Thursday, September 27, 2007

"1, 2, 3, 4, Tell Me That You Love Me More..."

You've seen the new iPod nano ads, right? The girl singing the song is Feist, and if that whole album sounds like that, I think I'm going to have to buy it. But the counting brings me around to my point. Oh, the numbers.

Last week things seemed pretty good with a couple of spikes, and even a couple of drops, but mostly even. This week, forget it.

Yesterday:
07:25AM Sugar 141 mg/dL
10:20AM Sugar 65 mg/dL
01:05PM Sugar 329 mg/dL
06:22PM Sugar 323 mg/dL

Today, So Far:
12:30AM Sugar 366 mg/dL
07:31AM Sugar 199 mg/dL
10:23AM Sugar 115 mg/dL
12:03PM Sugar 82 mg/dL

Okay, yes, falling steadily, but now I'm expecting a spike after lunch. How much of one, I'm not sure, and hopefully it won't last ALL NIGHT like yesteday. Yuck-o.

Thanks to that low an hour ago, I'm hungry. I should get some lunch. I treated the low with a very very nasty-tasting glucose tab. I think I must have had 2 ancient tabs in the bottom of my purse-sized tube, and I just put a bunch of fresh ones on top. The tab I ate tasted like old plastic, and not at all like a Smartie, the way it usually tastes.

Still waiting to hear about our house. Still wondering what kind of job I'm going to find in our new hometown area. Still working on tweaking my blog layout...I made a couple of tiny changes, check 'em out.

And now, back to your daily numbers game.

Monday, September 24, 2007

I Did It!

I gave my boss my notice. I didn't even cry that much. Three weeks from now, I will be pretty much unemployed, and moving off to a spiffy new place in Pennsylvania.

I am excited and apprehensive all at the same time. Delaware has been my home for the past 3 years, and I was finally feeling used to everything here. Time to head off and start all over again. This is when the hopefulness comes in--hopes that my next job will be even better, that I can find more friends, that things will work out better than they ever have before.

Of course, until then, Matt, Nigel and I have to figure out how to pack everything, who's going to move it (us? a company?), address changes, moving our cable/internet services, getting rid of stuff we won't need, etc. etc. etc. Plus, we are still not 100% sure where we'll be living yet. We are mailing an application to our favorite place today, so that they can get it tomorrow. We think we'll know by the end of the week.

But I did it. I gave my three weeks' notice. The worst is over.

On an unrelated note, Blogabetes over at dLife is giving me grief. I login to the website, I read some posts, and I want to comment, but every time I go from the main page to the Blogabetes page, I get logged out! It also doesn't help if I start from the Blogabetes page or a particular blog entry. I'm looking at you, Kerri. Heehee. "HALP!" as the LOLcats say.

Friday, September 21, 2007

A Notable Achievement!

Highest glucose yesterday: 177 mg/dl, and that was probably because I had to guess at the carbs in my dinner. Red Robin doesn't exactly furnish nutrition info at the door. So that reading was before bed, but up until that point my highest reading of the day was 133 mg/dl. Woo hoo!

Now I just want to get through the weekend achieving as much as I possibly can. There's a mountain of laundry, some bills to be paid, and yes, even some shoe-shopping to be done. My current workout sneakers kind of crowd my feet. If I plan on getting more exercise, I demand more comfy shoes.

All I want to do now is to be able to banish that knot from my guts. Monday I have to break the news that I'm leaving, and it kind of breaks my heart. I know I have no choice, and they will completely understand, but I didn't want to end this job as a disappointment to my employer. Granted, I've done nothing for them to be disappointed about with the exception of leaving before I've worked here for a year, and I realize that's probably not so bad when you look at the big picture.

But it's still difficult. And it hurts to think about it. This, like all things, shall pass.

I am so proud of my husband, his new job and his soon-to-be-completed Master's thesis. I am excited to have more living space and nicer surroundings. All of that is less than a month away.

In the meantime, I will probably chew off all my fingernails before Monday. Gah. Sigh.

Happy weekend, everybody!

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

I'm Clever (or, I Hope Someone Hasn't Written This Already)

The Top 5 Reasons Diabetics Are No Fun At Parties

5. A diabetic asks you to hold her purse, and you agree, but then you end up with shoulder problems. Why? You expect one of those tiny evening bags and you end up with a messenger...filled with 12 juice boxes, 2 glucose meters, glucagon kit, peanut butter crackers, glucose tabs, list of emergency numbers, extra syringes, insulin, pills, pump supplies.....


4. You get a nasty glare after asking a diabetic who's got the stash when she's told you, "Oh geez, I'm so HIGH right now."

3. Is he just a bad dancer, a bad drunken dancer, or is he having a low blood sugar? You have to figure it out.

2. Over the snack table, Diabetic Dude exercises his best pick-up line, "Hey baby, how many grams of carbs do YOU think are in that cupcake?" (Hint: Do NOT say "69", as this will only make things much worse.)

1. You're never sure what a diabetic means when they suggest,
"Let's do a shot!"

Monday, September 17, 2007

"I think she's got it! I think she's got it!"

(Ahem, "The raaaaiiin in Spain stays maaaiiinly in the plaaiiin!")

So here's what Nancy the NP and Carla the CDE laid out for me: I'm heading in the right direction, I just need to focus my efforts.

The first matter of focus is my Symlin. I was only taking it twice a day, and really I should take it with every major meal, so on the days I eat breakfast, that means 3 times. The weekend kind of screwed up my Symlin schedule, but I'm right back on it today. My numbers have been looking a lot better. I don't think I've been above the 200's in over a week, but I need to log to make sure.

