A1C You in 4 Months!

Written July 7, 2009


My body is tired of being tortured. It is. I have run out of places to put my pump. Cozmo uses the Cleo Infusion Set and I love it. It’s easy to use but the problem is my stomach has dots & scar tissue everywhere from the cannula. I don’t feel as if there are a lot of options for Cozmo & I. The tubing makes things difficult but I can’t get a tubeless pump. I just got Cozmo and my fabu insurance won’t approve another pump so quickly. So, where the hell else can I put Coz? My stomach is the easiest area. It’s comfortable, easy to reach, I just insert and stick Cozmo in my pocket. Done. But what to do when you run out of available stomach space?

However,the stomach does have its faults. Wearing a dress is a pain. Having the pump fall out of my pocket, smash & break on the bathroom floor is a pain. I just replaced my last cartridge cap. Having the pump slap me on my vag/leg/hip is a pain. Having tubing shoved down my pants is a pain. Rawr. I’m just complaining now.

Dexter gives me a little more freedom because there isn’t any tubing. I simply shoot him in and carry the monitor in my purse. Saturday I shot him into my thigh at 8am. All day I was uncomfortably aware of him but the pain wasn’t horrible. Please. Diabetics become friends with pain. We have no other choice. Finally at about 10pm, the pain & I were not friends. I, also, wasn’t getting any readings. I removed Dex and immediately started to bleed. This is what Dex did to me.















Stupid Dex. I am running out of landscape…and patience with all of my life sustaining devices. It sucks being a diabetic.

Something else that sucks is my ex-husband. That’s right, I said it. I have been divorced for 14 years. I have been over him for 15 years but apparently he still has a grudge.















My daughter spent the 4th of July with him and was finally allowed to bring a friend. He definitely isn’t in the running for any father of the year awards, trust me. This was the first time she was allowed to bring a friend. So, he starts regaling her friend with stories on how Amanda is a genius. This is true but he went on to say how she would have to call 911 when she was only 4 years old because 'her mother wasn’t handling her diabetes.' I love those people. Fortunately for me...YAY!...there are several of those people in my life. Can you sense the sarcasm? Low bs, to them, means ‘I am not handling it.’, ‘I did not eat.’, ‘I can’t control my diabetes.’, ‘I am doing something wrong.’, ‘It’s all my fault.’

What the French toast, people? Guess what? I can do everything with text book precision and accuracy and STILL have low bs. I have to deal with it and so do you. Shame on you for being ignorant when there is a plethora of information that is available to anyone who has access to Google, a library card or a bookstore nearby. Educate yourselves. You can also try to have some compassion and human decency while you are at it. Shame on me for allowing you to make me feel guilty for having a chronic disease that is sometimes unmanageable. Luckily for me, Amanda knows about diabetes as much as I do and was my champion, as always. Love you, babe.

I just got back from my Endocrinologist. I lurve him! He is so fabu and I am so lucky to have him. After 23 years, I finally have the most incredible doctor, Dr. Berelowitz. For those of you who live in Las Vegas, his office is in Summerlin and the number is 877-1887. It’s hard to get an appointment with him but he’s totally worth the wait. Check out Dr. B when he was a guest on the Diabetes Power Show.

My A1C is 6.4. This is the best A1C I have ever had since being a diabetic. I am SO proud of myself and so is Dr. B. Between Cozmo, Symilin and me, I am rocking the diabetes. Woooo!! I am on the cutting edge as far as therapy goes and I am doing better than I have in a loooong time.

I have just been made aware that some of you may not know what A1C is. Ooops. Sorry….lemme splain.

A1C is a test that shows the amount of sugar that sticks to the red blood cells. This lets us know how much glucose is in the blood. A1C provides an estimate of your average blood glucose control over a 3 month time period.

