7

3/15/2010 4:35:11 PM

you are still talking about this shit

3/15/2010 4:35:45 PM

The tax costs money.

The coupons cost money.

I'm not even charging what I paid for them, but since you are all whining I've decided I'll ebay them for as much as I can get. I bought them for the guy trying to do him a favor (he thought using the coupons himself was too much trouble), then he backed out. Otherwise I would not have bought the things at all. Now I don't want them to go to waste and people jump all over me for trying to help them out.

3/15/2010 4:38:34 PM

man lewoods don't sweat that couch case

3/15/2010 4:39:13 PM

My last A1C (as of two weeks ago) was 6.6%.

I also started exercising recently and am going to have to go on blood pressure medicine because I accidentally my cardiovascular system.

How about you assaultmarmoset?

4/4/2010 10:09:42 PM

i was just showing punchmonk this earlier

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/57902/title/Insulin-producing_cells_can_renegerate_in_diabetic_mice

Quote :

" Replacements for some diabetics’ missing insulin-producing cells might be found in the patients’ own pancreases, a new study in mice suggests. Alpha cells in the pancreas can spontaneously transform into insulin-producing beta cells, researchers from the University of Geneva in Switzerland report online in Nature April 4. The study, done in mice, is the first to reveal the pancreas’s ability to regenerate missing cells. Scientists were surprised to find that new beta cells arose from alpha cells in the pancreas, rather than stem cells. If the discovery translates to people, scientists may one day be able to coax type 1 diabetics’ own alpha cells into replacing insulin-producing cells. Type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes, results when the immune system destroys beta cells in the pancreas. People with the disease must take lifelong injections of insulin in order to keep blood sugar levels from rising too high. “The exciting discovery from this study is that alpha cells can spontaneously convert to beta cells without any interference from the researchers,” says Andrew Rakeman, the scientific program manager for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s beta cell therapies program. “It’s very early and very basic research right now, but it opens up the idea that reprogramming is not just something we have to force cells to do, that it’s an intrinsic property of the cells.” Although the immune system continually wipes out beta cells in people with type 1 diabetes, some studies have found a small number of beta cells in the pancreases of people who have had the disease for years. Some researchers thought the cells could be ones that had somehow survived the immune system’s ongoing assault, but that “is very unlikely, because the immune system is very, very efficient,” says Pedro Herrera, a developmental biologist at the University of Geneva Medical School and a leader of the new study. So that suggested to Herrera and his colleagues that the pancreas was making new beta cells. Researchers treated mice to destroy beta cells in the pancreas, and kept the mice alive by giving them insulin. After six months, the mice no longer needed the extra insulin because their pancreases had regenerated between 4 percent and 17 percent of the beta cells that had been present before the treatment. Although only a fraction of beta cells regenerated, it was enough to provide the insulin the mice needed to maintain nearly normal blood sugar levels. When the researchers examined the mice they found that some of the insulin-producing cells also made glucagon, which is normally made by alpha cells. The finding suggested that the beta cells in the mice had once been alpha cells. The researchers confirmed that hypothesis by genetically tagging alpha cells in other mice, then killing their beta cells. Newly generated beta cells carried the tags, indicating that a switch had indeed occurred. About 5 percent of alpha cells converted to beta cells, says Fabrizio Thorel, a developmental biologist in Herrera’s group and a coauthor of the new study. “What we don’t know at the moment is whether all alpha cells have the ability to be converted to beta cells,” he says. The researchers also don’t know what signals prompt alpha cells to begin their conversion, Thorel says, but it is clear that the transformation happens only after nearly all beta cells have been wiped out. Even if human pancreases can perform the alpha to beta conversion — and Herrera says he believes it is possible — the immune system in type 1 diabetics would kill the newly transformed cells unless researchers could figure out how to stop the immune system attack and reduce inflammation in the pancreas that accompanies diabetes. Herrera says that efforts to control the immune system could give the pancreases of type 1 diabetic patients a chance to recover at least some function. “The life of diabetics would change even if the pancreas is only able to produce 1 or 2 percent of normal insulin levels,” he says. The team is now trying to determine if older mice retain the regenerative capacity seen in the young mice used in the study and which signal tells alpha cells to begin transforming into beta cells."

i know we see scientific studies every other month that proclaim a possible major breakthrough of some kind, but interesting nevertheless

4/4/2010 10:12:46 PM

Here's the process for replacing an infusion site that I wrote up and posted on facebook. I'm bored and don't want to go to sleep yet. Consider it useful information for you diabetics considering an insulin pump. I do this every two days (only 10-20 minutes if you're efficient about it).

