How Diabetes Affects Me

I do not have diabetes. I do not know the sting of a needle to keep my blood sugars level. I do not know the stigma of growing up learning how to become a woman and how to deal with a difficult disease. Diabetes does not have a direct impact on my life.


Although diabetes has no control over me, physically, I do feel the tugs at my heart emotionally. My sister has T1D. She has had this disease since she was fourteen years old. I was about to graduate high school when she found out. I remember we used to go school shopping for clothes and the time she tried on a size zero pair of shorts and even those were too big for her. I felt, that at the time, I was a pretty fit person and my clothing was comfortable at a size four. To see my sister waste away with no real cause was really troublesome. She used to carry around a jug of water with her everywhere she went. She was always thirsty, still eating, and getting skinnier by the week.


I was partly relieved when my parents found out she was diabetic. Some might think that as a sibling I might have been jealous of her small size... as teenage girls do tend to compare their bodies... but I wasn't. I truly worried she was getting too thin, too fast, and obviously still eating regularly. It was a relief to know that she wasn't going to die by starvation and that T1D could be dealt with.


It took my sister a while to get used to the medications. The levels were always off. Her meters wouldn't always be correct. She would have some emotional difficulties, as a young teenager, that would throw her levels out of whack. Life is tremendously challenging for any adolescent. Add in the fact that if she doesn't get her blood levels under control, she could go into a coma or die. That must've been a very frightening thought.


I have to admit I don't know as much about T1D as I should. I have just recently learned how to really communicate with my sister. Eleven years later, after her initial diagnosis, and we can finally find a reason to relate. She doesn't seem to see me as the "unaffected one who doesn't understand" anymore. I'm learning to realize that while she may put off the sense that she's got diabetes under control, that she really does need support. She needs to know I worry about her. I want to know how her doctor appointments go and if things are improving. I want to know more about T1D. I feel, as her sister, I do owe that to her.


I strive to continue in my journey to show my sister my support and love for her. I don't want to always talk about her disease because that is not all she is. She is a loving, sweet, thoughtful, beautiful person inside and out. I would rather talk about those things, but sometimes we do need to speak of the major part of her life, T1D. It is no longer a skeleton in our closet. It's a part of both of our lives because diabetes does affect me.

http://www.fightingtheunseen.com
http://tudiabetes.com

Diabetes Free

On a positive note to my day, I found out during my doctor visit that I do not have Gestational Diabetes. I took the three hour torture test two weeks ago and found out that all of my numbers were within normal range. I'm really glad to hear that. Goodness knows, I'm loving the chocolate cravings I've been getting lately. It would be a shame to have to give that up. But, I have been good.. I've switched my nightly bowl of icecream for Malt O Meal chocolate puffs with marshmallow.. This way I can have my treat, but not all the fat.

So that's my small dose of good news.

Glucose Girl & the Numb Butt

I took the day off yesterday to get my blood work done. Sounds like an easy day off, right? Wrong. It was the longest morning of my life!!

I had to fast from midnight the night before until my morning appointment. Luckily mine was at 8AM, but that didn't mean that they would be ready for me. I had to get the glucose levels tested for Gestational Diabetes. I've already taken a one hour test and failed it by just 16 points. This was a three hour test. Yay, me. This was going to be a torturous morning!

I arrived on time with a couple minutes to spare. I signed in, handed over my paperwork, and waited. And waited. After what seemed like three hours, I was called back to get started. My belly already started its morning rumble. My first tube of blood was drawn.. That wasn't so bad.. The technician handed me a bottle of Orange. It wasn't juice, it wasn't soda, it was just Orange. I had to chug it within five minutes. Sounds easy, doesn't it? It tasted like orange cough syrup; it was not easy. Especially on a very cranky and empty stomach! I told myself it was a liquor shot. I used to drink the grossest alcoholic drinks (before I was pregnant, of course!) and with no problem. This was harder because I knew I wasn't going to get a buzz.

It was already 8:30AM. Oy! I had to get my blood drawn three more times; once an hour. That means that I won't be eating any food til at least noon! I sat in the waiting room and was overwhelmed by people dressed in stale cigarette smoke and strong perfume. Okay, the wooziness was setting in. I found a 3 month old Parenting magazine and tried to focus on all the pretty babies. I tried to distract myself by texting on my cell phone. I hoped that would make the time pass.

