Sky Diving and Diabetics Meet Up's

My second sky dive while on vacation was with Cowboy which is his nick name. He has been sky diving since he was in his teens. So this time I jumped I did not cross my arms across my chest when exiting the plane I actually was able to put my hands out immediately and stabilize myself to an extent in preparation for my AFF (solo skydiving training). I know I was worried that I could cause an issue but it turned out it was fine and I learned a great deal from just this one experience. I was also allowed to help with landing to an extent as well. He taught me a great deal of skills as well. I know on the plane ride my boyfriend John tested both our blood sugars before we jumped. Normally he has pockets on his pants which allow him to not lose the meter. I know I can use my SPIBELT as well for my meter. It was interesting to see the responses. On my first jump of my vacation I was actually sitting next to type 2 diabetic who has been jumping for years. He was diagnosed about a year ago and continues to sky dive which is great.

I know him and I talked after my jump and he learned John was a Type 1 as well. So it was interesting to learn of others enjoying the same things. I know we discussed a great deal of things diabetes related. It is nice to know there was also another Type 1 diabetic that jumps there as well. So I know I will be in good company. I know through this learning process it seems to be that I am getting better and better as I go. I have never jumped two days in a row and two jumps in a day. I know the future I will be jumping more often and I am looking forward to those days. I know this have been an incredible adventure for me personally but also a great success in the I have solve my Dexcom problem on my own and I also have been able to over come any lows that have popped up so far. I know I have had one sky dive I was downing sugar because my blood sugar was 116 just to be safe. I was shoving the candy down my throat and my blood sugar before was 146 which was better. I will be posting my first sky dive video tomorrow for you all to see.

Skydiving and Dexcom Sensors

I know when I did my past three Sky dives when I was on vacation I wanted to test and see if I could find a way to not ruin the Dexcom sensors. The good news that I have found a way to do so this time even with two days of jumps. I know last time I had the sensor on my arm which worked for an hour after my first sky dive.  So I know I wanted to test and see if I used different locations that I might be able to use the sensor after my jumps. I found that if I use my stomach the sensors were fully covered and seemed to work just fine. I know my sensor lasted the full 7 days and not one issue. I was thankful that I won't run every sensor if I do go sky diving and I love having my sensor work during my sky dives and after as well. I know with the force of the jumps it is a great deal of force for anyone medical device to withstand. I also thankfully have noticed no issues for my pump which I store in a Spy belt when I Sky dive. It seems to  protect it and also keep me from losing my insulin pump as well.

I know I hate to risk anything happening to the Dexcom or my insulin pump. I am really glad I did not give up on the Dexcom sensors. It is great that if you keep them covered while jumping it continues to work which gives me some peace of mind. I know I love having all my tools and it is great when you can solve issues on your own. I know my friend was asked to test how the Dexcom sensors do while Sky diving and I am glad I found out on my own. I am hoping this information will help others who love Sky diving like I do. I am officially addicted to Sky diving and I am looking forward to my up coming training.

My Second Sky Dive Experience

I am so incredibly happy about life in general after my vacation. I know I have so many things to be thankful for and I will share more as the time gets closer. I know my favorite parts of my vacation was the sky diving. I went sky diving on the fourth of July. My first jump that I did was with Max. I know my friend has told him I was interested in doing AFF (solo sky diving) in the future. So with this knowledge Max let me try new things that they normally don't during a regular tandem experience.  My friend John who is also a Type 1 diabetic was with me during my jump. It was interesting to see peoples reactions when John pulled out a test kit and we both tested. I know being a Type 1 Diabetic I want to make sure I make my sky diving experience as safe as possible. I know I learned that another person on the plane was a Type 2 Diabetic as well. I know most people seemed surprised that we both were Diabetics. I did let each tandem instructor know I was Diabetic before I went up.
                          

My friend John who is actually a person I have dated on and off for several years. We broke up and then started talking back at the beginning of the year only to find out that we both were interested in Sky diving. I know it was wonderful to share all these fun experiences with someone else. It is also nice to know some one who loves sky diving as much as I do. I know we both have more to worry about than the average sky diver because of our Diabetes but I am finding that it can be done safely with proper planning and precautions. I know John will be there when I start my AFF training soon. It will be nice to have someone there who understands all the obstacles, challenges and joys of it all. I know I really love that he gets it and that he has been there during some of my seizures and bad lows. I know it can't be easy for him watching me go through some of the though times but I know I have made so much progress in the past year.

