Living with Diabetes

Author: kathleen

  • Glucowatch — didn’t work

    My mistake — I stayed in my computer room and got too hot. I should have calibrated downstairs or I should have turned on the A/C before calibration time.

    I’ll remember that.

    I called today, and I got information on a pre-treatment that’s supposed to help the burns. It’s a spray — and I couldn’t find it at my drugstore, but it was available for a “delayed” order from Drugstore.com. It’s called Cortizone 10 Quick Shot Spray. You’re supposed to alcohol the spot then spray with this stuff. It’s around $7.00 by the time you pay shipping.

  • I think the authors of this are dreaming — but it IS better.

    Newer insulins and easier blood glucose monitoring have greatly improved the ability to obtain excellent control of blood glucose levels with less risk of hypoglycemia. In type 1 diabetes, insulin pump therapy remains the optimal approach with the most flexibility, especially with the ultra-fast-acting analogs lispro or aspart. Otherwise, once- or twice-daily dosing with the long-acting analog glargine provides excellent basal coverage, and lispro or aspart at meals provides bolus coverage, all in the attempt to mimic physiological insulin secretion. For type 2 diabetes, although oral agents continue to be a mainstay of therapy, it is clear that many patients require insulin to attain the goal A1c of < 6.5%. Once-daily glargine is now used more commonly after 1-2 oral agents have failed, and it typically takes the place of sulfonylureas. The future will likely have better systems for continuous glucose monitoring and novel therapies to control glucose through agents that affect gut hormones.

    Right now, continuous glucose monitoring really doesn’t seem feasible, even in the very near future. It’s also expensive!

    This is a good article reviewing the state of technology though. I will say, as a Type 2 diabetic, I STILL hate any of the longer acting insulin. Their release just isn’t as perdictable as the fast acting in a pump. Plus, if you get up and you end up running around the room all day, the only way to deal with the excess insulin is eating, thus incurring weight gain.

  • Current

    I don’t like the way things have been going, and I’m going to concentrate on fixing some of that this week.

    I’m losing 3-5 pounds during the week and then gaining back part of what I’ve lost. Part of the problem, is that I’m losing too much during the week.

    I’m also tired all the time. And I’m having a lot of trouble with gastric reflux still, even though I’ve lost a lot of weight.

    One of my students pointed out the main problem — I’m up and perky in the morning, but by the end of the day, I’m just exhausted.

    One change I’m going to make right away is when I eat. I’m going to eat a bigger breakfast, and try not to eat anything after 6:00 pm this week.

    I’m also going to take a day off in the middle of the week if I feel stressed, especially since I have staff development on Saturday.

    I’ve also got my schedule set up so I shouldn’t have to be on my feet a whole lot.

    The good news! This is the end of the first six week.

    The bad news, I see the sleep doctor in about 3 weeks.

  • Insightful article on weightloss

    MSNBC – Are you ready for weight loss?

    Very good article — and gives quite a bit of insight into my behavior.

    Right now, I do believe I can lose weight — there was a time when I didn’t believe I could, or there were more barriors to weight lose than there are at the current time.

  • Glucowatch — SUCCESS!

    Test 3 was successful — while it alarmed for a low glucose event, and my glucose wasn’t quite that low, it showed what was going on, and was even accurate at the end.

    My assessment — the device is something that takes getting used to — I am definately going to call about the cream. However, I can sleep with it.

    It is definately NOT for day to day use. It’s too difficult and expensive to use for that. However, it’s what I wanted — something to take the stress out of basal tests. It’s idea for basal tests.

    Things to keep in mind — and true for ALL blood glucose monitoring devices. It is NOT 100% accurate. It shows tends, and that is even true of finger stick devices.

    It doesn’t handle day to day monitoring. I doesn’t handle exercise, food, or even insulin administration well.

    However, it’s ideal for basal tests.

    Is it worth the price? It is certainly NOT worth the original price. At $400, it’s still pricey, especially since the software isn’t included. I also want to be able to export the data and do things with it. That’s my next goal to look into.

    At $4.00, it’s not bad for basal testing. I would definately finger stick more than once though — and be prepared to calibrate several times.

  • Glucowatch — Trial 3

    This one is going MUCH better. Pain from the watch itself isn’t as bad as Trial 2, though I am going to ask about the cream.

    Readings are much more accurate, so far.

  • Glucowatch — Trial 2

    I stopped this round when I started getting funky results and it still itched.

    Going to try again tomorrow.

  • Glucowatch — Trial 2

    Got home from school and put on the watch.

    Now, part of the problem is that I got eaten alive by mesquitos last night and everything itched already, BUT

    I put the watch on my outer arm, and I swear it feels like I’m getting burned. I’ve been able to tolerate it, but it is very uncomfortable.

    Got through the warmup phase and calibration and now am testing and so far the watch has skipped every reading — the first two. If thing doesn’t start giving readings soon, I’m taking it off. This is just too uncomfortable, to get no where.

  • Prilosec

    Health Beat :: America has heartburn

    Back when Prilosec worked for me, and it was a prescription drug, the pharmacy’s would run out of Prilosec back then too. Makes me wonder if the manufacturer does it on purpose.

  • Still don’t know what to think…

    Skin irritation isn’t bad, but you can definately tell where the watch was at.

    I still don’t know about the readings, but I was more comfortable going to bed with the lower blood sugar with it on.

    So I don’t know. I am going to try it again either during the day on Friday, or Friday night.