I am feeling better now. With a little dose of last night's American Idol, some Dr. Pepper (thank again Cari!) and lots of hugs from the kids the day seemed to settle down a bit.
I wanted to share some information about the Princess' Endocrinologist appointment today. I had a little list of things that I felt we needed to talk to him about (crazy that I had a list because we still talk to him every Thursday afternoon). Nothing too major but enough to seem important.
The poor girl has started wetting the bed again. This is due to high blood sugars during the night. But she was going to bed normal then waking up high. I figured her Lantus dose needed to be changed again and I was right. The doctor changed it to 1/2 of a unit (such a small amount I know! It was 1/4 of a unit) This is really hard to watch. For many reasons but one being that she can't control it. She gets so embarrassed. I wonder how high she had been going before she woke up. Maybe I need to be better about getting up and testing her in the middle of the night. I do occasionally, but not every night. I wonder what percentage of parents that have diabetic children get up and test in the night? Guess I need to be one of them.
She had also been going low before lunch. Now I figured this could be due to the correction that is given for her high at breakfast. Or it could be that she needed less insulin for her breakfast ratio. She was getting 1/4 of unit for every 5 carbs. The doctor changed it to 1/4 unit for every 6. Now every meal is different. Breakfast 1/4 to every 6 carbs. Lunch 1/4 unit for every 5 carbs. And dinner 1/4 unit for every 4 carbs. If it weren't for my white board on my fridge and my calculator I don't know how I would ever survive! With the change in Lantus and the change in carb ratio I feel I am going to have to watch her closely. I am afraid that the two combined might cause some problems. Good thing I will talk to her doctor on Thursday again if that happens.
One other major thing on our minds lately is getting her an insulin pump. We had been given information about it at our first appointment a few months ago, but knew they were very expensive. I had told Dr. Chad that we wanted to talk about it today to see if we could get one for lots less while we had Medicaid. So what do you know when we showed up today he had a large stuffed frog for her that had a tag around his neck that said Animus. (the kind of pump that he is recommending) He even had pictures of a PINK pump that she might be able to get. He knows how to steal the heart of a 4 year old! He answered lots of my questions about it while she played. I really didn't think she was paying much attention until she started asking Dr. Chad questions herself. Will it hurt? Will I get less pokes? Can I really get a pink one? I was surprised to see her thinking so much about it. She was getting excited too! I will be calling the pump rep tomorrow to see what we can do and how much it will cost to get the ball rolling on this. I bet it will make life much easier!
So to report she is doing well. Her A1C (average glucose numbers over the last 3 months) is 8.3%. Not the greatest, but coming down from diagnosis. She went through a pretty big growth spurt this last month (should have known when she was eating double the amount of food as she usually does.) She is a happy kid! She is still doing so well with all this.
Even with doing so awesome you should have seen her eyes light up when she found out tonight that Nick from the Jonas Brother's has diabetes JUST LIKE HER! Oh those small things again! Can't believe how much they make a difference!
6 comments:
YAYYYYYY! Sounds like things are going great for you all :) We've been doing middle of the night checks for a while now. Just when I think it's safe to sleep through a check then her sugars go haywire! So we're back to setting the alarm for 2am :)
Oh Shannon,you are such a good mom! What a trial you have all been given! But good moms just do whatever it takes to keep their kids safe and healthy!Let me know if I can ever help! xoxo (We're good FREE babysitters over here!)
I hope her numbers will get better for you! It's always a balancing act, isn't it? Just so you know, we never get up in the middle of the night to check Nate. He's still in the honeymoon phase so it's a little more manageable...for now. I hope you can get the pump soon then we can see how it works. Our doc said maybe the end of this year. His doses are still too small. Oh well. Our girls also love that one of the Jonas bros. has diabetes. Nate still talks about Brooklyn. Let's do something soon! Angie
I'm glad you're hanging in there. Its amazing what some quality "zone out" time and our favorite treat can do for our spirits!
Been checking my son's sugars every single night for over 3 years... sleep deprivation you gotta love it. And, my son has also been on the Animas for almost 3 years. We really like it.
Hi! I just came across your blog today somehow (noticed it because of the diabetes link). In my case it is my husband who is diabetic but he has had a few episodes of bedwetting since being diagnosed (he was age 24 years) and he had been so embarrassed and distressed that he will not even tell his endocrinologist about it. After reading it here I feel like maybe I can convince him to mention it at his next appointment. I cannot imagine having a child with diabetes but from your writing I can tell you are an amazing & strong woman. Thank you for sharing your words with me. Even though it applies on a different level, you just don't know how much you have helped me today. I think for this reply I better stay anonymous, my hubby probably wouldn't like me announcing his above mentioned issue to the whole world. But thanks!!!
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