Halloween

Well, It's here... Our first Halloween with Diabetes.

Here's an explanation of one of the things we'd like to avoid (it's from an online blogger I found...):

"DKA- diabetic ketoacidosis. This is a VERY serious, life threatening condition. DKA happens when there is not enough insulin in the body. Blood sugar rises and spills over into the urine which leads to dehydration. Blood sugar rises but the body, without insulin, is unable to use the glucose for energy. The body starts to burn fat (leading to weight loss) - basically eating itself to stay alive. This also causes ketones- acidic ketone bodies - that poison the body. ... (waiting too long with DKA lands one)... in ICU. (It would mean being)...hooked up to IV fluids and an insulin drip and (no eating) until ketones come down.
Even though (one has) been eating, (they can) basically starve to death. They explained this to us this way: You're having a party and everyone is at your house and you don't have any food. So you go to the store and get lots of goodies but when you get home, you are locked out. So you go back to the store and get more food but you're still locked out. The people inside are getting really hungry and going crazy - they start eating whatever is available. Insulin is the key that converts the food you eat to energy you can use.
Let me back up a little. Type 1 Diabetes occurs when the pancreas no longer produces insulin. No one is sure why this happens. They told us that people are usually predisposed to it and it usually takes something like a virus to push you over the edge and your own immune system starts to kill off the cells that produce insulin. There is no cure (yet). Taking insulin through injections is NOT a cure - "it's life support". Type 1 diabetes does not go away or "get better" as you get older. You are insulin dependent for the rest of your life."

Wish us luck today. We need him between 80 and 150 all day. Happy Halloween... Details to come...
Peace,
June