Insulin Pumps, and what its like to wear one, by Grainne Flynn

The personal story this month comes from Grainne Flynn...........
Insulin Pumps and what its like to wear one.

Living with an Insulin Pump.

I did a trial period on the insulin pump before going “live”. This means that I would practice attaching it but not using insulin just yet. I used a saline and water solution instead of insulin. The purpose of this was to become less afraid of it and to become familiar with the button pressing and more importantly to figure out where and how I was going to wear it.....
You can read on here:

http://diabetespeopleire.blogspot.com/2015/04/insulin-pump-what-is-it-like-to-wear-one.html?spref=fb

The #Type1Diabetes See-Saw, All we need to get High is Healthy Food !

The Type 1 Diabetes See-Saw, All we need to get High is Healthy Food !

#Type1Diabetics can get #High without #Drugs.

Iv wanted to put this into words for quite a while now in the hope that others might just understand a bit more, but we are all so very different.

Our routines, our ratios, our insulin type, some people pump, some on insulin pens, then there are others mixing insulin and using a syringe.

For blood glucose monitoring & testing there are people using, a The Dexcom, The Libra, The Guardian and various other types and makes of blood glucose meters. Apple are even going to get into this apparently, it seems nowadays Blood Glucose Testing is #trending but it makes a change from "Cinnamon & other stuff curing us & reversing us lol.

I'm going to write strictly from my point of view here, experienced but not professional !

Ok before we start lets just say getting #high is real easy and inexpensive if you have #Type1Diabetes, all it takes is nice healthy food that has #Carbohydrate in it. Without insulin this carbohydrate (of any kind) has the ability to make us real sick and even hospitalise us. 

The High, if left un-noticed & untreated is closely followed by Ketones, and then we're in big trouble. 

We basically have an intolerance to carbohydrate, we can't process it and move it on. All because our autoimmune system has gone into overdrive and has killed off the insulin producing islets in our pancreas, so anytime we eat carbohydrate we must inject insulin.

FYI the foods without those carbs are (fish, meat, eggs, cheese, diet or sugar free drinks & water) O Ye and lettuce. So called "Diabetic" foods are a NO GO ! They are expensive and more importantly they are a laxative that comes complete with tummy cramping and urgency (if you get my meaning) .........

When it comes to my "Highs" I don't know which part is worse.

• The absolutely awful taste in my mouth, that I call  "candy floss mouth".
• The dreadful headache, that paracetamol won't touch.
• The severe lack of focus my eyes have, like someone's changed the lens when I wasn't looking.
• Wet irritated eyes, that stream water.
• A runny nose.
• Feeling really unwell
• The cramps in my tummy and then of course the diarrhoea.
• That "I need space" I'm irritated feeling. 
• The backed into a corner feeling, that makes me want to come out fighting.

Luckily those who know me, don't fuss me, I just inject insulin, drink water, and then sleep, I normally set an alarm to check again an hour later to make sure my BG is coming down. If not ? Then more insulin.

No I'm not saying these are the actual symptoms of #Hyperglycemia. I'm saying that this is what happens to me. I would suffer from what I call "Dumping" anytime my system is not happy because of (high BG, some foods, some medications etc) my insides go into fight or flight mode and get rid of it real fast.

I find my Highs a little bit of a snake in the grass, it sort of slithers up on me with no warning and most times for no obvious reason. Unlike its pall on the other end of the #Type1 #SeeSaw, (the #Hypo) 

With a #Hypo, visibly seeming drunk and the fairly instant feeling that goes with it generally prevents an emergency, unless I sleep through the initial stages and wake very very low, but getting high is a bit different, and I could be very high before I realise it. Don't know about you but getting it down is a slow process. For all these reasons I went on a CGM to help with a more proactive way of managing my #Type1

I'm told if we did a breathalyser test when very high, we would fail it and it would show up as over the limit. Iv never tried it but I suppose it makes sense, that much glucose / sugar just 

Floating around in our blood.

The other really scary thing I discovered is, when blood sugar is high, the lens of the eye swells, even after getting your BG back to normal it can take weeks for the swelling to go down fully.

It was only as I began to struggle hearing, that I found out it effects the delicate hearing organs too.

High blood sugar effects every single part of our bodies,  doing damage to delicate nerves, organs, extremities, & skin all of which suffer when you have prolonged periods of blood glucose that is higher than recommended.

