Don't Panic!

I went in for the education on my Guardian CGM. The Diabetic Educator went through all of the materials. How the CGM was set up. What the settings were and how they related to the sensor and the monitor and my glucose levels. It took a little over an hour. I had already read the manual twice and thumb through it a few times. Hearing the information and walking through the functions helped me to better grasp what I needed to do and to remember what I was supposed to do. Most importantly throughout the education I hear the message from the Educator and translated into Douglas Adams message. “Don’t Panic”

I should continue to test my BG. I need to compare it to the CGM. When you are looking at data that does not match what you think it should be; Don’t Panic!

Look at your data, test you BG and think about what you have been doing over the past few hours.

After all of the education, then came time to insert the sensor. We stepped through the process. Load the sensor into the injector. Remove the tape. Check your angle and, push the button. I can’t do it. I am starring at the injector. I take a deep breath. Remember; Don’t Panic.

All I have to do is push the button. Breath, remember to breath.

I curl my toes in my shoes, so no one can see. I take another deep breath. I slowly push the button and

Wow! The sensor is in. I didn’t feel it go in. That was easy!

Remove the Injector. Remove the white paper. Check for bleeding. Remove the introducer needle. Wait 5 minutes. Connect the transmitter. Reconnect the transmitter; it didn’t transmit with the first connection. Put on the tape. Wait for the two hours before you do your first BG.

I also received a flu shoot. As if the past hour and a half was not enough to deal with.

As I go through the rest of the day. I am looking at the CGM. What is the measurement? What have I been doing? Dose it match?

And best of all. I have not had any reason to panic.

Happy Halloween!

Changes

Just one more day, before I start using the Guardian Continuous Glucose Monitor, (CGM).

Now I am thinking about the impact to my life. I have thought about this in the past, but the implementation date is tomorrow. I better think about it some more.

How it will change my routine?

How many alarms will I get in the course of a day?

What will I do if I am in a meeting and an alarm goes off?

How will I shut the alarm off?

Should I have it beep or vibrate?

How will I adjust my dosage, based on my BG trend going up or down?

What kind of tape can I or should I use while swimming?

I had better read the Guardian user guide again and be ready to ask questions tomorrow morning.

Headache

6:00 AM Saturday. What day is it? What do I have to do today? I have a terrible headache. Too early. I need to go to the lab and give blood for my quarterly tests. My head really hurts. Go back to sleep.

7:10 AM Saturday. My head hurts. Get out of bed. I need to check my BG. Stumble to the bathroom. My BG is 70. I am not supposed to eat or drink. I won’t make it to the lab. I eat one and a half sugar tabs. Brush teeth and get dressed. Drive to the lab.

7:45 AM Saturday. I am at the lab, but they don’t open till 8:00AM I sit in the car and listen to my head pounding. I close my eyes and feel the pain. It still hurts. I have been fasting for twelve hours and 45 minutes.

8:00 AM Saturday. The doors open and I head inside. Six people go through the door before me. I am not smiling. I am not talking to anyone. My head hurts too much.

8:30 AM Saturday. My name is called. The nurse is very chatty. I don’t want to talk. I don’t want to listen. I don’t want to smile. The pounding is getting louder. The nurse takes the blood. Only three vials this time. I grab my coat and head out. I am starting to sweat and shake.

I get to the car I open the door and sit down. I eat three sugar tabs. I have fasted for thirteen and a half hours. I wait for another fifteen minutes. The pounding starts to lessen. I stop sweating. I calm down. I still have a headache, but it is not as bad. I feel very tired. I drive home.

9:05 AM Saturday. I eat some toast and a breakfast burrito. I feel like I am in a fog. I drink some coffee.

I go to the gym. I hope the caffeine and workout will wake me up. I come home from the gym. I am still tired. I still have a hint of the headache. I take a twenty minute nap.

12:10 AM Saturday. I shower and get cleaned up. My BG is 80. I eat lunch, pasta in a read sauce and my headache finally goes away. I am still tired, but I am beginning to feel better at least enough to be civil to my family.

I can make it through the rest of the day.

Maybe "Crap" was to strong of a word?

Right before dinner last night, I couldn’t find my med kit.

I looked in my BackPak.

I looked in the office.

I looked in the kitchen.

I looked in the bathroom.

I looked in the bedroom.

I looked else where thinking I may have absent mindedly sat it down somewhere.

I can’t find it.

Where did I put it.

Think, Think, Think

I must have left it on my desk at work. Crap.

I am working from home on Friday. I don’t want to go to work and pick up my kit.

Look again. BackPak, office, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, corners of the house and the garage. It is not here.

What do I have? What do I need?

I pulled the free BD glucose tester from the top shelf in the closet. I need more test strips.

I have plenty of syringes.

I have plenty of Humulin R.

Lantis stays at home, anyway.

My pen of Humalog is in my kit.

Dig, Dig, Dig, Dig.

I found it. An extra pen in the cabinet under the sink with all the other stuff.

Close enough to the end of the month; I can open a new Humalog cartridge.

I am covered for the weekend. No extra trip into work.

I need to adjust my habits and the items I carry, for the next couple of days.

Ok, maybe not Crap, just Darn…

History

I tested before I went to bed, BG 93.

I tested when I woke up, BG 122.

Much better!

Another nice day to ride into work. I have in my mind that October 31 will be the date, that I stop riding for the season.


Here is a short history of how I came to be where I am.

I found the right woman when I was 22 years old.

