5 pages of

8/27/2008 2:12:57 AM

I have real low blood sugar 65-70 mg/dl. I have went to the doctor a few time because i get terrible headaches that last a day or two if I eat almost anything with sugar before like 5pm. I have had to quit drinking sweet tea and have very limited breakfast options. the Doc says that anytime I have hardly any sugar it shoots my bllod sugar up real fast and either that quick rise or quick decent causes my headaches.

8/27/2008 8:56:12 AM

What the eff was your sugar Avery? What in the hell happened as far the insulin intake? That is no good dude. Puking is the worst for us.

Sorry for the "mommy" mode you just worry me.
How are you now?

^ I get headaches with low sugars and they keep me from functioning. It def comes from the quick drop!

[Edited on August 27, 2008 at 10:17 PM. Reason : ... ]

8/27/2008 10:15:46 PM

My sugar was 378 and my insulin intake stops for 2.5 hours (because you have to unhook the pump unless you want it to get struck while you're doing drills).

The bigger issue was the lack of water, pushing myself super hard, and lack of electrolytic intake which led to me feeling really sick really quick.

I'm doing better now, but I am not going back to wing chun tonight. I'll go back saturday. Being sick tuesday night meant I basically got no sleep, and even though i got about 8.5 hours of sleep for today I STILL feel pretty darn tired. I have more catching up to do.

The new plan I put together with my doc yesterday will work. I'm going to give myself 2 units every hour, and every half hour (at least) I'm going to take a break and drink some sugar water and some gatorade-type beverage (I bought some vitamin water since it's got a bit different).

The new plan should work properly, so at the very least my sugars might be more like 250 instead of 350+ (and I would MUCH rather be at 250 as I feel much better at that level than I do at 350+).

Oh yeah, yesterday I did a calcium and thyroid check, I think, because the hand numbness and clenching thing (that didn't go away for 3-4 hours) concerned my doc a good deal. I think I've got a working plan for class now so that won't happen again. I still feel nauseated and out of it today, but I do feel a lot better (this is about 2 days later now, mind you). I might've caught a cold/flu/monkey pox from a coworker (yesterday), so I'm also sort of just waiting that out to see if it turns into anything. I am not going to go to class while trying to fight a fever, that's just going to make me sick again.

Thanks for worrying though. Don't worry about the mommy mode either. Mine took care of all that worrying for me when I mentioned what happened.

8/28/2008 5:57:10 PM

Alright, this shit is kind of getting old now. Do you other type 1's have this problem? Every time your blood sugar swings from high (250+) to low (back to normal or hypoglycemic, either way) you have bad stomach problems (diarrhea, I'll just drop that delightful word) and end up feeling sick and weak for the rest of the day (along with dehydrated, etc). Since I was sick last tuesday my blood sugars have been jumping all over the place (mostly high) and I haven't been able to return to keep training in wing chun. I could deal with this better if I didn't have school AND work schedules (and several pending doctor's appt's that I still can't set up because of all these health/schedule problems). Maybe I just need to drop wing chun until I get out of college and my schedule normalizes. Whatever, any of you other aidsabetics deal with this from time to time or is this another unique thing for me?

9/2/2008 6:30:35 PM

diarrhea-yes
draining energy from flip flopping-yes
flip flopping crap with exercise-yes
I get horrendous headaches if I am low or high.

9/3/2008 1:48:38 AM

Hey that resolves some of my confusion then.

This disease is bullshit sometimes, ya know? lol...

It tried to swing high again, even though I had given myself the proper amount of insulin for everything I was eating. I hope this shit goes away soon, as I was kind of looking forward to having a decent semester.

9/3/2008 6:39:31 AM

I am experiencing a lot of what you are talking about. I have been having a hard time keeping my sugar down this past week. Stress really makes my sugar out of control. Luckily I have not been producing ketones. I have never really produced more than trace which is ridiculous. Sometimes i know I did not take enough insulin and then there are other times i have to change carb ratios.

