After posting about my rocky start and poor attitude this morning, my day actually improved remarkably. I'm compelled to post tonight since I'm ending the day on a much happier note. It's amazing how my children can pull me right out of those bad moods! There's one pivotal moment from today that I wanted to share. Lily was running around this morning, in a good mood, happy, blood sugars were good. She climbed into my lap, looks at me and says, "Mommy, I need wings so I can fly." She has a pair of fairy wings that she likes to dress up in every now and then. So I found them for her and put them on her back. She climbed onto the couch and jumped down to the floor. Repeated the action several times before returning to me and saying, "I can't fly. My wings don't work." My reply...."My darling girl, I will teach you to fly." In a heartbeat, I swooped her up, held her high over my head and ran around the house with her. And we flew.
No matter what else diabetes does to us, it doesn't prevent us from flying!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Warning: E-Tantrum ahead!
I do a pretty good job most of the time of staying positive and not letting things bother me too much. Most of the time. It's hard to get too upset about my daughter being diabetic when I see so many other parents dealing with much worse. Diabetes is hard, but it's life, right? But I still have my moments. Today, I want to follow my son's lead and throw myself down on the floor and kick and scream about how unfair life is. I want to yell to the world about how much I hate the fact that Lily is going to be diabetic for the rest of her life. I'm tired, I don't think I get more than 4 hours of sleep each night. I wake up every couple of hours, doing blood sugar checks for Lily and myself. I worry about what her blood sugar is doing at all hours, about whether or not she has enough water to last through the night, whether she's too hot or too cold. Oh, how I wish I could have just one night without any worries. One night of un-interrupted sleep so I could wake up feeling refreshed and ready to face the day. How wonderful would it be to be able to go away with my husband for an evening and leave the kids with a babysitter and to not have to worry about whether the babysitter knows how to handle Lily's blood sugar checks and insulin dosing?
Okay, tantrum is over, I think. I'm just feeling a bit tired and emotional today. It's a lot easier to deal with all the stress and strain when you've gotten enough sleep. I have a feeling today might be a bit rough, unless I can convince both my children to nap so I can get one in too!
Okay, tantrum is over, I think. I'm just feeling a bit tired and emotional today. It's a lot easier to deal with all the stress and strain when you've gotten enough sleep. I have a feeling today might be a bit rough, unless I can convince both my children to nap so I can get one in too!
Sunday, June 13, 2010
The worry that never ends....
When my husband and I decided to have children, I never thought that diabetes was going to be a concern. Honestly and truly, I didn't think it would happen to one of my children. The chances of a child of a diabetic mom developing diabetes as well is only 5%. That goes up to 7% if the dad is the diabetic. Not sure-odds by any stretch. Up until the moment I realized that Lily was showing signs of diabetes, it never occurred to me that she would have it. Now, it's all I worry about. Lily was always really tiny. She was in the 8%ile for her weight before she was diagnosed (after diagnosis, she grew 4 inches and several lbs in the first 6 months!). Before she was diagnosed, we'd been worried for months because her lymph nodes were staying swollen. I don't know how much of that to attribute to diabetes and how much of it was just because it was a normally, germy, Minnesota winter.
Jump ahead to post-diagnosis....we have a second child who is not diabetic. Yet. We hope Leo never develops it, but lately, it's all we worry about. At his last well-child check, his weight fell in the 1%ile. Yup, 99% of children his age are bigger than he is. Maybe my husband and I just grow them small. But for months, we've been worrying about his swollen lymph nodes. Yes, it was during winter in Minnesota, and it seemed to have been a particularly germy winter. But you can't help wondering if it's all connected. You worry. Maybe Lily was small because her body was too busy fighting itself to grow properly. Maybe her lymph nodes were swollen because her immune system was busy attacking her pancreas. How do you know what's just "normal" and what's a sign that you're leading up to a diagnosis for your second child?
It's hard sometimes to not let that worry drive your life. I have to make a conscious effort to not dwell on that worry. My husband and I have decided to develop the view that Leo will most likely be diagnosed with diabetes at some point in the future. We check his blood sugar randomly. He's surprisingly not bothered by finger-pokes. Doesn't even make a peep! It kind of feels sometimes like we're taking a defeatist view, but really, what can you do? There's no way to prevent diabetes and no way to predict it. Maybe Leo will get it. Maybe he won't. We're choosing to accept the probability that he will develop it and if he doesn't, we'll be pleasantly surprised.
Do other parents of diabetic children deal with this worry too?
