I know I haven’t posted in quite a while, I have a had a ton of changes going on with job changes and some other events that kept me pretty busy. Since all of the changes, I decided I was going to add one more thing to that mix. I changed the injection site for my pump from my leg, back to my abdomen.

It was quite a surprise taking a needle in the gut again after not having done so in 6 or 7 months. Especially being I use the “quick-serter” device. This was only the beginning of 4 day mess that was about to send me spinning into a downward spiral! Hours after I changed my pump, my friend came up to my apartment with some Club Flyers and wanted to go out to one of these places for some drinks. He had just been at the NC State football game all day and judging by the smell that was starting to fill my apartment, he had been doing some drinking already. So we picked a place we hadn’t been to in a while and hopped in the car. Before I even walked into the bar I checked my sugar and it was up over 300, I immediately took about 15 units with my pump and then went inside. I had one beer while talking with some other friends that we met there and we paid our tab and left. Total time since last reading was about 1 hour and 30 minutes, as we are heading to the next bar I check it again and its about 280. Lower, but something is wrong, this is not normal! I thought maybe it was air in the lines that I missed or something. I continued to check it about every hour if I could and probably went through close to 50 units just to get it down to a normal level. After 2 more days of similar readings I realized that I was just not absorbing it well and changed it immediately. Things seem to be back to normal now but in the meantime I spoke to my Dr about a continuous glucose monitor. There are times where something similar to this will happen and hours go by with me not knowing because it’s getting high for another reason other than what I am eating or bolusing.

Continuous Glucose Monitor

I have to track my numbers for the next 30 days and then submit them to a representative that will try to work with my insurance company in trying to get approved for it. They really only care about lows and if your 30-day stretch does include a lot of lows, they probably wont approve me. At least this is what the rep said. I have started an excel file for the rep and will keep everyone posted on what the final outcome is.

I think it will be great for when I am out and about for long periods of time and especially when I am changing my site and there is a possibility for air or me hitting a bad spot in my abdomen that isn’t absorbing insulin well.

As a diabetic you learn to stay away from the “earthquake” foods and drinks. You are probably scratching your head saying “what the hell is an earthquake food?” I will tell you exactly what it is, earthquakes shake up the ground and then have these after effects where weird things happen even hours later. So there are certain foods that do this to me as well. I eat them and the next 3 – 4 hours of my day is spent monitoring my sugar in 30 minute intervals. A few examples are white rice, cake and ice cream, certain pasta dishes… Etc. Everyone can probably think of something that has thrown your day off completely or the day of someone you know.

I tend to avoid most sweets, juices and foods high in sugar or carbohydrates. Every once in a while there will be a wedding, birthday, party… who knows, but you splurge and take a hit. I will go for the cake and ice cream if it stares at me long enough and calls out my name. After all, I would hate to offend whoever brought it anyway, so go ahead cut me a slice asap!

Cake and Sweet Tea

Mid way through my enjoyment, I can feel it, the earthquake is starting, but this is just the beginning. I start debating how much insulin and dial it in to prepare for the ride. Sometimes it’s smooth sailing and I keep my levels near normal but for the most part there is always a surprise where I am left thinking ” how did this happen!” my eye lids become heavy and I start feeling lethargic, my mood changes, my smile from that tasty icing disappears… What a mess!

I am not sure if it’s all worth it in the end but I do a good job of correcting things pretty quickly, I might spike to high 200′s but will fix it quickly. Not the greatest thing for you but maybe do this more often I will become an expert.

Practice makes perfect!

One of the main things that I hate with extreme temperatures is that none of of my glucometers (I have 3) ever work when they have been sitting in extreme heat or extreme cold. You would think someone with a little smarts could design a special case which would prevent the device from getting too hot or too cold. Maybe this is harder than I know but it sounds like a good idea.

Now that it’s summer there are certain events which are often paired with a lot of guessing while I enjoy them. Two that come to mind right now are Softball and Swimming. With Softball I make sure I eat about an hour before the game and check my sugar about 10-20 minutes before. After checking I bolus if needed and leave my pump and glucometer in the car or in my bat bag. No matter where I leave my glucometer, if it’s above 90, say goodbye until further notice.

