Diabetes Meme

That's right, folks. It's Day 6 of NaBloPoMo and I'm already resorting to memes. Well, in all fairness, I am working today and I have had this meme bookmarked for a while for a "rainy day." I really liked that it was all about diabetes and for all the DOC'ers out there, it would kinda catch them up about me and my diabetes. I also don't want to be one of THOSE women who drones on and one about their baby and their pregnancy. (Who am I kidding? I already am! Oh well!) So I figured I'd use this meme to break up some of the pregnancy talk.

Enjoy!

What type of diabetes do you have: Type 1

When were you diagnosed: July 1991

What's your current blood sugar: It was 130 this morning before I ate my cereal. I know. . . that a crappy fasting blood sugar?!? Ugh.

What kind of meter do you use: One Touch Ping (which also functions as a remote control for my pump).

How many times a day do you test your blood sugar: Before the pregnancy, about 6-8 times/day. Now it's more like 10-12. YIKES! That's a lot of strips!!

What's a "high" number for you: Anything over 150 mg/dl really gets my goat. But while I'm pregnant I'd really like to stay under 130 mg/dl.

What's do you consider "low": Anything in the 50s or lower, for sure. If my blood-sugar is in the 60s and I'm symptomatic I'll treat it, I just try to be careful so I don't over-correct.

What's your favorite low blood sugar reaction treater: Most often? OJ or a juice box. But if you really want my favorite, recently it's been Halloween candy! ;-)

Describe your dream endo: Supportive, encouraging, realistic. I want someone who will push me to have the best control possible but understand that this thing has to work in my real life and sometimes getting post-prandial exactly 2 hours after a meal just doesn't happen. Or being the perfect carb counter. The best I can do is read labels and even still I wonder if they are accurate based on some of the crazy numbers I get. I don't want someone who will expect my blood sugars to look like someone's who doesn't have diabetes but I also don't want someone who is fine with "good enough" control and feels like complications in a diabetic are inevitable. I also want someone who will listen to my gripes and be understanding that there is a heavy psychological burden with this disease. Someone who cares as much about my mental health as my A1C.

I want the right balance of MD, cheerleader, counselor and therapist! ;-) Not too much to ask right? And, while my current MD isn't all that great, his nurse practitioner who I try to see as much as possible is beyond awesome. They only MAKE me see the MD once a year and I don't really feel the need to make it more frequent!

What's your biggest diabetes achievement: Ask me in January and hopefully I'll say a safe and healthy pregnancy and delivery for myself and my baby girl!

What's your biggest diabetes-related fear: Complications. I want a long, normal, healthy life. Having to deal with diabetes for the rest of it doesn't sound stellar but I'll take that any day over blindness, renal failure, amputations, death! I have had diabetes for nearly 20 years and (thank God) I'm still complication-free. I wait and I worry at every doctor's appointment, expecting the other shoe to drop.

Somehow I feel like even the tiniest complication would make me a failure. And (even more scary) like it would be the beginning of the end. I know that's ridiculous. But it really, really scares me. That a spot on my eye or the tiniest amount of protein in my urine would mean that, oh well! There goes my body! Because if I'm already showing problems in my 20s, how could I ever expect to live a long, healthy life without everything else falling apart?

Who's on your support team: My husband, my mom, my friends, my daughter (or she will be!) Basically, everyone who loves me, wants me to be healthy and has actually gone to th trouble of trying to understand my diabetes. But I have to give credit to Brad for being the one who actually helps me shoulder the burden of diabetes, mentally and physically. He gets it and he really tries to do whatever he can to support me and make things a tiny bit easier.

Do you think there will be a cure in your lifetime: I really don't know. I used to think so but my hopes are slowly fading. . .

What is a "cure" to you: Well, it's not insulin, that's for sure! And it's definitely not transplantation, because those immune suppression meds are a whole other nightmare unto themselves. A cure is something that will allow me not to have to even THINK about my blood sugar. No meds, no blood sugar testing, no shots, no Endo appointments every 3-4 months.

To me a cure can't mean that I have to keep tabs on every little thing. I can't be the ex-diabetic who needs to test my blood sugars a couple times a week and monitor my A1Cs "just in case." In the end, I'm okay with a "cure" being something that we need to make sure works. (Like transplanting cloned islet cells that can't be killed off by my wacky immune system.) I'm okay testing for the first couple weeks and then maybe a yearly Endo appointment to just keep following me to make sure that those cells are still alive and kicking and cranking out insulin. But much more than that and I feel like it would be like trading one disease for another. Or even better, one form of treatment for another. It may be nice but it's not a cure.

The most annoying thing people say to you about your diabetes is: It depends on my mood and the day of the week. Right now, the thing that's driving me crazy is everybody's inability to distinguish between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. They are such different animals it almost seems erroneous to give them the same name!! And, by the way, since when in medicine do we give every disease that causes the same symptoms the same name? UGH! Grrr. . .

What is the most common misconception about diabetes: See above.

If you could say one thing to your pancreas, what would it be: What have you done for me lately?