Fear of the Unknown

This is going to be a short post because I am not exactly feeling up to par. Hence the reason I am writing this blog. I am having an issue right now that I have only experienced once before, and that was during the honeymoon stage of my diabetes. I have had three low blood sugars today. I went out to dinner with my boyfriend's family (which was really good!) and I took the appropriate insulin for my food. I even calculated a bit under because I was unsure and didn't want to go low again. Then Andrew and I went and got ice cream before returning to his house. I checked my sugar at his house...112. Not bad! When I got home I started feeling funny so I checked again...98. Still okay, then I realized I FORGOT TO TAKE INSULIN FOR MY ICE CREAM! How the heck is my sugar so low. It should be nearly 400. The only other time I have experienced a reaction like this is on my honeymoon period. Can you have two honeymoon periods? I have never heard of that before. Anyways, I am freaked out. I have no idea what is going on with my body. I am actually scared to sleep because I don't want to go low in the middle of the night. What do I do? I know I am usually the one packing my blogs with information for you guys, but if any of you know anything about what could possibly be happening or if you have experienced this before...please let me know in some way!

Ash

Lauren's Hope

I know I already blogged today, but I just wanted to touch on another important subject to diabetics (along with other medical conditions). MEDICAL ID JEWELRY. It is very important to have some sort of identification on you if you have a serious medical condition. My medical bracelet broke a little while ago and I need to get another one, so I went on this AWESOME website Lauren's Hope. They have medical jewelry, cards, even pet jewelry for medical reasons. Please check it out! Lauren's Hope :) You won't regret it.

Baby Fever

Has anyone ever noticed that couples want kids so much, but don't realize the amount of work that goes into having children until they actually do? That really has nothing to do with the point of this blog...just throwing that out there. As said in my previous post, I want to marry my sweetie Andrew and we will be getting married when I complete my schooling. To go along with this, I do want to have children with him (after marriage, duh!). We, in fact, want numerous children. However, something worries me about that scenario and no it is not parenting. I have no doubt in my mind that Andrew will be an amazing father. It is diabetes. Diabetes can cause many complications with pregnancy, for both the mother and the child.


Before getting pregnant, a diabetic must complete multiple medical tests to make sure their health is prepared for the extra weight (no pun intended) of a pregnancy. Some of these needed tests include a urinalysis to check kidney function, cholesterol and triglyceride tests, and eye exams. A good, healthy blood sugar level must be maintained, as well.

As mentioned before, preexisting diabetes can take affect on the baby. A common problem is Macrosomia, which is enlarged body. This means high birth weight and larger size at birth. This happens when the child receives too much sugar through the placenta. The extra sugar is converted to fat, resulting in a larger baby. Another complication can occur when the mother has too much sugar in her blood throughout pregnancy. The child can be born with dangerously low blood sugar. This happens because when the child is receiving extra sugar through the placenta, it's pancreas makes increased amounts of insulin. When delivered, the child is no longer receiving that extra sugar and the insulin levels drop their blood sugar. Another issue is mineral imbalances such as calcium and magnesium. This can be replaced by medication.

As for the mother during diabetes, there are changes, as well. You will most generally require more insulin, especially during the last three months of pregnancy. This can be due to many things, such as eating more food, stress on the body, as well as hormone imbalances. You must change your diet to meet both the needs of your diabetic self and your unborn child. Another difference between non-diabetic pregnancies and diabetic pregnancies is that healthcare providers plan for early delivery. Most diabetic mothers can carry to term, but there is an increased chance of early delivery.

The one thing that worries me that I haven't found much information on during my research is blood sugar control during delivery. I have found that you may be taken off your pump (if you are on one) and given shots during delivery, but I have not found if insulin levels go up or down during delivery. That worries me that I will be working so hard to deliver the baby that my blood sugar will drop without me (or anyone) knowing and I will pass out or something. However, doctors have dealt with diabetic mothers before, so they will know what to do. I just have to let go, and let God I guess.

Ash

Biggest Loser

We all think we need to lose weight. Come on, admit it. You catch yourself staring in the mirror sometimes wondering if you have it in you to lose those few extra pounds you want gone for summer. There are HEALTHY ways to get rid of that excess weight, but being diabetic makes that a little bit tougher. With diabetes, exercise is difficult in many ways. You must stick to a strict eating habit before and after workouts, you must continually check your sugar throughout your workout, and you must keep hydrated with non-carb, as well as carb, drinks. Working out, or any physical activity at that, can impact blood sugar readings. The increase of physical work can drive your sugar lower than normal. While working out, because of the adrenaline and other hormones pumping through your body, it is difficult to sense low blood sugars. This is why it is important to regularly monitor your sugar. However, with proper care, strict diet, and regular exercise, it is very possible to lose that extra weight, shape up, or simply stay in shape with diabetes.

