Tuesday, January 02, 2007

DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP?

In frustration with the people that work in Health Care dealing with Diabetes, I told the fairly young Certified Diabetes Educator,"you really don't know how difficult and how much time is devoted to keeping myself in a balance where everything is optimized. I have been doing this since I was 6". I then proceeded to show her as she walked with me in the street and I spread my arms horizontally to shoulder length traversing along a narrow curve in order to emphasize the difficulty in keeping a balance without falling off. My outstretched arms would go side to side as I struggled to keep the balance. She then remarked, "I have been doing that since I was 13".
It was at that point that I heard the sound of persistent meowing in the background to find myself laying on my bed as the morning sunlight entered the room and my cats tugging at me to wake up.
My blood-sugars were 50mg/dl.

17 comments:

Minnesota Nice said...

Oh my..........

Happy New Year Barry. (I really like today's quote.)

BetterCell said...

Happy New Year Kathy.......One of great health/vigor and as always being the best physician that you can find - YOURSELF!!

Kris said...

Hello! I just wanted to stop by and finally post and say hi! Thanks for coming by my daughters blog. I have to tell you I really appreciated the comment you left me right before Christmas. I was feeling a bit down and when you said I sounded like a great mom, well you made my day. That was very sweet of you to say. I hope you had a very Merry Christmas and have a wonderful 2007! I'll stop in again soon!

BetterCell said...

Hello Kris.....Good to hear from you. Say hello to Hayleigh from me.
Hayleigh's spunk is a great sign.....It is the determination of her
Spirit to not give up on herself/and Life.
BetterCell

Linda said...

Hello BetterCell - Happy New Year!
I saw the surgeon today about my achalasia. He explained everything so well, then told me he is so busy in Jan and Feb. the earliest he can do the surgery is the first week in March. I was so bummed out on the way home, I stopped and bought a pizza, I ate 3 slices, (topping and sauce only)
I m so sick of soups. If I have to wait that long, I'm going to chance it more on what I eat, and hope for the best. He is suggesting a Myotomy with a toupet
(anti-reflux procedure). The surgeon did many of these in Seattle and he trained with the Dr. that discovered, did the first Laparoscopic myotomys in the early 90's. So, it sounds like I'll have a good surgeon. Thank goodness for laparoscopic procedures!

BetterCell said...

Hi Linda....and a very Happy New Year to you and your Family. It sounds like part of this new year will be devoted to "repairs" and making your Life better qualitatively. From your description above, it sounds as if you have a very very good surgeon. If I can offer some suggestions regarding your current choice of food..........
Try to stay away from fats, since they are difficult to digest and take much longer time as well. This would apply to greasy and fried foods (potato chips) as you already know by the experience you already had. Pizza toppings, although they taste great should be minimized since cheese take long to digest and contain a lot of fat.

Linda said...

Thanks! I have always had a hunch that things that were greasy were worse, I've been eating a lot of cheese though, it seems to go down good, but have worried that cheese is quite fattening, probably why I haven't lost as much weight as I thought I would by now...I have stayed away from fried foods for months.
Do you think I could try raw vegetables again...haven't tried them lately... I'm starting to crave some vegetables, suppose I should break down and cook some...I did eat cooked carrots on Monday with a roast I made, but of course didn't eat the meat,
I ate mashed potatoes though, boy
did they taste good. Thanks for your help.

BetterCell said...

"Fresh" vegetables sound fine Linda, if you can tolerate them at this time. Keep in mind, that many vegetables have a lot of fiber, which is great but can be difficult if you are experiencing Achalasia (pre-laparotomy). At this time, you might try steamed vegetables rather than fried/sauteed or if you have a juicer, making fresh juice. It sounds as if your better is craving live food that is nourishing and beneficial at the same time.......Go for it. Let me know how you are doing.

Scott S said...

I've been woken by the sounds of "meowing" from a cat, and I think Kerri Morrone has two cats who she claims have interrupted her hypo-induced sleep as well.

Although it seems they know we're low before we do, it could be mere coincidence. Still, my cat tends to jump on top of me and dig her claws in (lightly unless I don't respond, then she claws harder). Its known that dogs in particular, but probably also cats, can smell something different when our blood glucose is off ... now if we could only train a cat to behave in a consistent manner, we'd be set.

For what its worth, Heaven Scent Paws will train (dogs) to detect & alert their diabetic partner and support team to both low (hypo) & high (hyperglycemia) blood sugar. No work on whether they've ever tried anything with cats!

BetterCell said...

Hi Scott.
The Bonding and Love between the Animal and the other Household member(you, me, Kerri and many others) is the foundation that is necessary, enabling this type of rescue to occur.

justme said...

Hey!

Just wanted to wish you a wonderful 2007!

BetterCell said...

Have a wonderful New Year and everyday Justme........you will because there will no longer be any smoke clogging your path.

Anonymous said...

hello,
thanks for the compliment about the blog.

haven't really compared the two pumps it's just the animas office is just up the road from me and being lazy it was easier for me. I have read up about the other sorts.

The animas maybe easier for my hospital to fund. will see.

vic x

Chrissie in Belgium said...

Yeah hypos really do mess up your mind - just last night I had what I define as a bad hypo, ie seriously needing help from another person. My husband saved me again. At 1AM I woke up so confused that rather than doing a bg test I started pushing the buttons on my pump! I was NOT trying to turn it off, I in fact gave myself a correction bolus. I guess I will write about this "close call " in a post.... Yuck, yuck, yuck. I got my husband up b/c I couldn't figure out how to turn ON the pump! I was terribly pissed by its annoying beeping, warning that it was stopped. I have no idea how I turned it off. Maybe it automatically turns off if you make repetitve, stupid pushes on the buttons. Thank goodnes I have an hourly delivery limit. Well I guess we both have a toxic body this morning. I read that the reason diabetics get hypo-unawareness is b/c the body tries to avoid the toxic reactions that occur in resonse to a hypo! I usually manage fine with a hypo, unless the bg is below 40. I have a slight su^picion, but no evidence that it was in the 20s since I did pass out. BUT HEJ WE MANAGED FINE; SUPERMAN AND WOMAN - THAT IS US! usch - didn't you freeze afterwards???? I wore my fleece under all the blankets!

Ginnie said...

Thank you for your kind comment on my most recent blog. My husband was an extremely brittle diabetic and would often "shock out" without any warning.
My oldest boy also suffers from Type 1 diabetes. I just had lunch with him and noticed that his arms are covered with sores. He uses Silvadene cream but it only seems to "tame" it, not help it to go away. Do you have any ideas?
Thanks again for your thoughts.

BetterCell said...

Hi Ginnie.........Ask your son what the sores are from!! I hope your son has a good PCP(Pimary Care Physician) and a very good Physician that attends to his Diabetes.
Silverdene is very good for burns.
However if your son's sores are from other sources and are infected, I would recommend Bactroban, Both Silverdene and Bactroban are prescription items. Let me know the outcome.

Ginnie said...

Thanks so much. I passed the info on to Mark and if he uses it I will tell you the outcome.

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New York, New York, United States
I do not give up my Autonomy,especially to the Medical Profession. Passionate, Creative, Able to see Beauty within Simplicity, I Am Not A Diabetic, rather I have Diabetes (there is a big difference between the two on many levels).Type 1 Diabetes since 5 years of age. Belief in G-D