Bedtime Blues

Last night we had a weak signal and Lost sensor error with Princess's CGM.  It isn't uncommon for us to receive this alarm when it's time to change the sensor.  It had been six days and I knew we needed to change it.  

The thing was that Princess was just lying on the couch and didn't look good.  My first thought went to diabetes. (of course)  Is she low?  Is she getting sick?  Is her blood sugar really high?  I got her meter out to check her blood sugar and she was 132. Not bad but with out the sensor I didn't know if she looked that way because her blood sugar was dropping fast or if she was just tired.  She wasn't telling me anything either.  That didn't make me feel any better that she wouldn't tell me.  

I thought about trying to start the CGM back up and see if we could get another night from it so I didn't have to change it until the morning.  I didn't want to but I tried, with no success.  I decided that it would be better if I just put a new sensor in. Better to go just a couple hours without the CGM rather then the entire night, especially considering how she was acting. 

While we were having "issues" with Princess's CGM Lovebug was low.  Dexie was telling me she was 70 with arrow straight down.  Normally I wouldn't worry about this, we would treat it and wait for it to go back up.  Considering it was right before bed, I was a little worried. (and wondering if this was what the whole night was going to look like)  Just about 15 minutes later when I was getting ready to check her again, Dexie beeped.  Dexie was saying she was 58 with arrow straight down still.  What in the world?  We re-checked her and she was 102.  She had gone up from the 70 she was before but Dexie just hadn't "caught" up yet.  We calibrated Dexie and sent Lovebug up to bed, knowing we would be up to check on her in a few when Princess was ready for bed.  

After we got the girls tucked into bed, I almost got teary eyed.  I admit, I was worried. Worried sick for both of them. I had made my hubby check Lovebug a few more times then I normally would because of it too.  Normally I am not so "paranoid" and don't worry quite so much, but my thoughts went back to what I had seen earlier that morning. Another parent living one of my worst nightmares.  Another young life lost to Diabetes.  

Daniella Meads-Barlow is her name.  She had Type 1 Diabetes and passed away in her sleep the morning of November 8th.  This is the reality of the disease my girls (heck, our whole family) live with.  I put my girls to bed each night knowing that there is a chance they may not wake up in the morning. 

Theses kids don't die because their parents neglected their diabetes or because they had "bad control".  It is just Type 1.  It's what it does. It is unpredictable.  It changes from one moment to the next, from one day to the next.  The JDRF just released a startling statistic. 1 in 20 (kids and adults) will die from low blood sugar. This is what happened to Daniella. 

This makes me cry. It makes it hard for me to sleep at night. It makes me more determined then ever to fight for a cure and to spread awareness of this disease.  But last night, it just made me want to hug my girls and hold them even closer.  

Surviving School

I have dreaded this day for the past couple of years. Lovebug's first day of school. I remember thinking when she was diagnosed that we would probably have her on a pump by then and off of shots. Realizing how much better control we could get with pumping, it happened just a little over 5 months after Lovebug was diagnosed.

School was only a finite idea in my mind at that point.  Mostly because Lovebug's older sister, Peanut had just started Kindergarten.  As time went by and I learned more about my T1 kiddo going to school, I started to dread it, not look forward to it as I did with Peanut.

I got a little taste of what it would be like to have a d-kid in school last year.  We had to train the preschool teachers on a few things, but not everything because Lovebug was only at school for a couple hours.  When I started working on our 504 plan for this year a few weeks ago and I got a little overwhelmed.

How much do you tell them?  Everything? Do you scare the staff so they don't want to make a mistake?  I decided to tell them what they needed to know and nothing more.  Just enough to make them overwhelmed but not enough to "scare" them.  I want them to be comfortable around Lovebug, not handle her with kids gloves.

I worked for hours and piecing together a 504 plan that worked for us.  I found a lot of them on my fellow D Mamas blogs.  It was a great resource.  It helped give me a starting point.  Without that starting point I am sure I would have been LOST.  I felt lost anyway, even with all the help.

Then came all the instructions sheets on how to operate the pump, how to check blood sugar, how to operate Dexie and what to do in case of a high or low blood sugar.  Then I had to come up with a schedule of when I wanted her blood sugar checked during the day.  And with every day being a little different we basically have a different schedule everyday.  I also had to decided at what blood sugar levels  I wanted the school staff to notify me.  It seriously makes my head spin just thinking about it all again.

Then all of this got me thinking back to when Peanut (our oldest and only non D-kid) started school.  I sent her off with out a care.  Yes, it was a little bittersweet because she was growing up but I really enjoyed watching her blossom and grow.  I think watching her learn to read was one of my favorite things.  While I am very grateful that Peanut does not have diabetes I am reminded how much I miss the other two NOT having Type 1.  It reminds me of what life could have been like for Lovebug and Princess.  That part weighs heavy on my heart strings.

