Don’t we all love hearing that sentence!  Tristan has gotten really good at recognizing his lows.  He feels them now and is able to tell us.  Most of the time, he is correct.  Sometimes he says that he feels like his sugars are dropping when he’s actually high.

A situation has been happening lately and I would really like to have some insights from adults with diabetes.  Any info that you could give me would be much appreciated.

Scenario

Tristan will come and tell us that he feels low.  We will check his blood sugar and the result will be good.  Last time that this happened, his blood sugar was 110.  When we tell him that his blood sugar is fine he has a melt down telling us that he feels low and he wants something to correct it.  However, looking at the number, I can’t justify correcting him.  He’s not low.  I don’t know what to do in this situation.

- Could he be feeling a low before it actually happens?

- Could he be feeling low because his blood sugar dropped quickly?

- How about when he’s says that he feels low but his blood sugar is actually high… are the symptoms that similar that he wouldn’t be able to tell them apart?

If you can help me understand what his going on in his body, I would really appreciate it!  I’m at a lost here…. especially since he woke me up twice last night because he said he felt low.

So this week, both of my kids had me laughing…… I mean really laughing so I wanted to share.

When: Yesterday

Where: Connor’s bedroom

Guilty party: Connor (3 years old)

Scene: I had just woke him up from his nap.  I had him on the floor to change his diaper…. he’s not potty trained yet… yes I know it’s horrible…. yes we are working on it…. yes I’ve put underwear on him and then cleaned up the mess… yes I’m using a timer…. look the kid is resisting! :)  Anyways…. so I’m about to change his diaper… I pull the straps off and WOW we got a little pee “hard on”.  He notices at the same time as I do… here is our conversation

Connor: Mommy (hand reaching for the ummmmmmmmm affected area LOL :)) there’s something wrong with it

Me: No honey there’s nothing wrong with it, you just need to go pee, come on let’s go to the bathroom

We take a trip to the bathroom, he, of course, pees.  Back in his room, on the floor as I’m putting his new diaper on

Connor: Mommy there’s still something wrong with it

Me: There is????  Well what do you think is wrong with it?

Connor: I don’t know, it’s a monster!

LMFAO!!!!!

When: Today

Where: Our car

Guilty party: Tristan (6 years old)

Scene: We had just put gas in the car.  Tristan was trying to say the word pollutant but he couldn’t pronounce it well.  So we were correcting him and trying to help him say it properly.  Alls of that was because he was trying to tell us that gas was a pollutant.  Here is the conversation.

Tristan: So gas indicates a pollutant.  And pollutant indicates pollution.  And pollution indicates gas!  OHHHHHHHHHH you see it’s a cycle

Adam and I: ummmmmmmmmmm

Tristan: So what does indicate mean anyways!

LMFAO

Silly kids!  We are all busy with work and life and kids and husbands/wife…. but you know what?  These are the best years.  Enjoy your kid’s innocence.  Once it’s gone… it’s gone!

So this morning I realized that Tristan’s D-Anniversary is coming up soon.  In March it will be 5 years that Tristan has been living with diabetes.  While I was taking a shower I was still thinking about…. cause you know I can’t sing….. and this is what I thought about.

D= Death you will NOT cause

I = Immortal you are

A = Adamant we are

B = Brave we are

E = Empowered we are

T = Tenacious we are

E = Endurance we have

S = Successful we will be

Diabetes has been around for a long time.  But since it’s been “diagnosed” it hasn’t changed.  It hasn’t mutated or become stronger or anything.  On the other hand we have found ways to fight back.  We have become better and more efficient.  Diabetes’ got nothing on us…. oh well ya except the fact that it’s incurable!  :)  So the only power that it has is the fact that we can’t cure it.  Big power I know.  But I vote that from now on we refer to it as DABETES!  Let’s remove that immortal part!

What say you ladies and gentlemen of the jury?

I’m depressed today!  I feel like crying and I wouldn’t be able to explain why.  Well I know why but the why doesn’t make sense.  Do you know what I mean?  Let me explain.

The past couple of days a lot of people mentioned how they were told, when their child was diagnosed with diabetes, that there would be a cure within the next 10 years.  We were also told that when Tristan was diagnosed at 16 months.  One person that made a comment on a blog said her parents were told this also when she was diagnosed.  She has now been living with diabetes for 22 years!

I think that deep down I always knew that it probably wasn’t going to happen.  But still….. I wanted to believe that it would happen.  I know that it’s silly but I feel a great lost today.  Maybe I’m just tired!

I just wanted it.  I wanted it so bad!  I wanted Tristan to experience childhood without diabetes.  I guess in the past 5 years it has become my dream.  It’s hard to let go of one’s dream!

Oh I want to kick diabetes’ ass!  If I could get away with it I think that I would throw myself on the floor and have a big old temper tantrum!  Think I can get away with it? :)  I think not so I will pick myself up and act like an adult… not that I want to!

I don’t think that I will ever stop hoping for a cure but from now on, I will keep that feeling buried way way down!

