Sickness, Vacation, and Site Issues. - Emma.

I'm back from Wales (at last..) and recovering from my highness, sickness, ill-functioning-set-ness, and overall not well at all-ness.

In Wales I got preeetty sick. It was apparently either an allergy to fish, an allergy to some sauce thing, hand foot and mouth or some other kind of infection. My insulin units went from 12 units a day to 15.. to 20.. to 30, eventually rocketing to 50, 60 units a day. But my TDD is decreasing again, I'm back down to about 25 units now. Phew. And I'm no longer hanging around in the 300s.

At about the same time this was going on, I started to have MAJOR site issues. I was changing my set twice a day and EVERY cannula was kinked. Badly kinked. Guh. I spent an entire week with ketones (came back looking all sickly and skinny - my ribs are showing!) and basically really sick. UUUGH.

So yeah, diabetes wise it was a fairly eventful couple of weeks. Otherwise it was pretty good, we sat on the beach in the cold a lot, went on walks, sat around in the house. It was pretty relaxing, and I had pretty much no connection to the world whilst there (no internet, no phone reception) and the only person I spoke to on the pay phone was my nurse and dietician. ;)

Anyhow, back to the site issues, I think it's a problem with the quicksets (I'm fairly slim, and I read somewhere that some people with less body fat find angled sets better) so I'm going to get samples of silhouettes and perhaps sure-Ts as well, although my nurse seems very anti-sure-T for some reason. The only place where my quick-sets don't kink is a particular spot on my arm, about 3 inches above my elbow (roughly 2/3s of the way down my upper arm). So that's where my sites will stay until I can get some sils. Nightmare for scar tissue problems, but at least this way I can be sure I'm getting the insulin I give.

Yay arm sites!

Update - Kate

Got all my stuff =). Oh except colouring pencils....no, i'm not 4, but I am taking Geography so I need them to draw maps and stuff. I even remembered to buy a calculator. That's progress I think =).

So i'm all ready to go, just hoping I get the classes I applied for and the right teachers. They've changed our times around aswell, so on Monday and Tuesday I finish at 3.55pm and the rest of the week I get out at 3.15.

Why do people try to confuse me??

Sigh.

School Rush - Kate

Okay. Call me crazy, but I just realised TODAY (Tuesday) that i'm back in school on FRIDAY. Okay. Don't panic. You're heading into a major exam year and are not in the slightest bit prepared, but it's totally fine. Totally under control. Totally know what i'm doing. What am I doing again?! =O

Make sure unifrom fits: Check.
Sort out diabetes crap for school bag: Check.

Did I mention I don't have a school bag? Yeah. I don't have a school bag. I'm gonna go shopping tomorrow, get some stationary, a school bag, and some black socks for my uniform. Calm. Calm. La la la la.

We need to get some stuff for school lunches in because if I eat school canteen food I just go high. So i'm gonna do that tomorrow.

Have I mentioned that my Long Term Illness prescription book doesn't cover lithium batteries I need for my pump? Another thing I have to remember to do now. Buy batteries for my pump. I also must mention that they have approved my pump, but not the supplies. STUPID. Gah.

I also haven't gone about getting a CGM approved, I really need to get on that, new school year and routine brings along new basals and new insulin neeeds. Fun Fun Fun.

My mandatory subjects are Irish, English, and Math. I applied for History, Geography, Music and German, but I don't think i'm gonna get Music so i'll have to do Bioligy instead. Fun Fun Fun.

I'm having a TON of problems with my infusion sets, they burn on the inside and leave nasty angry bumps when I take them out, I think i'm allergic but don't wanna admit it, I really don't wanna go back on shots, it's just not an option for me.

On the plus side, I filled in my carb database on my pump, which is amazing. =)

-Kate

Awesome - Kate

On Saturday, we held my 16th birthday party. Two of my friends came to my house the night before to help us get set up. We were thrilled on Saturday morning to wake up to just clouds, no rain. So we started decorating.



Then, they decorated me. (I like how my pump blends in)



Then. It rained. A hell of a lot. But it didn't stop us! We hired sumo suits. And a bungee run. Here is my brother and I preparing for a fight LOL.