1. Detach insulin pump from old site.
2. Apply adhesive solvent wipe.
3. Remove old site, working around the edges to break the bond between cotton and skin.
4. Apply alcohol wipe to remove gelled adhesive.
5. Apply bandage if required.
6. Open sterile packaging for new cartridge.
7. Assemble cartridge by attaching needle and plunger grip, remove safety cover for needle.
8. Fill cartridge with 1.5CC air after moving plunger from 0.0 to 2.0 CC marks several times to lubricate cartridge to prevent binding.
9. Insert cartridge needle into insulin vial with cartridge inverted.
10. Inject air.
11. Invert cartridge and vial.
12. Release thumb from plunger grip, allow pressure to equalize between vial and cartridge.
13. Slowly draw back on plunger, filling cartridge to ~1.5CC mark.
14. Flick cartridge to motivate air bubbles to top of cartridge, advance and retract plunger to remove air bubbles.
15. Retract plunger to 1.5CC mark exact, remove from vial.
16. Reattach safety cover for cartridge needle.
17. Unscrew cartridge retention cap on insulin pump.
18. Pull old cartridge with old infusion site tubing out from pump.
19. Unscrew luer lock connector on old infusion site tubing to disconnect from old cartridge.
20. Discard old tubing. Retain cartridge retention cap and place in an accessible location.
21. Discard old cartridge, unless material/economic shortage necessitates reuse.
22. Open an I.V. Prep or Skin Prep wipe and wipe around the new infusion site location on the skin in a circular motion, working your way out until a ~4-6" diameter clean area is created.
23. Go through menu on insulin pump to where infusion site replacement is controlled.
24. Command pump to start rewind process to facilitate new cartridge installation.
25. While pump is rewinding, remove protective plastic wrapping from inset infusion site. Remove plastic safety cover.
26. Unwind new tubing from inset infusion site and lock tubing into retention notch. Feed cartridge retention cap onto tubing with the screw-side facing toward the luer lock connector.
27. Unscrew needle from insulin cartridge, screw luer lock connector on new infusion site tubing onto insulin cartridge until tight (do not overtighten).
28. Stop insulin pump rewind process at approximately 160 units (U).
29. Remove plunger grip from insulin cartridge without disturbing syringe plunger.
30. Insert cartridge into insulin pump until it is seated. Line up threads for cartridge retention cap and screw hand-tight (do not overtighten).
31. Command insulin pump to load cartridge (this advances the plunger driver in the insulin pump until it contacts the syringe plunger on the insulin cartridge).
32. Command insulin pump to fill tubing, holding down the command button until approximately 12 units of insulin have been injected to remove air bubbles and to fill the tubing.
33. Open skin-tac adhesive wipe and apply with vertical downward strokes along skin, covering clean site with adhesive.
34. Remove paper safety cover on inset infusion site system.
35. Remove paper adhesive cover on infusion site.
36. Using the hand which is covered in skin-tac, grip the inset infusion site system by the horizontal grip areas on the sides of the site. Use the other hand to grab the cocking handle for the spring on the bottom of the inset infusion site system. Pull down on the handle until two audible clicks are heard and the inset infusion site is ready for activation.
37. Using the hand which is not covered in skin-tac, carefully twist the plastic safety cover off of the needle on the inset infusion site system.
38. Position the inset infusion site system over desired location on skin, holding with the hand closest to the infusion site.
39. Once centered and perpendicular to skin, quickly squeeze the two finger-sized dimples on the sides of the inset infusion site system to release the spring locks and insert the infusion site.
40. Press down on the cocking handle on the infusion site to ensure infusion site is pressed against skin.
41. Pull inset infusion site system away from body, removing the needle and leaving the infusion site in place.
42. Using the index finger covered in skin-tac, work finger in a circular motion on cotton surrounding infusion site to work out any bubbles or dimples in the cotton to ensure proper adhesion.
43. Attach safety cover to inset infusion site system to cover needle and discard.
44. Discard all remaining waste.
45. Command insulin pump to fill cartridge cannula with 0.5 units insulin (9mm cannula only).