Me playing 3rd base - Summer 2008

While playing softball and exerting myself I have trouble judging where my levels are. There are times I think I am low because I am shaking but it’s just because I ran my tail off to get home and score. I carry Swedish fish with me for several reasons; they are delicious, they bring my sugar up and they don’t melt or get sticky from heat and one more thing and I not sure if I covered… they are delicious! If I start noticing other signs of a low I will eat some but it’s so hard to judge sometimes. Usually I wait until after the game because I hate correcting blindly and I have had some close calls doing this. I get to my car and pull out my handy glucometer only to get an error because it’s been sitting in the heat!

Another activity where this gets difficult is swimming, whether it’s the beach or the pool, it is nearly impossible to spend the day outside near water and have your meter work. I try to test before I head out but things change quickly depending on what you are doing and especially if you make a day of it and have lunch outdoors as well. You can’t swim with a pump so it has to come off and I usually get into this zone for an hour or two and forget to think about it. By that second or third hour it’s back on my mind, I am wondering “man I wonder what I am at right now.”

I would love to go just one entire day without having to worry about it one time… Someday.

Me - Outer Banks, NC - Summer 2008

If I do have a cooler with me, I will try to stick it in there. If not when I get home from softball or the pool, if the meter still isn’t working I put it in the refrigerator and let that sucker cool down. It’s not like this happens every time and it isn’t an everyday thing, only when it is HOT (with capital letters) outside. I would say 95 and above. Shade or no shade that meter is taking a vacation!

One of the hardest things to get a young child with diabetes to learn is how important it is to check your sugar levels on a regular basis. Some parents don’t even realize how important it is and how it will effect their child’s body over time if their sugar is always high and never monitored correctly. So if the parents aren’t aware, the kids are less likely to be on top of the disease causing complications later on.

Bayer has recently released a product to change all of this for kids and parents. It’s called “The Didget” and it is a glucometer that plugs directly into the child’s Nintendo DS and DS lite systems. “The DIDGET meter is designed to help kids manage this lifelong condition by rewarding them for building consistent blood glucose testing habits and meeting personalized glucose target ranges.” Right now this is only available in the UK but should soon make it’s way to the US.

The Didget should really push children with diabetes and their parents to stay consistent with testing and learning about the importance of monitoring blood sugar.

I am a little annoyed that this wasn’t out when I was younger, maybe this would have been my calling. I am horrible at every video game I play on any system – except for maybe Tiger Woods Golf on PS3. I think I could have been a Didget champ! Then again there are probably a bunch of little nerdy diabetic kids with codes to this game that allow them to get rewarded by hitting some crazy sequence of buttons. Something like back, forward, back, back, A, B. Hopefully I didn’t just give anyone any ideas…

At the end of the day it is ideas like this that may make us obsess over testing our sugar and keeping it in that perfect range. The more obsessed the better, lets just hope you have good insurance because I can see these kids going through a lot of test strips! Doctors will be like “Johnny you were using 5 test strips a day before why are you now using 30 a day?” Johnny will reply with “Well Doc, there is this sweet new game out for the Nintendo DS and I am about 3 levels away from beating it.”

I will be on the look out for when this comes to the U.S. – I can’t wait to see it in action!

For those of you who do not know what dawn phenomenon is, it is simply an increase in blood sugar in the middle of the night or sometimes referred to as the “dawn effect”. Typically between 4:00 AM and 8:00 AM the sugar levels of some diabetics rise abnormally. Some researchers say that it is due to an increase in hormone production such as epinephrine, cortisol, glucagon and other growth hormones. Some of our hormones tell our liver to release glucose to give us the fuel we need when we wake up. But when these hormones are out of balance with the hormone insulin, the liver releases too much glucose.

