Accomplishments Big and Small - D-Blog Week Day 4

Fourth Annual Diabetes Blog Week! (bittersweetdiabetes.com)

We don’t always realize it, but each one of us had come a long way since diabetes first came into our life. It doesn’t matter if it’s been 5 weeks, 5 years or 50 years, you’ve done something outstanding diabetes-wise. So today let’s share the greatest accomplishment you've made in terms of dealing with your (or your loved one’s) diabetes. No accomplishment is too big or too small - think about self-acceptance, something you’ve mastered (pump / exercise / diet / etc.), making a tough care decision (finding a new endo or support group / choosing to use or not use a technology / etc.).

This will be short and sweet. Shortly after I was diagnosed I was taught how to read labels and adjust my insulin dosage. I was taught to add up the total amount of carbohydrate in my meal and calculate the insulin I needed based on a ratio. I was also taught to adjust the insulin dosage if m BG was too high or too low.

It was a bit tough at first. I often adjusted in the wrong direction and nutritional information wasn't always available. I bought myself the Calorie King book and software and started learning what a cup of rice looked like and how many carbs were involved.

I learned that ( for me ) one unit of Novolog would reduce my BG by 30. I learned that I needed one unit of Novolog for every 10 grams of carbohydrate. I learned not to use that ratio if my pre-prandial BG was below 70.

I've become quite accomplished at managing my BG and keeping things within the desired range. Kudos to me on my accomplishment.

Memories - D-Blog Week Day 3

Fourth Annual Diabetes Blog Week! (bittersweetdiabetes.com)

Today we’re going to share our most memorable diabetes day. You can take this anywhere.... your or your loved one's diagnosis, a bad low, a bad high, a big success, any day that you’d like to share. (Thanks to Jasmine of Silver-Lined for this topic suggestion.)

Memories?

Well, I remember being diagnosed. It wasn't a bad day per se. The week earlier I was on antibiotics for an upper respiratory infection and told to drink lots of liquids. So I did. I lost a lot of weight that week. I assumed it was from not eating enough -- being sick tends to reduce appetite. I had no problems drinking lots of liquids -- mostly ice water -- because I was very thirsty. I thought it was a side effect of the antibiotic.

My thirst continued into the following week and I continued to lose weight. My pants didn't fit me anymore. I lost a notch on my belt. I would go home exhausted but I chalked that up to a very active work day. My wife started calling me "old man" because I would go up to bed around 8 PM.

I had donated blood in the past so I signed up for the Red Cross donation at the office. I watched a bit of the move while chatting with the staff and eating a cookie. I was thirsty and drank two apple juice boxes before heading back to my desk. I met my wife for lunch and drank a very large carbonated beverage. Of course, all that drinking meant frequent men's room trips. I knew something wasn't quite right when I felt dizzy and the room started spinning. I stumbled back to my desk and called my wife to tell her I was coming home. I went to bed early feeling exhausted and extremely thirsty.

I woke up the next morning barely able to get out of bed. I felt like someone was sitting on my chest. I could barely move my arms or legs. I just wanted to go back to sleep. My wife called our family physician to ask if the antibiotics could cause fatigue and thirst. She described my symptoms. I'm not sure what the doctor told her but he scheduled an emergency appointment.

Almost as soon as we entered the exam room a nurse entered and took a blood sample. She didn't explain why and didn't do the regular blood pressure check. Odd. A few minutes later the doctor entered and said, "I have some bad news and some good news. You have Type 1 diabetes. Your blood glucose is over 500. You need to go to the emergency room. The good news is we caught it early before you passed out and the hospital is expecting you." He had already called ahead. He already knew what I needed.

My wife was crying. She was worried. We were admitted quickly -- they were waiting -- and I was put on intravenous insulin. I spent the next 24 hours on that a drip. I didn't sleep much but my wife went home to get a change of clothes and some much-needed rest. Hospitals are not conducive to rest. Every few hours someone would come in to test my blood glucose (BG) and adjust the insulin. The hospital endocrinologist came by with my family physician and talked a lot about how unusual this was. I guess it was the first time they had diagnosed latent autoimmune diabetes in an adult ( LADA ).

