Is it worth it?

I have some super awesome friends that want to learn about type 1 diabetes. One of these awesome friends asked me to write about foods that are technically ok, but not really worth it to my guys to eat. In the DOC (diabetes online community), I have seen the phrase bolus-worthy used often....is it worth the insulin (either from injection or pump)?

First, if you can eat it then a person with type 1 can eat it. A big misconception is that PWD (persons with diabetes) can't eat sweets. Truth is, no one should eat sweets often. Same for PWD. As a treat, sweets are fine.

So here are a few things that my guys have determined really aren't worth it.

1) Sugar-sweetened tea and soft drinks, especially fountain drinks. These are super hard to calculate! Example: A Route 44 Powerade from Sonic is supposed to be 64 g of carbs, according to the nutrition info on their website. Is that with or without the ice? What if the mix is not quite right? Too many variables, so it's not bolus-worthy. Sugar free drinks are just easier. Also, they are so used to sugar free drinks that they don't even LIKE the regular ones anymore.

2) Fruit juices. Seth uses juice boxes for lows, so they just aren't appealing to him otherwise. He had a big glass of orange juice with brinner (breakfast for dinner) one night, and the blood sugar spike was not fun for him. He felt icky for several hours. He decided to reserve oj for lows, or only small amounts for breakfast. 

3) Milk. Neither of them have acknowledged this one, but our milk consumption has SERIOUSLY gone down since their diagnoses. Unless it's with a meal, they don't drink milk anymore. 

Seeing a trend here? Drinks appear to be the biggest carb issue.

4) Cereal. Jason isn't a huge cereal eater anyway, so this isn't a big deal for him. But for Seth....oh my. This kid LOVES cereal. It has really been causing him problems lately, so he is taking a cereal break. Every time he has cereal for breakfast, he goes low in the afternoon. Weird. He is hoping to figure out how to dose for it so he can enjoy it again! 

Other than that, everything else is fair game. Sometimes they will choose not to eat something because they don't want to take a shot right then. But nothing is truly off limits. All things in moderation.

Oops!

Calculating lunch carbs seems simple. Except when it's not. Combo meals usually come with small fries, right? This time, it appeared they came with medium fries.
Me, looking at nutrition info: Medium fries, right?
Jason: Yep

Fast forward a few minutes.

Guess who got an extra 15 g of carbs for dessert?

Another 6 months

Six months ago today, our lives changed yet again. As I've written before, Jason had struggled as a type 2 diabetic for several years. Despite diet and exercise,  his blood sugar numbers were always terrible. High A1C results at every dr appointment. I think he tried every type 2 drug on the market,  and some that are no longer on the market. All to no avail. He endured a foot ulcer that almost resulted in the loss of a toe. The last thing I noticed last summer and fall was a loss of muscle tone despite swimming almost daily (including a 5k at the end of the summer). I figured it was just because we are in our 40s, getting older....

Then Seth was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Through my research to learn all I could to help him, I discovered that maybe Jason had been misdiagnosed.  The symptoms fit, so he asked his doctor. His doctor concluded that yes, he had been misdiagnosed.  Scrap everything and start over....he is type 1, not type 2. The change in how he felt was almost instant. At his 3 month check up, his A1C was the lowest it has ever been, and all other lab values were NORMAL!!

Now that he is feeling better and his blood sugar numbers are much better, we are beginning to realize just how sick he was. He has energy now, and muscle tone has returned. He is able to continue doing the things he loves, like training lifeguards. All part of our life of KDA.