For me this was a frustrating thing since I was always trying to perfect my levels in my late teens. It would drive me crazy that no matter how well I left things before bed I would wake up ridiculously high in the morning. After explaining this to my doctor she recommended getting on an insulin pump. I nodded my head and acted interested but after leaving thought to myself; “there is no way I am going to have something attached to me like that”. This is back when cell phones were still pretty large and couldn’t fit in your pocket, so as a guy you had to have a belt clip. All I could think about was having this big pump and a big cell phone on my belt at the same time. Then again going some places like an amusement park was difficult because you cant really carry around a bag the entire time, so you use a locker. The lockers are always on the other end of the park from where you decide you are going to stop and eat and that’s where you have your shots. One of my biggest fears was one of my friends joking around and tackling me or hitting the injection site ( guys in their teens do these things without any notice thinking they are a super hero) and ripping it out. That being one of my main fears I had, the older I got the better of an idea it became.

About 3 and a half years ago I decided to get the pump, insurance was paying for it and at this point there was no reason not to get it. It has not only changed my life completely but has allowed me to have near perfect levels in the morning. Basal (the insulin that trickles in slowly throughout the day) rates can be set to different levels throughout the day. In the middle of the night, or morning however you look at it I set a peak in my basal rate. So from 12 AM to 3AM my basal rate is .85 and then at 3 AM it jumps up to 1.50 to compensate for any increase I would experience from dawn phenomenon. This insulin pump has completely changed my morning levels which make it SO much easier to get out of bed every morning.

I am the kind of guy that that will test my sugar or inject insulin without even thinking about who’s around or where I am. I could be standing on the corner of 5th Avenue in the middle of NYC in the pouring rain and I will pull out my glucometer and and test my sugar if I feel it’s necessary. When I didn’t have my pump and I was injecting regular syringes or the pens, people would always ask; “doesn’t that get so annoying?” In my head I am thinking “um actually no, you asking me that every time I inject does though” Injecting then was like having to tie my shoe, I could inject anywhere except while on the move. You can tie your shoe just about anywhere except while walking – I have tried doing this on several occasions and it ended badly each and every time.

So this leads me to the curious friend of a diabetic. At my age I am always meeting new people, whether it’s co-workers, new neighbors, people I meet at my underwater basket weaving class… who knows, there are just random people always watching me while I check my sugar or even lay a hand on my insulin pump. It’s like they are watching to make sure I dont hit the red button on the back and end the world instantly. I have people say to me “what is that?” So me enjoying talking to people about it and educating them on the disease, I end up going into this long story. It never fails, no matter who I am talking to, their response is always the same. They say something like “I think thats what my uncle has”  or “I think my grandpa had diabetes before he died”. I personally do not know how to respond to that so I just keep talking. There are two reason’s why; the first one is you just told me you think your grandfather died from diabetes or you think your uncle had diabetes? Next you are going to ask me how come your uncle would always inject into the vein in his forearm and why my diabetes is different. I dont want to be the one to have that conversation with you, ask your mother.

So after I am done clowning around I usually give them the simple explanation: “when I eat, my sugar goes up so I need insulin to bring it down”. I also explain that “sometimes it goes down too much and I need sugar to bring it back up and staying in that safe zone in the middle is the game I play with myself everyday of my life.”I also need to explain that this other thing that pricks my finger is what tells me exactly where I am. So usually around now they are nodding their head “Oh I get it now!” – but honestly they don’t. They will always come back to watch and say “wait, so when you give yourself more insulin it’s because your sugar is low right?” On average it takes 3-4 times to get it if the friend is a male and 7-8 times to get it right if the friend is a female (not sure why this is). In the end I smile inside that they care enough to ask and realize as a diabetic, I will always have curious friends.

I always find myself curious to hear other diabetics stories discussing thing’s like; where they were when they found out, what symptoms they experiencing, if they didn’t notice any of the symptoms, what finally happened that made them aware of the disease… etc. Many people don’t enjoy going to the doctors office for every little thing that is wrong unless you are a hypochondriac. Some of the symptoms; increased thirst, weight loss and feeling tired aren’t things we would freak out about after a week and then make an appointment to see a doctor. Because of this there are some pretty scary stories out there about people who were driving their car and suddenly ran off the road into a ditch after passing out or swerving into oncoming traffic.

