This Time Last Year

   We are soon approaching 1 year since M was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.  February 6th to be exact.  There were many times in this past year that I couldn't help but compare this, M's first year with diabetes, to the previous year, her last year without diabetes.  These are just a few of the times my thoughts started with, this time last year....

     Easter:  This time last year I didn't have to worry about what was in her Easter basket.  I didn't have to worry about what candy she would get at the egg hunt.

     Her Birthday:  This time last year I didn't have to pull her aside, while all of her friends continued to play and have a good time to check her blood sugar and give her an injection of insulin.

     Her Dance Recital:  This time last year I was able to watch her dance on stage without thinking, does she look low... does she seem high?  I didn't have to worry about the 3 plus hours she would be backstage without me
 
    The Summer:  This time last year was carefree.  She could swim for hours or run on the playground with no worries of treating a low blood sugar. Snacks after soccer games were not a cause for stress as I didn't have to tell her that she could not eat right now because her blood sugar was too high.

   Back to School:  This time last year my back to school list did not include diabetes supplies.  I didn't have to meet with the nurse and teacher before the start of school.  This time last year I didn't even know the school nurse's name.

    Christmas:   This time last year I didn't have to give her her shot of Lantus while we were on the Polar express train ride.  This time last year I didn't have to figure out the carbs in the cookies I was making.  This time last year I didn't have to guess the carbs in foods at holiday parties.

  This time last year I didn't know how an insulin pump works, I didn't know what a CGM was, I didn't know how to carb count.  This time last year my daughter didn't have to poke her fingers up to 12 times a day or inject herself with insulin.  This time last year I didn't have to watch my daughter cry because the sight where we put her pod on hurt.

   As we approach this last week of January and into February, I think of this time last year.  This is when I first saw the signs of diabetes.  M was constantly thirsty, she would take two drinks in her lunch.  She was also going to the bathroom it seemed like every hour.  She was always hungry, and when I weighed her I was shocked at how much weight she had lost. This time last year is when I knew.  I knew she had Type 1 Diabetes before I even made the phone call to her doctor. 

  The most frightening thought is that this time last year, my daughter could have died.  If I hadn't recognized the signs of diabetes or made that appointment with her doctor, I hate to think of what would have happened.   So when February 6th come along, I will try not to think that this time last year my daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.  Instead I will try to think that this time last year I saved my daughter's life. 


 

Ice Cream

  Just had to laugh at what M asked me for the other night. 

  Instead of a bowl of ice cream she asked if she could have a BOLUS of ice cream. 

   If only I could bolus her with ice cream instead of insulin!

Omnipod.. One month in

   M has been on the Omnipod insulin pump for a little over a month now.  For the most part we love it.  It has given her more freedom with when she eats.  We see less spikes in her blood sugar because we are now giving insulin for snacks.  And it is super easy to use!  M has been able to go to her friends house, call me with what she is going to eat, and is able to check her blood sugar and bolus on her own for the carbs that I tell her to enter in. 
  
    The only thing she doesn't like is pod change days.  She says it hurts more than a shot but does say it is better to only have to do it once every three days.  We haven't tried and numbing cream yet, but I offered it to her and she did not want to use it.  As long as she gets to push the button herself to insert the cannula it goes fairly well.

   We are having trouble getting her basal rate set right.  She started on the pump over Christmas break when she wasn't as active and her blood sugar reading were great.  Since M has gone back to school, and dance, and gymnastics she has been having a lot of low. (I actually just had to get her juice for a low as I was writing this!)  I have decreased her basal and set temp basal decreased for activity.  But she still is going low
  
    On the other end, I have  noticed that her blood sugar tends to rise near the middle to end of the third day of the pod.  I asked around why this could be.  Some people said that Humalog is more sensitive to heat and if she is active and hot may not work as well by the third day.  We have to switch to Novalog next time I refill prescriptions (our insurance no longer covers Humalog) so I will see if this makes a difference.

