Trying to Beat This

Tomorrow is the big day!

2009-11-22T23:32:00.001-06:00

Bright and early tomorrow morning, I'm going to my pump start class. I'm nervous and excited. I'll fill in the details following the class. I've been working on some homework for it and I'm not overwhelmed, but close. :-) Here goes nothing!

November is Diabetes Month

2009-11-12T14:02:00.002-06:00

I've been doing a bit more reading and I've discovered (not too difficultly) that November is American Diabetes month. (I learned at Hub Hobby last month that October was National Plastics month...so probably there's more to November than diabetes, but we'll just go with it!)

The CDC has an article that's more heavily focused on Type 2 diabetes, but is a good read because anyone can get it. Here is the link. There are also other resources to check out at the bottom of the article.

Another aspect of diabetes that I'm interested in is research. While I haven't found any studies that I qualify for, I have found a study that is gathering information about how type 1 diabetes develops. They are looking for non-diabetic family members of individuals with type 1 diabetes. I'm subjecting Abraham to a clinical trial (he's excited to further the reseach though) and I'm planning to talk my brothers into it as well! Here is a link.

Happy November!

P.S. Note to self: Be good at Thanksgiving!! :-)

Thanksgiving Day 5K!

2009-11-02T22:04:00.004-06:00

As an additional motivational factor to keep active, I signed Nathaniel and I up for a 5k race on Thanksgiving morning. Its good for me to have a goal to look forward to when managing my diabetes because otherwise I get too numbers oriented or really dragged down--neither of which result in successful management. So, by setting an activity goal, something that I'm paying for, I usually keep more in line. To help achieve this end, I purchased another jogging stroller!!

On Sunday, Nathaniel and I started training for our Thanksgiving Day 5k! We both ran about 2 miles (I ran a block and walked a block, repeated--he ran the whole time). Today I'm so sore!! I'm also so motivated! About a month ago, I sold our other jogging stroller in hopes to purchase a double jogger next spring, thinking that I wouldn't be out jogging any time soon. But since we've signed up for this 5k race, I was on Craigslist today looking for double joggers and found this single for a great price! When I e-mailed and saw that it was still available, I jumped on it. This way, either of us will be able to take one of the kiddos should the need arise when we go out for our training runs. :-) I'm going to beat this diabetes!!

Wii Fit

2009-11-01T21:55:00.003-06:00

We'd planned on purchasing Wii Fit for a while, but hadn't gotten around to it. This weekend we added Wii Fit Plus to the "game" collection. It is so much fun and an animated balance board telling you that you're not strong or you're adjusted age (for your performance on a task) is like 20 years older than you are is really motivating! :-)

We've been having a lot of fun getting to know all the in's and out's of the "game." Come on over if you'd like to give it a try sometime!

Its fun to have an activity that I can do to stay fit (and track it) that Abraham enjoys seeing. We even set up a little profile for Abraham and Abigail...baby stats! Activity and exercise are a great way to make my body make better use of the sugars that I'm consuming, so its fun to have this as an additional option--whenever keeping track of my two active kiddos leaves me feeling sedentary!

Halloween...

2009-10-31T22:46:00.003-05:00

So, lets check my blood sugar after halloween festivities and pizza...

wait for it...

wait for it...

192...

Not as bad as I thought it was going to be.

Too bad the highs don't feel as gross as the lows. Wouldn't that be nice motivation! :-)

Press on.

Paradigms

2009-10-30T21:36:00.003-05:00

After being diagnosed with diabetes, I realized how many paradigms I'd established about health and food and life in general, that were not accurate. I'm establishing new ones slowly that hopefully more thoroughly represent reality.

I'm also excited to announce that, while I practice thinking with new paradigms, I'm going get to practice using a new Paradigm--the Medtronic Minimed Paradigm Insulin Pump. I'm ordering the clear pump so the picture below is exactly what my new "pancreas" machine will look like. :-)

I'm grateful for the Lord's timing of this opportunity as our insurance will cover a large portion of the cost. In addition, I'm excited for something different. I'm getting the pump with the continuous monitoring, which will allow me to find trends in my sugar levels. Also, I'm pretty sick of poking myself so many times in a day and this should reduce that significantly. God is so good!!

What to do at 9:22 pm when you've got the munchies...

2009-10-29T21:32:00.002-05:00

Eat a cucumber and dip it in apple cider vinegar! :-) Okay so it wasn't that good, but I didn't eat the chocolate chips that I wanted to. Yeah! Small victories! Goodnight.