9/3/2008 11:07:58 AM

^ Yeah ketones are the worst. They definitely played a pretty critical role in keeping me mostly bound to crawling around on the floor last tuesday for about 2-3 hours. They aren't too hard to get rid of, but you have to do it slowly if you're throwing up. Sipping juice and water slowly will let you get the fluids down so you can give yourself extra insulin and start to flush out the ketones. It's SUCH a pain though. I feel a lot better today though my sugars are still jumping up and down. I did just get back from working from 7am til 10:10pm, though, and that was with an hour lunch and a 30 minute dinner (and a handful of bathroom breaks). I expect once I stop having to regularly do random crazy shit my diabetes will level out again, haha.

9/3/2008 10:47:20 PM

These 3 month appointments just remind me of how awful my control has been getting, sometimes. I'm losing touch with myself and getting shittier sugar control as time progresses it seems.

The last month has averaged around 175, with a standard deviation of 75-99 (with the standard deviation being lower more recently). So yeah, that means about 60-70% of my blood sugars are over 140-150. At least the ones I'm recording.

I don't even know where to start to deal with it because I can't think of what I'm doing wrong. Times like these I really hate this god damn disease. I think I need more tools to take better care of myself, like a blood sugar monitoring implant or something. As is this just isn't working.

9/12/2008 12:39:48 AM

Ahaha, I got the report back from my 3 month appointment and my doc said he's going to put me on an ACE inhibitor to control my blood pressure if it's high again next time (was 140/80 this time, but I had a SHIT ass day that day).

This is awesome. I'm not even gonna be 23 and I'll be on blood pressure medicine (as I don't see how I'm gonna reduce it in that time considering grad school is just gonna get worse).

9/21/2008 12:31:34 AM

bttt
I love my pump but I am still having trouble with the site sometimes. It is a lot better than the ones that go straight in, 45* angle for the win, but I still have those painful one. And when the cord gets tugged on something, that is the most pain in that one second. Changing the site ever 3 days is a pain too bc I get so afraid that I am going to put the needle in wrong and cause myself tons of pain. I don't want scarring tho.

11/7/2008 10:09:50 AM

Oooh I haven't noticed this thread in a while. Yeah, it does suck when you sometimes pop in an infusion site and it hurts really really bad for ~30 minutes. The pain goes away pretty quickly for me though. It's usually because it went in crooked or something based on how I was holding the spring-loaded insertion guide thingy.

Had some more fun recently figuring out why I was having other non-diabetic health problems. Turns out I'm super duper allergic to everything in the universe (more than anyone that had seen that allergist before) and now I'm working on health-proofing my apartment. I'm lazy though, so this is going to be slow going. I also have nerve damage in my right ear so my hearing isn't all that hot any more, and it's permanent, so that kind of sucks. Diabetes-wise things have been good.

I'm getting a new pump soon, which should be awesome. Just like what I have now, but with a 4 year warranty and only costing me $126 out of pocket.

11/7/2008 8:55:54 PM

There's a probability I've said this before, but I have to say that this thread makes me so.fucking.grateful that I had Type II Diabetes and not Type I, and that mine is now gone/under control (I won't ever claim it's gone forever).

If anyone lives in the Winston-Salem/Greensboro area, endocrinologist Dr. Larry Cantley is freakin awesome and worth the drive. (I lived in GSO and would drive to WS for him).

11/7/2008 9:07:02 PM

So here's a question, do any diabetics (mostly talking about type one's I suppose) on here have other auto-immune problems?

You know, coeliac, severe allergies, that kinda stuff?

I'm just wondering. Seems that it would make sense for a type I to have other auto immune problems.

11/15/2008 9:45:01 PM

I don't have auto immune stuff but I have a lot of migraines, TMJ, and fibromyalgia. I only have seasonal allergies (fall and spring) and I think I may be allergic to granny smith apples. I have not been tested completely bc it seems a lot stuff give me headaches.
Do you?

11/15/2008 9:49:21 PM

Well, I tested negative for coeliac, but my allergy tests came back and I am allergic to things that are furry and wiggle (dogs and cats, but dogs aren't really that bad), all trees, all pollens, all dust (and dust mites), and have mild food allergies to corn, wheat, and to a slightly larger degree, peanuts.

I also really rarely get sick, which I find interesting, and which makes me think that my immune system is just in over drive. I was just thinking about all this and wondering if Type I is more often caused by an over-active immune system and if other problems come with it.

Also, by TMJ do you mean the temporomandibular jaw joint disorder stuff, or something else?

