I'd say low carb, or even no-carb, but I can't do that. I like me some carbs, at least. so, today I made mac and cheese and replaced part of the mac with cauliflower, which I dumped in while the rest of the mac was cooking.
It was ok. I liked the cauliflower, I like it cooked anyway. My daughter picked every piece out-defeating the purpose, but then she isn't diabetic, so I suppose it's ok. My husband thought it was cool to have less carbs-it's a goal we're both working on for different reasons.
So, you know, it wasn't bad, man-but I'm not sure if it was my best performance. It was just ok for me. (quoting Randy Jackson here-although out of context. He's never had my half-mac-n-cheese).
Cheese out.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
CGM-Too Many Bugs?
I have been having lots of highs in the morning, and my endo suggests it could be as a result of lows at night.
So I asked if that might make me a good candidate for CGM (continuous glucose monitoring). She made a bit of a face, and said the technology was still weak. (??)
Apparently, at a recent conference, some docs wore the CGM at night and were getting alarms, but they weren't even diabetic.
So they have doubts about the efficacy.
My questions are:
1. Did they then pull out a meter and check if the numbers the CGM was getting were right?
and
2. Doesn't every one's blood sugar fluctuate? Yes. Couldn't a non-diabetic's blood sugar be dropping during the night and causing the alarm to go off? I would think so.How could the monitor tell you weren't really diabetic? If your sugar is dropping and you're wearing a monitor, presumably you inject insulin and that kind of drop (which is natural in a non-diabetic) could be a threat (and usually is) to a diabetic person. Thus the alarm. Sure, if you aren't diabetic, any alarm at all would seem stupid.
But if you were dropping, on insulin, wouldn't you like to know?
So I asked if that might make me a good candidate for CGM (continuous glucose monitoring). She made a bit of a face, and said the technology was still weak. (??)
Apparently, at a recent conference, some docs wore the CGM at night and were getting alarms, but they weren't even diabetic.
So they have doubts about the efficacy.
My questions are:
1. Did they then pull out a meter and check if the numbers the CGM was getting were right?
and
2. Doesn't every one's blood sugar fluctuate? Yes. Couldn't a non-diabetic's blood sugar be dropping during the night and causing the alarm to go off? I would think so.How could the monitor tell you weren't really diabetic? If your sugar is dropping and you're wearing a monitor, presumably you inject insulin and that kind of drop (which is natural in a non-diabetic) could be a threat (and usually is) to a diabetic person. Thus the alarm. Sure, if you aren't diabetic, any alarm at all would seem stupid.
But if you were dropping, on insulin, wouldn't you like to know?
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Argh....7.8?
My last numbers at the endo were not great...I was sitting at a 7.1 last time I was there, about 5 months ago. My cholesterol was a little high for the first time in my life...so I was nervous about going in this week.
It was a weird appointment.
My cholesterol is back down, good.
But my a1c is up to 7.8. Not so good, and annoying!
I know, I know, I haven't been exercising. So it shouldn't have been a huge surprise, but somehow it was.
She asked me when my numbers seem highest and honestly, it's the morning. But I don't know why! They always seem fine at bedtime and I take 3 units of lantus, then BLAM I'm high in the morning.
She said, as I sort of knew she would, that I may be going low at night, and should cut out the night time insulin. I may be having lows I don't wake up to, and going high after my liver kicks in.
So...I don't take any insulin last night, and lo and behold I am at 6.5 this morning. Not perfect, but waaay better than 10-13 mmol/l I have been running in the morning.
Not sure how to adjust for the little bit I still need to bring it down...maybe 1 unit of lantus at bedtime? Is it even going to do anything?
I'll try it out and let you know.
My goal is to be under 7.0 in September when I go back. This will require:
1. exercise
2. record keeping (you can't control diabetes properly without keeping track of what you are doing...I have set up a logbook that I think might work....based on a couple of models)
3. willpower
Willpower, eesh. I can do it.
It was a weird appointment.
My cholesterol is back down, good.
But my a1c is up to 7.8. Not so good, and annoying!
I know, I know, I haven't been exercising. So it shouldn't have been a huge surprise, but somehow it was.
She asked me when my numbers seem highest and honestly, it's the morning. But I don't know why! They always seem fine at bedtime and I take 3 units of lantus, then BLAM I'm high in the morning.
