Monday, October 26, 2009

Glucose levels

Someone just posted this on the ADA Type 2 message board, and I thought I'd share it here.  This is one of my favorite charts for recommended glucose levels.
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RECOMMENDED BLOOD GLUCOSE GOALS
                                        NON    
               ADA    JOSLIN   AACE   DIABETIC
A1C            < 7.0   < 7.0   < 6.5  4.0-6.0
Fasting        90-130  90-130  <110   70-100
Post-Prandial* < 180   < 160   <140   70-140
 
*ADA: "Post-prandial glucose measurements should
be made 1–2 hours  after the beginning of the
meal, generally peak levels in patients with
diabetes."
 
ADA = American Diabetes Assn.   Joslin = Joslin Diabetes
Center  AACE= American Association Of Clinical
Endocrinologists  Non-diabetic= ranges compiled from goals
of all agencies.
 
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My personal goals are "non-diabetic" numbers.  My last A1c was 6.2 with my personal goal being below 6.  Let's see if I can reach that by the time I get my next lab test in February 2010.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Today's kid funny

My youngest is five years old (just had her birthday on October 13th).  She was wanting to go outside with her sister without shoes and a coat.  "Hold it!  You have to have shoes and a coat to go outside."  *grumble*  "Ok"  She comes back less than two minutes later wearing snow boots.  Much to her dismay, Mom caught her. "Coat!"  *grumble grumble*  She shouts "Why do you have to be my mom?" and starts walking toward the front of the house where her coat is.  As she walks by, I reply, "Because I'm blessed!"

My husband and I got a good laugh at her question, "Why do you have to be my mom?"  Of course I could turn this into a reflective post and get all mushy and sentimental, but I will leave it with the humor of a five year old stomping across the house in disgust because I wouldn't let her go outside without a coat on this cold fall day.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Where to test?

For those of you diabetics that test your glucose levels in places other than your finger tips, where do you test?  I've been testing on my forearm, about an inch or two from the bend in my elbow.  I have found that if I test on the underside, the area that doesn't get as tan, then I bruise. I've got a nice one about the size of a quarter now.  Someone told me that she tests on her thighs, which isn't really convenient for me in these colder months.  So where do you test?

Thursday, October 15, 2009

And the fall sickies begin!

It never fails.  As the mom of five children, four of which are in school, plus working with little ones part time, it's bound to happen.  I have a cold.  *groan*  The hardest part about having a cold and diabetes is my appetite.  Either I have one or I don't.  When I'm hungry with a cold, I want to eat everything in sight.  On the other hand, there are also moments where I don't want to eat anything at all.  My desire for exercise is also close to nill since I start coughing when I take a deep breath.  The wacky appetite and lack of movement makes it very hard for a diet/exercise controlled diabetic to stay in control. 

I'll be honest here.  I haven't checked my numbers much the last few days.  Thankfully the few times I have checked, my glucose readings have been good (ie 105 around 3:30pm today).  I know it would have been higher if I had that Snickers bar that was calling my name from the vending machine at the Y during my kids' swim lessons.  I'll try to remember to check my numbers a little better tomorrow.  I know that I'm wanting to pig out at times, so I try to avoid unnecessary snacks.  However, sometimes if I'm not paying attention it backfires when I forget to have my needed snack.

My blog title is accurate tonight - RFamHere's Ramblings.  I guess I'm just rambling right now.  I'm hoping I can kick this cold soon.  I'm already sick of the stuffy nose and cough.  I think tonight might be an early night.

My journey so far

I'm somewhat new to diabetes, but yet I'm not.  I had gestational diabetes with all five of my children, born in 1993, 1996, 1999, 2001, and 2004.  As a result, I've been researching diabetes for over 16 years.  During my second pregnancy, I found out the test for gestational diabetes was actually a screening test to see who would become Type 2 later on in life.  It wasn't until after that they realized that women with elevated glucose levels during pregnancy had certain complications.  Large babies with underdeveloped organs is the one that stands out the most in my mind.  Knowing that my odds of becoming diabetic because of having gestational diabetes *five* times were high, plus having a family history (my mom is diabetic as was her father), I knew that it was almost certain that I would become diabetic.  I accepted that, but tried to hold off the inevitable as long as possible.  I started working out, something I never did before.

Although I was never really into exercise, I was never overly overweight.  Yes, I could stand to lose about 40 lbs, but I didn't look like the diabetes poster adult.  I am 5'8" and my heaviest (non-pregnant) weight was only 196 lbs.  I wore size 16 jeans.  In January 2008, I got serious about my weight.  When I started, I was 192 lbs.  By that fall, I had gone from a size 16 in jeans to a size 10.  Unfortunately my diabetes diagnosis had snuck in about two and a half months after I started losing weight.  In late March 2008, my doctor's nurse called me to tell me that I had Type 2 diabetes.  My fasting glucose was 129 and my A1c was 6.9, not dangerously high but high enough for the diagnosis.  Typically a diagnosis is made after two fasting tests of 125 or higher, but given my personal and family history my doctor and I didn't feel the need for a second test.

Luckily (or not), because of my previous experience with diabetes, I didn't go through a lot of the normal emotions that most diabetics go through when they first get diagnosed.  There are days that I just would like to say, "Ok, I'm tired of this diabetes thing. Where do I go to send it back?" Unfortunately, as we stand now, there's no cure. Once you have diabetes, there's no giving it back. It's yours to keep forever and ever.

That is totally not fair! Last year I got a new pair of shorts that were too big. I could take those back! We opened a package of hamburger one night that smelled bad. I got to take that back! Why can't I take this diabetes back?

So what can I do? I can help raise money and become an advocate so that maybe they'll find a cure in my lifetime and I can give back my diabetes. Maybe I'll have the peace of mind knowing my children won't have to test their blood sugar, watch carbs, or avoid eating a whole bag of M&Ms in one sitting when the mood strikes them. I don't know if it will happen, but all I can do is try!