Valentines Day Carbs.....

Valentine's Day is fun for the kids in school, with all the pretty cards, and tasty treats. However it can be a headache trying to figure out all those carbs. For the most part a lot of treats are labeled now a days which saves a lot of work trying to guess or SWAG the carb count. When we put our treat bags together, we make sure to label the number of carbs in the treats, because Clifford has a friend in his class who has Type 1 diabetes too. So I am hoping by labeling them it makes it much easier on her parents when it comes to carb totals.

But if you are the lucky ones that get the tasty treats without carb totals, take a look at Calorie King (which btw is an awesome book), they have a bunch of common Valentines Day Candy carb counts listed here:

http://blog.calorieking.com/2012/02/caloriekings-guide-to-valentines-day-candy/

Once we pass Valentine's Day it's onto Clifford's Dx Day. Still trying to figure out what to do for him that will make it a special celebration of a healthy year with Diabetes!

On a positive note, we got a phone call yesterday that his insulin pump was APPROVED! So he officially will have a new exterior pancreas. Although he likes to tell me it's not a pancreas just a pump, his pancreas is inside and it's broken. :/

*Archives* God and Diabetes

I think it's time to bring a post from my archives back in because it's definitely something I think about a lot.

Let me start by stating, I believe in God. However, when Cliffy was first diagnosed, I questioned why he was chosen, why did God have to make it so my son's life changed forever. It's just the nature of the beast to wonder why, and ask "why me". But let me tell you what I've learned from this experience.

Let's start with a snippet of a book I've been reading. In the future when I am tempted to ask the question "Why me?" I will immediately counter with the answer: "Why not me". Challenges are gifts, opportunities to learn. Problems are the common thread running through the lives of great men and women. In times of adversity, I will not have a problem to deal with, I will have a choice to make. Clifford's diabetes is NOT a problem. We have a choice daily and that choice is to live! I have learned from my past that I can handle a lot that is put on my plate. So if God chose my son to have diabetes, he chose him because he knew Cliffy and I could handle it. He knew that I would care for him to the fullest that I possibly can. He also knew not a day would go by that I wouldn't be educating myself about the disease, and learning as much as I possibly can so one day we could find a cure!

For me personally, Cliffy's diagnosis forced me to slow down in life. To take it one day at a time and cherish every moment I had with him and my kids. It showed me just how precious life is and that at any moment everything could change. He was diagnosed in DKA, and many of you know that is not something you would want your worst enemy to experience with their child. I cried the whole first day as it looked like something was taking over my son's tiny body. But with prayers and hope, things turned around for the better. Yes our lives have changed, yes he is no longer a normal child. But we can handle it, and we can move forward and make a difference.

If you are questioning why your son or daughter or yourself was given this fate, then take a step back and think, God knows you are really strong and you could handle it. He needs strong advocates in his corner to not only care for these special children and adults, but to fight to find a cure! Everytime when I would think about questioning why in the beginning, I would go back to a poem I read shortly after diagnosis.

How God Selects the Mother of a Diabetic Child
by Erma Bombeck Modified a great deal by me.

Some women become mothers by accident, most by choice, a few by social pressures and a couple by habit. Did you ever wonder how mothers of children with diabetes are chosen? Somehow I visualize God hovering over earth selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, he instructs his angels to make notes in a giant ledger.

"Armstrong, Beth, son. Patron Saint Matthew."

"Forrest, Marjorie, daughter, Patron Saint Cecilia."

"Rutledge, Carrie, twins. Patron Saint Gerard. He's used to profanity."

Finally, He passes a name to an angel and smiles, "Give her a child with diabetes." The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She's so happy."

"Exactly", smiles God. "Could I give a child with diabetes to a mother who does not know laughter?"

"She has the patience?" the Angel agrees.

"Once the shock wears off, she'll handle it. I watched her today. She is strong. You see, the child I am going to give her will require great care. It's not going to be easy."

