Endo Appointment

Today we saw our very favorite nurse practitioner and there was good news along with.....a lecture/pep talk.

First, we got the good 'ole A1C number.

Drum roll please.  6.5

And of course, the best part is that we haven't had a lot of lows.  Still quite a few highs, but since we're quick to correct them, the A1C is good.  A huge blessing.

I also got my questions answered.  (FYI, I was right on the correction--go me!)

However, before the appointment was over, I did get a mini-lecture from the CDE.  Not because I'm doing a bad job---quite the opposite:  she doesn't think I give myself enough credit.  Neither does Kevin.

Sigh.  It's probably true. 

I don't know.  Who knew being a pancreas could be so...emotional?

I left the office, so happy about the A1C and yet....it doesn't change anything. Matthew still has diabetes. 

After his appointment, we went out to lunch.  We still had to count carbs, check his BG, bolus.  (And we ended up at 290.)

There's just no break, even with a good A1C. 

Don't get me wrong.....I'm happy about our success this past 3 months.  I think I've done a great job! 

But it's hard to celebrate when the job never ends....you just start working on the next A1C.

Diabetes is still here.

Changes at McDonald's

Have you heard about the changes coming to the McDonald's Happy Meals?

They're adding apples to every Happy Meal and cutting the amount of fries in half. 

Easy-breezy for most parents, unless your kiddo has diabetes.  Then it's time to refigure those carbs again. 

(Of course, McDonald's is one of the restaurants that does an awesome job giving out that information.  I'm sure they'll continue with these upcoming changes....)

Anyway, we don't go there often....perhaps you don't either...but I wanted to pass on this info anyway.

According to this article, the changes start in September. 

(Which is right around the corner!  When did that happen?!)

Minute Maid Just 10

Hey D-Moms--have you seen this product?

It's fantastic!  Matthew took one taste and couldn't believe it was only 2 carbs. That's right, just 2 little carbs.  So don't let the "10" deceiver you. The "10" refers to calories. 

For the upcoming school year, I'm sure I'll be packing this in the lunch box a lot.  I always gave Matthew milk in the past, but this allows him to be a little more like the other kids.

(I don't know about you, but I never can bring myself to bolus him for juice......)

Need help with Correction Factor

Okay d-moms.  I need some help here. Warning....this is a bit long. Sorry about that!  I always try to keep posts short and sweet.  Ummm....not today!

Right up front, I'll tell you that we see the endo next week and I'll ask about this.  But I'm trying to do some research first so I understand what they tell me. 

Matthew was diagnosed in March 2010. At that time, we were given told his correction factor was 1:100. Meaning 1 unit or insulin drops him 100 points.

We started pumping in December and left the correction factor alone. (Though at night, we usually only give half corrections to avoid lows...)

After basal testing recently, I'm seeing some patterns that point to making a change in the correction factor. I think.  Here goes....

In the morning, corrections usually don't work.

At dinner, corrections usually work too well and he goes lower than I want.

I'm thinking we need to lower the correction factor in the morning and raise it at night. Is that right?

I'm having trouble wrapping my brain around this for some reason. And where do you start....

I did find a calculation somewhere(CWD forums??) that talked about taking the meal ratio and multplying it by the # points one carbs raises your sugar.  (Whatever that is called.)

If I do that...it would change his morning correction from 1-100 to 1-70.

Evening correction would change from 1-100 to 1-154.

Ever heard of this??  Oh, and I'm not planning on making these changes until after the appoinment, just trying to understand better.

Any advice on correction factor is appreciated.  A lot.  : )

My Carb-Counting King...

So Matthew is planning his own dinners these days. 

With Kevin's work schedule, we usually have our "dinner" mid-day and a simple sandwich in the evening.

Here is Matthew's one of his favorites.  Came to 91 carbs.

He's gonna be a carb-counting king in no time! 

(Especially if a friend invites him over for PB & J!)

Endo Appointment Next Week

So you know what that means....

Everything has gone WaCkY. 

Random highs.

Random lows.

No pattern in sight. 

Except of course, the pattern that we have our endo appointment next week.

Pizza and Ice Cream Question

So we went to a birthday party Friday night.  First they served pizza.  Not a big problem for us---I've got that down pat!  : )
I did our usual extended. (70/30 3 hours)  Matthew enjoyed the pizza.

Then....they served ice cream.  Ummm...still working on that, but it involves another extended. (25/75 4 hours)

The pod can only do ONE extended at a time.  Not sure about other pumps.

I had NO IDEA what to do.  Can't tell you how long I just stared at that PDM...totally perplexed.

Here's what I finally went with:  I looked to see what was left to be delivered from the pizza extended.  Hmmm.....55 I think.

Then I cancelled that extended.  Started a new one for the ice cream and added half a unit to that.

He did go low (60s) a bit later, but he caught it and recovered nicely.  Rest of the night went great.

Is there a better way to handle this?  (Thanks in advance!)

Another Diabetes Death?

Have you seen this story?  It appears another 14-year-old girl has lost her life to diabetes.

It breaks my heart.

Please pray for her family and their loss.

My Summer Project (for Matthew)

School starts ONE month from tomorrow!  I can't believe it.  I blinked and summer is almost over.

