A Guest Post: Meri @Our Diabetic Life

(NaBloPoMo Day 23)

While working on my Daily Diabetes Facts I have been perusing some of my friend's blogs to help me. Sometimes I have linked to their blog within my post, but for this one I decided that Meri wrote it best. I asked her to let me use her post as a guest post on my blog.

So, Meri, THANK YOU for being the FIRST guest blogger to post on my blog. I LOVE the idea of having occasional guest bloggers and will definitely be looking for more of this in the future!


For those of you who don't know Meri @Our Diabetic Life, she is one of the most AMAZING D Mamas out there! She has 4 boys ages 7-14, THREE of which have T1 Diabetes. She also is lucky enough to have Lawton, the most amazing Diabetic alert dog, EVER. If you have not read her blog, you are missing out! She has a way with words that always leaves me thinking "I feel EXACTLY the same!". She can take the thoughts right out of my head and put them on paper. She may have a swelly, hurty brain, but she is AMAZING. Lots of love to my D Mama, Meri...

The only constant, is change.

January 27, 2010

A little insight on J. J was always a skinny little guy.

To give you a little perspective, here are some facts:

*L who is in Kindergarten, is wearing pants that J wore in 2nd AND 3rd grade.

*J had the same carb ratio AND correction ratio for 4 years! K-3.

*J who is in 6th grade, is only 2 inches shorter than my 2nd grader. (But to be fair, B is REALLY tall.)

*J’s little buttie and hips were depleted from so many years of shots. He was too skinny to get injections anywhere else. He needed some fat to slow down the insulin because he was so skinny.

But J is changing. He is 12 now and has started puberty. He has gained a lot of weight and is finally growing. Within one year he has completely transformed. I recently looked at Christmas pictures that I thought were from 2 years ago, but they were actually from 1 year ago. He was so tiny then…not anymore.

J is extremely happy he is growing now. Maybe not happy about the extra weight...he has quite a tummy, but trust me when I tell you, that wearing the same size shoe for 3 years didn’t sit well with him.

So here he is….just growing….and changing….and it’s happening right before our eyes.

Last night though, it really socked us in the head.

Lawton alerted and the boys ran to check their blood sugar. (If you are imagining happy boys skipping cheerfully to their blood sugar monitors, you would be wrong. They were watching a program and wanted to get their check in during a commercial. It was a scramble if anything.)

Anyway…Lawton alerts…they check…and they report back to us. All of them were in the low 100’s with extra insulin on board. It was J’s report though that threw us for a loop.

“I am 139, with a correction needed of 0.8 units and I have 1.9 units on board.”

What the! (Not What the! about the insulin on board...What the! about his correction.)

My husband shook his head….”No way J. There is no way that is right. You are 139 and you need a correction of o.8? What is your target, 50??”

Giggles ensued as my hubby and J started calculating in their heads what his correction ratio was. My husband was rolling on the ground laughing…He kept saying ”There is no way!"

You see, to us, J is still that little boy. His correction ratio was for so much of his life, 1 unit of insulin to bring his blood sugar down 100 points.

While my math enthusiasts were figuring out ratios in their head, I grabbed J's pump and looked up what his sensitivity was. Sure enough, 1 unit is needed to bring him down 50.

What the!

That explains my eye twitching at night when I correct J. If his pump tells me to give him 2 units there is always panic in my tummy…my knee jerk reaction is ALWAYS, “That can’t be right.” But it is.

Change happens whether we want it or not.

We are constantly changing basal rates and ratios. It seems they never just gradually need more insulin…it always happens suddenly. Out of nowhere, someone will start having numbers in the 400’s. After going through days of troubleshooting, it always becomes apparent. A change needs to be made, they need more insulin. But why so suddenly? Why no warning? As they get older, I can see it more clearly, but when they were tiny, it was WHAM! HE NEEDS MORE INSULIN, NOW!!!

You would think changes would happens like this…


But it seems they always happens like this…


Maybe I am too busy and overwhelmed to notice the steady rise in insulin needs. Maybe.

