Living with Diabetes

Blog

  • Interesting article about health care

    DallasNews.com | Dallas-Fort Worth | Business

    This is interesting — I already pay more for the “brand name” drugs. For example, if I go with Humalog insulin (which makes me itch by the way), I have a $20.00 copay (for a month’s supply). If I go with Novolog, it’s a $30.00 copay.

    Same thing goes with test strips — if I go with their choice of meter, it’s $40.00 copay for 3 months or $60.00 copay for the brand I like.

    I do wish, however, that the doctor’s office would cooperate with me, rather than them. I was recently switched to a cheaper statin — Pravachol.

    Now, my doctor hasn’t bothered to tell me — I guess I’ll email him and ask — why he agreed with the pharmacy and switched me.

  • Sleep Affects Cancer

    How Sleep Affects Cancer-Trustworthy, Physician-Reviewed Information from WebMD

    Since I have so many sleep related problems, this is something I keep an eye on.

    It’s pretty interesting.

  • 6 Week Anniversary

    I still love my pump, so much better than injections. However, keeping things normal is quite a bit of work.

    I forget to test once in a while, but I’ve got a couple of students trained to remind me (they volunteered for the job, actually).

    I think maybe they just want to see their teacher poke herself with a pin

    But I did some dog agility tonight, and I was MUCH faster. It was a bit while, because I was ending up ahead of my dog, even though she was running faster too, and couldn’t figure out where to go.

    For those who don’t know dog agility, it’s a obstacle course for dogs and handlers. It’s what you do when you have too much time on your hands and not much money. If you have money, you get a horse and do steeplechase or something.

    Anyway, it’s been a good six weeks. I have had lots of things go wrong but have had a good support system to fix them and to learn from.

    Animas Corp remains super!

  • Not a no-brainer

    First, I will be the first to tell you that the Insulin Pump is NOT a no brainer.

    Also a quick reminder — the pump does NOT measure blood sugar. One of my students thought it did, and he’s been around me for a year. I think many lay people think it does.

    Nope, you still have to do the most distasteful part of managing Diabetes, sticking PINS in your body.

    But the real reason for the post. From Thursday to Monday, my blood sugar was messed up again. We got it back, and it was a combination of bad sites, probably bad insulin, and just flat out stress.

    Eating was out of control. I was constantly hungry, constantly thinking of food. HORRIBLE!

    Now that the blood sugar has been normal for the past few days, eating is getting back to normal.

    Thank goodness.

  • And sometimes some of the “losers”

    DB’s Medical Rants

    Very cute cartoon. I kind of feel that way — I had 3 days of problems with controlling blood sugars, between husband’s hip and some other issues. I also had some insertation site issues, and a bad partial bottle of insulin.

    Several pounds came back.

  • Comparing the pump vs. injections

    Type 2 Diabetes Randomized, Parallel-Group, 24-Week Study

    I think this is a free but registration required site. I signed up for it years ago, and often find things of interest.

    Basically they found that intensive therapy was acceptable to Type 2’s. That they had equal results with MDI (injections) and CSII (pump). Frankly, I think the pump is easier, but your milage may vary.

    Of course, this is a small sample.

  • More on Morbid Obesity Problem

    DB’s Medical Rants

    I’m somewhere in the middle. I certainly don’t accept my size, and am desperately trying to do something about it.

    However, I’m getting sick and tired of seeing doctors who see fat, and not the other medical problems that are causing the fat to be more difficult to deal with.

  • Argh!!!

    DB’s Medical Rants

    I still don’t think he is getting it Though he is working on it.

    I’m not cinvinced its genetics either. I think the problems behind morbid obesity are STILL undiagnosed or untreated medical issues that the doctors are missing due to their prejudices.

    I’ve been going through a period of stress, worried about my husband, and I’ve stopped sleeping. As a result of the not sleeping, I’m finding it almost impossible to go to the gym and am eating more because I’m trying to stay awake.

    Now that I am feeling better about his situation, I’m sleeping better, and feel the other issues will resolve again.

  • Dia Care — Table of

    Dia Care — Table of Contents (January 2003, 26 [90001])

    Standard in Diabetes Care.

  • Fifth Week Anniversary

    Yeah! It’s the fifth week anniversary of my pump!

    I would not have survived my husband’s medical ordeal without it. Oh, that’s not over yet. But at least the first (and hopefully only) surgery is over.

    I would not have survived my mother helping my husband while I was at a teacher worhshop without it.

    I would not have survived the teacher workshop without it.

    FYI: Teaching AP Computer Science is FUN. Right now, no one can find the case study files, but the laugh is on the college board, I grabbed them this summer and put them on my website and HID them where my kids and I can find them. Wonder if I can charge people for access?
    Would be evil, but then the College Board web designers are more evil. Wonder if they are charging people for access?

    I love my pump.

    I have had my share of problems. Someone really needs to work on the insertation set thing. They fail too often. In 5 weeks, I’ve had three failures.