She said, as I sort of knew she would, that I may be going low at night, and should cut out the night time insulin. I may be having lows I don't wake up to, and going high after my liver kicks in.
So...I don't take any insulin last night, and lo and behold I am at 6.5 this morning. Not perfect, but waaay better than 10-13 mmol/l I have been running in the morning.
Not sure how to adjust for the little bit I still need to bring it down...maybe 1 unit of lantus at bedtime? Is it even going to do anything?
I'll try it out and let you know.
My goal is to be under 7.0 in September when I go back. This will require:
1. exercise
2. record keeping (you can't control diabetes properly without keeping track of what you are doing...I have set up a logbook that I think might work....based on a couple of models)
3. willpower
Willpower, eesh. I can do it.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Keeping Track
Am I the only one with diabetes that can't find a user-friendly, all encompassing way to keep track of all the numbers I have to deal with every day?
Is it too much to ask that someone, somewhere, produce a logbook that has room for glucose readings pre and post meal, carb notes (with a reasonable amount of room to actually record more than a number), and a little room in-between for extras like exercise or random lows?
And how about making it cute?
I can't tell you how happy I was when I got my Jr. pen, which is technically meant for kids, and it was blue and yellow and had happy spots all over it. It was....exciting, different, a change. And in a world where not much changes...after all, I am diabetic for life, it was refreshing. It wasn't grey (yeah I am in Canada-I can't bring myself to write gray-lol!).
Life shouldn't always be grey! The colour (again-Canada) boosts me every time I see it. So why doesn't someone make a logbook that looks like a happy journal-and includes all the entry options your average pumping and/or multiple injecting (me) modern-day diabetic needs? I am imagining something in the kinds of patterns and colours you see in scrapbooking paper-fun, bright, encouraging.
I have tried to do it myself, but I am not very good at formatting documents, creating spreadsheets and the like. I am still trying, but man. What I wouldn't give to walk into a bookstore and see a little logbook, all patterned up, colours on the interior pages, and a great layout that helps you see patterns and make changes to your routine if you must. Imagine!
If anyone stumbles across this post, and knows of a system or logbook like the one I am imagining, let me know!!
Is it too much to ask that someone, somewhere, produce a logbook that has room for glucose readings pre and post meal, carb notes (with a reasonable amount of room to actually record more than a number), and a little room in-between for extras like exercise or random lows?
And how about making it cute?
I can't tell you how happy I was when I got my Jr. pen, which is technically meant for kids, and it was blue and yellow and had happy spots all over it. It was....exciting, different, a change. And in a world where not much changes...after all, I am diabetic for life, it was refreshing. It wasn't grey (yeah I am in Canada-I can't bring myself to write gray-lol!).
Life shouldn't always be grey! The colour (again-Canada) boosts me every time I see it. So why doesn't someone make a logbook that looks like a happy journal-and includes all the entry options your average pumping and/or multiple injecting (me) modern-day diabetic needs? I am imagining something in the kinds of patterns and colours you see in scrapbooking paper-fun, bright, encouraging.
I have tried to do it myself, but I am not very good at formatting documents, creating spreadsheets and the like. I am still trying, but man. What I wouldn't give to walk into a bookstore and see a little logbook, all patterned up, colours on the interior pages, and a great layout that helps you see patterns and make changes to your routine if you must. Imagine!
If anyone stumbles across this post, and knows of a system or logbook like the one I am imagining, let me know!!
Monday, April 13, 2009
Oranges
Insulin means injections. I have searched through my journals from the time of my diagnosis, and there isn't a lot there to document how I felt about it. Did I take it all in stride? Was I in denial? I remember just knowing it was what it was and not really shaking my fist at fate or anything like that.
I don't know how they teach you to inject yourself now, but in 1985, you were given an orange and a syringe and told to jab it in. Get used to the feeling of "throwing" the needle into the somewhat resistant flesh of the orange. I did fine with the orange, but when the time came to do it to myself, I couldn't "throw" it in. I still don't, and it has been 24 years. I poke gingerly, and if it hurts too much, I change sites. I have always preferred to slide the needle in slowly, which is maybe stupid...but what can I tell you.
At that time, I was taking 2 insulins: NPH and Toronto (regular to Americans). I was mixing them in one syringe, and had to learn to do that properly. If I recall correctly, I was taking 2 shots a day, morning and suppertime. But maybe not. It might have been just one. This meant that everything I was allowed to eat for the day was based on my morning shot, no changes allowed. Hungry, or not.
