Blog

He was a really good friend of mine and a very special person. i spent about siz months in the front seat of his police car with Aysha in the back seat. we didnt find a lot of dope but i learned a lot.

he went on to irving pd and on christmas eve in 2000 he was killed by a group of people who escaped from prison together. one suicided when they were finally caught, one has been put to death, and the other 5 are on death row.

i have been thinking about him a lot since ft hood. in an odd way ft. hood has put aubrey’s death into perspective for me.

like the ft hood soldiers – aubrey didnt have a chance – he rolled up on oshmonds just as the bad guys were coming out the door. just a victim of bad timing.

i have also felt bad since the bad guys were living only blocks from my house before the incident shopping in my stores.

i havent been able to go to church since then even though i go days even weeks without thinking about it.

funny how things can get brought into perspective.

I've added a new column, and it is getting really interesting. Stuck to my guns on the basal rates, and the blood sugar stays pretty stable as long as I bolus appropriately. I've had a few evenings where I let it get away from me, but got it fixed by morning.

Happy New Year everyone. 

However, I'm not a resolution type of gal.  I'm more of a "oh, my gawd, I've just turned 50" type of gal which happened a few weeks ago.

My weight may have final stabilized from the Christmas Eve illness, it has climbed since then, and I'm back to be constipated which is not fun, when you aren't used to it.  I know some of the weight gain has been behavior, and I can't wait until Monday when we have Diet Gourmet food and I don't have as many decision to be made.

I miss the old schedule (thanks Texas Legislature), so we won't start the new semester until after Martin Luther King day, and it will be hard to get the kids back on track.  We have a staff development day on Monday, 5 full days, then 4 partial days with exams, then a teacher work day, and then back for the 2nd semester.  Very weird after 15 years of starting the new semester after we get back.

Here's to everyone having a much better year than they did last year.

Went to the chiropractor early, and while it hurts like heck, my knee is improving.  I actually walked 30 minutes straight on the treadmill last night.

Saw the TLC Dietcian.  I've gotten over most of my frustration with them since I'm losing weight again.  Will probably work with both groups of people.  According to their records, I've lost 28 pounds since my surgery, and 5 pounds in December.

On her suggestion I did some more pump tweaking — and good news, woke up with #bs 120.  That feels safer than one of 90, right now.  My total basal for the weekend is just under 40 right now.  I'll see how it goes.

Also had a follow-up with my gastro doctor which was a waste of time.  However, it's the only way she gets paid to put up with the prescription service.

So far today i haven’t been over 110 – however i have been pretty active.

got the chiropractor appointment done and am waiting for lunch. walked around a mall. was going to eat there but when food court is 7.50 minimum – no way.

restaurants are pricing themselves out of business

also walked ariund walmart.

all in all a good day

I had a spike in insuiln usage and also a resulting spike (in the wrong direction) of weight.

Couple of reasons.  I ended up having to eat a bit more than I wanted to as I was still trending low.  I fixed that by taking an extra 10% off my current basal (and so I don't have problems next week, also took the first 10% off my other basals). 

So far, so good.  Woke up at #bs of 109, which is still low for me. 

My gastro intenstinal system is getting back to normal, and I'm heading back towards constipation.  That has been one of the big differences I've seen since the surgery. 

My band also seems to have loosened a bit, but I don't think I want it tighter.  I was definately very tight after being sick until yesterday.

I'm still in the new decade though!

Three doctors appointments today, but the rest of the week is quiet.

Leann thinks that traveling for diabetics might be interesting after the recent incident.  Try flying with a CPAP, it was a PITA last year.

An aside for those that don't know, a CPAP is for treating obstructive sleep apnea, and if I don't sleep with one, there is a possibility that I'll stop breathing in my sleep and die.  Just a minor life function.

Let's say I want to go to a typical three day teacher workshop.  Like the one I did in Missouri.  I need to take:

• Laptop (I do teach computer science, I DO need a computer)
• Phone
• CPAP Machine
• Diabetes supplies for 6 days (remember, I pump, and can't just get spares at a local pharamacy
• •  6 cartriges
  • 6 sets
  •  Meter and test strips, at least 3 vials
  • Insulin – 2 vials (I also use an insulin that is usually not in stock)
• 3 days of clothing

I want to take and usually do

• toileties
• emergency battery for CPAP (at least twice when traveling this has saved my butt)
• MP3 player and accesories (listening to music helps me sleep in a strange environement)
• Camera and accessories

First, I dare you to get that all in one carry on — oh, the good news, is that since I have a medical reason, I get three carry-on.  I usually put everything but the CPAP machine in one bag, carry a large Ameribag, and the CPAP bag. 

You DO have to call the airlines ahead of time and tell them that.

You also have to put everything into three bins when you go through TSA.  Which wouldn't be a huge problem, except that

• you hold up the line
• until last summer TSA wasn't good at keeping things together

I have to patiently and nicely requst that the keep everything together as they pat me down — I invariably set off the medical dectector, as the aggrate metal in my clothing sets off their machine.

What I try to do, is stake out an area with my three bins, get as many people that can go around me, and then try to go through the screening by myself as much as possible as I am terrified that someone will take something out of one of the bins.

Or I'll forget something (I have, the laptop!).

Trust me every time I've gone through TSA some type of minor delaying disaster has happened.

Broken insulin vials
Lost laptop
Someone picks up my bin by mistake.

Oh and don't forget they have to hand swab my CPAP machine (gross, remember I have to breath through that thing all night and I really don't like strangers near it).

I know now that the weight loss that was triggered by my Christmas Eve illness is "permanent" and not caused just by the illness.

As of this morning, I've lost more than 10 pounds since my fill on December 1st.  That means I've lost a total of over 35 pounds. 

I've also see a coorresponding decrease in insulin use.  See previous entry I posted last night.  Plus a cooresponding dip in my blood sugar. 

Yes, I'm extremely happy.

And still cautionously playing with my pump since I don't want the dip in blood sugar to cause an increase in eating and weight.

This is the last two weeks of TDD (total daily dosage) of Insuiln

And the Christmas Eve illness seems to have jumpstarted things.

One of the things that has bugged me the most since I've had lapband surgery is that  I had been running high.

Probably one of the reasons I wasn't losing weight or a side effect from not losing weight.

My A1C has absolutely sucked — over 8.0 which really disturbs my endo, as I hadn't had an A1C that high most of the time he's treated me.  I think I started hitting that when they made me Campus Technologist, but might have been before then, I might ask at my next appointment.

The good news, is that since I got so sick, I've been running low.  And it's challenging my pumping skills as I don't want to gain any of the weight I've lost.

Here's what I've been doing when my blood sugar is under 140, especially post pranial — turning my temp basal to 50% down.  So far it is working, though I should get around to eating lunch at some point, and stop playing with new toys.

I really wanted to lose 10 pounds over the Winter Break and I think I'm going to.  So far, every day I've been off I've managed to walk on my treadmill at least 40 minutes (except for Christmas eve).

 And the best sign, is that my TDD has dropped from 100 units a day down to the high 50's.  I might be able to start changing my set/etc. every three days again, instead of every two.  In fact, I was able to do that today.