Living with Diabetes

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  • CDE Visit

    Got everything I wanted.

    UltraSmart meter. I’m trying to decide if I want to fool with it or not. I’m sure it will be talking more intimately with the Animas pump in a few months. Or another One-Touch product.

    Script for Novalog — 4 vials a month. Weirdly enough, it is the same amount I was getting before the clinical trial.

    On my legs. The good news is that the anti-inflammatory the podistric prescribed is helping the leg pain. She agreed that sort of things really slows you down as she recently went through heel spurs herself.

    Agrees that my numbers suck and agrees that I need to try going to bed with lower blood sugars. Did some minor pump tweaks. The next two weeks are a good time to try that.

    I’ve got the next three months scheduled on days that are “off” days. January — Martin Luther King Day, February — President’s Day, March – Spring Break. Also rescheduled the January lab appointment for their last working day in 2005, so I don’t have to have someone cover the class.

  • Dad

    Back in December 1981 — I know because it was my last year of college — I came home from school to find my dad literally dying.

    I’d been home at Thanksgiving, and he was bad thing. He and I had to crawl under the house and unstop the sink. He was worse when I got home from Winter Break.

    I think it was the very next day — he had me drive him to the doctor’s office to have an upper GI. It almost killed him. I wanted to drive him to an ER afterwards and he wouldn’t let me. Why a 22 year old woman lets her father tell her what to do is beyond me, especially ER decisions, but oh well.

    They got him in the hospital pretty quickly after that anyway and it was that Christmas he was diagnosed with congestive heart disease and told to put his affairs in order. He went home with an oxygen machine and orders not to leave the house and not to let anyone in the house who might have any type of contagious disease.

    It was pretty scary.

    So when anyone wants to know why I obsess so much over diabetes — well, the above is why. I know without a doubt that the barely treated diabetes he was diagnosed with at 42, let to that week.

  • Dad

    Back in December 1981 — I know because it was my last year of college — I came home from school to find my dad literally dying.

    I’d been home at Thanksgiving, and he was bad thing. He and I had to crawl under the house and unstop the sink. He was worse when I got home from Winter Break.

    I think it was the very next day — he had me drive him to the doctor’s office to have an upper GI. It almost killed him. I wanted to drive him to an ER afterwards and he wouldn’t let me. Why a 22 year old woman lets her father tell her what to do is beyond me, especially ER decisions, but oh well.

    They got him in the hospital pretty quickly after that anyway and it was that Christmas he was diagnosed with congestive heart disease and told to put his affairs in order. He went home with an oxygen machine and orders not to leave the house and not to let anyone in the house who might have any type of contagious disease.

    It was pretty scary.

    So when anyone wants to know why I obsess so much over diabetes — well, the above is why. I know without a doubt that the barely treated diabetes he was diagnosed with at 42, let to that week.

  • Maybe surgery wasn’t a good idea

    Certain Drugs May Be as Effective as Surgical Management for…

    Certain Drugs May Be as Effective as Surgical Management for GERD

    So maybe I did make the right decision by not doing the surgery thing this Xmas. Of course, I can always change my mind, but the GERD does seem better lately.

  • Maybe surgery wasn’t a good idea

    Certain Drugs May Be as Effective as Surgical Management for…

    Certain Drugs May Be as Effective as Surgical Management for GERD

    So maybe I did make the right decision by not doing the surgery thing this Xmas. Of course, I can always change my mind, but the GERD does seem better lately.

  • Comparing Glucose Meter downloading

    I’ve been playing with Freestyle’s, LifeScan and Accu-Chek’s downloading software.

    First, be aware that the Freestyle download software was discontinued. I have the orginal Connect and use it on a regular basis. I did call their 1-800 number and they are sending me new software today. When it arrives, I’ll let you know what I got.

    Each of the programs are easy to install and easy to operate. I like the Accu-Chek because it uses the same IR port as my pump. I use a serial to usb converter for the Freestyle and Lifescan meters. All download equally well, though the serial port method seems faster (and makes sense).

    Each of the programs allow you to export your data to CSV (comma delimited file), that can be opened with Excel. I delete the extra data, and resave the file and import it into EzManager. I’ve got a macro written for Freestyle Connect.

