Friday, December 18, 2009

ENDO & A1C

We had our 2nd Endo appt. on Monday and it was not at all as bad as our 1st one. We did not have to take the girls this time so Jim was able to be with me & Nate the entire time. The appointment time was at the worst possible time (11:30 AM) but we planned on arriving early and feeding Nate in the waiting area. Well, you know how plans work out when you have 3 small kiddos - we ended up arriving just 15 minutes before the appointment and by the time we got checked-in they were already calling us back for the appointment. So, they checked Nate's bg at 11:30 and I was expecting that he was going low but when the meter read 40 I nearly fainted. He was acting totally normal - I honestly had no idea he was SO low! We gave some juice with his lunch and at next check he was a nice 150. It was a little embarrassing when they asked us if we thought we were getting a handle on knowing when Nate was high or low?!?! Ummm - not really! Oh well - that's why we check him so often. More on that in a moment.

Nate looks good; his A1C is 8.7 which is obviously a little higher than we would like it but not bad for 3-months into this disease. We took the Take Charge class last month and we are now scheduled to take the Pump It Up class on 2/9/2010. We will see how that goes and see what our insurance will cover and go from there. I'm excited and nervous about the pump all at the same time. We are just getting a handle on taking care of Nate with shots and his very strict schedule that has become part of our life - I'm not sure if I am ready for another major change in our lives.

On to testing, testing and more testing -
I noticed this week that we were on our last bottle of test strips so I called our mail order insurance company to order more. They arrived today. For some reason it made me nauseous and extremely sad when I looked at the number of strips that comes with a 3 month supply. Are you ready?? 1200! 12 freaking hundred test strips. I test my itty bitty baby boys' bg 10-12 times a day. Excuse me while I go vomit - it makes me so sick to think that from September 17th until today when I used the last strip in our original Rx we have checked Nate's bg 1200 times.

I am sad that I have used 1200 test strips but am thankful that we have the supplies that we need to keep our son alive. It is not easy taking care of Nate, it is hard and some days it is all I can do to give him all of those shots and finger pricks but I do it. I do it every day. I do it when he sits still, I do it when he kicks me, and I do it when he screams and hits me, I do it every day to keep him alive and I do it because I love him to the moon and back and back again!

8 comments:

Joanne said...

You do it because you are an awesome Momma! It takes a superstar of a Mom to be able to love her baby like that.

We get 1200 in an order too... it takes my breath away to think of everything our babies have to endure. We've been testing Elise almost 14 times a day (and night) lately. We cannot get a handle on these numbers.

Tracy said...

Makes me sick too! We check that often as well. I think a lot has to do with their ages, being so young and not knowing if they are high, low, or just acting their age.

The pump was probably the best D decision we ever made! It was a lot of work in the beginning, but is SO worth it! We love being able to give such small doses and customizing the basal based on the time of day.

Meri said...

L was 23 months when we started him on the pump. It was so nice not to worry about what he had to eat. It will be a trasition for sure...but as everything with D, it will become your normal. There will be days that it will come unclipped and he will just drag it across the floor...L's screen was always scratched up! But it took his beating just fine, and life is better because of it.

I checked that often too...and somedays still do...after checking the 3 boys during a hard night of numbers, it always makes me sad to see the pile of used test strips laying all over their dresser.

But they are here...spunky and happy...and it will become just part of your routine someday soon. Really! :)

You are doing it! Awesome job mom!

Great Job, Laura!

It does make me sick to think of how many pokes our kids get.... but you know what is worse? Not checking. I heard a story today about a 10 year old who's mother thinks that the 20-30 minute drive to the hospital is too long. So, this boy does not get care. His bg is uncontrolled, he's peeing blood, and he's scared - but no one has taken care of him or taught him how to do it himself. That make me ILL. And ANGRY. But that's another topic...

So we do all of this crazy, heartbreaking stuff to our kids because we love them and we will do ANYTHING to give them the best possible shot (pardon the pun) at a healthy life. That's being a Momma. A great Momma. A great D Momma! Keep it up!

We totally love the pump! It really was not a big change for us. Maybe being so new to the process helped. Honestly, it took some pressure off to only do the site changes every 2-3 days instead of the torture of shots 5 times a day minimum. We love the flexibility. Avery's bg has been much better controlled. We love being able to give her those tiny, tiny doses that she really needs. We're more accurate - and that's always a good thing. And she's a very active 3 year old. She wears her little pump pouch 24-7 and has never had trouble - not even at night. We probably would have waitend longer but AVERY is the one who asked for the pump. She brought it up after seeing a friend and pictures online and she asked for it.

Change is always scary - but people told me that if I could do the shots, I could do the pump. And they were right! It's easy! We are huge fans!

That being said - every one is different and everyone's journey is different. You'll make the best decision for you and Nate! I know you will!

I'm certainly no expert - but always available to discuss the pump! You can read about our experience on my blog and see the doll and stuff we did to prepare her for it.

Good job, Mom! And we still don't know half the time if Avery's high or low. We're getting better but I think it just takes time with little ones!

Cdejulius said...

I am excited for you . . .the pump seems to get rave reviews . . .anything that will be better for Nate and for his wonderful caregivers!! Love you and looking forward to the week of Christmas when my best gift is being back home with you guys . . .xxoo

Lora said...

I plan to ask the doctor for an increase when he writes my new script. We are tesing Justin more than we were in the beginning and now with the night checks... we are running out before they allow me to reorder. It makes me sad too.
Hang in there Mom... you are awesome!

phonelady said...

oh Laura you are a great mom and yes you are going to learn so much from that class about the pump and you can decide for yourself how you think Nate will do on the pump and yeah be preparred for a fight with the insurance company . But again be glad you have insurance I dont and neither does my husband because we simply cannot afford it . Oh well thems the breaks as they say . Oh well much love and goodness and hope it all goes well .

Sounds like a good appt. I'm glad you have good insurance that covers that many strips. Alot of insurances it's a fight to get them to cover more than 6 strips a day. As nate gets older there will be times you don't test him quite as much. Syd goes through about 900 strips every 3 months. You are doing a great job!! HUGS!

Post a Comment

Just a Mom

I am NOT a doctor, nor do I play one on this blog.

I AM a wife.
I AM the mom of 3 wonderful children.
I AM my son's pancreas.

The information provided on this blog is from our personal experiences with Type 1 diabetes. Because something works for us does not mean it will work for you.

Please consult your doctor if you have any questions or concerns about your health care options.

Powered by Blogger.

Grab my button!




Check out these AWESOME
D-rent Blogs . . .
Life For A Child Button 2
o6e3vl
BlogWithIntegrity.com

Followers

Blog Archive


D Tales

My Blog List

Search This Blog

Button
My Diabetic Child

Subscribe via email

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

asweetgrace" />

Subscribe Now: standard