Travels with D

We enjoyed a wonderful trip to California where we visited the Redwoods (they really are as impressive as people say), Monterey (a beautiful wedding and a chance to see old friends), Sonoma (all those fields and fields of grapevines), and finally San Francisco, where there was lots to do and see, including meeting two of my d-pals, Landi & Debra. It was sunny and beautiful and warm.

Landi in person is even nicer (and funnier!) than her comments have been the last several years. I “met” her when I first started blogging and when I joined TuDiabetes. Debra, who had the unfortunate experience of DKA and ICU for her diagnosis as an adult, is even nicer than she seems/sounds like/looks like online. We talked our way to the restaurant, we talked while waiting, we talked while eating. Just a normal d-meetup and I loved it! Thank you both for driving in just to meet me. It meant a whole lot…

Sometime this past year, I purchased a pink, paisley child’s backpack just to hold the d-stuff when traveling. Turned out to be a great idea! Sensors (three, just in case), reservoirs and insets (five, just in case), insulin (one and a partial, just in case), insulin pens (one levemir, one novolog, just in case), needles for the insulin pens (forgot those on the last trip, thank goodness I didn’t need them), test strips (lots), iv prep, alcohol swabs, big bottle of glucose tablets and finally the always nice to have extra meter; you know - for just in case.

Both flights were full (yuck) and the airline was begging us to check our carry ons at the gate. And we did, because all I had to do was take out the pink bag to keep with us and the bags went off to wherever bags go. We had a larger bag we had checked and so that made having to retrieve luggage not a big deal.

TSA – I owe Kerri a huge thank you for making my return trip so easy peasy. Boston on the way out was somewhat whiny, not happy that I wanted the pat down. Tried to talk me out of it. San Francisco? I think they must have published this post from Kerri as I was astounded at the friendly and quick inspection. The pat down was completed before my other stuff came through the x-rays. My female inspector was a nice lady but she did say, “We will have to send your iPod through x-ray.” I laughed and told her it, my Dexcom receiver, was another of my diabetes devices and pushed a few buttons to show her the screen. She was surprised, said she’d never seen one and thanked me for showing her how it worked. It was in my Tallygear case so I think that fooled her.

Lugging around the d-stuff wasn’t fun but I did it.

Guessing at carb counts at restaurants for 10 days (see Scott’s post from today)? Even a 9 carb yogurt in the morning sent me soaring… I sucked and have the BG’s to prove it. I see my endo next Friday. She may gasp. I’ve probably ruined my A1c but you know what, that’s okay. The next one will be better.

So we’re home. And this was our weather today. Oh well.

Up, down, all around

Some short thoughts…

How come I can’t get a Dexcom sensor to last longer than 10 days? It’s not a tape issue. They just go to the ??? and stay there.

I need to get this morning BG number thing straightened out. It’s exasperating, frustrating and makes me angry. If I stayed in bed maybe it wouldn’t go UP!

My Dexcom rep called this afternoon. Wanted to know how I was doing with the G4. I told her about the USB cover and she said she’d heard there were others. I also asked her about the 6 month life span of the transmitter. She said it’s actually 6-9 months and a warning screen will let me know that the battery is low. At that time, you have about a week left so she said to call immediately to order a new one.

Dexcom said 120 this afternoon about 30 minutes before I left work. I didn’t even look at it when I left. Dexcom then beeped and shouted as I drove into my driveway, that I was at 73. I told it that it was stupid. Tested – and I was stupid – meter said 75. I almost always check it before I leave but I didn’t today. If it’s close to low, then I test with my meter before driving. I will make myself check. I will put a sticky note in my car. Oh, I have a 5 minute commute. But that’s no excuse.

My BG tends to jump up high shortly after eating anything. But when it starts dropping, it drops quickly.

We are off to California next week. It’ll be strange not see snow. Not to worry, I’ll enjoy it. We haven’t put away the snow shovels, yet.

Mind Games

I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t have to do Sudoku or Crossword Puzzles or Circle the Word games to keep my older mind active and learning.

I have Diabetes and it plays enough mind games with me.

I have a pump and it keeps me alert and awake some nights with its beeps and songs.

I have a CGM and it is the first thing I look at it the morning. Good number usually means a good day. A rotten number usually means I start my day with “What??” or one those George Carlin words. (Back in the old days, those words were not usually uttered in public…)

The Ping song last night was my own fault. I’m cheap and even though I knew the reservoir was going to dip below 10 units, I knew it would make it through the night. It did but it was noisy.