    Freestyle provides the cable and software for free, but you have to order it. Accu-Chek charges for their software ($29.99 + shipping). Lifescan is a free download, but you have to buy their cable also $29.99 plus shipping. By the way, at least one of the online people charge for the software, but you can get it from the website for free.

    So Freestyle is cheaper on the cable and software BUT their strips are a high co-pay for me. FYI: I got my cable for free when I tried a UltaSmart Meter, so I’ve only paid for the Accu-Chek software.

    Yes, I’m moving more and more towards going to Activa when my current strips run out — about three months from now.

  • Comparing Glucose Meter downloading

    I’ve been playing with Freestyle’s, LifeScan and Accu-Chek’s downloading software.

    First, be aware that the Freestyle download software was discontinued. I have the orginal Connect and use it on a regular basis. I did call their 1-800 number and they are sending me new software today. When it arrives, I’ll let you know what I got.

    Each of the programs are easy to install and easy to operate. I like the Accu-Chek because it uses the same IR port as my pump. I use a serial to usb converter for the Freestyle and Lifescan meters. All download equally well, though the serial port method seems faster (and makes sense).

    Each of the programs allow you to export your data to CSV (comma delimited file), that can be opened with Excel. I delete the extra data, and resave the file and import it into EzManager. I’ve got a macro written for Freestyle Connect.

    Freestyle provides the cable and software for free, but you have to order it. Accu-Chek charges for their software ($29.99 + shipping). Lifescan is a free download, but you have to buy their cable also $29.99 plus shipping. By the way, at least one of the online people charge for the software, but you can get it from the website for free.

    So Freestyle is cheaper on the cable and software BUT their strips are a high co-pay for me. FYI: I got my cable for free when I tried a UltaSmart Meter, so I’ve only paid for the Accu-Chek software.

    Yes, I’m moving more and more towards going to Activa when my current strips run out — about three months from now.

  • CDE Visit tomorrow

    I see my CDE tomorrow, and I always like to sit down before hand and right down my thoughts.

    I am NOT happy with any of my numbers right now. Everything is higher, including the AtHome A1c I did, my logs, my TDD usage, or worse yet, my weight. Weight has actually gone up lately.

    Part of the problem is the holiday season and the weather. With school out, I’m not as active. I wasn’t as active even last week because my students were taking exams.

    I need to pick up my cardio workouts and do more, but my knee is bothering me. I’ve been having random leg pains for the past few weeks, but it has settled into my left knee. I’ve been careful to keep it under my body and not turn on it.

    So the things I want to focus on is my random leg pain — who should I do see about it. Adjusting my basal rates so that I’m not chasing highs, which causing food cravings. I also need the tools to make an informed decision as to which meter I should be using since the PBM has sent information on both Lifescan and Accu-Chek meters. I’m leaning towards going to the Activa since I can download it.

  • OC Choice Awards

    Diabetes Mine: Shameless Plug, and Why the OC Matters

    Thank you Amy, for the nice mention on your website. Yes, I agree that the OC Choice Awards are kind of neat. For a very long time, I’ve been the only diabetes blog, and one of very few patient blogs.

    I will have to admit that my parent blog isn’t a patient blog, but Robert Cantor’s DB Medical Rants. He’s someone I really admire.

    I’m with you on the patronizing little pats on the head. Actually I get two different reactions — the figurative pats on the head, and then the people who really admire me for dealing with “really bad” diabetes very well.

  • Diabetes Discrimination

    Our regional news station — TXCN — has been running a story on Diabetes Discrimination. I haven’t seen a web link to this case, but basically an older man was not hired because the hiring company determined that his diabetes was under poor control. Basically he had sugar in a urine test, couldn’t remember his doctor’s name and didn’t know his last A1C results.

    Frankly, that fits my definition of poor control, but the good news for diabetics in Texas, is that the work place can’t discriminate based on that. That makes me feel a bit better, because WHILE I have pretty good control most of the time, I’ve had a few incidents each year since diagnosis where at the moment, my diabetes was out of control and it has disrupted my classroom.