Day 5 -- What is a carb?

2009-10-28T13:53:00.001-05:00

For general carb counting purposes, one carb serving (also called carb choice/carb exchange) is 15 grams of carbohydrate. This can be determined by reading nutrition labels on food. Carb counting is a skill that can be acquired, but sometimes needs to be refreshed.

Common 1 CHO options include:

1 slice of bread
1 small apple
1/2 of a banana
1/2 of a grapefruit
15 grapes/cherries

1 cup whole strawberries

1 small baked potato
1/2 cup mashed potatoes
1 cup milk
15 chips/pretzels (those these usually come in a pkg, so read the nutrition label for specifics)

The amount of carbs that each person should eat in a day varies, but my doctor and dietician have recommended that I eat 3-4 carbs (as in 45 - 60 grams) for each meal and have two to three 1-2 carb snacks. Give carb counting a whirl and you'll be surprised how quickly they add up!!

Day 4 -- What's it like

2009-10-27T12:00:00.000-05:00

Day to day, this is what I deal with:

~Each day consists of 4 to 8 finger pricks to check blood sugar
~Each day consists of 4 to 5 insulin injections into my tummy depending on any high blood sugars to correct for (minimum of 4 shots per day though)
~If I am low I feel shaky and slightly panicked
~If I am high I either feel nothing or will get a headache and my energy will drag
~Carb counting for every meal and snack
~Remembering to bring my insulin with me!!
~Resisting my favorite food group most of the time
~Expensive prescriptions for insulin (2 kinds) and testing strips
~Frequent doctor visits
~The "stress factor"--living with something that will never go away...something I can't take a break from...something that could kill me if I choose to ignore it

All that being said, I am so grateful to be living with diabetes now instead of then. God has blessed our family with great benefits through Nathaniel's job and great medical care. I'm not complaining, just familiarizing my readers with an insider's perspective.

Day 3 -- I need an eraser

2009-10-26T20:13:00.002-05:00

In case you're curious...I didn't do well today. On day 2 -- Sunday -- I did really well. I had eggs and toast for breakfast (better that cereal because of the lower carb amount), a salad and peanut butter sandwich for lunch, and a healthy bowl of chili, corn chips, apple, and a salad for dinner. Dinner was at a birthday party for my nephew and I even only had 3 bites of cake and 1 bite of ice cream.

The problem with doing really well is that its much more likely that I'll go low...because I'm resting on the border. And sure enough, I woke up this morning and I was at 50-something...yuck!!

Granted I had an active night, but its just frustrating to be at a good number before going to bed and then wake up low. And the tricky thing is that it isn't consistent.

So today, I started with a cup of grape juice and a bowl of cereal. :-) I enjoyed it, but it probably wasn't the best method of treatment. AND juice and cereal are two things that I've practically eliminated from my diet because they so often give me high blood sugars. Grrr...

After the juice and cereal, it just went down hill from there. And what is there to do...well...it just comes down to each individual choice and at each moment, I have to make a choice and today, I wasn't doing well at it. I can't even pin-point a reason as I sometimes can.

That being said, tomorrow is a new day. One step at a time!!

Day 1 -- The What and Why

2009-10-24T15:20:00.003-05:00

Today, I went to the Minneapolis Diabetes Expo at the convention center. It was good to have gone (with the support of Nathaniel, Abraham, and Abigail), but it wasn't quite what I expected. I wanted to cry most of the time...like the time that I first went shopping for glasses. :-)

On this blog I expect to post updates about my case, interesting facts I'm learning about diabetes and all that it encompasses, emotions I'm feeling, and encouraging anecdotes. I plan to be detailed as a way of keeping myself accountible.

I'm writing this blog to keep myself motivated. Though I've only been at it for about 2 years, I'd like to throw in the towel many days and just pretend the diabetes is just not there...resulting of course in health problems up to the eaves, not to mention shortened life-span.

So, if discipline is the goal, and just telling myself to be disciplined isn't working...hopefully something else will...like blogging about it! :-)

And though it sounds like its all about me...its not. Keeping healthy is also for my family--so I can be there to support, love, guide and serve them; and for my God--to be the most effective vessel and to bring God glory through living joyfully and responsibly in a difficult situation.

Hopefully these verses are not too out of context to apply to this situation because they motivate me:

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

1 Timothy 4:7b-8

Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

I'm kind of worked up about this today and have a flood of brain activity on the subject, but that, in a nutshell is the what and why of this blog. Enjoy!