busy day today - read on!!!
PEACE,
JUNE
Sunday, February 13, 2011
oh boy...
Jimmy has been attempting to insert his own sites. WONDERFUL, but tricky!! I went to see Jersey Boys on Broadway for my 40th birthday (thanks Jennie, Julie and Michelle!!!) and Jim was in charge of the site change last Sat. night. It took 3 tries, and they did it!. Monday night, Jimmy insisted on trying it himself. Woohoo! So very proud of him!!! The site however, came out after about 10 minutes. poor kid.
Tonight, Jim and Jimmy changed the site again (it's supposed to be changed about every 2 to 2 1/2 days.) It came out twice. poor kid.
About 3 days ago, I noticed that we were down to about a week of site changes left. Well, if you do the math, he's out of site changes. We ordered a new shipment of site changes, and it's due to come tomorrow or Monday - good huh? Well, we don't have any left since we've been using more than necessary.... I just had to wake up the poor doctor via the answering service. The poor woman sounded so tired (at about midnight.) Since there are no site change sets left, I had to give Jimmy 2 shots tonight. He cried for about 10 minutes afterward. One levemir (long lasting insulin) and one novolog (to cover for his high blood glucose reading he had - over 400!!!!! Ugh.) Evidently, even before the site had come out late tonight (just as I was going to check him close to midnight,) it must not have gone in correctly... It had come out at about 8 pm when he and Jim put it in and then wrestled, and then again at midnight when I just recently went to test and noticed it was out.
That's when I was made aware that we no longer had any site change sets. OMG, to say the least.
The doctor on call walked me through it and came up with a plan. I think we're good to go for tomorrow, but I'm not sure if I'll sleep tonight. Wish me luck at the 9:30 mass tomorrow.
Peace,
June
Tonight, Jim and Jimmy changed the site again (it's supposed to be changed about every 2 to 2 1/2 days.) It came out twice. poor kid.
About 3 days ago, I noticed that we were down to about a week of site changes left. Well, if you do the math, he's out of site changes. We ordered a new shipment of site changes, and it's due to come tomorrow or Monday - good huh? Well, we don't have any left since we've been using more than necessary.... I just had to wake up the poor doctor via the answering service. The poor woman sounded so tired (at about midnight.) Since there are no site change sets left, I had to give Jimmy 2 shots tonight. He cried for about 10 minutes afterward. One levemir (long lasting insulin) and one novolog (to cover for his high blood glucose reading he had - over 400!!!!! Ugh.) Evidently, even before the site had come out late tonight (just as I was going to check him close to midnight,) it must not have gone in correctly... It had come out at about 8 pm when he and Jim put it in and then wrestled, and then again at midnight when I just recently went to test and noticed it was out.
That's when I was made aware that we no longer had any site change sets. OMG, to say the least.
The doctor on call walked me through it and came up with a plan. I think we're good to go for tomorrow, but I'm not sure if I'll sleep tonight. Wish me luck at the 9:30 mass tomorrow.
Peace,
June
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Sugar!
We just got back from a "Build-a-Bear" birthday party. Take a guess what my diabetic son named his new doggie...
Sugar!!!
Pretty ironic for a diabetic, huh?
Gotta love him!
Peace,
June
Sugar!!!
Pretty ironic for a diabetic, huh?
Gotta love him!
Peace,
June
Close one???
When Jimmy was first diagnosed, my sister, Julie, found a book called, The Challenge of Childhood Diabetes, by Laura Plunkett. Being the angel she is, she read it cover to cover to try to understand what the challenge ahead of us entailed. After she finished, she gave it to me. Cover to cover I read it and completely related to each chapter. It was eye opening, informative, and oh so emotional. When her son started the pump, Laura tried the insertion site on herself. I did too, but I hadn't remembered that she did until after our not so close "close one" this morning.
In the book, Laura described laying in her bed with her diabetic son. She was reading and I think her son had fallen asleep - when all of a sudden the bed was shaking. Earthquake? what was happening? She quickly realized that her son was having a seizure due to extremely low blood sugar. If I remember correctly (and I'll have to re-read the chapter to refresh my memory) she had to administer the Glucagon.
FYI: the glucagon is kind of like the equivalent of an epi pen for anaphylactic shock due to a severe allergic reaction. But for diabetics, the glucagon is for if Jimmy were to have a hypoglycemic emergency - where his blood sugar would drop so low and he'd become unconscious and unresponsive, and maybe even have a seizure - that's when I'd prepare the glucagon syringe, and give him the injection directly into the muscle of his thigh (all of his insulin pump sites and shots have been subcutaneous, meaning just under the skin.) To see a video on how to administer the glucagon, watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgXqL2zYlIE&feature=related It explains what we'd have to do in an emergency.
So, back to our "close one." Jimmy had a bit of a low blood sugar reading at 4 a.m., for which Jim woke him up to have him dring some orange juice. All was ok. We all went back to sleep. Time passed, and at exactly 6:58 a.m. I awoke to the sound of a shaking, banging, rattling noise coming from Jimmy's room. Sheer panic ran through me. I knew in my soul that he was having a hypoglycemic emergency. And mentally prepared in my mind how I was going to administer the glucagon. I was ready.
