This is not another post about Doug Burns.

Heard enough about Doug Burns yet? Sick of the story? Don't want one more blog post about it? Well OK, but let me just say YAY that it's over! YAY to Doug for being so wonderful through it all and being such a great example. YAY for Micah Jacobs, his lawyer, who took the case on pro-bono and helped see this to the end. YAY for Amy, Bernard, and all you bloggers who got involved by spreading the news and making phone calls.

I hadn't realised how involved I was with this story until today when I read it was all over. If I'm feeling this relieved, I wonder how Doug, & others more involved, are feeling!

But anyway, as I said, I wont talk about Doug, as I see in my list of recently updated blogs that just about everyone else has talked about him & his drama today.

So, urrr... I did some gardening today, and it's lovely weather... sorta... well, for this time of year. Gosh, is that the time?

Have a great day, everyone - especially he-who-I'm-not-actually-blogging-about. :)

When symptoms get weird

You are probably aware of the typical symptoms of hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) and hyperglycaemia (high blood sugar). There's plenty of information available on the net about them if you aren't. Chances are good that you're here reading this because you're diabetic, so you know all about it.

The general consensus is that low blood sugar can bring on the shakes, make your heart race, make you hungry (a hunger like you may never ever know if you aren't diabetic), make you sweat, and stop you thinking straight - among many other symptoms.

As with anything, symptoms can display quite differently in different people. In general though, we get a hold on our symptoms and (not forgetting those with hypo-unawareness) we're able to catch it before it gets worse.

What then, if your symptoms change regularly? Am I alone in this? Surely not!

I often get the common symptoms including a racing heart, feeling shaky, disoriented, and hungry. Every now & then I get odd ones though. It takes me a while to recognise them as symptoms, sometimes weeks - and usually by the time I have it sussed it changes to something else equally as weird. (Murphy's law strikes again?)

A few months ago I started feeling quite sick when my blood sugar got low. It didn't even have to get very low - mid 4's - still in the safety zone, but if I'm feeling low then I treat it anyway in case I'm dropping or can't trust my meter reading. So there it was, I was feeling nausea sometimes a couple of times a day. And I had to EAT to make it go away. Yick!

Just last week a new symptom started. Yawning. Yes yawning! A weird one for sure. It made me think I had high BG, as feeling tired would be normal for highs. But no... three times so far I've found myself yawning constantly with barely a break for breathing. I'd test, and I'd be in the low 4s or high 3s. The yawning would stop once I'd had a lolly or a drink containing sugar. I think this is my weirdest one yet...

One ongoing symptom I have that doesn't seem to match the 'norm' is needing to pee. It's a very common symptom for HIGH BG, but for low? WHY would my body do this to me?

Now, imagine a low sneaks up on you. You must eat. You probably want to test so you can figure out how much glucose you need to bring you back to normal. The brain isn't working quite right but you have to get sugar in you quick-smart before it gets lower and becomes a real danger. But no... first you HAVE to pee. I mean seriously, this is a need to pee like no other. A desperate need to go, even if I should already have an empty bladder. How weird is that? Perhaps it's wrong, but I always visit the bathroom first... eating/drinking & testing can wait. I just don't want to make a mess, and that's how desperately I need to go.

I also get ridiculous thirst when I'm low - yet another symptom that is meant to be reserved for high BGs. I'm sure it doesn't help me when I've sipped coke or munched a lolly, and then I water it down... but I can't avoid it, I HAVE to drink, and it must be water, and lots of it.

Another typical symptom for me is a bit of moodiness. I can avoid this if I'm not too low, or if I treat really quickly, but if my BG drops further or stays down for too long, WATCH OUT WORLD!! I'll be wondering why the people around me aren't worrying about me, aren't offering me the food I must have INSTANTLY, and aren't asking me if I'm OK .... Or, if they actually are trying to help, I'll be wondering why they wont piss off. Wishing they'd leave me alone, after all, I'm quite capable of looking after myself and sometimes I'm embarrassed if I'm being a bit 'wobbly'. Generally I manage to keep my moodiness in check, but I suspect that one of these days I'll bite someone's head off for some silly reason that will only make sense to me, and even then, not for long.

