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Wednesday 16 May 2007

i have a blog

I hardly come here. Not there is not anything to talk about, but there really has not been anything significant...

Work has been quite busy lately, and will be for the next few weeks. I am not complaining, as I like having loads to do, and the work is quite interesting too! Other than working, and chilling at home I have not done much lately...

You would think after just over a year I would actually remember every night to take my Levemir. In a previous post I mentioned waking up high and realising that I had not taken it the night before. Now you would think that waking up feeling shitty would get me to remember it every night.... But since then I have forgotten twice! One morning clocking in at about 21mmol/L, and this morning waking at about 04:00 and realising that I had once again forgotten the Levemir. Test - 16.7mmol/L. I corrected with some Novorapid, took some units of Levemir and lay in bed, angry at myself, trying to fall asleep...

I have been having higher numbers lately too, but have adjusted my insulin accordingly. Things seem to be going better now. Not sure what's been happening really, but at least I seem to have sorted out the problem. My morning number have also climbed a bit - I generally don't wake up below 7mmol/L, and up to anything around 11mmol/L sometimes. I will need to really concentrate on fixing these now. I have done a few overnight tests, and it does seem as though I am rising after 2am, but I think more investigation is needed here....

I have an Endo appointment next week. In the first year of having diabetes I had my A1c done 3 times (excluding at diagnosis). I hope to be able to keep this to about 3 or 4 a year. I may have one done this week (my last one was on 1 March) - I am a bit nervous about this as I think I have most likely increased from my 6.9% at my last visit.

My dad has had Type 2 diabetes for a number of years now, treating it with tablets. He also has high blood pressure and cholesterol (although his cholesterol levels are much better now). He recently joined a new diabetes programme offered by his health insurance - he has to visit a diabetic nurse a certain number of times a year, gets a podiatrist visit once a year, an ophthalmologist visit once a year, a dietitian (I think twice a year), and then his physician. The physician arranges the appointments with all these. Yesterday he had hours of medical appointment seeing all of these people... His eyes were fine, except for some cataracts which will be removed toward the end of this year, the dietitian was happy with his diet and will be sending him some more tips and advice, feet were fine too. On blood works - the doctor was pleased with his cholesterol levels and everything else. His A1c come in at 7.2% - which I thought was actually quite good (although for some this may sound high....). I actually think that my next one may be worse than his! :) But overall I was really relieved and happy to hear that he is actually doing much better. I think I was expecting a bit worse...

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Tuesday 24 April 2007

titbits

Diabetes has been good to me lately - with not too many highs, and very few lows. I have much fewer lows now than I did for months after my diagnosis, though I do think that on average I am running slightly higher. I hope to bring this down, but would prefer it not to be in exchange for more lows... I am still experiencing a bit of issues with my morning numbers. It has settled down a bit, but I think that my evening Levemir dose is not sufficient. This dose was increased in February after an Endo visit (from 10 to 12 units), but I am still seeing a rise in numbers most mornings. I have done a few 2am tests - one which came in in range (with the morning reading being the same as this one), one in range with the morning reading being a bit higher, and one higher than my bed-time reading, and an even higher reading when I woke up. I think I need to do a few more of these before my next appointment at the end of May. I will do an A1C then also, but I am not banking on any improvement there.

Gym has been okay. Nothing more really to say here, other than it is becoming increasingly difficult to drag myself there with the morning becoming darker and colder, making my bed a hell of a lot more comfortable. Traffic also seems to get worse every week...

On the pump front - I am yet to meet with the Roche rep. Hopefully I will do that some time in May. It seems as though the only options available here are Minimed and Roche. Once I have met with Roche rep, I will decide. Costs are going to play a major role in my decision - not so much the cost of the pump, but the monthly consumables. They seem to be quite expensive, and I am not yet sure how my medical aid would cover these. I have been considering changing insurance companies, but changing mid-year is going to be more of a hassle - so I have decided to wait until the end of the year when we are given options to change to different plans or Schemes. If my insurance company refuses to pay, or does not cover enough I will consider changing to another and going onto the pump only then.

Just after I was diagnosed I never would have thought about going onto the pump. I still have a few issues - sleeping with the pump being one of them, but I have been assured that this is not a problem at all. But everyday I realise more and more what the benefits of having a pump would have, and how much more convenient my life could actually be (although I don;t find MDI to be that much of a convenience...). I also believe that if these morning number continue to be higher than my bed-time numbers, and also if they increase, the pump will be the only real solution to solve that problem.

And non-diabetes related - Friday is a holiday - yea!, and so too is Tuesday. I am still considering taking Monday off, to make it an even longer weekend...

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Tuesday 17 April 2007

answers

This is way late. But things have been a bit hectic lately...

Thanks MileMasterSarah!

1) What is the coolest way blogging has affected your life?

I think I am more of a lurker than a blogger. After being diagnosed with diabetes, I felt very alone. I don't really know anyone that has it, and felt that nobody could really understand what I was going through. I started searching the net, and what I found I was not really expecting. There was this whole community out there, going through exactly the same!!

So, blogging has made me feel less alone (that's a cool thing isn't it??!). And besides that, blogging has taught me a hell of a lot about this disease.

2) What month is your least favourite and why?

January - but not the first few days.... And a couple of simple reasons really - it gets too hot over here, the city becomes too busy, and I think too much of the things I wanted to do the previous year that I never got round to doing.

3) Imagine you have been given the power to heal. If your power to heal were limited to only one person, and that person could not be a family member, whom would you choose? And why?

I guess I could not heal myself then either :)

Sadly I cannot think of anyone. If I could cure just one disease, or part of a disease it would be cancer in kids.

