Tonight I've had a severe wake up call. Now is my only time to change myself and to prevent future problems with my diabetes. How privleged am I to be given second, third, even
fourth chances at this one task- have the self discipline to poke my finger, calculate insulin amounts, change IV-like sets, and take care of my body every day of my life.
Today my numbers were:
- 214
Daily Average: 214
Twenty years of diabetes means I won't get very many more chances to fix this. Its now or never Kristina. What things are more important in this life than to live a healthily? I can think of only one or two. I can update my blog from my phone.
So today I'm beginning again. This time I can't give up.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Day 13
7/21
Today I was having problems with my set so my numbers stayed in the 200s for most of the day. I changed my set and hopefully tomorrow will be better.
- 284
- 401
- 263
- 248
Daily Average: 299
Today I was having problems with my set so my numbers stayed in the 200s for most of the day. I changed my set and hopefully tomorrow will be better.
- 284
- 401
- 263
- 248
Daily Average: 299
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Day 8, 9, 10, and 11
I've not done so well these past few days. I've only been testing a little bit, and I didn't write it down. I'm pretty sure Sunday, Day 10, I didn't test at all... I'm not going to put up the numbers. I'm just going to start again.
My new pump came on Day 8 like the guy on the phone said it would and that was very nice. Its exactly the same as my previous pump. It looks new, but that's about it. :) I shipped the broken pump yesterday afternoon so hopefully that will be all worked out. I might call a little later this week just to make sure they got the package.
It's almost time to go home. Saturday. I'm still working out the last of my finals. It's a little frustrating, but it's getting there.
Thanks for your support, everyone. :)
My new pump came on Day 8 like the guy on the phone said it would and that was very nice. Its exactly the same as my previous pump. It looks new, but that's about it. :) I shipped the broken pump yesterday afternoon so hopefully that will be all worked out. I might call a little later this week just to make sure they got the package.
It's almost time to go home. Saturday. I'm still working out the last of my finals. It's a little frustrating, but it's getting there.
Thanks for your support, everyone. :)
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Day 7
Today has been quite the day!
First the numbers:
- 90
- 276
- 101
- 306
- 179
Daily Average: 170!!!!!!!!! I get a pink tab today!! :D
So this morning I went to have insulin for my breakfast like a good little girl and to my surprise nothing happened when I pressed the buttons on my pump. The battery was full of life, the reservoir was full. To me nothing looked wrong. "Well I'll take out the battery anyway just in case" thought I. Nothing happened. The buttons still wouldn't work. I decided I should call the manufacturer. But first I had to go to the bookstore. I got what I needed and was leaving the check out when... "beep beep beep". I grabbed my pump out of my pocket and to my surprise there was a button error. Button errors happen when you hold down one of the five buttons for more than three minutes. I wasn't pressing any buttons! Time to call Minimed. I was put on hold for maybe two minutes and by this time my pump was doing the "car alarm". This is an alarm that goes off when I don't respond to one of the other alarms. Generally it happens if I haven't done anything with the pump for more than twelve hours. It sounds like a car alarm. Without the use of my buttons there was no way for me to turn it off. Here I am walking around campus with this little blue cell-phone-ish thing in my hand making noise enough to attract the attention of everyone I passed. Finally I got through to Minimed and I'm pretty sure the guy on the other end could hear my little car alarm because he knew what was going on and all I told him was that the buttons weren't working. He said that there was a malfunction and that I would need to have a new pump sent out.
The only emergency that might have been an emergency today was that when the pump is alarming like that it suspends itself which means it won't give me any insulin. Luckily a year ago I was taking a Science class and wanted my pumps to use as a visual aide for a presentation. My most recent old pump is still functional and uses all the same stuff as my current pump. I put in a new battery, and got it all powered up. What I'm most proud of is I did all of this before I called Mommy. After twenty years with Diabetes I'm dealing with my own disasters. :) Which wasn't even a disaster. Tomorrow a nice UPS man or lady will come with a new blue pump for me that should last until they come out with something new.