If a low is sneaking up on me without obvious symptoms I often find the tell-tale sign is in my thoughts. Without realising it, I'll start thinking, or maybe even talking, about diabetes. Whatever I'm doing, I know it's time to grab the meter if I suddenly find my mind has travelled to thoughts about testing my blood sugar, eating sugary treats, or crazy things one might need to do if one went low while travelling in space on a golden banana with only Neil Gaiman for company... (would he be sweet enough? Could I just nibble one of his fingers, d'ya think? Would he mind donating body parts to save a woman in need?).

I once talked to my Auntie on the phone for a good half an hour about my history with diabetes, about other people's lack of understanding, about how it feels to worry about my future - OK, no problem discussing these things with people, but I probably wasn't making a lot of sense and I should have realised that she wouldn't have understood half of what I said (the diabetes lingo, and just the fact that I raved on and on...). Poor woman! When I tested after getting off the phone I suddenly understood why I'd done it. That was the day I realised I should listen to my subconscious thoughts!

So basically what I'm saying is that I'm weird. But I'm not alone... am I?

Bullet points, again, just coz.

Too much to say and not enough time / motivation to get the job done! So here's another dose of M's bullet points.

• Accu-chek have added a warning on their NZ site to let us all know about the new Performa meters reading plasma. Pleased to see that :) I hope there's also a note of some sort included with all the new meters they're sending out now. There must be heaps of diabetics who don't visit the website... They've also sent an update to health professionals around the country so that they can catch all the 'omg my numbers are suddenly higher' comments and let people know they're still OK. A good move, but I hope they're not relying on doctors to get the word out. Who wants to pay for a docs appointment to find out something that could've been more clearly stated on the packaging?

• I never did hear back from Novo Nordisk about the lack of C-peptide in our insulins. Maybe it's chase-up time.

• We might end up with a third cat! There's been a really sad looking cat around here for months. He's brown - darker brown around his head, lighter brown from his shoulders down to his tail. His hair always looks matted and he's just so damned small. Kitten sized, but a full grown cat. He used to run a mile whenever there were people about, but now he comes up to us and is very snuggly. Whenever possible I give him some food and comb his hair. He seems to love us for it :) I'm pretty sure he mustn't have a home - who'd let a cat get so skinny? And leave his hair like that? Poor puddy tat :( If we can be sure he's homeless, then he has a home with us. He's met my two girls and none of them seem to have a problem with each other. All good! My son has named the little fluff-ball 'Noodle' - a most excellent name. I think it will end up being my son's cat - I already have to fight for space on my bed at night!

• Today was almost another beautiful BG day! My highest reading was when I got up (late) at 6.5 - can't complain! Lots of readings in the 5s. Only stuffed up by having 2 low readings... Not surprising though, as I spent a lot of time this afternoon chopping wood & breaking off branches for kindling. And nibbling on a chocolate bar! Of course, I wont feel too cocky about this... those numbers only reflect where my BG was at 7 points during the space of today. Any one of those tests could've been on the way down from something twice as high. Oh how I want a CGMS!
  

• Doesn't anyone make blog posts on the weekends? You lot all leave me DESPERATE for a good read! I go blog surfing every day, and I feel a little lost during the weekend. It's all so quiet out there... Go on, I dare you, make LOTS of posts next weekend! Feed my addiction!

• Neil Gaiman posted about proof reading. He made a typo. That is all. (tee-hee)
  

There's my condensed version of 'everything M has on her mind this evening'. Trimmed because I could've gone on for hours if I told you everything that goes on in my mind... This brain is over-active at the best of times, and round-about now, when it should be shutting down (it's nearly 2am), seems to be when I most want to write!

Goodnight, world! Sweet dreams and a happy tomorrow to you all :)

Just showing off... bear with me

You know how some days just suck? Sometimes there are these weird BG highs you just can't get rid of, and yet you've done everything right? Some days it feels like someone is playing with you, pressing all the wrong buttons, making everything go stupid and nothing will make any sense, the BG wont settle down and you probably feel like total shit...