I know this is a short post, but I just wanted to touch on the importance of diabetes care while working out. Good luck in your workout adventures and be sure to take care of yourself.
-Ash

I Hear Wedding Bells

For those of you who have the pleasure of knowing myself or my boyfriend, you will know that we are pretty serious. In fact, we have already talked about moving in together, getting engaged, getting married, having kids,etc. We want the whole life together. Anyways, a big thing that has been on my mind since diagnosis was my wedding day. There is so much that can go wrong with a wedding, and throwing diabetes into the mix just adds more stress. I have two main concerns when it comes to my wedding day concerning diabetes.

Concern #1: What if I'm having a bad diabetes day? Every diabetic knows that there are some good days and some bad days. I am scared out of my mind that on my wedding day I am going to have out of control blood sugars, bad pump site, or other diabetic issues. I am also petrified that as I am at the altar with Andrew, my sugar will go low and I will have to stop to drink juice. HOW EMBARRASSING! However, I know if something of the sort did happen, Andrew would understand and would shrug it off like nothing happened.

Concern #2: Where to put my insulin pump? Well, let's just say I have been doing a lot of thinking and I will be having pockets on my wedding dress. I am not dealing with leg straps and I am most certainly not going off my pump for a day. Bad experiences last time I did that with prom.

Anyways, some of my fears have been worked out. I still fear that dreaded low at the altar, but hey...life goes on.

-Ash

WORK WORK WORK

I know it has been like forever since I have posted, but I have just been really busy. So, I figured I would take my few free moments to blog and update you on what has been going on in my life. I have had some major breakthroughs in my life and have had some exciting news as well. Topics of discussion: diabetes (of course), my boyfriend, new job opportunities/current work, volunteer work, moving home, college, and I'm sure I will think of more. So let's begin.

Diabetes. My diabetes has been wonderful! I have had more frequent lows, but I am willing to pay that price because my sugar levels have been awesome! They have been mid-100s and below the majority of the time. It is a mix of the effort on my part and the support from my wonderful boyfriend. Which brings me to topic number two.

Andrew. Andrew and I have been through a lot since May 3 (my last post), but ultimately it has brought us closer together and even happier. We both aren't stressed about issues between us and we can simply be in love now. I want to take this time to make everyone aware that this is the man I want to spend the rest of my life with. I will do anything for him and I know he would do the same for me. He has some exciting news as do i, which brings me to the next topic.

Work. Andrew has decided he wants to be a firefighter, which I think is awesome. It is a very rewarding profession both financially and emotionally. So, we have been spending time studying for the test and he has been working out and stuff. As for me, I have two possible new job opportunities for next semester. One is a teaching assistant position for the AIDS class I took last semester and the other is a position in the childrens portion of the library on campus. I will continue working at the candy store, but that would make THREE jobs and lots of income which is what I need. As for the candy store, my boss is working me close to full time which is also helping out with expenses I have this summer.

Volunteer. Also in my spare time I have been volunteering for my mom's school. I work with the 2nd graders in their classroom, perform office duties, and basically do what people need me to do. Just trying to get ahead with some experience before my student teaching.

Home. I have moved home from college for the summer. It was rough packing everything up and moving it here and to be completely honest I still have not finished unpacking. It is just such a gross task! Anyways, this lets me spend more time with Andrew which we both like, but I have also learned it makes me not eat as much! Haha. But we have to do it all over again in August because my roommate and I got an apartment.

College. My exams went fairly well and I finished my classes with pretty good grades. One A, four Bs, and one C. I am taking two online courses this summer that start June 27. They are Child Development and Intro to Folklore. They should be pretty interesting. I have my courses for next semester all set up as well. I am pretty excited.

Coaching. I told you I would find another topic! I am a volleyball coach for 5th grade at St. Als in Bowling Green. Myself and the other coach, Taylor, will be beginning this in August. I am pretty excited about this because I have always wanted to coach volleyball. I miss it so much.


Well, I am off to go wedding dress shopping. No I am not getting married...yet. Andrew's sister is getting married in November and she has asked me to be in the wedding. Therefore, I must find a dress and everyone is going tonight to look. Happy blogging.

Ash

Fun Exercise Re-Post

I know most people won't do this, but it is worth a try. And if you actually complete all of these steps, it would seriously make my day!
1. Go to gmail.com and make a gmail account if you have not already.
2. Come back to my blog homepage and click "follow" if you have not already.
3. Make a blogger account (even if you are not going to blog), so that you can leave comments (because my activity requires that).
4. Open this link and scroll down to where it says Additional Resources and click on Diabetes Simulator
5. Complete this project for a full day (or even a half a day if you can't take a whole day)
6. When you are done, come back to this blog post and leave a comment telling me you did it and what your reactions to this are

I know you are not required to do this, and it goes out of your way, but please try this for me. If you don't want to do the whole project, at least read what the link has to say. Thanks guys!