Type 1 Diabetes Interrupted Writing
I was in the middle of working on our Murder in Paradise murder mystery game, when my 9 year old son was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. That was about 3 months ago. This really put the brakes on my writing and for that I apologize.
If you or someone close to you has this disease, then you know that this is a real change of lifestyle and until we can get him on the insulin pump, it is also very time consuming. For anyone that does not know, in type 1 diabetes, the beta cells in the pancreas start dying as they are attacked by the immune system. Without beta cells, the pancreas cannot produce glucose, which keeps blood sugar where it needs to be so your blood will run easily to all of your organs and extremities. Without the beta cells, your body cannot metabolize the carbohydrates in food and your blood sugar rises. My son was reading 487 when he was diagnosed. A normal range is 90-110! So to keep blood sugar levels close to a decent range 70-170, you have to take insulin every time you ingest carbohydrates. You have to count every carbohydrate that is consumed. This is a LOT trickier than you might think. Every recipe has to be exact. Everything is weighed and measured in our house and we carry portable scales when we go out! The palm software by Calorie King has been a blessing.
High blood sugar can cause problems later in life with organs and extremities. Another issue that many don't realize is that we have to be very vigilant to prevent low blood sugars, which can lead to passing out and much worse. Fortunately, my son can feel then coming on and he hasn't gotten lower than a 51. Still low, but treatable. We keep a fully stocked diabetes kit with everything we need to deal with any issue in it. We don't leave home without it. He carries it in a sling messenger bag.
The following will probably only be interesting to those who have Type 1 Diabetes, as I am sharing some of the things I have learned to help us cope better with this disease.
My son hates needles, so we have had to find a lot of ways to make giving his insulin shots easier. He gets 4 a day and checks his glucose 4-6 times a day with finger pricks. We first found that Bactine with 2% lidocaine helped, but we had to spend about 1/2 hour after every meal spraying to get it numb enough to get his shot. We have since discovered Topicaine which is 4% Lidocaine gel and we just put a dab where he is getting his shot before we start eating and he is now ready for his shot right after the meal.
When in the hospital they gave us a One Touch Mini and the lancet that came with it. We later discovered this takes a full micron of blood to get a reading and the needles used in the lancets are pretty big and required changing and disposing every time. His poor fingers were being terribly abused. We discovered the Freestyle Lite meter, which only takes a .3 blood micon and has a strip light, which allows you to check your sugar in the dark. MUCH less blood than the One Touch Mini. We also got it free on a promo they had. We got ours within a week! They also have a program called the Freestyle Promise Program, which will reimburse you for anything you spend over $15 each month on test strips.
We read all over the web that the MultiClix was the least painful lancet and we used that for about 2 weeks, but it was still pretty painful. We lost the lancet device and it was a very good thing. We went to walmart to get him something to hold him over until I could get a new multiclix. They had this new lancet device by Renew in stock. We got that and WOW what a difference. He will go 2 weeks using the same finger now. He says most times he doesn't feel anything. This is an amazing little device. Like the MultiClix, it has cartridges you change, so you never handle a lancet. It also doesn't have that hard, loud jab you get with every other lancet device. I have used it several times and it doesn't even sting. I hated the other devices and dreaded using one. I have hypoglycemia, low blood sugar, and I will check my sugar if I am feeling real low.
I would like to mention a few pieces of software that I use and recommend. If you have a palm... I have the Centro, then get Logbook DM. It costs $12 and is worth 100 times that. It tracks your glucose readings, carbs, insulin, notes, lows, ketones and activity. It is just awesome. I then export a csv file that I then import on my mac into a great free program called Diabetes Logbook X. With this software you can print very detailed reports that give you a good view into what is going on with your diabetes.
Lastly, I use the Palm Calorie King Software. I don't like their diabetes program, as you cannot export it or print any kind of reports, but I do like their Diet Diary. I am on a weight loss program and count every calorie I eat, but it also gives me my sons carbs and fiber for figuring his insulin. The food database that comes with this is outstanding. They have restaurant foods listed, including chains and fast food. While they don't have all of the foods, they have enough for us to eat out successfully. We can also add custom foods and save meals we eat frequently.
My advice is, if you have a palm get this software I mentioned. If you do not, then if you can afford to get one, I would do so. You might check eBay for one. It is very freeing for a diabetic. In this one device you can record all your readings, shots and more, see the carbs in any food and manage your diet or meals... all with a few taps!