I had Graves Disease when I was 25. I lost 40 pounds and my short term memory. The Radioactive Iodine solved the problem and was the only non-invasive solution to the problem in 1982. Our first child came along at age 27. Our second child entered the world when I was 29. The right woman was diagnosed with MS soon after. She didn’t lose any weight with her illness. I finally graduated at the ripe old age of 32. My mother passed when I was 39 years old. I took a job in Scotland when I was 42. My step mother passed at the same time, that we were moving the family to Scotland. I was diagnosed as a T1 in the royal Infirmary, when I was 43. I lost 40 pound and was exposed to the British social medicine program. All of my sisters were pissed, that I keep getting sick and losing weight. I got to use insulin pens instead of syringes and all of my other medications were provided at no cost. We returned from Scotland when I was 44. I recently passed the half century mark.

The right woman is still standing by my side and the kids, (now young adults), are starting their own lives. My hobbies are riding motorcycles, skiing, bicycling, swimming, managing my diabetes; occasionally I golf and I really like spending time with the right woman and the family.

I am writing this Blog, to help me to stay focused on managing my diabetes and maybe help others to do the right thing or avoid doing the wrong thing while managing their diabetes.

Go Figure

I tested before I went to bed, BG 108.

I tested when I woke up, BG 184.

I don’t remember getting up in the middle of the night and eating a snack.

Go figure.

The dogs went for a walk yesterday, and the report is favorable for the new nylon chocker. J. quickly learned that she should not pull and she should stay close to her walker.

I received a call from the Diabetic Educator, and my appointment has been moved out a couple of days. I had an appointment with the wrong educator. I understand there is only one educator that has the training on the Guardian glucose monitor. So, I wait for two more days before moving to real time glucose monitoring.

Yesterday, BG seemed high all day and didn’t come down till after dinner. It makes me question the Insulin. Did it go bad? I started a new vial on the 15^th of October. It should still be good, but I have to ask the question. With my BG dropping after dinner, I have to lay the blame on me, as not getting the dosage in-line with the Carb amounts.

It was cold this morning, as I rode the motorcycle into work. An early morning meeting followed by a hectic and busy day, required and earlier then normal start. I hope to get out of work a little early, to take a longer ride home. Winter is closing in on Colorado, so I will soon park the bike in a corner of the garage, plug in the battery charger and cover it up. I then start the long wait for the weather to warm up enough for an early spring ride.

Live to ride, just not in the winter time.

Live to control the BG.

Walking Dogs

I had a quick turnaround from Medtronic, on the question of shaving. The e-mail came in last night. It was a same day response, very impressive. Medtronic suggest that I shave a small patch where I plan to attach the sensor.

I think I will wait a few days before I shave, but I did trim the length, just to see if it will itch with a little shorter hair. So far, nothing to report.

I also poked myself with a tooth pick, to see where if I could find the sensitive spots around my midsection. I couldn’t really tell any difference in sensitivity as I poked.

Swam last night, 1 mile is distance and it really make me tired. I slept pretty good last night. I need to add more distance. I need to keep pushing for more distance. When I was younger I could swim two miles and not be that tired.

One of our two dogs has forgotten how to walk. J. wants to pull and chase any other animal that comes along. She is only two years old, and she has loads of energy, but she occasionally forgets the walking rules.

Our other dog R. is three years old and he has hip problems, so he doesn’t get rambunctious. He is an excellent walker. He is always right by your side with a lose leash.

To help with the J. walking problem, I stopped at a local pet store and picked up a nylon chocker to serve as a gentle reminder, when she starts to pull. J is a big strong dog, and can pull my wife to the ground if she forgets she is on a leash.

I don’t do a lot of the dog walking. I do some on the weekends, but my wife does most of the dog walking. Because, I don’t do much of the walking, I feel the need to help out in other areas, such as picking up a nylon chocker. I know, I know, not much help, but if it controls the dog during the walks, we will all be happier. Even if I don’t walk the dogs.

BG was high this morning, even after the swim. It must have been the dark chocolate M&Ms. I need to cut back on those.

I hear Symilin is going to be distributed in pen form starting in November. I need to sign up for this. Carrying needles around is such a pain. I pre-fill the syringes to make it a little easier, but 6 syringes to get me through the day is a lot to carry around. Three syringes for Symilin and Three for Humulin R. Humulin R does not come in a pen. Not a big enough demand in the market place. I can’t use fast acting insulin with the Symilin, as I will go low, because of the delayed digestive process.

I also hear there is a simpler pen available for Lantis. The pen I have is fine, it is just big and has a digital read out on units. A bit of overkill for a pen. I don’t really think I need that much technology in a pen.

Shave

I just received my Guardian continuous glucoses monitor. That insertion needle looks really really big. I know the protective covering magnifies the size of the needle, but it still looks big. I have a week to wait for the Diabetic Educator to help me sort through the application process. I have read the user guide, twice. I set up the monitor. One question remains. Should I shave the sensor area, or do I put on the tape and let it rip out the hair when I remove it. I hate to say it, but I am a hairy guy. No hair on my head, but plenty below my eyes. I could trim the hair. I could shave it. I could do nothing. I sent a e-mail off to Medtronic. This seems to be one area they either forgot or avoided in their literature. Nice pictures of women, no hair on there stomaches. I have a stomach with lots of real estate and it is covered with hair. You got to love my wife for putting up with it. I swim sometimes for exercise. Shaving could make me look even funnier then I already do, when I walk out to the pool in my over sized swim trunks, no speedo, thank you very much. A bald patch here and there on the belly. It might ensure that I get a lane all to myself. Ha.
While I wait for a response, I have time to look at that large insertion needle and think about what design I would like to shave across my midsection.