This is me on the ground and my brother about to jump on me. He jumped on me, it hurt. LOL





Next, on to the bungee run. This thing is amazing. Your harnessed to a bungee chord and you have to run farther up the bouncy lane than your opponent. If you stop running, you get pulled back, Wait, understatement of the year, you get AGGRESIVELY FLUNG back. I was soaking wet at this stage, because the bouncy castle part of it was wet and slippy and you can just imagine how fun this was!

Here I am racing Chris.






I stopped running. Here I am about to fall. (oN the left)

And I fell. I am in this picture, you can see my hand just below Chris's. Haha.

On that day, my Grandmother celebrated her 73rd birthday.

I had the best time ever. I love my friends =)

Pinkness - Kate

It's pink. I love it.

Make Yourself At Home - Kate

So, being the good kid I am I un-gracefully rolled out of bed at around 8.30am this morning, in order to be on time for my appointment in the Children's Hospital in Dublin for 10.30am. The Doctor is always late anyway. The drive up was chaotic, but funny. We were held up for like a half hour on a section of the road that is NEVER busy, but there would be a breakdown the morning we go up. Then, trying to get off the exit was a whole nightmare in itself because they've changed the road layout, I knew if we just followed signs for the city we'd get to the hospital fine but Mam had other plans to make us end up in the complete oppisite direction. She can't believe how much it's all changed in 3 years since we've lived there, yet we go up almost every week, I dunno, Mothers are crazy.

Anyway.

We checked in with the secretary and proceeded to the waiting room. There was a woman sitting directly across from us, she was sitting beside a tiny blue trash-can, and she seemed really cranky. I hate going to the Children's hospital, so I wasn't terribly extatic to be there either, but I was trying to be happy. I smiled at the woman. She stared at me. I stared at her. There was a silence. Note to self: Dont smile at the scary lady.

We sat there for about 20 mins, every few minutes Mam asking a question like, "Did you bolus?"...."Are you going to increase your night time basal? You're waking up too high."..."Was that picture on that wall the last time we were here?". All of which I answered yes. During all this that woman across from me was still cranky looking, and for some reason, she was bugging me. Maybe she was having a bad day. Maybe she is always cranky. Or maybe she just likes to sit in silence in a waiting room with no expression on her face. Maybe she's just strange. Why do I care? Anyway.

Another ten minutes passed, did I mention this doctor is always late? There was absolute silence now. All of a sudden, there was a shuffle. The woman started biting her nails. Okay, maybe she's uptight about something. She kept biting her nails for a few minutes. Then she stopped.

AND THEN. She turned her neck, in the direction of the trash can, and SPAT out the nails that she had just bitten. It was more like she blew rasberries at the bin. It was incredibly random and unexpected from a lady that looked really cranky. I just sat there trying not to laugh. Then she got up to use the bathroom, and before she even closed the door Mam and I bust our guts laughing, and managed to contain ourselves before she returned.

The cranky lady indeed, made herself at home in that waiting room.

Happy Birthday To Me - Kate

Today I celebrated my 16th birthday. Last night, 2 of my closest friends spent the night at my house. We pretty much just sat up all night and ate candy and talked about everything. I've only known these guys for 3 years, but they made me feel so welcome in a new school when I moved and we've been inseperable since the day we met. We went to Irish college together, went through difficult times, be it losing a friend or family member, or just life, but we've always come out the other end with the help of each other. When I was diagnosed, they were the BEST. They learned all about my diabetes and knew what to do if I went low, and could see the warning signs, sometimes before I could. I was so glad to be able to spend my birthday with these guys, Nicola and Jamie. Many friends come and go during school but it takes certain situations and experiences to tell who your real friends are. These guys have always been here from me and I can always count on them.

On Saturday, i'm having a big party to celebrate my 16th birthday. Friends i've known since before I could walk will be here, and my close family. I can't wait. Since I moved, I don't see my friends in Dublin as often as i would like. But when we reunite it's like we've never been apart. We just have that bond. They don't know a whole lot about my diabetes, but they try to understand, they're simply not with me enough to know anything.

I feel lucky as hell to know all these people. And I can't wait to celebrate it.

Pray for no rain. Please.

