Huzza! It is D
Blog Week! I, along with a ton of other
Diabetes Bloggers will blog every day on a set grouping of topics that you can
find HERE. Todays topic is:
I have a wonderful Endo, and a wonderful CDE. They are kind to me, and honestly want to help a girl out whenever they can. They also read this blog.
Shout out to my healthcare team! W’sup?!
The boys’ Endo and I have a great mutual respect for
one another. I respect her opinion of
the course of action we should take after the data is collected, and she
respects when I’m not ready to make a change, or feel like a bigger change is
needed. It’s a wonderful, safe place for
a worried D Mama.
I do suffer from a bit of anxiety when appointment
time comes due. Three A1C’s is a big bag
of bricks to carry on one mama’s shoulders.
Even though she never gives me a hard time…I’m hard on myself. I know when I can do better, and I know when
I’ve done so well there is just no way I can keep up the momentum.
But what, if anything, do I want her to know? I’m pretty open about things, and since she
reads my blog…she usually knows when I’m in a good place, and when I am not.
I can’t say she doesn’t know this, but what I HOPE she
knows is…
Dr. G, what I hope you know is…
* Every number has a story.
* And decisions that I make every day aren’t always
black or white. The other day one boy woke
up at 489, and corrected himself before he told me the number. When I pulled the set, there was blood in
it. But now he delivered a load of
insulin. Did he get any of it? He’s just about to leave for school. What would you do? Would you have me stay home from work, and
re-bolus the entire bolus? Would you
re-bolus and have me send him to school?
Would you have me give a couple extra units and hope it all works
out? I’m faced with these kinds of
decisions almost every day. It isn’t
always check, count, bolus. In fact it
is rarely that simple.
* Humalog and Novolog aren’t exactly the same. We made the switch as our insurance
commanded, and now their numbers are running higher. No, it isn’t my imagination. Yes, it is frustrating.
* I have found more crazy issues in the middle of the
night than I can wrap my brain around.
Ripped out sets. Blood in
sets. Kinked sets. An unexpected low. An unexpected high. When you tell parents they don’t have to do a
late night check…I just want you to remember that. Especially when you are me…I rarely, if ever,
have a night when I don’t have to make a correction or feed a child. Maybe my boys A1C’s are good because of the
work I put in at night? One day they
will be on their own, and I will have years of a solid 7 hours sleep
ahead. (That’s my plan…and I’m
pretending it’s going down that way.)
I’m not saying everyone needs to do a late night check, I’m just saying,
let parents follow their gut. They are
surprisingly accurate. (Also, since my
alarm fatigue is so severe…I’ve been sleeping through my 2am alarm for
months. Their numbers in the morning
aren’t always were they should be, and that dominos to the rest of the
day. I cannot discount the difference late night checks make.)
* The last thing I want you to know is how grateful I am
for you. I can’t remember the last time
I said thank you. For listening to
me. For caring about us. For respecting my gut.
What don’t I want you to know? Something you already know. I hate changing sets every three days, so sometimes...I go four. I can’t properly explain WHY…but changing every three days makes me crazy. There is a threshold there that when crossed brings me to the island of, “This is too much.” I don’t know why three days seems SO much more overwhelming than four…but it’s a fact that for my swelly brain: It is. I make myself change at the three day mark, a lot. But not all the time. I’m not proud. You already know. But I’m baring my soul, so there it is in black and white.
What don’t I want you to know? Something you already know. I hate changing sets every three days, so sometimes...I go four. I can’t properly explain WHY…but changing every three days makes me crazy. There is a threshold there that when crossed brings me to the island of, “This is too much.” I don’t know why three days seems SO much more overwhelming than four…but it’s a fact that for my swelly brain: It is. I make myself change at the three day mark, a lot. But not all the time. I’m not proud. You already know. But I’m baring my soul, so there it is in black and white.
Other than that secret shame, I want you to know that
I know…we are a good team. A good village.
Thank you for almost 15 years of unmatched care and
love. Here’s to many more healthy and
successful years ahead!
See you soon!
"It isn’t always check, count, bolus." Bingo! Love that.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree about the late night checks. I believe it's up to every parent to decide whether or not they need to and that an endo is liable if they actually tell a parent that they don't have to or shouldn't.
We are fortunate as well to have a team that cares about our son and respects our decisions. Thank you for reminding me to be grateful!
ReplyDeleteSomething very concerning is people thinking because they have diabetic alert dogs, they don't have to check in the middle of the night anymore. Some companies actually use that as a way to get more customers!
ReplyDeleteMy new insurance wanted me to prove failure on one insulin brand before they would pay for the one I really wanted (that had been working perfectly). Hopefully your insurance will believe you have now done enough to prove something similar!
ReplyDeleteOk, we are *really* new to this. What do you mean by the "set" things? Is that pump stuff? We aren't there yet, but we hear great things. Thanks for your blog! I so appreciate it and knowing we aren't alone. Interesting to read this as I was just told we could drop our 2:00 am reading. Hmmm...
ReplyDeleteI think it's totally awesome that your endo reads your blog. And even if she mostly knows all of this already, it never hurts to put a little reminder out there, right?
ReplyDeleteI love every single thing that you said here! We are also blessed with a wonderful healthcare team.
ReplyDelete