It finally did. It was 9:30! I looked up and sent my subliminal message that an hour had passed. I overheard, "it's time for the Glucose Girl to get her blood drawn". Yup, that was me, Glucose Girl.

Back in my blood chair the technician pushed a needle in my arm. No problem... if I look away while it's going in, I don't notice the pain. Then I don't mind looking at the blood going into the tube. So I looked, and there wasn't any blood yet. What the hell? She started to move the needle around, in search of veins. OUCH!! She kept shifting the needle around, looking for gold. It was not going to happen for her. She apologized and tried my left arm. Yay. Luckily, when I looked away and then back at the tube, my precious red was flowing. Yippee. By this time, I swear my hand was turning purple. I started to see the world get floaty. I suppose that was the time the pure sugar I had the hour before was kicking in. Just about as soon as I notice the wavy surroundings, I felt my foot tap to a beat of its own. Yup, the sugar rush had officially started.

With this new energy, I was sent back to the lobby to wait another hour before my needle poke. I never felt so uncomfortable! I have decided that waiting three hours on an empty stomach with a baby kicking around in the belly would be the perfect form of torture! I felt Brady kick to his special beat; the one where he kicks the crap out of my cervix. He was probably as antsy as I was. I hadn't fed him since the night before. I repositioned myself and once again gagged on strong, over-priced perfume that hung in my nose from the stench in the room.

10:30 finally arrived and I went back for my third tube of blood. I complained to the technician that it really seemed unfair that a pregnant lady has to go through this. She told me that she had a woman who failed her first one-hour test by one point and had to do the three-hour test. One point! The technician and I agreed that if they had just told us to fast for the one-hour test, our results would be more accurate! I personally can smell a conspiracy. If they find that I do, in fact, have gestational diabetes, then this won't be all moot. But I have a feeling they won't find much more than the fact that I had Orange juice before my original testing appointment. Note to self: fast before first screening to avoid this experience in the future.

I was able to muddle through and survive the sugar crash before my final extractment at 11:30. It was so hard to not just pull up a chair and spread out and sleep. I almost asked if it would be okay to go to my car and nap. I survived though. The last vial taken, and I was a free woman! I called Kyle, told him to get ready, we were going to McDonald's!! What, did you expect something nutritious? Preggers needed some food NOW!

Goodness Gracious Gestational Diabetes

I had to test for gestational diabetes on Friday. It was an hour test and I got 155 and it should have been 139. So now I have to take a three hour test and fast prior to it starting at midnight the night before. Yuck. I hope I don't have gestational diabetes but I did hear that it is common in pregnancies and that it goes away after the birth.

The baby has a heartrate of 144 bpm which is right in the middle of the range he should be in :) I'm growing as I should, blood pressure is low, and my iron is good. Which is all good.

I had a bit of orange juice with my breakfast before my appointment and wondered if maybe I caused my blood sugar to be higher because of it. I was not told to fast, only to avoid foods with added sugar. I suppose that orange juice might be considered an added sugar drink. So I asked my sister, who has been living with diabetes since childhood, about it. This is what she had to say:

Gestational diabetes is really common and it does go away after pregnancy- typically within a couple of months. If you are positive for it, your baby will be plumper than average, but nothing really bad happens with it.

Since you have type 1 in your family, you have a tendency to contract some type of diabetes in your lifetime. If you are positive for gestational diabetes, you will most likely get type 2 in late adulthood.

Good news: 139 vs 155 is NOT REALLY THAT BIG A DEAL. i'd be concerned if you were in the 200s. I can test my blood at 5:50 and get 120, but test it at 5:51 and get 132 from the same finger and the same blood sample. Blood meters are usually about 20 mgl off at a time. Which is scary, but true.

I wouldn't worry so much. I would def get tested again- just to make sure nothing happens with your baby- but I wouldn't worry too much about it.

oh, and yes, OJ will do it. It is the highest sugar content in all the juices (natural sugar counts too). take a look at the carbs and the sugars underneath!

However, a normal human will digest all consumption within 2 hours. 2 hours after you eat, you should have a glucose around 100 or less.

So after her pointers I was relieved. I am still anxious about how I am going to survive a three hour test... Will I die from pure boredom? I was told you should try to eat every few hours to help your baby thrive. How are they going to make me go from midnight the night before without eating, and then drink a nasty sugary drink, and not have any food for three hours? This just seems like cruel and unusual punishment!!