This is why I am thankful now to be taking 5-6 injections a day (I now take Lantus and Novorapid)...smaller and more frequent doses mean I can make changes throughout the day. If I am not hungry I don't really have to eat, and if I am starving, I can eat a little more-just bump up my dose.
Maybe some people are more terrified of their first injection. If so, please share your experience in the comments. The only time I ever felt afraid of injecting was the first time I injected in my stomach...for some reason that gave me the heebie-jeebies. Now it's my preferred spot. ;)
I don't know how they teach you to inject yourself now, but in 1985, you were given an orange and a syringe and told to jab it in. Get used to the feeling of "throwing" the needle into the somewhat resistant flesh of the orange. I did fine with the orange, but when the time came to do it to myself, I couldn't "throw" it in. I still don't, and it has been 24 years. I poke gingerly, and if it hurts too much, I change sites. I have always preferred to slide the needle in slowly, which is maybe stupid...but what can I tell you.
At that time, I was taking 2 insulins: NPH and Toronto (regular to Americans). I was mixing them in one syringe, and had to learn to do that properly. If I recall correctly, I was taking 2 shots a day, morning and suppertime. But maybe not. It might have been just one. This meant that everything I was allowed to eat for the day was based on my morning shot, no changes allowed. Hungry, or not.
This is why I am thankful now to be taking 5-6 injections a day (I now take Lantus and Novorapid)...smaller and more frequent doses mean I can make changes throughout the day. If I am not hungry I don't really have to eat, and if I am starving, I can eat a little more-just bump up my dose.
Maybe some people are more terrified of their first injection. If so, please share your experience in the comments. The only time I ever felt afraid of injecting was the first time I injected in my stomach...for some reason that gave me the heebie-jeebies. Now it's my preferred spot. ;)
Friday, April 10, 2009
So that's what insulin does...
So I'm in the hospital. It's 1984. at this point I am not injecting anything myself. Whatever.I am sort of taking it all in stride. I never went through any denial (at least not for the first decade or so).
My first night out of intensive care and in my own (shared) hospital room, the nurse comes in with a white styrofoam cup. She puts it on the bedside table and says if you wake up in the night and feel weird, drink this. She doesn't tell me what it is, and I don't ask. Like I said, I was pretty docile and accepting. I guess she thought I would know what the deal was, but at that point I didn't really know much of anything.
Later that night, I find myself in a state somewhere between asleep and awake, kicking at the sheets and feeling extremely irritated. Still sleepy, but angry as a bee in a sweatsock (just made that up, like it?) And I'm hot. Really, uncomfortably warm. "This is freaking weird", I think, and DING!! A light goes on. The nurse said if I feel weird, drink this. So, like Alice in Wonderland, I do. I drink it, and wonder at the weird sweetness of it, what could it be? I also ring for a nurse, cause I figure it must be something they need to know.
The night nurse comes in and I tell her I had to drink the stuff. I think. I felt weird, so I drank it. "The stuff?" She smiles. "It's orange juice," she tells me, as she picks my finger to test my blood sugar (they still don't trust me to do it myself, I guess).
Yes, my blood sugar is low. Good thing you drank the juice.
Juice?
Weird.
My first night out of intensive care and in my own (shared) hospital room, the nurse comes in with a white styrofoam cup. She puts it on the bedside table and says if you wake up in the night and feel weird, drink this. She doesn't tell me what it is, and I don't ask. Like I said, I was pretty docile and accepting. I guess she thought I would know what the deal was, but at that point I didn't really know much of anything.
Later that night, I find myself in a state somewhere between asleep and awake, kicking at the sheets and feeling extremely irritated. Still sleepy, but angry as a bee in a sweatsock (just made that up, like it?) And I'm hot. Really, uncomfortably warm. "This is freaking weird", I think, and DING!! A light goes on. The nurse said if I feel weird, drink this. So, like Alice in Wonderland, I do. I drink it, and wonder at the weird sweetness of it, what could it be? I also ring for a nurse, cause I figure it must be something they need to know.
The night nurse comes in and I tell her I had to drink the stuff. I think. I felt weird, so I drank it. "The stuff?" She smiles. "It's orange juice," she tells me, as she picks my finger to test my blood sugar (they still don't trust me to do it myself, I guess).