Wehay! - Kate

Yes! It's a blue sky! Will it last?

Saturday Ramble - Kate

Okay so today was pretty boring - stuck in the house all day because we're flooded! Yes, there has been an absolutely horrible downpour all over Ireland the past two weeks, there are landslides over in the West and serious crazy flooding back over in the East in Dublin, with roads closed and motorists stranded! We only have small flash floods in the South here that are lasting a few hours, so it's not too bad. The news reporter who was reporting from Dublin said, and I quote, "It's like something from the scene of a Natural Disaster in some movie". Scary, no? This has happened before so the Emergency Services were aware this could happen, but did nothing in preperation of it, we did get a severe weather warning and some sand bags, with water pumps and rescue crews only being called AFTER the damage had been done and people had been endangered, what a great country to live in.

I just hope the weather clears up in time for my 16th birthday party we're holding here in the house and back garden next Saturday, my birthday is on Tuesday but we're holding the party on Saturday, it could be a disaster, my brother and I have invited A LOT of people. So everybody pray for good weather to hit Wexford on the 23rd!! I can't wait for this party, there will be alot of guests, but I truly cannot wait to celebrate 16 years of knowing some truly amazing people who have shaped me into the person I am now, friends, and family.

I've also asked my parents not to bug me about my numbers on that day. I've agreed to test every 4 hours , not go crazy on food and bolus accordingly. I said i'd write my numbers down somewhere where they can check so they know where i'm at. That's the last thing I wana be doing that day, but gotta keep the rents' happy :).

Peace

-Kate

Whackyy. - Emma.

01.47 - 13.7 (247)
Arrghh, correction..

10.13 - 7.6 (137)
I LOVE it when my corrections actually work. xD Meal + ACCURATE carb bolus.

12.24 - 15.2 (274)
Arrghh. Pump site change, correction bolus.

13.16 - 13.8 (248)
Mehh, should be lower than this, but at least I'm going in the right direction. Little correction.

15.35 - 13.7 (247)
...That correction did so much. More correction + meal bolus.

18.59 - 11.0 (200)
Yayy, that's almost in my normal range compared to the rest of these readings! Meal bolus + small correction bolus.

20.44 - 15.2 (274)
I am actually at a loss for what to do.. Seriously, what the HELL? Ughh. And I feel ketoney too.. (I'm not actually checking them.. That would involve standing up.)

)= I actually had a good day in town with my friend but blood sugar wise it was really, really bad.

EDIT: 21.45 - 16.9 (304)
Okay, this really sucks a lot.

Sites. - Emma.

The first site I ever used was my abdomen, a few inches from my bellybutton. I didn't really notice at the time, but that hurt quite a lot, and I got the HUGEST scar when I took it out (although those problems may have been partly due to cannula kinkage) and then I used one sort of to the left of my abdomen, slightly above my hip.

Pros: I always have that area covered up;
Doesn't catch on things.

Cons: Sometimes shows through tight tops;
Hurts!;
Scars a lot.

Then I tried out my arms.. It felt AMAZING (I could barely feel it) but was kind of too visible for my liking because I wear a lot of vest / strappy tops.. And there were some other problems.

Pros: Feels comfortable;
Easier to keep pump in bra.

Cons: Needs 43" tubing which is a pain in the butt to prime;
Insulin leakback (poor absorption);
Really visible;
Not much fat on my arms, easier to accidently hit muscles;
Likely to fail before 2 days is up.

This morning I tried my thigh.. Freaking AWESOME.

Pros: NO insertion pain;
NO pain after insertion;
When I take my trousers down to use the bathroom I don't pull at the site on my stomach (argh, that's annoyyying);
Doesn't poke me when I bend down;
I can wear whatever top I like!

Cons: Site AND tubing are visible through tight fitting skinny jeans.. Which I happen to live in..;
Have to use left leg (right leg has too much scar tissue).

Yayyy for site options.

I haven't used my butt yet, I'm thinking of using it next week though when I'm on holiday.. I'll be wearing more bikinis and whatever and it should be less visible.

=D

Chin Up - Kate

"Chin up. Put your shoulders back, walk proud, strut a little. Don't lick your wounds: celebrate them. The scars you bear are the signs of a competitor. You're in a lion fight. Just because you didn't win doesn't mean you don't know how to roar."