A non-diabetic may have an A1C that runs between 4 and 6. A diabetic strives for an A1C of at least a 7. 7 is a pretty awesome feat for a diabetic. I am as near to ‘normal’ as anyone, which makes me feel so totally accomplished. A1C can make or break the spirit of a diabetic. This number affects diabetics in a way that is hard to explain. It’s the defining number, the end all/be all number, the only number that ever matters. It’s the number that rates your success. It’s the number that speaks your failure. It’s the batting average, it’s the report card, it’s the progress report, and it’s the quarterly evaluation. Currently the score is Kelly: 1, Diabetes: 0. Whew.

For more information on A1C, check out Wikipedia.

While there are a lot of things about diabetes that truly sucks, an A1C of 6.4 makes me feel really good. Yay me! Take THAT diabetes! Ha! I should steal a blog idea from Kerri at Six Until Me and write about the things I like regarding diabetes. Only, first, I would have to figure out what they are.



*Peace.

Diabetes Madness

Written April 6, 2009

Well…Smith’s Medical stopped manufacturing my insulin pump. Wonderful. I finally, finally take the major step into pump world, choose one of only 3 pump options that were given to me by my old douchey doctor and now…it’s a dying breed. By the way, I no longer see my old douchey doctor and have a fab new one!! Dr. B. Period. New line.

I have a 4 year warranty on my pump so I’m ok for a while…unless the thing breaks. Rawr. Knowing I’m Murphy’s Law AND clumsy does not give me a bright outlook. Anyhoo, I still love her and will try to be good to her. I’ve changed her name by the way, and her sex. He is now Cosmo, like in Seinfeld. Makes sense since the brand is Deltec Cozmo. Plus, it was easier to remember than Chloe. I changed the name of my CGM, too. I just don’t remember what I changed it to right now. Obviously, still not easy to remember. I should change it again. haha! Diabetes Madness, I like to call that sort of forgetfulness. It's NOT old age, thank you very much.

Here are a few little things I hate about being a diabetic…as if just being a diabetic isn’t enough.

I hate when I do not get enough blood for the test strip. I think I have a big enough drop but it doesn’t flow all the way to the end. Then I get the Err!! Message. Damn. What a waste of a test strip. I think each container should contain 5 extra ‘ooops’ strips at no charge.

I hate when no blood cometh forth. My hands get super cold. Yes, even though I live in the desert. I’ve just always have had cold hands…but a warm heart. Ba dum chhhh. Thanks, grandma. So, since my hands are cold hands, I have to poke myself 100 times to get blood.

I hate having my pump fall out of my pocket and it yanking the tubing in my stomach. Ugh. It’s super annoying. Plus, it kinda hurts. Why is there not a better design…like tubeless pumps…OR better clothing. I really need to start a clothing line for diabetics. *sigh* One that doesn't included fanny packs and old lady bras. Psh.

I hate that insulin makes you chubby. Really? Come on!! My Educator said ‘A chubby diabetic is a healthy diabetic.’ Damn it…that sucks. There once was a time I would have chosen skinny over healthy. Once. Now I have to be fat and responsible. Rawr.

I hate when I lose my stuff. This is also diabetes madness. I went to test my bs the other day and my tester was MIA. What the hell? I enlisted Amanda’s help in trying to locate it. We couldn’t find it in all the usual places. Then I vaguely remembered that I may have thrown it away the last time I checked my bs. Sure enough. There she lie… amidst coffee grinds and hard tortillas. I wish all my attachments had a locater built in.

Those are just a few of the things I can think of right now. I'm certain there are more.

So, I started taking Symlin for real last week. I saw my Educator, learned to readjust my insulin and take the Symlin properly. Things have been pretty good so far. It’s not an exact science, but it never is with diabetes. However, my bs numbers are looking good. That’s a plus. 150 after eating dinner is awesome blossom! The down side? Symlin makes me feel like I just ate seconds of aThanksgiving dinner and dessert. SO full! It’s totally destroying my dining experience. I know this is what may help me lose a few pounds but…blah. Amanda & I went to our favorite all you can eat sushi restaurant, Yoko Sushi, this past weekend and all I could eat was sad. Sad! Usually we scarf down tons of sushi!! We are sushi super heroes! Not so much this time. I was disappointing. I should be scratched out of our picture on the sushi wall.

*Peace!