Fitting #1

My wedding dress fitting is going to be on Saturday July 10th at 9am. I cannot wait. But I do wonder what they will say and do when I tell them we have to make a pocket for the insulin pump. I started thinking about this after I read Kerri's piece on Six Until Me her own wedding dress designs a few years back.



You never know with some people. Do they know what an insulin pump is? Have they seen one before? Do they know someone who is diabetic? Do they know what having diabetes means?

We'll see what happens on July 10th and I am hoping they can make something that is secretive yet easy for me to access the pump. I am trying not to dwell on it but part of me is concerned about having the time to check my blood sugars throughout the wedding to make sure I stay on top of the game!

New York test strips

We went to NYC this past weekend. We left early Sat morning and came back home on Sunday night. It was a nice one night trip that we are very glad we did! I didn't bring as many diabetic supplies as I normally do on trips because it was for such a short amount of time. I didn't bring any extra insulin with me because I figured the insulin in my pump was enough to hold me for a one night trip. The only issue was that I forgot to bring any extra test strips. I looked at the bottle when we were more than half way to New York and was upset to see I only had brought one bottle of test strips! Luckily there were 17 strips in there, way more than enough than Id need for that amount of time, but it still seems stressful to know that you don't have an endless supply of strips. I felt that I had to ration out the strips to make sure I didn't run out of them just in case, but 17 still should have been enough for one full day. This seems to happen to me a lot. If only strips didn't cost $1 per strip, than it would not be so horrible if you ran out of them and had to go stock up on more from the pharmacy!

Bret Michaels wins Celebrity Apprentice

Bret Michaels was on the Today show today to talk about his big win on Celebrity Apprentice last night. Thanks to his efforts he brought in $250,000 for the American Diabetes Association. Bret has been a type one diabetic for most of his life and was recently told that his young daughter is a borderline diabetic. I think it is fantastic that Bret won and brought in all this money for a disease that affects him and potentially his daughter. Many people have said that Donald Trump only picked him to win because of a sympathy vote due to the fact that Bret suffered a brain hemorrhage a few weeks back and recently also discovered he has a hole in his heart. Personally I think he was the ideal winner with or without his personal conditions. No one saw this guy coming. He was almost written off early in the show as being too lazy or not interested enough in what he was doing. Boy did he ever prove them wrong. It was entertaining and wonderful to watch this rocker character win time and time again and bring in a lot of money for diabetes research. Sometimes it isnt always the business like persona that makes it big in the business world. Now if only he would stop calling it di-a-bee-tus and would say diabetes!

RSVP

Mike and I got an invitation to a wedding we are going to in July that he is a groomsmen in. Being the ever devoted guest I decided to fill out the RSVP card right away and mail it the next day, even though they know we are coming. I had just tested my blood sugar and went to get a pen and fill out the card. I looked down at the card and noticed a few drops of blood had gotten onto the RSVP card. OH MY GOSH. How morrtifying was this. I cant believe it. Who gets blood on an RSVP card for a wedding. I immediately began to rub it off and used an eraser to try and fix it. I even wrote a small note on the card to cover it up. Solved! Oh but I was wrong. When I looked at the envelope to put the RSVP card into it I realized there were little drops of blood all over it. Far too many to be saved. Really?! Who does that? I called the groom to tell him and he thought it was funny and told me to still send it so I didnt waste the stamp, but this would only happen to a diabetic wedding guest!

Wrap up of D-Blog week

Dream a little dream - life after a cure. To wrap up Diabetes Blog Week, let’s pretend a cure has been found. We are all given a tiny little pill to swallow and *poof* our pancreases are back in working order. No side effects. No more insulin resistance. No more diabetes. Tell us what your life is now like. Or take us through your first day celebrating life without the Big D. Blog about how you imagine you would feel if you no longer were a Person With Diabetes.

It is interesting to think about this concept b/c for someone who was diagnosed as a 3 yr old there are not any memories of life without diabetes. I did not want to say I would eat a ton of sugary food ands drink a lot of regular coke. I felt like that would be the standard response to this question. I actually think I would go to the beach.