So....time to work on my "Matthew List."

Some of you may remember last summer, I had 2 big goals for Matthew:

1. Get in the habit of taking his kit when he goes out.
2. Recognize his lows and know how to treat them.

He did great on both counts.

This summer, I simply want him to take on another "diabetes responsibility" and it's his choice!

I told him it could be anything from carb counting, to writing his BG in the logbook, to learning to change his pod. Just one small task he can do on his own.

He chose planning his dinner and counting the carbs by himself.

Of course, we talk about carbs, but Matthew isn't really responsible for this yet.  This is one step in the right direction.

And I'm excited about that!  : )

Question:  How do you begin transferring responsibility to your kids?

Finally.....Summer Fun!

This summer has been the busiest one we've had in years. 

As soon as school was out, we headed to Virginia.  Then Matthew had 2 weeks of swimming lessons.  The very next week was VBS and after that, he had diabetes camp.

All fun stuff.  But seriously, isn't summer a time to....relax?

I think so!  This week we're finally able to just have fun. 

Matthew's played with a couple friends.  We're enjoying library days again.  Today, the zoo is on our list. 

We even took time to paint yesterday. 

This is what summer is all about! I just want to enjoy my kiddo!

An Unexpected Low

Last night was one of those nights that leaves you wondering "What if......"

Matthew had dinner at 6pm, we checked him at 8pm and his BG was 150.  I was thrilled.  Anything over 140 is usually quite good for him at night and I wasn't worried a bit.

I decided I would check him again at 10pm before we went to bed.  He went to bed around 8:30pm.

A little after 9, he calls me because he felt low.  You could tell he felt terrible.  He was down to 55.  After 15 carbs, he only came up to 82.

I am so thankful that he didn't fall asleep right away and caught it.  (He never catches lows at night.)

But here's the thing:  I was not going to check him for another 45 minutes.  The thought of that terrifies me.  Kevin and I were both really shaken up.

I'm so thankful that God was watching out for him.  Especially when I thought he was okay.

Sometimes you look at Matthew and....he's just thriving! 

And then other times, you look at him and you realize how fragile his life really is.

Happy Friday!

Heading into the weekend and I have very little to say. 

Matthew is growing again.  Average BG for the past couple days is in the 200s.  Sigh.  We did get a 116 a few minutes ago.  Yay.  Basal testing set for Sunday.

We're heading to a birthday party soon.  The swimming should be great for his BG.  The ice cream sundaes at night?  Ahhh.....not so much.  He's never even HAD a sundae since diagnosis and I have no idea how to bolus.

Guess I'm in store for a long night.

But what's my choice?  I would rather him be a "normal" kid tonight and I'll fix the BG later.

(Unless I SWAG like a rockstar!)

New Disney Character---With Type 1 Diabetes!

Yes folks, it's true.  Disney has created a monkey named Coco, who has Type 1 diabetes. 

This photo was taken at the Friends For Life Conference in Florida and shared on Twitter yesterday.

Isn't she adorable?  Hooray for Disney! 

Blog Roll Update

Hello Blogger Friends!

I need your help.  I've made some changes to my site and I've update the blog roll.  (Finally....)

Please look for your blog, if I've failed to include you, let me know and I'll happily pop you in.

For those of you with cute, little buttons, I finally figured out how to include those, too.

(I'm so envious.  I want one, but don't know where to start or what to do!)

Also....If you're having a rough day and need a pep talk, visit my other site.  DailyDoctorMom

Happy 4th of July!

I hope you're all having a FANTASTIC day.  Ours is starting off GREAT! 

Why?

Well, Matthew has endured over:

• 4500 finger pricks
• 1500 shots
• 70 pod changes

But TODAY he finally gathered up the courage to learn how to ride his bike.  AND HE ROCKS AT IT!!

(No--I won't remind you how old my child is.  Victory is victory and I'll take it whenever it comes!)

Happy 4th!

Camp Pictures

Day One.  Last year, there were only 2 boys in Matthew's group and the other boy was sick for the last 3 days of camp.  This year, we prayed that Matthew would find a good buddy.  God answered!

EVERY SINGLE DAY he came home filthy! 

Yes, I should have just tossed him in the shower, but he was low. And yes, I did put a towel down first!


Just like last year, socks were simply thrown in the trash and he ruined another pair of shoes. (Oh, and I'm not complaining---totally worth it!)

But after a solid week of fun.....here's a picture of Matthew on the last day.  It only took 10 years to wear him out!  : )

D-Camp. A Huge Success

Matthew had the best time at camp.  He met some really good friends and was completely exhausted each night.  So nice!

Probably the best thing he said though? 

"Mom, I had kind of forgotten about shots.  I'm so glad I have a pump."

Wow.  My kid is growing up.

Gotta run to the store.  I'll try to post pictures later today.  : )

(If you're having a rough day and need a pep talk, visit my other site.  DailyDoctorMom)

Come visit!

My new website launches today!  I hope you'll come join me.  (But I'll still be posting here!)

Daily Doctor Mom is for EVERY MOM who has a child with medical needs. 

Because at the end of it all, it doesn't really matter what illness our child has, we all share a common bond.  Let's walk the road together!