Back in the good (?) 'ol days...
Most diabetic blogs and bloggers seems to come from the US. That's not so surprising. After all it is the birthplace of the internet, where there has been the most IT innovations and the largest English speaking country. However, for me it is also good to hear from someone living in Europe. Cassie from Belgium, I therefore appreciated your comments. And oh - also I am planning to move to Belgium this summer:) I will move to Leuven which is only half an hour from Brussels. I will attend the 12 month MBA programme at Vlerick Leuven Management School.
Cassie also wrote some questions about doctors and how the remote services from a US Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE) works for me. I do have a doctor in Paris, but I use him only to write prescriptions. He is great at that;) He is also a likeable chap.
Doctors have (almost) always disappointed me when it comes to helping my diabetes. The only exception was some of the endicronologists I met when I lived in the US. It is a complicated disease/system to control, and the general doctors - and most specialists - I have been in contact with in my 26 years as a diabetic, have neither had the time nor the knowledge to help finetune a lifestyle of living with diabetes with insulin, carbs and exercise. It takes lots of time, energy and empathy from someone.
With a diabetes remote consulting service (Gary Scheiner and Integrated Diabetes), I feel I have someone that has the expertise, and that takes the time needed to do the finetuning. I also find empathy and understanding that I ususually do not see in non-diabetics. One example is the last endocrinologist I saw in Paris. He wanted to take my pump away and put me on lantus / humalog shots. Clearly, that is what *he* felt comfortable with. I felt comfortable dropping him, and the hospital (thank goodness I had a choice!)
The consultations with Integrated Diabetes happens once a month over the phone, and in addition I can email him logsheets or questions if I have something I want their feedback / input on. This adds another convenience: no time spent in waiting rooms. Oh man, do I have stories about that. I must have spent months in waiting rooms. The longest was in Norway back in the '80s. There we had no choice of doctors. The hospitals were socialist controlled - no freedom to choose either a hospital, nor a doctor. Independent doctors/hospitals were illegal, so there was no CDE equivalent. Doctors in the state hospital were semi-randomly assigned, which for me meant a new doctor at every visit. The wait was typically between 2 hours and 4 hours in order to meet a doctor for 10 minutes to half an hour. Oh well, at least it gave me a doctor's note to take off from school for the day. I'd simply arrive 2 hours late and with a book...
New logsheet
I now have used the new simple logsheet for 4 days. I decided to review my logsheets every Sunday morning. Even, with this simpler system it will need some willpower. I like sleeping. I also like playing with my kids / wife. But as I see it, this should not be a question of one or the other. I plan to do both. Will it stand the "tests of time"? I don't know, but so far so good...
This is what it looks like for me after the first 4 day review:
I have the following observations:
1) 9 lows, 15 "normals" and 6 highs.
2) Some are due to other factors than the carb bolusing & basal rates. Carb guessing is a big variable for me. I added a "comments" column to the sheet to reflect this.
3) My post breakfast looks a bit low and my pre dinner a bit high. I'll wait to do any adjustments until next week, when I have more data...
Logsheets (part 4)
I talked to my CDE about my logging. Or rather my lack of logging.
We agreed on me using a different, much simpler, logsheet. The idea is to spot the trends in my values instead of tracking all the things that happens. I will therefore only log my BG values, and for now drop writing up food, exercise and other values.
Oh, and I should alsoo let you know that my CDE is Gary Scheiner. He is a T1 diabetic himself, and his remote services at
integrated diabetes is something I strongly recommend if you are looking for expert advice!
Newcomer...
I have a son!
He arrived on the 6th of May, and he is in good shape, weighting in at 3600 grams and 51 cm.
Both he and my wife are doing OK, and we are so very happy to have him with us.
Another reason to reduce the damage of diabetes on my life...
Continues Glucose Monitoring System (aka 'Yippee')
I feel so very happy: I just received the news that I will get my hands on a CGMS system: the
DEXCOM STS system. Yippee! I have hoped for this for at least a year!
What can I do with one of these babies? Well for starters I plan to:
1) set the low alarm. If this baby works it will warn me every time I go below 80mg/dl. A life saver.
2) set the high alarm. Can I say goodbye to enduring blood glucose levels above 200?
3) analyze rises in BG levels after each meal. How long before my breakfast
pain au chocolate should I bolus to avoid a spike?
4) get readings on the fly to verify if I am in the OK. Furthermore I will see if I am heading towards the non-OK. This CGMS has a 1 hour, 3 hour and a 9 hour graph.
5) get high or low alarms during the night... One of my favourite bands,
Cake, sings "when you sleep, where do your fingers go? " For me it is "when I sleep, where do my BGs go"?
I don't know exactly when it will arrive but I can't wait!! I'll keep you posted...
Logsheets (part 3)
Since my last post I have received a few comments and I really appreciate it!
Megan, thanks for your ideas! I do sometimes enter the carb information in my Ultrasmart. And by the way: Ultra-smart!?! What marketing whiz came up with that? The machine is about as smart as a toaster oven. I like this meter, it is fast and efficient, and it lets you enter useful data. But it is not smart. For periods I enter what I can (carbs, insulin, exercise). However, I am currently not doing it. The reason? I get tired of all the button pushing in order to enter data. I also find it restricted in that I cannot enter any notes (for example: "bicycled for 45 minutes" or "low caused by delay between bolus and dinner"). In addition, it does not have a nutrition database.
Here's one idea for the company in order to put some "IQ" into the machine: put a bolus wizard in it. At least then there is few or no buttons to push to enter the insulin dose. In addition, a wizard could be of help to many diabetics out there.
Scott, great suggestions! I looked at "my other checkbook" and I like the size it comes in. One of the problems I have with my current log sheets is that they are in single sheet A4 format. Not exactly the best for carrying with me... Just like you I am principally against logging on paper. It is such a waste NOT to enter things digitally. When it is in a digital format you can do so many cool things with it!
Even a bigger waste is that my meter does not talk to my pump, my pump does not talk to my PC , my PC software does not print out useful logs, and none of the systems I have contains
all the info I want. It's quite surprising considering we are in the 21st century. Even more surprising is that there must be many (hundreds of thousands?) of geeky diabetics out there hungry to buy. I wonder what is holding back the medical companies from finding a customer oriented solution?
Could it be the same reasons of why my MM512 pump does not talk to my PC? In this case the reason is not that the engineers do not know how to implement it. They do. And in addition they have created it. Instead it lies with Medtronic and the regulatory affairs in Europe. Medtronic do not want to sell the software to me because I currently live in France instead of the US. They do not want to pay the price of approving it here, providing customer support etc.
So Megan, for my next pump I am also considering getting an Animas or a Cozmo!