For me it has always been the beach where I feel the most uncomfortable. Is my insulin going to get too hot? Is the pump tubing going to get too tangled? Is the pump not going to connect right because there is sand stuck in it? Are people going to stare at my pump and wonder what is wrong with me? These are all things I consider when I go to the beach. Plus it is a constnat battle to figure out how much insulin to give myself if I want to go in the water for a few mins or longer without going too high or too low! I think I would go to the beach. And while I was there I would eat as many chocolate iced cream filled donuts I could find!

Friday D Blog Post

Day 5- Let's get moving. Exercise . . . love it or hate it? Do you have a regular exercise routine? Or do you have trouble finding your exercise motivation? How do you manage your insulin and food to avoid bottoming out during your workout? Today is the day to tell us all about your exercise habits, or lack thereof.

Running. Thats it. That is the only thing I have ever been able to consistently stick with and see results from. Now the problem with my running is that at times it is erratic. Some may say its great that I have ran 3 half marathons, 2 ten milers, and countless other smaller races, but there is still more to do. I like running when its good and I hate running when its bad.

The only thing that has ever made me want to run is to have a race to train for and know that I have to go. If I had to run based on my own accord, Id probably never go. But that is until now. Yesterday I ran 2 miles. Just 2 little miles. I even walked once, once considered a big no-no. And yet it was good. I was overheated and the smog from the busy road I ran on was too much and yet I did it. No ipod or waterbottle needed either, just me running however long and however fast I wanted to and it was nice.

We shall see how running treats me in the future, but my leg muscles look better, my A1C is at its greatest level ever, and I love the feeling of accomplishing a race or run. So I think we have a long future together.

Thursday D Blog Post

Thursday 5/13 - To carb or not to carb. Today let’s blog about what we eat. And perhaps what we don’t eat. Some believe a low carb diet is important in diabetes management, while others believe carbs are fine as long as they are counted and bolused for. Which side of the fence do you fall on? What kind of things do you eat for meals and snacks? What foods do you deem bolus-worthy? What other foodie wisdom would you like to share?

I remember one time a few years ago where Annette and I tried to go on the Southbeach diet. This basically involved eating minimal amounts of carbs. This lasted for me for about two days. It just wasnt plausible. And I was starving all the time. I do notice a great change in my blood sugars when I cut back on carbs. They are usually more manageable esp since there will not be any blood sugar spikes later in the game thanks to the carbs. But thats where it ends. I will eat less pizza, eat less pasta, but to give it up completely is just not going to happen. I like these things and life is too short to give it all up. That being said carbs also help to get my blood sugars back up again when they get too low so in that sense they are an essential part of my diet. I think I fall on the side of the fence where I know they might mess up my blood sugars a little bit so I cut back on them, but definitely dont cut them out! I could never live w/out bread!

Wed D Blog Post

Wednesday 5/12 – Your Biggest Supporter. Sure, our diabetes care is ultimately up to us and us alone. But it’s important to have someone around to encourage you, cheer you, and even help you when you need it. Today it’s time to gush and brag about your biggest supporter. Is it your spouse or significant other? Your best friend, sibling, parent or child? Maybe it’s your endo or a great CDE? Or perhaps it’s another member of the D-OC who is always there for you? Go ahead, tell them just how much they mean to you!

I think I have two biggest supporters. My Dad has always been the go to person when it came to my diabetes care. I think the best thing he ever did was to not freak out over things. He never made me feel that I couldnt do something b/c of diabetes and never made me feel different than any other kid. Sure I drank diet coke and didnt have desserts with dinner, but that is how any healthy kid should eat anyway. I cannot remember one time where I felt bad about being diabetic and I owe that entirely to him. Besides the fact that he taught me to give my own shots and he used to do my shots all the time himself, with some help from Annette and my grandmas and aunt. And I have a remarkable A1C level right now and that is due to his education and guidance I got as a child.

My other biggest supporter is Mike. Who would have ever thought that I would find someone who would actually do my insulin pump injections for me? He is learning to load the insulin pump, he checks my blood sugar, and he gives me the pump injections. Besides that though he knows how I get when my blood sugars are low and knows what to do to help me. He never complains about it, at least not to me, and his support is never ending. He also takes one for the team and knows sometimes we cannot eat pasta or pizza, esp later in the day. Though it may bother him at times he doesnt make a big deal about it. He also has gotten me into running which I attribute to helping me get my latest A1C level down to a 5.6. Throw all those things together and I see a lifetime of support and help from him when it comes to my diabetes care and thats all I ever wanted.

