FINALLY!!! After 5 1/2 weeks on the pump, last night was our first night of solid, acceptable BG numbers!
Ever since we went on the pump, Ellee's numbers have been one extreme or the other, either too high or too low, but mostly on the high side. Afraid of her dropping too low and not catching it, I've been adjusting her insulin rate ever so slightly at night. I was to achieving ideal numbers the other week, but all of a sudden she dropped too low and I had to reset her numbers to help bring her up. Then she skyrocketed, and I've been trying to bring her back down ever since.
Last night, I checked her at 10pm before I went to bed and she was 148. At 3am, she was 128. At breakfast this morning I was nervous to see what her number was going to be, but to my surprise - 128!!! This means that she only dropped 20 points! Not only that, but for 5 hours her levels were consistent! I may be counting my chickens before they hatch, or jinxing myself, and her numbers may be off the chart tonight, but I will take one night of awesome numbers! Because this means that we are headed in the right direction!
Monday, November 21, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
T1D Humor
I've posted stuff like this before, but it never fails to be funny or hit a little too close to home not to laugh! Humor helps keep us sane!
You know you're the parent of a child with diabetes when ...
1. Everyone in the family says they are "low" instead of hungry!
2. Your co-workers play "Guess How Many Carbs Are In This Food" with you at lunch and you are always right!
3. You have a car that displays the miles remaining before it runs out of gas, and not only do you always think of that number in terms of a blood sugar, but any time it ticks down to 50, at least two people in the car shout "The car is low! It needs glucose!" I just wish my daughter had a little yellow warning light on her forehead too.
4. Your "D" child gets more birthday cards from his pump company than from his own family!
5. Your child gets his driver's learning permit and you have tubes of glucose gel in your car instead of your sunglasses but you smile because he has come such a long way.
6. You're awakened at 6 a.m. by your teenager asking the dreaded question, "What's the number for Minimed?" and you can answer without even opening your eyes -- then a few minutes later you realize that something's not right and jump out of bed.
7. You go through a drive-in at Dunkin' Donuts and see the sign that said "High Curb" and you start laughing because you think it said "HIGH CARB."
8. You realize people are staring at you in the cleaning aisle after you pick up a new product and exclaim to your family, "Hey, I bet this would get the blood off the bedroom wall!"
9. You are practicing spelling the word "S-I G-H-T" and your child asks if he should spell the "sight" with his eyes or the "site" on his butt.
10. Your six year old runs to the bathroom yelling "I've got to go Type 2!"
11. Everytime you prick or cut your finger all your children run for the meter -- you wouldn't what to waist ANY blood.
12. Your husband names his internet gaming character "Lancet."
13. Your child is playing a video game and when the "life force" level starts running out she says "Oh no! I'm low" and then starts laughing hysterically and says "I need glucose tablets!"
14. You have been doing frequent night checks because your child has been running a fever and find yourself in the bathroom getting Children's Tylenol before you realize the 103 was on the glucose meter, not the digital thermometer.
15. You are doing Madlibs with the kids and "pancreas" comes up as a body part, and "insulin pump" comes up as a noun.
16. You buy bleach not based on brand preference, but on whether the bottle would make a good sharps container.
17. Your daughter asks, "Can I get some ketchup to go with my test strips?" instead of her chicken strips.
18. All three of your children request the "A1C Steak Sauce" at the dinner table.
19. The makeup case you used to carry in your purse is replaced with an emergency diabetes kit for your child.
20. Your child asks you if "water proof" means "toilet proof" in reference to the pump.
21. You watch your teen push his peas and carrots onto his fork with his insulin pump instead of with another utensil.
22. While driving in the car with your diabetic child, a radio show asks listeners to call in with the answer to the question, "What do parents most often say at their kids?" and your daughter answers, "Did you bolus?"
23. Your two-year-old non diabetic says "me too" to get her blood checked and wears an old monitor around her waste in a pump pouch.
24. Medical students come and ask YOU about pediatric endocrinology.
25. For Halloween your child dresses up as a sharps box.
26. Your endo is in your family picture.
27. When your parents answer the phone, the first thing they say is "What's wrong?"
28. Your six year old non D can spell "endocrinologist"
29. Your non-diabetic 3 year old, with glucose monitor in hand, states that she's been thirsty all day, had at least 8 glasses of water, and thinks you should check her blood sugar.
30. You stop calling them "sugar" and start calling them "Splenda."
You know you're the parent of a child with diabetes when ...
