Bloggy Bits

Hello all,

Happy Monday! Catching up on a few items with this post. First off, my sincere apologies to Elizabeth Edelman for such a delay in reviewing the Nutrisystem samples she kindly sent me! I tried them a few weeks ago.

I sampled the soup and the heat & stir macaroni and cheese with meatballs. A friend tried the two entrees.

Like others commented, Nutrisystem packs quite a few carbs in their food. Here's a shot of the macaroni label:

Yep, that's 30g carbs in one little cup. Hmmm. I heated it up and noticed the "meatballs" were really small...like cat food size!

The taste...pretty unbearable. Even with a shot of Louisiana Hot Sauce, I couldn't save it. I hate to admit it went into the garbage after a couple bites. I didn't take pictures of the soup. Basically it was the same as the noodles--bad. My friend bravely tried one entree (turkey and noodles) and told me it wasn't bad, but tasted very starchy and wasn't satisfying. So sorry to say, as much as I appreciate Elizabeth's gesture, I won't be trying Nutrisystem again anytime soon!

In other news...I got to wear one of these over the weekend:

In an effort to get back in tune, I'm actively pursuing a Dexcom Seven Plus to help improve my control One of the rules with my health insurance is that you have to be "professionally monitored" via CGMS for a 72-hour period to prove the device is medically necessary. So, after meeting with the Dexcom rep this week, I was off to the races to get the ball rolling on one of my own.

So far I LOVE the Dexcom. I cannot believe how quickly you get used to checking and reacting to the trend information. It is unfathomable that there should even be a question about whether it is "necessary". It kept me basically in range all weekend. My 7-day meter average dropped 15 points too. It even woke me up when I was low at 4AM--which is one of my big reasons for wanting a CGMS. And wow, do carbs hit my system quickly. And double wow, in the morning they're raging through me...! So the dawn phenomenon and morning insulin resistance is real after all.

The only cons I found in my short acquaintance with Dex...accuracy definitely leaves something to be desired. The rep had already started the sensor before she put it on me, and she put it in a really awkward site on my upper abdomen (where I have scar tissue from MDIs). So I think that may have had something to do with why I was 30-60 points off all weekend. Only once did Dex and my meter agree. The trends were generally correct, though. It was weird to see the line tick up or down and realize "oh, that's what that feeling is". However there was at least one instance where Dex had me crusing safely at 99 mg/dl, when I suddenly started feeling confused and irritable...and sure enough, a fingerstick rang in at 58 mg/dl. Not good. Still, I hope Dexcom has good news for me in the coming weeks. I was sad to remove the sensor tonight, and already I feel naked without the extra protection.

Oh, and finally...I changed my lancet yesterday! (;-) Thanks for the reminder, Kelly!

(Next up...all by myself, literally and figuratively...)

Target Low

OK, I admit it...I love going to Target. It's one of my totally non-environmentally responsible, conspicuous consumption-laden, irresponsible-waste-of-time guilty pleasures. I love to meander around, taking my time looking at shiny things, trying on silly shoes and looking at purses and pocketbooks and the dollar items near the entrance. Oh, and buying things I actually need, like shampoo and cat food. I'm in good company here on the OC, at least (;-). But what is it with Target and lows?! Someone else (forgive me, I can't remember who) brought this up before...this happens to me every time I go there.

Case in point: last night. Entering the store, I was this number:

Which isn't bad for me after dinner. After wandering happily for a while, I suddenly felt hot and confused, trying to remember if I needed batteries or underwear. Sure enough, I dropped to this number:

I'm blaming the fact that I was in the Halloween candy aisle. Ugh!

#Nodday

Thanks to George, today is a celebration of things NOT about the big D. Here are a few of mine:

1. I looooove space. Ever since I was a little kid, I have been fascinated by it. I so want to go to one of the last Space Shuttle launches next year...til then, I hit this site every day or so, just to dream...
2. ..and then I click over to this site, which never fails to crack me up :-)
3. I also love the 1980s. I think I watched every TV show on this list. If I could I would stay home for two weeks straight and watch 'em all over again!
4. Being married to someone in IT just made me even more of a geek. My brother and I had a Tandy 1000 back in the day, and an Atari 2600 before that. I think this is one of the best sites for reviews. I spend way too much time on here at work, doing "research" ;-)
5. #4 explains why I also find myself here sometimes when the day is going slow
6. I'm also a news junkie...
7. ...and a science junkie...
8. ...and a bookworm, and I love to travel. If I do this someday, I'll be in heaven.
9. Speaking of travel and writing, I used to have many pen pals back in the '80s. I still keep in touch with a few, and one of them has been on some really cool trips this year.
10. A few years ago I volunteered for several theaters in Chicago. I did props and worked backstage. Apart from high school drama club, this was the first time I'd ever done anything on a play. I was hooked. There is nothing cooler than watching the house lights dim and hearing the story told, and imagining everything happening around you.