That brings me to the second matter of focus, which is logging. Nancy the NP wants me logging my blood glucose, plus whatever I take to correct for the number and my food bolus. Carla the CDE wants just the food info as it affects the insulin, which comes with a log sheet detailing which carbs/how many carbs I'm eating in a meal. So far, the logging process is a little lagging. I'm hoping I can deal with that this week. I'm not sure that my free account over at SugarStats can log all this info at one time! However, I'm finding the site really, really helpful.

Third of all, this is probably a "duh" moment for more people than just me. The cafeteria at college made it difficult to judge the amount of carbs I was eating at any meal, so I just started guessing, and even though I graduated in 2004, I still have the same old hang-ups. It's hard to break the bad habits it took 4 years to form. I've been eating too many carbs all the time, and definitely not bolusing enough for them! Carla the CDE advised me to (1) limit my carb intake and try eating lower-carb snacks during the day, and (2) aim for a consistent number of carb grams at each meal. I think this is something I can handle. It's been going well so far, mostly likely thanks to the Symlin limiting my appetite.

Sure, I've got a lot of work to do. I've got a lot of things to learn. I'll be switching all my doctors once I move to Pennsylvania in the middle of this process! I'm feeling confident today. Maybe tomorrow things will change, but I have to have faith that even when the confidence in myself wains, it will come back eventually, as long as I keep working.

But enough self pep-talk...

Have you seen this terrific story? (Click it to read it!) These two Canadian boys may have only been acting in the confines of their relatively small high school, but they are acting for the justice of nerds, dorks, and anybody who's ever been bullied anywhere! Viva la Pink Shirt!

Friday, September 14, 2007

Worst Blogger EVAR.

So much for updates this week. Boo hiss to me.

IOU all an update on my visit with Nancy the NP and Carla the CDE, but not now. Things are busy, still a little nuts.

Yesterday was my wonderful husband's birthday. Saturday night we're going out for a fancy-schmancy dinner. I'm going to put on a nice dress and everything. I'm definitely excited.

Tonight I'm going to see my friend E in a play. I haven't been to a play in the longest time, so even if it's just the little community theater in her town, it's a big deal. She gets to wear period costume, and I get to see a play. Everybody wins. I was a drama nerd in high school, then my freshman year of college I was in an improv comedy troupe. I've always had the good fortune of being funny. It's always been easy for me, but apparently that's not a skill that just anyone can have. Go figure.

Have you ever been caught singing in your car on your commute home from work? Last week, I was driving while engaged in an energetic rendition of a cover of The Police's "King of Pain" (who sings that? I don't remember; ask my iPod). I notice out of the corner of my eye that a silver Chevy Cavalier has pulled up next to me at the stop light. I rock out like nobody's watching, as usual. The light turns green, and as the silver car passes me, I realize someone in it seems to be waving. Then the car gets in front of me in traffic, and an arm comes out of the drivers' side window, frantically waving, turned around to wave at me. Then I see my friend R's face as she grins like a nut into her side-view mirror, so I can see that it's her.

She sends me a note on MySpace...seeing me having so much fun, she says, made her entire day.

I think it's that kind infectious enthusiasm that makes the people around us happy. I think that's something we could all use this weekend. Let's do what makes us happy, and improve the lives of people around us, even if that improvement is just a smile across a table, a polite exchange in a crowd of rude people, or singing your favorite songs without apology.

Better blogging next week, I swear.

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

On Fridays, we make list posts.

Matt and I visited this place on Tuesday, and it was really super. Number one on our list so far. Huge rooms, tons of closets, a washer & dryer, and a sweet patio with a roof. (Something like 1700 sq. ft.--whee!) Downside, it's a townhouse, so being connected to 2 neighbors by walls may occasionally put a damper on the band practices Matt and Nigel want to have. Upside? Everything I already mentioned, plus new carpets, big windows, and no problems with pets. (Sadako is happy about this, even if she doesn't know it yet.) Also an upside, there appears to be a small hospital with lots of doctors' offices nearby.

Have I mentioned that my main apprehension about moving is that I have to get all new doctors? At least being in the Philly 'burbs, I will be closer to Gary Scheiner's spiffy diabetes education office. In my quest to finally say that my diabetes is under control, maybe they can give me the help I've been looking for. I will miss Nancy the Nurse Practitioner, however. Speaking of Nancy, I go to see her again on Monday. I think I'll have at least a little progress to show her. My personal goal for this week was small...remember to take Symlin with lunch AND dinner. So far, it's been a success, so I think next week I'll set a slightly loftier goal. No idea yet what that will be.

Oh! But this was a post about houses! This place is fancy, and sounds huge (like, over 2000 sq. ft. huge):

It's further from the greater Philadelphia area, but it would make Matt's commute to work a lot shorter. It would make Nigel's quite a bit longer. And as for me, well, it depends if I could find work nearby or not. Sigh. However, it's $100 bucks a month less to rent than the place above. We are hoping to go visit it tomorrow, and we may take that other place for a second spin tomorrow as well.

It's strange--I was worrying about quitting my job, and now it seems like the personnel around here are dropping like flies. One person needs to go get surgery, another one is getting a job closer to her home, and a third today was taken to the hospital. Sounds like another surgery on the horizon. Two weeks or so from now, when I make my announcement, I hope things have settled a bit. I don't want anyone thinking I'm jumping ship.

Keep watching for updates. I'm considering a little layout tweaking, I need to add a zillion more links/blogs, and I plan on adding a World Diabetes Day banner, much like Nicole has done. In the meantime, have a pleasantly awesome weekend.

Let's hope one of these aforementioned pads can become my future home. *Squeal!*