Dex at 2am, when Ping was singing “You’re going to run out of insulin,” said 140′s, so not bad.

Dex at 6am said over 200. (Insert one or more George Carlin words here.)

Got up, corrected, drank coffee, read blogs.

Dex kept climbing.

I refused to change out the Ping inset until I took a shower, so did another correction.

Dex kept climbing so I gave up and took the shower. Where I removed the inset. And promptly notice a crusty, bloody bump. (I didn’t take a photo – aren’t you happy?)

Oh…

Did a new site. Over-corrected because Ping thinks I have enough insulin. And by mid-morning, all was good.

I won! Kind Bars from Joanne – over at Death of a Pancreas.
In addition to some yummy stuff, Elise drew a picture!

The BG Trading Post

As I drove to work this morning, after waking up HIGH at a stupid, dumb, ridiculous HIGH number – I thought one of you smart d-people should/could come up with a way for us to share/trade/borrow/get rid of or add to our Blood Glucose.

So – for instance – this morning I had a HIGH, stupid, dumb, ridiculous number at 5am… Wouldn’t it be nice if I could just send like 100 BG’s to the person who woke up with a scary low? Or even better – send some of them to the d-kid whose parent who is sooooo tired but just tested their d-kid only to find a low number. Sure, I’ll send some BGs right over through the computer. That would have to be easier than opening the damn straw package for the juice box – and then getting the straw into the hole. Sure!

Or – you’re going low, but you have friends to meet at a fun restaurant/bar/party and would like to raise your BG by about 50 before you drive over to have some fun. You promptly sign in to the BG Trading Post and ask if anyone can share 50 BG’s.

Easy, right?

There wouldn’t be any records to keep because when high, you’d happily share with another d-person who’s gone low.

Kids and adults would be encouraged to be a part of the BG Trading Post!

I can’t do it. Science is not my friend. I took Chemistry in high school and – - – had THE smartest girl in the school as my lab partner. She almost flunked because of me. Even worse, when it came time for the final exam, we had to answer three out of five questions. I did it and the teacher (wherever you are Mr. Sutton I still think of you with extreme gratitude) came and pulled me out of the classroom after he graded my paper. He said, “Colleen, as you transferred here during the year, I really believe that’s been unfair since this class was different from your prior Chemistry Class. If I give you a C for the year, will that be okay with you?” I asked, “Did I get anything on my three?” The answer was no…

YES! I took the C.

So – one of you other – smarter Science type d-people will have to tackle this.

Oh! maybe it could be an APP! I don’t have a smart phone but if someone develops an app to do this – I’d buy one.

Please??

BG now – 96! Nothing to share but as you know, tomorrow is another day…

Eight Years Later

So, on Saturday it will be 8 years since my PCP gently spoke to me and said, “You have diabetes.”
A couple of weeks later the endo looked at me and immediately said, “I’m pretty sure you have LADA.”

So,
Eight years later, I…

have found d-friends from all over the world who give me strength whenever I need it
It is amazing how someone(s) I have never met can hold my hand over the internet and make me think that I Can Do This. It’s even more amazing when I get the opportunity to meet these wonderful people in person. (California in a month…!!!)

am using a Ping Pump and haven’t screwed up too badly
I still smile when I think about how my hands shook those first few weeks of shooting in the inset. We’d sit at the table together, staring at the directions and hoping I didn’t kill myself. Now – pop it in and good to go – well, unless it bleeds, or I forget to take the tape off and it doesn’t stick, or it hurts like he** and I know I have to do it again.

have a diabetes blog
Who’d have thunk? I’m not famous or widely read but the blog friends I have here are very important to me.

am using a Dexcom g4
When I first saw the Dexcom apparatus I said “Nope. No way I’m going to shoot that humongous needle into my stomach. No number is that important.” The first time – I still laugh as I couldn’t get it disconnected and thought I’d have to go to the ER. Yeah, right, like they’d know what to do. Did it – Love it – Live in fear of Medicare and having it taken away unless I win the lottery.

have a new Tallygear cover for the g4 (replacement) with hopes that the usb cover will stay on
I’m even wearing it around my neck when I don’t have a good pocket.

love talking to anyone who asks me about diabetes – any type
A friend from church watched me as I was calculating carbs at a party, testing and then dosing with the pump. She asked if I would “educate her.” She doesn’t have diabetes. She just wanted to know more.