Needless to say, I was a wreck sending Lovebug to school this morning.  Would the staff actually follow everything in the 504?  Would they do the right thing if she went low? I tried to keep shoving the what if's out of my head and just be happy for her.  She was so excited!!

I went in and double checked with Mrs. L to make sure she was comfortable and ready. I  went over her blood sugar check schedule and gave her the instructions for Dexie. (which I had forgotten about the week before! oops.)  Lovebug was in her seat and waving good bye.  She was ready to get on with her day and I was ready to cry.  I have mention that I also LOVE the fact that Mrs L had laminated all of the instructions I had given her and they were hanging on a ring right by the door where Lovebug puts her diabetes bag.  Mrs L is great!

I waited all morning for a phone call.  I assumed I would get one around snack time. Nope, no phone call.  Then I knew I would get one at lunch and sure enough, Mrs. R (our secretary) called so I could walk her through dosing her with the pump.  I was almost shocked when she told me Lovebug's blood sugar was 190. I fully expected it to be higher!  I was very relieved it wasn't though.  Mrs. R only covered part of the carbs in Lovebug's lunch (since recess is right after lunch)  and away Lovebug went to lunch.

Mrs. L called me later in the afternoon to let me know that Lovebug had gone low. (I thought to myself, great...the first day and we are already dealing with lows)  Needless to say we figured out she hadn't eaten all of her lunch!  She has a lunch pail with two sections in it and I put her cucumbers and peaches in the bottom  section.  I didn't have the peaches covered for lunch because they were supposed to be her "exercise snack" for recess. That backfired since it was apparent Lovebug forgot they were in there! I think we might have to get a lunch pail with only one pocket.

Mrs L. told me she gave her two Starburst and then a granola bar, just like I had instructed her to do.  It was perfect.  She said Dexie said 74 and arrow up.  I reminded her Dexie can lag behind and that the arrow up was the most important thing at this point.  I was so impressed they followed my instructions to the tee!  It was wonderful!!

Lovebug's first day of school went off with out much of a hitch.  I was disappointed she missed Music because of the low bg but that wasn't her fault.  Stupid diabetes.  At least now I won't be so nervous when she goes back to school on Friday!

DexCom and Guardian: Our Comparison

Nablopomo ~Day 27

Yesterday I wrote about our experience with the Medtronic Revel and what we like and don't like about it. I thought today I would go ahead and talk about the two CGM's we have around our house; The DexCom and Medtronic Guardian.

Lovebug has been using the DexCom for a little over a year now.  We love it.  Honestly, I would be LOST with out it. I feel much more comfortable when Lovebug is wearing Dexie, which is 99% of the time!  I don't like to have her not hooked up to it.  It's like my security blanket, especially when she is at school or when someone is watching her. I don't worry about them having to recognize how she acts when she is low. Sometimes she doesn't act any different.  I have tested her before when she is 36 and is acting completely normal. Then she has been 72 and having a complete meltdown. You just never know with Lovebug.   Lovebug doesn't recognize her lows and the DexCom is a HUGE help with that.  I am positive we have saved her from a trip to the hospital or worse because of  her Dexie (our nickname for "her".) While we have had a few band sensors here and there our overall experience has been great.

Princess uses the Medtronic Guardian, compassionately known as Mini around our home.  Mini is very reliable and we love her too.  What we love most is the fact there is no separate unit to carry around like there is with the DexCom.  The CGM is integrated into the pump and that makes things a lot easier.  Especially with Princess who is very petite and skinny.  One of the downsides to the DexCom is having to carry the receiver with you everywhere.  So Lovebug always looks like she is a bit bulky under her clothing.  Drives me crazy but at the same time I really couldn't live with out it.  It's a bit of a sleep and worry saver around here.

On the bright side Animas has a pump out called the Vibe with a integrated CGM using DexCom's technology.  But like everything else out there that is great and cutting edge technology in the world of diabetes care, it's not available in the states yet.  It's only in Europe.  Darn FDA.  I can not wait to get my hands on that pump!  I am hoping that it will be available in the states in the next couple years.  Earlier would be better because then we could do an upgrade and try it for a while before Lovebug's pump warranty is up and we get to purchase another one.  

To be honest, I prefer the DexCom over the Guardian. Not because one is superior to the other because in my opinion the both do a great job and are very accurate. The DexCom is so much simpler to use and the transmitter isn't as bulky as the Guardian's. 