And then you're done. See, it's a simple forty five (or more) step process.

4/9/2010 1:12:47 AM

So I'm posting in here just because there are a lot of people who are diabetics on here or who have family members that are diabetic. I'm doing the Tour de Cure at the end of June, and dong the 63 mile bike ride.

If anyone wants to support my ride, I've included the link to my page here. Thanks to thumper for already contributing to the cause

http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR/TourdeCure/DistrictofColumbiaMetroArea?px=5855181&pg=personal&fr_id=6857

5/13/2010 12:04:04 PM

^^haha! I never thought of it like that. WOW! There are a lot of steps. I don't use skin-tac and my infusion set is the silhouette so I don't twist off, I press on both sides of a prong to take out the "stopper" thing. Everything else is true for me.

^that is awesome, LunaK!! I will talk to Ken about that.

5/13/2010 1:42:05 PM

bttt

^^ just incase anybody is feeling generous.. two weeks out

6/6/2010 9:20:12 PM

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/07/09/avandia.diabetes.research.fda/index.html?hpt=T2

7/9/2010 9:38:06 PM

do diabetics follow a keto diet lifestyle at all or do you need some carbs in the diet?

7/9/2010 11:14:31 PM

I eat carbs all the time.

My carb ratios:

12am 1 unit of insulin per 14 grams
5 am 1 unit of insulin per 10 grams
1 pm 1 unit of insulin per 14 grams

Is this what you are asking?

I would love to be at 40% protein, 30% carb, 30% fat but that has not happened yet.

7/9/2010 11:26:49 PM

yea just curious...what happens if you go off carbs or eat a very low GI diet? Do your insulin levels go wonky or does it vary from person to person?

my aunt has type 2 and abuses her insulin to allow her to indulge in carbs and it really frustrates me to watch her try and kill herself to keep this practice going. I'm now responsible for the well being for a few individuals with type 1 diabetes and am not happy that our policies and staff don't advocate a healthier diet or lifestyle for these individuals. Rather, they more or less allow the individuals to eat whatever they want(to avoid any rights infractions) and we are to monitor blood sugars daily and use insulin PRN. It seems quite silly to me to do this when we are there to support these individuals as best as possible. I don't see the logic behind providing individuals as much mcdonalds and HFCS products as they want when they're already diagnosed with obesity and type 1 diabetes. Its even written in their plans to eat healthier and exercise more but the staff stress the importance of activities and offer too many unhealthy alternatives to the individuals.

blah, this is more of a rant about our health care system for individuals with developmental disabilities but I'd like to see some changes made in their diets. We shouldn't be spending our activity money on movies and mcdonalds.

7/10/2010 7:28:43 AM

I was a bit infuriated when I realized the ADA has no gripe with sugar. None whatsoever.

[Edited on July 10, 2010 at 8:22 AM. Reason : sadfasdf]

7/10/2010 8:21:42 AM

well, I guess because sugar is a byproduct of carbohydrates. When I give myself insulin I don't check the label for sugar, I check it to see how many carbs are in the food per serving.

Abusing insulin is the best way for her to become insulin resistant. BUT!!!!....I know when someone is always harping over what I eat it makes me want to avoid that person. I feel accountability is what is needed but telling someone how to live their life is different. I feel she will just resent you. I like the Zone diet, porcha if you are wanting to encourage a type of diet that is good for diabetes that is not that hard to stick to.

7/10/2010 11:20:19 AM

I have to take more diabetes related tests. My blood glucose level was high on a 12 hour fast. Fun fun. Could this contribute to why I have a high metabolism?

7/10/2010 11:28:50 AM

could be. If your blood sugar levels stay extremely elevated for a long period of time, your kidneys will eventually start shuttling glucose into your urine to get rid of it. I had a type I diabetic friend that would just not bother to take as much insulin when he wanted to lose weight.