But if I could turn back time, I would heal my best friend's son.

4) If you could change one thing about the year you were age 16, what would it be?

To be more happy with myself, and more confident in my abilities. I think I carried a lot of that into adulthood, and wish I hadn't.

5) Please tell us about a gesture a person or group of persons in your life has done that affected you very deeply, perhaps in a way they will never know.

My best friend. She is far away, and lost her son. His life even touched me, although I did not get to meet him. He made me realise I wanted to be a mom, and to appreciate life more. In my friend I saw such strength. And she said that "I am only this strong because of all of you".

Friday 13 April 2007

where have all the minutes gone??

I feel as though my weeks consist of Monday mornings and Friday afternoons. And weekends just seem to fly by. Work has been busy lately, and our division is currently in the process of restructuring. Hopefully the dust will settle in a few weeks...

Easter was spent at home. The upcoming long weekend will also be spent at home. Friday 27 April is a holiday, and then Tuesday 1 May. I am considering taking the Monday off work too, as it will probably be real quiet here anyway.

We are planning a short trip in June - just for a few days. I am looking forward to it - just to get out of Cape Town and away from it all for a bit. We have also been discussing the possibility of taking a trip in November. We have not come to any final decisions yet, but I really hope it works out!!

I intend leaving work earlier today, to miss traffic. The weekend is going to be chilled, though we do have a wedding to attend.

And, I have questions, to answer, but did not get a chance this week. So will attempt them this weekend or early next week. Thanks MileMasterSarah!

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Thursday 29 March 2007

the flu jab and other bullets

That time of year for me again. I had it done this morning, so as to get it over and done with. This is also a sign to me that winter is arriving. That, and the fact that when I wake up in the mornings now it is still dark. As I have probably mentioned before I prefer colder weather...
  • Things have been getting busier at work. this is a good thing - the time goes by much quicker, and I don't get time to be bored at work. Some of the work that has been coming my way has been really exciting too!
  • Quite a few long weekends are on the horizon. Next weekend will be a four-day weekend (making for 2 4 day weeks). Then another holiday on Friday 27 April, and one on the Tuesday following (1 May). I was considering taking the Monday off too, to make it an even longer weekend.. But I have not yet made up my mind.
  • I have not plans for all these holidays.
  • I am trying to get my gym routine back to what it was. I am not sure what has happened, but I am not able to do what I could a couple of months ago. So in stead of complaining and trying to figure out why, I decided to start of slower and build up over the next few weeks. So far things are going okay. I hope to build my fitness up to what it was in the next 2 months.
  • I have religiously been taking my vitamins every day. Well, some weekends I do forget... I also started taking some Omega 3, 6, and 9. it tastes disgusting, but I gulp it down form a shot glass (table spoon) and follow it by a sip of juice.
  • My energy levels are improving! For a few weeks I was very tired in the evening, going to bed much to early some nights. I'm not really sure what I can attribute this to - the vitamins? Or perhaps the new tea I started drinking. It is a herb called Yerbe Mate (South American), and is supposed to have some energising and rejuvenating properties.

Oh, and diabetes. Well, it is still here, rearing it ugly head now and again. I must say that for the past few days my levels have been excellent! After my last Endo visit my night time Levemir was increased from 10 units to 12, because of the high reading I was having in the mornings. This has improved a little, but they are still not perfect. Last night a few hours after dinner I was 5.1mml/L (92) and woke this morning at 10.6mmol/L (191). If levels play along before bed tonight I will do the 2am testing to see what it is looking like then (in the past however, when I did this testing because of the higher morning readings, it would be a normal reading and I would wake up with about the same reading...). I will continue to monitor this until my next appointment at the end of May.

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Thursday 8 March 2007

the results

I got my blood test results back yesterday afternoon. And things are okay!

My A1c is slightly up from 6.1 in August last year to 6.9, but I am satisfied with it. I was expecting a higher reading, and this reading is actually much better than I expected. Hope I can keep it under 7 for the next one too!

Iron is looking good. I am on the border - so basically in the words of my doc, "if you wanted to donate blood they would say no, but that doesn't really matter because you have diabetes and wouldn't have been able to anyway..." I will try to keep that number up, maybe take a multi vitamin which includes some iron.

Thyroid looking good.

Leaving the worst for last - cholesterol. It is still fine, but I need to keep an eye on it. So I have decided to re-look at my diet a bit and cut out any unnecessary "treats" - which I seem to have been having lately. I am sure that should do the trick! And of course to continue my gym routine that has been suffering a bit lately..

My new Endo works at one of the state hospitals (and university teaching hospital). I have thought about doing some type of volunteer work for a while now, but have never really looked into it. I have offered to help out in some way - not sure when, how etc., most likely with teenagers with diabetes, probably in the line of just basic educating or something. I just told her yesterday that I am willing and she should just let me know..

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Wednesday 7 March 2007

did i forget something?

I woke this morning before my alarm went off. I was thirsty and needed the loo. I went to the bathroom in the dark, did not want the light to wake me further, I felt I still needed some sleep. Back in bed I was wondering why I was so thirsty. I replayed last night in my head - dinner, then to a friend to say good bye before her move (now officially moving cities, she was down with baby C to finalise the lasts bits), back home, read - and then??? Well, I most likely went to sleep. Something missing from all that - where is the "take Levemir"? Alarm goes off about half an hour later, get up, wash hands, test. 18.8mmol/L (338). Great, just what I need. Was not sure if I should do gym, so skipped it for a bit later during the day (that inevitably then gets postponed, I get busy, and end up not going...). Oh well, it cannot always be perfect.

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