Tues D Blog Post

Here is Tuesday's post, or what it was to be if I had done it on Tuesday:

Tuesday 5/11 – Making the low go. Tell us about your favorite way to treat a low. Juice? Glucose tabs? Secret candy stash? What’s your favorite thing to indulge in when you are low? What do you find brings your blood sugar up fast without spiking it too high?


My favorite way to treat a low is with orange juice and ginger ale. I like to mix it up so its half and half and its delicious. Sometimes I drink it just to drink it which probably isnt the best idea, but its good.

D blog week posts

For this week the diabetes blog community has posted 5 topics for each day. Being Wed I am obviously far behind but I thought Id give it a shot and try it.

For the first post the topic is:
Monday 5/10 - A day in the life . . . with diabetes. Take us through a quick rundown of an average day and all the ways in which diabetes touches it. Blood tests, site changes, high and low blood sugars, meal planning, anything that comes along. This can be a log of an actual day, or a fictional compilation of pieces from many days.

6:02 AM: woke up before the alarm...great. might as well test my blood sugar: 133, not too bad. go back to bed.

6:36 AM: alarm clock goes off, feel like testing blood sugar again: 117. okay good. go eat some cheerios and go over emails and watch the news.

7:10 AM: do some arm exercises in an attempt to have better arms for the wedding while watching the Today show. love that show.

7:57 AM: test blood sugar before leaving for work: 93, pretty good. get in the car for another long drive to work on 495. why do i live in maryland and work in virginia again?

8:45 AM: read some work emails, look at wedding blogs, call a patient.

10:16 AM: blood sugar feels low, check it: 65, grand, drink some white grape juice boxes that are excellent.

11:29 AM: feel sorta sick, wonder if it was something i ate. only had cheerios and juice so far today so cant be that. test blood sugar again: 146, nothing out of the ordinary there. call mike to tell him i dont feel well.

12:30 PM: attempt to eat lunch. and it turns out really well as its the leftover edamame and tomato pasta from the night before. guess i feel fine now.

1:31 PM: test blood sugar: 105

2:48 PM: this day is dragging so much at work, test blood sugar b/c i am bored: 98, eat a mini candy bar, b/c why not its there. dark milky ways arent that bad.

4:17 PM: thank god this day is almost over. feel like sushi for dinner. hopefully i can convince mike to go. blood sugar: 125

5:45 PM: Mike is on board for sushi, decide to walk to place in Bethesda. test blood sugar: 38. WHAT? that cant be right. test again: 56. talk to mike about how it sucks that theres such a difference in numbers b/c monitors are not 100% accurate. drink some orange juice and eat some bread and hummus, b/c its excellent. go to dinner, sushi is amazing. drink some wine b/c its happy hr and we like to splurge.

7:50 PM: test and its 149. not too bad. lay on the couch to watch tv.

8:49 PM: crap, monday night tv is so good, must test again before 24 so i am not interrupted: 179. uh oh going up, sushi is tough to control with blood sugars. give some insulin.

9:55 PM: test at the end of 24: 220. oh god. here we go with the sushi causing blood sugars to be insane. give more insulin.

10:32 PM: test again before bed to be safe: 208, dropping but not fast enough, give .2 units of insulin b/c theres already some in there!

5:45 AM: test again b/c I woke up, 127 back to normal and onto another day!

Pittsburgh Half Marathon

Jennifer
Bethesda, MD
Age: 28 Gender: F
Distance HALF MAR
Clock Time 2:28:36
Chip Time 2:24:34
Overall Place 4929 / 7575
Gender Place 2638 / 4634
Division Place 698 / 1135
Age Grade 45.5%
5 5Mi 54:53
7 2Mi 1:15:27
11Mi 2:01:20
Divtotal 113
Sextotal 4634
Pace 11:03


Wow! Thank God its over!! Of all three of the half marathons I have ever ran this one was by far the most difficult. Due to my lack of training and or motivation to do it Ill never know but I am just glad its over with and I did another one. I think from this point on Ill stick to races that are shorter than 13 miles. I have never had to walk in a race before and this one had me walking a lot, probably 9 times. I have never checked my blood sugar more than once and this one I did it three times. I have never ran a race in the rain before and this one had me running the whole time in the rain. It was torture and misery and yet crossing that finish line still feels as good as it always does.