The DexCom insertion is easier. The insertion tool is a all in one combo and very easy to use, you never touch or get close to the insertion needle since it is enclosed.  The Guardian is a little complicated at first, but you get used to it pretty quickly.  I HATE having to pull out the insertion needle. It drives me crazy and still creeps me out just a bit. There are a lot more steps.  Now to the Guardian's defense Medtronic has a smaller sensor out in Europe called the Enlite Sensor and according to my Medtronic rep there is one that is what I call an all in one package like the DexCom.  Now I don't know if that is how the Enlite Sensor works or not but at least it is smaller and there is no need to wear a huge adhesive patch over it like we do now.  It would be an added bonus if the insertion "tool" as I call it was all in one like the DexCom.

The other thing I like about the DexCom is that the sensor is approved for 7 days and the Guardian is only approved for 3 days of wear.(here in the states anyway) In Europe where they have the Enlite Sensor and in Canada and Europe where they can also get the Medtronic Veo, (another pump that I would love to get my hands on!) the sensor is approved for 6 days of wear.

When the DexCom receiver is out of range of the transmitter (meaning they aren't close enough to collect any data) it only takes up to 5 minutes to get a signal and a reading from the receiver.  With the Guardian, if you get away from the sensor for too long (like when swimming) you get a Weak Signal and then eventually what they call a Lost Sensor.  Rather then just getting the pump and sensor back in range of each other you have to tell the pump to locate the sensor again and then it takes about 10-15 minutes before it can find a signal and then you have to enter a BG.  I really wish this feature was a little more user friendly. I have been told ours should only take 5 minutes yet is still doesn't work that way for us.  I'm probably doing some small thing wrong and one of these days I will figure out what the small thing is!

Overall my experience with both of them has been great.  Like I said before, my only reason for preferring the DexCom over the Guardian is the ease of use and smaller transmitter. With that said Medtronic does have those available, just not in the states. Really they are both excellent CGM's and I would recommend both of them.  Just depends on which pump you are using and rather you prefer to have the CGM integrated or not and that, to me, is a very personal preference that you have to consider when you choose a pump.  That is why my girls have two different pumps.  It's not because I prefer one pump over the other. (or one company over another). It's because I did what was best for each kid when the decision had to be made about which pump to choose and I don't second guess myself for a minute.

We didn't know that a CGM would be so valuable to Lovebug or we may have gone another route. We loved the fact that Animas had the remote and (at the time) could deliver smaller doses then the Medtronic.  Those were good fits for us (and Lovebug) and still are, despite the fact that she has to wear her pump and CGM receiver around her waist.

Just like I wouldn't change the fact that I knew I wanted to CGM for Princess right away and I also knew that her carrying around a separate receiver would just not work for her. Like I said before, she is just too petite and too skinny.  So I did my research, I asked a lot of questions and made my choice for her and I wouldn't change a thing.

Our Revel

Nablopomo ~ Day 26

When I sat down to blog for today, I had a post in mind that I was going to write then I realized that today is the 26th. The 26th was Princess pump start day. The 26th will be one of those dates that forever sticks with me, right along with the 1st, and the 10th. Want to know something crazy?  Lovebug was diagnosed on April 1st and her Pump start was on September 10th.  Then Princess was diagnosed on April 10th and had her pump start on May 26th. If I hadn't begged for a different date, Princess pump start would have been on June 1st. (that was the date that was originally scheduled.)  Kinda crazy, huh?  :)

Pump start day was two months ago now. Yikes, has it only been two months??  Goodness, it seems a lot longer then that. Pretty sure the days since Princess was diagnosed have dragged on...good thing it's summer and it's making summer feel longer!

I am getting used to Princess's pump and loving it.  I'm not an expert on it yet, I know there are more tricks to learn, but I am getting the hang of it. The pump continues to amaze me.  It's not because I don't like Lovebug's pump, it's that I am finding there are many features on the Revel that I just like better then on Lovebug's Ping. (that is also the joy of having the girls on two different pumps.  I am getting to know both of them inside and out.

I love the Bolus button, it makes it SO much quicker to bolus and easier for friends and family to operate it since there aren't as many buttons to push.  I think the resevoir set up is a easier too.  I love that there are fewer steps to fill the resevoir, even though it took me a few try's to get used to it and in the process, squirted myself with insulin. (the smell of insulin is really not that pleasant) I like that the resevior has cap similar to a bottle of insulin. It makes it easier to draw insulin into the resevoir and to take it out with a syringe if needed.     I also love that the pump saves the amount of insulin you use to fill the cannula. It's just one small step that makes the whole site change process go quicker.

