Will I ever get off this devil device? When will it end? Thoughts from a snowed in Canadian!

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1

So - what did I learn over the last couple of weeks?

1. I STILL hate being diabetic!


2. I STILL hate the pump. I thought that it would help me to shed those unwanted pounds. So, I reduced my carb intake incredibly. I use on average 45-50 units a day. Did I lose any weight over the last 3 weeks? Nope - nada one pound! I exercised on the other devil device, the treadmill, got my big beautiful bod up to 3.0 for 35 minutes 3 times a week....and no weight loss. Go figure.


3. Last night I realized that I don't want to be on the FREAKING device for the next 50 years! So now, I'm doing the happy face on the outside - sad inside thing....I'm not someone who gets depressed but I was feeling it last night. I can't really dump it all on hubby, kids or friends - they knew how happy I was to finally get the pump...but boy, are my hopes getting dashed! For the rest of my life.... :(


4. I am now allergic to the infusion set. So I just switched to IV prep 3000 under the site. We'll see in 3 days what it feels like. My first reading after using IV prep 3000 was NO DELIVERY so I tried it again and it seemed like it worked. Maybe the cannula got twisted or something (like me! ha)

Sometimes I feel like a powerhouse (I am SuperMOM cooking food for my 3 kids eat from scratch, helping with homework, cleaning, laundry, chauffering etc., working my 40 hours at work, being a wife (yup sometimes it is a chore - I gotta admit it) other times I feel useless and sad that life is so hard and that I have so many things to do. Breathing sometimes just does not come naturally. I haven't figured out if I feel like that because I'm stressed or if my BG is screwed up.

ok enough of the rant...there are some positive things...

1. I found this website. Thank you. Helps to know that I am not alone...

2. No more jabbing myself all the time

3. Love love love the carelink usb. I love stats and that is right up my number crunching alley

4. What do you think? Do you have any suggestions for me about weight loss?

My food intake today was 1 boiled egg, 1 slice (no butter) high fiber bread (31 g c), salad with 4 walnuts with 1 whole wheat pita for lunch, 1 banana, 2 tangerines, rice and black bean casserole (approx. 3/4 c. brown rice). So far today I used 52 units. By midnight, it'll probably be up by another couple of units.


Thanks for letting me share. Now time to SHOVEL!
2

You could try lowering carbs. It’s a proven way to lose weight, especially since you’ll be using less insulin. Low carb isn’t low fat & very effective. I eat a lot less carbs than you do, but I also eat more food.

3

Can you enlighten me? What do you eat?

4

I follow Dr. Bernstein’s guidelines & highly recommend his book Diabetes Solution. Dr. B’s been a T1 for 50+ years. Easier to tell you what I don’t eat:) No grains at all (bread, pasta, cereal, crackers, chips, corn, rice, etc.), no starchy vegetables (potatoes, peas), no milk (cream is fine & unsweetened almond milk), no fruit or fruit juice, no beans. I eat protein (eggs, cheese, meat, nuts), fats (butter, olive oil, virgin coconut oil) & low carb vegetables. Eating heavy carb makes you crave more & will keep you hungry. Eating sufficient protein & fat you won’t be hungry. Most vegetables are low carb. For baking, I use almond flour, coconut flour & golden flaxseed meal. Exercise is very important, but it’s not enough to make you lose weight while eating high carb meals.

5

I too have allergies to the sets! Here is my coping method: I use Hy-Tape or pink “ostomy” tape. It is the only thing that won’t give me massive hives. I use two small pieces of tape in a V shape and insert the cannula in the middle/open part and then the rest of it is just sticking to the pink tape. I have had the pump for 8 years and the sensor for about 2 years. I go crazy when I run out of the stuff and have to go back to the allergic reactions!

6

Gerri can you please give me a sample of a recipe? Or do you eat mostly raw? My primary issue is that I cook for the rest of the family and it’s all good for me to reduce carbs or eliminate 100% but I cannot expect the others to follow the same regime. However, I would like to learn more. Thanks for the info.

Jessi - I’m not at the hive stage yet but each time I move my site it seems to worsen. I’m going to google Hy-Tape. Thanks.

7

I don’t eat raw, except for salads:) I didn’t think my husband would enjoy eating low carb, but he loves our meals. He still eats things like bread & cereal, but what I cook is low carb. We have have friends over for dinner frequently. They don’t even realize they’re eating low carb. Here are some low carb recipe sites to give you some ideas. Also, when I have a craving for something specific, I Google “low carb ____” for an alternative.

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/recipes/Low_Carb_Recipes.htm
http://www.carb-lite.au.com/
www.lowcarbcafe.com
www.lowcarbluxury.com
www.lowcarbfriends.com
http://healthyindulgences.blogspot.com/ (the most decadent low carb desserts!)
http://genaw.com/lowcarb/index.html
www.foodnetwork.com (you can search their site for low carb recipes)

8

Although I am also very big on Dr. B, I’ll also put in a plug for Dr. Atkins. It is a great low carb diet, used by millions and it works. There is a new book out on the diet written by three well respected Drs. The book “New Atkins forYou” has been updated with a lot more of the science and detailed recommendations. Frankly the diet that you are on sounds like a nightmare, way to many carbs and basically a starvation diet. You can do Atkins and not feel starved or deprived (same can be said about Dr. B).

9

I’ve been following the weight watchers program for about 8 months and I’ve lost weight but since the pump things have stalled. I’ll check out the Atkins as well. Thanks.