Scale spoon

As both a diabetic and a chef, this scale spoon intrigues me.  It seems like a fairly logical gadget.  I am often weighing out small amounts of ingredients like salt, spices, vanilla, etc.  I typically do this on my regular scale with small bowls, but I wonder if this spoon would work better.  Of course, the types of things that I would weigh in those small amounts, would have a negligible effect on the total carb count anyway, so I’m not sure the extra precision would be worth the $37.  What do any other diabetic chefs think?

Not fair

I am getting soooo frustrated.  I’ve been exercising nearly every day for the last month and I have lost a grand total of…. 1-2 pounds.  I’ve seriously cut down my food intake.  I’ve cut down my insulin intake (both because of less food and better basals).  And what do I have to show for it?  Absolutely nothing.

GiR, on the other hand, eats whatever the heck he wants, barely exercises (well, he exercises with me, but I know it’s not as intense as he is used to) and he stays very trim.

I feel like it’s such a waste.  If I’m working my ass off and have nothing to show for it, then what’s the point?  It’s just not fair.

CGMS questions

I talked to my husband last night and he seems okay with the idea of pursuing a CGMS.  I just don’t know where to start.

For those who have gotten insurance coverage, what does that mean exactly?  Do they cover 20% of the costs?  50%  90%  What?  Does the part that goes through the insurance go towards the deductible?  Even if they decide not to pay for it, is it possible to have it still go towards the deductible?  Example:  at one point in my diabetes life, I found that I could buy biohazard containers through the insurance.  They didn’t actual pay for any of it, but it went towards paying off the deductible.  I hope that made sense.

My endo recommended either Dexcom or Abbott’s Navigator.  I looked at the Navigator, but man, the transmitter is HUGE.  No thanks.  Also, does the Dexcom allow manual blood sugar entry yet?  My endo said yes, but I couldn’t verify that on their website.

I’m pretty sure I will have a hard time convincing my insurance to pay for it.  I have some hypoglycemia, but no unawareness and no need for hospital visits.  I am looking to get pregnant, but not for another couple years.  Any other ideas for reasons?

Oh man, this is a scary new place.  But, I want CGMS so bad…

Endo appt and new A1c

I had my appointment with my new endo yesterday. The Diabetes Center at that hospital is supposed to be the best one in the area, so I figured I’d be in good hands.

The initial receptionist was nice, but I was still subjected to Unexpected Meter Rape. She also wanted me to disconnect from my pump and hand it over. Um, no thank you. I was not about to reach in my pants and disconnect from my hip right there in the lobby. I told her I had printed some reports, and that seemed good enough.

I got blood taken for the quick 6-minute A1c test, then waited for the endo. He brought in the results: 5.6% Just as I expected. =) However, he showed a chart of the readings they pulled from my meter and wow, that was a lot of red. Too many lows. The endo did not seem impressed with my A1c and instead said “yikes, we’ve got a lot of work to do”. *sigh* I felt rather defeated.

After looking at my pump programming, we decided that my basal was too high. He helped me tweak my rates so hopefully I will still have good control with fewer lows. He also insisted that I do a couple basal tests, which I hate oh so much. Wish me luck!

Regarding meds, he took me off the Benicar (it’s like lisinopril or Altace). My blood pressure is good and I’m a touch young to worry about it. Also, he said that I can’t be on it while I’m pregnant (which I plan on happening in a couple years), so we might as well just not bother.

As I mentioned in my last post, he wrote me a script for Glucagon. I’ve never used it before, but it’s just another good tool to have in my arsenal.

We touched briefly on looking into Dexcom, which I may bring up again in December. I really want to get it, but I know GiR is a little hesitant about the cost.  We also touched briefly on Symlin, but I’m not really interested at this point.

And finally, he wrote me a script for Freestyle Lite strips! I’ve had the meter for awhile, but never bothered to actually switch over. I think I will like it a bit better than my Flash. It’s always fun to have new diabetes toys. =)

As a result of this appt, I’ve got a bunch more set up: one in a month to meet with an nurse educator lady, one in August to meet with a pump lady, then another in December with the endo. The one in December will be a group session to meet with other Type 1s in the area. That should be neat. =)

Oh! Another interesting tidbit is that apparently NPH is available without a prescription. I didn’t know that. The endo mentioned it as a decent back-up system in case the pump fails. I guess I learn something new all the time!