Of course there is the Square Wave Bolus feature that I talked about here. (that I just LOVE) I also find that changing the battery out is a bit easier too.  You don't have to do a complete rewind and prime with the Revel like you do with the Revel. Although when the battery goes on the Revel, it goes quick.  With the Ping I know I usually have 6-8 hours before I have to change the battery.

We really do love our Revel.  Of course there isn't the remote bolusing like there is with the Ping (which I really love) But I also I feel like I just traded the remote for the integrated CGM.  Which for Princess is perfect.  She is so small I couldn't see her carrying around her pump and CGM reciever.  Way to much for my little pumping Princess.

There are a few things I don't like about the CGM but I will save a comparison of the DexCom and Guardian for another post.  Don't want to do a information overload on you! :) Needless to say, we are very happy with our little Revel.

Combo Bolus Squared

Nablopomo ~ Day 19

When I first decided to go with two different pumps for the girls, I thought I might be taking on too much. Maybe I had lost my mind?  Well, I am pretty sure I lost it a couple years ago when Lovebug was diagnosed but I was thinking pretty clearly when I choose to go a different route for Princess then I had for Lovebug.

So, when it came time to choose a pump for Princess, I was immediately drawn to the Medtronic Revel with the integrated CGM.  I knew the CGM would befit her and if I could avoid her having to carry two devices around her waist like her sister, then I was going to go for it.  Of course I had some reservations about Medtronic's Guardian. The size and the insertion are a lot different then the DexCom and I was a little uncomforable at first.  I decided to call our endo and see if there was a trial like with the DexCom.  Thankfully there was and after a few days, I was hooked.  I knew we were going the right route with Princess and her pump.

Needless to say, there are A LOT of things that I LOVE about the Medtronic Revel.  One of my favorite is what they call the Square Wave Bolus.  At first I was a little "scared" to use it, but I was like that with the Combo Bolus on the Lovebug's Ping.  Are you wondering what the heck a Square Wave Bolus is? Well here you go:

Square Wave Bolus: delivers a bolus evenly over a period of time (30 minutes up to 8 hours). This bolus can be used for insulin delivery when you have eaten a long meal with extended snacking (commonly called grazing!) It can also be useful for delayed food digestion or (my favorite) meals high in fat (hello Pizza!) A Square Wave bolus can be useful if a normal bolus drops your blood sugar too rapidly.  

Can I hear a WOO HOO! I LOVE this bolus!  It works GREAT with ice cream, pasta and pizza. (for Princess anyway)  All the foods with fat or slow adsorbing carbs.  It has worked SO well for Princess that I found myself wishing that Lovebug's pump had that feature.

Cue the "aha moment"!  One day I was thinking about the Combo Bolus and how it works on the Ping. Remembering that you can give a certain percentage of insulin upfront and a certain percentage of the bolus of a period of time. Then it hit me...I bet I could do a Square Wave bolus using the Combo Bolus on the Ping.  How, you ask?  Well let me explain.

Remember that a Square Wave gives you your entire bolus over a set amount of time. It drags it out, so to speak.  Well, I figured with the Combo Bolus if I gave 0% up front and 100% over a certain period of time, wouldn't that be the same as a Square Wave Bolus on the Medtronic?  A couple weeks ago I got brave and tried it when we had pizza for dinner.  And you know what? IT WORKED!!!  Lovebug didn't have a delayed spike from the pizza!!  She stayed nice and steady!  I was super excited!! (yes, I have used it numerous times since then and It's still working!)

Another common problem we have with Lovebug is that she will be low before a meal, we will wait to bolus her until after she is done eating (yes, we typically bolus before meals, for both of the girls) and then a couple hours later we check her (or Dexie is beeping at us) and her blood sugar is HIGH.  Then we do the big, "oops" I forgot, yet again!  Ugh, I hate it when I forget and she suffers for it!!

So another conclusion I came to was, why not use a Squared Combo Bolus (as I call it) for Lovebug when she is low before a meal? (I am talking  between 60 and 80 here) I can still bolus her (because she isn't getting any insulin up front) and then by the time her blood sugar is back up and her food is starting to kick in, the insulin is starting to trickle into her system. Hence no low blood sugar and no rebound spikes from the low either. And guess what?  I tried it and IT WORKED!!  It works wonderfully!

Needless to say, I am VERY happy!  These two little "discoveries" were a God send to me. It has made managing Lovebug's crazy numbers a little easier.  Anything to make this disease a little easier to handle makes for one (a little) happier mama!!

Swimming Lessons

Nablopomo ~ Day 3

Yesterday was the first really hot day we have had in a while here.  So, we finally decided to get our little pool out for the girls and fill it up.  This was the first time I had to watch both the girls and worry about 2 sets of blood sugar numbers.  I think it went pretty well, overall.  No lows, thank goodness but poor Princess. She just runs high, all the time.  ( I feel like I say this all the time, but she does...)