But if there is anything constant with diabetes…it’s that nothing stays the same.

Diabetes Fact #23: The only constant with Diabetes, is that nothing stays the same.

Diabetes Fact #22:Diabetes is a family disease and affects every person in the family, near and far.

Diabetes Fact #21:Having Type 1 Diabetes means finger pokes 8-10 times per day (or more) and YES that means using BLOOD to do this.

Diabetes Fact #20:Despite always injecting the proper amount of insulin, people with type 1 Diabetes face many other factors that can adversely affect efforts to tightly control blood sugar levels. These factors include stress, hormonal changes, periods of growth, physical activity, medications, illness/infection, fatigue, and EVERYTHING they do or don't do every.single.day.

Diabetes Fact #19: T1 Diabetes is a 24/7/365 disease. It NEVER sleeps and neither do the parents of the children who have it (or the T1 people themselves).

Diabetes Fact #18: T1 Diabetes can happen to ANYONE, it is not necessarily hereditary. This means that yes, it CAN happen to YOU or to someone YOU know.

Diabetes Fact #17: People with T1 or T2 Diabetes (and their caregivers) are more likely to experience depression than their peers without Diabetes.

Diabetes Fact #16: The out of pocket cost of managing T1 Diabetes is EXPENSIVE.

Diabetes Fact #15: Having Type 1 and getting an illness (especially a tummy bug) CAN be dangerous.

Diabetes Fact #14: Without insulin, a person with T1 Diabetes would DIE within ONE week.

Diabetes Fact #13: Type 1 Diabetes usually strikes children, adolescents, and young adults, but it CAN be diagnosed in adults as well.

Diabetes Fact #12: It is important for families of Diabetic children or the people with Diabetes themselves to genuinely try to understand what we go through, to learn about Diabetes along with us, and to support us through encouraging comments.

Diabetes Fact #11: Diabetes is ALL consuming. It is NOT our life, but it is a HUGE part of it.

Diabetes Fact #10: Parents of children with Diabetes HATE when people say "I could NEVER do it!" when referring to the management of their kid's disease. In reality, YOU could, and WOULD do it if you HAD to. We probably had the same thoughts as you and now look at us, doing it 24/7.

Diabetes Fact #9: The term "Juvenile Diabetes" is outdated. We now call it "T1 Diabetes" or "Insulin Dependent Diabetes". People with this type of Diabetes will NEVER outgrow it. EVER. They will have this relentless disease until a CURE is found.

Diabetes Fact #8: A cure would be great, but a long life without complications is a close second for people with T1 Diabetes.

Diabetes Fact #7: Diabetes kills more people each year than cancer and AIDS combined. It is serious. We NEED a cure!

Diabetes Fact #6: While people with T1 Diabetes strive for blood glucose (BG) numbers from 80-120, it is NOT uncommon to see numbers MUCH lower or MUCH higher. There are SO many factors that go into each number and it is very challenging to see readings that are “in range” for EVERY reading.

Diabetes Fact #5: Type 1 Diabetes strikes 15,000 children every year in the US. That's 40 children per day. On July 10, 2008 The Superhero was one of the 40. Today, it could be YOUR child, or someone you know. This is why it is SO important to take the time to learn about the disease.

Diabetes Fact #4: Type 1 Diabetics may take insulin through syringes, insulin pens, or insulin pumps. What they use is a reflection of their choice and/or finances, NOT disease severity.

Diabetes Fact #3: People with Diabetes CAN eat anything they want as long as they match the carbohydrates with insulin.

Diabetes Fact #2: T1 Diabetes is NOT caused by eating too much sugar or being over weight. It IS an autoimmune disease and cannot be prevented.

Diabetes Fact #1: T1 Diabetes CANNOT be treated with medication. The only way to manage T1 Diabetes is with insulin. Without insulin, T1 Diabetics would die. Period.

*Disclaimer: I am a mom of a T1 Diabetic child. I am NOT a doctor. I just play one in real life. Please do not take anything in this post or any other post on this blog as medical advice. If you have questions or concerns of your own, please seek advice from your doctor.*