"Your A1c test results are ready"

I had the absolutely most exciting night in my diabetes history last night. Here's how it went down...

It is 11:20pm, I'm in bed, I had just put down my current read "Cheating Destiny", I got all cozy, then my phone 'dings' with a new email message. Usually I sleep with it on silent so I don't have to hear that but I forgot to switch it off. I reach over to turn it to silent and check the message. I even said out loud to my boyfriend "I'm just going to check this message" because I usually ignore them when I'm in bed, didn't want to seem TOO addicted to my iPhone.

The subject of the email was "Your A1c test results are ready." My heart sinks and I can't click on the thing fast enough. I'm usually not this excited to get my results but I know i've been working my you-know-what off the past couple of months and I'm desperate for reassurance that i've been improving my numbers. My last result was a 7.3% and that's around where I always am, and have been since day 1 almost fifteen years ago. I do recall maybe once being a 6.9. Anyway, for this test I was hoping with all that I had to be anywhere under a 7 because it was so rare for me.

I scroll down the message to search for that little number. It felt like they hid it on purpose to make me squirm. I usually go online to my doctors website to look at my results, but this was one of those at-home tests so I wasn't used to the layout. I see this fuzzy number on my little iPhone screen...looks like a blur point nine. Frantically zoomed in hoping to see a 6, chanting in my head *six six six six six six*.... I zoom in .... and it was a 5. Yes, a 5! Let me repeat (to myself because I didn't believe it) my A1c is in the fives!!!!!! HOLY COW!!! I was almost crying. I was shaking, smiling, in shock. I never in my life though I could be in the fives! I figured I'd work hard and end up in the sixes, but never the fives!

Needless to say I went to bed with a giant smile on my face, literally! ....Of course that is after calling my mom at 11:30 pm to tell her :)

Seattle Here I Come!

Tomorrow morning I will board a flight to Seattle, WA for an entire week!! I've never been there and I am very excited. The only problem is that I have no idea what to do there! I'm looking for suggestions, please comment and give me some ideas! Thanks!

What NOT to tell a 10 year old who is being diagnosed with diabetes...

You can find this blog over at the Diabetes OC where I am the featured blogger (not blooger...I'm looking at you ninja) of the week.

Featured Blogger!

Hey everyone, take a look over the The Diabetes OC, I'm this weeks featured blogger!

Thanks so much to all of my readers!

Arm sites for sensors (my second Vlog)

A little history of Joanie and "medical" adhesives

I got a new roll of adhesive in the mail today for my infusion sets and sensors. I had it out on the counter and forgot about it for a while. Later that day I came back in the kitchen and saw this, my "medical" tape, next to the fruit bowls, like it belonged there, it's just such a part of my every day life. Seeing that reminded me of when I was a kid.

I would sit in the bathroom at home going through our "first-aid" or "band-aid" drawer and see the rolls of medical tape. I used to take pieces off to stick them on me and pull them off again, just to see why it was considered "medical" tape. I used to wonder why this stuff even existed, I mean why in the world would you have to TAPE something to your body!?!?! It just seemed ridiculously silly

.....and 15 years later here we are

Thanks to all who participated!

So far we have over 120 submission for the first Type 1 Diabetes Survey! The results are very exciting. I encourage everybody who participated to hop over and take a look at the results. Due to it's great success I have created two more surveys regarding some different issues. I can't wait to see the results!!!! You can find them here!

My first vlog (also my first low vlog, oops)

The downside of tight control

So lately I have been really pushing hard for better control of my diabetes, I mean really pushing. I have been seeing a dietitian, an endocrinologist, and being in email contact with a CDE almost every other day. I have been feeling great, and doing great as well! What's the catch? Well yes, there are a couple, and here they are...

First there is the trouble of tighter control equalling more frequent lows and the loss of sensitivity to feeling these lows. When my numbers are relatively out of control over an extended period of time I'll 1. have less frequent lows because I am eating like a starving child who hasn't seen food in months, and 2. if I do get low I totally over-treat it and end up high again. But when my bloodsugar is cruising around 100 mg/dl or so it only take one extra unit of insulin to drop me to 60 mg/dl, likewise it only takes about a 40 carb miscalculation to drive me into a low. This leads to a lot more lows than I was experiencing when I was "out of control" (I hate that term for diabetes, you're either "in control" or "out of control", aren't we all out of control by definition of the disease? whatever). This is why by nature, good control leads to much more frequent lows, and the more lows I have the less sensitive I am to feeling them, thankfully the CGMS helps a TON here. The plus side to all of this (aside from the obvious, reduction in complications, feeling healthier and happier) is that now, when I do get low I try to practice the 15-15 rule which usually prevents the rebound highs afterwards. I am now comfortable not over-treating, I have less of a fear of the unknown (ie. how much I'm dropping, how fast, why).