felt great the day an older parishioner came in and asked me to help her with her new meter
She’d just been diagnosed with T2 and wasn’t doing so hot with the strip, the blood, etc… We got it done and she’s doing great. Umm, she’s 90 now.

can’t believe I weigh food
I don’t weigh everything but I tend to underestimate a baked potato (along with some other foods). I don’t eat them often but, I love baked potatoes so therefore, I weigh, and gasp when I figure out that what I think is a small potato needs a sh** load of insulin.

can eat ice cream!
It’s in a small bowl. I take small bites. It’s worth the insulin.

still haven’t been to a cupcake store
There aren’t any in our small town but – next month in California, definitely!

own a treadmill
When I use that treadmill, my numbers are absolutely wonderful that day. So why don’t I use it every day?

still have a box full of cute, SMALL purses
I need to give them away.

hate air travel
A TSA agent in Kansas City convinced me that the machine would not damage my pump. One week later – it lost its date/time and continued to lose the date/time. Replacement pump, and I don’t go through any machines anymore.

very much appreciate the blogging moms and dads of d-kids
When I was diagnosed, they were trying to figure out how to help their kids. Their blogs helped me.

am in awe of all children with diabetes
Before I started pumping, I watched the videos of the kids with pumps. Their ability to deal with diabetes helps me. Favorite quotes, “That didn’t hurt!” & “I did it!”

love my husband
He went to the d-classes with me (8 years ago) and even went without me when my dad was sick. He counts carbs as handily as a d-person. He wakes up when Dexcom beeps and shakes, and gets out of bed to come around and look at the number. He brings juice to the bedroom when needed. He has the meter in his hand when needed. He gives up a “dinner out” when numbers are rotten. He was great before diabetes showed up at our house and is proof that love is important and nice. I’m lucky.

know this is too long
But I thank you for being my friends and no, I won’t attach that song at the end here but, you’re probably stuck with that ear bug until you read/watch/listen to something else.

Love You All!

Goin’ to California!

We’ll be in Monterey, California next month for a wedding!

And – after traveling that far, we’re certainly going to take some time to explore.

We’ll be in San Francisco for an extra 3 days and I’m looking for tourist advice. We’ve been once before and hope to spend some time visiting museums this trip.

We also plan to head north from San Francisco for a couple of days to see whatever there is to see. We both want to see the Redwoods… We like “meandering” down back roads and finding a non-tourist restaurant. We’re okay with stopping at oddball places. (As a family, we have great memories of stopping at the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota!)

Back before computers and Google and travel websites, we would order a triptik from AAA to plan our trips. We did pretty good with those, way back then…

Well – they still have them. Look what I found!
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/07/09/aaa-triptik-app-doesnt-compare-to-old-fashioned-paper-triptiks/

 
Sarah M has promised to come up with some ideas for us – including cupcakes!

My last trip to San Francisco involved lots of walking around and lot of lows. But, a stop for a goodie and I was ready to walk some more! And yes, I carried around the purse from hell with all sorts of d-stuff stashed in there. In fact, the purse I brought with me wasn’t doing the job so we stopped so I could buy a new one – which I love!

So – if the California readers of this have suggestions, I’d really, really like to hear about them.

Dexcom #2

After speaking with several Dexcom support/tech people, I called last week and requested a replacement Dexcom as the USB cover fell off of mine at some point last month.

I’m pretty careful with it. You have to be. It’s a slippery little sucker and tends to slide out when you least expect it. I take it out of my pocket when using the bathroom. It hasn’t fallen into anything (nope, no toilet baths for my Dexcom!). Two boxes in one day! New Dexcom and a replacement sensor!

I wasn’t too concerned about not having the cover at first but, then I thought about the “fuzz” in my pockets. It’s winter. It’s usually snuggled in a pocket with a couple of Kleenex tissues. I’m not ready to be without it if it suddenly decided to not charge due to fuzz.

So, I called for the third time. The first call was not good. She (un-named) said I’d have to give them my credit card info and if they determined that it had been dropped or dunked, I’d be charged. Second call was better but I still held off. Then others chimed in that there had been others with the same issue and so, I now have a new one.

It’s sitting on my dresser because, I’m not going to switch it out until this sensor dies.

Life is good, in spite of our NH snow. We had a foot last weekend (that looks very strange – we had a foot?) and it’s supposed to snow again tomorrow.