By the second day my BG had come down and I was told I would be discharged. I was allowed to eat breakfast. I liked Jello. I was taken off the drip and the nurses started injecting insulin from an insulin pen ( I didn't know what it was at the time ). I was told I was being discharged the next day if my BG was stable on the injected insulin. I had lunch and dinner in the hospital ( yuck ) and my BG remained stable.

Before I was discharged the nurses came into talk to me about insulin vials and how to give myself a shot with a needle. I looked at her and said, "What was that other thing you were using yesterday?". "Oh", she said, "the insulin pen?" I told her that I wanted a pen. Why would I want to worry about keeping insulin cools and air bubbles etc when all I needed was a pen?

I went home. And changed my life.

Memories!

We the undersigned - D-Blog Week Day 2

Fourth Annual Diabetes Blog Week! (bittersweetdiabetes.com)

Today's Prompt: Recently various petitions have been circulating the Diabetes Online Community, so today let’s pretend to write our own. Tell us who you would write the petition to – a person, an organization, even an object (animate or inanimate) - get creative!! What are you trying to change and what have you experienced that makes you want this change?

I based my "fake" petition on a real Change.org petition. I am only partly joking.

As an adult, my life was turned upside down when I diagnosed with Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults (LADA) or Type 1 Diabetes. But I faced this life-threatening disease with strength, courage and perseverance despite being subjected to ignorance and misconceptions. It is with their future in mind that I file this petition to bring clarity to two very different diseases - Adult Type 1 and Juvenile Type 1 Diabetes. The facts surrounding both of these conditions are increasingly confused by the parents of Type 1 diabetes. Revising the type classifications to more accurately reflect the nature of onset for each form of Diabetes -- childhood versus adulthood -- would reduce the confusion and would not only benefit those living with both diseases, but it would allow awareness to be raised in a clear manner. I hope that you will join me in this effort.

Adult Type 1 Diabetes and Juvenile Type 1 Diabetes are two very different conditions, yet their names are only distinguished by a word. Their 'type' is rarely if ever, clarified when discussed by parents of children with Type 1 diabetes. This leads to widespread confusion surrounding the differences between these two forms of Diabetes. My petition addresses this issue within four primary goals:

  • To end the widespread misconceptions about Juvenile and Adult Type 1 Diabetes
  • To allow advocates of both diseases -- adults and the parents of children -- to properly educate the public and bring awareness to their unique form of Diabetes
  • To facilitate more effective fundraising to meet the specific goals of each type of Diabetes

The misconceptions about Juvenile Type 1 and Adult Type 1 Diabetes start with the fact that Juveniles becomes Adults on their 18th birthday. With no mention of 'Type', the public perceives all Type 1 diabetes as being the same. This misconception is especially dangerous for Adults with Type 1. They do not yet have a voice to protect themselves from the ignorance and confusion that is putting their lives at risk. Teachers, coaches, medics, nurses, and others involved in caring for Type 1 children often share the same misconceptions as the public and do not think of Juvenile Type 1 as different from Adult Type 1. Dismissing a child's Type 1 Diabetes as less than a critical condition, as compared to an adult's Type 1, could result in a life-threatening situation in a matter of minutes.

Unfortunately, the incidence of Juvenile Type 1 is also on the rise; but unlike Adult Type 1, the public awareness campaigns for Juvenile Type 1 do not reach their full potential because of the confusion caused by using the same name.

Finally, the lack of distinct names for the type classifications for Juvenile Type 1 and Adult Type 1 has created an artificial camaraderie within the Diabetic community. There is a perception that one 'type' is the same as the other. This should not be the case. It is time for new names, uniquely focused advocacy, an end to misconceptions, and goal-directed fundraising. I am not requesting a significant disease reclassification. I am simply requesting new names that properly reflect the nature of onset for Juvenile Type 1 & Adult Type 1 -- something not accomplished with the current name.

A name change is not a monumental task. It has been done before. The time has come to do it again. The time has come to do it in a way that respects the opinions of those people living with these two similar, yet very different diseases.