One of Those Nights

Last night was one of the more interesting nights with diabetes. Here is the long version of the story.

I was overdue for a pod change. Yes, I was pushing it, but there was a ton of insulin left and wanted to get the most of it. This meant going the 8hrs. until it completely conked out on me. I have done this before with no problems, and I knew I would get home in time to change it out. BUT, I was not counting on the low that would happen before I left work...and in typical Nancy fashion, I over-corrected. With my brain a little fussy from the low, I waited it out and then went home and figured after the change I would bolus for the brownie, glucose tabs, and the 8 oz. of real Coke that I frantically ate. (There may be more that I consumed, but I'm trying to forget about the extra calories...and my stupidity!)

By the time I arrived home, all was well, and I changed the pod and checked my bg to find I was in the low 200's. "Already????" I thought. Crap, this is gonna get nasty. I bolused quite a bit for the increase I was anticipating. Then the fatigue set in, and my eyes wouldn't stay open even with toothpicks. I laid down for a quick nap before Brent and I had to head out for dinner with friends. 20 minutes later, and very groggy, I was able to get my head together and clean up. "I'm feeling good now.", I think to myself on the ride to the restaurant.

My plan was to pre-load some insulin for the Mexican food that was to come, so when we got there I checked my bg and was shocked to see it in the high 200's. WOW, that was some over-correction...I must have needed more insulin when I got home. "Oh well", I thought..."it'll come down."

After dinner Brent and I made a couple of stops and headed home. The beeping sound of the Omnipod went off to remind me to check my bg...it's been 2 hrs since you ate, check already! Now this is where it gets interesting.....

You know when you get the blood on the strip, and the wait is longer then it takes you to say.."S**T...it's high"??? Then it beeps back at me..."S**T...you're HIGH"!! Now, I can count on one hand how many times I've actually had the HIGH reading. That's not saying I've never had highs, but the HIGH reading where you're bg is so high that it doesn't give you a number....that's where I'm at. I look at my site, and all looks fine. What the hell? That was some taco salad I had..ok and chips too. So I do a super bolus, and check an hour later only to find it screaming at me HIGH again. "Ok, that's enough of that!"

I pull out the ol' syringes and give myself a super duper rage bolus (with new vial of insulin) via traditional shot and then change out the pod. A little blood backed up in the cannula, but that's nothing too out of the ordinary. I was hoping this would do the trick. Oh, wait...I bolused the new pod too. Now I have something like 8 units of insulin in me, and the wait starts.

By 11PM, I was getting an actual number on my PDM. "Ok", I thought, "this is encouraging!" I desperately wanted to sleep, so I set my alarm to wake me up in a hour to check again. 338...nice, more encouragement! Set the alarm again...265. Is it dropping too fast? 8 units is a lot for me, but I haven't corrected a high like this in a very, very long time. For a fear of going low, I set the alarm again...193. Since this is about 3-3.5 hrs. after the super duper rage boluses, I was happy to sleep peacefully. More like a rock!

Where am I now you ask? I woke up at 198. Of course that's not where I would like it, but I guess my overnight basal is correct since it didn't change at all.:)
Obviously all the highs after the pod change were from lost basal, and no boluses. Or maybe partials of each.

Ahhhh, life without insulin!

Happy For Finger Sticks

Last week I was being that unusually domestic wife and was made Brent breakfast. (Which by the way is the only meal I can cook well....a mean omelette!) And again, as usual, I was trying to do 10,000 things at the same time...get myself ready for work, make my lunch, etc....
Let's cut to the chase...I set a cookie sheet on top of the fry pan to melt the cheese on top of the beautiful omelette that was sizzling underneath. In my haste, I picked up the sheet only to realize that it was scorching hot. Well, OF COURSE it is dummy, it's been sitting on top of there for like 5 min. I threw it immediately on the ground, screamed a few choice expletives, and stuck my fingers under cold water. After those sounds coming from the kitchen, Brent came in wondering what the hell I had done. "You OK?"..."Yes, I'm fine. I'm just an idiot that's all!"