As we all know diabetes is hereditary to if you are someone in your family is a diabetic you have an increased chance of not only getting the disease yourself but having a family member that might someday become diabetic. Hearing other peoples stories will help you notice some of the symptoms that people experience and possibly alert yourself or the other person to see a doctor before things get too bad. There was a story back in April where an 8-year-old girl died suddenly and after all her organs started to fail. Doctor’s said her sugar level was 1,700 after she was brought into the hospital( Full Story). Most people if you think about it will let those around them know when they are experiencing the smallest problems. Think about the last time you heard someone say; “my finger hurts” or “I have a headache”. Hopefully after reading this this you will be on the lookout for common symptoms (listed below) in those around you. Researchers have calculated that about 6.3 million adults — about a fourth of the people in the U.S. with diabetes — have the disease but haven’t been diagnosed.

My Personal Experience

When I was about 16-years-old I was pretty healthy, probably around 6’1″ tall and about 180 lbs – Complete chick magnet!. One day while in school I noticed focusing on the teacher from the back of the classroom was becoming difficult because one of my eyes kept getting blurry. This symptom would come and go, looking back it probably got worse after lunch or after eating something because of my sugar levels being on the rise which causes pressure change in the eyes. After a few days of blurred vision and hoping it would pass I started noticing other symptoms occurring. My mouth became bone dry so I was drinking ridiculous amount of water all the time, I had even brought a large jug of water into work for a few days because otherwise I would be making trips to the water fountain close to 6,000 time an hour…. No really I am serious!

Drinking all of that water was definitely taking it’s toll on my bladder for sure! I was experiencing “frequent urination” as well, going to the bathroom about 20 times a day or more. I remember during all of this I was hanging out with a girl that lived about 45 minutes away at the time and I can remember only staying there for a couple hours at most because of my frequent trips to the bathroom. After my 3rd trip I would usually pull the whole “man I am really tired I should get going so I can get some sleep”. Even though I just went before I left I would usually have to stop at least once on the way home as well. After about a week and a half of these symptoms I knew things were getting worse instead of better and needed to see a doctor.

After school on a Friday afternoon I had an appointment to see my doctor to discuss what has been going on. She came in the room, spoke with me for a few minutes about my symptoms, pricked my finger and then left the room for about 20 minutes. At this point I started worrying because I had no idea what was so important that she couldn’t wait until after I left unless it pertained to me. Well come to find out I was exactly right, she came in and told me I had a blood glucose level way above normal and she wanted me to go home and wait for my mother who she had just contacted at work to see if she could leave early. She asked me if I was OK to drive home and I responded with “yes of course why wouldn’t I be?” I had no idea what any of this meant or what diabetes even was at this point.

I went home and sat there for about 30 minutes waiting for my mom to arrive, I grabbed a magazine just in case I was there for a couple hours and as soon as she arrived we were on our way. I was immediately brought into a room and was informed I wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. I was in for a pretty big surprise, I really thought I would be in and out in a couple of hours. I was asked a million questions, had an IV hooked up, and was being fed hospital food on calorie intake of a 3 year old. About 2 days later after learning about the disease, how to count carbs and inject insulin I was finally on my way home.

Here I am about 10 years later and very healthy, now using an insulin pump with humalog instead of the syringes or insulin pens I have tried in the past. I have an average A1c of 5.7 and test usually about 10 times a day. I notice way too many changes in my body if my sugar levels go outside of the normal zone in either direction. Because of this I have become very anal about keeping my levels in the normal zone. I do have occasional highs and lows but they do not stay there long at all. After being diagnosed I matured pretty quickly and learned how serious this disease can be if it is not taken care of correctly. Now it’s all second nature for the most part, I don’t even think about the things I do on a daily basis. I try to exercise at least 5 days a week and continue to eat healthy throughout the day to make sure I live a long healthy life.

Below is an image which shows the risk of type 1 diabetes if another family member has it.

Type 1 Diabetes Symptoms

* Frequent urination
* Excessive thirst
* Extreme hunger
* Unusual weight loss
* Increased fatigue
* Irritability
* Blurry vision

Type 2 Diabetes Symptoms

* Blurry vision
* Cuts or sores that are slow to heal
* Itchy skin, yeast infections
* Increased thirst
* Dry mouth
* Need to urinate often
* Leg pain

Feel free to share your story in the comment section below!

If confirmed Sonya Sotomayor will be the first known member of the US Supreme Court with Type 1 Diabetes.