Yes, my blood sugar is low. Good thing you drank the juice.
Juice?
Weird.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Firsts
So I am giving myself a shot of another kind here...trying out blogging about diabetes. And since this is the first post, I figure why not write about some diabetic firsts. In fact, the plan is to write about various firsts ALL THIS WEEK. I don't know if you'll be able to stand the suspense, but I hope you'll try. If you're diabetic, you might recognise yourself. Or maybe not, my perspective is limited!
Here's a biggie: My first moment as a diagnosed diabetic.
Haha....Of course I had been diabetic for awhile, but was undiagnosed. I knew I was sick (hard to miss, really), but had been told I was anorexic. Which was interesting to me, considering I was eating enough to feed a small family. Happily eating it, too. I had NOOO issues with food at all, except that I couldn't get enough of it.
Anyway, I obviously digress.
The local doctor called to tell my mother I was diabetic, and that was pretty much all they said. Later, the children's hospital would call and say something along the lines of "Get yourselves in here RIGHT NOW and try not to indulge in any sleeping on the way or you might not wake up". Not kidding, they said that.
Before that call though, I had a day or two to keep on keeping on with what I was doing-knowing I was diabetic, but having no idea what I was supposed to do about it. So I started drinking Diet Coke instead of regular (I was 14...it's been a long time since I enjoyed regular Coke, I'll tell you). And I thought: Huh. Diabetic. Wonder what's going to happen now? Sure hope I can get by with pills.
Um, no, sorry. Doesn't work that way.
Then I went to get myself what we call a poutine-fries with gravy and curd cheese...cause you know there's no sugar in THAT. (Man, you can see I had A LOT to learn...).
I remember once the hospital did call and we went in-I found out all the things I was sort of taking for granted-trouble breathing or catching my breath, hunger, thirst, weight loss, were all signs of how sick I was. I spent a night in intensive care (probably like many of you) apparently clinging to life (no one told me how sick I was). I felt ok, actually, just tired.
Kids at school heard I was dead. Nice.
I was in the hospital for a week. They had classes every day, I learned about being diabetic. Or at least about being diabetic in 1984-a lot has changed and will keep changing, I am sure. But they were my first steps into a deep and unwanted, really, medical knowledge of myself.
Coming soon: more hospital stories. My first Injection and my first Low. Oh, the anticipation ;)
Here's a biggie: My first moment as a diagnosed diabetic.
Haha....Of course I had been diabetic for awhile, but was undiagnosed. I knew I was sick (hard to miss, really), but had been told I was anorexic. Which was interesting to me, considering I was eating enough to feed a small family. Happily eating it, too. I had NOOO issues with food at all, except that I couldn't get enough of it.
Anyway, I obviously digress.
The local doctor called to tell my mother I was diabetic, and that was pretty much all they said. Later, the children's hospital would call and say something along the lines of "Get yourselves in here RIGHT NOW and try not to indulge in any sleeping on the way or you might not wake up". Not kidding, they said that.
Before that call though, I had a day or two to keep on keeping on with what I was doing-knowing I was diabetic, but having no idea what I was supposed to do about it. So I started drinking Diet Coke instead of regular (I was 14...it's been a long time since I enjoyed regular Coke, I'll tell you). And I thought: Huh. Diabetic. Wonder what's going to happen now? Sure hope I can get by with pills.
Um, no, sorry. Doesn't work that way.
Then I went to get myself what we call a poutine-fries with gravy and curd cheese...cause you know there's no sugar in THAT. (Man, you can see I had A LOT to learn...).
I remember once the hospital did call and we went in-I found out all the things I was sort of taking for granted-trouble breathing or catching my breath, hunger, thirst, weight loss, were all signs of how sick I was. I spent a night in intensive care (probably like many of you) apparently clinging to life (no one told me how sick I was). I felt ok, actually, just tired.
Kids at school heard I was dead. Nice.
I was in the hospital for a week. They had classes every day, I learned about being diabetic. Or at least about being diabetic in 1984-a lot has changed and will keep changing, I am sure. But they were my first steps into a deep and unwanted, really, medical knowledge of myself.
Coming soon: more hospital stories. My first Injection and my first Low. Oh, the anticipation ;)
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