"But, Lord, could this make her stop believing."

God smiles. "No. This one is perfect. She has a strong faith in me."God nods. "Yes, this is the woman whom I will bless with this child. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life because she is doing my work."

So if you remember anything from this posting, when you are tempted to ask "Why me", counter it with "Why not me". God obviously knows you and your child are strong, but the most important question is "Do you know"?.

Rocking as a Pancreas- At least for the day!

It's how we roll in "D" land, one day at a time, and celebrating the small victories which I intend to do through pictures!!! Yesterday was a great day for us "blood sugar wise", minus the low at midnight to kick off the night/day previously, we definitely rocked the pancreas game later on. We had two lows, but they weren't even horribly low lows. One at 7:10 Clifford came down and was 74, so we treated since he still had some time before bedtime. He then came back down about 20 minutes later asking if it was okay to eat bedtime snack because he was hungry. He tested himself and it showed "255", um yeah no way he's that high after 20 mins and only having 15grams, so I had him retest after washing his hands, and he was "89!" much better.

I had purchased some "Carb comfort" Butter pecan ice cream yesterday from Schwan's, and he was wanting to try some. For a 1/2 cup it's only 15grams, pretty good, however he complained briefly he was only having a half cup, then after eating it asked why I wasn't giving him his Humalog because he ate "ICE CREAM". So I kindly explained to him that he was only 89 it was only 15 grams, to be happy no injection for this treat. He argued a little bit (as he's 8 and likes to argue with me) but finally went back to playing his video game. At bedtime 8pm, he came down to retest and get his Lantus injection. Turns out he was 116! Not too shabby, but I will test later just to make sure he's still good to go. Midnight check revealed he was 155, 5am check showed he was 149, and wake up today he was 115! The one thing both Clifford and I have realized as of late, is we are going to start listening to "me". With three different occasions that were done how the D Team wanted them and resulted in lows that were not good. But onto better things.

So here is a little show of our little victory yesterday through pictures.

We ended with a 7 day average of 132! Not too bad for the pancreas game!

Better than Christmas

We are very lucky in that it's taken almost 2 years but we are finally getting the supplies covered (for the most part, see the CGM post) that we need. I am a big time hoarder of his supplies because you just never know with insurance if one day they will cover the 600 strips we get monthly then turn around and cut us back down. It's taken almost 2 years, we started at only 300 strips a month, then increased to 450, now to 600. It's definitely a good feeling to see our shelf that's pictured here. I
t's actually better than Christmas, because I know we have what we need, and for a good while should anything happen. It looks like our shelf is a mini pharmacy and I love it. There are a lot of people out there without insurance that have to pay out
of pocket for their D supplies and those that have insurance and can't get enough of what they need paid for. So I know how very blessed we are that Clifford's is all covered. It's truly a lifesaver (literally).

This is also an inside peek for those without Diabetes or much experience with D to see just how it looks at home. Another section of pictures are what I call the "Clifford station" this is where I keep his meters, strips, lancing devices, extra lancets, juice boxes for quick usage, glucose tabs, pixie sticks, smarties, glucagon, you name it it's probably there. But it's in a centralized location in the kitchen that works very well for us.

I am thinking once we start pumping I may have to either a.) make more room on the D supply shelf, or b.) figure out another good place in the house that works to hold supplies. (still thinking ab

out this one, just haven't figured it out yet). I also want to get some supplies (meter, glucagon, strips, juice boxes, alcohol wipes, lancets, lancing device, etc, etc) to put in Clifford's room, just need to find the perfect spot that can be locked up because little fingers (sisters) like to get into everything. So for now during night time testing I either carry juice or other carbs up with me just in case or make a run for it back downstairs to get what is needed.

