Friends for Life

                   I am so excited that I will be able to attend the CWD Friends for Life Conference in Orlando Florida in July for the first time. I wanted to go last year but was unable to. So to be able to go this year will be quite fun. I have been going to Sononma California for the past couple of years in July to see friends but I thought a change of pace would be nice. I know there is so many people I would love to meet in person and this is another opportunity. I know Duchess love to fly and so this trip will be a nice break for her. I have never been to Disney world either so I know this will be fun. Duchess can go on some of the rides with me at Disney World. I know I always get the funniest looks when I say my service dog can go on rides but I am really hoping she enjoys them. I would also like to take her to Disney Land in the near future as well. I know it will be interesting to see her reactions to the Disney characters see will encounter. She is not usually scared so I am sure she will enjoy it. I know I will be taking a lot of pictures of my trip and plan on sharing them with everyone. I am really looking forward to getting away from work for a couple of weeks. I just started my over time hours thankfully. So I will need the break by the time July rolls around. I know Duchess will love all the excitement of it all but I know the conferences always has her on high alert because of all the smells of low or high blood sugars. I sometimes feel bad because she is around all the smells and how much that must drive her crazy but she really just takes it in stride and keeps alerting me as she should.

Picture at Winery in Sonoma Ca from last year

Losing a Customer

                    I am still in the process of dealing with Dexcom. They have again come back to less calibration as a fix for the issue. I have an issue with the solution because in the middle of the night last night I tested I was 135 which is fine for me overnight. The dexcom kept saying I was 220. I was told not too calibrate too much. So I entered that I was 135 in the Dexcom and it said on the graph I was 190. So I went back to sleep for two hours then it goes off again saying I was 250 but I was 128. So I leave it alone without calibrating again as instructed. So I go back to sleep and it goes off again. It says I was low but I was not low but 95. I think this is really crummy the only way I get sleep is too turn the device off and that defeats the whole purpose of having the device. I am unable to use the graphs because most of the time the information is skewed because the Dexcom is not accurate to where I actually am. I am less than enthused by their response to my issue. I really do not understand why they don't just replace the receiver and let me move on but they keep trying to delay what they should of done months ago. I have so many people I know who have better accuracy but mine is so much worse and not better. I am tired of companies not backing up their products if they are defective just to save them money but instead they might be losing a customer. I am sure they don't care but they should. I am so irritated that everyone else gets better accuracy and I get the opposite. I have even been told by Dexcom they have not heard this complaint before but yet they do nothing.

                       I have a feeling that the loss of one customer is not a big deal in the grand scheme of things but I would of thought they would want to try and keep customers by addressing issues. They have solved all issues with Dexcom sensors quite easily but this does not seem to be their specialty. Technical support told me everything was fine but I don't think that is true. I know I love my Seven Plus that is why I was so excited to get the G4. The seven plus I never had these issues. I could enter that I was not low on my Seven Plus and it would adjust accordingly and leave me alone this one does not even with repeated entries. I am about to give up completely. I have a real lack of confidence that I will be able to get resolution from Dexcom. I am ready to say good bye because eventually I will not be able to get the Seven Plus Dexcom sensors which I am reordering this month because the G4 is not worth all the lost sleep.

Articles about Possible Cures

              I read an article recently about another possible cure. I know I read these articles much different than I did when I was younger. I like to think that I am a little more realistic of the time frames for a cure. I have been hearing for years that we will have a cure withing the next 5 to 10 years but it has never come. I still have hope but with a little more realism. I have dealt with diabetes almost 33 years and I would love a cure but my definition of a cure might differ from others. For me a cure would be having an insulin or medication that does not cause lows or highs and that is only taken once a month of a device that I can have a more normal life. To me that would be a cure but for others they would prefer no medications at all. I would just love to not to have to use all the devices and pay for all the absorbent cost of the devices. If I was able to have a little more freedom and now lows to worry about I would be happy. Right now my decisions in some ways are ruled by my lows even with having Duchess. I will never forge the bad lows or the embarrassment these lows have caused over the years. I know how close I have come to a very dangerous place because of these lows. I know a cure is really not quite here but I have a feeling it is much closer than even just ten years ago. I am always a big supporter of research but it takes time. If a cure never comes I am also okay with that as well because honestly I have spent so many years being a diabetic at this point it would almost seem strange to not be a diabetic.

