24 Weeks

Today I am 6 months (24 weeks) pregnant. Where has the time gone?! How is it possible that I only have 3 more weeks before I have reached my 3rd trimester? This just seems insane.

I feel like, from the people that I have spoken with/to, many women seems to either love or hate the feeling of being pregnant. I don't think I fit into either category. I definitely do not hate pregnancy, but I am not sure that I completely love it either. I am just fine and dandy about it, I guess. There are things that are annoying and I am not a fan of, but I don't particularly dislike pregnancy in general. I don't feel "gross" or anything like that.

much more obvious, now

I feel good about myself when I see results that show I am succeeding in the diabetes-aspect of pregnancy. Maybe I don't "love it" because pregnancy with T1 is not the pregnancy that is shown in movies or TV or in any of the experiences that anyone I know in real life has had. I can't gorge myself on particular foods or use pregnancy as some kind of reasoning to really change much about my lifestyle like many women that I have met have said they enjoyed doing. I still have to count carbs and be careful about what I eat, plus make sure I am eating more veggies and fruit and protein and fiber and taking my vitamins and going to all 19 million doctor's appointments.

The fact that I still haven't felt the baby move may also be a part of it. All my tests/ultrasounds/appointments show that everything with baby (have I mentioned that we are not finding out if it's a girl or boy? I want to be surprised, so this is just "baby" until birth) is great. And, I have been told and read many things that say many first-time moms/pregnant ladies don't feel the baby move until pretty late (sometimes up till week 30!), so I know that everything is OK. Still it's hard to feel "really pregnant" when you haven't felt movement. Instead, I feel just kind of chubster who claims pregnancy. :-P Overall, I am happy though. I don't want this to be a complaining post! Pregnancy with diabetes definitely doesn't ruin the experience at all, but I do think it changes it enough that we can't understand "regular people pregnancy" and they can't understand us either.

New Year, New Everything

It's January 15th and things are suddenly different. 2013 is the year of new for my husband and I. Let's make a list:

bumpity-bump

Well, tomorrow I will be 19 weeks pregnant (that's 4 months, 3 weeks if you don't want to do any math). To think that I have just about hit my 5th month is so crazy to me. Time seems to be flying! As far as diabetes is concerned with it, things are going well. My A1c has been very good this whole time (between 5.7 and 5.9) and while I am basically into my second trimester now, no signs of insulin resistance yet. I'm sure that will come, but it isn't coming yet, so I'm greatful for the easy road so far. 

I still don't look clearly pregnant. I guess that I haven't "popped" and so people still look at me with that unsure "pregnant or fat?" face. Though, they are starting to go more for pregnant, so that's kind of nice. None of my clothes fit though, which is great fun (not!!). Turns out all this bronchitis and the terrible asthma issues that I have been having are due to the pregnancy. Apparently, some women suffer from their asthma going nuts during pregnancy, and I drew the lucky number for it! Woohoo. I have a little bit of either super-dry skin or a rash on my shins too. Strange, strange. 

On December 30th, while visiting family in Virginia, we went ice skating and I fell. I am a pretty decent ice skater and rarely fall, but a year of no skating and really dull rented skates and probably being a little off balance will get you. After being in pain for a few weeks, I got this lovely New Year's gift this morning:

I look pleased, right?

surprise, fractured right wrist! I am being treated for a Colles fracture and a probably scaphoid fracture, so I get to rock this delightful accessory for the next 6 weeks. I got a waterproof liner to make my life easier though, so there's that!

And, today, while I was in the waiting room at my OB office for a checkup, my husband called to discuss the recent purchase we've been looking into. And we completed said purchase. We bought a house!!! It's like we are real grownups or something now! We will settle and move sometime between mid-February and the end of March. Those exact dates haven't been nailed down yet, but no matter what, house=ours. Wow.

Like I said, new year, new everything. 2013 brings with it pregnancy experience, my first actually broken bone and cast, purchasing a home, moving, and birth of baby. Here we go!

The Second 1/2 of this Post is More Exciting...

Currently, I am sick. It sucks. A lot. I am pretty sure that I have bronchitis (again!!), and am going to the doctor tomorrow after to, hopefully, handle it. I have been coughing so hard for so many days that a very large amount of capillaries have burst in my face, leaving me with ridiculous red pinprick marks all around my eyes, cheeks, and neck.

