tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4772592692541432442024-02-20T00:39:08.968-08:00Diabetic MusingsA blog written by a Type 1 Diabetic mother of two sharing her journey with Diabetes and life in general.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-477259269254143244.post-18614370042506601912008-07-23T12:13:00.000-07:002008-07-23T12:29:20.209-07:00July already?!Well, actually the 23rd of July to be exact!<br />I've been off work for the best part of a week with flu'-like symptons: feeling hot & sweaty then feeling freezing cold, aching everywhere, feeling absolutely exhausted etc..<br />Today I finally made an appointment to see my GP who diagnosed me with a kidney infection so I am on antibiotics and have been advised not to return to work until next week. In many ways it is a relief as I was fed up with feeling so lousy and couldn't put my finger on why.<br />I am definitely prone to kidney infections but fortunately I haven't had one in ages. Other than my blood sugar readings being way too high at the moment and the 'new' tablets not making much impact on my blood glucose I have been reasonably well.<br />I'm due to go back to the eye clinic next month for routine checks on my eyes which tend to bleed at the backs of the retina. So far I have avoided laser treatment but sadly I know that it will be necessary one day.<br />I have an appointment at the Diabetes centre in Reading early next month to attend an Obesity clinic run by one of the Diabets regitistrar's. I am quite relieved about this in many ways especially as I put on 14kgs with the last lot of tablets I was tried on, I refused to take them any more after the 14kg weight gain in less than 3 months hence the 'new' tablets which frankly don't seem to be making any difference at all to my insulin resistance. I shall be interested to hear any suggestions that are made re: weight as however hard I try to shift the extra weight seems fruitless, mind you being on the enormous doses of insulin that I am on (2 x 80 units basal per day plus 3 x 60 units = a massive 340 units a day!!) it is no wonder I can't lose any weight. All that insulin and my blood sugars average around 13.5mmol...which is just dreadful!<br />I get very frustrated at times as you can imagine.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-477259269254143244.post-63293661282159404462008-05-30T10:50:00.000-07:002008-05-30T11:04:35.265-07:00Almost June...Where does the time go?<br /><br />My partner and I have been on annual leave all of this week which the first leave I have taken in 7 months. I hadn't realised how much I needed a break and wish, in hindsight, I had taken 2 weeks off! It took me the first couple of days just to relax and stop thinking of work but since then I have really chilled out. We haven't done an awful lot but we have been busy just walking the dogs and pottering around at home which we both love.<br /><br />My diabetes has been an issue recently, the tablet that I was on and that worked so wonderfully in the beginning had the most depressing side effect of significant weight gain - I put on over 12kgs in just three months! So I am now off that and I am trying a different medication. Regretably it doesn't appear to be having the desired results and my blood sugars are wildly fluating and I feel pretty lousy most of the time. I am still taking huge doese of insulin x5 a day but, frustratingly, this is having little effect and I am very concerned at what my next Hba1C will be when I see the Diabetic Consultant in a couple of weeks.<br />The other significant development is that I have been diagnosed with Diabetic Retinopathy. It appears that I have been having bleeds at the back of my eyes. This is not good news at all and it is highly likely that I will start having to have laser treatment.<br /><br />All in all, things are not great medically but I am trying to remain focused and optimistic and I work as hard as ever on my control however frustrating my blood glucose levels are.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-477259269254143244.post-65477431495021941932008-03-22T15:38:00.000-07:002008-03-22T15:48:46.783-07:00So much for posting regularly....<br />Life has been pretty busy work wise especially. I work for a large well known mobile phone company and I really enjoy my job but I've taken over a new role and had to become proficient in it very quickly and get the application through an audit which was hard w0rk but as well as that I have also had to write processes for all sorts of aspects of it. This was on top of managing my team and now training up a new starter. I've put in alot of hours overtime lately and I'm looking forward to a rest when I book some holiday.<br /><br />Life is as always is full of many ups and downs, this particularly true as a Diabetic. Following my Diabetic eye examination changes have been found in the backs of my eyes so I have been referred to the Diabtuc eye clinic at the hospital. I'm not too thrilled with this especially at the moment as I feel as though I am in the dark with what the problem is and what treatment I may have to face. My biggest worry has always been the idea of losing my sight, most other things I reckon I could cope with but going blind really worries me. I received my appointment yesterday and it is early next week; they are certainly not hanging around anyway...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-477259269254143244.post-44575437679296142792008-01-10T13:28:00.000-08:002008-01-10T13:46:07.461-08:00The story continues...Over the 15 year period since I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes I have had a bit of a roller coaster in terms of my health. Recently I was told that I have a very rare syndrome called Dunningans Syndrome which affects as few as 1:15,000,000. This has gone some way to explain some of the issues that I have been struggling with.<br /><br />A couple of years ago I had an operation to remove my gall bladder which was an enormous releif after suffering with gall stones for the past 20 years. Whilst I was in hospital, my constantly fast pulse was commented on several times. Even in the middle of the night when I was woken from sleep for my hourly observations it was over 100 beats per minute. After some investigation I was diagnosed with Inappropriate Sinus Tachycardia which also goes some way to explain my breathlessness that is regularly commented on, particularly when I answer the telephone - I am often asked if I ran to pick up the phone however I have usually been sat quite near the phone and had to reach out to pick it up.<br /><br />At last it has also been recognised that I am extremely insulin resistant - not great if you rely upon insulin to stay alive and I was taking the most enormous doses at each injection. I felt a huge sense of relief when this was at last recognised as it had been something I had been really concerned about for years as I seemed to be having to take larger and larger amounts of insulin to get any real control.<br /><br />Currently I am on 5 injections per day - two injections of a Lantus -like insulin which is non peaking insulin and is taken approxiately 12 hours apart, plus my rapid acting insulin prior to each meal. I have also been on some medication that helps make the cells less insulin resistant and one that is seldom used for insulin dependant Diabetics like myself but it has made a huge difference and my blood glucose levels are, I'm delighted to say, at last within the desired 4 - 7 mmol range. To keep my blood glucose under such tight control is extremely hard work as any Type 1 will tell you but I am escatic to have finally reached that fine control that I have been desperate to reach for years!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-477259269254143244.post-91093958921367886682008-01-08T09:50:00.000-08:002008-01-08T10:05:15.740-08:00First post...here goes!Hello and welcome to my little space in Cyberland!<br /><br />This is where I hope to share some aspects of my life as a Type 1 Diabetic which I hope will be of interest to somebody out there someday.<br /><br />I was diagnosed as a Type 1 Diabetic when my youngest child was 2 years old. Initially I was hospitalised for over a week which I gather is quite rare now and I was immediately put on insulin which was like a miracle drug. When I was first hospitalised my blood sugars were a staggering 44mmol - that's almost 800mg/dl in US terms and I was really quite poorly.<br /><br />That was 15 years ago and I thought I'd share a little about my journey with you...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0