(Day 15 of NaBloPoMo)Well, Diabetes things anyway.
While I do NOT like diabetes, I do like the fact that technology has allowed us to treat this disease so much more efficiently and for lack of a better word, easier than in years past.
I have a friend on FB who posted about her daughter's first glucometer from 12 years ago (not even that long ago) and how she would get results in just 45 seconds! Now we have awesome technology and get those results MUCH faster, in about 5 seconds.
I know things have come a long way since then, just as I know they had from 10 years before that point. So, here are a few of MY favorite Diabetes things.
1) Apidra
When The Superhero was diagnosed he was put on Lantus (long acting insulin) and Novalog (short acting insulin). When we started pumping 7 months later, Lantus was no longer necessary and we just used Novalog in the pump.
A few months ago I started hearing more about this newer insulin, Apidra. I did a little research on it. The reviews I read from other families was that it had a quicker peak and no tail end. It was completely out of the system a little before 3 hours, for most families.
I decided we would give it a try. So, a few months ago I emailed our endo, Dr. D. She told me to go ahead and come get a bottle to try. I went that afternoon and we started a few days later (waiting for next site change). At first I was not sure we would like it.
We made LOTS of adjustments to basal rates and the basal times. After about 3-4 weeks we really started to like it. A few more weeks later and I can tell you that I LOVE it.
When The Superhero goes "high" he comes down faster with this insulin than he did previously. I feel this has greatly contributed to our decrease in A1C (down from 7.8 to 7.4). I also LOVE that their is no tail end. It is nice to know that once it is out of his system, it is OUT of his system. With Novalog we would see a tail end up to 5 hours later. Apidra is definitely GONE before 3 hours.
I have now stockpiled my fridge with Apidra and would not want to go back. This is definitely #3 on my top 3 list of Favorite Diabetes things.
2) Animas Ping (meter remote and pump)
Since the Princess was born only a few short months after The Superhero was dx with Diabetes, we waited to start pumping until I could focus on a new venture. It was about 7 months after he was diagnosed I decided it was time. I had already researched pumps and had made the decision that we wanted the Animas Ping Pump. We chose this pump for a few reasons.
1) SMALL dosing. We had been trying to draw up 1/4 units in syringes for 7 months and sometimes even THAT small of an amount was TOO much for The Superhero. Being able to give doses as small as 0.05 units at a time was a DREAM.
2) SMALL basal increments. We can adjust basal amounts in increments of 0.025, and often do! There was a period of time that for 2-3 hours at night his basal would actually be 0.025 units per hour. This again, was a DREAM.
3) The meter/remote. I am in LOVE with the meter remote. Not only can we check The Superhero's blood sugar, but I can also bolus The Superhero for his blood sugar or his food right from the super awesome remote. When we first started pumping, this was very important, it still is, but even more so early on. We were nervous using a pump with tubing (but the
Omnipod was not something we liked well enough, for many reasons), so being able to bolus from the remote was nice because we did not have to draw any attention to the pump itself. The Superhero wore his pump on his back in a pump shirt and forgot it was even there most of the time.
I also LOVE that I can download the info from the pump and it captures every BG reading from the remote and all the bolus and basal info. I think this is going to save me TONS of time logging before Endo appointments. I just used it for our last appointment, I had forgotten about it for a long time. LOVE IT!
Definitely would NOT go back to shots and this makes #2 on my top 3 list of Favorite Diabetes things.
3) Dexcom 7+ CGMS
Dexcom= LOVE.
We started the Dexcom CGMS in January of this year (2010) and fell in LOVE right away. It was love at first site, for sure. The Dexcom gives us a sugar reading every 5 minutes around the clock. We can see which direction The Superhero's BG is going, if he is dropping or rising, and how fast that might be occurring.
Prior to starting Dexcom we were checking The Superhero's fingers anywhere from 10-15 times per day. With his young age, it is hard to tell when his blood sugar might be too high, low, or if he is just acting his age.
So, he got checked, A LOT.
Now, with the Dexie, we check his BG around 6 times per day. We are only required to check 2x per day to calibrate, but I feel more comfortable still checking at meals, before bed, and once in the middle of the night. Other times we just take a glance at Dexie to see where he is at. This has made our life SO much nicer AND the people who watch The Superhero when Rod and I are not around LOVE Dexie too. It is SO nice for them to just look down and know where he is.
Before starting Dexie, I was a little skeptical about having something else attached to The Superhero 24/7, but now that Dexie is here, I don't know how we would go on without him. This is by far, my #1 favorite thing about Diabetes.
So, what are YOUR favorite things?
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