There I've said it! FACT: Diabetes makes you crazy, well at least drives you crazy! For almost a week and a half every time Clifford ate he complained of stomach aches... What was the first thing to pop into my head, yet another chronic condition was trying to rear it's ugly head.... CELIAC'S.. He was tested well over 6 months ago and we got the news back that he was "Negative". That was surely a sigh of relief at the time. But like we all know in dealing with "negatives" a negative now doesn't mean it will still be a negative down the road. In fact because he is a Type 1 diabetic oh and throw in the added benefit of developing Hashimotos Thyroiditis (another autoimmune disorder affecting his thyroid), which now he is technically considered to have Hashimotos thyroiditis which has developed into Hypothyroidism he is at more risk for developing Celiac's.
In case you are not familiar with the conditions I'm referencing here is the low down on the two.
Celiac's disease
Celiac disease is a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. People who have celiac disease cannot tolerate gluten, a protein in wheat, rye, and barley. Gluten is found mainly in foods but may also be found in everyday products such as medicines, vitamins, and lip balms.When people with celiac disease eat foods or use products containing gluten, their immune system responds by damaging or destroying villi—the tiny, fingerlike protrusions lining the small intestine. Villi normally allow nutrients from food to be absorbed through the walls of the small intestine into the bloodstream. Without healthy villi, a person becomes malnourished, no matter how much food one eats.
Hashimoto's Thyroiditis
Hashimoto's thyroiditis is the most common cause of hypothyroidism in the United States. It is named after the first doctor who described this condition, Dr. Hakaru Hashimoto, in 1912.
What causes Hashimoto's thyroiditis?
Hashimoto's thyroiditis is a condition caused by inflammation of the thyroid gland.
It is an autoimmune disease, which means that the body inappropriately attacks the thyroid gland--as if it was foreign tissue. The underlying cause of the autoimmune process still is unknown. Hashimoto's thyroiditis tends to occur in families, and is associated with a clustering of other autoimmune conditions such as Type 1 diabetes, and celiac disease. Hashimoto's thyroiditis is 5-10 times more common in women than in men and most often starts in adulthood.
So now that we've got all the technical stuff out of the way, back to the main point... Diabetes drives you crazy.
Not only have I've been trying like crazy to get him retested for Celiac's but add into the mix Annie who has been waking like a mad woman the last two nights. The kicker is last night she literally pee'd through 2 diapers. The second diaper took only a matter of 2-3 hours to soak. So yes, I will admit I tested her this morning while she slept like a baby, seeing as we have the Delica, and it's virtually painless on the lowest setting of "1" she never woke up. Happy to report she was a nice 93 fasting blood glucose number. A brief sigh of relief there.
But let's not forget last week how diabetes drove "us" crazy... The first incident was with Abby passing out at the skating rink after a fall, which btw I thought was a seizure during those few seconds she was unresponsive, which felt like hours to me. I say "us" crazy because Chad's first thought was "She's diabetic".... Now move forward to the next day when Hayleigh had been acting way more thirsty than normal, so yes I tested her and she was 143... However that was NOT a fasting number. So before I let Diabetes drive me even more crazy, I tested her in the morning before breakfast and she was 94!
I tell myself that at least we're more prepared and able to recognize the symptoms of diabetes early enough. However you are never prepared for the diagnosis of Diabetes, this is why it tends to drive you crazy so much. Add in there lows, not just "lows" but the meter actually telling me "LO" twice, and reading a "25" another time. I kept my calm, had him wash his hands and re-test and it read over 50 each time, but really 58 is still NOT a nice number. But I guess if I had to choose we'd take that over a "25" or "LO" any day.
