Siwgrstorm

Here was the star member of my team in NYC this morning, a labradoodle named MARTIN! We had a great walk, and I was particularly proud to have my daughter with me, enjoying the fun. Her favorite was the big blow-up fire engine slide, at the end, of course! It was great to see so many people make it out despite the weather. It rained like a %^&*! for the walk to Brooklyn on the bridge, but the walk back was amazing - 69 degrees, Sunny and gorgeous. Hope all you New Yorkers enjoyed your walk as well. I'm heading up for the Oct. 7th walk in Boston, if you see me say hello.

So....after about 6 months of trying to ignore a problem with my shoulder, I finally stopped in to the Spine Institute to get an exam. I have a frozen shoulder, which I learned was not uncommon in diabetics. A few small exercises and a possible cortisone shot and its over, whew!~ Other diabetics out there with a frozen shoulder? I am really curious about whether it has recurred or moved to the other shoulder. Thanks for you comments!

This year I decided to walk in NYC and in Boston in order to support my Type 1 brother, who I don't think has ever done a walk for JDRF. I am also walking in honor of a friend whose brother died of Type 1 this year, and for all of the people I know who are affected by this disease. To my huge suprise, when I reached out to my work community for the zillionth year in a row ...they were so supportive that I was moved to tears. People who work with me everday notice that I'm a diabetic and sometimes that makes me uncomfortable. However, when I realize how much they care about my health, and how much they hope to see research lead to a cure, I feel a lot less like a freak! I am really lucky to work with such amazing people. I hope those of you who are reading this are participating in a walk for JDRF too...have a great walk! (Here is my walk site...they are very easy to set up and use online! http://walk.jdrf.org/walker.cfm?id=86442347 )

A fascinating article at the International Herald Tribune...
click here.

The new pump is wonderful, much more of an improvement than I expected. I am learning to fine-tune the Bolus Wizard features, something that has forced me to more closely evaluate my ratios and basal rates - it's also provided me with a good test of my carb counting (ahem estimating) abilities. A little frustrating, but all for the better! However, with the new BD Logic meter, I am now the proud owner of well, too many meters! What to do, what to do.

My little story goes like this - while whiling away the hours at a pals lake house, I noticed that my pump tubing was filling with blood. And, because it was a Murphy's Law kind of day that began with me trying to squeeze 2 ml of shampoo out of a bottle, my spare kit of stuff was safely stored in - - my kitchen cabinet 2 hours away. I have a kitchen cabinet dedicated to all things medical. Looking in, you might consider me a neglectful parent as the Snoopy Bandaid box is smushed below a mountain of infusion sets, but such is the nature of medical packaging. Anyway, I got home and hooked back up without incident. Looking into my mountain of over-plasticized goodness, I decide to solve this problem with one of the tips I read in "Diabetes Burn-Out." I decided to create not just one extra kit but 4; one for work, one for the car, one for the "road," and one for my colleague who I've given the glucagon schpeil to. That way, I will never forget to move the one from the car back to the house and vice versa. Over the years I'd gotten several new meters, so each kit would have an infusion set, meter, some old strips, a few syringes, a bottle of Novolog with enough "dregs" in it to get me home, and some other obvious things. After packing them, I looked at all my black and jewel-toned cases with pride.

All I needed now were old test strips. I was formerly using a LifeScan OneTouch meter, and I still had some strips on my prescription. I called them in and headed to the pharmacy, deftly avoiding the meltdown my daughter would have if we passed the Teen Titans backpack in isle 3. When I got there my very kind pharmacist had some news for me.....I'M NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE THEM. Apparently, one can only have strips from one company (or for one meter?) at a time - I cannot be currently using a BD meter and at the same time order a LifeScan strip. What??? I called my insurance company, who forwarded me to my prescription company. They said that I will have to file an appeal to have "duplicate therapy." Pointing out that if I tested my blood sugar twice as much that would probably save them money in the end didn't help. This was going to require calling the insurance company again, the prescription company again, the pharmacy again, etc. Oh well - I'll keep those reading posted...

Well, the new 522 (I think I had the model # wrong before) is now - on me....I have a lot of reading to do, more than I expected! I'm very impressed with the Bolus Wizard calculator, which is new to me. Have any of you had to adjust your "active insulin time?" I read an interesting article on Diabetesnet.Com about how the timing is often underestimated. Any thoughts? Hope all is well out there in the IDDM-world for you all.

I am excited about getting this new pump (pump system?) today. My 511, apparently, is out of date, no longer servicable. Anyone have tips for the upgrade?

On the way to my "surprise birthday event" with my husband he said something hilarious - "I don't want to give my secret away, but how would you keep your pump dry for 2 hours anyway?"....Hmmmmm. Driving by a huge billboard for white water tubing down the Esopus Creek gave the whole thing away. We stopped in a local camping store and bought a water proof bag and double wrapped my pump. I wore a pair if cargo pants and put my pump into the side pocket, took the bus to the drop off point and WHOOSH! I was hurled down the river 2 1/2 miles. It was insanely fun. I thought it would be leisurely, but it was like an amusement park ride! I was bumped out of the tube twice and even got stuck in a tree!! Anyway, when we returned to the river bank we checked on the pump status - - NOT DRY. Not soaked, still working, but not dry. I was relieved that my pump was water resistant. But if you've ever considered a canoe bag for your pump, I would suggest getting that gummy earplub material to wrap around the tubing and then using a hard case with a hole drilled in it instead of a flexible one. And then, definitely go down the river!!!

A response to a post of mine got me thinking about the ways people deal with blood sugar control - via management (counting carbs, adjusting ratios, choosing the right endocrinologist, selecting equipment, calculating X-carbs, etc) and lifestyle issues (reducing stress, having good communication with your healthcare team, self-confidence, sense of community, etc). I've tried to keep an "eye" on which approach is dominating my thinking at any given time. Am I checking every post-prandial number or am I getting enough sleep? Am I sticking to the numbers and checking my daily averages and totals in chart form, or am I taking that precious half hour to talk to a loved one about how being a diabetic makes me feel? Am I carefully monitoring my blood sugar through out a work out or am I taking my friend up on an offer to go for long walk without focusing on being a diabetic? Sure, one can do both, but it isn't as easy as it sounds, and its in these little moments that balances shift. The management approach has clear results that can be easily quantified. The other approach, when not directly related to carbohydrates and insulin, is not easily quantified, and yet seems to be more than just subjective. While this dichotomy is being used to make a point, I think it is interesting that one "mindset" - management - can induce stress more easily - it can feel like a game that you keep trying to "beat" but never succeed at conquering. The other "mindset" - changing lifestyle choices - by its very nature is supposed to reduce that sense of failure.