It's important to know that it's not just eating and then not injecting insulin for the food we'v eaten that causes us to get a high BG (Blood Glucose) 

Very often it's my high BG that lets me know I'm not well, or at least I'm not going to be well, but let me explain this.

Any kind of infection can rise my BG, before I know exactly what's wrong. 

I'd know a day or so before, Iv a kidney infection, a cold, ear ache, chest infection, etc as the onset of an illness / infection will be effecting my BG before I actually feel ill. These are thing it's best not to ignore. 

I suppose what I'm saying is. Be strict when it comes to managing your blood glucose. Get to know yourself very well, if you keep a physical record of your daily BG, you won't be long about knowing when something is not right.

I'm going to leave you with Some Diabetes Language you may find useful when trying to understand what people in the diabetes community are talking about, and yes Diabetes has a language 

• DSM ( diabetes self management )
• MDI ( Multiple Daily Injections ) 
• Pumping ( wearing an insulin pump )
• CGM ( continuous glucose meter )
• High ( Blood Sugar above the required limit )
• Hypo ( blood sugar below the required limit )
• Basel ( background insulin only )
• Bolus ( fast acting insulin we inject with food )
• Testing ( finger pricking to test blood glucose )
• BG ( blood glucose )
• Sensor ( is attached to the skin for use with a CGM )
• Site ( this is a term usually used by pumpers when using  an insulin pump) referring to the place on their body they put their "set" their insulin comes from their pump, through very fine tubing, attached to the set thats attached to their body.

• Correction ( this is the ratio for correcting a high BG)
• Hypo kit ( is GlucoGen injection for emergencies when unconscious, glucose tablets or drink, Jelly sweets, full sugar drink. Stuff we carry to treat a Hypo )

• Ratio ( every diabetic has a different ratio for their Bolus insulin, 

example : for every 5 grams carbs / 1 unit of insulin, a small plain scone without jam, might have 30gms carbs, this would need 6 units of insulin.  (30 gms carbs ➗ 5 insulin /carb  = 6 units of insulin needed)

Davina 

More than a Mum, A day in the life of Stacy and her child with Type 1 Diabetes

More than a Mum

These are  Stacey's feelings,

Stacy is Mum to a child with Type 1 Diabetes.

A Day in their Life.

T1D is a 24/7 job ... and everyday is like studying for the most important test in your life then the next day it all changes and all that you studied no longer matters because the questions on the test are no longer the same material that you studied for ...

It is gaining a medical degree in a matter of days and then being left to make life altering medical decisions constantly...

Its injecting medicine into your child that they need to save and keep life, but that very same medicine has the ability to, god forbid take there life in the blink of an eye ...

It is living in a constant fear that you cannot show to the outside world ...

It is dealing with ignorance on a daily basis and judgment from people who don't have a clue..

Its about trying to get people to understand just about everything has carbohydrate in it, so unless you want my child to survive on only water yes I have to test, measure and calculate everything IN FRONT of you ....

It is dealing with strange looks from people who do not understand and don't see why you may be watching and hovering over your child at any given time and why you cannot relax because you are trying to let them act like a regular kid but you know what the number on that little machine reads ..

its about truly never sleeping again....

its about holding your child while they sob because they don't wanna have diabetes anymore, they don't wanna be poked and prodded they don't wanna watch the other kids do whatever they want, they don't wanna sit out of the birthday cupcake that came to school, and watch everyone enjoy it while they eat a cheese stick cause their blood sugar is over 300 and no one ever bothered to let you know they would be celebrating a birthday that day...

Its about dealing with school issues and what occurs with your child after a low or a  high Blood Sugar and how it takes longer for their brain to clear and focus afterwards ....

As a parent it is about losing a small piece of yourself daily because you are giving every piece of yourself to your child and this disease, all while trying to function normally as a person and be there for the rest of your family ...

Its about constant worry, about all the other health issues and risks that go along with this disease that can also god forbid take their life ...

 its about learning who is truly there for you and who isn't ..

it is packing for a small trip everywhere you go making sure you have ALL your supplies and food for lows and food for highs and drinks for both....

 it is also about holding your head up high at the end of the day and saying to yourself I DID IT.

I tackled all these things again today and I kept my child healthy..

This is NOT a pity party it is a request to Please don't ever judge others.

You don't know what their daily struggles are.

Stacy......

Introduction to Dia Newsdrop

Introduction to
Dia Newsdrop with a side order of insulin.

Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes, do you remember the day you first heard these words as a diagnosis after feeling sick for a while ? Well I can remember it well ..........

