An Endo Update

Today was my third quarterly visit to the endocrinologist and as usual it was exciting and simultaneously unexciting because that's how endocrinologist appointments go. The night before, I introduced my little sister to Diasend because both of us are eternally lazy when it comes to logging and this program makes it easy to upload data from all of your medical devices onto one easy to read chart that my endo likes. (And it's a little important that the endo likes it, since she is the one helping interpret the data.) My sister has a t:slim, so she can easily plug in her pump and upload data. I felt inspired to do the same with mine, but mine is an Animas Ping. That means that I had to pull out an IR Reader. 

At this point you may be wondering: "Sarah, what is an IR reader?" Oh well in the ancient days when I began using Animas pumps, they used these things to wirelessly transfer data from the pump to the computer. I even remember using one to change the song for my pump alarms. They may seem innovative/ easy to use, but it's not the wireless/ bluetooth type thing you're probably thinking of. I have to take my pump off, suspend, it, place it on a flat, non-moving surface with the back facing the reader, and hold it as still as possible until the green light that confirms it is lined up stays solid green. This process takes way too long and I may have had to hold my pump in place for an amount of time that made my arm sore. #thanksanimas (Here's a video if you care to know how this thing actually works.) Now back to your regularly scheduled endocrinologist-themed programming. Let's skip to the next day because all that happened after that was complaining about the previously discussed ancient technology and printing charts.

I was awoken at 6:45 in confusion because we had to leave at 7:15 AM to get to our appointment at 8:45. (You know, to compensate for Atlanta traffic.) Apparently everyone is on vacation and we didn't get the memo because we got to Atlanta at 8. That's uncalled for record speed. So of course, we did what any group of tired people that got up way too early for a doctor's appointment would do: we went to Starbucks. In case you were wondering, I got a hot chocolate with a shot of hazelnut (because #nutella) and an egg and cheddar biscuit, my mom got an Earl Grey tea and a blueberry muffin, and my sister got a iced green tea lemonade. I'm sure the endo was very happy that we all had a bunch of sugar before coming over.

We left Starbucks and arrived fashionably late (by two minutes) because that's just how we are. I signed us all in and I got to sign my own HIPPA release, so my parents can still see my medical files. (The excitement of being an official adult.) My mother also talked to the office about my CGM upgrading issues. (There will be a whole blog post for that next week because the story behind that is too long and exciting for just half of a blog post.) Thankfully, those should be mostly solved by next week and I should be getting a CGM soon. 

My A1c, which never seems to change according to my sister, was 7.2%. (It went down by 0.1%, so her point may be proven.) I'm not complaining about it, but I definitely want to work on going below 7%. We changed some of my sensitivity factors, since I always seem to be going to bed high as well as my evening basal to combat highs. I'll be sending logs in next week after I test those changes, so we should be able to see if those help out soon. We also talked about college and talking to my roommate about diabetes, as well as the Disability Resource Center, since I'm being put into their system next week. I'm doing this mainly so I can have testing accommodations. I'm having my official meeting with the DRC next week, so I'll share more about that in the next few weeks. I'm also super excited for my sister because she will be getting a Dexcom soon! I love my CGM and I think it will help her a ton, so I'm psyched for her.

I'll update you all on how my basal/ ISF changes worked, my CGM woes, and college, so stay tuned for that. I promise it's coming!

Emojis and the Endo

I really hope I'm not the only person slightly obsessed with emojis. I'm not sure why I like them so much, but I do. Is that weird? Probably. Who cares?

Emojis are seemingly superfluous little symbols, but they are actually quite useful. I like using them when I want to talk about my CGM. Instead of finding the right lighting to take a picture and hoping the number or arrow doesn't change while I'm trying to snap a picture, I can just say CGM: 108  How awesome is that? I'd say it's pretty darn amazing.

They're also just fun to use. Some days emojis can say more than words ever will. After all, they do say that a picture is worth 1,000 words. (I feel way too cliché right now)

Emojis are just amazing, okay? // Via Studio DIY

In other, slightly more diabetes related news, my A1C has finally changed, after six months of being the same! It went down 0.3% to 7%, so I'm super happy about that. My next goal is to get it below 7% because I've never had an A1C below that before. I will honestly be happy with a 6.9% because anything below 7% is pretty much new territory for me.

And we all know what going below 7% means. The end of mindless snacking (I type as I'm eating pistachios) and the beginning of *gasp* charting and *even louder gasp than usual* exercise. I'm not exactly what one would call healthy when it comes to fitness. Or food. Or anything really. You may be wondering, "Why on earth is this teenage girl telling me about how unhealthy she is?" Well, it's basically forcing me to actually follow through with the things that must happen to get the A1C I want. You see, I've told you I'm going to do this things, so if I don't do them, I've lied to you. And I don't really want to be known as 'that lying blogger,' so I am now forced to do what I've said I would. See? It all works out for me in the end.

I'll be posting CGM stuff and logs so you guys actually know that I've been doing what I promised weekly, so stay tuned for the joys of teenage blood sugar issues!

