Category: Diabetic Issues

Some one on the insulin pumpers list posted today emphasizing that while there isn’t a cure, diabetics are living longer. the post pointed out that before 1920, Type 1 was a death sentence.
I can relate and probably more intimately. My father and I were diagnosed in the same birth year.
He was sent home with urine test strips amd told not to eat sugar. His pilot’s license was revoked.
I have choices and technology he didn’t have, 25 years later. There are oral meds, injectables, and the insulin pump to choose from.
And now there is CGMS.
So far I have remained active and able to do what I want. At this stage, my father was housebond, on oxygen, with congestive heart failure.
iA big positive difference.

Oh man, how do I even start.  Flea was on my RSS feed for years, and I really did enjoy what he posted.

In his blog, Flea had ridiculed the plaintiff’s case and the plaintiff’s lawyer. He had revealed the defense strategy. He had accused members of the jury of dozing.

Source: Blogger unmasked, court case upended – The Boston Globe

But read this whole article and then come back and find out if you are as shocked as I am as to what he was charged with:

The wrongful death suit alleged that Lindeman, who works at Natick Pediatrics, failed to diagnose that Jaymes Binns had diabetes on March 11, 2002, Mulvey said in a court document. Less than six weeks later, the boy died of diabetic ketoacidosis, said Mulvey, who described the condition as “diabetes gone haywire.”

I really liked what Flea had to say about the vaccine controversy and what he had to say about over treating patients.

But to think that somehow he was involved in a young child dying of diabetes in this day and age … man it so blows me away.

I can’t understand how such a diagnosis could be missed.  Of course, we probably won’t know the whole story.

I am very happy to hear that charges against Doug have been dropped.

I wasn’t very worked up about because I do have faith in the system, especially here in Texas. However, I wasn’t too sure about California.

Hopefully everyone learns from the situation. I Know I am being more careful about being prepared.

Last night I was working on a project with someone, and I felt my cognitive abilities start to slip.  It was an hour after I normally eat. 

So I said “I have to eat now”.

She wanted to keep going.

I said “No, you don’t understand, I HAVE to eat NOW.  I’m diabetic”.

She said, “Everyone in the world knows you are diabetic”.

I acknowledged that was true — as it is.  And left her and  ate.

I felt much better later.  But I had so many thing I wanted to say, but bit my tongue.

Yes, I’m out there with my diabetes.  Preventing complications — which I’ve managed to do so far — is number 1 with me.  It comes before my dogs, my husband, my students.  It comes before even a project I’m working on.

Why?  Because if I don’t take care of it, I won’t be able to do anything else.

I watched my dad die of diabetes, and it was not a fun way to go.  He made it fun, but it wasn’t.  I don’t want to be that way.

I want to be the woman who does a really good job running an Agility World Course with her beagle — which I did last night.

I don’t want to be house bond and on oxygen like my dad was.

Amy is writing about the Super Bolus.  I freely admit, I’ve just never gotten the Super Bolus — but then I also have problems with extended boluses.  

Not entirely new, but totally worth revisiting: pumping aficionado John Walsh’s “Super Bolus” method for smacking down high post-prandial glucose levels even before they hit.

Source: Diabetes Mine: Don’t Just Bolus, SUPER BOLUS

Here’s my whole problem with the concept — I’m a math teacher AND a computer sicence teacher, and I haven’t been able to wrap my head around the math.  I also haven’t been able to wrap my head around programming my pump to do all that.

The good news, being a Type 2, I think I have a bit of cushion about the effects of those things.  I also try really had not to get into those situations.

I will say that Amy’s explaination makes more sense to me but maybe it’s just seeing it one more time.

He’s one of my sports heros — okay probably my only hero as I am not that much into sports.

He went to public school in Dallas — next door from my school at W.T. White.  He grew up as a golfer at the country club around the corner.

Plus he’s a diabetic.

I’ll never forget when I approached my husband about an insulin pump, he said “Cool, Verplank has one and his golf really improved when he went on it.”

I also think it’s a bit poetic justice since he was one of Bryan Nelson’s kids.  After seeing how bad the greens looked and with Bryan gone, I have a feeling this is the last year it will be a “big deal”.

Sad, because my kids through the years have really benefited from the Salemanship Club.

Overheard in Clinic:

Source: Fat Doctor

From my doctor — a typical regimem is Lantus at night and Byetta with meals.

I have run into a few pumpers who are doing Byetta but he prefers Symlin with the pump. He also said my experience was typical — dramatic results, and then slowly back to the previous state.

The new show was interesting. Much calmer than the first shows. Only two hosts and there did not seem to be an audience.

Odd that the hosts are Type 1, yet the stories seemed to be focused mostly towards Type 2. Yeah, the doctor interview can go either way.

Of course, there are infinitely more revenues avaiable for Type 2 since that is the biggest segment and the biggest spender.