"LO GLUCOSE"

So, whenever we change any type of setting on C's pump (basals, carb ratios, etc.), I'm not sure why, but it always takes a good 4-5 days until the true result is seen and felt.  So, this time was no different.  Slowly and ever surely, her numbers were calming down.
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Usually when we go to an appointment, her endo knows not to overwhelm us (me) with too many changes at once.  But this time, C had been so high for so long, around the clock, that I knew I had to throw some of my caution to the wind and trust that it was for the best.  Also, her doc was out on vacation, so I was working over the phone and the CareLink website with one of the nurses.

We increased every single basal setting and even added a couple new ones.  We changed several carb ratios during the times of day when she would really shoot up high.  And, lo and behold, this sweet nurse recognized that C's active insulin time was set at 3 hours, not the normal 2 hours...meaning the pump would calculate corrections knowing that any insulin coverage would last 3 full hours.  Sweetly, and calmly, she told me that the 3 hour setting is "really only used for babies and toddlers."

"If we change it to the normal 2 hours, that will really help with her correction doses."

"Huh.  Well, I guess it's still at the 3 hour setting because, huh, she started on the pump when she was still a toddler!  Thanks for noticing that!...I was never told to change it once she got older."  I had been enlightened. : )

"Now, be sure to do a few nights of 12 and 3 checks," she said as we were just about finishing up.

"Oh yes, yes we will.  I'll email her doc in about a week so she can go over the new numbers.  Thanks so much!"
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Days passed.  And, like I mentioned before, C's numbers gradually started dropping back into range.  Then a sneaky little low popped up of 60...and honestly, I was kind of glad. Numbers in range...ahhh!  But then one low turned into 2 in a row.  And then, there were more lows than highs.  I backed off corrections.  I began second-guessing my high-level carb-counting skills.  The midnight and 3 am checks were continuing.  And the "ZING" of anxiety shot through my body as I woke early in the morning.  I lowered a couple of the basals again...

...and then, it was America's birthday!

We were busy with pancake breakfasts, parades, bounce houses, friends and family all weekend long.  And C kept experiencing lows all weekend long.  And, when we were standing in line to go into the local high school football stadium to await the glorious fireworks show, it happened. 

I looked down at C, who was sitting on the sidewalk since the line wasn't moving.  She looked pale.  I tossed her meter to her and told her to check.  And, then intuition kicked in.  Slightly panicked, I shoved everything I was holding into my husband's arms.  I dropped down and took over testing her finger.  And, this is what the meter spewed back at us:

LO GLUCOSE

Okay, my heart did a swan dive into my stomach.  I tore through her bag and ripped open a juice box.  She downed it in seconds.  I held the meter up to show the husband.  I couldn't really even speak at this time.  I shoved another test strip in the meter:  58.  **Gigantic sigh**  58?  We can deal with that!  But what in the world was that LO GLUCOSE reading???!!!

I had never seen that before.  In all the 6 1/2 years we've been doing this thing called diabetes...not once.  I wonder, Has anyone else ever experience this nasty message?

Now, if you look closely (at my poorly photographed image), you'll notice that C tested at 58 only one minute after the LO reading.  So, maybe that means, she really wasn't too much lower that one minute before.  So, I'm still not understanding that message.  Oh well. 

To say the least, it was unnerving.

And, after contacting her endo the next morning, we gladly followed her advice to back off on some of those changes we had made the week prior.  I asked her about the LO reading, but in her email, she didn't make mention of it.  I'm sure it will be a topic at C's visit next month!

(Still uttering big sighs around here.)

8-10 Ladybugs a Day

I just can't wait.  I'm impatient.  I wrote up a post a couple days ago about meeting another D mom, Melinda (aka @notsostilllifes) last Friday!  I'm trying to sit on my hands so I don't write about it yet...because...well, it's already written, but it won't show for a couple weeks.  Aaaacckkk!  I'm impatient.

But I want to at least share a picture of C's new little ladybugs that were gifts from Michael (18), Melinda's type 1 son.  When he was younger, they would call the drops of blood for glucose checks, ladybugs.  She said he had a ton of them, from stuffed ones to pictures to maybe something like these cute little glass ones.  They're adorable, don't you think?  I guess it's kind of like making lemonade out of lemons!

C says "thank you, Michael!"  And thank you, Melinda, for some new perspective.

This one is "Frankie."  And, yes, all the others have names too!

Wordless Wednesday

The L.A. County UnFair

Okay, first of all, it was 150 degrees last Wednesday when I had the privelege of going on the all-school field trip to the L.A. County Fair.  I accompanied C and her 2nd grade classmates. 

