It's Here!

My pump arrived at my house today, only to have no one be there to welcome it to its new home. I am picking it up tomorrow from the UPS store. I am thrilled and so excited! I think the stars are all aligned for me right now. :)

Fat Tuesday - and I feel that way

Today is Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras and I would like to say that I do feel exactly like the title that has been given to today - fat. Why is it that when I do not run at least 5 miles I am not happy with how my body looks or feels? Today I was tired (I have been having a lot of lows lately and hopefully will solve it soon) and decided to get on the arc trainer at the gym instead of running. My blood sugar started at 89 so I drank about 7 carbs of Gatorade, then went on my way to work out. I began to get even more tired, but just thought it was because I have been stressed out lately over my school, all of my work for grad school (action research project), and other commitments. I burned 501 calories on the arc trainer according to the meter on the front. This made me feel happy, althoughI did not even break a sweat. I did it in 32 minutes. I don't know how I could have made my legs move faster. Uh! Anyway, I was getting tired and decided to go lift some weights and take it easy. By the end of my "workout" I was at 38.

Did I know I was low? Yes, I could tell by how tired I was and the way my body could not lift the normal amount of weight that it can. Did I do anything about it? No. I disconnect from my pump when I run, but not when I do other forms of exercise typically. I am so afraid of not having insulin and going high. Is there a name for this? Why am I so afraid of this? It is frustrating in and of itself.

One reason I am always afraid is because of complications. No, I have not had any "high blood sugar" complications, and that is something I fear. From a young age I always heard "if you don't take care of yourself you'll loose a foot, arm, leg, etc." As an athlete and person who cannot imagine life without exercising and sports, this thought has always terrified me. Losing a foot means not being able to run. Not being able to run means becoming fat (another thing I am deathly afraid of). Everything has a cause and effect relationship with other things. Sometimes I wish there was an "off" button for my brain.

FINALLY!

I got a call from my Medtronic lady today and she said that after talking with my insurance company, I have been approved for the CGMS and a new pump!!!! I feel so happy about this and have not been able to stop smiling. I feel like it is like a "life-changing" event that just happened.

Being a perfectionist from a young age, I always hated seeing any blood glucose levels that were in the 200s. To me, a number that was three digits and started with a number other than 1 was beyond awful. My fear of seeing high numbers got progressively worse and lasted for many years. It was not until this past October when I was at my doctor's office that he made to face the facts. He was hard on me, which was what I needed at the time. "You are killing yourself both slowly and quickly at the same time. You have high numbers at night and extremely low numbers during the day. Going from 30 to 300 is not healthy. It is unacceptable (this hurt the most). " I started to keep extremely detailed records of everything I ate, every number that was tested, how many miles I ran or exercised. I emailed my doctor all the information and he provided me feedback. He was the one that encouraged me to get a CGMS, something that I had no desire to get (remember, I have only been on my pump 3 years, and that was a huge move!).

I do not think I will ever forget the words that my doctor said to me in his office that day. I still feel that I have not completely overcome my fear of high blood sugar numbers and I know that it is something I will forever have to work on. I think that the CGMS will help me get better control and become a better athlete, which is something that I want.

status = pending

My insurance company mailed a letter to my parent's house, which my mom mailed to me, about getting a new pump/CGM system. I currently have a 715, which is not compatible with the CGMS and therefore i need a new pump, too. I opened up the letter, a lot of extra words just saying that they need more information before the buy me everything I need. I will be doing some more investing on this on Monday to see what exactly they need and why they do not have it (attention: minimed! please fix this!). Have a good weekend!

Thursday Thoughts

Validated.