And yeah, I have TMJ problems too. My jaw pops in and out of alignment and hurts like fuck sometimes. Last time I went to the dentist I asked him about it after my teeth were cleaned and my jaw just refused to line back up correctly after being stretched out like that. The alignment was bad and he said he'll probably send me to an orthodontist to see if they can do anything about it, though there's probably nothing to be done.

[Edited on November 15, 2008 at 9:54 PM. Reason : I don't usually have migraines, though I have had some in the past.]

[Edited on November 15, 2008 at 10:06 PM. Reason : WORDS]

11/15/2008 9:53:46 PM

DiGeorge babies like my son have lots of problems with autoimmune disease of the thyroid and parathyroid. I don't know much about autoimmune disease and diabetes.

I highly recommend doing some reading at AARDA, if you're interested in autoimmune diseases.

http://www.aarda.org

[Edited on November 15, 2008 at 10:16 PM. Reason : .]

11/15/2008 10:13:02 PM

New insulin pump stuff is pretty damn cool now.

I got a new Deltec Cozmo insulin pump and they added a bunch of new features with the software update that they did. Now you can use these cool features and set up trial basal rates of insulin and use them over the course of 3 hours and you test your blood sugar while the trial is going to see how the basal rate works for you. You're supposed to do it fasting and not do anything exercise-wise while you do the test. Do a few tests and upload the data to the computer and it makes a chart for you so you can see trends associated with that basal rate so you can find your optimal rate.

You can also set different basal rates for different days of the week and shit. This is so cool... Gonna be a bit before I get around to fiddling with these settings though. It's nice to have a 4 year warranty again. And the new manual that came with this thing is like a textbook.

[/rant]

11/22/2008 11:46:35 PM

*checks*

Yep, I'm still diabetic.

Fuck.

Any interesting aidsabeetus developments in anyone's life as of late? My diabetes educator called me the hell out for using my abdomen for infusion sites too much. I thought that was just beer-related fat. Hah... And my diabetes doc put me on blood pressure medicine... Right before I went on a rather strong stimulant/anti-depressant... So yeah my BP is still usually around 130/85, whereas he wanted it around 120/75.

Oh well...

1/11/2009 2:55:32 AM

hey Mindstorm, do you frequently have lows after sex? What do you do to prevent them? You know bc sometimes the blood sugar goes up with aerobic activity so I don't know if it is wise to always take stuff before and I don't want to have to constantly check my sugar before bc often when the mood strikes, checking the sugar would totally kill the mood.

2/16/2009 10:43:13 PM

Ah, I believe I've just spammed you with all the details.

4 PM's with an index and works cited at the end.

2/17/2009 12:53:15 AM

thanks, Avery!!

2/17/2009 11:46:05 AM

http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/healthteam/story/4818838/

No way!

[Edited on March 27, 2009 at 6:51 PM. Reason : Thanks xtine!]

3/27/2009 6:48:46 PM

yah

3/27/2009 6:53:16 PM

Do you guys prick the same finger everytime? Does it feel like the prick the doctors use for the small blood sampling? If so, that sucks, I wouldnt be able to do it....

How does the finger heal with so many pricks, makes me think you switch fingers a lot....

3/27/2009 6:59:12 PM

you don't prick the same finger. Girl, you should know that will cause crazy trauma to your skin. I get calluses after a while. There are certain machines where you can prick your arm. I don't do that even tho I could. It is the same prick at the doctor's office and you get used to it. I would have to say that mine doesn't hurt as much as the doctor's does, imo.

3/27/2009 7:03:34 PM

Well you made it this long why change your routine

3/27/2009 7:07:57 PM

I figured not but dang, it's a tough life. What were your first sysmptoms right before diagnosis? It runs in my family and I notice sometimes I have horrible mood swings, lethargy, etc when I don't get enough to eat.

I can't imagine going through those things you guys put up with on a daily basis!

3/27/2009 7:28:34 PM

Bumptitties.

6^ I would totally get a tattoo with special ink if they develop something like that for public use. That would make my life a hell of a lot easier and I could just test when it really gets out of line (you know, if the wolf tattoo on your arm doesn't change to purple you can keep on truckin, haha).