I went, prepared and armed for a scorching hot day.  Rolling ice chest filled with water bottles.  Giant spray bottles to cool down the kids.  And of course, C's diabetes bag filled to the brim with extra stuff to make diabetes behave itself.

Since the entire school was attending this field trip, there was a parent/volunteer meeting in the cafeteria just before boarding the buses.  We were given the rules:

• no younger siblings
• don't purchase anything
  
• bring a sack lunch
  
• stay with the group
  
• all students must return to school - no staying at the fairgrounds after the official field trip time
  
• no rides
  
• no games
  
• no tank tops
  
• act appropriately
  
• keep track of students on your list
  
• meet at gazebo at appointed time
  

I totally understand them.  And I totally agree with most of them.  But, let me tell you, it's no fun eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich while staring at the Hot Dog on a Stick stand.  And it was indeed torturous in the 1000 degree temperature to pass by the shave ice carts.  Unfair.

The kids thought other things were unfair. 

"Why can't we buy anything?" 

"I want to go on a ride!" 

"Can't we just play one game?"

"Oh, come on," they said.  "That's not fair!"

So we nicknamed it...the L.A. County UnFair.

No to the balloons.

No to the rides.

But, yes to the petting corral in 111 degrees.

(Don't think I was that much of a party pooper!  Actually, we had some fun.  We saw African animals, up close and personal.  We went through the dinosaur exhibits.  We walked through the Smokey Bear area.  We saw a magic show.  And, I really didn't mind the farm animals area.  Who can resist little piglets or pigmy goats?!)

Oh...and diabetes?  C stayed between 80 and 140.  She needed very little bolusing.  And a chocolate milk (without correction) kept her number from crashing in the heat.

The First Flu Bug w/Diabetes

answer:  "At least it's manageable."

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It was summertime, 2003...the first summer with diabetes for our family. C had received the diagnosis in December. It was now August. We had been coping with this beast for several months now. And except for a few sniffles here and there, we had managed to stay fairly healthy since that time.

Summer activities were in full swing. Both the boys were in VBS (Vacation Bible School) at our church. This left a little time each morning for just C and me.

Day 3 of the week -- I picked up the younger from his group time. We raced around doing some errands. Picked up the dog from the vet. As we left to go home for lunch, middle C announced that he was "going to throw up!" Got the dog in the car, C strapped in, and gave middle C a baggie, just in case.

We made it home.  I rushed everybody inside.  Middle C proceeded to do exactly what he told us he was going to do.  Needless to say, there was no lunch for him...just a wet washcloth and trash can by his bed. After settling him in his room, I turned my attention to C's lunch.

Only two years old at the time, she crawled up into her high chair.  I checked her finger.  As C munched away on lunch, I drew up the insulin for the carbohydrates she was consuming.  Back then we, almost always, gave her the injection after she finished her meal.  It was so hard to know if she would actually eat everything in front of her or not...she was a two year old!  When she was close to finishing, I gave her the shot.  Honestly, the way I remember it...it wasn't 5 minutes later that she hopped down from the chair, began to fuss and threw up all over the kitchen floor.

Did you get that?  She just ate lunch.  I just gave her an injection of insulin.  And she just threw up all over the kitchen floor.

I scooped her up, took her upstairs and began cleaning her up, all the while, she was fussing and crying.  I remember catching a glimpse of the two of us in the bathroom mirror.  C...with vomit all over her cute little outfit and strung through her hair.  And, me...with a look of terror in my eyes.  My thoughts raced.  She just ate lunch.  I gave her insulin.  And, she threw up.  Those were the phrases swirling through my brain.  I had to get a hold of myself and, the situation. 

While I put C in her room, middle C needed help.  The poor kid would have to fend for himself for a while.  I was panicking big time.  I ran to get C's meter.  I remember checking her blood glucose frantically.  It was somewhere in the 70s.  This was not good.  No food in her tummy.  Lots of insulin at work.  All I could do was hold her and rock her and wipe up the next round of vomit. 

BG check.  She was dropping and fast.  62.  Juice.  Vomit.  BG check, 54.  Juice.  Vomit.  Oh, my God!  What was happening??  Lord help me!

I cannot clearly explain the desperation I was feeling.  I ran to get the phone.  I called the emergency hotline for CHLA.  Thankfully, I got through quickly.  A lovely nurse was on the other end of the line with me in an instant.  I'm certain that I was quite incoherent, but I tried my best to tell her what was happening.

Vomit.  Oh Lord!

"Okay, dear," the lovely nurse said.  "Okay, I want you to put me on speaker and check C's blood glucose again."

"Okay," I said.  I know I was blubbering at this point. 

I hit the speaker button and dropped the phone.  BG, 41.  My hands were shaking.  "41," I cried.

"Okay," the lovely nurse said.  In such a calm, sweet manner she asked me, "do you have a glucagon kit handy?"

