1st LADA Dlog Entry: Diabetes Homework

Maureen_Nolan · May 28, 2009, 6:02pm

Good morning Diabete-Nam!

waking bs: 258 (actually, i had one cup of coffee b/4 I tested)

I am making the bloody egg. I am enjoying them “soft-boiled.” I’ll get the timing down. [almost!]

I am an adult who’s been out of school for 20 years and now has to do diabetes homework. At first, I thought it was kinda funny. For the first time in my life, I am in charge of how much medicine I take — in conjunction with The Russ Berrie Center (“Who will kick you out if you don’t do as you’re told!” said the nurse who taught me about D Gear in the hospital in 2006.) Yes, Ma’am. I shoot as instructed.

I took to the needles with no qualms, probably b/c: a) I’m an adult and needles don’t “hurt”, and b) I’ve been getting TSH (thyroid) bloodtests all my life. They used the big needles back in the eighties - in veins! Sticking a short needle in my bum – no problem!

Bernie (my portrait artist) just called and he scared me about my feet. I am going to see the D Nutritionist tomorrow. My last A1C was 9.2 one month ago. I am failing diabetes school or skipping class and/or not always doing as I’m told. Rebellious old Juvenile!

The folks at the Russ Berrie Center are very nice to me, btw, despite the warnings of the hospital nurse. (Who also gave me my first meter like I was lucky to get her “gift”. I have three now. I have never paid for one. She was some kind of nut, that nurse, but thorough and kind.)

I am a LADA. I am an old lady who went from “good girl” with a 6 A1C six months after my dx to a 12 A1C in a year. I quickly grew from a child to rebellious teenager.

Stop scaring me about my feet! No way, José. I will not surrender my feet.

I have one month of D-homework sheets filled out. I am ready for my “examination”.

I just ate my 2 eggs, a hotdog, raw baby carrot mush. I will take 7 units - 5 to cover the morning high(ish) and 3 to cover the coffee and carrots. I’m always high in the morning. Sometimes in the 300’s.

I felt “low” the other day at 131bs. Huh? that was weird. Added “events” to diabetes homework pages.

I take less lantus than I probably should, but I live alone.

Best physical therapy for a D who can’t run? swimming and yoga (thankfully I was already well trained in both!) And walking, of course.

I am going to fail the no-smoking category. Please don’t yell at me:)

Thank you, my Lord Jesus. Thank you. I am grateful.

[Edit, Sat. 5.30.09] And I passed the test. Could look at the plastic fruit and declare the carb count. A+ on knowledge. C- on control. Sounds about right. I got good grades in school even though I wasn’t always that well behaved!

Sweeter_Cherise · May 29, 2009, 5:28am

Baby steps. we all have be in the rebel role at some point. I’ll keep you in my prayers

Teresa2 · June 14, 2009, 2:05am

Hi Maureen.

I sooo relate to your struggles in learning the whats, why and hows of diabetes and its management. It is a one-step-at-a-time process of getting a grasp on, and deciding to do, and practicing the disciplines needed for better health as a diabetic. (I’ve been T1 for 17 yrs - since age 35.). Don’t be too hard on yourself, take time to relax and, especially, sleep well. But don’t slack off either, because your life and health can depend on what you do, and you are definitely worth the effort.

As Maureen (DiabeticizME) indicated, take “baby steps”. It took me a few years to really grasp what this disease was, what I could do about it, understand why it needed to be done, and then do those things. Plus, all along the way there have been many new discoveries and developments to learn about, take into account and possibly take advantage of. Like anything hard or difficult that we’ve learned to do in our lives, we gain endurance, confidence and patience with ourselves and others, with the help of God, so that we can persevere through many challenges, even on-going ones that may be with us all of our days on this earth.

The “low” you felt with a blood glucose level (BGL) of 131 may have been caused for a couple reasons that I know of…

Your BGL could have been headed on a rapid downtrend which can cause symptoms. (It is good that you felt them before it went lower. I’ve begun to lose that ability, due to neurpathy.)
If your typical pre-meal BGL levels have been fairly high, let’s say, above 250, then 131, in comparison, feels low and uncomfortable to your body. In general, but not always, the lower the average BGL, the lower the BGL will be before symptoms of a low are experienced.

Do you know the “15 in 15 rule”? When you’ve experienced symptoms of a “low”, quickly test, eat/drink 15 units of fast-acting carbohydrates - always have some on hand at home, work, purse, car (juice, quick-dissolving candy, glucose tabs or gel), then, in 15 minutes test again. If your BGL is still low, repeat. Until you become very familiar with what your body is doing (bear in mind that what it does is subject to variables) it is good to eat 15 carbs and test again in 15 mins., even if your BGL is in a good range for you.

I used to smoke 2 - 3 packs a day for many years. With stops and starts, was able to FINALLY quit in 1991 (just a year prior to becoming diabetic). It took a special program with kind but strict accountability (maybe there’s one in your area), that I stuck with no matter what, particularly because a friend hit my motivator-button when she told me why she quit. She came to realize it was like – get this – breathing through a car’s exhaust pipe with the engine running! I knew she was right and appreciated her honesty. I had also calculated just how much money I had been wasting on the stupid cancer-sticks, and it absolutely floored me!

After my diagnosis I angrily declared to my endocrinologist that I would NOT give up apple fritters! (My BGL had been high, so I easily angered, and I was trying to not lose every pleasure of my pre-diabetic life.) I’ve learned that it is okay to have a PORTION of one of my favorite-and-sugary (thus, unhealthy) foods when I have it with a couple or so ounces of meat or other source of high protein food. However, I’ve also learned the approximate carb count by experimentation and relatively new information available on food values. So, there’s hope that you can still enjoy your favorite-but-bad-for-diabetes-control foods, once you get the basics digested and a regular part of your life.

Give yourself time to discover and develop a taste for those foods that will work for you. Over the years, I’ve found healthy/good-for-me foods that help me manage my diabetes and are enjoyable. I’ve actually developed a liking for plain cultured yogurt (I used to gag at the thought of eating the stuff!) mixed with all kinds of good things, like almond and flax seed meal with toasted wheat germ, frozen blueberries and a little artificial sweetener. My “list” (so-called cuz I don’t really have a list) has grown and morphed over the years, as I’ve paid attention to how my blood glucose levels (BGLs) react to particular foods.

I don’t want to overwhelm you with more. It sounds like you have available some good health advisors. If I can be help, I will. Please understand if I don’t right back to you, though. I’m going through chemo for an aggressive breast cancer and it wipes me out days on end after each treatment. There are many good people within TuDiabetes to glean from, also.

I pray that our Lord Jesus will help you gain a close friend or family member that you can trust to learn about the realities YOU have with the diabetes, who can go with you to your appointments and classes, and that you can call on when you are in need of hands-on help because you’re too tired or whatever, or provide loving concern, or whatever else you need. I know how imporant family and friends have been in my life of challenged, chronic health-issues.

God bless you!