Set your DVR's

This past weekend I caught a wonderful special on the Discovery Health channel called Diabetes: Demystifying the Myths. It was perhaps the most comprehensive and well explained presentation on Diabetes in general, but it really defined so many of the differences between Type 1 and Type 2. Topics like, "Diabetes is caused by eating to much sugar" and "Because you have Diabetes you can't have any sugar," were demystified in detail including how these things applied to Type 1 or Type 2. They talked pumps, exercise, eating habits, diagnosis stories, and emotions. From Gary Hall Jr. to a Pre-Diabetic to a Type 1 man and his Type 1 father, the most impressive thing had to be the varying faces of Diabetes the program showed. If you have ever thought, "if only I could summarize life with Diabetes in the perfect way" this is the program for you. If you have the chance it's definitely worth the hour out of your day, and I would encourage you to share it with others to spread education. You can click the link above for the scheduled airing times.

The numbers look excellent.

Or at least that's what my doctor thinks.

I had an endo appointment this morning, and everything seems to be looking good. A1c is holding steady at 6.9%. My meter averages look okay, although they could be a bit better. I've lost 3 pounds. I'm cutting back late night/early morning basal rates to avoid overnight lows and borderline wake up numbers like the pesky 78mg/dL that has greeted me almost every morning this week. I'm going to start using Symlin again at a lower dosage, but if it causes the same problems I'll stop. As we walked out of the office I thought to myself, "I'm pretty good at this whole diabetes thing." After the years of terrible doctors in the beginning of my life with Diabetes, I never thought that I would be able to achieve what I have. I have had 3 consecutive A1c's under 7%, and I usually walk out of my appointments with a smile. Although my management is solely my responsibility, I did not do this all on my own. The DOC has played a huge role in my ability to achieve what I have in the past year. Thank you so much!

My next appointment is in November, and I hope by then I'll be able to share an even better A1c report. I'm aiming to get closer to 6.5%, and with your help I know anything is possible.

PS.
I apologize for such scattered posting these past few months, I haven't had much to say. Although I have not been commenting, I have been reading a lot of DOC blogs. I hope everyone is well! I'll be back soon. Who knows, I might even jump on the vlog bandwagon just to switch things up...

Quilt For Life

Yesterday, I took my first solo trip into DC to view Quilt for Life and meet a few OC bloggers.
The quilts were beautiful. As I wandered through the display a few of the quilts even made me a little emotional. Seeing diagnosis dates and birthdays only a few years apart was difficult. Looking at the faces who had known this disease longer than I have wasn't easier either. We need a cure, pure and simple.
Towards the end of the display I spotted Allison. A few minutes later she walked over, with open arms to greet me. Then we found Kevin, his wife, and the twins (absolutely adorable) a few rows away. After a photo op in front of the Capital and a chat in the grass, Kevin had to get back to work so we all said goodbye and parted ways for lunch. Allison, Wendy, and I walked to a Ruby Tuesday's a few blocks away. We covered a variety of topics during the trek and lunch; crazy endos, my northern New Jersey culture shock, college, JDRF walks, if my was blog pink or purple and more. After lunch we walked to the nearest Metro stop where I had to help Allison and Wendy navigate purchasing fare cards. I found this extremely entertaining, because I rarely use Metro. After we made it through the gate we said our goodbyes, and I made my way home.
It was interesting to put real live faces, voices, and personalities to some of the blogs I read. Like that final missing puzzle piece. If you haven't met another blogger yet, I would recommend that you try to make that happen. It's definitely a worthwhile experience.

I'm sure Allison will have a post later with pictures, so be on the look out!

This blogging thing...

It's safe to say that my blogging has been infrequent. I apologize! I should have written about the trip I took to Kings Dominion without my insulin pump, but I didn't. I should have talked about the horrible day of blood sugars I had while attending Warped Tour a few weeks ago, but I let that one slide too. I could tell you about the beach road trip my friends want to plan, and the fact that I do not want to be the driver because of my Diabetes. But I've been having a lot of school related anxiety, so instead of addressing anything I've been avoiding most things including this blog. I'm on my way back out of it though, which means you'll be hearing from me again very soon. At the very least, I know I'll have something to say after Allison's DC meet up on the 4th.

I'm back!

It has been way too long! I wish I could say I’ve been off on crazy summer adventures, but I really haven’t. Of course I’ve been spending as much time with friends as possible, relaxing by the pool, and working on my tan, but I haven’t really been up to anything so spectacular that I couldn’t spare a few minutes to check in with the OC. I’ve mentioned before that diabetes as writing topic just gets a little boring at times, and I guess that’s why I haven’t felt the need to write here. Perhaps I need to share a little more me and little less “diabetor” to get the writing rolling again?

This summer has given me the opportunity to spend a lot of time with my friends. The majority of my friends live in a town about twenty five minutes away, but four of my closest friends live only five minutes from me so we’ve been trying to make the most of that. Usually just hanging out by my pool, watching TV, going to the park, or out to dinner, but it’s really more about the company. Since I am one of the few with a license and a car, I’ve taken the position as official driver to get all of us across town to see the rest of our friends. We hop in my bug, crank up the tunes, blast the a/c, and try make memories we hope will last forever.