Oh and one more thing…. GO TO HELL DIABETES!  You may have won a few rounds…. but the war ain’t over!

Back in November of 2009 Shamae published a letter that was written in her local paper.  The letter, which you can read here, was a complaint directed at a family whose little boy injected himself with something while eating at Burger King.

On January 5th 2010 Kelly shared on her blog an situation that she experienced while at the gym.

Both situations are different but still somewhat similar.  So I’m going to address them both at the same time.

clearing of throat…..

Dear Idiot 1 and Idiot 2,

How dare you?  Do you have any idea how ridiculous you are?  Have you no shame?

Both of you talked about sanitary conditions…. excuse me?  Idiot 2, you are in a public establishment coughing up a lung, not covering your mouth… putting all those germs in the air for others to breath… yes that’s very sanitary.  Idiot 1, that applies to you to.  How can you even suggest that this little boy gives himself an injection in a public bathroom?  Come on!

Idiot 2 have some respect.  Mind your own freaking business.  It’s a good thing that you have no decision power.  Because based on your comment, if you had a choice, you would make all diabetic people go to the emergency room when they need to check their blood sugar?  WOW!  Maybe you should make a visit to the emergency room…. maybe they have some common sense that they can transplant into you!  Alright idiot 1, go away, I’m done with you!

Idiot 2 however I am not done with you…. not by a long shot.  You said “That sort of business should be done in private. How about a little respect for those around you” So if in your opinion this “sort of business” should be done in private does that mean that a diabetic should never be allowed in public?  Because I mean diabetes is unpredictable… there is no set schedule, no map.  Things happen that requires a diabetic to either check his/her blood sugar and/or inject insulin.

Actually I have one better for you…. would you be more comfortable if we had a “special place” just for diabetics?  Would it make you feel better if you didn’t have to share a space with them?  You know this reminds me of something…. can’t quite put my finger on it yet oh well….

You also said “ …..you have no idea how something like that can affect people. People go through a lot in their life and things like that may bring up certain feelings and memories best forgotten”  Wow you have feelings?  You could have fooled me.  You sure as hell don’t act like somebody who has feelings.  Oh I’m sorry getting off track here.  You are right, we don’t know what people go through in life.  Just like you don’t know what this family goes through EVERY SINGLE DAY!  I do and I can tell you that it’s not fun.  So shut the hell up!  If watching a little boy inject himself with insulin to stay alive offends you that much or brings back that many painful memories do you know what?  Seek professional help.

Would you have felt the same way if it would have been a cancer patient who had no hair because of chemotherapy treatments?  What about a person with Parkinson disease?  Would you have felt the same way?  Or maybe somebody in a wheel chair…. I’m sure that would have offended you or your girlfriend.  If not you then maybe it would have offended somebody else right?

So ok, maybe then we should make sure that the diabetics stay in their own “special space” and then, we can send the cancer patients to another “special space” and then we will have a “special space” for people who suffer from Parkinson disease, and then….. WOW you see how quickly this gets…. oh wait I will let Titus finish that sentence for me….. it’s called segregation!  It was banned in the US in the 1960s.

Wait a minute…. how did Hitler get started?  What was he trying to do?

You know Mr. Barber…. I mean idiot 1 if it was your daughter or your son, you would change your tune very quickly.  Actually I really hope that you and girlfriend never reproduce.  I wouldn’t want another human being having your values.

So in closing…. Idiot 1 and Idiot 2 you both make me sick.  You are both sorry excuses for human beings.  You have no compassion.  You should be on your knees begging for forgiveness from the people that you have wronged.  Please educate yourself in 2010!

To the people who stood up to those bullies…. thank you!  From the bottom of my heart thank you!  Because of your actions hopefully my son won’t have to deal with too many idiots when he grows up!

Some of you may know that a few weeks before Christmas my Salter scale broke.  Unfortunately something fell on it and it stopped working.

This was a huge problem.  We use our scale for a lot of things when it comes to managing Tristan’s diabetes.

Adam went online and found the Kitrics Digital Nutrition Scale.  It had some good reviews plus it had 99 more food codes.  Another thing that we liked is that it show the nutritional information just like on packaged food.

So what you will find below is my opinion of both scales.  This is based on my experience with both and my needs for the scale.

Kitrics Digital Nutrition Scale

Nice features:

- The nutritional information is presented just like packaged food;

- 999 already programmed food codes and the possibility of adding another 99 of your own food codes;

- The book is laminated which really nice in a kitchen

When the scale was delivered I was so excited.  We had gone a little over 1 week without our “normal” scale and we found it very difficult.  So yes, for me that was the excitement for that day.

Well my excitement was very short lived! :(  Some of the negative comments from other buyers were because of the lack of backlight on the scale and the beeping sound that it made.  Honestly those things didn’t bother me one little bit.  However, this scale did not meet our needs at all.  Yes it has 999 food codes.  But most of them we don’t use.  One of the things that we use the scale for is Mac & Cheese.  This scale did not offer that option.  It had macaroni….. dry!  Honestly what am I going to do with that?  It didn’t have mashed potatotes, it didn’t have mac & cheese but on the other hand it had a lot of different meats.  Doesn’t help me.