   I did have to give her a shot on Sunday (third day of pod).  He blood sugar kept rising, when it was close to 500 I told that I needed to giver her a shot because I thought something was wrong with the pod and then I would change the pod.  Well to put it in her words she "freaked out".  It's amazing how after just one month she does not want shots anymore.   When I pointed this out to her she decided that changing a pod every three days was not so bad after all.

Bolus Worthy

Guess the carbs

Thirty Seven

   It has been a rocky 2 weeks blood sugar wise since M started on the Omnipod.  In retrospect the week before Christmas was probably not the best time to start on a pump, but I thought it would be good that she would be off school to get adjusted to it. 
  
     The first three days were beautiful. In range blood sugar numbers.  Then it was pod change day.  I don't know if it was something I did wrong or if there is just a learning curve but M had two pod fails within three days.   She was not a happy girl. (Since then we have had no more pod fails -- knock on wood)
  
    We were seeing numbers near 400.  Those kind of numbers scare me.  M's doctor had us make some changes to her settings on Christmas Eve.  Then the day after Christmas, M had a blood sugar number that scares me even more than the 400's.

     We were having a " 'Jammie day".  Just staying at home staying in our PJ's all day and were watching movies and playing with her new toys from Christmas.  She had just eaten a snack and we were snuggled on the couch watching a movie when she fell asleep.  In the back of my mind I thought maybe she is low, but I also knew she was tired from Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  About an hour and a half later I finally woke her up.  She seemed confused.  She wanted to eat the snack that she had just eaten before she fell asleep.  She also didn't know what I was talking about when I asked her what she wanted for dinner.  She wasn't making sense with questions she was asking me.   Before diabetes I would have thought she is just still tired, but not anymore.  I checked her blood sugar 37.  This is the lowest she has been.  Physically she was functioning fine, but not mentally.  I have seen her fingers shake when she is in the upper 60's.  But there was no shaking this time.  Just the confusion.  What would have happened if I had let her sleep longer.  I hate to even think about it.  What caused her to go low?  I will probably never know.  Since the low none of her pump setting have been changed and she has had no other lows (knock on wood again!)

Early Christmas Present

     Look what M got the week before Christmas!

    So far she has mixed feelings about the pump.  She likes not having to get shots and the freedom it gives her with what and when  she eats.  She does not like changing the pod.  She also had a pod fail on her first pod change day so I had to change it twice in one day.  She said next time she wants to try to do everything herself.  Hey, whatever makes her feel more comfortable with it.
    We even made a small Omnipod and PDM for her build a bear!

Still waiting for a pump

   We started the process of getting M on a pump on September 26.   At the class they told us she would be on a pump in between 2-4 weeks.  Two months later and still no pump.  We have run into several roadblocks.  The first was waiting for Omnipod to call us back.  Not sure why that took almost 2 weeks.  Then it was waiting to see if the DME company that our insurance covers was going to carry the Omnipod.  another 3 weeks to find out that yes they will.   Then the problem was getting the paperwork from M's endocrinologist.   In those 5 weeks M's Dr had left the practice.   The Dr that she will be seeing from now on would not sign the paperwork.  She stated that M was not her patient.  We don't follow up again until December 10th. It took another 2 weeks to get this straightened out. 

     Finally with all the paperwork we need comes the insurance authorization.  I know our insurance and I know this will take a long time.  Then on Saturday I get a call from Omnipod.  Seems our insurance needs more information.  They want the notes from M's last 2 endo visits, her last two A1C labs, and a month of BG logs.  Really????  They are going to take the time to look at all of that!  Anyway, being a Saturday there was not much I could do to get the notes from the Dr.  So that is what I will be doing today.  I just hope we don't get a hard time from the Dr.s office again.  The lady I spoke with from Omnipod said if I get her the information on Monday,  we could possibly have the pump by the end of the week.  Fingers crossed that this is true and M can be on her pump before Christmas!