After icing my 4 fingers for 30 min....while trying to get ready for work....I looked closely at them to see nothing in the form of blisters. That kinda surprised me, but I was happy because I have to use my hands for cutting all those domes. I figured I was just lucky, and then looked down again to see nothing...except all those little black dots representing the millions of finger sticks I've done. That's when the light bulb went off!! Callouses I say! Callouses! I just burned a bunch of dead skin.
Happy for those finger sticks! I'm sticking to something I'm good at...out of the kitchen and on to my bike.:)

I'm An Eco-Friendly Diabetic

Diabetes isn't the most environmentally friendly disease to have. We go through strip after strip to test our blood, syringes, reservoirs, lancets, alcohol pads, IV preps, tape..the list could go on and on.

I was lured to Omnipod for my lifestyle, but my lifestyle also includes recycling. I'm not the greatest at it at times, but trying to do better. Since you take a Pod off every 3 days and replace with a new one...what are you suppose to do with the old one??? I started to imagine what my local landfill would look like after just one year of my Omnipod use, and the thought made me sick!

So, out came the hammer. Literally! I tried smashing it up to get to the guts to start saving all the pieces to take to my local recycling center. No luck at all with the hammer. Boy, that would be a good selling point for Omnipod wouldn't it??? So, out came the screwdriver. I wedged it in between the top and the back and with a little effort it slowly pried open. Plastic reservoir, and a circuit board and 4 watch batteries...357 to be exact. I have 3 bins in a drawer to collect all the pieces. I tried to fish out the needle, but wasn't so successful there. I'm satisfied with what I can get out of it, and I sleep better now:)

I'm proud of my drawer, which is quite a snapshot of diabetes. Along with the stale smell of insulin that wafts in the air when I open it, is a constant reminder of what life is like for someone with diabetes. Insulin really stinks...in more ways then one!

Random Thoughts

1. Is it age or diabetes? Which one takes more of your brain cells, because I can't remember squat anymore!
2. Jealousy is complex, unnerving, and at times a good feeling. Jealousy can fuel a passion underneath you like no other...AND it can be detrimental.
3. "No it's not a heart rate monitor or mp3 player!"
4. Who is it at my insurance company that thinks that a CGM is experimental, unproven, and still under investigation?? So...I will send them these results. CGM Trial Results
5. I hate that all my best efforts for a good bg day can go down the tube in an instant.
6. I hate that all my best efforts for a good training day can go down the tube in an instant because of diabetes.
7. I love having best efforts!
8. Placement of a pod proves to be difficult when wearing a swimsuit...not a racing suit, but a girly, on the beach kind of suit. THEN you have the issue of tape marks and bullet holes that are clearly noticeable! I always say that I don't care and won't hide them, but I'm lying....I hate it!
9. Everything that is hard is always worthwhile!

'Nuff said?

Finger Sticks...I've Gone Dry

This will not be a new story to anyone out there that has diabetes, and it wasn't the first time this has ever happened to me. so here it is....
I went on a great, 60 degree weather, great mix on the iPod run last week. My running hasn't been up to par lately, and this day was unfolding into a picture perfect run. Even with the great tunes, I was able to concentrate on the task for that particular training day. This can be a difficult thing when your mind is racing about all the things you need to accomplish, but I succeeded in letting all of that go and enjoy the moment. I came up to one of the usual spots I stop to test. I hit the button to stop my HRM for a moment...God forbid I add in the time for the 30 sec. it takes to test! I'm fishing around in my SPIbelt..(I love that thing!)....and I get out my OT mini, strip, and...what??? No lancet??? What??? Where the hell did it go? This is a meter that I keep in there at all times..never leaves it's home in the SPIbelt. I didn't feel like I was low, but I'm a creature of habit and have to test when I get to that big tree. Maybe I'm a bit obsessive compulsive, but show me a diabetic who isn't! So with my thinking cap on, the first thing that comes to mind is to squeeze the life out of all the fingers I've tested on in the past, which of course is all of them. How many times have you had your fingers squirt out blood at inopportune times...when you aren't testing??? Millions for me. Wouldn't it figure that the one time I need it to happen, it doesn't. I squeezed my fingertips until they were bright red, then blue...no luck. I was exhasperated, but gave it another college try....now there is the blood I've come to love! I just hoped it was enough to fill the strip..and it was. Eureka! A blood sugar of 140.