Salter Scale

We were first introduced to the Salter Scale about 1 year ago by the dietician in Tristan’s diabetes team.  We fell in love with it the moment that we started using it.  This Salter scale is not as fancy as the Kitrics.  But it is more suited to our needs.  It offers 900 food codes.  The plate is removable so that you can put it in the dishwasher.  It has Mac & Cheese!!!!  And mashed potatoes and rice.  We can actually use this scale to help us figure out carbs in a dinner.

I love this scale!

After realizing that the Kitrics Scale just didn’t meet our needs we ordered our “old” “new” salter scale.  It arrived today.  I’m excited and so is Tristan.  We have been avoiding Mac & Cheese…. now he can have it again.

We purchased our Kitrics Scale from Amazon for the price of $44.95

We purchased both of our Salter Scale from Cutlery and More for the price of $29.95

It just goes to show, more money doesn’t always mean better!  If you are the parent of a diabetic child I highly recommend using a Salter Scale to help you plan your child’s meal and to get accurate carbohydrate.  I love mine and I don’t want to go without again!

I am going to keep the Kitrics scale as a back up in case our Salter Scale gets broken again and we need to order a new one.  The Kitrics scale is a nice scale it’s jut not appropriate for our diabetes needs!

When Tristan was first diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes I was at a lost.  I had no idea what I was doing or what would happen from 1 minute to the next.  The first few months after diagnostic were extremely hard.

One of the things that I longed for was somebody to talk to who understood what I was going through.  I found some websites but honestly, they didn’t meet my needs.  I didn’t get that sense of support.

Leighann, another D-Mom, created a new website called D-Mom Blog the sweet life with a diabetic child.  It’s a great site full of resources.  This site will be fantastic for newly diagnosed families but also for those of us who have been around the block a few times!

If you haven’t checked out her site yet, I highly recommend that you do!  Leighann is a fantastic person and I know that her blog will be amazing.  I wish you a lot of success with your new website Leighann!  I will be a regular visitor that’s for sure!

Make sure to follow Leighann on Twitter!

We have been so busy lately that I haven’t had time to blog about anything!  So I figure that it would be appropriate for my first post of the new year to be about wishing all of you all the best for the year to come.  I wish you all health, happiness and everything else that you desire.

Looking back at 2009 I can honestly say that it was a good year.  My mom remained cancer free which is great.  Adam and I remained employed which I am grateful for.  I know that with the economy a lot of people were not as fortunate as us.  The boys have been healthy and happy.  We got to see some of our dear friends which was priceless.

Looking forward to 2010 there are a few things that I would like to see happen:

1) A cure for diabetes! (yes I know it won’t happen but hey, I can hope :))

2) A promotion for Adam and I (hoping for a raise in salary, advancement, vacation and maybe different hours)

3) Adam has been working on different ideas for his podcast (current and future) and I hope that this year brings him everything that he wants in that aspect

4) I want my whole family and my friends to remain healthy

5) I would like to license my idea

6) I would like a new project.  Not sure what yet but something new and exciting would be nice!

7) Happiness

8 ) I would like to continue to establish relationships with other D families.  I would also like to meet new D families

9) Better control of Tristan’s diabetes, better A1C

10) Something new…… excitement, something different, something out of the routine!

I haven’t been able to write lately but I do have at least 4 posts coming up.  So stay tune!

A very wonderful person gave me this award.  Thank you Shamae!  If you don’t know who Shamae is, you should really get to know her.  Check out her blog!  You won’t be disappointed!

If you are like me, you are often too busy to sit down and really think about things that you love.  This gave me the opportunity to list 5 things that I love.  So here we go….

1) My family/friends: They are the most important thing in my life!  My husband Adam can be a pain in my butt at times but I love him! :)  He always supports me and has my back.  He may not always agree with me but he has my back no matter what!  My children…. I don’t think that I could love anybody more than I love those 2 boys.  They make me want to be a better person.  My friends for being who they are.  They are such an important part of who I was, who I am now and who I will become.

2) Working from home: It’s winter, it’s cold, there’s snow/ice on the road….. and I get to sit in my home office and watch! :)  My commute is a whole 7 seconds and the only traffic jam that I encounter is when Adam tries to leave the office as I’m coming in!

3) The online D-Community:You guys are amazing!  I am so happy and proud to be part of such a wonderful group of people

4) Technology and research: Where would we be without it!  Technology has made, amongst other things, managing diabetes easier and research…. because research WILL cure my son!

5) Online shopping: I live in a small town…. with a Walmart and a Kmart that’s it!  If it wasn’t for online shopping, I would have gone crazy already! :)  Ok so I’m a little crazy now but it would have been a lot worst! LOL

Now I’m suppose to tag 5 more people to receive this award.  But I’m not going to do that.  Why?  Well because I think that I was one of the last one to be tagged so anybody that I would tag now has probably already been tagged.  Second because a lot more than 5 people deserve this award.

So if you haven’t been tagged, consider yourself tag!