When Sotomayor was diagnosed at age 8, in the 1960s, patients with Type 1 diabetes weren’t expected to live full lives like a healthy individual would live. But improvements in monitoring and treatment have changed this outlook. Among the patients who thrive with Type 1 diabetes are five-time Olympic swimming champion Gary Hall Jr. and Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler.

Sonya is a Latina that has made huge accomplishments throughout her life. She was raised in a housing project and later in life went on to excel at Princeton and Yale. Many are criticizing Sotomayors ability and saying her life experiences may interact in rulings. Sonya was Diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at age 8 in the 1960′s.

Read Full Story Here

With the swine Flu grabbing the headlines lately I thought I would post some information about how we can avoid putting ourselves at risk.

Since 1997 experts have warned us of a horrific worldwide influenza outbreak, when the first human cases of so-called H5N1 avian influenza were reported in Hong Kong.  Two years ago it was the bird-flu but that didnt ripen into a pandemic. Now we are sitting and waiting to see what will become of the latest – Swine Flu.

Decreasing Chances:

Some of the following may seem very simple but can really help decrease chances for infection.

1. Take the time to learn about the Swine Flu now, prepare yourself for all of the possibilities now.

2. Practice CDC-recommended hygiene techniques that we all should be using on a daily basis anyway:

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, and throw the tissue away after you use it.
• Try not to touch your eyes, nose, or mouth since germs can spread this way.  Your children will learn this quickly if you teach them.
• Get in the habit of washing your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. If you are not near water, use an alcohol-based hand cleaner.  Although influenza spreads by respiratory droplets from coughing and sneezing, it can be carried on other surfaces.

3. Purchase face masks now rather than if and when a pandemic begins as they will be harder to come by. They are only a few dollars each and are great to have on hand. (Masks with a rating of N95 or higher are apt to be more protective.)

4. Plan ways to minimize contact with others whether it is through business or school. Large public events, buffets, picnics are all places where we can cut back with human contact now.

Important Websites:

Confirmed cases of swine flu in the U.S. are tracked by the CDC and recent swine flu news can be found at the World Health Organization.  Check travel advisories if you are contemplating travel.

In Akron, Ohio an 8-year-old girl suddenly died from undetected Type 1 Diabetes. Her mother wants to share her story with all parents to make sure what happened to her family doesn’t happen to another.

Full Video

The family of 8-year-old Julia Tatum didn’t even realize the girl had diabetes. Her mother, Paulette Richmond, thought her daughter had a common cold because she was sleepy and said her throat hurt.

But the next day she was in the hospital with a blood-sugar level off the charts, and she couldn’t be saved, WEWS-TV reported. Julia was a happy, energetic child who loved swimming and school. She was a third-grader at Imagine Community School in Akron.

“I got no warning signs that she was sick because she looked totally healthy,” said Richmond.But two weeks ago, Richmond got a call while she was visiting a friend in Columbus. Julia was suddenly very sick and unresponsive.”I need(ed) to get here, and I need(ed) to get here now, and it’s serious and everybody get to the hospital. What happened?” Richmond said.Doctors told Richmond that Julia’s blood-sugar level was 1,700. Normal is between 80 and 120.Julia’s organs failed and she died last Thursday at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital.

“I would really hate for that to happen to another mother, to have to endure what I’m enduring right now,” said Richmond.A teacher noticed that Julia seemed to urinate frequently, a possible sign of diabetes, but the school nurse didn’t notice any other symptoms.”I actually hadn’t seen her in a while, probably in a few months, so for all I knew, she was doing well,” said school nurse Jennifer Cannon.Statistics show 40 children each day are diagnosed with diabetes in the U.S. It’s a disease that attacks cells that produce insulin, and there is no cure, making it extremely important to watch for warning signs.

“The frequent urination, headaches, nausea, frequent increased thirst and hunger,” said Cannon.Richmond said, “I would just like for everybody that has children, regardless if they look healthy or they don’t look healthy, to get them tested.”On Thursday, Julia’s classmates will plant a tree in her honor. Her funeral is set for Saturday.A fund has been set up to help the family. Donations can be made at any First Merit Bank branch.For more information on juvenile diabetes, visit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s Web site.