I did jump two other times during my vacation which I will be discussing next week. I also will hopefully have my Sky diving video that John taped for me while also jumping. It was nice to know that other Diabetics are giving Sky diving a chance too. I know I have enjoyed every minute of my jumps and I know I will continue to do sky diving in the future. I know I never dreamed we would be jumping together but honestly it was really incredible as I move forward into working on completing my training.

Another Flight

I know I am all packed and ready for the flight to California tonight. I have everything packed and ready to go. I leave shortly after work tonight to head to the airport. I am ready for the whole process. I did notice that TSA changed the policy on how they want service dogs to go through the metal detectors which actually would mean that both her and I would end up being patted down. I know I normally take off all of her gear, leash and collar. The reason I do that is so the TSA does not need to pat her down. I also make sure I do not have anything that will set off the metal detector as well. I do my best to make the process as easy as possible when I do fly. The website says they want the serviced dogs on a leash through the process but the issue with that is that it will set off the metal detector every time we go through. So I  will be doing what I normally do and I am sure I will get through like I normally do. I always get my hands swabbed because I do not go through the Imaging system to check for bomb material which is fine.

I know once I get through the TSA part I can sit down relax and wait for my flight which should not be bad. Normally Duchess does her part to keep my blood sugars in range. I know every time we fly she seems to be extra vigilant with my alerts which I really appreciate. I know we have flown quite a few times together so I am never nervous about flying. I know my first time flying with Duchess I was really extremely nervous about how it would go but every thing went really well. I know I did research to make sure I was aware of the rules and guidelines for flying with Duchess. I know the first flight did have glitches like them insisting that Duchess has to have a card stating she was a service dog or some identification. I did not have that and was able to get around the issue. I know every time I fly it can go either way. Most of the time most people do not realize I have a disability or any issues but I do have issues. Thankfully they seem to observe her behavior and then let us go on our way.

I know I have to say I love flying with Southwest Airlines because they always take such great care of us when we fly. They try to make the process as easy as possible which makes me more willing to fly more often. I know I have had issues with other airlines but Southwest normally will get me bulk head seats which is really helpful because Duchess sits on my feet for the most part or my feet are around her. It can be tight and not much room to move but better than squeezing Duchess into an even smaller seat. 

Injured Leg Again

I know I have been watching Duchess do some weird things when walking and I am trying to now have video's with the help of my friends to show the vet. She when standing up looks completely normal but when walking I thought at first it was her being difficult but I even see the issues when she is running as well. She is very quick but her leg when watching it seems like it has to be painful or possibly another issue. I am not sure what the issue is but it is not fun to see how she walks currently it can be very difficult to watch for me personally. I know previous times when this injury started a while back they always treat it the same way but I have a feeling they have misdiagnosed the problem because they are not seeing the injury to the full extent. So I am hoping that I can capture this injury the best I can because I feel like they are not really seeing what I am able to see on a daily basis.

I know the injury did not look so bad previously but I feel like it looks worse now than it did in the past.  So I know the key hopefully to me finding out what needs to be done to address this issue. I know Duchess tends to hide issues from me such as when she injures herself so I know I need to be careful because she is not really able to tell me when things are painful or bother her.  So I make sure to try to catch things as early as possible. I know this injury seems to be recurring and that makes me think that the vet is not addressing the real issue because it seems to be an ongoing issue. I am hoping that with some good videos that I can get Duchess back to a point where she is comfortable as possible.

Control

I know I hate the word control because it comes with connotations of responsibility and failure. I know when I hear the word control and Diabetes in the same sentence it makes me angry. I know I hear that word way too frequently from Emergency room Dr.'s about how I need to work harder to control my Diabetes. I then do my song and dance about the fact that how many things can affect one's blood sugar.  I know I manage is my preferred word of choice because I do the best I can with what I have. Even with all the technologies today I find myself in not so great places such as bad lows and previously seizures. I know no matter how much I work I cannot guarantee that I will do the right thing every time. It is so easy to over estimate carbohydrate or under estimate carbohydrates. It is also so easy for my setting to be great for a while and then one day I need to change several setting because I need more or less insulin.