Jump ahead to post-diagnosis....we have a second child who is not diabetic. Yet. We hope Leo never develops it, but lately, it's all we worry about. At his last well-child check, his weight fell in the 1%ile. Yup, 99% of children his age are bigger than he is. Maybe my husband and I just grow them small. But for months, we've been worrying about his swollen lymph nodes. Yes, it was during winter in Minnesota, and it seemed to have been a particularly germy winter. But you can't help wondering if it's all connected. You worry. Maybe Lily was small because her body was too busy fighting itself to grow properly. Maybe her lymph nodes were swollen because her immune system was busy attacking her pancreas. How do you know what's just "normal" and what's a sign that you're leading up to a diagnosis for your second child?
It's hard sometimes to not let that worry drive your life. I have to make a conscious effort to not dwell on that worry. My husband and I have decided to develop the view that Leo will most likely be diagnosed with diabetes at some point in the future. We check his blood sugar randomly. He's surprisingly not bothered by finger-pokes. Doesn't even make a peep! It kind of feels sometimes like we're taking a defeatist view, but really, what can you do? There's no way to prevent diabetes and no way to predict it. Maybe Leo will get it. Maybe he won't. We're choosing to accept the probability that he will develop it and if he doesn't, we'll be pleasantly surprised.
Do other parents of diabetic children deal with this worry too?
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
A dirty little secret
Got your attention with the title, didn't I? Everyone loves salacious information and gossip, no matter how much they tell you that they don't! But honestly, this post is not headed in that direction. This is another one of those topics that I've been thinking about for quite some time and have noticed that very few people talk about this area of having a child with a chronic illness, like diabetes. Or any other prolonged illness, for that matter. So, here it is...the dirty little secret....
Chronic illness of a child takes a huge toll on your marriage.
Seriously, it can be so incredibly hard. My husband and I were still recovering from the trauma of having a second child. Leo was born in January and I felt like it took a good 6 months for us to recover and get back to something that resembled normal, whatever that might be. Just as we were finding a new groove and figuring out how to make time for each other in between caring for the two beasties, Lily got sick. I'll have to share the story one of these days of how she was diagnosed. Probably not quite the typical scenario for diagnosis. It threw me for quite a loop, to be honest. I've been diabetic for so long myself, but the chances of one of my children being diagnosed was supposedly only 5%. In those early days after a child is diagnosed, you go through so much and are so focused on taking care of your child and trying to deal with your own shock, anger, and denial, that it's easy to overlook the fact that your spouse is going through the same things. You get so caught up in just getting through the day that it can be easy to lose sight of each other. It's so ironic. In times when we should turn to each other and lean on each other the most, we forget that we have that other person to give us support and to support in return.
In the hopes of at least letting other families out there with similar situations know that they are not alone, I'm going to open up a bit about our specific problems. One of the most frustrating things about diabetes as you get older is that it often goes hand-in-hand with depression. No one knows why. I have my theories. Considering how much extra stress and strain can be added into our dailies lives by blood glucose checks and insulin dosing and weighing every bit of food you eat, is no wonder diabetics become depressed. I've dealt with chronic depression most of my adult life. After giving birth each time, I was left with a pretty severe case of postpartum depression. It took quite a while to find the right medication for me. My husband has always had a problem with anxiety. He uses his anxiety as a motivating force and it drives him to strive for perfection. As our marriage counselor says, put the two together and it's like adding gas to the flames. Jump ahead in our lives to post-diagnosis. Many of you with very small children with diabetes realize just how hard it is to keep those numbers in check. I'm a stay-home mom. It's my job to keep Lily's numbers where they should be during the day. My husband would come home from work, look at the logbook and see how badly her blood sugars jumped around and would get upset with me for not doing my job. It took him a little while to realize that things just weren't that cut-and-dried. So, we started seeing a marriage counselor. I can honestly tell you....it is the best decision we have made! We've both become more aware of how we choose to react to things, what our own weaknesses and short-comings are and how all of those things can affect the other. Amazing what a difference actually listening to each other and looking at our own part in issues can make!
So there's my dirty little secret for tonight. My husband and I have not dealt well with Lily's diagnosis in the past and have sought counseling in order to help us learn how to work together. Things aren't perfect, by any means. But they're better and we're both happier. We've figured out how to keep our love and devotion to each other at the front and that has made all the difference!
Chronic illness of a child takes a huge toll on your marriage.