We had to unhook her from her pump since her's is not water proof.   It was hard to just let her bg run high all day. I was surprised it did considering she was running around pretty hard.  We have a slide on our pool so they were in and out of the pool a lot.

I really need to find a way to make the whole experience a little less taxing for Princess. Asking her to come out of the water for 5 minutes every hour to bolus for her basal just isn't going to work. Not to mention tummy sites don"t bode well when you have a one piece suit on.  I felt like I was undressing her every hour! I don't feel like we can skip the giving her her basal but not bolusing her basal isn't going to working either. Hence the 437 bg after just two hours of swimming. She pretty much ran high all night. I ended up giving her two correction doses before she came down and woke up at 100, which is low for her to wake up at.  On the other hand Lovebug's numbers were good, around 180 despite not being hooked up to her pump most of the day. I don't bolus her basal since she tends to run low if I do that.

I did learn that the Revel's sensor is not as swimmer friendly as the DexCom.  Princess sensor did stay on but I couldn't just take her Mini and go over by her for a few minutes and get a reading like I can with Dexie.  I had to find lost sensor and wait 15 minutes.  So, for us her sensor is pretty useless for a day at the beach or a pool day. For Princess this is okay. It would not work for Lovebug so well. Despite this, I am still in love with Mini. :)

Overall the day went pretty well. I am still a little nervous about taking them to the beach with all the sand and having to keep their pumps in a cooler all day but I'm sure it will be okay.  I tend to worry about the little things like that a bit until we have actually done it. Taking two Type 1's to the beach sounds just plain taxing to me.  We almost did a few days ago but we got rained out.  I thought I was prepared but I also felt like I was going to take half of the kitchen with me.  Do you feel this way when you take your Type 1 kids to the beach?  Any good suggestions you got for me? Anything to help swimming all day and the beach a little less of a workout for Mom.  I would LOVE to hear them and I'll post them in a follow up blog post.

Love ya all and hope you are having a wonderful 4th of July weekend!

Our Life Saver.

36 and double arrows down on Dexie. 

Now THAT is something I never thought that I would see. If I did see I assumed I would be administering Glucagon because that would mean one of the girls was dangerously low. 

Today, I saw it.  One of my fears, realized, yet again.  Honestly I really wish my fears would QUIT becoming reality and my hopes and dreams would become reality instead.  Yep, 36 and double arrows down.  You know what? There was no Glucagon, no call to 911 because of a seizure or because Lovebug had passed out.  Nope none of that.  WHY? 

BECAUSE SHE WAS ACTING COMPLETELY NORMAL!!!

What in the world?!  They only way I knew she was that low, was because of Dexie.  Dexie alerted me to Lovebug's low.  Dexie, not Lovebug, Dexie.  As you can see I am having a hard time digesting this one.  The fact that Lovebug was acting completely NORMAL while at 36 boggles my mind!  How is that even possible?  After I checked her and low and behold she was actually 36.  Typically I would have taken a picture of this but for some reason I was SCARED.  So scared I literally dropped everything and made her sit down and drink a juice pouch immediately.  

I can't even begin to tell you how much that terrified me today. For a split second I thought of that what if....I let my mind go there and I freaked out.  I was shaking I was so upset.  I guess the whole reality of Lovebug and Princess having Diabetes was right in my face today.  I didn't like it one bit. It made me very uncomfortable.  I know all the bad things that can happen with diabetes. I just don't let myself go there. I can't. But for a split second (okay, maybe 2) my mind went there with the "what if's".  

I thought about the "what if" we didn't have Dexie? What if I had never thought to push for a CGM?  What if Dexie hadnt' been here today? Would the worst of happened?  I wonder how many time Dexie has saved Lovebug's life.  Literally SAVED her life and I don't even realize it?  

All I can say is for Lovebug, Dexie is a godsend. I don't know where I would be without that extra piece of equipment attached to her.  I'm not sure I could function if she didn't have it. At least knowing what I know now.  When we first looked into getting a CGM I was VERY hesitant.  Mostly because I didn't want Lovebug to carry around two separate units. I mean really, that's a lot for a 4 year old to wear around her waist. A year later, I have a entirely different outlook on the whole thing.  Yes,  It really looks horrible under her shirt.  She looks like she is carrying around extra weight around her waist.  BUT  I wouldn't trade the little bit of security it brings to our family's life for ANYTHING.  

What a night...