Moral of the Story: 

Superheroes, Camp, and the Endo

So I went to the endocrinologist yesterday and my A1C was the same as last time. What demonic force has caused this? How do I go high almost every night but still maintain the same A1C? If anyone has the answers to these questions, it would be greatly appreciated. I've been going high at night because I'll forget to cover dinner and then it will all go downhill from there, so my endo told me to start covering at least half of my dinner before I eat so I at least remember to cover half of my food and don't go as high as I usually do after dinner. I put on my ankle brace last night because my ankle had been hurting and when I took it off this morning I had a weird rash and indentations on my leg and foot. The doctor saw it and told me not to wear it again because I'm probably allergic to something in the brace. So now we need to find me a new ankle brace. The doctor also signed my sister and my physical forms for camp, so now we have all of our forms and can actually go to camp!

Every year, Camp Kudzu has a dance with a theme and this year's theme is super heroes. At first my sister and I were going to go as the Wonder Twins, since people often ask if we are twins. (I'm 16 and she's 12. We're definitely not twins.) Then, another superhero (or technically super villain, but whatever) spoke to me. Deadpool. He's pretty much the most sarcastic villain you'll see. I can envision it now. Taco shirts + sarcastic buttons = amazing and entertaining for all. Or maybe we should be the Wonder Twins. I can see matching shirts, shorts, and bows in my future if we do that. That would be fun, too. Either way, camp is going to be amazing.

I am so excited for camp this year. We just got the packing list for camp today because it apparently got lost in my dad's email inbox, so now it's time for me to inventory what I already have and figure out what I want need for camp this year. This may include a new orange water bottle and matching Chacos. (I already own Chacos I don't actually need any... But I want some.) So basically excitement for camp incites a want for new, camp related stuff.

Moral of the Story: Maybe I should be the Joker instead...

Weird

Life has been kind of weird lately. My mom went to the hospital twice because she has a kidney infection (don't worry, she's fine; she just went twice because there was some miscommunication/ misinformation involved with the first visit,) my friend freaked me out all day on Friday, I have a lot of schoolwork to do, my CGM has been giving me some really weird numbers lately, and this week has just been stressful. (But isn't every week stressful?)

I haven't been really productive homework-wise today. (I need to right 6 theses for practice for my AP World History Exam, I need to read over my AP Biology notes, I need to study some math stuff so I can finish my test on Monday, I have to read my AP World History textbook, and I need to work on some stuff for robotics.) I have, however, been productive, internet-wise. I have read through all 517 blog posts on my feed reader. (I may have neglected reading posts for about two weeks. Oops.) It was nice reading everything and getting caught up on everything happening on the internet. Today was pretty much a day for me to do absolutely nothing important and just think. I hate doing anything in silence, so I've been listening to one of my playlists on my phone. I've been kind of obsessing over 8tracks lately, so I put up a condensed version of my playlist on it. Below is the magical widget to my playlist if you don't mind listening to my really weird music taste. (And image credits for the cover go to Delaney Allen.)

Feeling Weird from meow_its_sarah on 8tracks Radio.

In other, more diabetes related news, I went to the endo on Friday as well, and I have an A1C of 7.3% this month. (Apparently, it's the same as last time!) Both my nurse (I only see my actual endo once a year, the other three visits are mixed with my nurse and dietitian) and I were surprised that it was so low, considering that I keep running high in the evening, but it was definitely a pleasant surprise. My A1C always seems to surprise me, so I wonder why I haven't been expecting this kind of thing to happen. We also talked about how the Dexcom G4 was finally approved for pediatric use, and how I have been using my CGM "illegally" for about a year. She asked me how I liked it and was slightly surprised when I told her that I don't take breaks from wearing it. (I guess most teenagers don't like wearing it that much.) We also changed my basals and ISFs because I had four really weird ISFs and she wanted to get those down to only one or two different ISFs and then we brought my basal up, since it was so low before to compensate for my high ISFs. (One was one unit to 35 mg/dL.) Well, that's pretty much it when it comes to my endo visit.

Moral of the Story: I'm hoping this week will be a little more normal. (And normal does, in fact, exist!)

Life Lately

I went to the endocrinologist on Wednesday and found out my A1C was 7.3 %; it went down .6 % from March and I think it went down .5 % from June, if I remember correctly. I was truthfully expecting my A1C to go up because I had been going high a lot in the afternoons, so that was a pleasant surprise. Kerri, my amazing dietitian, was who I saw on Wednesday. (I usually see my actual endo once or twice per year.) She told me I was doing a good job with measuring food and covering it, but I need to cover lunch 15 minutes before I eat at school so I avoid spiking after lunch. She also told me that I need to start exercising because, well, it is healthy to do. She said that if I have time to text my friends or go on the internet, then I have time to exercise. So now, I am being a good little diabetic and walking on the wondrous treadmill for 45 minutes every day. I'm multitasking by reading my blogs for 30 minutes than looking over notes for 15 minutes. Multitasking also distracts from the fact that I am being very gross and sweating, so it's all good. We also adjusted my basal so I wouldn't go high at night because that had been happening a lot lately. My basal adjustments lead to the fin experience I had last night. (1000 % sarcasm when dealing with the word fun, at the moment.)