Seriously, it can be so incredibly hard. My husband and I were still recovering from the trauma of having a second child. Leo was born in January and I felt like it took a good 6 months for us to recover and get back to something that resembled normal, whatever that might be. Just as we were finding a new groove and figuring out how to make time for each other in between caring for the two beasties, Lily got sick. I'll have to share the story one of these days of how she was diagnosed. Probably not quite the typical scenario for diagnosis. It threw me for quite a loop, to be honest. I've been diabetic for so long myself, but the chances of one of my children being diagnosed was supposedly only 5%. In those early days after a child is diagnosed, you go through so much and are so focused on taking care of your child and trying to deal with your own shock, anger, and denial, that it's easy to overlook the fact that your spouse is going through the same things. You get so caught up in just getting through the day that it can be easy to lose sight of each other. It's so ironic. In times when we should turn to each other and lean on each other the most, we forget that we have that other person to give us support and to support in return.
In the hopes of at least letting other families out there with similar situations know that they are not alone, I'm going to open up a bit about our specific problems. One of the most frustrating things about diabetes as you get older is that it often goes hand-in-hand with depression. No one knows why. I have my theories. Considering how much extra stress and strain can be added into our dailies lives by blood glucose checks and insulin dosing and weighing every bit of food you eat, is no wonder diabetics become depressed. I've dealt with chronic depression most of my adult life. After giving birth each time, I was left with a pretty severe case of postpartum depression. It took quite a while to find the right medication for me. My husband has always had a problem with anxiety. He uses his anxiety as a motivating force and it drives him to strive for perfection. As our marriage counselor says, put the two together and it's like adding gas to the flames. Jump ahead in our lives to post-diagnosis. Many of you with very small children with diabetes realize just how hard it is to keep those numbers in check. I'm a stay-home mom. It's my job to keep Lily's numbers where they should be during the day. My husband would come home from work, look at the logbook and see how badly her blood sugars jumped around and would get upset with me for not doing my job. It took him a little while to realize that things just weren't that cut-and-dried. So, we started seeing a marriage counselor. I can honestly tell you....it is the best decision we have made! We've both become more aware of how we choose to react to things, what our own weaknesses and short-comings are and how all of those things can affect the other. Amazing what a difference actually listening to each other and looking at our own part in issues can make!
So there's my dirty little secret for tonight. My husband and I have not dealt well with Lily's diagnosis in the past and have sought counseling in order to help us learn how to work together. Things aren't perfect, by any means. But they're better and we're both happier. We've figured out how to keep our love and devotion to each other at the front and that has made all the difference!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
It's all in the timing!
I think I might have finally recovered from our latest road trip. We had a great visit with my family. It's so much fun to bring our kids to the big family functions. My family is HUGE! Seriously. I think I've mentioned before that I have 6 siblings. Between those siblings, there are also 16 nieces and nephews. It's amazing how 2 people can become that many more after 50 years! One of the best things about being around my family is that there's always someone to play with, someone to watch, someone to hug, someone to listen, someone to talk. Incredible and so comforting! Lily and Leo both enjoyed having so many playmates to occupy them and it was great for Lily to see her aunties testing and programming into their insulin pumps as well.
It took me a few days to get around to writing this post simply because I was so touched by the responses to my last. I see my husband dealing with everything and yet it still escapes me how frustrating it would be to not know what our daughter is feeling when her blood sugars are off. Your responses made me choke up and shed a few tears. When Lily was first diagnosed, I searched and searched for a book that talks about all the unique problems and situations that come up when you have a pint-sized (aka: toddler or preschooler) diabetic. There was nothing. Really. I played around with the idea of writing a book about it myself, and it's still a thought that comes up every now and then. But I'm not sure I'd know what else a parent would want to know! Anyway, thank you so much for your comments!
On to tonight's topic...per request of Just Plain Me, I'm going to talk quick about road trip snacks. To be honest with you, we don't do many road trips in the usual course of life. We visit my family several times a year, which is a 5-hour drive. For those trips, it's all about the timing. A typical road trip day for us starts with a quick breakfast, followed by packing, loading the car, getting the kids dressed, and a morning snack. Usually something fairly filling, like string cheese, nuts, milk...protein-based foods. We always time our leaving after morning snack in the hopes that the kids will nap. Leo almost always does, Lily very rarely. There's a decent-sized town about halfway through our trip, where we stop for lunch. Not many options, but we usually pick Arby's or McDonald's. Back on the road for a couple more hours and we're there, usually before Lily calls for a snack.