Oh, oh guess who has braces now!? ME! I am probably the only person to ever be excited about braces, but I am. Okay, so it’s been a bit painful, and my OCD tendencies have now turned to obsessive multiple teeth brushings per day. But I know it will all be worth it in the end. Apparently they make me look younger, which is not good because I already have a “baby face” (at least that's what I've been told). I should probably mention I have to get a few teeth pulled because along with my baby face, I still have two baby teeth. Weird, right? Well they are still there because I don’t have any adult teeth underneath. Crazy!

I finished a class!!! I got a B! It was an honors Algebra II class, so I’m happy with that. I’m also on the verge of finishing another one. If I keep up this pace, I will definitely be applying to college for 2009, just like my friends! But then that leads to the next topic…

I am so freaked out about the idea of college. In the “I can not make this decision, stop asking me questions about my possible majors, no I don’t have a specific place in mind, ahhhh leave me alone” sort of way. One of my closest friends is struggling with this too. I can easily hold her hand telling her it will be okay, but I can’t do the same for myself. I think it’s because the idea of going to college was real until very recently. It’s hit me like a freight train, and I am still trying to recover from the impact.

Well I hope everyone is having an amazing summer! I’m off to learn some Spanish, you know so I can graduate on time and think about college...ew.

Summertime and the blogging isn't so easy.

Well it's been over a week...there are things I could write about, but I don't have enough time to get my thoughts together. You see my friends got out of school this past Friday. Since then it's kind of been non stop socializing and you know how that goes. So for now I've only got a few bullet points to keep you up to date.

• I'm over my pump slump.
  
• Took the SATs on June 7th. In an attempt to avoid lows I reduced my basal rate a bit, and ended the test at a cloudy 309...no wonder that last math section seemed like a foreign language. I'm hoping I still pulled off the score I was aiming for, because I really do not want to go through it again.
• Made it to day 235 for Diabetes 365, and then I just stopped taking pictures... I'm not really upset about it, and I'm not going to start up again. I never really felt like I was accomplishing the right goal/ any goal at all with the project. I also felt like highlighting Diabetes so much was not doing me any good. So I give up. I guess I should go tell them.
• In the past few days I've been slacking a bit with school, but I've got a goal and I'm going to reach it. By this time next year I will have that diploma in my hand!
• It's been ridiculously hot here. Like really really really hot! Seriously, I was sitting in a restaurant with my friend and the sign at the bank across the street said 110 degrees. Oh and if you don't know about the humidity of an East Coast summer just take my word for it. It's rough!
• Yesterday, I went swimming for the first time this summer. I completely forgot about putting my pump back on after 2 hours. I got caught up in conversation with a friend...4 hours after my disconnect I was 406mg/dL. I've learned my lesson.
  
• Oh yeah I also never told you my final thoughts on the KeyNote meter...in a few words. I'm not a fan.
  

When it's not shiny and new.

Eight months ago I was more than ready. I was sick of high blood sugars, waking up at three AM in the hopes of staving off morning highs, correcting all day, lows that I could not predict, and A1c’s that had never been anything lower than 8. I was a little nervous. What if I couldn’t deal with site changes? Bleeders? What would it be like to have such a huge part of this disease in my pocket, instead of stowed away in my purse? Would it be worth it? I wasn’t quite sure, and I’m still not certain that I have all the answers. I know I love the fact that I see good numbers more than bad ones. Going days without a number over 200 isn’t a surprise, it’s the norm. Having A1c’s under 7 make me feel great not only physically, but emotionally. I’ve never been prouder of how much control I can have with disease. It’s almost as if I’m playing a game, except the only person I’m trying to one up is me. A new trick with a meal bolus, lowering my averages, lowering my A1c, basal rate shifts, anything to win this never ending match between myself and this disease. But it can’t always be a game and it’s not always perfect.
There another side to this story.
I find myself holding off on site changes because I don’t want to look for a spot that isn’t scabbed and puffy. I hate the scabs. The patterns are like constellations, but instead of resembling a fearless hunter or a great bear, they just show me what my body isn’t capable of. The pump companies talk about how a pump makes your life easier with Diabetes, but I don’t think this is always true. Before I was on my pump I wondered if it would serve as a constant reminder, and for the first few months it didn’t seem that it would be. Now I know I was wrong. I can’t help but feel self conscious of the tubing, or the little glances someone will make at an infusion set on my arm. I feel different from everyone else. The responsibility makes me feel older and less free. There are even days when I seriously think about taking a break, giving it up. I know I won’t, but sometimes my mind wanders to what it was like when I didn’t pick outfits based on where my infusion set was or make plans based on infusion set changes. Some days are harder than others, but all I need to do is think of that first A1c of 6.8 to remind me that it’s worth it even when it doesn't seem that way.

(I wrote this entire post without knowing that today was the actual eight month anniversary of my pump arriving. Crazy.)