In all it's a very good feeling to be stocked up. I tend to buy our juice boxes in bulk during the month. Usually the lady at Dollar General looks at me strangely because I am usually there with 10-15 (4 packs) of 4oz juice boxes, 10 of those large smarties (good to use like tabs), and a couple bags of pixie sticks. I'm probably a nerd, but I replied that in our house this is considered medicine!

Our night last night wasn't much fun. I went up to test Clifford around 12:15 after staying up late to finish up work, I decided it was bedtime for me. And what did I find? So needless to say I was up a bit later, finally testing at around the 20-25 minute mark I got a 119. I really think this number was for correcting a 209 at bedtime. I didn't think this number really should be corrected just cover for the 15 grams of carbs for snack. But endo says correction at bedtime for numbers higher than target. So with correction and coverage he got 1 unit of humalog and low and behold dive bombed. You w

ould think I would just start listening to myself more than the endo, but now I can go back and tell them once again I was correct and look what happened. Thankfully I tested and didn't let him ride it out like only testing 2 nights a week as suggested by said endo. So in all with the treating of juice with this 63, he was 110 @3am and 114 @wakeup. Pretty good numbers minus the overnight scare.

So why is night time so scary?

You may hear many parents of Type 1 kids talk about how they don't sleep much and how scary night time is. But why is night time so scary? Let's look at it this way as a person without diabetes, your pancreas is still fully working properly, you can go to bed and not have to worry about anything going wrong with your blood sugar, that's because your pancreas is working around the clock to ensure you are stable all though the night with insulin and glucagon (if you happen to get low). However with Type 1 diabetes Clifford's pancreas gave up and quit it's job. Now it's our job to function as his pancreas. Unlike a pancreas who really doesn't require sleep, we as human beings do. There are a few things I've learned about night time. 1. I dislike it, but also love my sleep. 2. It's so unpredictable with diabetes.

I've had an endo tell me once to stop testing overnight so much, that really all he needed was tested 2 nights a week. Well that didn't sit too well with me, but overworked, and sleep deprived I decided to give it a shot one time, and go to bed without testing him. Yes that might shock pretty much all of you, but we were new to this and I decided to listen to the medical professional. Well what happened you might ask? Clifford woke up at 3am and was "dizzy", after testing him he was low with a blood sugar of 50! I knew that feeling in the pit of my stomach was something to listen to when I went to bed.

So as we move on in this game I learned something else just last night. Last week before Clifford's dental surgery I talked with his diabetes educator, she wanted to get his numbers and see where to change his Lantus to before the surgery and the fasting he had to do. Well that night he was below target at 111 at 11pm, his target for bedtime is 120. So I decided to treat and give him 15g's to help get him above target. He happened to wake up a little higher at 240. The educator said with him being so close to target that he didn't need treated to help get him up. Okay well last night rolls around, I again tested him before I went to bed at 11, and he was 112, I decided NOT to treat, and went to bed, 2:30 he was tested again and he was 130, not bad. However 6:30 came around and Clifford woke up feeling "dizzy". After we tested him he was 68.

The lesson I've learned from these two experiences is one I've always knew 1. Diabetes is unstable. He could have been 112 another night and not got boosted up by juice, and still woken up high, or he could have dive bombed as he did last night. What I've learned is if I do not feel comfortable with the number prior to going to bed as I didn't last night (but listened to the educator) I will go with what I feel is best. I mean I understand that his diabetes team is very smart and educated in their field. They are however not experts at Clifford's body. Unfortunately I am no expert at his body either, but I have more of an inside look than they do in caring for him 24/7.

I think I may have sidetracked from the topic of this post, but you can probably guess as to why night time is so scary. Non -working pancreas can lead to many problems during the night, including fatal ones that cannot be undone. So every morning we Thank God that Clifford woke up alive and awake, and for that we are truly blessed.

Type one signs and symptoms

After a message from a friend today asking about Type 1 diabetes symptoms, I got to thinking that it's been awhile since I posted about the signs & symptoms of Type 1 diabetes. If even 1 person reads this and recognizes the symptoms early enough I will feel like I've accomplished something HUGE!

