Hello all!!
So, it’s been quite a few months… again…
I’ve just been so busy!! Life just takes off… =) in a good way, I suppose.
Anyway, so the last time I wrote to you all, was to tell you about how my health has been for the past two years… well let me tell you what it’s been like for these past few months…
My new endocrinologist did confirm that I was misdiagnosed as Type 2, and really am an LADA patient (and how appropriate it is to talk about it now since it’s LADA Awareness Week). It was a little confusing at first, and then, of course I went through some denial phase, but I snapped out of it and decided that I can’t let it get me down. At least I now know what is going on with my diabetes care and what I can do to make sure I get better (thanks for the encouragement Ronnie Gregory @RonnieGregoryM aka The Poor Diabetic!).
--So my diabetes treatment plan changed -
-I am now taking two different insulins – fast and long acting, so that’s been an adventure.
I didn’t understand the need for both, at first, and I sorta complained quite a few times to the hubster, but when we both went to the diabetes educator she explained the benefits of having both…
Honestly, I was REALLY apprehensive about taking shots.
I couldn't get over that I would have to inject myself daily.
I was such a wimp, that I had to ice up my injection site, sanitize, do the deed, and then sanitize the site again. I was a bit squeamish and would get all worked up when I needed to inject – I learned that when I get tensed up, the injection hurts 10x more than when I inject at a calm state (and I learned this about a month into injecting myself… eesh). The other part that scared me was looking at how long the needle was – the first couple of weeks, I would mistakenly forget to inject… or I would take the injection before one meal and then skip before another, then inject again later that evening – just looking at the length of the needle was enough to convince me that I didn’t need it – and of course, you all know where my sugar ended going… up, up, and up and away. So when that wasn’t working, I’d call my endocrinologist, and she would tease me endlessly and tell me to “buck up.”
Finally, she wrote me a new prescription for the BD Nano needles – ahhhh… I was saved. The needle was so short that alas, I was brave enough to administer insulin without having to ice the site =)
Then comes along the long acting insulin prescription-- so I thought to myself, “this shouldn’t be too bad…” – Boy, do I DESPISE that insulin! It’s a constant battle. Again, I know it’s for my own good, but the damn thing takes forever to inject! At first I thought a few of my needles must be defected, and then I realized that it really was just the insulin that was slow… UGH… I would have to inject and wait for the bubble to disappear!! Apparently, if I don’t wait the 10 or 15 seconds, everything comes squirting out (and that seriously was the most irritating part), and then I would have to inject again, apparently at a different site (and yes, for the first few weeks, I sported golf size bruises all over my abdomen – you’d think I had gotten into some brawl… O_o I blame the medical assistant at my endo’s office for not explaining how insulin pens work…).
So when my hubster and I finally saw the diabetes educator, again, I laid out all of my problems with taking insulin. She looked at me and started to giggle at all of my complaints (as I suppose I am a little funny when I try to explain my antics)… so she taught me a few tricks, then introduced us to insulin pump therapy. I know I looked at her funny, because when she pulled out the Medtronic Minimed and Omnipod, I became quiet… she gave them to Perry to look at, and as he was examining the pumps, I couldn’t look at her straight in the eyes. She went on to explain the benefits of having an insulin pump – actually, I stopped talking to her and sorta tuned out, but am happy that my hubby did all the talking and listening for me (because when we got in the car, I had a butt load of questions and he was like, “um, weren’t you there sitting next to me?” and I simply explained to him that I had a song playing in my head and was trying to figure it out and was sooo distracted by it that I didn’t hear her – I found this to be a very good explanation, he just gave me an exasperated sigh… hee hee).
A few weeks went by, and my endo called to ask how my diabetes class went. I told her about it (getting a few laughs out of her, eh eh eh) and told her that the educator introduced insulin pump therapy. She asked what my feelings were about the pump, and I told her that I am a stubborn woman (which, again, I thought was a very good answer – apparently, my endo thought it wasn’t a good one and a poor excuse… lol) – and of course she laughs at me, and then told me that I will be heading into insulin pump therapy soon. Of course when she said that, I felt a little defeated and asked her what I needed to do next. So she sent me back to the educator, and the first pump I was hooked on to was the Medtronic MiniMed. I was able to test drive the Medtronic device for 3 nights – interesting… I badgered Gary Paveza (@garypaveza) asking him tons of questions about pumps and he gave me insightful information (thanks Gary!! =) ) – so since I was testing out the Minimed, I did my own in depth research about the pump – all the pros and cons I could possibly get about it. After my 3 days was up, I returned the device and called my endo. She asked how it went and I told her that I practically ran out of the educator’s office when I was shown how long the needle was to inject the cannula into my abdomen, but was thankful that Perry was there to distract me and encourage me (fine, it didn’t hurt when the educator injected it =P ). She then asked what I thought about the Omnipod and I told her that I didn’t know anything about Omnipod, as I was set to getting the MiniMed (I had picked out the pink one, and was looking to see what skins they had available, and all the other accessories already…).
Then a week later, the Omnipod rep called, and there I was again testing a different pump. Again, I did all the research I possible could do, and then called my endocrinologist.
So where am I now with all of this? Well, I am getting my own pump – just found out last Friday-- my insurance will take care of it all! I told my endo that it seemed so much simpler to have a pump – I just loved that it was discreet, unlike having to whip out a noticeable orange and blue pen and attaching all the needles to it and then sticking it into myself (I get a lot of questions about this and have all the residents --as I work in a doctor’s office now-- hovering around me to watch me inject – as if I’m in a fish bowl and am the only patient they’ve seen inject themselves… eesh), as well as less injections ---- SERIOUSLY, SUPER DUPER HAPPY about that!
I won’t tell you all which pump I’ve decided to go with, as I think I will tell you guys about that on a different blog… anyway, just know that I am on my way to getting better =)
So in conclusion, it sucks that I was misdiagnosed earlier, and now that I know that I have LADA, at least I am working on getting well and better acquainted with insulin therapy.
I will tell you all this - I am excited to get my pump!
Ok, until next time 