I was watching a tv show tonight and one of the characters said this. Just because sometimes we don't always win with diabetes, doesn't mean we can't. We need to find strength and keep fighting through it.

Back... And the internet is finally working! - Emma.

Diabetes camp was an amazing experience, but one of the more tiring experiences of my life. Especially because the (strong) anti-histamines I was taking for my sun allergy like.. destroy me. (I get side effects of lethargy, dizziness and falling asleep in bizzare places that normal people can't fall asleep in.) It was a week long, and every day there were 4 activities that were an hour and a half long, and one two - three hour activity. That's over 8 hours of activity a day - woaaahh. Haha, we crashed every night at 10 or 11, because we were SO exhausted and we had to be down at breakfast by 8.

The camp itself was run by Diabetes UK, and took place in Osmington Bay, in Dorset. It was a really pretty area, right beside the sea, and some of the activities we did (kayaking and raft building, which were three hours each) took place in the sea. The water smelt AWFUL, ewwwwwww. I got on alright with most people there, including the people in my room, luckily.

For the first four days I had NO hypos (my control was amazing compared to usual, actually, I stayed between 4 (70) and 13 (234) for FOUR DAYS).

I started hypoing way more as the week went on though, until the sixth day when I had five lows... Ouuuch. I hatehatehate feeling low! I also had a night time low, which are quite rare for me. BUT it was awesome because on the few occasions when I have had night lows I've never woken up naturally and been able to treat it myself (either I get coincidentally woken up by thunder or something or my mum wakes me up) but I DID. I woke up before I was even quite down to 50 and had lucozade. YAAAAAAAAAAAY. (=

Since getting back I've had a couple of lows as well, I had to lower my night time basal rate to 0.2u/h (from 0.25). Basically, camp was awesome though. Apart from the fact that our bathroom flooded.. And my friend's toilet exploded. It was actually gross.

The pump's going okay as well, I've had one incredibly amazingly kinked cannula and one incident this morning when the cannula (and some of the tubing) filled with blood. When I saw blood in the tubing I decided to change the set, but my reading was 170 at that point so it obviously hadn't been affecting the delivery for long.

No injections = AMAZING.

I'm Running Out Of Titles - Kate

My brain is a big fuzz so you're just gonna get quick short points, but i'm very happy to be blogging, just can't figure out how to string a paragraph together right now :)

I've been 400's all day. BLAH

Emma's back from D-Camp this weekend! (Wahooooooo!)

I'm getting my pink animas next week :)

I went back into my room last night, and lived to tell the tale, no horse flies :)

My grandmother has been in hospital for 2 weeks, she came home today :)

I still haven't fought with insurance companies for CGM coverage, ah!

I always love the Diabetes Online Community, but i'm feeling the love a bit more lately, love you guys! Fellow bloggers, and fellow D-People! :)

Have a good weekend!

Update On Animas-ing and Some More Randomness - Kate

I still LOVE my Animas 2020. It's Aaaaamazing. It's lighter and more fun to look at. I love the smaller increments, really comes in handy for basals, and I like how it boluses really fast, it's a bit stingy, but i'm over it. Also, the Health Community have approved my Animas :) Yay! They just have to buy it for me now, i'm doubting i'll be fully pink by the end of this week but let's hope :).


Mission #1: Get Animas approved. Completed and successful.



Mission #2: Receive Pink Animas. Waiting.



Mission #3: Get insurance and or health community to cover CGMS. Dreading and unhopeful but currently in progress.



I really miss my CGM. I'm fixing on getting a guardian because minimed are the only company in Ireland that offer CGMS.


Last night was scaary. I was sitting in my bed on the laptop, when I noticed a HAAAYUGE horsefly with this big long gross tail on the ceiling. It didn't look like it was in a hurry to go anywhere so I kept meaning to get up and kill it. Next time I look up, it's GONE. I was dead silent for a moment, wondering where it was gona jump from. I could hear it's horrible little wings banging off one of the four walls in my room, I could hear it, but i couldn't see it. AAAAAH! As calm as I could I grabbed my laptop, meter, juice and cell phone, flicked off the light and ran like a maniac down the hall and into my sister's room where I stayed for the night. Good thing my sister doesn't live here anymore because it was 4am and I was running around the house haha.