"Uh, uh...yes.  Wait, it's downstairs," I muttered.

"Now, leave C and go down and get it and come right back to me, okay?"

"Okay."

I got back to C's room, dropped to the floor.  "Okay," I said.  "Got it."

By this time, C was quiet, laying on the floor, next to me.  I checked her once again.  37.  I felt like the world was caving in on us.

The nurse gave me specific, detail by detail, directions.  "I'm going to walk you through giving C small doses of the glucagon, okay?"

"Okay."

"I want you to go get a few syringes and come right back," she said.

"I've got some right here in her bag," my voice was so shaky.

The lovely nurse continued to direct me in mixing the solution, drawing it up and giving tiny doses of it to C.  After every 5 minutes or so, she would tell me to check C's glucose.  I remember repeating the cycle over the next couple hours.  Her number would rise to 54.  Then it would drop to 47.  60.  And then 58.  It was like a cruel game.

After an eternity, her numbers came up above 70.  When the lovely nurse felt C was in a good range.  She told me to let her sleep.  Then, I should check on her every 15 minutes and call the lovely nurse back.  I did.

Of course, after C hadn't vomitted for several hours, we went back to using juice to correct the lows.

I know my memory is foggy at best, but I can remember camping out on the floor in her room for about 2 days, ready to do whatever was necessary for my baby.
_______________________________

question:  What is the number one thing a mom of a newly diagnosed 2 year old doesn't want to hear?

The First Day of School

Monday was the first day of school. It went something like this:

6:30 am I woke up and showered.

6:45 am Woke up middle C and C and checked her bg...155...not horrible...corrected.

Dressed. Breakfasted. Made lunches. Woke up big C.

7:35 am Out the door. Busy, busy parking lot...parked way far away.

Grabbed bags o' diabetes stuff. "Got your bag, C?" "Yes, mom!"

7:45 am At the Health Office. "Where's your bag?" "In the car." Ug. Back to car.

Back to Office. Talked with Health Aide. Nurse won't be here today! Must come and do all bg checks. Huh? Shook hands with middle C's teacher. Squeezed middle C good-bye. Walked with C to her new room. : ) Smiled at teacher. (We met and talked diabetes last week.) Left extra kit in classroom.

8:05 am Chatted with a few moms I haven't seen all summer.

8:20 am Back at home with big C. Had COFFEE. 1 more cup.

8:30 am Out the door. Picked up big C's friend. Dropped off at crosswalk of middle school. "Bye, sweetheart. Have a good day. I love you!" "Yea."

8:45 am To the grocery store. Although I just went 2 days ago, we are running out of food!

Raced home and put away perishable food.

9:35 am Off to school to do recess bg check...206...high, but we dealt with it. "Love you bug...see you at lunch!" Chatted with Health Aide.

10:00 am Back home. Put away rest of groceries. Continued with the endless laundry. Answered some emails. Processed some orders. Twittered some, of course.

11:35 am Back to school for lunch bg check...133...not bad. Corrected for lunch.

12:00 noon Back home. More computer time. Thought about 1:00 pm check...never mentioned this to new teacher. Maybe she'll be fine? Unless they play outside...so hot...she'll go low.

12:15 pm Called school. Talked with Health Aide. Decided on "in class" bg check at 1:30 pm. She'll call me. Okay.

12:30 pm Lunch for me...yay!

12:50 pm Out the door to pick up big C...middle schoolers have minimum day for Back-to-School Night...tonight!

1:15 pm Back home. Talked with big C about the day. He was unusually talk-y...so I took advantage. I heard all about his schedule and what friends are where...and what teachers are nice, mean, cool, etc.. Good times!

1:30 pm Get a call from school. C's bg wass...117...wow! Breathe.

2:00 pm Out the door to pick up C. Gathered bag from office. Hugged my big 2nd grader. Talked with teacher. "Everything went great!" Head home.

2:15 pm I heard all about C's new classroom. Pet turtles. Classroom helpers. "I got a lollipop, mom!" *sigh* "Let's save it for a low." bg check...152...okay. Correct and snack time.

2:45 pm Out the door to pick up middle C. (Yes, 3 different pick ups.)

3:00 pm A great 1st day in 5th grade! I heard all about the new teacher. Reward systems. Field trip plans. Who's in what class. All exciting! Snack time and relax.

3:30 pm "Any homework?" "No," "No," "No." But I have 3 big piles of papers to fill out and sign.

