There are used ones available for $30.. which is why I went ahead and got it. It may have more information than most people want.. it is a medical textbook after all.
Nah, you can't murder your pancreas, which I'm sure you know ;) Boy, I used to be able to eat a sleeve or oreos, a bunch of pizza, a good bowl of pasta... *sigh*. What triggered mine was chemo with a massive dose of steroids on top. Sometimes there's just no way to know, there's more we don't know about D than we do. The unknown factor for me is D gremlins LOL
I do understand the need to KNOW though - frustrating.
LOL. I love blaming it on the D gremlins :)
What I wouldn't give for one of those giant reese's cups right now...
It's only 21 carbs... :)
And... I do currently have quite a supply of dark chocolate goodness in my cabinet. I eat some every day. It satisfies my NEED for chocolate (yes, it is a need, it is not a want! LOL)... at only 3g carbs per square. :)
They eventually let me chew ice--as long as I kept a bucket handy (TMI, right?).
Just out of the hospital they put me on Rocaltrol, which is something that is supposed to raise both calcium and Vitamin D. That's the only prescription that I've ever quit taking without telling my doctor (the side effects were nasty)--but when I got blood work done and the Ca was high (D was at about 11) he agreed that I shouldn't take it. Once the Ca was down,he put me on mega doses of D, but we keep an eye on both. I'm down to 5000/day now (and my Ca levels are high normal).
Your insulin needs are going to fluctuate just like everything else with this disease. Just after the hospital, I was using more insulin than I have at any point since then. By Dec 2008, I was on my lowest dosage ever, but my weight had also dropped to about 115 lbs. I've gained a lot (I don't exercise like I should) so my insulin dosage has gone up, but right now I don't take as much as I did right after dx.
I think the most useful thing I've learned is how to make adjustments to my insulin dosage on my own. Last week, after dealing with high mornings on Levemir for about two weeks, I split my dose on my own. It's working so much better that I wish I'd done that from the beginning.
That's the thing about it. Everything is going to be a learning process--nothing in your body is static. All systems in your body are interconnected, so the absence and manual injection of a hormone like insulin is going to affect everything else.
Ah, and I remember the day I got out of the hospital and went to get my perscription--two vials of insulin, syringes, lancets, test strips--it ran us over $500. The next day I filled out the paperwork for prescription assistance until I could get insurance that would do prescriptions (at dx, I had major medical, but no prescription help). It was nearly a year before I got that straightened out.
The best I've found is Chocolove 70% - 2g a small square, and a really GOOD dark choc.
Thanks for the textbook title, palominovet!
I like information, also!
But yes, it may be more depth than I need at the moment.
Best wishes,
Marty1492
I... just shot up 2 units for half of a rather large chocolate chip cookie.
It was worth it..... :/ Lol!
Kara, that link shows that they are only sold somewhere in the mysterious midwest :( Unless I missed something
Hi SM,
Sorry to have you join the club. I'm not a regular on here. I just came on today to reconnect a bit and then I saw your post on the home page. I don't have a lot of new info for you than what has already been said. I think the symptoms you named will subside when your bg gets better.
On a side note, Diflucan gave me the worst headache ever in the history of my life. But high bg levels also gives me headaches.
Good luck with everything.
OMG Kara, those sound wonderful. Just what I need, more chocolate I NEED to eat LOL
Hey Snarky- Same thing happened to me this summer. I'm 35. I was tired and didn't feel like myself. Went to the doctor she said omg should I call an ambulance right now? I was like what ? No I'll drive myself- then I laid in the hospital for a week.
Got home still tired couldn't get the energy to do anything. I was scared to eat and thought that I'd never feel 100% again. After 2 months of insulin. cut back my carbs, watched my blood sugar, and just took it easy I started feeling better. I'm now 7 months into this thing and it sucks, but I feel so much better.
