“The most awesome thing I have done in spite of diabetes is . . . . “

That is the theme of the website DSMA (http://diabetessocmed.com/2011/introducing-the-dsma-blog-carnival/) this month and they have asked people to answer that question on their own blogs.

I think the most awesome thing I have done in spite of diabetes is run. I have ran 2 mile races, 5K races, 8K's, 6 miles, 10 miles, and the most important 3 half marathons or 13.1 miles. The best of these races was the Richmond Half Marathon in November of 2010. I ran it the quickest I have ever ran before (2:13) and I felt good doing it. My blood sugar was stable all during this race as well. And the end of the race I got engaged. None of these events were affected by diabetes and it was not even a thought that day. I cannot believe I can run these races and I am looking forward to doing it again soon!

5.1 and counting

I spoke to my doctor's office today and the nurse told me that my A1C was a 5.1. Um what? How did it go from 6.1 in November to 5.1 in 3 short months? She said not to worry and to enjoy the fact that it was so good! I asked her if that was too low and she said it was not and that it was a great thing. She had to tell me a few times. Of course it is a great thing, it is amazing and wonderful and the lowest number I can ever recall seeing in all my 25 years as a diabetic. But it does make me wonder how it got to a 5.1. I see a lot of blood sugars that are well within the normal range they should. Though I do also see a lot that are in the 200's or even very low in the 40's and 50's. It is just so amazing that even though that does happen now and again that your A1C can still shine through at a good number and occasionally hitting a high or a low does not ruin your overall goal of good control. I think after some initial shock I am going to enjoy this number and embrace it!

Superbowl XLV

At the beginning of this season it seemed that Big Ben going to another Superbowl would never happen. I had thought about it before and decided that it was not even worth thinking about. Yet somehow they still made it there amidst all the controversy. They had a shot, but they just did not play well enough. You cant turn the ball over as many times as they did and win a Superbowl. People on Facebook who are not Steelers fans are going crazy with their comments and hatred on the Steelers. It is interesting to me, because even if they did not win and even if they did not play the greatest, at least they were there. That is more than we can say for some of the other teams out there, such as the god awful Cleveland Browns!

Maybe CGM?

I met with my new doctor, Dr Briggs, in Columbia this week. She was great and I really liked her. She gave me some helpful tips, but she also brought up the discussion of a Continuous Glucose Monitor. I had thought about it before, but did not really see the point. My A1C's have always been in the 5's and 6's and if I could do it that well alone, what help could the CGM really have for me. She explained that I do seem to have a lot of lows, which is true, and she feels that having a CGM would alert me to these lows, especially if they go too low during the night. She talked about if I ever got pregnant and how sometimes there is nothing you can do to predict extreme lows until it is too late because of all the hormones involved. Basically she convinced me that I should at least try it. So I am going to set up an appointment to do a seven day trial with the Dexcom CGM. I picked that one mostly because I have heard the best reviews about it and it is the smallest. Plus when I look at my fingers, though could use a break from checking my blood sugar 15 plus times a day and maybe only checking it ten times!

So Low

I took a nice weekend trip to Philadelphia to see Leslie and Jill. We had a great time and I cannot wait to see them both again. But I was not prepared for this trip in a diabetic sense. It was freezing cold and with a large warm coat on I would go from freezing to hot in a matter of minutes. We did a lot of walking, which should have included a lot of basal lowering but I did not get around to ever doing that. We went to the mall and we drove in the car in stressful bumper to bumper traffic. These are all conditions I should have been better prepared for, but I was not. I was not thinking of those things, I was thinking of getting in the car and going to see friends. I should have had better snacks with me, I should have brought more test strips and I should have had a better lunch and eaten dinner earlier. All of this did not occur and I ended up with a blood sugar of 24. That is the lowest I have seen it ever as far as my memory goes back. Now who knows how accurate that number, but I never want to see it again. One low blood sugar can cause havoc on my system. I felt horrible, I had a splitting headache and I felt like I was getting a fever at one point. My friends were more than supportive and did all they could to help. But sometimes you just want to lay down in bed and watch tv when this happens, and yet when you are visiting friends you cannot always do that. Diabetes never goes away, but sometimes you forget about if for just a moment too long and then pay the price later.