What are your non-D thoughts today, friends?

MeMe Monday: The Bing Edition

Haven't done one of these in a while. Thanks, Karen!

Kathy needs...

1. Kathy needs to be on Regis. (Um, okay, but only if I don't have to sit too close to him...)
2. Kathy needs to do more talk shows. (Why yes, I do! Considering I've done, um, none...!)
3. Kathy needs your support and your vote to make NABJ 360 work for you. (Uh...ok...?)
4. Kathy needs the help of power lesbians Melissa Etheridge and her wife Tammy. (You can never have too much help from power lesbians, if you ask me.)
5. Kathy needs to travel from Plymouth. (Rock? Massachusetts? England?)
6. Kathy needs a new car. She'd look good in this Mini Cooper... (Why yes, I do, and yes, I would. Maybe I can drive it from Plymouth!)
7. Kathy needs to grow up and act her age! (What else is new?!)
8. Kathy needs a helping hand financially. (Oh yes. Please make your check payable to...)
9. Kathy needs a break. (Don't I ever...!)
10. Kathy needs to lose weight .(Hey, that's getting a little personal--!)

Out of Whack

The six-month follow up went perfectly well, from my doctor's perspective. I presented no new health issues; I showed no new signs of complications; I haven't lost weight, but haven't gained any; and my A1C is still under the recommended 7%...at 6.9. As far as she's concerned I am the picture of compliance and should go forth confident in my numbers for the next six months.

From my perspective...I am out of whack. My A1Cs have been at or around 6 for four years now, so why the sudden increase? And I know 6.9 is not "right where you should be", at least not from the knowledge gained from all of you and every other physician I've been to in my life. My doctor is pretty concerned about the lows that come with being in the near-normal range, and I understand that. A nice gate-crashing 31 mg/dl woke me up the other night. But 6.9 is not acceptable, at least to me. Am I wrong?

For some reason this result has really hit me hard. Believe me, there were so many years when I was a teen/young adult when I didn't care...but I know now that I must try harder and do better. I have to watch what I eat and not guesstimate so many carb counts. I must stop the endless grazing at my desk and at home in the evenings. I must increase my mealtime boluses to stop the post-prandial 200s and 300s I've seen in the last month or two. I must exercise more, the 2 mile walk to & from the train station & work isn't good enough. I must try to reduce the stressors in my life. I am sooo lucky not to have complications, and I'm grateful. But I can't take my doctor's word for it this time that everything I'm doing is "good enough".

I'm also going to do one new thing to better manage my numbers: I'm going to get a CGMS. Specifically, I'm going to file paperwork for a Dexcom SevenPlus, hopefully this week. Thanks so much to the postings by Wil, Kerri, Bernard and others, I was able to really research this decision and get a true sense of what it will be like to start using a CGMS, as well as figure out which one would be most likely to help me. Not being a pumper, having a medical device on me will take some getting used to. But I have to try. I have to do something. I can't pretend that 6.9 is okay and just wait for the next A1C to tell me what I'm doing wrong.

Wish me luck!

You (Invisible Illness Week '09)

You.
Always you.
The first thing I think about every day, the last thing I do every night,
Is take care of you.
Your ups and downs, your surprises, your endless list of to-dos.
It's all about
You.
There are times I can't remember
Life without you, constantly at my side, always prodding, poking,
Wanting to be noticed.
For a while I ignored you.
Then the numbers revealed my lie.
There was no escaping, it was ever and always
You.
Living with you exhausts me, wears me out.
It's "til death do us part", all right,
Except only one of us ever tries,
Ever works on it,
Ever forgives and tries to forget and moves on--
And it's never been
You.
I move among others
Half-human, half-machine,
Constantly running a program in the background
That eats up my memory,
A task manager, called
You.
Sometimes for a day I
Think I've succeeded
In quieting your endless
Demands, and at the end of the day,
I sink to my bed to escape
You.
But then you awaken me
Late in the night with
The terror of a low, the nothingness
Of sleep escapes like a shadow,
And I am left with the ravenous monster of
You.
The only thing you ever brought me
That wasn't wrapped in grief
Were those voices,
Calling out, looking out for other
Kindred spirits, brothers and sisters
Born of the same parent...
You.
Would that we never had met,
You and I,
Except for these Others
With whom I survive.

We Will Never Forget

In continued loving memory of Marni Pont O'Doherty, Long Island, NY.

• Forty lives, one destiny
• The Pentagon Memorial
• Only Time