I also found out that I really like my current doctor. I called him this morning to let him know about what had happened. I had to leave a message, and he called me back not just once but twice until he caught me. I'm pretty sure that the second time he called was after office hours. How nice.
First the numbers:
- 90
- 276
- 101
- 306
- 179
Daily Average: 170!!!!!!!!! I get a pink tab today!! :D
So this morning I went to have insulin for my breakfast like a good little girl and to my surprise nothing happened when I pressed the buttons on my pump. The battery was full of life, the reservoir was full. To me nothing looked wrong. "Well I'll take out the battery anyway just in case" thought I. Nothing happened. The buttons still wouldn't work. I decided I should call the manufacturer. But first I had to go to the bookstore. I got what I needed and was leaving the check out when... "beep beep beep". I grabbed my pump out of my pocket and to my surprise there was a button error. Button errors happen when you hold down one of the five buttons for more than three minutes. I wasn't pressing any buttons! Time to call Minimed. I was put on hold for maybe two minutes and by this time my pump was doing the "car alarm". This is an alarm that goes off when I don't respond to one of the other alarms. Generally it happens if I haven't done anything with the pump for more than twelve hours. It sounds like a car alarm. Without the use of my buttons there was no way for me to turn it off. Here I am walking around campus with this little blue cell-phone-ish thing in my hand making noise enough to attract the attention of everyone I passed. Finally I got through to Minimed and I'm pretty sure the guy on the other end could hear my little car alarm because he knew what was going on and all I told him was that the buttons weren't working. He said that there was a malfunction and that I would need to have a new pump sent out.
The only emergency that might have been an emergency today was that when the pump is alarming like that it suspends itself which means it won't give me any insulin. Luckily a year ago I was taking a Science class and wanted my pumps to use as a visual aide for a presentation. My most recent old pump is still functional and uses all the same stuff as my current pump. I put in a new battery, and got it all powered up. What I'm most proud of is I did all of this before I called Mommy. After twenty years with Diabetes I'm dealing with my own disasters. :) Which wasn't even a disaster. Tomorrow a nice UPS man or lady will come with a new blue pump for me that should last until they come out with something new.
I also found out that I really like my current doctor. I called him this morning to let him know about what had happened. I had to leave a message, and he called me back not just once but twice until he caught me. I'm pretty sure that the second time he called was after office hours. How nice.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Day 5
Time to change my set.
-212
- 260
- 369
Daily Average: 280
Missed a number today. :( I'll try again tomorrow... :P
-212
- 260
- 369
Daily Average: 280
Missed a number today. :( I'll try again tomorrow... :P
Monday, July 12, 2010
Day 4
Ugh. I did terrible today. I just don't think I had enough insulin for the junk I ate. I didn't feel like cooking so instead I ate things I didn't have to cook which ended up being things with a lot of carbs. And lets not even discuss the calories, not that I really need to worry about those affecting my diabetes. But still. Ugh. It's been a Monday, to say the least. So here are my numbers...
- 147 The day started out promising...
- 465
- 369
- 368
Daily Average:337
If tomorrow's average doesn't look better I'll change my set just to make sure the problems aren't things that are easy fixes. Tomorrow is a new day. I have a quote on my wall that says "Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying "I will try again tomorrow"." So I will have courage and try again tomorrow. What's nice is that usually I get to start the day with a "clean" blood sugar. Something that is below 180 so I have a clean slate to start with. We'll see.
- 147 The day started out promising...
- 465
- 369
- 368
Daily Average:337
If tomorrow's average doesn't look better I'll change my set just to make sure the problems aren't things that are easy fixes. Tomorrow is a new day. I have a quote on my wall that says "Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying "I will try again tomorrow"." So I will have courage and try again tomorrow. What's nice is that usually I get to start the day with a "clean" blood sugar. Something that is below 180 so I have a clean slate to start with. We'll see.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Day 3
Not terrible. Could have been better.
- 183
- 282
- ... I can't remember. I'll give a daily average tomorrow when I check what this number was. I did test, I just didn't write it down.