It's not just a CGM picture today!

Last night, at around 10, my blood sugar was 63. I had a juice and Larabar and covered about 2/3 of the Larabar. I went up to 76, so I had some apple cider and covered it. I tested again and I was 70. I ate a another Larabar and covered some of it. Then I went down to 56. I stayed under 80 for another hour and I ate 112 carbs with no insulin (including disconnecting from my pump for an hour) before I went up to 110. I waited a little longer and then was 146. I was later awoken at 6 in the morning to my CGM beeping because my blood sugar was 372, so that was fun. I was pretty much expecting that because I ate 198 carbs total before my blood sugar stayed in range. I brought my basal down .025 from 9 -12 PM because of this lovely incident.

Moral of the Story: That was 1 glass of apple cider, 2 juices, 3 Larabars, and 8 glucose tabs. I was very full after that.

Tales of the Endo: February

Last Tuesday, we thought that we (my sister and I) had an endocrinologist appointment, and we didn't. My mom checked me out at 12:15, no one forgot their charts, and we go to the endocrinologist 10 minutes early. (!) Unfortunately, it was too good to be true. When one of the secretaries called us back, she told us we didn't have an appointment for that day, our appointment was next week. Needless to say, were angry, so we went to the endocrinologist today. We forgot the charts, my mom checked me out late, and we got there 10 minutes late, but we were there in time. (The paperwork and waiting takes forever anyways...)

I told you that I took notes!

We talked about stuff, and I even took notes! We are bringing my basal up during the day, so I don't spike after lunch, we brought my I:C ratio from 1:8 to 1:10 at dinner, so I don't drop after exercising. (Drinking two juice boxes while running kind of defeats the purpose of the run.)
My A1C went up from 7.1 to 7.9; that's okay because last time's A1C was low because of lots of low blood sugars.

My sister and I are also coming up with a plan to get her an OmniPod by May. She needs to test and chart more, so if you guys have any tips for motivating here, I would appreciate some comments!

Success!

Remember approximately 3.8 months ago?
If you said that it was when I went to the Endocrinologist last, you were correct!

I didn't actually complete anything on that list because the Endo didn't have the Verio IQ yet, they were supposed to put me on the CGM list, and I forgot to ask about a blood ketone monitor.

This time, I got...
A One Touch Verio IQ!
(And the crowd goes wild!)

Yay! I am really excited to get this meter! I even had to get quizzed on why I wanted the meter. I told her (the nurse) it was because it could show me patterns. It was the correct answer.

My new meter. Does anyone have name ideas?

She is also going to tell the lady in charge of CGMs about me, so we will be getting a call next week. (She is on vacation right now.) Whee!

I also asked about the blood ketone monitor. They didn't have any, but she is going to ask the people [in charge of ketone monitors (Oh my gosh, I figured out how to use brackets! Yay!)] next time they come for some more.

In the elevator to the exit, we met a lady with a Dexcom, so I know I am destined to get it. 

Oh, and if you wanted to know my A1C, it is 8%.

Moral of the Story: I'm going to get lots of stuff. C:

And the results are in..

My A1C is currently...
*drum roll please*
7.9%!

I know most adults would be groaning at this, but my endocrinologist wants my A1C at 7.5%, since I am still growing, and my blood sugars will be fluctuating as I grow.
My appointment went well, and I asked about getting a CGM, and they said I have to have a special appointment with their CGM specialists, and my name will be given to them. So, eventually I will have a CGM.

My pump, with an Ice Bat, to add to its awesomeness.

My little sister, who was diagnosed in December, is in need of more testing and remembering to give insulin.
Her A1c went from 5.4% at diagnosis, to 7.7%!  That is plus 2.3% within three months.
It is probably because she doesn't test her blood sugar until lunch, and forgets to cover stuff.

I try to remind her, but she doesn't like it when I do so, after all, I am the older sister.

Hopefully my endeavor to get a CGM will go well, and my sister will get better at managing her diabetes.

Moral of the Story: 7.5% is good! (For me, at least...)

P.S. I also convinced the endocrinologist to write me a prescription for VerioIQ gold test strips, so a new meter is in my future...

It's the most wonderful time of the season!

Yep, it's time to go to the endocrinologist... *dun dun dun*

I just did some last minute charting, because, really, who charts? <insert sarcasm here
This is the first time I'm going since I got back on the pump, but otherwise, nothing new is happening.

My blood sugar charts.

I have a list of things I want to talk to the doctor about-

1. Getting a CGM, so I can monitor my blood sugar trends. 
2. Getting the One Touch VerioIQ and Gold test strip prescription.
3.  Getting another Blood Ketone Monitor, because mine magically disappeared.

And that would be it.

fin.