^^^^ Nope, I use all of them, and lately I've been using the second segment of my fingers to test so I can give my fingers a rest (they're getting a bit calloused, even with using low-impact needles). The ones the doctors use for blood sampling are about an order of magnitude more painful and destructive than the lancet I use right now. Theirs are crude, spring-loaded pieces of shit and the nurses using them contort your hand and arm to stab you, so they hurt like a fucking bitch when they don't have to. I've found that the testers the hospital uses are wrong more often than not anyway so I use mine when I can when I go to the ER (for instance, one time it said my blood sugar was 26, my response to that was "Well I don't feel dead yet"). The old spots heal up after a week or two, turning into a small brown dot (like a little freckle) and disappearing while leaving slightly tougher skin behind it.

^^^ Damn right. I have one of the systems where you can prick your arm (it's the same lancet, only you use a different, clear plastic tip which makes it easier to see what you're doing). I don't prick my arm because they're hairy and covered in little freckles/a rash that I've had since I was young (they come and go with the seasons, I have no idea what they are and neither does my dermatologist).

^ That sounds like hypoglycemia, what you've described. Most people go through some form of that day to day (part of why you crash and get tired at around 3-4pm). Yours sounds more serious like it could be a condition though (insulin hypersensitivity or something). Before I was diagnosed as a type I when I was 17, I had about four months leading up to my diagnosis where I slowly became weaker and weaker. I started to get really thirsty all the time about 6-12 weeks before I was diagnosed. I was peeing a whole lot and had a desire to drink something different (I can't describe it, it was the weirdest sensation like I knew I needed to be hydrated so badly but I wanted something that had sugar or vitamins in it or something). I became irritable all the time, got winded easily and couldn't recover very well, and slowly just got weaker and weaker to where I could barely make it up and down the stairs and I physically could not sit up any more (that was the day of my diagnosis). I lost 22.5 pounds, of which 5-7.5 pounds was made up of fat and/or muscle tissue (which I've more or less lost permanently). As for how I got winded easily, I went on a hike in the mountains where we went on part of the Appalachian trail and went all over the place, and I physically could not carry on as my heart rate was at about 200-220 (completely maxed out, I counted it twenty times on different occasions to make sure, but I was really on the verge of collapsing the whole time, if not on the verge of death). Once I got back to camp I drank two bottles of water and slept about five hours, ate dinner, then slept about eight more hours. From then forward that was when I started to get sicker and sicker (that was just the early stages kicking in right there).

You will know terribly clearly if you are one of the unfortunate chosen ones that get juvenile diabetes. Your life goes to hell in a handbasket real quick and you end up looking like something out of a concentration camp before you get diagnosed. It gets to the point where you will be unable to do the most basic of physical tasks. I had trouble getting dressed and nearly collapsed part of the way down the stairs on the day I was diagnosed. I imagine that what I felt before, during, and just before the diagnosis came very close to being near-death on a number of occasions. It's the worst I've ever felt in my life due to my body's physical condition, probably by an order of magnitude. (Mental stuff has been rough too, but that's a different level of suffering.)

Ok, now why I bumped this thread:

http://www.cozmore.com/

My insulin pump company is closing down! They just got $7000 from me (I paid $170, but that's not the point ) for a new insulin pump with a 4 year warranty in November!!! They're legally required to honor that warranty period I think, but if they're out of insulin pumps by that point I'm pretty much screwed! I have to find another insulin pump system to use now, even though this one was really awesome and practical (for instance: using AAA batteries which you can find anywhere in a pinch). I hope they keep enough of the insulin cartridges around as well, cause those are proprietary! This is so lame!

4/12/2009 3:11:15 AM

look up/into/research etc glutamine supplements

4/12/2009 3:57:07 AM

so many words on this page

4/12/2009 7:30:54 AM

^and all because motherfuckers can't stop eating sugar

insulin

4/12/2009 8:29:43 AM

so I hope this all works out for you, Avery.

4/12/2009 8:38:29 PM

^^^ For people who want a detailed answer.

^ It should, though I really need to get a decent job with proper health insurance soon. I just got my statement of benefits from BCBSNC for my latest order from Diabetes Care & Education (where I get my pump supplies). Looks like my insurance covers about 1/3 of my pump supplies and I'm required to spend $410 out of pocket for three months of supplies. It was half that with the other insurance.