- 316
I won't write much tonight because I have classes in the morning. Today I forgot to test at noonish because we were running late for church. But I didn't go low at church which is always a good thing. I also noticed that I could feel the 316 tonight. I like when I can feel the 300s because it means my body isn't entirely used to being that high. It makes me feel like I'm making progress.
- 183
- 282
- ... I can't remember. I'll give a daily average tomorrow when I check what this number was. I did test, I just didn't write it down.
- 316
I won't write much tonight because I have classes in the morning. Today I forgot to test at noonish because we were running late for church. But I didn't go low at church which is always a good thing. I also noticed that I could feel the 316 tonight. I like when I can feel the 300s because it means my body isn't entirely used to being that high. It makes me feel like I'm making progress.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Day 2
Today's been interesting. My numbers are still higher than I want.
- 234
- 286
- 343
- 331
Daily Average: 298.5
Weekends always seem to be harder. It's frustrating to test when I'm supposed to and have the numbers be off. Usually it's because I missed one little something that I should have Insulin for, and even though I know why it's still frustrating.
Tomorrow will be a new day.
- 234
- 286
- 343
- 331
Daily Average: 298.5
Weekends always seem to be harder. It's frustrating to test when I'm supposed to and have the numbers be off. Usually it's because I missed one little something that I should have Insulin for, and even though I know why it's still frustrating.
Tomorrow will be a new day.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Day 1
Not so good for my first day, but when you're starting over again the first day is hardly ever particularly good. The numbers for today were:
- 7am 147
- 2pm 342
- 8pm 321
- 11pm 219
Daily Average: 257.25
No pink tab for me today. But the numbers could have been worse. After all the junk I ate today I'm surprised that they weren't higher. Hopefully it won't take too long for me to get my averages back down to the 180s.
I'm really grateful that I have a pump. In a diabetes chat room I heard about someone else who is still on a pen. I probably should learn how to give myself shots in case of emergencies. Just think. In today's world of technological advances I can give myself insulin by pressing a button whereas 80 years ago Diabetes was a death sentence.
Did you know that pizza actually takes longer to digest in your system? Normally when I have a bolus for a meal I have the entire bolus in one go. With pizza I do what's called a dual wave bolus. I spread the insulin out over a half an hour usually. It's very interesting.
For anyone reading, thank you for your support. :)
- 7am 147
- 2pm 342
- 8pm 321
- 11pm 219
Daily Average: 257.25
No pink tab for me today. But the numbers could have been worse. After all the junk I ate today I'm surprised that they weren't higher. Hopefully it won't take too long for me to get my averages back down to the 180s.
I'm really grateful that I have a pump. In a diabetes chat room I heard about someone else who is still on a pen. I probably should learn how to give myself shots in case of emergencies. Just think. In today's world of technological advances I can give myself insulin by pressing a button whereas 80 years ago Diabetes was a death sentence.
Did you know that pizza actually takes longer to digest in your system? Normally when I have a bolus for a meal I have the entire bolus in one go. With pizza I do what's called a dual wave bolus. I spread the insulin out over a half an hour usually. It's very interesting.
For anyone reading, thank you for your support. :)
Something New
It's been a while since I've written.
As it gets close to time to go back home I'm realizing that once again I've slacked on taking care of my diabetes. There was a month or so while I was home that I had perfect blood sugars. The best blood sugars I've had since a long time ago, before puberty when my mom was doing everything for me. It was hard work, but I felt really good. Everything went well until I stopped doing the work and now that month of hard work has been overshadowed by about two, maybe three months of really poor work on my part. Something has to change. I've had diabetes for almost twenty years and my blood sugars are still "out of control".
I have a plan. It's the same plan I had back in that month that I did really well. Only this time I want to write about it.
I have a planner. Planners and myself have never been the best of friends but I've decided that it's time we got over our differences and worked with each other. That month that I had really good blood sugars I wrote down EVERYTHING. I kept track of my daily and weekly blood sugar averages and if the average was ever below 180, which is where I want it, I got to put a little pink tab on it. It's amazing what rewards you can give yourself when you're easily amused. A little colored piece of sticky paper was all I needed. I want to be testing 4-5 times a day. Once when I wake up in the morning, once about noon, once between 5 and 7, and once when I go to bed. The fifth test is if I have any lows during a day.