Raising my voice (a little late)

I really wish I could have posted on Monday, but I have just been way too busy. Training for work, seemingly endless appointments, housework to do, etc. I may have missed the official date, but every day is a good day to educate someone about Type 1 diabetes.

Last Saturday, I got a quick haircut and managed to tell my stylist a little bit about how people get Type 1 diabetes. She seemed honestly interested, and I hope she files away that information for future use.

Yesterday at my endo appointment (which I will blog about later), someone else waiting in the office asked how I like my pump. Oh, I like it very much. =) She asked if it dispensed insulin automatically if you went high, which unfortunately isn’t the case. I grinned, though, and said it might be possible someday. Hopefully that tidbit of information will help her with a possible pump decision in the future.

Soon, I will be educating GiR on how to use Glucagon. I’ve never had it around before, but now that my blood sugar tends toward low rather than high, it’s a good thing to know how to use. The more my husband knows, the more he can share that knowledge with others.

We never stop having Type 1 diabetes, so we should never stop educating ourselves and others about it.

I think I forgot something

Yesterday I was rushing to do a quick site change before I had my baking class.  I got the new hip area IV-Prepped, got the site itself ready, let the IV Prep dry, stuck the thing into place, swapped my tubing to the new site, pulled up my pants and was on my way.

Notice anything missing in that routine?

You got it.  I forgot to take the old site out.  Oops.

Later on, I was checking something in my pocket and I felt something on my hip.  As soon as I figured it out, I just had to laugh at myself.  I didn’t want to take it out just yet because I didn’t have any antibiotic cream on me, so I just left it in until I got home.  It secretly made me laugh the whole time I was at class.  =)

How do you do it?

Exercise, that is.

I’ve been trying really hard to exercise nearly every day.  Unfortunately, it’s really hard to be motivated.  To me at least, exercise is like a huge undertaking.  It just takes forever.

1. Test blood sugar
2. Set temp rate
3. Get off my ass
4. Change out of work clothes
5. Change into exercise clothes
6. Rig up Lucy on my armband
7. Grab Starburst, inhaler. (and cell phone if GiR doesn’t come with)
8. Put on gloves and headband (it’s still chilly around here)
9. Actually run
10. Collapse and drink tons of water
11. Check blood sugar
12. Strip and get Lucy situated back to normal
13. Shower
14. Change into lounging/bedtime clothes

Yeesh.  14 steps.  And that doesn’t even include if I have to treat lows or do extra stretching or anything.   It takes me like over an hour to do a 30 min exercise.  That just seems like so much time to invest in something that actually doesn’t take that long.  I know this is what’s best for me, but how do I make the process better?

P.S.  I managed to run a whole mile without stopping to walk yesterday.  Took me 12 minutes, but hey, I gotta start somewhere.

Control. Maybe a little too much…

Well, I’ve gotten my 30 day average down to 120.  Hurray!  Other averages I check (21, 14, 7, and 3) all look great too!  I am fully looking forward to around a 5.6 or 5.7 at my next endo appt on April 15th.

Side note: Yes, I’m seeing a real endo.  I finally made an appointment with the best Type 1 endo in the area.  I just hope he’s good.

However, this lower average comes with a cost.  More frequent lows.  About one every other day.  Lame.

GiR threw a fit during my last low and said that I should do more basal testing.  Well, yeah, perhaps.  I’m just trying to get better control, and with better control comes more lows.  I’m also exercising more (more about that in a separate post), which is bringing my insulin requirements down.  I’m still figuring everything out.  For now, I’ve set my target blood sugar back to 95.  Hopefully that will help slightly.

I do miss the times when I wasn’t scarfing down Starburst every 15 minutes.  However, I certainly don’t miss those 200s.  They can kiss my ass.