Pump without Power

I live in South Orange County and as most of you know we had a HUGE power outage yesterday.

It started at 4pm, when I went straight into panic mode, since it was 100 degrees outside.

I have two young children that I was first concerned about, then the $150 dollars in groceries I purchased yesterday. So the only operating devices I had, were my iPhone and my iPump. (nickname)

Knowing that I run on batteries was a comforting thought until I thought about all of the bottles of insulin I have in the refrigerator.

Now, growing up I thought unused, unopened insulin, must be refrigerated. Until last summer, I was shipped all of my insulin via UPS without ice packs.

I called the mail order company to tell them, and the pharmacist tells me it is unnecessary to refrigerate the insulin…….”WHHHHHAAAAATTTTTTTTT?” I said.

“I’ve been Diabetic almost 30 years and have never heard that before.”

So, herein lies the real question.  Does unopened insulin need to be refrigerated?

To bake or not to bake

I have a LOVE for baking. I’m really not sure why. Being a Diabetic it has always been a big tease to bake something sweet and delicious, because I ALWAYS have some and my blood sugar sky rockets. No surprise there, right?

My new love is baking fresh homemade Zucchini bread. I make two loaves of bread using only 1 1/3 cups of sugar. Thanks really not much.

It takes allot of work, time and ingredients, but the payoff is worth it.

 

YUM-O

Scar tissue YUCK!

So I regularly use my lower abs or obliques a few inches away from my belly button “bee-bo” for those of you with kids, as my insertion site.

Until recently I really notice how my stomach is getting flatter with exercise except these lovely sections of my stomach. I try and venture undiscovered skin on my abdomen to use, but when I do, it stings like hell and then I end up taking it out and going back to the ol’ stand by spots.

When I was pregnant, I tried my lower back, my legs, but it wasn’t so comfortable, and everything seems to rub there, especially my workout clothes.

I’m wondering what to do. If I avoid my normal sites for awhile will I ever get my flat tummy back? I’ve worked so hard. I know this may sound ludicrous to some of you, but to others, you may totally understand.

Then the other night after my shower I removed my Quikset and bled like no tomorrow. I was confused why this happened. Was it from the hot shower? The exercise I had done an hour before?

All I know is, 4 days later, and I still have a bruise.

Oh lucky me.

Dia-inked

So for a very longtime, I’ve had in the back of my mind, if i got a tattoo, what would I get?

Now that I’ve seen so many cool ones, I wonder where do these people get there inspiration for their tattoos?

Some, I must admit, are horrible, just no excuse for a tattoo, but I think, well maybe I can get one about my diabetes.

Would it be for emergency reasons? Personal reasons? What would it say? Where would it go?

So many unanswered questions, which is why the leap to tattoedom, is a far one.

Do any of you have diabetes related tattoos?

Exercise; love or loath

So I’ve always considered myself an exercise enthusiast, simply because I do it!
I’ve realized over the past 20 years how much it affects my blood sugars as well as my mind and body.
After I had my second baby, I decided I needed to shake things up in my workout world. I noticed a Pure Barre location that has opened near a Starbucks I frequent, (totally addicted), so I decided to give it a go when my son was 10 weeks old.

Now, 11 months later, I can’t get enough. I go 3 times per week and my body has never looked better. I’m not trying to sound conceited, but this is how I feel.
The only negative, (it seems there always seems to be one), is that the workout somehow always affects my pump site.
Either during my sit-ups, the site gets caught on my pants, or during our back extension, while on the floor, flat on our stomachs, my site pushes into the floor, therefore into my stomach.
I then get home, and my site stings when I take a bolus.
Can we ever just catch a break? I’m doing the work!

Any ideas of how to avoid this issue?

The Betes

So  I want to expand on my background with Diabetes. Or as I like to call it “The Betes”.

My Dad was diagnosed at the age of 7, back in 1950. So I really have no idea how it was originally handled then, but I do remember how it went down in 1981, when I was diagnosed with Type 1.

I was living in Palm Springs California, enjoying a beautiful day at the park with my family, when I guess my mom, wasn’t too happy about the amount of soda I was drinking and how many times I needed to visit the bathroom.

The next thing I know, I was giving blood at a lab and then I can see it like it was yesterday, I was sitting in my pediatricians office, I mean her real office, behind a desk with photos of loved ones, when she tells my mother and I,

“Heidi has Type 1 Diabetes, and needs to be admitted to the hospital.”

After that, I remember packing my suitcase and driving to the hospital.

The next week entailed getting poked a million times with needles while taking my blood and giving me insulin. I vividly remember the male nurse, having a difficult time finding a vein for an IV. He ended up putting it in the top of my forearm.

It hurt so bad, I couldn’t even straighten it to put my clothes on.

I also, will never forget, my poor Dad, (type 1 also), fainting as they stuck me with needles. He was always sitting on the floor in my hospital room.

The other memories of that week were learning to give shots on an orange.

Now, because I was only 9, my mom was to give me my insulin shots. She first threw the needle into my INNER THIGH (OUCH!) and said “Now what?”…then panics and pulled it out before injecting the insulin.

Oh what a night…….