1. Everyone in the family says they are "low" instead of hungry!
2. Your co-workers play "Guess How Many Carbs Are In This Food" with you at lunch and you are always right!
3. You have a car that displays the miles remaining before it runs out of gas, and not only do you always think of that number in terms of a blood sugar, but any time it ticks down to 50, at least two people in the car shout "The car is low! It needs glucose!" I just wish my daughter had a little yellow warning light on her forehead too.
4. Your "D" child gets more birthday cards from his pump company than from his own family!
5. Your child gets his driver's learning permit and you have tubes of glucose gel in your car instead of your sunglasses but you smile because he has come such a long way.
6. You're awakened at 6 a.m. by your teenager asking the dreaded question, "What's the number for Minimed?" and you can answer without even opening your eyes -- then a few minutes later you realize that something's not right and jump out of bed.
7. You go through a drive-in at Dunkin' Donuts and see the sign that said "High Curb" and you start laughing because you think it said "HIGH CARB."
8. You realize people are staring at you in the cleaning aisle after you pick up a new product and exclaim to your family, "Hey, I bet this would get the blood off the bedroom wall!"
9. You are practicing spelling the word "S-I G-H-T" and your child asks if he should spell the "sight" with his eyes or the "site" on his butt.
10. Your six year old runs to the bathroom yelling "I've got to go Type 2!"
11. Everytime you prick or cut your finger all your children run for the meter -- you wouldn't what to waist ANY blood.
12. Your husband names his internet gaming character "Lancet."
13. Your child is playing a video game and when the "life force" level starts running out she says "Oh no! I'm low" and then starts laughing hysterically and says "I need glucose tablets!"
14. You have been doing frequent night checks because your child has been running a fever and find yourself in the bathroom getting Children's Tylenol before you realize the 103 was on the glucose meter, not the digital thermometer.
15. You are doing Madlibs with the kids and "pancreas" comes up as a body part, and "insulin pump" comes up as a noun.
16. You buy bleach not based on brand preference, but on whether the bottle would make a good sharps container.
17. Your daughter asks, "Can I get some ketchup to go with my test strips?" instead of her chicken strips.
18. All three of your children request the "A1C Steak Sauce" at the dinner table.
19. The makeup case you used to carry in your purse is replaced with an emergency diabetes kit for your child.
20. Your child asks you if "water proof" means "toilet proof" in reference to the pump.
21. You watch your teen push his peas and carrots onto his fork with his insulin pump instead of with another utensil.
22. While driving in the car with your diabetic child, a radio show asks listeners to call in with the answer to the question, "What do parents most often say at their kids?" and your daughter answers, "Did you bolus?"
23. Your two-year-old non diabetic says "me too" to get her blood checked and wears an old monitor around her waste in a pump pouch.
24. Medical students come and ask YOU about pediatric endocrinology.
25. For Halloween your child dresses up as a sharps box.
26. Your endo is in your family picture.
27. When your parents answer the phone, the first thing they say is "What's wrong?"
28. Your six year old non D can spell "endocrinologist"
29. Your non-diabetic 3 year old, with glucose monitor in hand, states that she's been thirsty all day, had at least 8 glasses of water, and thinks you should check her blood sugar.
30. You stop calling them "sugar" and start calling them "Splenda."
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
We are getting there!
We have been "live" (with insulin... the week with saline & still doing the injections don't count!) on the pump for almost 4 full weeks now! It has been interesting, to say the least! I think we were warned that there would be a lot of testing when you first start on a pump, but I never expected this much testing! We have gone through almost 300 test strips in 5 weeks! I liked a comment another mom posted on a Facebook group... "If I find another test strip on the floor, I'm going to scream!" And that is how I feel some days! We've even been using a different meter for 5 weeks and I'm still finding strips on the floor from the old one!
When Ellee was first diagnosed, we had to keep careful logs of everything and fax them to the doctors office to review to see if any adjustments in her dosage needed made. Once we felt like her numbers were stable and under control, we stopped faxing. When starting on the pump, it is like starting all over with diabetes. We have to log everything and fax it in.
Our first couple of weeks were riddled with extreme highs and extreme lows - both of which are very dangerous. Here is a puzzle that I need to figure out - something needs changed, but what? Every couple of days I would pouring over days of log sheets and numbers, trying to figure out variables, I made changes here and there. Slowly, but surely, her numbers are getting better!
I'm glad they moved up our next Endo appointment by a month! We went on Monday the 31st. I was so glad to see our Nurse Practitioner to go over the latest numbers! Normally our appointments are filled with meeting with 2-3 different people and a lot of waiting in between. As soon as we got in there, the NP was in and out of the room right off the bat! I love this lady! She is so easy to talk to and she is very understanding! With many days worth of log sheets spread out on the exam table, she and I went back and forth with patterns were were seeing along with bouncing ideas of changes to make. Would changing this help this? How would that effect this?