This is what causes kidney failure in diabetics, so it's definitely something you want to get taken care of.

[Edited on July 10, 2010 at 11:42 AM. Reason : are you always thirsty and have to pee a lot? do you feel tired a lot? those are warning signs]

7/10/2010 11:38:48 AM

Damn. Thanks for the heads up. Def. going for some more follow up tests. I told my mom about the preliminary results and she said "hahahahahah its common in my family but i dont have it!".

I have been avoiding sugar for a week and I have felt a lot better.

7/10/2010 11:42:50 AM

Following up on porcha's question, has anyone considered a ketogenic diet? And if not, why not?

7/10/2010 11:46:16 AM

so what happens to blood sugar levels in a type 1 or 2 diabetic who doesn't eat many carbs at all?

...I'm talking 20-30g net carbs/day. I know I can continue producing ketones when I "target" my carbs pre and post workout and just eat fat/protein meals for the rest of the day. I get ~100g net carbs/day. All low GI carbs too, usually oatmeal or pinto beans My grandma and aunt both have type II diabetes. I've never checked myself but I know I get real tired(food coma) if I ever consume copious amounts of high GI carbs.

optimally, I'd like to educate my staff on putting more interest into our clients diets. We do the cooking and shopping for our individuals but we also let them choose the meals and if they want to eat out. We have diabetics running amok on sodas and processed carbs and it really irritates me that we're not stressing some basics of nutrition for the better of these individuals. I think its a combination of lack of education and care on the staff's side. I can't expect the individuals or staff to really know these things. I also don't want to impose my own ideas of nutrition and dieting unnecessarily or provide incorrect information when technically this information is outside of my scope of practice. I need to be a director, not a manager.

I think if I stay in this field for a few years and learn the system, I could open up my own group home for individuals with development disabilities and stress a healthy and active lifestyle as well as promote a "green" house and utilize many government alternative energy programs. It would be government reinvesting in government and pushing a healthy agenda. I read up on all the medicines these clients are taking and they just seem to bunch of garbage to help combat the socially isolated and nutritionally unsatisfactory lifestyle that we currently let them operate on. Sure we never want to restrict their rights, but c'mon. I'm way off topic, sorry.

7/10/2010 12:02:36 PM

^seeing as how you seem to actually care and might have some influence in some people's lives, I recommend Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes:
http://www.amazon.com/Good-Calories-Bad-Gary-Taubes/dp/1400040787

7/10/2010 12:20:11 PM

Porsha - Are you a QP? Just curious, I'm a DD case manager and write these plans that try to implement "healthier eating habits" and "daily exercise regimens" and find it amazing what staff consider healthy food and exercise. For instance - Taco Bell is not healthy, diabetic or not. I even define these things in the "how to" section of the plan, but it seems that provider agencies don't educate on this piece. Drives me absolutely crazy and makes me wonder why I even waste my time harping on these goals at every team meeting.

I posted in a punchmonk thread a couple years ago about failing my GD test the last time I was pregnant. I just failed the glucose challenge again. Cut-off sugar was 130, mine was 150. They want me to take the 3 hour GTT but I think I'm going to politely decline. That test is pure torture. Do type I or II diabetics have to go through the same diagnostic measures? Anyway, I have the sads over being diabetic again, because it seems to be a precursor to all types of other pregnancy complications. Punchmonk - did you have any issues with your Type I when you were preggo? Did you have IUGR or a really big baby? My son was almost 9 lbs and a month early last time. I ended up getting HELLP syndrome and had to deliver in an emergency situation. Just curious if you or any other diabetic mamas had a similar experience or words of advice.

7/10/2010 2:40:37 PM

Quote :

"did you have any issues with your Type I when you were preggo? Did you have IUGR or a really big baby? "

Heck yes. I was so miserable during my pregnancy because I was fairly sick the whole time and I HATED not being able to eat all the cravings I had and jeez a flip I did not feel well. I was almost insulin resistant in the morning which sucked. I could each certain things. I had the best sugars of my life because I was put on a pump but I had to kick my own ass. Maya was a a fairly large baby, 9 lbs. 11oz.

