Another post inspired by Diabetes Blog Week; today: one thing I could be doing better.

I had my second appointment with my endocrinologist today, and it went really well. He was happy with my numbers and where I’m at, but he taught me something new which has me more motivated to lock things down a bit more.

A few months in, now, I’m not taking any insulin most days. I am apparently still definitely a type 1, not really LADA, but even then a special case. My numbers have been where they need to be, but I’ve certainly been more resistant to using my insulin pen than I should. My homework, then, is to settle down a bit with the pushups and do a bit better with the needles. I’m also going to be working on my technique a bit, since I manage to draw blood more often than not. XP this diabetes, I will.

Day 2 of the Diabetes Blog Week is about one great thing you or your loved one does about diabetes.

Drew got out there before me, writing about the support he gets from his partner. I was nodding my head a lot while reading that post, because I really cannot imagine going through any part of the past few months without Allison. She jumped right in, too, and has been there with me at every step of the way, reading everything in sight and watching out for me in every way possible. Even now as I have a better handle on everything I still feel safer and more relaxed with her around.

I’m going to violate the rules a bit again and mention a second great thing, which also wouldn’t have been possible without Allison’s support: exercise. I’ve generally been an active person, though it was never a very consistent thing; I’d have months where I’d walk more, and then others where I’d be mostly sitting on the couch. Lately I’ve been doing a lot of yoga, stretching, walking, and general exercise; all with her support and encouragement. Even though exercise is more often a “type 2″ topic, it honestly is just as important for everyone, type 1, 2, and non-diabetics alike.

I haven’t written about the ‘beetus for a bit, now, though I’ve seen some posts about the 3rd annual Diabetes Blog Week and I want to take part.

Today’s assignment is to “Find a Friend,” to highlight a personal blog about diabetes. My recommendation is to Dex and the City, one of the first diabetic blog I found after meeting the author at a local diabetic gathering. She has some great posts, and she led me to find a whole lot of other diabetics on Twitter.

Twitter

I understand this post is supposed to be singular; a friend, rather than friends. Even so, I’d like to point out that Twitter is an unbelievably cool resource for diabetics. There are a number of hashtags out there. Some I like to check are:

• #bgnow — posts about a current blood glucose level
• #doc — diabetic online community

Also on Twitter there’s #DSMA Chat Wednesdays at 9pm EST. There are a lot of people who participate and it’s a great place to find other diabetics.

#reddit-diabetes

I’m not on reddit all that often, but it does have a wonderful diabetic community at /r/diabetes. There’s a fair amount of traffic on the site, and the IRC channel is generally well populated.

Indeed. Goes about as well for an adult with Type 1.

I set a new record for myself today: my highest reading was 145mg/dL without taking any insulin. It’s bizarre how much my internal chemistry has changed in the past few months. I had started out with about 40 units per day, back in December, and am now getting better levels by taking zero and being more active.

Ramp up

The flip side is that I have been able to get somewhere near 60% of my usual activity level a year or two ago. I practiced martial arts for years, and then did a fair number of hours on the elliptical shortly after that. I still really enjoy Pilates, walking, and basic band and strength exercise, though at some point I want to re-enter that level of a cardiovascular routine.

Food good

In the past couple months I have eaten more healthily than I ever have in my life. I’m currently on a regimen of having 75 grams of carbohydrates per meal. I also am having at least two snacks per day, each at 30 grams. I’m seeing a nutritionist for the first time next week, so I may have to re-balance by eating more and perhaps then more (some) insulin.

More importantly, I’m getting rather used to having lots of fruits and vegetables. It does take a lot of work and there’s more trips to the grocery store. On the other hand, learning which basic ingredients go well together goes a long way in making a tasty meal without messing around with spices or sauces or any of that.

Type X

One of the hard parts for me to come to terms with is in what “Type” of diabetic I am. At this point it looks like I’m closest to the LADA designation, though as with art and life it’s best to not tie too closely to a label. I am positive for GAD but none of the other anti-bodies.

My C-peptide was very low but not zero, and through everything I understand I’m personally most interested in how this number will change over time. I have not had my insulin resistance tested, though at current it seems I’m very much on the sensitive side of the scale.

Learning to love the insulin bomb

In the past month or so, increasing my activity has been a bit rough. I did go from zero to 4 to 6 units per day by having a very strict count on how many steps I took during the day. Anxiety was not exactly my friend during that process. I then walked back down to zero without ever really having my levels spike. I got there, but it was rough.

Insulin will drop your glucose levels, which makes it dangerous to use your muscles that much re: hypoglycemia. I’ve had enough of that to last me a while, though now that I’m at zero I can see the insulin more as what it is: medicine, something to help you rather than make you sit still.

Objectively this all certainly makes sense at the outset. Being there and living it is another story, and I can see where diabetics could get tired of it all would just want to take less, let their levels rise up, and be further away from the shaky dragons.

I consider myself a smart enough person, and even after putting a lot of thought and effort into all of it, balancing everything to get lower average levels can be a tricky task. Still, the insulin which can blow you up is also there to help you out; it’s a mantra worth repeating.

December 6th, 2011 was a Tuesday, and at 8:12pm I got the call from the lab technician. Diabetes, for sure, with a blood glucose reading of 453 and a bicarbonate reading of 9. At the time I was experiencing diabetic ketoacidosis, which was the scariest and most uncomfortable medical condition I’ve ever encountered.  I can’t say I was excited to hear the verdict, the infamous D word, but in a sense I was relieved.  Everything that had been wrong with me in the past couple months had a reason, and there was going to be a clear path for recovery.

Diagnosis

As a Type 1, the consensus is that there was nothing I could have done to prevent my current condition. It’s more rare that it showed up at age 28, as it used to be termed “juvenile” diabetes, though I’ve heard a number of stories of people my age and older who were diagnosed.

Type 1 is in some ways the opposite of Type 2.  With Type 1, my pancreas no longer produces insulin, which the body needs in order to process carbohydrates.  Type 2 is when the body can (generally) produce the insulin, but not successfully utilize it.

Reset

I’ve told a number of people about my condition, now, and I’m getting used to the wide eyes that show up when the other party hears the word.  It took me a long while to write this post, since it’s quite possibly going to be the first way people find out.

It’s a bit more than a month now, and the answer to the first question is that I am in fact OK. I’m doing the insulin injections every day, and keeping track of my glucose levels, food, and exercise very closely. There is a lot to living with Diabetes, but with the motivation it’s entirely doable.  I’m also a numbers guy, which is a big help in not letting it affect other aspects of my life.

I hope to write more both about my experience and about the tricks I’m continually learning in navigating these new waters.  Until then,