Parenting with Diabetes

I've neglected my writing lately, but it's with good reason. A few months ago, my wife gave birth to our beautiful baby girl and our world was turned on its head. I'm sure many new parents can testify that the first months are incredibly challenging as Mom, Dad and Baby try to work out the new norms of everyday life.

Parenting is a challenge. Unfortunately, in addition to the diapers, doctors, vaccines and insomnia, I am also trying to manage diabetes. In the first weeks, I had reached out to other Type I Diabetics (T1D) on the JDRF LinkedIn group and Juvenation site after I found myself staggering through the days of being a new parent. I asked them what kinds of tips and tricks parents with diabetes use to get through it all?

A calmer moment with our little girl.

I collected up those comments and thought of a couple of my mine to share on my blog. The tips seem like common sense. In fact, I think most of these tips would be useful for any new parent.

Dealing with the Adrenaline Rush

Type I Diabetics have a very familiar list of suggestions from doctors. The list usually includes exercising regularly, eating a well-balanced diet, monitoring daily blood sugars, taking medication as indicated, and trying to reduce stress.

There are many variations, but regular exercise is one of the items always on the list. ALWAYS.
Despite the eye rolling from patients tired of repetitive doctor nagging it’s very true that exercise is a great way for diabetics to reduce insulin resistance, improve blood circulation and immune response, and make the disease easier to manage overall. So you could imagine the irritation from diabetics that experience unexpected high blood sugar levels when they do finally go out and exercise. By all rationale reasoning, exercise should help lower blood sugar and increase sensitivity to insulin, but there are many times when the blood sugar level goes up.
Why does this happen?...

Heart Helping News

I just read an interesting news announcement from the grocery store chain Publix, most common in southern states of America. From the Publix press release-

LAKELAND, Fla., Aug. 23, 2011 — Beginning today, Publix will offer free 30-day supplies (up to 30 tablets) of lisinopril to customers with a prescription for the medication. 

Very briefly, lisinopril is an ACE inhibitor that is primarily used to lower blood pressure and treat hypertension. However, ACE inhibitors are also routinely used to help with kidney and heart disease, both of which are common in diabetics. In fact, many diabetes specialists recommend ACE or ARB inhibitors as a preventative drug to keep blood pressure at a very healthy and low level. By incorporating ACE or ARB inhibitors before any problems arise, doctors hope to prevent the very common onset of kidney and heart disease seen in diabetics.

A lot of health care changes that have been accepted in the Affordable Health Care Act include provisions for preventative health care in what feels like a paradigm shift in the medical field to prevent the health problems before they even occur in patients. Diabetes is a special group of interest because of the rise in the number of diabetics and cost to treat illnesses like kidney failure, which could require the incredibly expensive process of dialysis treatment.

Publix announcement is possibly the first that I have seen of a business chain making a commonly used drug available for free. Many big box stores like Walmart and Target have flaunted reduced prices, but none have offered medication at no cost.

Lisinopril isn’t exactly an expensive drug. It usually costs $2-4/month with most prescription plans and has generic versions readily available. It is also worth mentioning that the Publix promotion doesn’t cover another commonly used combination version that includes hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ). But the step forward with Publix trying to help the public is still impressive to me.

What's the big deal about insulin?

You've  probably heard the word insulin many times. You probably even know some relatives that talk about going to the pharmacy to buy their insulin. But do you know what it is or why they need it or even how they take insulin? You don’t!!! Well, then this entry is just for you.

Diabetics are the most common group of people who need and take insulin. I’m a diabetic myself, which means I have a chronic illness that causes high blood sugar. High blood sugar is usually caused by resistance to insulin or depreciated production (typically Type 2 diabetes) or flat out no insulin production at all (Type 1 diabetes). I’m a Type 1 diabetic, so my body doesn’t produce insulin at all, which means I need to give myself insulin manually. All Type 1 diabetics and even some Type 2 diabetics need insulin to control their blood sugar.

Insulin is a clear liquid that comes in a vial or sometimes a device that looks a lot like a pen. It even has a cap and button at the top! Starting from this point, I’ll try to answer some questions that people frequently ask me when they see my insulin vial or learn that I’m a diabetic.

HOW DO YOU 'TAKE' YOUR INSULIN? CAN YOU USE PILLS?
Insulin is actually a sensitive hormone made up of amino acids, just like proteins, so we cannot take it in a pill. Just like proteins, insulin has a three-dimensional shape that is important to its activity and ability to work properly in the body. Stomach acid has an incredibly low pH, which destroys the 3D shape of insulin and makes it completely useless to the body. So diabetics can’t take insulin orally without destroying

High road for me today

Its been one of those nasty, unexplainable weeks with my diabetes. My blood sugar has been difficult to manage and keep constant. I have had times where my blood sugar skyrockets overnight and then dips too low when I correct. Other times my corrections are just fine and the expected dose works well. Because of this fluctuation I can't really make changes to the three holy numbers of pumpers;
Basal rate
Bolus ratio
Correction ratio

Because SOMETIMES it works and SOMETIMES it doesn't.
Diabetes know the stress of diabetes, but it is difficult to explain to others. Diabetes is a disease with a personality and the way it affects our lives changes from day to day. Many times, there are sudden and unexplained changes in blood sugar. It could be that the seasons are changing, or there's a tickle in my throat, maybe the extra stress at work or depression, anxiety, possibly its traveling. But worst of all is when it is a combination. Its a conundrum of diabetes that becomes a discouraging factor in everyday life and I personally feel that its something medical doctors tend to quickly forget.

Last night, I was 200 before dinner... probably because I was 279 before lunch, crashed at 60 after lunch and overate before dinner. Before bed 150. Morning..... 379!!! These aren't typical numbers, but they are frustrating.

Diabetics need consistent normal blood sugar to be healthy. They need exercise and good food and plenty of sleep. Fudge up any of those factors and the wheel gets lopsided and problems start compiling. Didn't sleep well? Your BG could go high, making you sleepy and sluggish and not sleep well the next night. Not eating well? Missing meals? Then you're in the high and low game. Sick?.... the problems work off each other so the combination is exhausting.

Solutions? Check often and correct often. Do your best to get good long sleep. Avoid caffeine and try to breath deeply at work. That is all you can do. But as a diabetic, if you have the same kind of day as me, you should know I sympathize with you.