That is exactly how I felt after the open house held at my school tonight. I was more than delighted how well my classroom was decorated (if I do say so myself!) and at the comments I heard from both parents and students. One mom told me that she had lunch with some of her girlfriends and mentioned her son's cereal box book report and how much she liked it. She thought it was a great idea, and "I keep wondering what you are going to come up with next." So, yay for nice comments about me and my creative projects :)

Diabetes wise I still have not heard back from Minimed about the CGMS :( I feel like time is running out. I am only on my current insurance through July. It is good insurance and I want and feel like I need the CGMS. I am calling Minimed tomorrow to check up on things. I feel like I am that annoying customer that everyone does not like, but if they say it will only take two weeks and it has been three, I see a problem. I can't complain too much about Minimed. My current pump, which I have had for three years, broke only once (this October). When I called they overnighted me a new pump. Even before going on the pump the pump trainer from Iowa came up to my college in Minnesota, stayed in a hotel, and did the training for me that way so I would not have to miss class. I think he went above and beyond, just for me.

However, when I decided I wanted the CGMS, I did not receive the stellar service that I have in the past. In order to get in touch with someone who could give me answers, I had to contact the regional rep. for Ohio. Once I did that things started to roll along, but now have come to a halt again. I know I am not the most patient person when it comes to this stuff, but there is nothing more disappointing for me than someone telling me a time frame and then it being completely wrong. Hopefully I will be able to post some good news about Minimed tomorrow.

The past, present, and future

Today I was in my car driving my 25-minute drive home from the gym and was thinking about the past, present, and future.

The Past:
Come August, I will have lived in 4 states in 5 years (Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, and Illinois).
I was diagnosed 20 years ago, and am living a normal life, doing what I want to do.
I have made many, many, many mistakes, but have learned from all of them.

The Present:
I am taking my last class in my master's program, something I never though I would accomplish.
I, more or less, enjoy my job. Teaching 5th grade at an underprivileged school is both challenging and rewarding. The kids always entertain me.
I wish I had better control of my blood sugars.
Does anyone read my blog?

The Future:
When will get I my CGMS and new pump? (I hope very soon!)
Will I ever have complications as a result of diabetes?
Will I ever be fat? (seriously, this is something I constantly worry about...it is a fear of mine!)

Good Run = Good Mood

Today I ran 5 miles at the gym in 36 minutes and some change. It felt great, and now I feel good, too! I took the 6th mile easy and ended up running 6 miles in 44. Nothing is more satisfying than a good, long(ish) run. I have not really been pushing myself that hard running lately and wanted to today. I have some races tentatively planned for this summer. The first one is a 4-mile road race. I am hoping to run right at 30 minutes for this and it would be great to break 30. We'll see....

I am trying to get on the CGMS and a new pump. I started this in January (the 3rd to be exact) and it is such a long process. When I got my first pump everything was quick...not this time! I called Minimed today to check the status with my insurance. They said it would take insurance 2 weeks to process, and it has been exactly 2 weeks. Still, Minimed has not heard from my insurance company. I think that I am so ready and excited to get on the CGMS that my patience is wearing thin.

I discovered more diabetes blogs recently and have been reading them. i am amazed how much i can learn from other people. in college in all of my education classes we constantly discussed the term "lifelong learner" and right now I definitely feel like one. I like to learn new things. Maybe some day when I go on Jeopardy! I'll put all of my knowledge to use...ha ha ha. Although I do rock at Wheel of Fortune, if I do say so myself.

I know this was a rather random post. Yay for good moods and good runs :)

more carbs = higher blood suagrs

I like to eat. That is a simple fact, and it seems that I am hungry a lot of the time. However, I feel like I am hungry because I run a lot, or at least thinking that makes me feel better. Having just consumed food, this post is dedicated to eating.

I have noticed that the more carbs I consume, the higher my blood sugars are. For example, for breakfast I usually have 33g, but yesterday I had 45, and ended up being high at lunch because of it. On TuDiabetes, people say they eat 30-45 grams per meal; however, I eat much more than that at dinner. I eat more like 60 or 75...not 30! I exercise in the late afternoon/early evening and come home and eat dinner afterward, when I am feeling the effects of working out. I do not consume any carbs post-exercise, unless i need to treat a low. Am I being healthy? I don't know...but I do know that my body could not handle eating only 30 grams at night. It made me happier to read Phil from Team Type 1 blog and how much he eats. :)

