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.

Don't let diabetes stop you

In the past few days, my guys have been really busy! On Wednesday,  they acid washed a friend's pool. Seth had a little  fun in the empty pool.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDHoTxDYhJY&feature=youtube_gdata_player

(Sorry, I don't know yet how to put videos directly into the blog.)

On Thursday,  Jason taught a lifeguard recertification class. That night, it took 4 low treatments (60 grams of carbs) to get him up high enough to go to bed!  He still woke up during the night with a 67 and had to treat again! I thought since he was in bed with me, I would know if he was low and needed help. Wrong!  I slept through the whole thing. Thankfully, he wasn't too low and didn't need my help. Gonna have to figure that out too.

Summer will mean changes to all their doses, I imagine. This past weekend was another lifeguard class. They keep close tabs on diabetes, checking not only before meals but extra checks as well. Lots of extra snacks to keep their numbers in range.


 


Lots and lots of activity, including being the victim  during a spinal rescue scenario.

 

 Morning blood sugars today were 66 (Seth) and 81 (Jason). The extra activity really makes a difference! Just a few more days of school, then we'll be at the pool every day. A new setting for us to learn how to KDA.

State testing

The final round of TAKS testing is this week. The last group of juniors that have to pass this test before they can graduate.  Don't worry, the tests are being replaced with other even more ridiculous tests. Sophomores started that new round of tests, the STAAR tests, last year. Unless the Texas state legislature makes some changes soon, high school students will need to pass 15 tests to graduate rather than the current 4. 

  

What does this have to do with diabetes? This is Seth's first year to have to take these tests with diabetes. In the past, he has excelled at TAKS tests, scoring at the commended level on most of them. How does diabetes change that? Hopefully, it won't. But here are the possibilities:

1. He could have high blood sugar on testing day, making him feel sluggish and have trouble focusing. He would need to stop and check his blood sugar and give himself an injection, if necessary. 
2. His blood sugar could go low at any point, making it difficult for him to focus as well. He would need to stop during the test to check his blood sugar and treat it, if needed.
3. The change of schedule for testing day could cause either of the above, since his snack/meal schedule won't be the same as a regular school day.
4. ??? The unknown. You just never know what might happen.  I know that's true in all parts of life, but particularly with type 1 diabetes.

Seth hasn't had any problems with any type of tests all year. I don't expect any this week.  But with D, you just never really know. We have to be prepared for as many possibilities as we can, no matter how likely they are. It's the only way to KDA.

Wordless Wednesday

National Day of Hope

9 minutes of sleep

The best sleep I get is from 6:51 to 7 every morning. Jason kisses me good bye every morning around 6:45, and then Seth's alarm goes off at 6:51, and he hits snooze. At that time I know both are ok and I can sleep peacefully until my alarm goes off at 7. 9 minutes of peaceful, unworried sleep every morning. I never thought I would be  thankful for 9 minutes of sleep. Of course, I get more sleep than that, but none quite like it. So if I look really tired some days, now you know why. 9 minutes is not much, but it's what gets me through some days so I can help my guys KDA.