I know when I talk with my family they seem to think I am not controlling my Diabetes well. The truth of the matter is that Hypoglycemia Unawareness has made me even more prone to lows in general. I know I exercise frequently to recover from bad lows without assistance when possible. I work really hard to make the proper adjustments. I know I have made very difficult decisions as a person with complications will have to make. I know at the end of the day I manage my Diabetes very well even though I do have the occasional low. I know ideally I would have none but I also am realistic that even when I was a kid I had quite a few bad lows.

I know I don't control my Diabetes I can only manage it. I know I am tired of people assuming that you can prevent them all when I know not all things can be prevented. I also hate that I have ever had to deal with bad lows at all but sadly I find that is part of being a Diabetic. I really wish the word control and Diabetes will never ever be used. I know it tends to be used by people who really have no real understanding of what it is like to live with Diabetes.

When Frustration Gets In the Way

I know recently I have been noticing my self start to slack on testing and especially at night. I know right now since I moved I have not heard my Dexcom at night at all. So I know I need to work on making sure I can hear my Dexcom again. I know that my current system is not working because hearing my Dexcom is really helpful in me treating issue promptly. I know I also have in general been slower to test when I am low as well which is never good. I am also aware this could cause Duchess to delay alerting or stop alerting in general which is never a good thing.

I know I am doing better today and trying my best to get back to a normal routine. I know everything is starting to get back to old way of doing things. I have made some permanent changes in some ways which will help me in the long run. I know my frustration in general has been high at times and I know this is also playing a part in my lack of motivation. I do test numerous times a day but not as much I normally do. I do test before I eat like normal but I am slacking on the 2 hour post meal tests. So I am having to get myself back on track is going well but I know it taking some effort. I know in the long run I need to keep myself on track. I also know that this month has been difficult and full of change.

So I am not going to be hard on myself because it happens to us all. I also know that even with all the tools I have we all get frustrated with the technology. I know for example the Dexcom is not right quite a bit of the time. I can move up slightly and Dexcom thinks I jumped up 50 points when it was only 5. So I know that does play a part in feeling frustrated with my technology. I know for example I woke up at 4:30am this morning to hearing that the batter was low, insulin was low and it saying my blood sugar was 150. So I had to get up to address all three issues at once. I know days like this can only add to the frustration at times.

I know tomorrow is a new day and also a day I can start fresh and stay on top of my blood sugars in my normal manner. It is also another chance of getting things done right and also allowing myself to move on from my week and half of feeling frustrated. Thankfully I tend to get back to my normal pretty quickly.

Getting Back to Normal Routine

I know recently with all the constant changes I know it has been challenging. I know last night I finally am back to my normal routine of going to the gym after work as normal. I know last week I was just exhausted from the move and I was trying to just get my life into a routine of sorts. I know I was worried how Duchess would react to going to a new gym. I know she loved going to old gym they all new her by name and they seemed to love having her there. I know last night it was nice the gym was double in size and had more machines. I was able to workout on the machines I needed and no one bothered me. I did have quite a few who came up attempting to pet Duchess. So I know I will have to battle this issue again but I will educate them as I go.

Duchess was really happy to go to the gym and seemed not fazed by the fact that it was not our normal gym. She loved just being back at the gym. I didn't realize how much more energy I would have waking up this morning. It was a good reminder of how much better I will feel  being back to working out frequently. I also know that I did quite well even with lows overnight which was great. I know I use the exercise as a stress reliever and I also know it seemed to make Duchess happy as well. I know in some ways even with it being a different location Duchess seemed to be happy just to be back at the gym. She was on top of letting me know early that my blood sugar was dropping quickly.

I know yesterday Duchess decided to not be her normal cooperative self. I know she was really testing me in some ways. I know Duchess can be challenging at times. She used to have a back yard but where I am staying now only has the option to be outside when I walk her or take her out. So I know that is a big reason for the struggle. I did get her to do what I needed her to do but it was not much fun doing so. I know this morning she was really needing to have things be back to normal. She put her paw on my foot the whole bus ride into work. She was much more affectionate than usual. I am glad we got through the struggle and was able to get things back to normal today. She tends to apologize in her own way.