My second and biggest gripe about good control is the social aspect. Non diabetics don't understand that the more you "do" the healthier you probably are as a diabetic. In the past everyone assumed I was fine and in great health because I was never seeing doctors, I was never low, never really testing in public, I was just cruising along. But now people ask, and look at me like I'm sick and dying. It is SO hard to convince them that I am going through all of this because I AM in good health. I met an old friend for lunch today and he was surprised to see me test 3 times during out chat, and surprised to hear that I had so many upcoming appointments (the subject came up unfortunately, and I didn't want to lie), he was also was confused as to why I have so many lows these days (minor lows, remember, very minor, it's not like I'm almost in a coma every other day). He looked so incredibly concerned for me, like I had really fallen off the band wagon of good health, almost disappointed. I took a lot out of me not to feel insulted and get highly irritated at this. I had to take about 10 minutes to explain to him why this is a sign of good health. It's hard for them to grasp that now I am healthier BECAUSE I am seeing these doctors and testing so frequently, not that I am unhealthy THUS I need to see them and keep testing.I *sigh*

That is my rant for the day, thanks for listening.

Take my Type 1 Diabetes Poll!

I have created an anonymous poll for people with Type 1 Diabetes! Go ahead and take the poll to see the results!

Non-D Jealousy

I know this sounds silly, but I have a feeling some other diabetics will agree. When you have type 1 diabetes, in a way it becomes your world. So much that we sometimes forget what the rest of the world goes through being a non-diabetic. I am obviously well aware that my friends and family do not have to worry about their blood sugar going high or low, they don't have to pack a briefcase of diabetes supplies everywhere they go, and they do eat whenever they want with out having to bolus. But I don't think it really sinks in until you let somebody (who does not have diabetes) test their glucose on your own meter. When you see that number, that perfect 86 or whatever it is, and the way they don't care, don't appreciate that number, to them it's just a number, it does something to you, it really hits you. At least that was my experience.

Everyone needs an Assistant Diabetic

I am very excited to announce that Colin (the wonderful, awesome, helpful, handsome, live-in boyfriend) put his first needle in me last week, all by himself. It was a sensor too, those needles are wicked huge!

I usually put my sensors in my love handle area but I know that I should be venturing out to new areas in order to prevent scar tissue. I know that don't want to go toward the front of my abdomen because I reserve that for infusion sets, so I decided to head backwards. Obviously I can't quite reach behind me so I asked Colin to do it. To my surprise (although maybe not yours) I was about 10 times more nervous about the idea than he was. Now, if it were an infusion set I wouldn't have minded at all, but those sensor needles still scare me! It was hard to not be in control of the insertion.

Regardless of my fear he did a great job! It was quick, painless, and even better than I could do on my own! I think I have found an assistant diabetic! Hooray!

What is with these reservoirs!?

I posted last month about bubbles getting in to faulty reservoirs, and now this!?! I couldn't believe it! I pulled my pump out to bolus and noticed that my tubing was coming out of my pump at a strange angle, a 90 degree angle in fact. I pulled out the reservoir to take a closer look and found that it had broken.

The tubing (I learned from this incident) has two parts, an inner soft thin tube, and an outer hard (relatively hard) shell. What happened was that the outer harder shell snapped but the inner tubing looked like it was in tact (although I find it hard to believe because of those bubbles you can see going down the tubing).

I was of course at work when this happened, so I had to keep the girls occupied with the TV so I could sneak off to the bathroom for a few minutes and redo my set.

Well, as you all know, life goes on. Another day, another reservoir, hat's just the rhythm of diabetes....it just keeps on going.

Anyway, that Is my rant for the day. Also I just updated the last week worth of my Diabetes 365 photos on flickr. I plan to start updating these directly from my phone on a daily basis so there shouldn't be anymore 7-day-at-a-time uploads.

*clicks refresh button on diabetes*

Sometimes I feel like a ticking time bomb, the pressure of diabetes just grows and grows, until I give up and have to restart emotionally. Here's a little story of how it happened recently. Saturday morning I woke up at 6am to constant "bad sensor" errors....over, and over, and over and over. Eventually I got out of bed to find a solution that didn't involve putting my pump down a garbage disposal. Well, seeing as how my Minimed sensor had been in for about a week a gave it a break, didn't destroy my pump, and figured I was due for a sensor change anyway so I yanked it out. Now here's where the trouble began...

I took a long bath to relax (and also because I love bathing when i have no gadgets stuck in or on me). After that my skin was perfectly clean and I was ready for my new sensor. As usual I inserted the sensor just fine but when I tried to pull out the introductory needle the entire sensor came with it (so much for 'clean' skin). I was extremely frustrated because these things are painful, they are nothing like your typical disposable syringe. I couldn't let myself get too upset because i was thankful that it came out in once piece (sensor and needle) which means I could give that $35 sensor another go before tossing it, and hope for the best. Anyway, on my second attempt I did get the needle out, but shortly after the adhesive peeled up and the sensor slipped out. Okay now I was angry, there went $35 out of my pocket. So then came round three, this time it went beautifully! I even got my adhesive over the transmitter to be nice and smooth, perfectly even, all OCD friendly :) .....but it gave me constant "bad sensor" errors for the next two hours until I gave up, yanked it out and (aggressively) threw it 'at' the trash (missing of course). Now I had wasted $70, in one day, on NOTHING. Needless to say I gave up for the weekend, I didn't so much as want to see those things for a while. I should also mention that I just found out this week that I am denied coverage for my sensors, that explains why I got so incredibly frustrated with this.

Well, after I recovered, I put another sensor in this morning and everything is going well. I'll get another 7-10 days out of this puppy. hooray