Getting the swing of things
So my numbers are getting better, for the most part staying under 200 and even having a run of all normal BG levels over the past week. If anything I'm now getting more concerned about going to low why I figure out my insulin-tolerance as I've already had two bouts of hypoglycemia during this same span of time. I did however enjoy the sweets I got to each while correcting the issue however :)
I'm mastering the finger sticks, they barely hurt, save for my pinkies. I think I just need to toughen those suckers up however as they just don't see the same action as the others. The insulin shots are not so bad thus far, on the pain front that is (as they are certainly obnoxious). For now I'm taking two different forms of insulin. I take a fast-acting insulin to correct prior to each meal that lasts about 4 hours and then once a day I take a long acting insulin that works for a 24-time period with the goal of keeping my fasting glucose down.
The long acting insulin (Lantus), I found to be a bit more painful when injecting. This seemed rather odd to me as I have been using the same needles as I do with the Novolog (fast-acting insulin) and those shots can often be done without any pain if I choose a healthy pinch of fat as the injection site. However, since the Lantus is long acting, it starts to crystallize as it enters your system making the actual injection hurt more than the other. Turns out, the Lantus is truly a more painful shot. I thought I was maybe being a bit of pansy about this shot so it was nice when my dietitian/CDE explained the particulars of the drug.
On the insulin front, I have been giving more thought to the pump concept. Overall I find the concept really difficult to swallow. Don't get me wrong, I see the appeal. And I imagine, after another 6 months or even a year of shots, the pump is probably going to look rather appealing. It's the tubing and the catheter in your tummy and the idea of this tether that freaks me out.
I've already been told by all interested medical personnel that when the time comes for babies, I will have no choice but to get a pump as pregnancy will require additional insulin and even more rigorous monitoring. As such, I imagine that time could prove a trial period for an insulin pump.
In researching however, I did stumble across quite a few 'patch' insulin pumps which caught my eye as a possible solution. The primary one being the Omnipod, which is the patch model that has been around the longest, although I found at least 5 other models out there (some in develop and some on the market). The concept is a insulin pod that affixes to the body and then via a wireless PDA of sorts gives out a basal dose of insulin, with the ability for on-demand (as it were) insulin. Not even sure if our insurance will cover this type of device, or if I'm emotionally ready for it, however it was really cool to see that there was a middle ground of sorts being shots and tubing for my diabetes management.
I'm off to the endocrinologist again this week, Thursday to be specific. Until everything is under control, I'm to see either the doctor or my dietitan/CDE (Chandra) every week for the next few months. Thus far, I think they are enjoying me as a patient as my dietitan/CDE said, perhaps a little too eagerly, that they are excited to work with me and think I'm going to do really well with this. I do like to over-achieve so this was really nice to hear. Plus I imagine that not all their patients are super proactive or even interested about getting on board with all the details of what this diagnosis entails. While last week, for example, I literally had 20 questions to ask Chandra, all written down in a cute little notebook (specifically for tracking this), alongside all the meals I had eaten since our last visit.
Aside from seeing the doctor, I've also been asked to have a talk with a diabetes counselor. I suppose to make sure I'm not on the edge of a nervous breakdown after having been inundated with bad news after bad news after bad news for the past six months. I don't think I'm am. However, I suppose you never see the one that gets you, so maybe I'm not holding it together quite as well as I think I am? I guess we'll see what she has to say soon enough...