I still haven't gone back into my bedroom. And I don't plan to.

Nick Jonas - Kate

I've been meaning to post about this since I saw it on Diabetes Health. For those of you who don't know, Nick Jonas is teenager in a band called the Jonas Brothers. He has Type 1 Diabetes, and he wears an Omnipod. He has written a song about Diabetes, and I think there are some inspirational lines in it. One morning, as I was treating a low and waiting for it to come back up and feeling the usual crappy-ness, a line from the song came into my head.."You Don't Know What It's Like To Feel So Low". And I just, felt better.

Here are the lyrics:

Got the news today,
Doctor said I had to stay,
A little bit longer and I'll be fine,
When I thought it'd all been done,
When I thought it'd all been said,
A little bit longer and I'll be fine,

But you don't know what you got till it's gone,
And you don't know what it's like to feel so low,
And everytime you smile you laugh you glow,
You don't even know (no, no)
You don't even know.

All this time goes by,
Still no reason why,
A little bit longer and I'll be fine,
Waiting on a cure, But none of them are sure,
A little bit longer and I'll be fine,
But you don't know what you got till it's gone,
And you don't know what it's like to feel so low,
And everytime you smile you laugh you glow,
You don't even know (no, no),
You don't even know (no, no),
You don't even know (no, no)

Yeah!

But you don't what you got till it's gone,
And you don't know what it's like to feel so low, yeah
And everytime you smile you laugh you glow,
You don't even know! No!

So I'll wait till kingdom come,
All the highs and lows are gone,
A little bit longer and I'll be fine,
I'll be... fine.

We'll be fine :)

Blogpost Full of Randomness - Kate

Okay, I'm gonna sound like an old person, banging on about the weather, but what's with the insanely random and whacky thunderstorms in the 'sunny' South East of Ireland? We never get weird weather...it's always either raining for days on end or just sunny and hot. That's normal. Hmm. It's not nice when you're woken up from your happy snooze on the couch to a huge clap of thunder over your house, it's pretty to look at during the night but it's just loud and rude and boring during the day haha.

I had an insane spike of 549 last night which scared the heck out of me, so I changed my site, took ten units, drank a pint of diet 7up and went to bed. I just can't stand being that high, all I wanna do is sleep because otherwise I get moany and tired and feel like i'm gonna explode with frustration. Me when i'm high = 3 year old who is tired at the family party and wants to go home. I sulk all the way down until I get an acceptable number :).

When I woke up, I just felt ten times worse, my sugar had only dropped to 518 and ketones were brewing. This was 7pm, 2 hours after my ten units correction. What...the...heck? So long story short, my ketones climbed from not so scary but keep an eye on them to OMG THIS IS TOO SCARY MOM YOU LOOK AT THE METER TO SEE WHAT MY KETONES ARE..They went from 0.2, to 0.6, to 0.9, the higher they got the harder it was to get them down, I was testing every half hour and downling pints of water and diet 7up and my fingers are all bruised and soreee from all the testing.

Eventually at 4am I went to bed with a 0.3 ketone reading and a 302. Woke up this morning still feeling exhausted but just so happy not to be in that position again, I was really truly terrified something was gonna happen. I know the ketones were small but it made me panic that they built so fast.

So I went for a walk on the beach this morning with my Mam, well, what should have been a walk but the tide was in so we just sat on the rocks and stared at the crashing water for about a half hour. It was calming. And cold, cos it's a beach, in Ireland. Then this evening after the thunderstorm, I was chilling on the sofa and woke up an hour later with the laptop on my face haha.

So now i'm sitting on the armchair watching Sunday night tv (which sucks, by the way), trying to stay awake and yet again, sulking because I have a headache. I'm having a very sulky weekend, somebody slap me!

Tomorrow will be better :)

All Alone - Kate

Emma's gone to D-Camp! She's a first time D-Camper so I am so excited for her! She's gonna be gone for a week, so no phone or e-mail contact :O. So anywho, i'll be holding the fort here for the next week.

Peace :)