But first, let me set up the scene: Jimmy has bunk beds, but instead of a ladder, it has actual stairs to the top bunk. Here's the picture
Luckily, I remembered that he slept in the bottom bunk last night (he alternates). I thought, thank God, if he had fallen out of bed, he couldn't have fallen far, or down the steps. It's amazing what runs through your brain in the 30 seconds leading up to arriving to your supposed emergency. So I shot out of bed and bolted into his room. Can you see how bottom bunk has drawers that pull out from under it? He had pulled out one of the drawers completly and was, for some reason, head first under the bottom bunk, where the drawer should have been. WHY???? No hypoglecemic emergency at all!!!! He was looking for "bluey!!!" Huge sigh of relief could be heard through out my house!!!
Let me explain what "bluey" is... Jenna had a pink baby blanket (which she still has a piece of saved in a special place.) When she was a baby, there was a song about "Bluey the blue, blue blanket" which of course we changed to "Pinky the pink, pink blanket" for her. To this day, she'll pull out her piece of pinky and remember the good old days!! lol! Well, when Jimmy came along, his blue blanket became known as "Bluey". Bluey is a boy, and its favorite color is green. It's just about his best buddy in the world and they even get into trouble sometimes!! It cures cuts, scrapes, hurt feelings, and most importantly, helps him sleep. He was just about done with bluey at 5, but when he was diagnosed with diabetes, bluey was resurrected and given the highest status again. It never leaves the house, but he's like Linus from Charlie Brown with it... never far from his side at home!!!
So, at 6:58 this morning, he must have reached for bluey and couldn't find him. In my disbelief, I said, "Jimmy, what on earth are you doing?????" He said in his cutest little boy voice, "I can't find Bluey, I think it must have fallen down here." (in between the bed and the wall, hence him removing the drawer, and diving under the bed to look for it. Which explains the racket I heard that woke me up!!!!!)
So, what I thought was a hypoglecemic emergency was not even CLOSE to a "close one!!!!!" Thank heavens.
I'm going to watch the glucagon video now so I'm certain to be ready if there ever is a true "close one!!!"
Peace,
June
In the book, Laura described laying in her bed with her diabetic son. She was reading and I think her son had fallen asleep - when all of a sudden the bed was shaking. Earthquake? what was happening? She quickly realized that her son was having a seizure due to extremely low blood sugar. If I remember correctly (and I'll have to re-read the chapter to refresh my memory) she had to administer the Glucagon.
FYI: the glucagon is kind of like the equivalent of an epi pen for anaphylactic shock due to a severe allergic reaction. But for diabetics, the glucagon is for if Jimmy were to have a hypoglycemic emergency - where his blood sugar would drop so low and he'd become unconscious and unresponsive, and maybe even have a seizure - that's when I'd prepare the glucagon syringe, and give him the injection directly into the muscle of his thigh (all of his insulin pump sites and shots have been subcutaneous, meaning just under the skin.) To see a video on how to administer the glucagon, watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgXqL2zYlIE&feature=related It explains what we'd have to do in an emergency.
So, back to our "close one." Jimmy had a bit of a low blood sugar reading at 4 a.m., for which Jim woke him up to have him dring some orange juice. All was ok. We all went back to sleep. Time passed, and at exactly 6:58 a.m. I awoke to the sound of a shaking, banging, rattling noise coming from Jimmy's room. Sheer panic ran through me. I knew in my soul that he was having a hypoglycemic emergency. And mentally prepared in my mind how I was going to administer the glucagon. I was ready.
But first, let me set up the scene: Jimmy has bunk beds, but instead of a ladder, it has actual stairs to the top bunk. Here's the picture
Luckily, I remembered that he slept in the bottom bunk last night (he alternates). I thought, thank God, if he had fallen out of bed, he couldn't have fallen far, or down the steps. It's amazing what runs through your brain in the 30 seconds leading up to arriving to your supposed emergency. So I shot out of bed and bolted into his room. Can you see how bottom bunk has drawers that pull out from under it? He had pulled out one of the drawers completly and was, for some reason, head first under the bottom bunk, where the drawer should have been. WHY???? No hypoglecemic emergency at all!!!! He was looking for "bluey!!!" Huge sigh of relief could be heard through out my house!!!Let me explain what "bluey" is... Jenna had a pink baby blanket (which she still has a piece of saved in a special place.) When she was a baby, there was a song about "Bluey the blue, blue blanket" which of course we changed to "Pinky the pink, pink blanket" for her. To this day, she'll pull out her piece of pinky and remember the good old days!! lol! Well, when Jimmy came along, his blue blanket became known as "Bluey". Bluey is a boy, and its favorite color is green. It's just about his best buddy in the world and they even get into trouble sometimes!! It cures cuts, scrapes, hurt feelings, and most importantly, helps him sleep. He was just about done with bluey at 5, but when he was diagnosed with diabetes, bluey was resurrected and given the highest status again. It never leaves the house, but he's like Linus from Charlie Brown with it... never far from his side at home!!!
So, at 6:58 this morning, he must have reached for bluey and couldn't find him. In my disbelief, I said, "Jimmy, what on earth are you doing?????" He said in his cutest little boy voice, "I can't find Bluey, I think it must have fallen down here." (in between the bed and the wall, hence him removing the drawer, and diving under the bed to look for it. Which explains the racket I heard that woke me up!!!!!)
So, what I thought was a hypoglecemic emergency was not even CLOSE to a "close one!!!!!" Thank heavens.
I'm going to watch the glucagon video now so I'm certain to be ready if there ever is a true "close one!!!"
Peace,
June
Saturday, January 29, 2011
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!!!!
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
June
Sunday, January 9, 2011
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
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
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
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