Pharmacy issues again

I am sure every diabetic has issues with their pharmacy at least three times a year. I don't know why it has to be so complicated. It is like you get punished for actually having it all together. I have always gone to CVS, mostly b/c it is convenient and they have all my prescriptions on file. So when we moved a few months back I thought it would be easy to go to the closest CVS in our new city. Well it was, until I went to get my prescriptions refilled. I was told that because the prescriptions were newly "transferred" that they do not have the original prescription on file and hence they do not know how many refills are on file. So they will not refill my test strips until I get a new prescription from my doctor. This is preposterous. I went to the doctor in July and she wrote a year long prescription for test strips that should go until July 2011, not January 2011. What is the point of CVS "keeping my prescriptions on file" if they don't keep the original prescription on file?! So here goes another round of annoying phone calls to the doctors office to make sure they send the prescription and then calling the CVS to make sure they got it and are actually filling it. Its always something and it is the most irritating thing in the world when all you want to do is test your blood sugar, with your test strips, so you can stay healthy. It should not be this difficult.

2010 Recap again....

I like answering questions about my life, so I took this from Linda at All&Sundry....

1. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before? Got Married!! Went on an 8 hour plane ride! Visited Hawaii! Went snorkeling. Had a 5.7 A1C. Ran my 3rd Half Marathon.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

Ive never been able to keep a resolution, so I don't bother making them anymore! Let's just hope for a happy and HEALTHLY 2011!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Megan and John with Giuliana Rose born on March 2nd!

4. Did anyone close to you die? Not this year luckily!

5. What countries did you visit? Only the US of A.

6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010? A home, not apartment, and more space and seeing more friends.

7. What dates from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? October 9, 2010, Best Day Ever!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Marrying the love of my life is the first one. But I also am proud of the fact that for the 4th time I needed a new job and found one. Now it is not the greatest job and I don't plan on being here for long but it is admirable that I got one and am being paid a good salary with a 4 mile commute!

9. What was your biggest failure? Of the two jobs I was offered this year I think I took the wrong one, the other job may have been better suited for me at this time in my life. I think the other failure is not running more and losing my long distance ability!

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? No, thankfully.

11. What was the best thing you bought? Not to be sappy, but my wedding ring. It is made up of diamonds from my Mom's wedding ring and my Grandma's 25th anniversary ring.

12. Where did most of your money go? Paying off our debt and we made a significant dent in it luckily this year.

13. What did you get really excited about? The wedding, the 4 weddings of Matt and Kendal, Steph and Chris, Trevor and Sarah and Sean and Marina we attended this year. Going to Hawaii! Parents buying a house in Florida that we can visit now!

14. What song will always remind you of 2010? Dynamite by Taio Cruz. The song the ring bearer Jake walked into at the reception and did a flip in the middle of the dance floor.

15. Compared to this time last year, are you:
– happier or sadder? Happier.
– thinner or fatter? Haha, Fatter, this must change
– richer or poorer? Richer, thanks to the wedding and joining finances

16. What do you wish you’d done more of? Seen my friends. I saw them a lot this year, but not enough and I miss everyone!

17. What do you wish you’d done less of? Eat junk food, I am getting better at it though and have seen good improvements with my blood sugars!

18. How did you spend Christmas? In Erie and Warren seeing both families.

19. What was your favorite TV program? Modern Family, How I met your Mother, Two and a Half Men, NCIS and of course soap operas.

20. What were your favorite books of the year? The only book I have really loved this year is "I do, Now what?" by Bill and Giuliana Rancic, haha.

21. What was your favorite music from this year? Not really an album kind of girl, rather listen to the radio.

22. What were your favorite films of the year? I love to laugh at the movies and the Other Guys with Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell was hilarious.

23. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 28 this year and Mike made me a great cake, but when we tried to go out to celebrate with friends DC got hit by a huge snow storm and we got snowed in!

24. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? A shorter commute, and we fixed that one!

25. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010? Needs improvement, my shoe collection is much better though.

26. What kept you sane? My new husband.

27. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010. "If you are too busy to exercise, you are too busy."