Observations on Campus and in General

                    Since I have been working at the University of Texas I have been able to observe some things that I have found quite interesting. I know I currently do not consider myself disabled currently but I am sure the State of Texas does because I need Duchess. I have found some interesting things through observations as I am walking around campus. I love people watching. I have noted some really sad things recently. I was observing a student that also had a service dog I am not sure what for. Normally when you walk through a certain area of campus groups are raising money, inviting people to join clubs, advertising up coming events and talking about issues that concern them. I noticed that the student with the service dog was not offered the same opportunities as the other students walking around in the same area. It really made me sad that they really did not offer the student the same chance as other healthy students. I know the general public can really miss the boat when it come to understanding. Many of these students live very normal lives with some obstacles but should be able to do most things like any other person. I find the treatment of the student and the service dog incredibly sad because the student truly has just as much to offer. I know there was a study about workplaces and the disabled. The study pointed out that the disabled worker missed less work than their healthy counter parts. I know that has held true for me and my workplace. I do have more appointments but that also means I miss less work. I also make up my time as well.

                     I have noticed that many people treat me differently after I got Duchess. It can be quite socially isolating in some ways because people either are too nosy or they ignore you completely. The good part for me is that I have great friends and co-workers. I know life can really through you some tough obstacles but I was really surprised how much inaccurate information can affect a person. As diabetics the old notion that we are unable to have sugar or have to have a special diet still plagues most of us. I am was really suprised how old judgements of people with disabilities still exist today. I was really saddened by this and I will continue to try and educate people as much as I can. I know the report I read talked about how when most of the baby boomers retires that the workforce will need to look at how to better accommodate the disabled in order to fill the gaps of a smaller workforce which I think is necessary in so many ways.

Lessons Learned about Dental Health

                  I know I feel behind on my dental care when I went back to college. I knew I would pay the price one way or another and I currently am. My teeth are not in bad shape I had to get a couple of fillings for the first time in my life and there were changes in my gums. I know I currently  have two blood disorder and vitamin B12 deficiency does cause bleeding of the gums in some patients. I notices some changes last month and a half with finding out the B12 deficiency. Three months before my gums were looking so much better but not now they have went backwards. I have followed all the requests of my dentist and have working to get everything back to where it needs to be. Sadly I was told today I will have to continue to come back every 4 months until my gums and teeth have continued to improve to a healthy level. I already feel like I have way too many appointments these days. I do make up all my time missed for appointments so I know it does not affect my work dramatically but I am always worried about my work using that as a reason to get rid of me.

                The funny part is that I currently floss twice a day brush frequently and use mouth wash all in hopes of helping. I feel kind of defeated in some ways. I have so many conditions that currently do affect my dental health from anemia's to diabetes. I am sure if I continue to follow up things will improve but it can be frustrating how fast things can change in several years. Well now I am back to where I only see my Endocrinologist every three months which will really help and the same for my retina specialist. Hopefully I can get things back on track fast. I have another cleaning in 4 months. I think I am going to also start using a water pik and see if that improves things as well. I am currently doing everything I can but not seeing the results I need. I have always known that dental care was important but I did not realize how having two years of not going could cause so many issues. I have learned some valuable lessons that I need to consistently have dental insurance and regular follow ups. I almost regret going back to college because of the stress of not having insurance and all the issues that popped up but it also opened so many opportunities as well.

                  The good news for me so far is that at least Duchess's teeth are looking good and that is amazing since she will be 5 years old in July. I know they said eventually I will have to have Duchess's teeth cleaned which means they put her out to get it done. Hopefully her visit will go better than mine have.

