Comments on: Life, By the Numbers

By: Karyn

Karyn — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:28:34 +0000

Hi there…I was turned onto your blog by a friend of ours. You see, our 18 month old son was diagnosed with Type I on September 10th….it already seems like a lifetime ago. Our lives now revolve around food, carbs, needles and keeping a constant vigil in fears that we will miss something and will pay for it dearly. We are doing it ‘old school’ and not using the pump for a few reasons, the utmost being to learn the basics and always have a fall back method of ensuring that peace of mind. Plus our health care doesn’t support the pump and as a result we pay out of pocket for it. Please, forgive my ignorance as I am so new to this. I am just curious why it is that you take so many BG readings throughout the day. Is it based on how you feel (if you are feeling ‘off’) or is there something we are missing because we are on the needle and confined to when we can give insulin? With our little guy, we do a reading before each meal/snack….which need to be a minimum of 2 hours before and after the last ingestion of carbs and then one at our bed time and one at 3 in the morning….so usually about 7 a day. Love to hear your input!!!

By: Sysy Morales

Sysy Morales — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 03:12:03 +0000

The numbers thing is so true! I once had a nightmare where I got confused and began switching all of the “numbers”. I didn’t know if 100 was a good blood sugar reading and I didn’t know how many carbs per unit of insulin, etc. I just ran around in my dream trying to get a hold on what all of the numbers meant! I woke up amused to say the least!

By: Tink1272

Tink1272 — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 01:32:15 +0000

i wish they would make something like that for the G-Phone that doesn’t cost a fortune.

By: Kathy

Kathy — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:32:43 +0000

Try the low carb lifestyle promoted by Drs. Eades, Dr. Richard Bernstein, Dr. Mary Vernon, et al, also at sites like dsolve.com, nmsociety.org. I’ve been doing it for 3 weeks–lost 6 lbs., lowered insulin dosage by 27%, feel great, lots of energy, no ravenous hunger, no carb cravings. Dietary fat => heart disease is bogus. It’s the high sugars AND HIGH INSULIN, which you will never hear from your mainstream endocrinologist. The info’s all on the web from reputable, bonafide medical and research professionals.

I think the Animas pump is better. I’ve been on it for several years, and it does have IOB as well as “EZ BG” for which you enter amount of carbs, BG, and it calculates bolus while showing IOB.

By: Scott K. Johnson

Scott K. Johnson — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:28:48 +0000

I have terrible trouble remembering other important numbers in life because of all the diabetes numbers constantly swimming in my head!

By: T1 in Boston

T1 in Boston — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 04:35:47 +0000

(or is that “like the Boy and Girl Scout cookies,” xim1970?

By: xim1970

xim1970 — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 05:48:36 +0000

“For those who are not, but assume that daily diabetes care is “like brushing your teeth,” think again. Maybe it would be — if your life depended on toothpaste and every gram of food you ate had to be matched per a precise ratio to the exact amount of toothpaste you ingested.”

I thought this is possibly the BEST quote to be given to anyone who cares about a Type I diabetic…it is quite possibly the best way to put how we take care of ourselves as diabetics! It is a constant amount of “guesswork”, and we can never be sure of the outcome…we just have to be prepared for the worst, whether it be high or low. Like the Boy (and Girl) Scouts, always be prepared!

By: Cathy

Cathy — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 00:14:45 +0000

Most people don’t give Type 1 diabetics or Type 2’s on insulin enough credit…. the math and numbers never stop! Esp for a Type 1 child growing….

By: T1 in Boston

T1 in Boston — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 00:00:49 +0000

off-topic, but I know we were all alarmed by the NYT article this summer abt the lack of accuracy in Bg meters. The conversation here inspired me to switch to the Wavesense Jazz meter — almost. I have had no trouble getting my Dr., ins. co., and pharma to get me the strips – just a darn hard time getting my hands on the meter! Seems they are in limited distribution and only available thru on-line companies that require you to buy the strips from them (or something like that). As a group of folks very concerned abt our numbers, I thought I’d share.

And ps thanks to Ed!

By: June S.

June S. — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 23:36:46 +0000

Amy,

Is the OmniPod system now keeping track of Insulin on Board for meal boluses as well as for correction boluses? When I used it, it only kept track of correct boluses, and it was impossible to see the actual IOB number on the PDM. Perhaps Insulet has made some improvements besides fancier colors on their screen.