Today, I coughed so hard for so long, and could not catch my breath. Another teacher came in during the RTI switch just so I could get out of the classroom for 2 minutes and try to get it together. I was sweating and crying and completely red from the shoulders to the top of my head, and my eyes were red and it was ridiculous and terrible. This is not the first time that this has happened to me, but it was the first time that it has happened to this extent, and in the classroom. The kids (second graders) were obviously scared. And don't worry, I got to terrify both my homeroom and RTI classes. Great.

What was actually great, was that after feeling horrible all day and straight up wanting to take a nap on the classroom floor, I was greet by two students waiting at my classroom door as I brought homeroom back from Art class at 3:10 and rushed them toward dismissal. These two adorable children had spent their indoor recess time (it was crap outside today), making me get well cards! The cards were filled with things like "I hope you are felling better," "Merry chrismis," "have a nise afternoon," and "if you epreasheat this i'd be vary happy." The spelling mistakes made them every better. I still feel like garbage, but can't stop smiling when I think of those cards - BEST GET WELL GIFT, EVER! :)


Now, the real reason that I am writing this post: it's time. The proverbial cat is out of the proverbial bag. Best friends know (have known), families know, friends know, and kids that I care about having know, know too. Now it time for the DOC to know...

that I am 13 weeks and 5 days pregnant!! I am due June 12, so sometime around then, I will be not just a person with T1, but a mom with T1.

Three months in and the shock of it (oh, hey, surprise!) has worn off and I can finally tell people beyond my best friend and I am starting to smile when I think of it. My husband no longer looks like he will pass out and/or vomit when he thinks about it. I am excited. I am scared. I am all the things that (I think) I am supposed to be. And I am happy to share it with the internets and the DOC because I know that there will be happiness and excitement and real-life advice and stories and important and wonderful things to come from you, because that's how you guys do.
So, yay!

Looking Over New Horizons

Again, it has been quite awhile since I've written. I am not good at keeping up with these sorts of things. I think I need to set aside times to keep my updates in control. A book once every two or three months is just ridiculous.

I have a few interesting things to write about. First off, I have been working really hard at keeping my blood sugars in a nice range. I have been setting my goals lower and I am succeeding. Diabetes, right now, I am winning! I had my A1c done 3 weeks ago and it was 5.7 - wooooooooo!!

Also, I have been talking to Dexcom and am working on getting that sexy new G4 Platinum as soon as humanly possible. There was a mix-up with the paperwork between Dexcom and my endo office, but it looks like that is now worked out. Hopefully, my order will go in this week! My Dexcom contact has been very nice and helpful, especially considering that I told her that I thought this was taking too long and could she please please hurry up. While I will be poor (thank you insurance, for covering at 50%... I know that's better than nothing, but seriously!??) thanks to the initial cost of the receiver and the monthly cost of sensors, I will feel much better with this new information.

So, I guess that's where I am at right now. 5.7 and waiting on Dexcom. Oh, and more fun information to come as soon as I am able to offer it! Right now, things are certainly looking pretty in this nice horizon light :)

Data Thirst

Soooo I am considering Dexcom.

From what I gather, there seem to some annoying points about the dex, mostly that I have to stab myself with something else and that I will have one more thing to carry in the monitor. However, I am currently testing my blood sugar 10-18 times per day, depending on what and how I am doing. So the idea of seeing where my blood sugar is going when is pretty enticing!

Today, when I was riding between 40 and 60 mg/dL most of the morning, while teaching 4th grade, it sure would have been nice to know a little sooner. Then, when I thought I had corrected with enough GlucoLift tabs, learning that I was still at a 54 an hour and a half later, it again would have been nice to know! I mean, I  really couldn't even feel it anymore. How long had I been low?

Teaching is honestly one of the least good places to be diabetic. I mean, only jobs that require extended time sans civilization or extreme levels of exercise can be worse. I just have no time!! Sometimes I feel like my job does require me to spend time in the jungle - these kids are like wild animals some (read: a lot) of the time. Then, as a substitute, I have almost no consistency in my schedule. I go from teaching a class where I eat at 11, to 12:45 the next day, to no prep periods, no time to go to the bathroom, no think time all within days or weeks or hours! It's crazy (but I do love teaching! Jobs for me, anyone, jobs??).

Then, there is the insurance issues to consider. I have Aetna, and have no idea how much or when or how my insurance will cover for dex. Considering I am fairly poor, due to this whole "no real teaching job" thing, really good coverage would be lovely.