Nothing ever goes exactly as you plan it though, right? So, even though we don't snack in the car much, I do pack snacks. You never know. My children are both half fruit-bat, half-rabbit. Car snacks for us are usually prepared, fresh fruit. Gets a bit sticky sometimes, but I know my kids will eat them and they're healthy. So, I rinse and core strawberries or pull grapes off the vine and pack them into Tupperware to bring with. We usually stay in a hotel and will make sure we have a refrigerator available for storing the food and using it for snacks during our stay. In addition to the fruit, I'll pack some trail mix, nuts, or string cheese. Those individually packaged sticks of cheese come in handy on the road! If your kids are old enough, peeled carrots work well too (Lily loves these, Leo is too young yet though!). I just get the whole carrots and peel them myself. They taste better! Long answer short...sometimes you have to get creative. Kids change everyday and what they love one day, they detest the next. You just have to look at what they currently like and pick the choices that work best for you as far as convenience and carbohydrate-levels go.
One more quick tip for road trips. I let Lily go barefoot in the car. You wouldn't believe how much easier it is to turn around and poke a toe for a blood sugar check while the car is still in motion than to have to pull over and do it! Don't worry, my husband drives and I do the checks!
It took me a few days to get around to writing this post simply because I was so touched by the responses to my last. I see my husband dealing with everything and yet it still escapes me how frustrating it would be to not know what our daughter is feeling when her blood sugars are off. Your responses made me choke up and shed a few tears. When Lily was first diagnosed, I searched and searched for a book that talks about all the unique problems and situations that come up when you have a pint-sized (aka: toddler or preschooler) diabetic. There was nothing. Really. I played around with the idea of writing a book about it myself, and it's still a thought that comes up every now and then. But I'm not sure I'd know what else a parent would want to know! Anyway, thank you so much for your comments!
On to tonight's topic...per request of Just Plain Me, I'm going to talk quick about road trip snacks. To be honest with you, we don't do many road trips in the usual course of life. We visit my family several times a year, which is a 5-hour drive. For those trips, it's all about the timing. A typical road trip day for us starts with a quick breakfast, followed by packing, loading the car, getting the kids dressed, and a morning snack. Usually something fairly filling, like string cheese, nuts, milk...protein-based foods. We always time our leaving after morning snack in the hopes that the kids will nap. Leo almost always does, Lily very rarely. There's a decent-sized town about halfway through our trip, where we stop for lunch. Not many options, but we usually pick Arby's or McDonald's. Back on the road for a couple more hours and we're there, usually before Lily calls for a snack.
Nothing ever goes exactly as you plan it though, right? So, even though we don't snack in the car much, I do pack snacks. You never know. My children are both half fruit-bat, half-rabbit. Car snacks for us are usually prepared, fresh fruit. Gets a bit sticky sometimes, but I know my kids will eat them and they're healthy. So, I rinse and core strawberries or pull grapes off the vine and pack them into Tupperware to bring with. We usually stay in a hotel and will make sure we have a refrigerator available for storing the food and using it for snacks during our stay. In addition to the fruit, I'll pack some trail mix, nuts, or string cheese. Those individually packaged sticks of cheese come in handy on the road! If your kids are old enough, peeled carrots work well too (Lily loves these, Leo is too young yet though!). I just get the whole carrots and peel them myself. They taste better! Long answer short...sometimes you have to get creative. Kids change everyday and what they love one day, they detest the next. You just have to look at what they currently like and pick the choices that work best for you as far as convenience and carbohydrate-levels go.
One more quick tip for road trips. I let Lily go barefoot in the car. You wouldn't believe how much easier it is to turn around and poke a toe for a blood sugar check while the car is still in motion than to have to pull over and do it! Don't worry, my husband drives and I do the checks!
Monday, June 7, 2010
One of the benefits of having a husband who works for Medtronic is that he forwards me the news releases. Thought some of you might find the following of interest:
News Release
Medtronic Media Contacts:
Jeff Warren, Investor Relations, 763-505-2696
Amanda Sheldon, Public Relations, 818-576-4826
Medtronic Launches Next-Generation Continuous Glucose Monitoring System for Advanced Diabetes Management in 49 Countries Around the World
iPro™2 Professional CGM Provides Simple Way to Reveal Insights Into Glucose Control Not Possible With Standard Glucose Assessment Methods
MINNEAPOLIS – June 7, 2010 – Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE:MDT) announced today the launch of iPro™2 Professional CGM, a continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system used by physicians to help improve diabetes management, in 49 countries around the world. This simplified, yet more advanced fourth-generation CGM system is valuable for detecting high and low glucose fluctuations that can lead to dangerous health complications, which often go undetected with traditional A1C tests (a measurement of glucose control over a two-to-three-month period) and glucose meter measurements.
iPro2 Professional CGM has received CE (Conformité Européenne) Mark. Subject to other local approvals, Medtronic plans to release iPro2 Professional CGM in 22 more countries around the world, for 71 in total, including the United States where Medtronic has submitted its application for approval to the Food and Drug Administration.
