Getting Better

                   I could not be more pleased I am finally seeing some results from having the B12 shots so far. My blood sugar overnight was on target with my old patterns. I used a lower temp basal overnight like I used to. I am using less insulin through the day as of yesterday. This morning when I ate my breakfast my blood sugar was not soaring up like an out of control freight train which has been for the past two days. Overall I am on my way back to where I was and that is such a relief. Looks like I will be on B12 shots for many years to come but it is so much easier to deal with than the crazy blood sugars I have been dealing with so far. I cannot wait to get my energy back because I have so much to get caught up on. I have put off some things but I am sure I will get caught up on that soon. I know I have been keeping up with Duchess exercise but I am not where I was last year. Normally around this time of year I would have been back to my running. When it is cold I do not run as much so I tend to really pick things up in early spring and I am sure I will be back to my normal here soon. It feel so nice to know that things should be calmer for a while. I know Duchess would appreciate a little less of the crazy blood sugars.

             

My Little Clown

   I really have to give Duchess some credit because of the past couple weeks of dramatic fast moving blood sugars and constant changes. She has not seem fazed in the slightest and I could not be more thankful even though I am stressed about it she seems like she keeps going with no issues. She really had helped me dramatically when my blood sugars were swinging upward very quickly she always let me know so early that I could stop my blood sugars from soaring up as high or dropping as low which is really great for keeping my A1c still in a good spot but also keeping me safe. She is such an amazing friend she knows when I am stressed and I have noticed during these times she becomes more of a clown to distract me from all the craziness that I have experienced and she always finds ways to make everyone smile. I know we have some new employee's in the office I work in and they are all amazed at Duchess. I have caught a couple of them stopping to watch Duchess sitting there next to my desk being quite and waiting for my blood sugars to move.

                 Good news so far. I have noticed the my blood sugars have mellowed out some and are now closer to where I was before. I am not having as a dramatic swings upwards after eating which is wonderful. I am hoping with some more tweeking I will be back to where I was once the B12 shot has had time to work. I am sure the B12 shot has played a part already in calming down my blood sugars already. Hoping for better blood sugar days ahead. I need the break.

My Story and How it Brought Duchess Into My Life

I thought I would re-post my story for those who have not read it previously.

My life as a type 1 diabetic has never been dull. Always something going on. I used to feel like I was on a roller coaster as a kid. I would swing from high to low frequently. I was tested for epilepsy quite a few time because of all the seizures I had as a kid. Things did calm down for a bit but even as a child I remember times where I would not have the normal symptoms of low blood sugar but never thought any thing of it.

In 2008 my life took some dramatic changes my mother passed away at 52 years old. She was my best friend and biggest supporter. My mother and I shared a great deal of things in common including type 1 diabetes. I was diagnosed at 18 months old and she was diagnosed at 36 years old. My mother was incredible and went above and beyond in everything she did. She even became a nurse to better understand diabetes and how she could help me. I still miss her dearly especially as things went very awry after she passed away. When she was gone things were so tough. My mother died of a heart issue. It was a surprise to us to find out shortly before she passed that she had rheumatic fever as a child and it was never treated. Which destroys your heart valves. I learned grief is like having a second job and I was so busy with it my diabetes monitoring went down sadly.

In June of 2008 I was driving home from work and blacked out driving. I don't remember any part of the drive home. Except waking up in an ambulance and a cop yelling at me. I was really scared and confused. The ambulance driver kicked the cop out and got me treated. I did start to remember some things about that drive but not much. The cops on the scene wanted me to do a sobriety test because they felt I was either high or drunk even after the EMS telling them I had low blood sugar. My roommate had showed up and thankfully told the cops I would not be doing a sobriety test. That a diabetic would fail when their blood sugar has been low like mine was. I know the incident with the cops was not good in fact a woman took a video of what happened with the cops they had been extremely rough even with my cooperating with their instructions according to the woman. I woke up the next day with bruises every where. I talked with my endocrinologist the next day and we decided it was time to got back on the insulin pump which I agreed with.