_____________________

It was exciting...the first day of school. Exhausting, but exciting. I count it a real blessing that I can be the taxi service for my kids. (I will need to remind myself of this blessing throughout the year!) There's something kind of magical about this time of year. I don't know...Maybe it's getting back into a routine that is comforting. Maybe it's seeing friends again. But, what I love the most is that feeling of great anticipation for what this school year can hold. The possibilities of learning, of growing. It's a great feeling. I think back a year--and how much my kids have grown and learned since then. Oh, the possibilities!

The "D" Card

Do you ever play the "D" card? I do. I did this morning. Otherwise, I felt like diabetes was going to win this hand.

C's endo appointment is next week. Our doc wanted us to go in to get lab work done a week prior. The orders were to fast for bloodwork. This is tricky, as all you D folks know. Her number needs to be near perfect upon waking, or we miss the opportunity. So I started last week...each morning being prepared to go in with an "in-range" number...but not too low. I never know how long the wait will be.

Well, this morning she woke up at 85! Kind of miraculous in our book. So, we jumped on it. We dressed, put hats on and we were out the door. We walked into the lab. It wasn't just kind of crowded, it was packed. There weren't even 2 available chairs for us.

I started out very apologetic and kind. I told the young receptionist gal that we were there for C and that she's type 1 diabetic. I said I wasn't quite sure how long we would be able to wait without eating. And if it's too long and she goes low then we would have to come back. And we are running out of time because her endo appointment is next week, and... You get the picture.

Well, she told me she would do her best but that she has to take people in order. I bit my tongue and walked over to stand next to all the occupied chairs.

Now, I would have classified myself as a fairly patient person B.D. (before diabetes). However, diabetes is never patient with us and it has rubbed off on me. I also would have classified myself as a mild-mannered person B.D. and B. C. (before children). This disease has forced me to step far away from my comfort zone many times.

So, about 30 minutes later, not surprisingly, C told me she was feeling low. Okay, we dropped to the floor and very publicly displayed her meter kit. We checked. Hmmm?...71. Not super low, but not good if we need to continue to wait. My patience and mild manners were beginning to fray. I walked back up to the counter with C's meter showing the number 71.

"Just wanted to know where we are in the line-up..." I said with a semi-smile. "She's 71 and if she goes lower, the fasting thing is out the window."

"Well, we have to get this other girl in before you. Her mother has been asking the same thing." The gal said. "Then we'll get your daughter in."

"Thank you, thank you!" I said.

I went back to C. I told her we'd be up really soon and that I would have this juice box ready for her. It wasn't 1 minute later and we were called. Phew, I thought.

We got her blood drawn with relatively few tears. She took a some sips of juice. I thanked the phlebotmist. I wanted to skedaddle right out of there as I felt the angry stares from those who were still waiting. But, just as we were heading for the door, the receptionist handed me a speciman cup. C also had to leave a sample. Ug.

I failed to remember this part and of course she didn't "have to go." So, instead of slipping out we had to sit there, drink water, juice, more water. It took several tries. Finally she was finished. We left.

I am grateful that we actually were treated with exception after showing the 71 on her meter. But then, when we had to wait, drink water, and wait some more, it was a little embarassing. I just wished I could have said to everyone in that waiting room "I'm sorry...I can wait...but my daughter's diabetes won't....thank you for letting us go ahead."

The "D" card. Do you play it? Maybe we should have just gone back another time.

14,000 Finger Checks!

No, the title does not mean C has checked her blood glucose 14,000 times! But that is an interesting thought. I will need to do the math around here soon and figure out just how many finger pokes she has actually endured these past 5 years...another time.

TuDiabetes' founder, Manny Hernandez, has asked for us all in the diabetes online community, to spread the word: On Tuesday, July 14, 2009 (tomorrow) at 4:00 PM Eastern Time (that's 1:00 PM for us west-coasters), over 14,000 people with diabetes will check blood sugars together. Here are the directions, straight from a message sent from TuDiabetes:

"People with diabetes have to test their blood sugar as part of their daily routine: it’s like drinking water or brushing your teeth. July 14 at 4 pm ET, 14,000 people with diabetes are going to test their blood sugar simultaneously and share their results online to help raise diabetes awareness.

Participating is easy: if you are a member of TuDiabetes or EsTuDiabetes, click on the home page banner and share your reading; if you have a Twitter account, post your reading on Twitter (use the #14KPWD hashtag) and link back to: http://14kpwd.org/; if you prefer, update your status on Facebook or your preferred social network, linking back to: http://14kpwd.org/.

If you are a few minutes late, however, or are able to post your blood sugar reading earlier or later that day, it’s OK. What really matters is that you test your blood sugar regularly. If you don’t have diabetes, just tell someone who does to test and share on July 14.

Please tell everyone you can!"

So, let's all join in! Let's raise awareness...and, if you're not a member of TuDiabetes yet, join today!

Visit TuDiabetes - A Community for People Touched by Diabetes