I am sure we have all heard this before, someone new finds out you have diabetes; they look you up and down questioningly then say…

But! You look really healthy.

A friend once said that most people do not and will not take diabetes seriously because I make managing it look so easy plus I look healthy.

I was not amused when I heard those words on Sunday not after the Saturday I had just had.

This past Saturday we set out for a run, it seemed like all the stars were aligned. It was cool but nice out, my blood glucose starting out was at 5.7mmol/l (103mg/l). About 30mins into the run the muscles in my legs ached, I slowed but kept running. 45mins later I checked my blood glucose it read 10.1mmol/l (182mg/l), it explained why? - I muscles were aching for insulin. I pressed on for another 30mins hoping to burn some of this high glucose off, nausea set in and I was feeling downright sick, I checked my blood glucose again this time a reading of 12.8mmol/l (230mg/l).

I took a correction bolus and we opted for a long walk back home instead, my blood glucose took it sweet time coming down ever so slowly.

The rest of the weekend and today has been spent on the high side. How I wish it is as easy as people seem to think.

Posted: April 23rd, 2007 under Journeying through life.
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I am a fun of Roche’s Accu-Chek product line I do not have the Accu-Chek Spirit Pump I choose the Animas over it for personal reasons - best left for another post.

The old Accu-Chek Complete, some people may remember it in the late nineties, it was huge big and it took 26 seconds to produce a test result, Oh and the big blob of blood it took.

However, although it would not have won any design awards it was one of the best made truly complete meters of its generation in my humble opinion. It was the first meter to have inbuilt diabetes management software, stored and analyzed up to 1000 values, plus you could add information on insulin, activities, meals etc. The first of its kind on the market I believe it did not succeed because of its lack of appeal or let’s say design.

Accu-Chek seems to be missing its mark lately, don’t get me wrong, they still make great products and management software nevertheless, these products get into the hands of the consumers (me) a little too late. Point in case I have been waiting for their not so new to Europe – Accu-Chek Smart Pix for some time now unfortunately for Accu-Chek I have since upgraded to vista and it will be out in North America late May appearing to not be vista compatible.

The Accu-Chek Smart Pix is a Device Reader is a small, but smart device which imports and displays data from Accu-Chek blood glucose meters, Accu-Chek software for handhelds, and Accu-Chek insulin pumps, via a built-in infrared interface. A plug’n play functionality that connects to you PC via USB, most importantly data can be seen and manipulated in HTML, XML, BMP, PNG etc.

Here is to hoping it becomes vista compatible before I move on to a newest Operating system.

Posted: April 18th, 2007 under Journeying through life.
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I love the fact that we live in a technologically advanced age that joins the continents together with a few clicks on a keyboard.

Today was site change day and for the second time in six months, a little bit of the tape got stuck to my quick setter. I carefully unstuck the tape and stuck it to my skin using IV prep over it to ensure it stays put. This got me thinking about a conversation I had with a follow pumper who lives in Switzerland, she raved about a new inserter that she is currently using telling me I would absolutely love it as much as she does.

I highlighted and copied the name, processed to search for the product on the makers’ North America’s site but there was no mention of this great, must have inserter. I drafted and sent an email to the makers’ inquiring if this product will ever be made available in North America and as to when?

I was glad to get a call from Jeff at Disetronic aka Accu-Chek telling me they will be made available in May of this year. I for one cannot wait to try this product and if it is as amazing as the Accu-Chek MultiClix

and or as great as Amanda says? I will be adding a new tool to my toolbox come may.

Posted: April 17th, 2007 under Journeying through life.
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It had become harder and harder to tame the beast using multiple daily injections, I am also super sensitive to insulin that meant having to wait till I am super high to correct via injections or risk being a yo-yo. I do not like playing with yo-yos let alone subjecting myself to being one, this lead to erring on staying high to avoid being bouncer except weeks turned to months, months turned to a year I was waking up high feeling like I had just finished going a few rounds with Mike Tyson instead of the nine plus hours of rest I just woken from. Taking a correct dose with breakfast brought me down nicely till the evening hours when I got ready for my next boxing match - I mean sleep. I started looking into an insulin pump; I knew my provincial and supplemental insurance would not cover a pump I had to pay for the pump out of pocket.