Share this post on: Facebook or one of the other social network sites below. Thanks!
If you or someone close to you has this disease, then you know that this is a real change of lifestyle and until we can get him on the insulin pump, it is also very time consuming. For anyone that does not know, in type 1 diabetes, the beta cells in the pancreas start dying as they are attacked by the immune system. Without beta cells, the pancreas cannot produce glucose, which keeps blood sugar where it needs to be so your blood will run easily to all of your organs and extremities. Without the beta cells, your body cannot metabolize the carbohydrates in food and your blood sugar rises. My son was reading 487 when he was diagnosed. A normal range is 90-110! So to keep blood sugar levels close to a decent range 70-170, you have to take insulin every time you ingest carbohydrates. You have to count every carbohydrate that is consumed. This is a LOT trickier than you might think. Every recipe has to be exact. Everything is weighed and measured in our house and we carry portable scales when we go out! The palm software by Calorie King has been a blessing.
High blood sugar can cause problems later in life with organs and extremities. Another issue that many don't realize is that we have to be very vigilant to prevent low blood sugars, which can lead to passing out and much worse. Fortunately, my son can feel then coming on and he hasn't gotten lower than a 51. Still low, but treatable. We keep a fully stocked diabetes kit with everything we need to deal with any issue in it. We don't leave home without it. He carries it in a sling messenger bag.
The following will probably only be interesting to those who have Type 1 Diabetes, as I am sharing some of the things I have learned to help us cope better with this disease.
My son hates needles, so we have had to find a lot of ways to make giving his insulin shots easier. He gets 4 a day and checks his glucose 4-6 times a day with finger pricks. We first found that Bactine with 2% lidocaine helped, but we had to spend about 1/2 hour after every meal spraying to get it numb enough to get his shot. We have since discovered Topicaine which is 4% Lidocaine gel and we just put a dab where he is getting his shot before we start eating and he is now ready for his shot right after the meal.
When in the hospital they gave us a One Touch Mini and the lancet that came with it. We later discovered this takes a full micron of blood to get a reading and the needles used in the lancets are pretty big and required changing and disposing every time. His poor fingers were being terribly abused. We discovered the Freestyle Lite meter, which only takes a .3 blood micon and has a strip light, which allows you to check your sugar in the dark. MUCH less blood than the One Touch Mini. We also got it free on a promo they had. We got ours within a week! They also have a program called the Freestyle Promise Program, which will reimburse you for anything you spend over $15 each month on test strips.
We read all over the web that the MultiClix was the least painful lancet and we used that for about 2 weeks, but it was still pretty painful. We lost the lancet device and it was a very good thing. We went to walmart to get him something to hold him over until I could get a new multiclix. They had this new lancet device by Renew in stock. We got that and WOW what a difference. He will go 2 weeks using the same finger now. He says most times he doesn't feel anything. This is an amazing little device. Like the MultiClix, it has cartridges you change, so you never handle a lancet. It also doesn't have that hard, loud jab you get with every other lancet device. I have used it several times and it doesn't even sting. I hated the other devices and dreaded using one. I have hypoglycemia, low blood sugar, and I will check my sugar if I am feeling real low.
I would like to mention a few pieces of software that I use and recommend. If you have a palm... I have the Centro, then get Logbook DM. It costs $12 and is worth 100 times that. It tracks your glucose readings, carbs, insulin, notes, lows, ketones and activity. It is just awesome. I then export a csv file that I then import on my mac into a great free program called Diabetes Logbook X. With this software you can print very detailed reports that give you a good view into what is going on with your diabetes.
Lastly, I use the Palm Calorie King Software. I don't like their diabetes program, as you cannot export it or print any kind of reports, but I do like their Diet Diary. I am on a weight loss program and count every calorie I eat, but it also gives me my sons carbs and fiber for figuring his insulin. The food database that comes with this is outstanding. They have restaurant foods listed, including chains and fast food. While they don't have all of the foods, they have enough for us to eat out successfully. We can also add custom foods and save meals we eat frequently.
My advice is, if you have a palm get this software I mentioned. If you do not, then if you can afford to get one, I would do so. You might check eBay for one. It is very freeing for a diabetic. In this one device you can record all your readings, shots and more, see the carbs in any food and manage your diet or meals... all with a few taps!
Share this post on: Facebook or one of the other social network sites below. Thanks!
0 Response to "Type 1 Diabetes Interrupted Writing"
Post a Comment