Well today IS NOT one of those days! Finally I have the super-dooper day to balance out all those pain-in-the-arse days!

About bloomin' time I say!!

Check it out! (with huge thanks to Kevin for the FANTASTIC excel stuff!)

wow...
NO highs.
NO lows.
Most tests in the 4s.

*gasp*

If only I could tell my body to keep this up forever!

Sorry... had to share... I'm in shock. ;-)

And the winner is...

Not me! I was (thankfully) wrong about my a1c. The results are in:

6.2
HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY!

teehee :) That made my day. Now to make my way into the 5s! I'm determined!

Update: My review of the Performa Meter

Now that I've had the Performa for a couple of weeks I thought I'd add a little review here, especially for the kiwi readers who are still waiting for their new Accu-chek Performa BG meter to land on their doorsteps.

By the way, Kiwis: Do you know about this? Have you signed up with Accu-chek? Do they have the right address for you? This is a free meter upgrade and one well worth having.

First off, this thing is FAST. Any time I use my old meter now I get SO impatient!

It's easy - it's just like the last one: stick a strip in, prick, bleed, wait. Even easier, in fact, because you only need a tiny drop of blood and you put it on the bottom of the strip, not the side, so it doesn't matter which hand you're using - no need to hold the meter sideways while doing a balancing act.

The multiclix Lancer is brilliant. A little chunkier than we're used to, but totally worth it. The button could be raised a little more - it seems too 'flat' and harder to find when going by feel. Nonetheless, it's genuinely soft & gentle, I barely feel a thing. You can probably have it on a lower setting than the old pricker, simply because you need less blood. The drums are only a little more expensive and well worthwhile.

NOTE: If you haven't read here already, the Performa meter measures in blood plasma, not whole blood like previous meters. This is apparently what's being used around the world these days as it matches more fairly with lab tests. You will read every so slightly (10 - 12%) higher, but the higher numbers are ok once you get used to them. In fact, for me it seems to make control easier - everything makes more sense now and seems to match how I feel most of the time. (Read what the Joslin Diabetes Centre (American) has to say about it)

The accu-chek Performa is now on the accu-check NZ website, along with a video on how to use it, check it out if you don't mind the voice that talks down to us, and the American accent (could they not make a more kiwi suited one? Maybe I will! 'Stab ya finger there-ish. Squish it. Get a blob. Righto. 5,4,3,2,1... sweeeeeet, she'll be right, mate!')

All in all, I think this meter is wonderful. I do wish they made a bigger deal about the fact that it measures blood plasma though - there are people around the country making dosing decisions based on the results from this meter. What if they unknowingly dose too much? The difference in readings should only be tiny, but when there already other reasons for variations in numbers this can make a big difference. Although I now admit the new meter reads more accurately (according to my own feelings), it could still be a danger to anyone who isn't warned about it.

Happy finger pricking, everyone!

[Edited a longggg time later: I notice that people are finding this blog post with a google search for the Performa Meter... I should point out that after using the meter for a while I was definitely NOT so impressed with it. Now that Accu-chek have fixed the dud strip issue it should be better, but I will never know as I traded mine in for an Optium Xceed, which I am quite happy with. I still use the multi-clix pricker though as it's much nicer to use and doesn't hurt much at all. Just thought I should let people know in case my little blog post was helping people make decisions!]

Update - 26th October 2010: 3 years later! I am now quite happy using a Performa meter alongside my Xceed. All issues were resolved years ago (the early runs of strips for these meters were reading weird, mostly very high) and I'd happily recommend it to anyone.

Going without gluten

How do the Gluten-free do it? I've been vaguely gluten free for a long time, but only vaguely. I avoid it where possible, but If I'm out or can't be bothered I don't mind eating what's offered, or reaching for a bit of toast. It still has to be thin sliced high grain stuff coz I'm picky about carbs & my general health (unless I'm eating chocolate, which is allowed to break all the rules!) but I don't worry about gluten if it's too awkward to get a decent meal without it. I don't mind buying things that have a little bit of gluten hanging around, so long as I'm not eating it often.