My head went straight into overdrive, so many questions, so much confusion in my mind that day. How ? Why ? No ...... Check again ! NO I can't do this, followed by silence, because I just couldn't think of what to say, and then came the tears, lots and lots of tears, no tissues used, this called for a tea towel !.

No this was not depression, it was grieving, and boy did I grieve, in every sense of the word. But in my usual fashion I picked myself up and decided to grab this vicious beast and do what I could to house train it.

I look back now and smile to myself when I think of how confident I felt as I joined the many groups and forums related to all types of diabetes and the appliances and medications used to manage the condition, but no one ever told me that Diabetes was also a language and not a language I spoke.

Terms like MDI, BG, subcutaneous, infusion sites, CGM, hypo, ratios, bolus, basel, trends, exchanges, tubing, meters, ketones, corrections, calibration, hba1c, carb counting, and then there were the needles 4mm 5mm 6mm, the appliances, on any given day these terms were just part of an average conversation between people and I had no idea what they were talking about.
With Googles help I wasn't long taking a crash course, so I could ask relatively intelligent questions in order to learn a bit more than just basic information.

It was then that I learned our online community is vast, with information and support that is second to none.
I somehow thought our hospital teams would have every single bit of up to the minute information. I now can't even figure out why or how I could have thought up this Gem, when it clearly takes lots of time online, and on social media daily to hear all about what's new, what's available in Ireland in reality, and what's only in our dreams.

Enter Dia Newsdrop where we will publish a news blog, monthly with any new information we have,

that our diabetes community might be interested in.

Follow or Subscribe Free of course and you should receive this by email,

and let's face it nowadays everyone has an email address, haven't they ?

31st March is our first issue.

Davina

Diabetes

Diabetes Information

Diabetes affects people from all walks of life - from the very young to the very old - and is now considered an epidemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

What is diabetes?

Diabetes occurs when the sugar (glucose) level in the blood is too high. 
This happens when the body is not burning up carbohydrates properly due to a defect in the pancreas, the gland that produces insulin.  Insulin is the hormone which keeps blood sugar levels within the normal healthy range.  Diabetes may be present either when no insulin is made or when insulin is made but not working properly.

There are two types of diabetes - type 1, formly known as insulin dependent diabetes, which usually occurs before the age of 35, but can
happen at any age in reality, as Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune
disease, there is no known cause and no cure.
A person with type 1 diabetes makes no insulin and therefore needs to inject insulin to regulate blood sugar levels and remain healthy.  

Type 2 diabetes (non-insulin depdendent diabetes) more commonly occurs in adults after the age of 40 and is 
extremely common in old age.  In this case, the person with 
diabetes makes some insulin.  Usually associated with 
being overweight, but can also be caused by other medical conditions and medications,  this condition responds well to weight loss through dietary regulation.  Sometimes weight loss is not enough and tablets are required to help the person's own insulin to work or additional insulin may be required.  This type of diabetes is also known as adult-onset or maturity-onset diabetes.

With an average of seven years between onset and diagnosis, the earlier the condition is detected the easier it will be to manage.  Early
detection gives the ability to protect against heart attack, stroke and vision loss which is due to high blood sugar levels over years.

Symptoms of Diabetes

Symptoms of diabetes vary in intensitiy but may include:

• Lack of energy
• Tiredness
• Excessive thirst
• Frequent passing of urine
• Weight loss - in the region of 7-14 pounds
• Blurring of vision
• Recurrent infection

Diabetes is detected by a simple blood test that detects how much glucose is in the blood.

The onset of type 2 diabetes is gradual and therefore hard to detect.  
Some people have few early symptoms and are only diagnosed several years (3 - 12 years) after the onset of the condition and in half of these cases various complications are already present.

Risk factors of Type 2 Diabetes

Some people are more at risk of developing diabetes than others.  The known risk factors inlcude:

• A family history of diabetes, Being overweight (80% of people with diabetes are overweight)
• Age (the likelihood of developing diabetes increases with age)
• Lack of physical exercise
• Having had diabetes during pregnancy or having had a large baby

In Ireland, it is estimated that there are 200,000 people with diabetes with many unaware. The majority of these people will only be  diagnosed through an acute medical event of the complications of long term untreated hyperglycaemia. A further 200,000 people have impaired glucose tolerance or "pre-diabetes" of which 40% will develop diabetes in the next 5 years if lifestyle changes are not made.