This shit costs too fucking much.

4/12/2009 9:41:16 PM

yikes. I have been having a hard time finding an insurance company that will cover me bc we had to find another carrier. The only one that will cover my preexisting condition is the state's insurance that is just about as expensive as cobra.

4/12/2009 9:45:18 PM

Yeah, health coverage for us really sucks. Diabetes is an insane financial burden (Type I, anyway, Type II is a bit cheaper) and they really should work to fix that. I mean, counting the extra you'll have to pay for insurance on top of all your copays and such for your meds, you're still shelling out a minimum of an extra $5,000 a year if you're lucky. If you don't have a decent health insurance program in your state it's gonna be more like $8,000-12,000.

I sure hope there's some effort to lower the manufacturing cost for diabetic supplies and for insulin because as is it's really a huge kick in the nuts for probably 70% of people out there to have to pay this much just to stay alive (in addition to everything else).

4/12/2009 10:01:19 PM

Onoez... I went to the doctor today and discussed some of the tingling crap I've had going on in my hands and feet. While it's mild, it's possibly the start of diabetic neuropathy. My control is pretty good though (A1C was 6.2% this time, down from 6.5% last time, and these are bad numbers for me), and I'm thinking I can turn this around if I can find a tolerable place to do some cardio and get on an exercise schedule again.

Hows about you, punchmonkey? And you other diabetics out here that don't post in here. This been an emerging issue for any of you?

5/9/2009 1:19:49 AM

5/9/2009 1:26:59 AM

I def have had that kind of stuff happen often. I have not always had good numbers. I am not really sure what my A1c is bc we have been too poor to go to the doctor. I am getting on that now. YAY!! Ken has a job!! w00t!!
Has your tongue ever tingled? The doctor told me that might be diabetic related. I have had restless leg in the past but my doctor does not know if that is diabetic related or fibromylagia related.

Good luck and I hope that is not what it is MS! Keep me posted.

5/9/2009 2:09:33 AM

Quote :

"some of the tingling crap I've had going on in my hands and feet."

I have had this happening for a couple years now and have been ignoring it, hoping it wasn't insulin related... Guess I should bring it up to the doc in June.

5/9/2009 10:06:07 AM

oh, welcome samwise...How long have you been type I? do you have a pump?

I have always had tingling too so I thought it was just normal diabetic stuff. I don't care how well you are controlled if your body is not naturally producing your insulin you are always!!! going to be off. That is why I was like "wow" when MS said he just started having it.

5/9/2009 10:49:39 AM

Hey, don't let me fool you guys, though I am more or less a very solid reference on a lot of the stuff related to Type I diabetes, I am no angel myself. My A1C's are good. My last one was 6.5%, the highest it's ever been, and as of Friday it was 6.2% (I just had a checkup). Usually I'm like 5.6-5.9% when I'm properly on my game, but keep in mind that the spread isn't always that great. It'll swing high and low. When my A1C is lower, I tend to be having lows more often. Since it gets high, especially when I'm asleep sometimes (so it's high the entire time you're asleep), I think that's when the nerve damage happens.

I completely agree with the notion that there is going to be SOME damage anyway. I mean, we are diabetics, one of our fucking organs doesn't work any more and most people don't do everything that their old pancreas did, at least not with any decent sort of accuracy. That's what I have attributed the tingling and stuff to in the past.

Quote :

"Has your tongue ever tingled? The doctor told me that might be diabetic related. I have had restless leg in the past but my doctor does not know if that is diabetic related or fibromylagia related."

I have had it do some tingling, but that may also be blood pressure/dehydration related. I get dehydrated a lot and get kinda dizzy when that happens. I'm trying to put a stop to that by drinking a lot more water, especially since I'm going back on that blood pressure medicine.

I'm glad to hear you're able to get back to seeing doctors as well! Healthcare is expensive for us, and it is difficult to qualify for welfare healthcare services (medicaid more or less requires you to be destitute). Also, about the RLS thing, are you talking about just shaking your leg up and down constantly? I do that, sometimes with both legs. I have lots of nervous habits, it's kind of ridiculous.

Quote :

"I have had this happening for a couple years now and have been ignoring it, hoping it wasn't insulin related... Guess I should bring it up to the doc in June."