I tried to see if the pump would help reduce the number of lows I was having but after 6 months it really was not making enough difference. On several occasions after work on the way to my car I would get disoriented and get lost. I worked at a big university and that could be very dangerous. I also had passed out at work and home. I really need something more to help. I tried the CGMS but that also was not helping enough. Most of the time It would alert after I had passed out. I have had times where my blood sugar would drop 60 or more points in just minutes. That could be very dangerous for me. So i was researching online when I came across this article online about diabetic alert dogs. I knew that was probably my best option. I had had several concussions, stitches and stress fractures from lows since all the crazy lows I was having.

             

Possible Discrimination at Work

                  I know I will pay the price for having two seizures at work in one way or another but I am never quite sure how it will pan out. I knew from my really bad past experience that I will end up paying some kind of price or left with less options than some. I normally at this time of year start over time to get everything done by the end of our fiscal year. My job we are always behind and so I really need this time to get a handle on things. I work very hard but honestly my job is a little daunting and I do manage to do my best. There is just never enough time. This year I have noticed my co-worker has been offered overtime but as of yet I have not been. I know they even had a meeting about changes in the overtime process basically new rules and such for my department. I know my co-worker told me about the meeting to give me a heads up about it before i was supposed to have the meeting. I know they told him that they would be meeting with everyone but I still have not had a meeting and that was at the end of March. I know my department is extremely poor at communicating things except if you make a mistake they always communicate about that. I have a feeling I am not going to be offered overtime this year which is really going to hurt me financially. The reason I took this job is because they offered overtime every spring and summer.

                 I know if I do not get offered the overtime I will have to pursue this because honestly I need the same opportunities as my co-workers do. I really hate having Diabetes because it hurts my pocket book to begin with them it is preventing me from earning more money which I hate really hurts. It always seems like even though I miss the least amount of work verses my healthy co-workers they will always doubt my abilities. I already feel I have to jump through a billion hoops with my diabetes and then to have to deal with always worrying about discrimination or other issues. I know I am always trying to educate but sometimes it can be a little much. I will speak with my manager about my concerns and also contact the disabilities office to run interference if necessary but I am not sure what the results will be but I guess time will tell. I know UT does not have a great track record of dealing with diabetics. The type 1 I meet a a recent mixer also works at UT and she has had difficulties as well.

Frustration with Dexcom Customer Service

               I went to another visit with my Endocrinologist today. Well good news they said I should have a B12 injection to see if I feel better. I am hoping I feel great and I can get back to thing as they once were. I am really hoping my blood sugars calm down as well with having my first B12 injection. I still have to follow up with my family practice Dr but at least I will be closer to feeling better. I know I have not been feeling great for months but hopefully this will fix things.

              I got an email back from Dexcom that told me I should not be using Hydrocortisone cream with the Dexcom because it has not been tested. I was told I could use the Benadryl spray because it did not seem to affect the function of the Dexcom Seven Plus. So not I will be itching at the site constantly and have to put hydrocortisone cream after I remove it when I have a big welt. I am going to continue to look for other barriers to stop this issue. I told my Dr. about the response from Dexcom about my issues with false alarms of blood sugars constantly saying I'm heading low or high when I am actually between 90-120. There advice is only calibrate the device once for a low and once for a higher blood sugar and they think that will change things. I know everyone love's the Dexcom but not me after my crummy experience so far. I think they are great when dealing with sensor failures or issues with insurance but complicated issues not so much. I know my pump site issues Animas was making an effort to help me and they gave me quite a few free different pump supplies and barriers until I found the solution. So I really give them even more credit after looking at my experience with Dexcom. Animas called and checked back in with me. Dexcom only helped me with an email which is not really an solution.

             I was really hoping they would loan me a different receiver so I can test out to see if it was just an issue with my receiver but I was told no. So they are not very willing to back up the device from what I can tell but thankfully my Dr. said they will be addressing Dexcom directly because they feel that there is an issue with the device and not the sites. At least someone else is backing me up. I am hopeful that I will get a resolution but not without a fight.

Discussion at Grocery Store

                I was leaving the grocery store on Sunday and was approached by a gentlemen who wanted to know what Duchess's job was. Since he asked in a very polite manner I decided to tell him that she detects the high and low blood sugars I can no longer feel. He was sharing with me that his wife was a type 1 diabetic and has had increased number of low blood sugars she is not feeling. I know how scary that can be for everyone around a diabetic. I know he asked me about what it was like to have Duchess with me and I normally discuss the good and the bad. I do this because I don't want people to think it is easy and no work because I do have to spend time keeping her training up. I have made some mistakes along the way with Duchess as any service dog owner could make but I am learning which is the important part. I know I find if funny now that I have had Duchess for a while now that more and more people are actually guessing her job correctly which is interesting because when I first got her most people had never heard of diabetic alert dog but I know there has been so many more stories, articles and bloggers talking about their alert dogs.