I don't know what IUGR is.

7/11/2010 12:48:40 AM

Oh my goodness, I felt the same way, especially toward the end! Starting to go in that direction again (I'm 28 weeks pregnant right now). Wow, Maya was a big girl! My son was 8#11oz but was nearly a month early. The docs are preparing me for the idea of another huge baby, especially if I go to term.

IUGR is intrauterine growth restriction. It's the opposite of what happened. People with Type I can sometimes have issues with the baby growing properly, so they have really small babies instead. One of my Type I friends has that diagnosis now, and had it in her last pregnancy as well. Was hoping for a natural birth but the doctors aren't optimistic. She's also experiencing insulin resistance right now and has been to the hospital several times already for complications. Pregnancy is a whole different ballgame when you're diabetic. It sucks.

[Edited on July 11, 2010 at 9:29 AM. Reason : .]

7/11/2010 9:28:49 AM

http://www.physorg.com/news199471304.html

Quote :

"Bioengineers developed an implantable glucose sensor and wireless telemetry system that continuously monitors tissue glucose and transmits the information to an external receiver. The paper, to be published in the July 28, 2010 issue of the journal Science Translational Medicine, describes the use of this glucose-sensing device as an implant in animals for over one year. After human clinical trials and FDA approval, the device may be useful to people with diabetes as an alternative to finger sticking and short-term, needle-like glucose sensors that have to be replaced every 3 to 7 days. "

7/28/2010 2:57:15 PM

More good science for those who suffer from neuropathy

http://www.physorg.com/news203337267.html

9/12/2010 5:48:14 PM

I hope they come up with a cure in the next 15 years. Everyone in my entire family has diabetes

9/12/2010 5:51:13 PM

Sweet, I like science. I started having more serious tingling symptoms in my hands and feet around a few years ago, and this sort of news makes me less worried about the future.

Now, if Animas Corp would just hurry up and come out with that continuous glucose monitoring system they promised for my insulin pump everything will be good.

9/14/2010 9:17:46 PM

Quote :

"Damn. Thanks for the heads up. Def. going for some more follow up tests. I told my mom about the preliminary results and she said "hahahahahah its common in my family but i dont have it!". I have been avoiding sugar for a week and I have felt a lot better."

How did the tests go? I'm starting to suspect I may have type II. It's in my family. I don't exhibit the symptoms clearly so I'm not sure. My diet isn't terrible, but it isn't stellar. I drink a little too much sugary stuff (sweet tea and coffee with a lot of sweeteners) and I have a pretty strong sweet tooth. I seem to be staying headachy these days, I've been a little run down some during the weeks despite averaging 7.5-8hrs of sleep a night. I wake up feeling like total ass sometimes even after having a good dinner and good sleep.

It's either that or I probably have something else terminal. Fuck it.

9/14/2010 9:37:58 PM

If you haven't already, try switching to just drinking water, or at least supplement your diuretic consumption with water. Dehydration can cause everything you mentioned above, and it's not always 100% diabeetus. It might be complicated by diabeetus in part, but that's probably not the issue here. Some easy diabeetus things to check are whether or not you're peeing every 15-40 minutes, have an unquenchable thirst (when only drinking water, not counting over consumption of diuretics), and whether those notorious yellow crystals (pee-tainted sugar crystals) are accumulating around the toilet bowl.

9/14/2010 10:05:15 PM

Anybody using a Continuous Glucose Monitor of some sort? I'm going to speak w/ my diabetes educator about it. I'm considering a dexcom unit because apparently they're working with Animas (I have an Animas Ping insulin pump) to make an integrated Pump/CGM system. Apparently they have a decent unit with sensors that are tiny and last a whole week, which would be great.

Sometime soon I should also consider getting some dental work done, but when I went to the dentist for a cleaning the anxiety resulting from a conversation about pulling out a mini wisdom tooth dropped my blood sugar by 50%. I need to figure out how I can do some sort of sedation option without being at risk due to a high/low blood sugar (which I guess means seeing if my regular insurance can provide me with a nurse to monitor my numbers while I'm unconscious at some sort of hilariously high price).