10pm - Lovebug come bounding down the stairs...Dexie says LOW.  That's odd.  Lovebug is rarely low at night, much less the first half of the night...check bg....yep 59.  Sheesh, she was 95 arrow up at 8 when I put her to bed, what is going on?  3 glucose tabs and 30 minutes later we are back up to 133, and back to bed. 

12:30am - creeeeek,   I wake up to my bedroom door opening...it's Lovebug, again.  Dexie is saying low...send Lovebug out to living room and drag my bum out of bed. Check bg - 73.  Seriously??  3 Glucose tabs and  20 minutes later we are up to 93 but arrow up on Dexie, set temp basal rate for few hours to be sure and send her back to bed.  Oh yes, and I  almost forgot to mention that she heard thunder and didn't want to go back to bed. (for some reason she is terrified of Thunder....I wonder if it's a middle child thing....)

2:30am - BEEP! BEEP! (thinking to self: stupid alarm) look at clock...2:26 am.  

Drag myself out of bed, grab both meters and drag myself up the stairs to the girls bedroom....check Princess,   Princess jerks her arm in her sleep and rolls over dragging Mini with her and almost pulling site out.  Blood drop on sheets instead of the test strip. Try again. Roll her back over, grab finger, poke, just about get blood on strip and she jerks her hand away, again. Um, really?!  Now there is blood on her face.  Great. Pull out alcohol wipe and clean it off.  Lets try this again...roll her back over, grab finger, poke, jerks her arm again and she kicks me!!!  (yes, Princess is doing this ALL in her sleep.)  Well dag nab it!!  It freaking 2:30am REALLY?!  I JUST want to go back to bed.  By now I am fully awake and just a little frustrated.  Repeat process for the 4th time...finally get a bg and she is 134.  Wonderful number but I know she is never going to hold through the rest of the night, so downstairs I go to acquire a juice pouch.  Back upstairs I am thankful she drinks in her sleep, I don't even have to make her sit up.  Juice takes a couple more minutes to drink down.  (she is SLOW compare to Lovebug. Lovebug sucks those pouches down in an instant in her sleep!) 

Now about 2:50am.  I haven't even checked Lovebug yet.  I look at Dexie, 88. UM WHAT!?  What in the world is going on...I really just want to go back to bed!!  Do finger poke and confirm...bg is 93.  Well crap.  Wake her up and give 3 more glucose tabs and another temp basal for a couple hours.  Finally, back to bed. 

5:30am - wake up to beeping via the baby monitor....it's Mini. Friggin' fantastic!!.  (I am pretty sure I used a much more colorful word here ) Low predicted bg 95. Oh joy.  Check bg and she is 81.  What a way to "wake" up. 3 glucose tablets consumed.  Did I mention that this caused ALL 3 girls to get up early!? 

Nights like last night are a perfect example; a perfect example of why we NEED a cure.

Did I mention that I HATE Diabetes!?  

Moving Forward

It has been a month since Princess was diagnosed.  It has been a HUGE change in our lives.  I never would have thought that I would be taking care of TWO children with Type 1 diabetes.  I thought having one was hard!  Nope, two is much harder.

I feel like I have a handle on the diabetes though. I know what I am doing this time around, and that helps.  It annoys the heck out of me that I can't "tweek" anything because Princess is still on MDI. (Mulitple Daily Injections) The smallest dose of insulin I can give her is .5 units. I need smaller doses!  So, most of the time Princess has higher blood sugar numbers.  Her I:C ratio is 1:40 right now (which I think we need to change but I'm not going to mess with it until we have the insulin pump). So in order to dose her for food she has to have at least 20 carbs, even though if I give her 10 carbs it raises her blood sugar.  Needless to say I'm sure her A1C will be nice and high at her 1st follow up appointment in June.

For the most part we are muttering through getting used to all this. It has its good and bad days, as you would expect.  Just ours seem to be doubled.  Or if one kiddo is having a good day the other one isn't.  It is a never ending battle, times two!

On top of all of this I had a hard decision to make.  We had to decide about which insulin pump was right for Princess.  It was a tough one!  I'm sure most would assume that we would just put Princess on the same insulin pump the Lovebug is on, but that isn't the case.  While we LOVE the Animas Ping I simply do not like that Lovebug has to carry her CGM (Dexie) around with her too.  It drives me crazy and was a major factor in hesitating to put Lovebug on a CGM.  Of course once we did a trial with it, we immediately saw the benefits and were hooked.  If it wasn't for the wonderful benefits the CGM allows us, Lovebug simply would not have one.

So,  we took a serious look at the Medtronic Revel.  It has a CGM integrated into the pump.  I was hesitant at first but the more I learned about the pump and after talked to friends, I was convienced this was the right pump for Princess.