You'll have to get used to the lows in the beginning I had a ton of them just like you mentioned. I mowed the grass and almost passed out. I found that if I have to do a bunch of chores say in the morning that I just take less insulin with breakfast- work an hour and test the blood sugar again. I'm still in doubt when it comes to exercise and work vs just sitting at my desk all day.
It's the month or 2 leading up to the diagnoses that was the worst. You'll get your energy back. Takes a month at least. Don't do too much research yet. I was having anxiety attacks with all the info and amputees and all the horror stories out there. Just eat healthy and take the insulin. It takes a few months to accept the fact- I'm still getting used to it. It's super easy to get overly obsessed. Everything will start feeling normal again. Just don't stress, it makes it worse.
Thanks Earthling! I'm starting my research on pumps and constant glucose monitors. That sounds like the ideal way to go.
He has only prescribed the mix so far, a lots of it. I still have almost 2 weeks worth left. He said he planned to switch me for 'fine tuning', though he didn't say when that might be.
Teowyn, thanks for clarifying. I do wish our bodies were a little more predictable!
I have the feeling I'm going to take issue with my insurance as well. They've already made some errors that I need to get fixed.
LaGuitarist-
Thank you for the link on calculating insulin needs, that's was very helpful. I think this would be a lot easier if I was on basal/bolus. It's hard to figure out what's what with the mix.
I need about 2-3 times the amount of insulin than the total daily insulin dose calculation would suggest. How would I do those calculations with the insulin resistance I seem to have?
Thanks Beachbum! Ooh, I wonder if it is the Diflucan. This is the only time I've ever had to take it, so I don't know what side effects it would have on me without the high bg. Do you know of any alternatives that work as well as the diflucan without the possible side effects?
Hi Zip, thanks for posting! I'm sorry you've had to go though all this too, but it's nice to have people to commiserate with. Why did you need to stay in the hospital for a week? What did it do for you?
I don't think I've experienced a true low yet, but I can really feel when I have a big drop. I'm slowly increasing my activity again, but resting when it feels awful. It looks like finding a good balance of insulin, diet, and activity will be a trial and error experience.
I'm pretty type A, so lots of research is actually comforting to me! But I'm definitely staying, calm, taking it easy, and trying to take the best care of myself as possible.
It sounds like zip had DKA, right zip? It's something worth avoiding (!!!) which is why I recommended formulating a "sick day" plan now, before you need it. It's easy to let the Big D get away from us when we have the flu or a bad stomach virus. Gotta stay on top of it. Just programming a few emergency numbers into your phone is a start: endo's nurse, 24-hour nurse line for your hospital or HMO, number for a T1 buddy who will help you think things through when your head feels muzzy from sickness. Sometimes we need someone to tell us to stop messing around and get ourselves to the hospital -- or to drive us there and hold our hands -- e.g. when our glucose keeps running too high, we can't keep down fluids, we have a fever, there are ketones in our urine and we need help. Now.
Getting the Ketostix and some kind of replacement for electrolytes is important, too. Nuun, ElectroMix and a home-made electrolyte replacement are all sugar-free options. Even though we do need to consume SOME carbs when we're sick, I like to keep a sugar-free option on hand for those times when my gut is not cooperating with me but I can still eat small amounts of real food.
You can Google up a home-made formula:
Ingredients:
2 quarts water
2 tablespoons sugar (I leave this out unless I really need it.)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt substitute (made with potassium chloride, I use NuSalt)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla (or other) extract for flavor
Preparation: Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate. Use the mix within 4 days. This can also be frozen into popsicles.
It's important to discuss all this with your doctor, however, because you might have special needs, e.g. medications you shouldn't take when you're unable to keep down fluids, sensitivity to potassium supplements due to kidney issues, etc. that are unique to your body/condition.
Experimenting, gradually, is the only way. Make tiny changes, wait a couple of days, make more tiny changes if needed. We're all so different there's no real formula, unfortunately.