10/19/2010 11:16:27 PM

My hemoglobin A1c went from 6.8% to 6.0% in 4 weeks! YAY!!

I heart my pump so much!!!

I hate being pregnant with diabetes. teh suck!!! Hard to control my sugars.

^my endocrinologist is pushing the continuous glucose monitor thing. Not ready for another needle in my body at the moment. No thank you. Tell me how it turned out.

11/19/2010 5:31:24 PM

^that awesome!

i was noticing on facebook and figured i ask here. you say your doctor wants you at 5.5....isn't tht really, really low?


(this bes joie by the way )

11/19/2010 6:27:00 PM

5.5% would be a super ideal A1C for a diabetic. It's hard as hell to get it to that level without a bit of wizardry.

My previous was at 6.8%, unfortunately, and my health has been pretty bad lately. Fallout from all that stress at my old job has kind of left a lot of my healthy habits in a nonfunctional/wrecked state and it's difficult to break the pattern like I used to do.

11/21/2010 12:41:55 AM

punchmonk just got her latest a1c

5.8!

12/23/2010 9:34:32 AM

A guy at my work is diabetic. I always forget and try to feed him cookies

12/23/2010 9:40:02 AM

12/23/2010 10:34:49 AM

Holy shit, change in regimen, batman!
Carbs
12am 1:10
5am 1:5
9pm. 1:6

1/14/2011 4:29:48 PM

Yeah I can't change mine like that. As far as I can predict I'm always 1:10. I'm going to apply for a continuous glucose monitoring system while I'm still on 100% insurance coverage for equipment like this (i.e. a cadillac healthcare plan).

My last A1c was 6.7% and my weight didn't go up this time, so I'd consider this a pretty fair improvement. I prevented a lot of the super high blood sugars from happening in the past two months. They're starting to creep back, though, so I hope to put a stop to that.

Health still isn't that great and I'm kind of sick of dealing with this disease day in and day out. At least it's mostly under control and not getting any worse.

1/21/2011 10:59:28 PM

Jesus punchmonk 5.8?! You're a god.
It took a focused effort on my part to get below 7, after it had been in the 7.2 range for a couple years. For the last year it's been around 6.7-6.8. I really don't think I have the discipline when it comes to eating that would get it down to 6.0 or below. Getting a pump would probably help.

Also, the sliding scale of insulin units:carbs based on time of day is a great idea. I don't know why I never tried that before.

1/22/2011 9:05:08 AM

holy shit 5.8?!?!


thats awesome.


from my understanding people who are not diabetic tend to have higher levels than that!

nice work!

1/22/2011 9:13:48 AM

Thanks guys! It is difficult and def a bitch! i feel you Mindstorm. Being pregnant is the worst because I want to eat ALL THE DAMN TIME and ALWAYS THE WRONG THING!!! I am eating a lot of protein and good fat and veggies.

Here are some hugs, Avery!! I hope you feel better because you know that makes your sugars crap too.

My carbs per meal throughout the day are

B- 30
Sn- 15
L- 45
Sn-15
D-45
Sn-20-30 just for sustainability while I sleep.

Quote :

"Getting a pump would probably help"

QFT!! i did not have good control until I had a small basal drip throughout the day. Just bolusing throughout the day is not how your body naturally does insulin so a pump has saved my life. Even with the pump, the management for it is absolutely ridiculous. At the moment, I am sending my doctor and his PA my sugars weekly and having an appt every 3-4 weeks so that is why I have quite the advantage over a non-pregnant Type I.

1/22/2011 11:21:24 AM

Haha, having a pump definitely is what makes my life livable. Without it I probably would have died (by choice or by accident) around four years ago. As far as my health goes, I aim to make the entreaty to the insurance company to allow me a CGM system. I have no idea how my body works these days, and in part due to the anti-depression meds I'm mostly in a fog and just kind of wandering from one day to the next without hard data on what my body is doing.

My daily meal plan is basically this:

Lunch - 80 carbs.

Dinner - 80 carbs.

Bedtime - 40 carbs.