Continuation

                   I have been trying to get Dexcom to help me solve my issues with my receiver but sometimes this process is frustrating. I recently purchased a new computer and I thought oh I will download a new update onto my new computer but low and behold there is no software currently capable of being used with windows 8 which I have. When I purchased the computer I never even thought about if the Dexcom would be compatible with their software. So I had to start up my old laptop which I was having issues with and try to download onto that computer. Then I had to resent the information to Dexcom again. I am not sure what the results will be. Last time I emailed it and heard nothing back until I called them and they told me everything was fine. I find it funny because everyone I know has had a much more reliable product than I have. They also have had less false alerts which I am facing daily. I am currently dealing with the local representative which honestly has not impressed me much with her customer service. She thought she was done after telling me to only calibrate twice in a day and that would solve the problem. As I knew that did not change anything. So I feel very lucky that my Dr. has been bugging the representative to get my device where it needs to be. I know we both have asked that they replace the receiver for the device but the answer is always no. So I resent the data again for the second time this morning. I am going to be interested to see what they tell me now.

College Students

               I have found over the past three years that people are not very smart sometimes. I am not sure if they think I am deaf  but they continually continue to talk about me when their right behind me or right in front of me. I know yesterday I was on my afternoon break with Duchess and we normally walk around campus to give her a break. The two college students were talking really loudly about how Duchess had the do not pet signs on her vest. The one girl asks the other one why would that women not let people pet her dog. The one girl replies that maybe she is a service dog. They said that would make sense if she was a service dog with a do not pet sign. The one girl said she thought it was mean to Duchess because I would not let people pet her but the other girl said it really makes sense to me. I have heard that if you pet them they can become distracted from their jobs. They both then go onto discussing service dogs. I know the one girl kept saying I really just want to pet her she is so beautiful. I am a little impartial I think she is beautiful as well. The two girls followed behind me for quite a while they even commented on how people should let everyone pet their dogs but I disagree. I have learned from my own experience that a dog may look friendly but they are not always. Sometimes the dogs have issues from abuse or a negative experience. Looking at a dog's body language is key but most people do not pay attention. Duchess loves to be pet but I know she will stop working and even if she was able to I would not always says yes because honestly I would never get anythings done.

             I know the funniest part as we are walking and the girls shortly behind Duchess always seems to know when she is being talked about. She perks up walk to a prance and struts her stuff. I know she always gives me something to laugh about. I could not stop watching her change her posture as she heard the girl talking about her. She is such a goofy dog but I would not have it any other way.

              

Lows for Hours

               I had a very long evening last night I started to go low around 8:20pm and was low til around 10pm then I went low again til around 3:00am. The Dexcom going off over and over again. I had over 300 carbohydrates during this low which is about as much as I would of eaten in three days all in one night. I had glucose tabs, M&M's, juice, peanut butter & crackers, peanut butter and toast, Greek yogurt, hummus and chips, smarties, coke, leftover spaghetti and other left overs. Nothing seemed to be working but I did not want to give a glucagon shot for a low. I did not go below 40 but I stayed there for several hours and it is not unusual for me to have one's like this occasionally. I was lucky in that it was in the evening when I had everything done for the day and the low was not preventing me from accomplishing anything. The low because it went till late in the night to say I slept well was an understatement but I was up and moving bright and early this morning and quite cheerful considering everything. The most frustrating part of this long low is that my heartbeat was faster than normal because I was low which honestly is not something I am used to these days. I normally like to start off Monday with a little more sleep but I guess I will have to just have an extra cup of coffee this morning.

                 I know times I really feel awful for Duchess because she is on constant alert most of the night. She I could tell was really getting tired at one point she was squishing me laying on top of me because she wanted me to address the lows I was having. I know she was giving me that look of why are you not taking care of this and why are you making me constantly alert you. I know I always worry about wearing her out with these types of lows because they can last for hours. I know that must get stressful for her but I do try to give her extras special alerts during the longer one's such as cheese or her favorite peanut butter biscuits to keep her alerting up. I found that last night Duchess did not leave my side for several solid hours even to go to the bathroom eventually I finally got it to go back up and made her go out but she is so very dedicated and concerned during these events.

If I had only Save these for last night it would of been a more enjoyable low for hours. Love these gluten free cupcakes