But every now & then I try to go totally gluten-free. It's great! I feel lighter & brighter & less hungry & more happy! Partly because gluten-free often means low-carb too, and both of those things are excellent for me.

Trouble is, it's hard to keep up. Today is day 3 of going totally gluten-free. I stuffed up on day one because I got low and all I could think of was a chocolate chip biscuit. I had plenty of other options - fizzy drinks for starters, but a hypo-ing brain is a DUH brain, unfortunately. I ignored my 'failure' with the biscuit and carried on with my GF plans.

Day two was easy, though I almost caved in and had toast for breakfast because we had a mad morning - getting up early and rushing around to get a friend to a hospital appointment. Last night's roast dinner saved me and I had a few slices of cold meat for breakfast. Lunch was more leftovers. Dinner was home made pumpkin soup with grated cheese & bacon on top, with a hash brown on the side. No problem, until the cravings for munchies hit me in the evening...

Even that was sorted quick-smart. I adjusted my caramel slice recipe to make it gluten free, and it was heavenly! A little naughty for the blood sugar but that turned out to be a good thing as my dinner insulin must've been a bit too heavy.

Breakfast this morning was harder still. I didn't have any leftovers, I don't like omelettes and I don't like any other egg breakfasts unless they have toast (egg on it's own is just horrible! Poached eggs with HP sauce, pepper and toast... YUM!!) So I caved in and had Caramel slice for breakfast.

Caramel slice! For Breakfast! EW! At least I managed one more gluten-free meal... but I'm not sure how long my stomach will appreciate this kind of food!

Now it's lunch time. I've been out working in the garden and I feel like a real lunch - normally lunch is a small event for me: an apple, maybe, if I have it at all. I'd like a good fat sandwich! Ah, bread is a no-no. I'll reheat something from the freezer (I often make extra dinner so I can freeze some for those lazy days). What do we have.. hmm... Vegetarian Lasagne, yum! Ah. Pasta. No. OK! Lets see... an apple? Nah that's what I have most days. BORING and not filling enough to satisfy me today. SO urr... GF Caramel slice?

Where's my self control? Here I am having caramel slice for lunch! Still, at least I've avoided the gluten again. *sigh*

The thing that bothers me here is that I KNOW what to do. I have salad stuff in the fridge which is great for low-carb and non-gluten meals. I just didn't feel like it. I normally try to keep some sort of cold meat in the fridge (hard to believe I was a vegetarian for years) to whip up quick meals & snacks. I sometimes have specialty gluten-free foods in the house but they tend to be dry & horrible and high carb, so I don't bother with them often. I am happy to eat apples for lunch and have weird meals - I think half the trick to getting used to low carb or gluten free eating is accepting that a meal doesn't have to be the way you always thought of it. Food is food, no matter what time of day you're eating.

So perhaps later today I'll go on a little shopping trip and see if I can't fill the house with more M-friendly foods. That might keep me away from the evil caramel slice!

What I'd like to be if I ever grow up...

If I should ever grow up, I'd like to do it in style. I'm talking about old age here, and if I should be lucky enough to drag my diabetic body into the later decades, I shall make them the best years of my life!

We had a late mothers day lunch last week - myself, my mother, two Aunts and an Uncle, my Nana and my son. Cool to have four generations in the same room! We got to talking about The Zimmers cover of 'My Generation' and their success at waking the world up a little about the treatment of older people. Here we have a bunch of older people who are proving that age doesn't have to slow us down! I'm impressed.

Nana, who is in her eighties, nodded in wild agreement when someone mentioned the treatment of old people - it seems a lot of people look down on you once you're older. How did that happen? An older person has more experience in life, has a lot to give the world, and we treat them like dense children half the time. Not on!

I've probably been guilty of it myself sometimes. Never with my Nana though - in my eyes she's just Nana and has no age. I suppose knowing someone helps, at least in my case, though if I saw someone her age and didn't know them I may make completely the wrong first impressions. How unfair!

Check out The Zimmers website and see if you want to follow in their footsteps with me - if I keep practising my guitar playing I should know how to play a few chords by the time I'm 80... Let's Party!