Reading the CARELINK

The carelink is the software/website that generates the charts that contain Jimmy's information that's stored in the pump. One of the charts looks like this:

And it looks like a foreign series of lines and dots, but it actuallly tells the history of what's happening in Jimmy's pump... There are about a dozen charts that I can generate, but Jimmy's Doctor (and awesome Nurse, Rachel), look specifically at 2 of them. So, this morning, I spent the past 2 or 3 hours studying and reading and learning and trying to identify what needs to be done to tackle the overnights which is when Jimmy seems to have the most high blood glucose readings... Here's what I wrote to Rachel...

Hi Rachel!
We're making strides... Jimmy opted for a belly site on Wednesday! Of course, it was near traumatic, but we toughed it out... Now it's back in his arm... He almost refused the new site, but when I acted sad and told him it was ok if he didn't want the site, and went to get the levemir and novo pens, he stopped complaining and wanted the site... poor kid - what a choice he has to make - between awful and worse. My heart breaks for him on a regular basis, but I guess all I can do is my absolute best for him and keep him as healthy as I can. I'll take the tears (from both him and me) and give him lots of love and attention for everything else in his life.

By the way, his basketball team won this morning by a score of 8-1, and Jimmy scored ALL 8 points!!! woohoo!!! go Jimmy!!! He seems to be eating, sleeping and drinking basketball these days - and even goes to see Jim referee all the games he can! The referee assigner is even going to give Jimmy his OWN paycheck (out of Jim's pay of course...) How cute is that??!!! His last practice/game is next week... Not sure how that's going to go over, but hopefully spring comes quickly and baseball will start. He's got Jenna's and Jim's games to go to in the meantime...

One thing before I get into the #'s... I think it was on Jan. 19th or 20th when he started having some high readings, and low and behold, he woke up with an terrible ear pain in the middle of the night on Saturday into Sunday. Trip to the pediatritian confirmed an ear infection, and he's on amoxycillan. I'm glad teh carelink charts are for 2 weeks, so those 2 or 3 days won't stick out too much... Is it typical that numbers raise a bit if an infection is brewing? or was it just a coincidence...

OK, now for the guessing game...
I'm looking at the results for the past 2 weeks. Here's what I think I see...
His average BG from
12am - 6 am = 199 (with 12 readings) yikes!
6 am - 10 am = 140 (with 34 readings) woohoo!
10 am - 3 pm = 184 (with 55 readings) ouch
3pm -9 pm = 153 (with59 readings) I'll take it!!
9pm - 12am = 193 (with 20 readings)yikes again

Ok, so we need to fix the nights to mornings first, right?
Also the 10-3 pm's... but, being that we have to fix one thing at a time, we'll start with the nights? I won't do anything until I hear from you, but...
I'm thinking either:
we add a 9pm basal rate
or
we raise his 12 p.m. basal rate from .3 to .325
or
lower his insulin to carb ratio at dinner from 35 to 30

Hopefully one of these is right, or at least close. I'm studying really hard to put it all together. It's like putting a puzzle together that will never be completed!!!!

I'm not even a year in, and I feel like it's been a lifetime!

Ok, so that's it I guess for this round - we'll fix this and then move on to the days next week, right? (I'm also thinking that when spring comes and they can get outside at school for recess, that will help - as of now, I guess inside recess isn't the best thing for diabetics, huh?)

Thanks for listing to all this rambling... I'm doing my best to verse myself in all of these charts and diagrams (also liking the data table besides the modal day hourly and the logbook diary.)

Thanks so much in advance! Hope you're doing ok in all this snow!!!!

Peace,
June

47 - see previous post...

Yikes. Now it's 5:30 a.m. He's a 47, and I went with the juice box this time. I'm waiting another 15 minutes to make sure it comes up.

By the way, I guess it was 5 a.m. and not 4 a.m. earlier... Otherwise I lost an hour somewhere... And, I noticed that when I posted my "cake decorating" entry, it says it was posted at 1:52 a.m. Not sure if I'm in a time warp or something!

Hey, do I have to brush his teeth??? I was sticking the straw into his mouth for the juice box, and it was coming out with the red gel residue on it. He's already had one cavity filled - I swear it was from the star bursts over one low he had in the beginning of the disease. pretty sure there's a post about it way back when.

You know that feeling when you wake up extra early to go skiing and you have to be wide awake to get dressed and ready - and then you have to sit in a car for the 2 hour drive? That's how I feel. Awake, but my body wants to be asleep.

Jimmy's so cute he just let out an adorable little snore! 7 minutes until I check him again...

Peace,
June

Cake Decorating at 4 a.m.???????

I watched a video yesterday called, "You Can't Catch Diabetes from a Friend", and a mother in it put it perfectly: "You don't get a vacation from this disease. Diabetes doesn't take a day off. It's constant and something that you always have to think about."

Yes. The pump is great. No question the pump is amazing and wonderful and works just like his pancreas when we tell it to. But we're still learning. I know it will get easier, but right now we're trying to find the right balance...

Jimmy was waking up low at first, so we switched his basal rate. Then he was waking up high for a few days. So we readjusted the rate again. At 4 .m. he was just a 61. Not good, too low. Unfortunately, I slacked off tonight and didn't check him until 4 - when I usually check him at 3... Maybe I could have caught him before he went low...

Regardless, I just had to force feed Jimmy a tube of cake decorating icing! He was so cute how hi sucked on the tube in his sleep. Red icing!!! Guess I ran out of white, but better than blue or green!! Anyway, it's supposed to act like the carbohydrate gel that runners use for a quick shot of energy. I'll check him again in a few minutes. (The rule for a low blood sugar is take 15 carbs, and then test again in 15 minutes.)

I'm thoroughly enjoying not have to give Jimmy a minimum of 6 insulin shots everyday! There were times he went into 'shut down' mode and we'd have to hold him down to give him his shots. He's only 6 and what I've asked of him with this damn disease is simply too much. He's only 6. I hope he can forget the horrible experiences of the hospital stay when he was first diagnosed - the first i.v. drip, the first syringe shots, the first finger pricks, the hospital gown (Jimmy likes to wear 'Daddy Shirts' to bed), the not understanding of what was happening to him, etc... And I hope that he can forget the times he was so beside himself that he had to hide in the dark closet because he didn't want a shot. And I hope he can forget that traumatic first pump site injection at the Molly Center where it took me, Jim, Joey & Rachel to hold him down while he screamed at the top of his lungs in agony and then we had to hold his arms after it was in so he couldn't rip it out.

He used to not even say the word. Now he even says "I'm a diabetic." I hope his life is normal and that diabetes, although a constant on our minds, is just a part of him and not something new to him. I hope that he accepts it as a part of his daily life, and doesn't hate this part of him. Let Jimmy define who he is, and not the diabetes. Does that make any sense?

Got to go check him again. If you don't hear anything else it means he's good to go until sunrise. Otherwise, I'll post again... Keep your fingers crossed for a decent number!!
Peace,
June