Another thing I love about our NP is that she asked how we felt! I have read about many diabetics and their families complaining about the emotional toll this takes on them, and the doctors only seem concerned with the numbers, not emotions. The social worker who came in and spoke with us first said that they have a councilor who specializes in T1D that we can set up an appointment with if we ever need it. Then the NP asked us how we felt about the pump and care in general... then she asked Ellee how she feels about it!
After we were all done, the NP went to get our new scripts so that we could go and it dawned on me that she never told us what her A1C was! When she came back, I asked. She said she realized that she forgot to tell us that it was 7.6! With in a month, we came down a whole half a point! And for the first time in quite a while, we got below 8! As rough as this past month has been with extreme numbers, we dropped half a point?! I can see that in the long run, being on a pump will be a life saver! I can only image how much better her A1C will get once we get her dosing straightened out!
The last few days I have been seeing another pattern in Ellee's numbers, and that is her going low at night. The past few mornings I have been dropping her dosage quite a bit. Why all of a sudden now? Why go from consistently being high at night to being low? I think it's from the "fear of the unknown" and "fear of something new and different". She no longer panics when it's time to change out her infusion set. She may get apprehensive in the minutes before I insert it, but she is calmer and more willing to work with me on the process of changing it. I think the fears she has of the needle to set the infusion set are subsiding. She definitely sees that the pump is much more convenient than the injections with the pen. And if you ask her the best thing about the pump, she'll tell you "no more night-night shot!" They say that emotions play havoc on blood sugars, and I think this is one of the first times that I am seeing that it's true. I think that her fear of starting something new made her go high at night, and as she is seeing that this is so much better, there is less emotional stress.
Things keep getting better as time goes on!
When Ellee was first diagnosed, we had to keep careful logs of everything and fax them to the doctors office to review to see if any adjustments in her dosage needed made. Once we felt like her numbers were stable and under control, we stopped faxing. When starting on the pump, it is like starting all over with diabetes. We have to log everything and fax it in.
Our first couple of weeks were riddled with extreme highs and extreme lows - both of which are very dangerous. Here is a puzzle that I need to figure out - something needs changed, but what? Every couple of days I would pouring over days of log sheets and numbers, trying to figure out variables, I made changes here and there. Slowly, but surely, her numbers are getting better!
I'm glad they moved up our next Endo appointment by a month! We went on Monday the 31st. I was so glad to see our Nurse Practitioner to go over the latest numbers! Normally our appointments are filled with meeting with 2-3 different people and a lot of waiting in between. As soon as we got in there, the NP was in and out of the room right off the bat! I love this lady! She is so easy to talk to and she is very understanding! With many days worth of log sheets spread out on the exam table, she and I went back and forth with patterns were were seeing along with bouncing ideas of changes to make. Would changing this help this? How would that effect this?
Another thing I love about our NP is that she asked how we felt! I have read about many diabetics and their families complaining about the emotional toll this takes on them, and the doctors only seem concerned with the numbers, not emotions. The social worker who came in and spoke with us first said that they have a councilor who specializes in T1D that we can set up an appointment with if we ever need it. Then the NP asked us how we felt about the pump and care in general... then she asked Ellee how she feels about it!
After we were all done, the NP went to get our new scripts so that we could go and it dawned on me that she never told us what her A1C was! When she came back, I asked. She said she realized that she forgot to tell us that it was 7.6! With in a month, we came down a whole half a point! And for the first time in quite a while, we got below 8! As rough as this past month has been with extreme numbers, we dropped half a point?! I can see that in the long run, being on a pump will be a life saver! I can only image how much better her A1C will get once we get her dosing straightened out!
The last few days I have been seeing another pattern in Ellee's numbers, and that is her going low at night. The past few mornings I have been dropping her dosage quite a bit. Why all of a sudden now? Why go from consistently being high at night to being low? I think it's from the "fear of the unknown" and "fear of something new and different". She no longer panics when it's time to change out her infusion set. She may get apprehensive in the minutes before I insert it, but she is calmer and more willing to work with me on the process of changing it. I think the fears she has of the needle to set the infusion set are subsiding. She definitely sees that the pump is much more convenient than the injections with the pen. And if you ask her the best thing about the pump, she'll tell you "no more night-night shot!" They say that emotions play havoc on blood sugars, and I think this is one of the first times that I am seeing that it's true. I think that her fear of starting something new made her go high at night, and as she is seeing that this is so much better, there is less emotional stress.
Things keep getting better as time goes on!
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