Living with Diabetes

Author: kathleen

  • Losing weight

    Yep, I’m finally losing weight again.  Found myself going low a lot last week and have been able to lower my bolus rates.  Lower bolus rates always results in weight loss as long as I am controlling my blood sugar.  In fact, my TDD has gone down from an average of 55 units to an average of 50 units, maybe less.

    The school year has been hectic — I have a lot more students.

    My schedule helps a lot though — I’m busy every class period and they usually go by fast.  In fact, the students really give me time to do anything BUT grade their work (they are a tad slow today in 7th period and I’ve got everything else caught up).  So I haven’t been eating during the school day. 

    I’ve also been able to keep up with the cardio portion of my program, but not with the weight lifting as much.  I want to get back to it, but I have to get back to weave pole training with the dogs.

    I’ve tried seeing a social worker, but after getting nutrional advice from him twice.  I’ve also found myself eating candy after seeing him, so I’m firing him.

    Here’s what has really helped (besides Delaine from Fitness for Diabetes), and that is Shrink Youself at http://www.shrinkyourself.com   I found it on one of the Doctor’s sites, don’t remember which one, but HE was participating in it.

    It’s been really good so far.

  • SymlinPens Approved by FDA – Medgadget – www.medgadget.com

    There are pictures and everything here.  By the way, I got a shipment of syringes from Medco last night — and it was SO nice to realize that it was my last shipment of them and I’ll be going back to pen needles soon. 

    FDA approval has been given to Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to market their automatic Symlin injection devices. Symlin (pramlintide), a synthetic analog of human amylin, a naturally occurring neuroendocrine hormone, is the first of its kind injected antihyperglycemic medication for use in patients with type 2 or type 1 diabetes. Two versions, rated by their maximum dosage, should be available for purchase in December.

    Source: SymlinPens Approved by FDA – Medgadget – www.medgadget.com

  • Dexcom has good tech support

    Last Sunday, I had a sensor go bad a few days early.  It just started giving wacky readings.  Just about the time I did a full download of it on a new computer.

    Smart thinking — I downloaded the data the next morning.  Called Dexcom tech support when I had time to talk, and was able to remotely access my Dexcom program (through gotomypc), and sent Tech Support data.  Worked with them for two days via email, but the sensor never did straighten out.

    I swapped sensors a day early and the new sensor has been night and day different.  In fact, I am on day 8 now.

    The best news, they sent me a new sensor.

  • Bernard’s Diabetes Blog: FDA Approves Symlin Pen

     

    Amylin has announced today that the FDA has approved two Symlin pen models. The pens should be available by December 2007.

    Source: Bernard’s Diabetes Blog: FDA Approves Symlin Pen

    Another diabetic who is excited!

  • FINALLY — SYMLIN IN A PEN!!!!!!

     From Scott’s Weblog, but it’s blocked by our content filter at school.

    Well, it has been promised for nearly 3 years now, but today, the company revealed that they were in receipt of an approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the SymlinPen 60 and the SymlinPen 120 pen-injector devices for administering SYMLIN (or pramlintide acetate) injection. According to the news release, the pens are expected to be available to patients by December 2007.

    I am SO SO HAPPY.  The vials I have are the last I’m going to own.

  • TI Foundation Fellow?

     From the Dallas Morning News:

    Ten North Texas teachers will be inducted as fellows into Texas Instruments Foundation’s new Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Academy.

    Education notes | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | News: Education

    I’ll find out what this means next week.

  • Well, she meant well

    I’ve been a good patient and have been getting my mammograms at the same place for years — local hospital radiology department.

    On the way out, the xray tech tells me (after seeing my insulin pump), that one of her other patients has lost a ton a weight and gone on oral meds after having lap band surgery.

    ARGH!

    I’m just not in the mood to go into the ways this is so wrong.

  • EzManager for the IR2020

    Whew! It was finally delivered last Wednesday.  Hmmm, I’ve had the pump since May and couldn’t use the software until last week.

    First, the carb counting and the blood sugar is recorded by the pump now and shows up on the reports.  That is what I’ve waited two pump releases for — I certainly would have implemented that in the IR1250 if I had been then.  In fact, I was shocked to see that didn’t occur when I received and downloaded the IR1250.

    The problems….

    All of the existing bugs I could test for are still there. 

    You cannot edit or delete items from the food database using the EzManager PC Software.  All you can do is delete all the favorites.

    You can delete individual items from the food database, but you can not edit them, even though there is a item for edit in the menu.

    One new thing that bothers me, you cannot add injections to the log from the PC version of the program.  However, you can add them via both the Palm version and through the Ultra Smart meter.  In fact, the Ultra Smart is a good way to enter in exercise data too.

    I do wish Animas would clean up and fix EzManager.  It’s a good program but a few small failings hurt it.

    Oh, and I can’t test this one — did they ever fix the Freestyle upload?  It doesn’t handle Freestyle data correctly from October through December if I remember the bug correctly.

  • Dexcom Thoughts

    Not only is the Dexcom doing a great time most of the time (right now I’m wearing an wonky sensor), but it is also does a lot of other good things.

    First, it is an interesting feed back loop.  One thing I’ve noticed, and I’m not the only one, is that the better you manage your diabetes, the better the Dexcom works.  Thus, just by using the Dexcom alone, you tend to manage your blood sugar better.  Someone needs to do a clinical trial and see if we’re right.

    Second, it opens up some interesting conversations.  Mostly on the line of, is your diabetes THAT bad.  No, it isn’t.  I just like to see the data and manage it better.

    Remember, it opened up a conversation between my self and my student I’ve posted about.

  • Update — my student

    I wrote about a little gal in my class I was worried about and I have some good news.

    During “Meet the Teacher” I had a few minutes with momma and I told her that I was worried since her daughter had shared her blood sugar with me.  I told her when I was diagnosed, I felt very ill, was very hard to get along with and was fairly certain that the daughter felt the same way. 

    Well that Friday and the next Monday, my student was absent.  When she came back on Tuesday she let the whole class know she had been in the hospital and knew all about diabetes now and was on insulin.

    Apparently if you are diagnosed Type 2, they put you on insulin probably because they are not real sure what the oral medications will due to teenagers.  She’s the second kid I’ve had from the Parkland Diabetes clinic who was a Type 2 and both were put on insulin.

    I really do think she feels better already.