There was really no significant sign or symptom leading up to Clifford's diagnosis that I really thought stuck out. That is until the week prior to him being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. He had gone to visit with his dad and came home feeling a bit under the weather. The next day he had gotten sick a few times, and had what I thought was the "flu", and with what we understand about Type 1 now, he more than likely had the flu, and that is what triggered the autoimmune attack on his pancreas. He just didn't seem to get any better, he was very thirsty (wish I knew that was a symptom at the time), he lost some weight (didn't know this until diagnosis), and he was weak, and towards the time right before being diagnosed had a bit of labored breathing (which I really thought he got hit with a bit of cold on top of the flu.) Unfortunately I cannot go back and recognize the symptoms sooner, although I've wished many times over I could. But if there is a way to help someone else recognize the signs and symptoms sooner I will do my best.

The symptoms of type 1 diabetes usually develop quickly and over a brief period of time. They can be mistaken for a stomach virus because vomiting is often present at onset, especially in children. The classic symptoms of type 1 include:

• Extreme fatigue
• Frequent need to urinate
• Continual thirst despite taking fluids
• Severe hunger urges
• Unexplained weight loss

Making Sense of the Symptoms

At first glance these symptoms don’t seem related, but they are. Because your pancreas has stopped creating insulin, a hormone, which is needed to process glucose taken in from food, your body is literally starving. Hunger, weight loss and fatigue are consequences of your organs not getting the glucose they need to function properly. Frequent urination and thirst occur because your body is doing all it can to get rid of the excess glucose by dumping it into the bladder.

Anesthesia and Diabetes

Many of you may already be aware that Clifford had to have some dental surgery done that required him to go under general anesthesia. I searched the internet and asked many questions on if anyone actually had experience with this with diabetes and how that worked. I received a lot good information, and I wanted to do the same here.

The one thing we experienced was high bg#'s. This could be in part from the worrying and stress Clifford was under because he was a bit scared about what to expect from the whole procedure. It could also be in part due to he had Orange juice to help bring him up from 99 (anything under 100 as per endo orders) at 11:30pm the night before. It could be both, or it could be 100 different things that diabetes does that we cannot control. They gave him some short acting during the procedure and monitored his blood sugar to make sure it was coming down. They were concerned about the high numbers. He was given what they called "Silly juice" before getting anesthesia. This helped to relax him so he wasn't as worried going into getting his anesthesia. It definitely relaxed him, basically made him drunk without all that puking ;).

After he was in there, they gave him the choice of scent to disguise the gas smell from the anesthesia. He took a few breath's in and within a few seconds he was out. His arms and legs did a bit of a flinch or jerk, but as they explained when they start to go out they will do that with their arms, legs, and shoulders. In total I think the whole procedure took 1-1.5 hours until he was in recovery already awake for us to go see him. He was out of it and looking miserable for another 2 hours while he went into a 2nd recovery room to watch cartoons, and make sure he could keep down 4 oz of liquids. The only scary side effect was his blood pressure went a wee bit low, but that was an effect of the anesthesia.

One important tip from me is not to watch the monitors like crazy because you will concern yourself. What I thought was his PulseOx or Oxygen Sat levels were in fact not, but they were his heart rate. Otherwise I was thinking 70s & 80s for pulse ox stats were something to be concerned of. In all he got 6 baby teeth pulled some due to overcrowding in his mouth, and 4 sweet new silver teeth as we told him (stainless steel caps). He got to bring his teeth home as well too, which need washed off so he can bribe the tooth fairy with them tonight for some cash.

Back to the diabetes part of it all. Although his blood sugar was high, I was not too concerned in fact that once in awhile with Diabetes you have highs that cannot be explained, and they happen. But I also knew that once it was over and he was more comfortable in his own environment and not scared and concerned they would be better and we'd get them back down, which we have :)