our part in raising awareness for diabetes.

I know, it's pathetically small, but we did our best! :) I also called up my friend at college, and she ended up rounding up her own circle for diabetes awareness!

Because of my fairly recent diagnosis, this ended up being my first WDD celebration! Thanks to all who have participated, both locally and world-wide! (For mores stories, please visit www.idf.org/worlddiabetesday )

On a closing note, tomorrow afternoon I will be starting my pump! I'm very excited, but this following week will be followed by 24 hour testing every day. Please pray that it will go smoothly! 

Looking forward to running on AAA Batteries! ;)

Lets Lose the Lancets

(The picture above depicts the general idea of calloused fingertips that each Type One carries.)

On the first day of National Diabetes Month, Sean Busby- professional snowboarding champion, lived out the routines of Type One Diabetes. Sean was "pumping" (saline solution) throughout the day, and created scenarios of different blood sugars.

It was encouraging to see a non-Type One go to such lengths to try and understand just how complicated Type One is!

In the final text that Sean sent during the night, he writes, "Woke up out of a deep sleep... Dreamt I went low. Quick check: 96. I'm good- 


My fingers never get a rest from my lancet device." 

For some reason, this final text really summed up a category of Type One that some people overlook.

Each of the T1Trio members test at least five times a day, on average, it ranges from 8-10 times.

When you feel high - you test

When you feel low - you test

When you feel sick - you test

When you feel tired - you test

When you are hungry - you test

When you are thirsty - you test

When you are sad - you test

When you are happy - you test

You get the idea . . . any emotions or feeling a T1 encounters usually calls for a blood test.

I'm not complaining . . . blood tests are an incredible alternative to processes used before testers came out!

But seriously . . . with modern technology at our fingertips, bloodless testing could just be a reality. A great example of this is shown below, the Grove Bloodless Glucometer.

Hey World! options are out there . . . hopefully, it's only a matter of time! :)

Happy Diabetes Awareness Month and don't forget . . .   

World Diabetes Day is November 14, 2013!

Highs: They Run in our Blood ...

Have you ever seen an Endocrinologist speechless? Seeing them with nothing to say is the fun part.

What comes after . . . not so much.

The above picture depicts today's numbers. I thought it would be smart to let our viewers understand a "bad day" among the entirety of the Trio, not myself. The sad fact is that we all have bad numbers - super bad numbers. As you can see, when they all occur in one night, we are in for trouble.

Yet, as an optimist, hey! What's a bad A1C report? ? ? (cough cough) :)

When worried about the outcome of inevitable situations, (bad doctor appointments) the Type One Trio has learned to resort to other tactics beside concrete evidence such as our testers display . . . 

 

Initially, they will be upset . . . but really, how can you get mad at these faces?

Thankfully, we were able to find the source of our troubles! 

---- Faulty Insulin ---

After talking to our doctors, we came to the conclusion that the insulin had some definite issues. Both Hannah and Daniel drew out of the same vile of insulin, leading to the same effect on their blood sugars.

We resorted to syringes for them to help start the correction of the highs.

Once we reloaded the pumps and supplies with fresh insulin, our numbers began the downward descent towards good numbers! 

Thankfully, numbers are down into the 100-200s!  :)

 On a different note, we are all looking forward to the National Diabetes Awareness Month: November

Find out more at Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation or American Diabetes Association!

College Highs

For future reference, college and Type One don't mix . . . 

(B.G. of 478)

As I stated in my last post, numbers have been way to high. Sadly, that fact is still true. I fight the highs with multiple injections, today I've had 8 so far! I'm in for another shot that will include Lantus (long-lasting insulin), and at this rate, I won't be surprised if I set a syringe by my bed tonight ...

For an example, this is what today consisted of ...

8:00 A.M. - 251 Blood Glucose *shot

 (Bad number to start with)

11:52 A.M. - 300 B.G. *shot

2:00 P.M. - 280 B.G.*shot

 Lunch *shot

5:44 P.M. - 350 B.G. *shot

Supper *shot

8:08 P.M. - 345 B.G. *shot

9:56 P.M. - 248 B.G. *shot

Lantus *shot

Trying to balance terrible numbers and a heavy school load can be overwhelming at times, yet I know it won't always be this hard! I just have to step back, take a breath, and trust God for strength each day.

Through all of this there is one thing I get to look forward to - my pump! It's sitting out in the front cabinet, waiting to whip my numbers into shape! I'm truly looking forward to hooking up to it, it has helped Hannah and Daniel, and I'm fairly confident it will help me too! 

November 15 is the start date ... 18 days to go! :)

 

Hyper-Highs

It's one thing to have a high blood sugar.

It's another thing to have a high blood sugar - for an extended period of time. 

One thing is for sure, a human body is not made to tolerate sugars over 120. 

Anything over that would be considered "high". 

After reading other Type One Diabetic's input on what they consider "high", I have come to this conclusion.

Our Type One Trio is in a "sticky wicket".

After reading on American Diabetes Association's site, I learned that one lady was terrified by any number over 180.

On average, 180 is a beautiful number to shoot for.

It has occurred to me that having three Type One's can destroy the fervency for targeting good blood sugars.

 

For instance: When one T1T member is hitting 450, all attention is trained on bringing those damagingly-high numbers down. At the same time, another T1T member is 250, but due to the difficult details involved in bringing down the 450 - the 250 seems much more minute. Along with such a situation, it takes a lot out of the entire family, when one T1T member's blood sugar is haywire. 

 

"Highs" distort the way a Type One feels, thinks, and acts.

 

This past month has been damaging . . . both for my upcoming A1C, and for my future health.

 That's the reality of Type One - of my life. 

As of the past week, I hit 520 last Sunday and 500 yesterday. 

 

I woke up to 380 this morning, and 400's throughout the day. Although I am not always this high, the re-occurrence of these hyper-highs are a bit of a nuisance.

 

Such numbers do not construct a "good report" for my Endo, or my future. 

Whether it is the stress of school, beautiful fall colds, or just good ole Type One giving me a run through; I've got to get these numbers under control. 

 Hyper-Highs are not cool, something needs to give. 

 

Something's got to give.