I did have my doubts about the CGM and senors that accompany the Revel.  The sensor/transmitter is much larger and I was afraid it would be a bit much on Princess's small frame.  I called my endo office and decided to do a trial with the Guardian System (as Medtronic calls it)  I have been nothing but impressed!  Which takes a lot!  Especially because I am a HUGE DexCom fan. There are features on the Guardian which I really like, and a few that I don't. Probably more because I am used to the DexCom.

One particular function that took some getting used to was the alarms.  You can set the high and low alarms on the Guardian (just like DexCom) but you can't shut one or the other off like you can on the DexCom. They are simply either on or off.  I do like the predictive alarms, especially for the lows.  We only had the predictive  low happen twice but both times Princess was still in the 120's when the CGM alarmed.  Therefore she never actually went low, like she might have had we just had the alarm telling us that she is already low.

I find the information gleemed from the Guardian is much more useful then the DexCom's graphs when you download the information from the DexCom.  The Guardian has it marked on the graph when you bolus.  The screen is also shaded from 6pm to 6am so you can immediately tell where the "over night" numbers were at.

We really had a great experience with it and we are very excited to be getting our own!  Our endo already ordered the Revel pump and CGM for Princess and it has already arrived!  We will be doing our pump training this coming week as well as starting our saline trial so we can get used to the new pump. Princess is very excited (as well as Mom and Dad!!) to be done with shots!  She keeps asking me when she will be done with shots and now we are counting down the days!  Then the week after we will be live with insulin!  It is all a little bittersweet for us but we are still happy to be moving to this "next stage". It will be a good one for the whole family.

One of our FAVORITE things...AND....A Super Sweet Sugar Bolus!

**THIS SUGAR BOLUS IS CLOSED**


Welcome to Sweet to the Soul's very FIRST 

Sugar Bolus!!! 

In honor of Lovebug on her 2nd Diaversary I thought I giveaway one of our favorite D-items.  

You see, a few months back we had a pump pouch malfunction. I had to order something and fast. I didn't have time to sew anything, and that hadn't really been working great since we got Dexie anyway.  They weren't pretty and I just was not happy with them.

At that point I HAD to order something and fast.  I had looked at a couple different pouches that I had been drawn to before.  One of them was the Tummietote Belts by Tallygear.  They looked like they would hold up well to Lovebug's ruff and tumble ways. Believe me she is one very active child!  (If she doesn't play sports, I will be SHOCKED!) I also LOVED the fact you could get a clear vinyl window on one of the pockets. So, we look a leap and ordered.

Let me tell you I have been nothing but impressed!! These belts are PERFECT for Lovebug. They stay put and don't bounce around.  I am in love with the fact that there are three pockets. Then, depending on what side of Lovebug's bottom her site is on, I can switch it up so her cord is hidden more easily. Her preschool teachers love the clear pouch so they aren't having to take Dexie out all the time. (that is also one of my favorite features.) I also love the fact that the belt actually fits her!  It's not too big or too small and I can adjust it when needed.

Some Pictures of Lovebug wearing her pouch.  

I love that you can hardly tell it is under her shirt.  

My favorite part of the belt (besides the three pockets) is the Velcro closure in the back.  I can not count how many times Lovebug has said to me that she loves this belt because it doesn't pinch her.  You do not even want to know how many times I had crocodile tears running down her sweet checks because I had pinched her with the other belts she wore.

The belt may have been made for putting your diabetes supplies in but you can use it for SO much more! You can use it to put your i-pod, cell phone cash and keys in when you are working out or going on a quick errand.  Tummietote has made me a very loyal customer! I know you will love them too!

So in honor of Lovebug we are giving away a Tummietote belt of your choice this week!!  

Here is what you need to do:

• Leave me a comment before Midnight on Thursday, April 7th. Please include your first name. Comments left without a name will be eliminated. 
• To earn extra entries (post a separate comment for each):
• Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter. (remember to leave an additional comment)
• Share a link to this contest on Facebook (again, remember to leave another comment)
• Blog about this contest. (then remember to leave a comment containing the link to the post)
• No duplicate comments are allowed.  Duplicate comments will be eliminated. 
• The winner will be selected via random draw at http://www.random.org/
• The winners' name will be posted here on the blog Friday, April 8th. 
• After the winner is posted , the winner will have 48 hours to send me a message at  sweet2thesoul@gmail.com. If I do not hear from the winner within 48 hours, a new winner will be selected.  

 Good Luck!!!  