So here's how I'm going to write about it. I'm going to not only keep track of my numbers in my planner, but also write them down here, so that anyone who is interested can see them. I'm hoping that this will also give the me the extra push to do this daily.
If you are interested, there are some vocab words you'll need to know.
A1c - the fancy name of this is a glycosylated hemoglobin test. Basically its the average blood sugar a person has over a three month period. Mine has been at or above nine since I was nine. This means my average blood sugar since I was nine has been somewhere around 250, probably higher. A person without diabetes would have an A1c between 4 and 6. Most diabetics are happy if there's is 7. 7 is my ultimate goal but I'd be happy just to get it down to an 8.
Basal Rate - I'm on an insulin pump which gives me the option of having a steady amount of insulin being pumped into my body. It's similar to an IV. Right now I'm getting (throughout the day) between 24 and 33 units of insulin.
Good blood sugar - I had a doctor once tell me there were no good and bad blood sugars. I think there are. To me my blood sugar is good if it is below 180 and above 90. Bad blood sugars are everything else.
I can't think of what other words I might use from the language of Diabetes. If you're interested and at some point I use a word you don't know, just ask. I'm more than happy to explain.
My plan for writing about all of this is to write every night and post the four or five blood sugars for the day, plus any insights, or rants, or explanations I feel like for that day.
Thanks for reading!
As it gets close to time to go back home I'm realizing that once again I've slacked on taking care of my diabetes. There was a month or so while I was home that I had perfect blood sugars. The best blood sugars I've had since a long time ago, before puberty when my mom was doing everything for me. It was hard work, but I felt really good. Everything went well until I stopped doing the work and now that month of hard work has been overshadowed by about two, maybe three months of really poor work on my part. Something has to change. I've had diabetes for almost twenty years and my blood sugars are still "out of control".
I have a plan. It's the same plan I had back in that month that I did really well. Only this time I want to write about it.
I have a planner. Planners and myself have never been the best of friends but I've decided that it's time we got over our differences and worked with each other. That month that I had really good blood sugars I wrote down EVERYTHING. I kept track of my daily and weekly blood sugar averages and if the average was ever below 180, which is where I want it, I got to put a little pink tab on it. It's amazing what rewards you can give yourself when you're easily amused. A little colored piece of sticky paper was all I needed. I want to be testing 4-5 times a day. Once when I wake up in the morning, once about noon, once between 5 and 7, and once when I go to bed. The fifth test is if I have any lows during a day.
So here's how I'm going to write about it. I'm going to not only keep track of my numbers in my planner, but also write them down here, so that anyone who is interested can see them. I'm hoping that this will also give the me the extra push to do this daily.
If you are interested, there are some vocab words you'll need to know.
A1c - the fancy name of this is a glycosylated hemoglobin test. Basically its the average blood sugar a person has over a three month period. Mine has been at or above nine since I was nine. This means my average blood sugar since I was nine has been somewhere around 250, probably higher. A person without diabetes would have an A1c between 4 and 6. Most diabetics are happy if there's is 7. 7 is my ultimate goal but I'd be happy just to get it down to an 8.
Basal Rate - I'm on an insulin pump which gives me the option of having a steady amount of insulin being pumped into my body. It's similar to an IV. Right now I'm getting (throughout the day) between 24 and 33 units of insulin.
Good blood sugar - I had a doctor once tell me there were no good and bad blood sugars. I think there are. To me my blood sugar is good if it is below 180 and above 90. Bad blood sugars are everything else.
I can't think of what other words I might use from the language of Diabetes. If you're interested and at some point I use a word you don't know, just ask. I'm more than happy to explain.
My plan for writing about all of this is to write every night and post the four or five blood sugars for the day, plus any insights, or rants, or explanations I feel like for that day.
Thanks for reading!
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