Living with Diabetes

Blog

  • 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.

  • Inset Adhesive Problems

    I use 43in 9mm Inset infusion sets on my lower abdomen. Lately, I’ve been noticing they don’t stick as well. The paper is actually coming up before I use them, and the kicker was this morning, the set was completely off.

    I called Animas, told them what was happening, and they are replacing the two boxes I have, and am taking the bad set, and the two probably bad boxes.

    I’ve been having problems for several boxes, and I finally decided that it wasn’t me. For the longest time, I was willing to accept that since they were longer, they were getting stressed more, but every one I open, has more and more paper curling off.

    The possible bad sets are lot 3340090, Ref 100-183-50.

  • Birthday

    My birthday — 46 is in a few hours. 46 bothers me. 46 is the year my father was diagnosed with congestive heart failure after being diagnosed with diabetes 3 years earlier — the same birth year I was.

    Granted, that was 36 years ago, and a wealth of knowledge and technology has come along since then. When he was diagnosed, they told him not to eat sugar and sent him home.

    In my case, I was sent home with oral medications and told to make an appointment with a CDE service as quickly as possible.

    I’ve got blood sugar monitors, and the pump. Stuff they didn’t even dream of giving to a Type 2 diabetic. Oh, I’m not even sure they had blood sugar monitors — it was 1982, and they darn sure didn’t have pumps. They didn’t put Type 2’s on insulin. I think he had a urine test but I’m not sure of that even.

    My goal is to avoid my father’s fate as much as possible by keeping the best control I can.