Soooo dexcom. Thinking, have to talk to endo when I go in a few weeks. What. To. Do.

Advice, suggestions, information all welcome!!

Praise Pod

It has been a very long time since I posted on here. Maybe that's because there have been a fair amount of d-related changes in my life, maybe it's just because I've been busy. I am not sure, but I can say this, as far as D is concerned, I am fairly happy right now. 

I switched to the Omnipod in mid-June (it arrived June 14th, to be exact, and I popped my first pod on immediately after returning home from celebrating my sister's high school graduation). 

left arm took the first hit

Here I am after my first insert, super happy with myself. I did not wait to go through any training, and I did not meet any Insulet CDEs before "installation". I am impatient, and it was going to be another week. And I had been on a Minimed for over 5 years, damnit! Between my brain and the book, I can figure this out. And I did, and it worked, and it was awesome!

Fast-forward one month exactly to when Drew and I were leaving for our much awaited honeymoon to Hawaii (Oahu), and I took my pods on vacation. And, for the first time, I didn't worry about water, or sand, or heat, or detach-reattach. I took diabetes to the beach, in Hawaii, for 13 days and 12 nights. And I can count on one hand the number of times I was high while there (granted, it might take me 5 hands to count all the lows, but that's beside the point!). 

"diabetes on the beach"

Now, it is September, almost the middle of it already, actually, and I am still quite happy with my Omnipod. When I met with my CDE (post-training, I got switched between a few people, I think I'm set now, though), I told him that I had been thinking about the Omnipod sort of passively for almost a year before I switched. Then, when I finally saw an endo for the first time in two years, I was in such a bad place d-wise, that when I was told that I could upgrade my Minimed, I was psyched. I mean, something new (who doesn't like new?), so I just assumed it would fix everything. Plus, it just sort of happened, like "oh your old pump is kind of breaking, oh you're way past the 4 year mark, oh let's upgraded you now!" so very fast, that it was over and done and I had a Revel before I really had time to think about it. When I did, I suddenly realized, "Wait a minute, I don't think I wanted this. I think I had another plan!" Luckily, Insulet and Omnipod sort of have a helpful plan and people for when that happens, and luckily for me, they were awesome enough to help and do it quickly.

So, I have cut the cord. It may not be right for everyone, which is cool. But I love wearing dresses now, and jumping in the pool, and thinking about how I don't have to think about the physicality of my pod. So, Omnipod, you are just right for me. You are the best D decision that I have ever made. 

Pod Man to the rescue

New New New

Never updated my blog after my last endo visit in March, and I just had another visit today, so let's do a double update, shall we?! 


Well, the March endo visit showed that I am, basically, awesome. Ha. I pulled my A1c down from an 11 to a 6.9, which pretty much rules. Doctor said I was doing great! She also gave me orders for new bloodwork and thyroid ultrasounds for June, before the next appointment with her, so that's that.


As for now, I had to move my appt up from the end of June to today, because starting the 18th, I basically will not be free from 7-5:30 everyday because of my summer nanny job. Also, for quite a while I have been feeling very "blah" about my pump in general. I was hoping that when my REVEL came, I would be more excited about pumping again. However, the excitement of "new" quickly faded as everything was really the same. I am still attached to this thing, day and night. I still have to dress around it, and I still can't wear dresses. There is never anywhere both comfortable and functional to wear my pump. It pulls on my skirt waists. I have to wear a belt every stinking day. I have to put on, take off, put on, take off at the pool. It's not comfortable to keep on when exercising. I have to take it off to shower. I have to have to take it off to... for other activities. So, I've been thinking about the Omnipod. 


Obviously, this was poor timing choice, but I spoke to the Omnipod people and they actually have a very affordable "cut the cord" program for when you're still under warranty with other pumps. My doctor was totally supportive and said that it is my choice and she thinks it will be fine, especially if I am happier. So I'm doing it, switching to Pod as soon as the paperwork is fully filed. I'm sending in my part today!


Also, my A1c went down again. I am 6.4!! I am a winner. Yes.


But, I do have to start thyroid meds, as my TSH levels have been going up slowly for 3 years, and my thyroid is enlarged and en-bumped. Boo, that kinda sucks. But, there isn't much to to except damn my endocrine system and move on. So I shall. Sigh. 


New pump! New (better) A1c!! New/more meds (gross).