Speaking of food, and eating, I think I might go for a nice piece of gum right now. But before i end my post for today, I would like to say that I had a good day and laughed a lot with my students. They are doing standardized testing this week in two subjects and in between sessions we had some quality laughs together. It makes to think to the future and how I might miss my current school...just a little bit. Is there anything better than a student telling you he has been in the Oval Office? :)

Speedy

Typically on Sunday I do a cardio circuit workout at my gym. I give my legs the day off from running and instead jump on the eliplticle, cross trainer, and occasional walk on the treadmill. A few weeks ago I decided to implement running into my cardio circuit. I ran on the track, then got on a machine, then back on the track, etc. You get the picture.

When I was on one of the machines a man who I don't remember ever seeing came over and started talking to me. At first I was frustrated. Work out time is my time! Anyway, he noticed I was wearing a t-shirt from the Wright-Patt AFB marathon and asked me what I ran and what my time was. We chatted for a little bit about running and triathlons. When I went down the stairs to go to the locker room when I was done, the man said "have a good day." Now, I am young, and look young. This man is older...mid-50s maybe? Anyway, I thought it was nice of him.

Now, every time I see him he always says hello. It is nice and always makes me happy. He does not know my name, so he has started calling me "Speedy." Today I saw him and he was like "Hi Speedy...how ya doing?" It is nice to know that sometimes strangers are nice, and can make my day happier than it already is. Maybe I need to come up with a nickname for him now...

Low, low, low, low

That was my blood sugar today when I was working out. I started out at a solid 96 and took a sip of Gatorade and promptly disconnected from my pump. I started running and got about 2 miles in and had to stop from exhaustion. I thought in my head that this might be becuase I logged 11 miles yesterday and my legs were just tired. After stretching and walking a bit, I tested only to find out that I was 22. No wonder I did not feel well!

It has always been a struggle for me to detect my lows, especially during exercise, when I do not listen to my body in terms of blood sugar. Some good news for the day: I am in the process of getting a continuous glucose monitor. My doctor had to write a letter about why I needed one and now they are submitting it to insurance. I should be notified in 2 weeks if I'll get one or not, along with a new pump. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I cannot wait to have one. That way it will tell me when I am going low, so I won't be 22 and working out. I must say my body did recover nicely after drinking some nice blue gatorade.

Run de Cure?

I'm sure you know about the Tour de Cure, a bike race sponsored by the American Diabetes Association. I think it is a great idea and have read about many people training for a race in their area. Then I got thinking...if there is a Tour de Cure bike ride, is there a fundraiser running event for diabetes? After searching google, I could not find anything. :( I wish there was one, and can guarantee that I would sign up for it (if you are reading this and would like to plan a Run de Cure, I would prefer either the half marathon or marathon distance - thanks).

Being a competitive person, I contemplated signing up for the Tour de Cure in my local area. However, it will not work out this year. I am going to be moving this summer and the dates do not work, unfortunately. The good thing is that there is always next year. I must admit that running is my number one love, and cycling, although I have read many good things about it, is much harder for me to get motivated to do for some reason. hm....

Today one of my students told me that Michael Phelps was going drugs during the Olympics. I teach 5th grade, and many times their facts get confused. Really, Phelps was photoed in England smoking from a marijuana pipe. I love the Olympics and everything about them. I love geography and sports, and the two come together during the Olympics. I have always loved the Olympics and can remember when they were in Atlanta getting up every morning, eating breakfast, and watching the boat races, even though I truthfully find them a bit boring. Anyway, I know we all slip up, but I must admit I am disappointed in Phelps. Hopefully it will make him a stronger person and a better role model.

In the true Olympic spirit, I hope to one day be a role model for a youngster as well. Thank you, Mr. Phelps, for reminding me the importance of role models.

And I'm Off...

After searching for the past couple of months for diabetes-specific blogs, I found that many were not updated or that I could not relate to, so I decided to create my own blog. This blog is about my life as a "young" person with diabetes. So...enjoy!