About my brother…

Some of you might remember that I wrote about my brother being diagnosed with pre-diabetes back in December.

The boy has done damn good. He’s 12 years younger than me. He was going into kindergarten when I left for college. He’s had his own devils throughout his life and it hasn’t been easy.

But he was scared in December. I brought my meter when I picked him up for the appointment and his fasting BG was 175. I tried not to cry.

I went with him to his first appointment where the physician laid it out and said, “You are definitely pre-diabetic.” He went on to say, “This is what you can do.” And the physician talked about labels and carbs and exercise, etc… BUT – Big BUT. My brother was NOT offered any diabetes education, at all. And that really makes me angry.

Well – except his sister (that would be me) has learned a whole lot in the past few years. And the baby brother has been a good student.

We went to the local drug store and bought a meter.
We sat in the car and I taught him how to use the meter.
We talked about nutrition labels.
We talked about pizza.
We talked about noodles. (Our mom was a big fan of buttered noodles.)

His recent appointment? He’s lost 10 pounds. Yay! His blood tests are ok. Not great, but ok. Thyroid? He’s one of 4 kids and is now the fourth of us to have to take thyroid meds…

He told his physician that his morning bg’s are running 110 – 120. And the physician asked, “Oh, is your sister testing you?”

I’d kept quiet up until then but that was it. I quickly responded, “NO… He has a meter. He knows how to use it. He knows what the numbers mean.”

I’m proud of him.

I’m glad he’s stuck with me as his bossy older sister.

And yes, I told him he could eat pizza – once a year – and he couldn’t eat anything else for a week.

Just kidding. Sort of…

He’s doing ok.

He’s pretty excited that he’s sort of figured this out.

Serving sizes on the nutrition labels fooled him. But he’s getting better at label reading.

But why isn’t more information offered for those with a pre-d diagnosis? What if I hadn’t been there/here?

And to be honest… I’m not so sure he’s really going to end up being a Type 2. So I’ll keep a close look at his numbers and fight for him if he ends up being a LADA Type 1, like his big sister.

And yes, Diabetes, any type – really sucks.

And finally, many of you commented on the December post. I need you to know how very much that meant to me.

Valentine’s Dinner at the Bowling Alley

Yup, one Valentine’s evening, many years ago, we had dinner at the local bowling alley with our high school aged son.

And you know what? It’s the one I remember best. It’s the one the three of us bring up every February with big smiles. And to be honest, the cheeseburgers we ordered were delicious!

Today’s Boston Globe has a short article on Valentine’s gifts. We don’t do Valentine’s gifts.

BUT, this year, I’ll be giving a Valentine gift. Not to my husband, whom I love dearly. Not to my adult sons.

It will be a donation to the International Diabetes Foundation’s “Life for a Child.” I did go to the site this weekend and read some of their “testimonials.” This one just about did me in.

“Insulin Syringes being included in the LFAC programme is of tremendous help to our children with diabetes. As you are very much aware insulin in vials is of no use without syringes. Children have been reusing syringes to the point of getting abscesses on the injection sites.There is no coverage for syringes and they are very expensive.

Well, that sucks. They already have Diabetes and now they’re getting infections due to reusing their syringes? I can’t imagine…

I know all of us can’t donate. Diabetes is expensive.

But if you can… This could be a great way to share some of the DOC love.
Because, in spite of that song, we do need more than love when dealing with diabetes.

It’s Gone!

Nah, not Diabetes.

The battery cover for my almost brand new (November) Dexcom G4 is gone.

I charged it yesterday and didn’t notice that it was gone.

But today, I felt that it was open and went to shut it. And it’s gone.

Called Dexcom. Spoke with ____ who said they will replace it but!!! I have to give them a credit card number and when it’s returned, if there’s any evidence that it’s been dropped, (or been in water) then I’ll be charged $199 for the warranty replacement.

Of course it’s been dropped. Damn thing is slippery.

Actually, it’s not been dropped, dropped. It sort of slides out sometimes, but normally onto the carpet.

I told her I’d think about it. There was no “Oh, I’m so sorry. Gee, that happens sometimes.” And they can’t just send a new battery cover to snap in.

It still has the protective plastic stuff on the screen!

Guess I’ll call again on Monday and go ahead and replace it. Then I’ll hold my breath and hope that they don’t think I threw it across the room or whatever.