From "Dexie's" Point of View

 On Wednesday I started new journey with another friend. This time I met this sweet little girl named Love Bug, she is just 4 years old. She came to pick me up from "Miss Sally" (Audrey's CDE.)  "Miss Sally" is AWESOME and Love Bug and her Mom really like her.  Love Bug is taking me for a week long test run, to see if her and her Mom like me. If they do, then a very close friend of mine, a brand new "Dexie" will come and get to stay with Audrey. So far,  I've been with Love Bug for a little over 36 hours and I think I am growing on them.

I was a little off my first day, (wasn't doing my best and I'm sorry) my alarms were going off a little too much.  I was driving Love Bug's Mom a little nutty, I could see it in her eyes. She quickly decided to turn off some of them and it has made things much better.  My calibration was off too, but by evening I was doing much better. I was much closer to what Audrey's meter was telling her Mom her blood sugar was. I do have a margin of error.  I'm not perfect, and I am only a picture of where Love Bug has been and where she is going.

Last night, I let Love Bug's Mom know that her blood sugar was high, she liked that. I could see her smiling.  She gave Audrey a correction dose and went back to sleep.  I kept an eye on Love Bug all night for her mom. It felt good.  When Love Bug woke up she proudly carried me downstairs and told her mom that she loves her Dexie.

By the way, Love Bug calls me "Dexie".  I like that name, It's one of my favorites! Since every child that takes me for a test drive calls me something different.  I can tell Love Bug really likes me.  She has been taking me out of my pouch every time I beep. Love Bug runs to her Mom and says "Mommy, Dexie is telling me I'm high (or low) again." She can read my arrows already! Amazing! She asked her mom this morning, for only the 3rd or 4th time, if she can get a pink "Dexie".  I think black is a great color, but if she wants me in pink then she can dress me up with some skin.

I'm pretty sure by the end of the week they will be completely sold on me.

Brain Drain

My oldest daughter loves to watch a show called Brain Surge on Nickelodeon.  I think her favorite part is when the kids have to go down the Brain Drain.  It is a tube (with an ear at the top and filled with some sort of whitish substance) that the contestants go down once then have been eliminated. It's rather gross in my personal opinion, but kinda how I feel lately.  Like I'm going down the brain drain tube.

I have been keeping a food journal for Love Bug for a little over a week now, via my endocrine suggestion. Everything she eats and how much along with her BG get recorded in my little notebook.  It's a little tedious but it is proving somewhat helpful.

It has been a great help for looking at her BG trends.  I used to write EVERYTHING down before Love Bug went on the pump.  I was "obsessive"  about it.  Since we got a pump that stores off of her information, carbs eaten, doses given, IOB, correction doses, etc, etc.  I haven't felt the need to "write" anything down.  I told myself  I would religiously download her pump and print out all these awesome reports that I can print out and put those into a notebook.  Yeah, none of that has happened.  Mostly because it takes SO long to download the information from the pump and our printer died so I can't print the reports out anyway. 

Getting back to my point...The food journal is somewhat helpful but I don't feel it is being helpful for what I want to get out of it.  I (and the endocrine) want to know what food(s) cause Love Bug's BG to spike after a meal so we can find a solution to the "problem".  The problem is, I can't always do a BG check an hour after she eats to see if she is spiking or not.  *sigh*  I want to but I can't stop everything everyday to make sure she she getting a BG check an hour after she is done eating.  Not to mention she naps, right after lunch. I'm  not about to go up and wake her up halfway through her nap to check her BG.  (that would seriously be INSANE!) 

I don't want Diabetes to win, again.  I DON"T want to rearrange my life around this disease, again.  Can't Diabetes work around me, just for ONCE!  I know, I know, it doesn't work that way.  But then again, nothing ever works the way I want it to.  Especially when it comes to diabetes.  *sigh*

Needless to say, I am MORE then ready to try a CGM.  Problem is I am so worried about Love Bug having to carry two devices around, two sites on her little body.  She just does not have enough fat on her little body.  The child is ALL muscle.  But, I am afraid it is the only way that we are going to be able to get a (really) good handle on her BG numbers.   So despite all the reservations I have about it, I am pretty sure I am going to call our CDE so we can get in contact the the Dexcom rep in our area and do a trial run. 

On top of all this, despite a  couple nights of  "normal" BG's, Love Bug's BG's have been high again at night, running in the mid to upper 200's.  Not the numbers I want to see in the middle of the night. Strange thing is by morning, she is waking up in range or a little below, and her numbers are great at bedtime.   I want to pull my hair out!!!  WHAT in the world is going on???  I guess the 2 am checks aren't going to stop anytime soon.  This poor mom needs a full night sleep.  Everything is much more tolerable when I have at least 6 hours of continuous sleep. 

Not that I am complaining, really just stating my frustrations with this disease.  But hey, It's par for the course, right?