“It’s never been easier to reveal previously undetected high and low glucose excursions and understand their causes. This information is helpful for making better treatment decisions to improve patients’ lives,” said Francine Kaufman, M.D., chief medical officer and vice president, global medical, clinical & health affairs of the Medtronic Diabetes business. “Moreover, iPro2 Professional CGM is quick to implement and provides reports that physicians can use to educate patients on the therapy and lifestyle changes they can make to improve their health and quality of life.”
iPro2 Professional CGM is easy for clinicians and patients to use. It includes a disposable glucose sensor and a small data recorder, which automatically record glucose information. This next-generation product is simple to start and significantly reduces the amount of clinical staff time needed to implement the therapy. There is no computer required for setup, patients do not interact with the device, and minimum patient training is required. Patients wear the small, lightweight and watertight device while going about their normal daily activities before returning it to their physicians’ office for evaluation.
Once returned, glucose information stored in the device is easily uploaded using a “smart” docking station to new CareLinkTM iPro software, a fully integrated, Web-based platform that makes data from iPro2 Professional CGM easy to evaluate. Physicians can remotely access the software using any computer with an Internet connection. Reports containing continuous glucose information are well-organized and capture important glucose trends, such as hyperglycemic and hypoglycemic episodes, that can inform treatment decisions. The reports are useful for educating and motivating patients to implement changes in their diabetes management after viewing the effects that specific foods, exercise, stress, and medications have on their glucose levels.
“We have seen strong adoption of professional CGM in the United States because of its ability to provide superior insights for healthcare professionals to improve patient outcomes. We are excited to launch the next generation, iPro2, which will continue to transform the management of diabetes while providing superior ease-of-use for clinicians and patients,” said Katie Szyman, president of the Diabetes business and senior vice president at Medtronic.
About iPro2 Professional CGM
iPro2 Professional CGM uses a tiny glucose sensor to record as many as 288 glucose readings over a 24-hour period. Glucose data captured in the system is uploaded to CareLink iPro Software and viewed retrospectively by healthcare providers.
About the Diabetes Business at Medtronic
The Diabetes business at Medtronic (www.medtronicdiabetes.com) is the world leader in advanced diabetes management solutions, including integrated diabetes management systems, insulin pump therapy, continuous glucose monitoring systems and therapy management software, as well as world-class, 24/7 expert consumer and professional service and support.
About Medtronic
Medtronic, Inc. (www.medtronic.com), headquartered in Minneapolis, is the global leader in medical technology – alleviating pain, restoring health and extending life for millions of people around the world.
Any forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties such as those described in Medtronic’s periodic reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ materially from anticipated results.
-end-
Medtronic, Inc. 2010
Thursday, June 3, 2010
One big wish....
I hear it all the time when other parents of diabetics find out that I am a diabetic too. "Oh, at least you know what she's going through!" This is one of the comments that can kind of irritate at times. Seriously, does anyone think that having diabetes myself makes it all that much easier to have a child with it? But, I know they don't mean it that way. They are right in a sense though. Here's my one big wish for all parents of diabetic children.....I wish you could all know exactly what it all feels like. No, I don't mean that in a bad way. I really, really don't. This wish for all of you comes from the fact that I can see how frustrating it is for my husband to not understand. When Lily is low and is cranky and weepy, like she often gets when her blood sugars are below range, he has a hard time understanding. When her blood sugar is high and she's taking out her ill-feelings on her brother by picking and tormenting him, my husband's patience wears thin. I wish, I wish, I wish, that I could show him, somehow, what it feels like to be low, what it feels like to be high, what it feels like to be tired and worn-down and confused. So, here it is...as close as I can come to describing it:
Lows: Have you ever gone to a foreign country where you have only the most basic understanding of their language? That's what it's like to be low. Everyone is talking so quickly, things are going on around you, and everything is happening at a pace that you can't keep up with. You shake. You're dizzy. You feel like you could fall over and take a nap right where you're standing. You have so much you want to say to the people around you, to tell them what's going on, what's happening inside you, but you just don't know what words to use to get them to understand. They don't speak your language. The temperature around you is too hot, you sweat and tremble. I've heard a lot of d-moms complain about trying to limit how much their child eats when low. When you're blood sugar is low, you feel like your very life depends on how much food you can ingest in as quick of a time as possible. And really, your life does depend on it! But remember, everything is moving at a much faster pace than you and your thoughts, so while your blood sugar is coming up and you probably don't need to eat anymore, you still feel like your life depends on you continuing to eat as much as possible, which then leads to the rebound high.
