Living with Diabetes

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  • Scott’s Web Log: Flexing Our Collective Muscle

    Scott’s posted an interested article again big pharm and their ads and credits me for dooming Exubera.  BUT wait a minute….! 

    Collectively, patient groups can flex our collective muscle on many of these issues (such the role as Allie Beatty, Amy Tenderich, Kathleen Weaver and my reporting played in dooming Exubera).

    Scott’s Web Log: Flexing Our Collective Muscle

    In my own blog posts, I actually praise Exubra.  I can’t imagine using it myself, but I have a coworker — teaches the same subject at another school — who loves it last time I talked to her.  If a drug (or in this case a different formulation), helps people get healthier, I’m all for it.

    I’m middle of the road on the drug ads myself.  I honestly feel like a drug ad sometimes, as I am taking many of the medications advertised on a regular basis.  I usually take the drug first and then see the commercial, but there are major benefits to drug ads.

    For one, they are a major source of revenue for television, magazines and for even the internet.  I wish some of the ads weren’t as pervasive and intrusive — the E.D. drugs, but at the same time, I do think that they can be beneficial.

    I certainly don’t believe that the big pharmacy companies are delaying a cure.  Frankly, I don’t think the medical community understands enough about diabetes to even have a cure — contrary to the information I receive one of my science teacher coworkers who works at Southwest Medical in his spare time.

    So don’t count me against Exubra OR against pharmacy ads, or even against pharmacies.

  • Teaching Moments

    My afternoon CS class got me off topic.  I’m starting to teach the kiddos about buying computers.  I like to do it in little chunks, and today I was showing off my convertible notebook.  Later in the week I’ll show off the MacMini.

    Anyway, I ended up showing them my continuous glucose monitor.  One of my students asked “is your diabetes so bad that you need that?”. 

    My answer:  “I’m so much into data that having it makes it easier for me to keep my blood sugar where I want it and not only do I feel better, but I’m a better teacher”.

    Guess what?  She’s hispanic, overweight and diabetic.  Doesn’t take insulin.  Betting you that she’s a Type 2.

    Maybe she’ll learn something.

  • I need to learn to trust the technology!

    My pump just went off — post breakfast.  Checked Dexcom — 104 with a nice steady downward trend.  Three hours after breakfast.  I probably will make it until lunch, but I will probably eat something to be safe.

    At the same time, I did an increase on my bolus rate.  Was using a 1:4 ratio and went to a 1:6 ratio since my pre 8:00 am was slow, and my after 8:00 was at 1:6.  Plus I’ve gone low a bunch in the mornings lately.

  • First Week of School

    Yes, it’s the first week of school.  The kiddos reported on Monday.

    I am sure I would have survived without Dexcom but it’s sure made a huge difference.  I don’t have to stop and finger stick during class.  Just pull out Dexcom and dose.  Yes, I’m dosing completely off of Dexcom now and only finger sticking when it tells me to.

    I just did a reset after 7 days.  I’ve got an extra sensor in my emergency pack just in case.

    I also have plenty of test strips and my meter, again, just in case.

    My class size is much larger this year.  It’s a good and a bad thing.  So far, my 5th and 6th classes are the fullest. 

    Also my AP program is really different.  I told the Dean that she could combine my PreAP and AP classes.  Well, she also combined a few students into my CS.  I’m definitely going to take a look at 6th period since the room is full of regular students and it looks like I have only one AP student and he didn’t take PreAP.  I’d like to move him into 2nd or 3rd period.

    I’m also working hard to get rid of all the 9th graders from Web Mastering.  We cover way too much material for 9th graders.  And this year, I’m going to be evil and push very hard to get everything done.

    All in all a very busy week so far, but thank goodness for Dexcom.

  • Agility Videos – August 25

    Marcie’s Standard Run

    Marcie’s JWW Run

    Maggie’s JWW Run

    Maggie’s Standard Run – A Q!

  • Ft Worth – Saturday

    Things continued going well.  Marcie was very fast — even weaving in rhythm however, she’s not the confident, do what mom says dog that she was in our earlier days.

    She made mistakes because I trusted in her, and didn’t handle as hard as I should have. 

    Maggie finally finished Novice, so that made up for the rest of the day.  I have vidoes and I’m going to try to post them.

  • Ft Worth Agility trial – Friday

    We are doing our first dog agility trial since the end of June.

    Quoting my agility instructor: “Marcie was flying!”

    She missed the table and the weavepole entry she was going so fast but Qed in JWW.

    She took a fourth place in Jumpers, first in about a year.

    Then I got real lucky with Maggie in Open Jumpers. She started off without listening to me and took a wrong course. However the judged blew her whistle and stopped us which Maggie took as a correction. We got to restart and she ran a perfect course and took first place.

    Our standard course was also good but she just would not listen to me at the table.

    All in all, 2 Qs and 2 placements meant for a good day all around and much better than we’d been having.

    Marcie had seemed very down last Spring and I was thinkging of retiring her.

  • Sensor 2 – Removal

    I just removed Sensor 2.  Or did it remove itself?  Basically the adhesive failed.

    It lasted for 12 days.  Costing $5.00 a day for those of you keeping up.  Worth the cost.  Yep!

    It was extremely accurate.  I’m very pleased with the results I’ve been having.  In fact, I’m doing to finger sticking only when the Dexcom  SeVen asks for one.

    I actually would have liked this sensor to last one more day — I’m doing an agility trial this weekend, BUT the good news is that my Friday, Dexcom should be extremely accurate again.

  • Sensor 2 – Day 7

    I received the “sensor is going to expire” icon this morning.  So, I ended the sensor and restarted it.

    The bandage part of the sensor seems to be in good shape — in fact better than the last sensor.

    The sensor has been extremely accurate.  I’ve drastically cut down on finger sticks this week, and have been dosing based on the receiver.  It’s working well.  I haven’t gone low all week and the few times I’ve gone high, I knew why.

  • Synvist – last shot

    I think I finally got the spelling right.  The doctor doing the injections initially got caught in jury duty today.  So my doctor did them.

    They have different approaches.  The first doctor said he liked just doing them with spray to numb them.  They didn’t see to take as long that way.

    My doctor numbed with injections first, then did the Synvist with a light amount of cold spray at the beginning.

    The first two shots made my knees hurt, but not excessively afterwards.  This one I didn’t feel until late afternoon.  I felt a bit of crunching running in class tonight (bone hitting bone, ouch), but not bad. 

    Overall since the initial shots, I have been feeling less pain and doing more activity.