Don't worry about it, it's best to bring it up. I absolutely hate dealing with these medical problems, but I know if I don't address them I'll end up dead in my 30's just like my aunt. I've got to take proper care of myself so I live as long as possible, as otherwise I'm more or less just committing suicide at an agonizingly slow pace. All the doc will likely do is ask if you'd like to see a nutritionist (so you can put yourself on a diet with a better overall glycemic index), and use a micro filament to test your sensory response to different stimuli (basically he dragged the micro filament along my foot in one spot, then poked it in one spot, asking me if I could feel it both times). If it seems like you're getting something serious, I believe there is some medication that can help. There is some blood pressure medication that can help that my doc likes called lisinopril. Generally you only use it if you have high blood pressure, and you benefit from how it works inside your body as it helps prevent some of the issues associated with diabetes like neuropathy (probably by improving blood flow, which I think is my problem).

5/11/2009 1:31:35 AM

http://www.diabetesmine.com/2009/05/supreme-court-pick-sotomayor-has-diabetes-deal-or-no-deal.html

as you may have heard, Sonia Sotomayor, Obama's Supreme Court nominee, is type 1 diabetic. gg to her for being so accomplished despite the challenges of being diabetic

5/26/2009 6:25:19 PM

It would be fantastic if she landed this post. I think diabetes of either type (since most people just call it "diabetes" without thinking that it's a number of different conditions with varying problems with each one) really needs to gain more attention nationally. It's kind of like a silent, rapidly growing crisis and it's going to claim a lot of lives if more people don't pay attention to the disease.

Hopefully she can champion the cause if she lands the position and raise awareness about the disease. I'm happy that I landed that Navy job because I wanted to serve in the military when I was 16 (then I got diabetes at 17!). This is a way for me to serve, but it can work around my diabetes without any problem (because I'm not being shot at or depended upon under fire). Amazing that I can still do what I went to college for as well! I really want to get involved with juvenile and adult diabetes stuff more in the future (volunteer stuff, etc) because I really feel that, for the most part, a lot of people out there have trouble with the disease because they don't have good sources of info and they don't have any friends with the disease. It would've been much harder for me to do this if I didn't have the fantastic people at Duke Children's Hospital backing me up and generally just being wonderful examples of human beings every time I've met with them. Of course, now when I show up they usually just glance at my graphs and we talk for a bit about non-diabetes things because I am my own doctor now! Still, if people had a few years with the guidance of outstanding people who were really knowledgeable and enthusiastic about diabetes care and treatment I bet we could drastically lower the rate at which diabetes (and its complications) occur.

5/30/2009 11:16:54 PM

http://www.diabetesforums.com

You other diabetics also might want to hop on there. Just joined tonight and started posting. I don't have anything I need help with, but there's a lot of people looking for experienced answers. I know some of you like to talk like I do!

5/31/2009 1:27:56 AM

HEY ALL YOU DIABETICS WITH DELTEC COZMO INSULIN PUMPS!

Animas extended an olive branch to us!

http://www.animascorp.com/For-Deltec-customers.aspx

More or less, trade up to an Animas Ping (refurbished) for $200 and trade in your old Cozmo. On the thread I read at the diabetes forum somebody said this pump will come with a 2 year warranty PLUS whatever time you have left on your Cozmo's warranty! Fantastic opportunity to extend your warranty by two years, get a cool new pumping system (wireless communication between your pump and your blood sugar monitor), and still have a damn company standing behind the warranty!

I've contacted them for info about the Ping and will post more details when I get the brochure. I don't know if there are any other type I's on here let alone ones who use my pump, but I want to spread the word about this. I'm also gonna see what my diabetes doc and educator think about it.

Good news kicks ass!

5/31/2009 7:12:20 PM

I am too flip floppy lately. I'm misjudging the amount of carbs having too many ups and downs. I just wish my body would work correctly so I wouldn't have to make up for it's short comings.

7/2/2009 11:31:12 AM

punchmonk do you mean how many carbs you're eating? that always sucks... i used to do it when i was type 2 and it was rough. i can imagine it being worse for type 1.

and i had no idea sonia sotomayor had type 1 diabetes.

7/2/2009 11:41:34 AM

set em up

7/2/2009 11:55:07 AM