Highs: I find these so much more frustrating than lows. They last so much longer and take more time to correct. Oh, how I hate highs! For me, it's like being in the desert. You feel like you haven't had anything to drink in days. You're so thirsty! And every drink you take turns to sawdust. Nothing quenches that thirst. You could happily guzzle down gallons of water and still be so thirsty! A bathtub full of ice-cold water wouldn't be enough! So you drink and drink and drink. But as soon as you take that drink, you feel like you could pee your pants. Literally! Every drink you take flows right through you. Can you imagine trying to potty-train a toddler who has a high nearly everyday? I've seen grown-up diabetics who don't take care of their blood sugars well have problems with making it to the bathroom in time. I can't imagine how my 3-year-old is going to handle it! When you're high, you drink and drink and drink and pee and pee and pee. You empty your bladder just to have it full again 10 minutes later. It's amazing how quickly water can make it through your system when you're high!
Oh, how I wish I had better words and phrases to describe all of this for you! The feelings of being high and being low. They're incredible. Uncomfortable. Confusing. Frustrating. Embarrassing. This is the one area of diabetes that makes me glad I know what Lily is feeling. Unfortunately, there are so many other areas where being diabetic myself can add complications! I'll have to tell you all about that next week as we're heading out tomorrow on another long car ride. Five-hour-drive to go visit my family and see my beautiful and intelligent niece graduate from high school. It's so worth the drive! I miss my family so much sometimes!
Lows: Have you ever gone to a foreign country where you have only the most basic understanding of their language? That's what it's like to be low. Everyone is talking so quickly, things are going on around you, and everything is happening at a pace that you can't keep up with. You shake. You're dizzy. You feel like you could fall over and take a nap right where you're standing. You have so much you want to say to the people around you, to tell them what's going on, what's happening inside you, but you just don't know what words to use to get them to understand. They don't speak your language. The temperature around you is too hot, you sweat and tremble. I've heard a lot of d-moms complain about trying to limit how much their child eats when low. When you're blood sugar is low, you feel like your very life depends on how much food you can ingest in as quick of a time as possible. And really, your life does depend on it! But remember, everything is moving at a much faster pace than you and your thoughts, so while your blood sugar is coming up and you probably don't need to eat anymore, you still feel like your life depends on you continuing to eat as much as possible, which then leads to the rebound high.
Highs: I find these so much more frustrating than lows. They last so much longer and take more time to correct. Oh, how I hate highs! For me, it's like being in the desert. You feel like you haven't had anything to drink in days. You're so thirsty! And every drink you take turns to sawdust. Nothing quenches that thirst. You could happily guzzle down gallons of water and still be so thirsty! A bathtub full of ice-cold water wouldn't be enough! So you drink and drink and drink. But as soon as you take that drink, you feel like you could pee your pants. Literally! Every drink you take flows right through you. Can you imagine trying to potty-train a toddler who has a high nearly everyday? I've seen grown-up diabetics who don't take care of their blood sugars well have problems with making it to the bathroom in time. I can't imagine how my 3-year-old is going to handle it! When you're high, you drink and drink and drink and pee and pee and pee. You empty your bladder just to have it full again 10 minutes later. It's amazing how quickly water can make it through your system when you're high!
Oh, how I wish I had better words and phrases to describe all of this for you! The feelings of being high and being low. They're incredible. Uncomfortable. Confusing. Frustrating. Embarrassing. This is the one area of diabetes that makes me glad I know what Lily is feeling. Unfortunately, there are so many other areas where being diabetic myself can add complications! I'll have to tell you all about that next week as we're heading out tomorrow on another long car ride. Five-hour-drive to go visit my family and see my beautiful and intelligent niece graduate from high school. It's so worth the drive! I miss my family so much sometimes!
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