As I talked it over with my sister she quickly reminded me of the fact that I had happily paid for braces out of pocket adding, —

“With those high blood glucose you may be paying for some more dental work sooner or later if you want to keep that smile”…………

Hmm as I flossed that night her voice like a broken record played over and over in my head.

I had just worn braces for the second time in my adult life and was extremely happy with the results. I was planning my next steps in cosmetic dentistry and had already met with the doctor, a plan drawn, which involved removing some of my gums to expose a little more teeth although now straight they a little. I would have followed up with a whitening zoom treatment sadly all out of pocket after all that is what people see not high blood glucose!

My plans seemed so vain seeing that I was melting from the inside out - a melt that would eventually melt away, what people see, from high blood glucose. I did some research online got all the information packages and setup meeting with the reps. I told all the reps upfront that I was meeting with the other reps to compare and contrast some were very pusher and told me their pump is the best and to not waste my time meeting with the other companies some were pampers themselves and were nice, pleasant telling me the most important thing will be getting on a pump any smart pump.

I met the Animas rep at a Starbucks a block away from home, on my way for a run. He was one of the reps who were happy to be a pump resource regardless of which company’s product I choose. He also had three of the four pumps with him to show me, he went through all the screens on each and every pump pointing out the different names used for the same things on each pump. We swapped diagnoses stories and waited for my sister and running partner when she arrived, before I even introduced them to each other I asked my sister to pick the pump she preferred.

She picked the Animas pump over the other two, she preferred it looks she later told me. Reservoir size is not an issue I go six days before changing the reservoir, battery life is amazing plus pumpcy has been very good to me.

I may not have the Hollywood smile but an insulin pump has been by far the best better investment.

Posted: April 16th, 2007 under Journeying through life.
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I have “dreams”, maybe nightmares about flying over traumatic events in these nightmares I am not in control of my abilities to fly and I am forced to witness these traumatic events. This reoccurring dream has been happening since I was about six years old. I have developed the super ability however, to tell myself during these nightmares that it is a dream and am able to wake myself up from them. Often going back to sleep means going back to my nightmare meaning I will have night where the nightmare is repeated over and over as I keep waking myself up over and over.

I hope writing this will be the real life equivalent of waking myself up from a “dream” maybe depression.

I take it so personally when my blood sugar is high; I search for days, weeks even months for the answer or the reason why it was? This maybe because I thrive and part myself on the back for all the good numbers, I learn from them and try to stick with the winning formulas. But……….

I love science, it works and can be proven, and one plus one equals two was very exciting to me when I learnt it. I was in heaven the day I was taught “Newton’s Laws of Motion” my favourite is the second law it’s just beautiful and with it, a tried and true formula F=ma or F=mv please let’s not forget the third law – “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”

I remember at twelve years old pointing out a huge ship on the ocean to my mom, saying, “did you know that if you collect all the water being displaced by that ship it would weigh in at exactly the same weight of the ship?”

Diabetes is not science, the formula works most times and sometimes it just does not work. When this happens, as it is happening now with my fasting blood glucose readings I get a little depressed and angry. I am letting it get to me and I am being stubborn about testing my nighttimes basal insulin rate. See I tested it several times previously it worked a formula was set and tried, which worked beautiful.

I am watching a traumatic event happen while I fly above it, I am possible watching diabetes complications lay its foundation as I stew in my own high fasting blood glucose in anger and stubbornness just a little bite depressed.

Wake up Adjoa, you can wake up from this, its just another nightmare come back into reality and you will be save again. But………. for how long?

Posted: April 10th, 2007 under Journeying through life.
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