SweetLifeStories Diabetes Blog

Oh brother, what a week. After returning from the hottest week on record spent in Los Angeles with my kids, the phone call about my results from 5 long days of wearing a Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) finally came, and the news wasn’t what I expected. The conversation went something like this:

   “Kathy, your HA1C (hemoglobin A1C) was high.”

   “Oh? Well, I’m not surprised. How high was it?”

   “8.7.”

And I thought: OMG, in the years since we’ve been able to measure average sugar levels carried by blood cells, I’d never had a higher number. I felt AWFUL. Actually, like I was really a bad person and deserved some type of punishment.  This . . . despite the fact that I’d been closely monitoring my blood sugars almost every 2-3 hours during the time I was awake, and trying to fight rising glucose level readings. Truthfully, I was terrified, even before the nurse’s phone call. I wondered if, for some unknown reason, I’d started to become what they call “insulin resistant.” Not a good thing when you have to take insulin 24/7 and try to thrive on it!

But then, my thoughts bent on the why’s and ways to problem-solve them were startled by the nurse’s next comment:  “We can’t include you in the Type 1 Study.”

WHAT???? My heart thudded. Me, a virtual poster girl for “talk with me and be inspired about how to live well with–and in spite of–diabetes?”  I was positively horrified. But there it was: I didn’t qualify for the study. I was . . . in a word . . . rejected!

It wasn’t the high HA1C that booted me. The study’s goal is to analyze how much impact the timing of insulin prior to 3 major meals/day impacts control. In my case, being small (5 ft tall when cheating), I’ve learned to try to control my blood sugars and try to avoid big ups and down swings by eating very small amounts of food throughout the day. This works a little better for me than eating a few medium-large meals each day. So, yeah, I’ll admit I’ve known my eating patterns are a little outside the norm. And it turns out that study participants need to eat a lot more carbs at each mealtime than I typically do. So I understand this issue and my (gulp) disqualification from the study.

That reasoning, I can take. The abnormally high HA1C, not. Monday I’m off to the gym. Punishment or reward? It’s such a thin line. Only time will tell.

B well. B happy.  Until next time, Kath

Had a  whirlwind week in sunny CA; the first 3 days in Los Angeles with all of our small immediate family members and a few extended family members (great to see Sue, Ron & Dar!) who flew in to celebrate my son’s graduation with his MBA. NICE! A different restaurant every night, plus visits to fantastical exhibits at the Ghetty (itself an architectural design treasure) and National Geographic’s Water exhibit–thought-provoking and beautiful images of the necessity and scarcity of water at the heart of conflict in human survival–at the Annenberg Center for Photography. 

Then the next 3 days were spent in San Diego, where I got to experience my first real earthquake. Ate dinner with friends in Del Mar, enjoyed a half-glass of wine on the patio, and about 9:30 p.m. PT, felt a rolling sensation. “Hmmm,” I wondered, “Did I perhaps have too much wine? I’m feeling VERY mellow!” Looking around to double-check my senses, I saw other diners doing the same. Then their heads started nodding recognition and acknowledgement; yep, an earthquake! It was a 5.7, centered in the Mojave Desert only 80 miles from where I sat. Everything was ok; no damage, no one hurt. Though just a bit psychologically jarring, as my brain struggled to appreciate being in the “here and now” instead of the OMG dimension of “What IF . . . ???” One big question I later asked myself was: “What if my blood sugar was low and there was no food to be had? What if I (and my family/friends) were trapped in rubble or earthquake debris?” Perhaps needless to say, sleep was elusive that night, resulting in higher blood sugars the next morning!

Now comes the hard work to try getting back into my real-life groove. Need to focus on the dogs by resuming agility training, creating some new pieces of pottery, working in my garden, reconnecting with friends, and exercising so my head, heart, and body feel better and I can start to feel like my old (mostly functioning) self. Reconciling one’s life “post-vacation” is harder than I’d like to admit . . .

Sunday, Jan 10, 2010

Suddenly just around the bend from the holidays and roaring into the new year, more light is filling the sky. A touch more warmth in the air brings the hope of spring. There’s just something so magical about this time of year and its promise of new beginnings that I love! It gives me both hope and pleasure in the small promises and joys of living day-to-day. It may even be enough to tempt me to try using the new (to me) Minimed QuickSet in my pump which–those of you who are reading the blog may recall–gave me mega headaches and supersized blood sugars the last time I tried this type of set-up.

Went x-c skiing last Friday. Proved to myself that I could get out and do it after 7 years off skiis. But had a few bruising falls and killer-sore ankles, too! Thankfully, the aches and pains lessened over 24 hours. My blood sugars were great during the actual skiing; I got to eat anything I wanted and didn’t even have to take ANY insulin boluses while I was moving. That’s the miracle of this type of exercise mixed with Type I diabetes. On the other hand, the minute I finished and sat down in the bus for the trip back home, whoosh! Up jumped my blood sugar levels . . . and they stayed in the 180-low 200 range for a few hours. But the exercise inspired me enough to plan waking up early Monday morning to tackle an exercise class–something I stopped attending during the holiday pressure and madness.

Hooray, a new day dawns with new opportunity!