                I know the husband seemed worried and wanted her to start looking into her options of what she can do to prevent the bad lows from happening. I told him honestly some of the scary lows are not always preventable whether you can feel a low or not I think it can just happen. I know he was really amazed to see a diabetic alert dog in Austin. There is several currently and I was the first to have a diabetic alert dog in the area. So I am hoping with me blogging, talking,educating and spreading the word maybe somebody who was having a similar experience to mine will find what a life saver a DAD can be or find other options as well. The man was extremely polite and it was nice to meet a spouse who was willing to learn as much as possible about the options for his spouse. I am hoping he finds what he is looking for. I know one thing for sure is that Hypoglycemia Unawareness is by far the most scary thing I have experienced so far. It can really make you feel so very vulnerable and not safe. I am hoping he lets his spouse know that there is options because when I got diagnosed I did not find many options.

JDRF Mentor Meeting

                   I went to a meeting last night for a program through the JDRF mentor program which also had an opportunity for social interaction as well. It was such a great evening for learning about this program which I do plan on joining. I thought it would be a great opportunity to share what I have learned over the year for people just diagnosed or a couple years in who need some help. I had meet quite a few of the volunteers for the program at the Type 1 Now conference over the past two years. I did get asked if most people know Duchess's name and not mine but I said I was used to it. I am know at the diabetic girl with the alert dog but I know she is very memorable. It was nice to talk to other diabetics and parents about type 1 I always feel so much more empowered after these type of events. I am looking forward to being more involved in the program. I have been looking forward to being more involved in the JDRF as my schedule allows. I know there was a woman who had type 1 almost 50 years and I thought there was nothing she could learn from me but I thought it was funny that she wanted to know how I was able to get my Alc below a 7.0. I of course told her that I have been slightly pre-bolusing for my meals for the past 5 years and I have found less rise. The key to the bolusing before hand is finding the right amount of time before so you don't go low. I have figured out mine and it just took some time starting with 5 minutes before and moving up slightly till I found the time that was safe for me. I have also achieved days where I was a flat line but that is not everyday but I aim for that as much as possible.

                   I am hoping that when I get the opportunity to mentor that I really can help them figure out ways to handle all the crazy things D can throw at you. I know I am always learning myself and I hope to make more D connections in the future.

 

A Journey into the Past

                      I have been thinking a lot about lows recently and I am not sure why I am thinking about lows so much but they have been on my mind. I think since they have been a constant part of my life during the past five years it seems normal to me but not normal for others. I know diabetes may vary and I know mine certainly does. I have been thinking about lows I had as a kid that no one noticed for quite a while but the weird thing is that it never occurred to me that I should of mentioned it to my parents or my Dr.'s back then.  Most of my childhood I have memories of lows that went on for a while but I was not cluing into the fact that I was low. I have a feeling my brain is trying to play tricks on me as always. I remember back in 2004 that I had a bad low where I do not remember several hours of time and I was late picking up my sister from work. I know at the time I did not think it was a big deal and that time I had no feeling of that low because I did not notice the increase of lows I was not feeling. I was also in the midst of struggling with my eating disorder and blamed that I had not eaten enough that day. I know my mother at the time didn't think anything was off either because there was not a lot of these lows. So I went on assuming that everything was fine. I find it interesting that I missed that I was slowly but surely losing my ability to feel lows. I am usually pretty observant of changes but honestly my Hypoglycemia Unawareness sneaked up on me very slowly in ninja like manner.

                     Hindsight is always 20/20 but I am still shocked five years later how I easily missed that my ability to sense lows were going and I had not clue. Well at least I am in a much safe place today because of my best friend Duchess and my CGM. I am really also surprised that I missed how much my B12 being low was affecting me. If my friends did not mention the comments I had made I am not sure I would of figured that out either. I am not as observant as I thought I was possibly or mabey my diabetes is keeping me busier than I realize.