And that's about it. I eat no breakfast due to the issues with waking up in the morning and eat no snacks due to my schedule with work (I have very lofty productivity goals I need to meet, so I don't feel that I have time to spend 30 minutes on a given day on balancing my carb distribution).

I used to have a 5.8% A1C before I graduated high school (I went down to like 5.7% at one point), but that's not sustainable any more. If you're pregnant and you have that A1C punchmonkey you'll be just fine.

My current plan is to slowly build my life around something more health-sustainable than what I do now. Still haven't completely unpacked and moved into this house, but at least I've developed more of a system for storing my diabetic stuff.

1/23/2011 11:23:05 PM

I get queezy every time I think about this subject...

1/23/2011 11:48:27 PM

http://www.endocrineweb.com/news/type-1-diabetes/4153-researchers-find-possible-solution-insulin-dependence-type-1-diabetes

another medical research cure (i'm still waiting for message_topic.aspx?topic=471961 to become available)

[Edited on February 4, 2011 at 7:03 PM. Reason : interesting to see the role of glucagon in this research]

2/4/2011 7:00:17 PM

That's an interesting discovery.

I hate the shit out of glucagon. When your sugar crashes super low and you have to give yourself one of those shots you can pretty much write off the next 24 hours with feeling sick and having fucked up blood sugars. Of course it treats hypoglycemic emergencies so it's not all bad.

I clearly don't understand enough about human physiology to get how the body is able to operate without glucagon or insulin. I wonder what the long-term effects would be of a treatment plan like this.

2/5/2011 5:44:06 PM

You know, I have never used glucagon before. At what point do you use it, Mindstorm? (What is your sugar level?)

2/14/2011 5:03:50 AM

Hup, here's my late reply. This seems to be how all the diabetic discussion in here goes anyway.

I use glucagon whenever something in the back of my mind tells me I'm going to become unconscious if I don't. I've used it with my blood sugar in the low 30's or high 20's successfully before. It's for extreme emergencies or urgent situations where I need to be able to be functional for about thirty minutes and need an immediate recovery from a low blood sugar.

Basically every time I use it my blood sugars skyrocket and I nearly throw up and find it difficult to stand up and walk around and function, but I'm usually able to focus for at least a good thirty minutes which is long enough to drive home and put hands on a bottle of insulin and a syringe to counter the massive blood glucose increase i'll be dealing with.

Of course you can also use glucagon in smaller amounts than one whole shot, but i don't know how that works and my doctors aren't terribly good at explaining that to me so I aim for the conservative side.

If you've never used one of these needles, it's like jamming a needle the size of a pencil lead into your arm. The needle is not exactly lubricated well either, so you'll form a fairly large depression in your arm or on your thigh while giving yourself the shot. Jamming the needle into your arm is a relatively slow, intense process and you basically feel cold steel very slowly sliding along your skin into the muscles in your arm/leg. It's not really something I like using that often/ever. The 30 gauge insulin needles are awesome compared to your standard shitty glucagon needle, but the glucagon needle is a tough bastard and can go straight through denim jeans in an emergency without bending the needle.

As for slightly less unpleasant commentary:

http://www.knowabouthealth.com/study-new-long-lasting-insulin-drug-need-injection-only-thrice-a-week/8058/

SCIENCE! This would make things easier on people who can't afford insulin pumps. I'm glad science is still advancing for diabetics, even if it's just treatment and not cure.

3/10/2011 11:42:45 PM

I just got a new pump. I am psyched about it!! The minimed revel.



http://www.minimed.com/products/insulinpumps/

My last pump did not do fractions for the carb ratio and also did not go down to 1:2 carb ratio. Hopefully this will be the answer to my pregnancy dawn. I am also wicked excited about how my new one has a wireless connection to my comp so I don't have to record all my sugars from my meter and my pump. I also get to see fluctuations and where it looks like I fall off the insulin dependent wagon.

My last A1c was 6.2. Not as good as my 5.8 and 5.9 but I will take it right now!! I am struggling hard core to get my resistance and sensitivity to balance and to calm the fuck down. I am going crazy trying to keep up!

3/14/2011 5:46:33 PM