it's here!!

The insulin pump for Bryce came in today.  BIG box with lots of stuff.  No wonder they send out a trainer to go over using it.  She will be out here on Wednesday to get us started.  I know that John and I will have to try on a "set" (the tubing inserted under the skin that administers the insulin drip)  I hate needles, so I am not looking forward to that part!  I will pretend to be brave for my sweet little guy though.  Anyhow, we are hoping to have him pumping very soon....

pump

We have been wanting to get Bryce on an insulin pump for a while now.  From what we have heard, it will allow us so much more freedom.  As things are right now, he gets two shots a day.  His morning shot has two types of insulin, a short acting (Novolog) to cover breakfast and an intermediate (NPH) to cover lunch.  This means that he needs to eat lunch as close to 4 hours after his shot because that is when the NPH kicks in.  In the evening he takes another shot that has the short acting (Novolog) to cover dinner and a long term (Lantus) that lasts 24 hours.  Because of the long term insulin, he needs to get this shot at the same time every night.  This means that we have a very rigid meal schedule of when he needs to eat combined with how many carbs at those meals.  Very little leeway with regards to how hungry his is or isn't or other circumstances that come up.  With a pump, he will only be on the short acting (Novolog).  The pump will administer small doses throughout the day as a "basal" dose (much like the long term, Lantus) and when he eats, he will get a "bolus" dose to cover how ever many carbs he is going to eat.  This means if we wants a bagel one day, he can bolus for the whole thing.  If we go to a birthday party, he can have an extra cookie after eating cake and ice cream.  If he isn't hungry, we can bolus for less carbs.  We won't be stuck to a schedule.  We won't have to force him to eat when he doesn't want to.  We will still count carbs but we won't have to give him a set amount, no more, no less.  He will be able to eat like any other kid.  Freedom, peace of mind.  We can't wait!!

new low

We were hit by the stomach bug again last week, only one month after the last episode.  This one was short lived and only got Bryce followed by Jaden (though we all felt blah)  Bryce did get large ketones.  The only way to get rid of ketones is with insulin.  Luckily Bryce was done throwing up so could somewhat eat. The ketones were persistent and I needed to give him another shot however his blood sugar levels were too low.  I ended up having to feed him tablespoonfuls of honey to finally get him high enough!  It took over an hour, but he got there.  Ketones went away, so did the bug.  

The crazy thing is ever since this bug, Bryce's levels have been great!  We significantly lowered his morning dose cuz he was going low.  I was getting bs levels in the 300s after breakfast and they are now closer to 150.  (Target range is 80-200.)  Of course I am more freaked out about him going too low so we test a lot right now.  Couple days ago he was 44 at lunch (even though he was 236 only 45 mins earlier!)  Maddening for sure!  But looking at the big picture, his numbers are much better.  Thanks bug???

another mom

Earlier this week, we had an appointment at the Diabetes Clinic to discuss putting Bryce on an insulin pump. While waiting for our educator, I over heard the doctor talking to another mom and it sounded as if she was just finding out her child was diabetic.  I talked to her for a few minutes though would have liked to talk to her longer.  I so remember being in her shoes...in a state of shock, wondering what was going on.  How was it possible for my little baby to have diabetes?  He/she was just drinking and peeing alot....who knew that meant diabetes? What is this was going to mean for my child, for the family?  How could I give my child shots everyday and test blood sugars?  and this is forever.....I wanted to cry with her.  I still can't stop thinking about her and her 4 year old daughter who jumped and played unaware of what was going on.  I was there only a few months ago, crying as if my world had crumbled around me.  Since then, diabetes has just become a part of our life.  Some days are easier than others but overall, it is manageable. Do I ever not think about Bryce's diabetes? No...I am always checking the clock, calculating and recalculating his carbs, trying to decipher the numbers, hoping he doesn't go low but not wanting him to stay high either. I hope in the short time I was able to talk to the other mom, that I was able to convey to her that it will get better, once the shock and information overload come to an end.  There is so much support out there and people with diabetes grow up to do wonderful things, just like anyone else.  I hope to see this family again and maybe that time we will laugh together about the crazy things we and our children do because of diabetes.    

Diabetes Expo

Last weekend, we attended the Diabetes Expo at the Convention Center.  The boys got to do crafts then watch a magic show while John and I listened to a speaker discuss where research is at on finding a cure or prevention for diabetes.  The boys probably had more fun than we did. After the symposium,  we walked around all the vendors at the expo.  I got info on insulin pumps and diabetes camp while the boys jumped in a couple bounce houses and ate samples of fruit sorbet.  TrialNet was there so we took the opportunity to have our blood tested to see if we are likely to get diabetes.  They run studies on close relatives of those with diabetes and if we show antibodies that can lead to diabetes, we can be in a study to prevent the onset. I absolutely hate needles, they make me faint.  But I was super brave during my blood draw because I think this is important.  Jaden really did not want to get his blood drawn.  He screamed and cried.  It took us about 20 minutes to even get him to sit in the chair by the nurse.  All this time, Bryce kept getting in the chair...maybe he wasn't scared because he wasn't getting his blood drawn or maybe cuz he gets pokes and shots all the time.  Anyhow, Jaden was a wreck!  Outside the little tent, other families were waiting with their children to get blood drawn and could hear Jaden's fearful protests. One boy was even hiding under the table because he didn't want to be next.  When we finally got Jaden to get his blood drawn, he screamed out "it hurts! it really hurts!!"  Yeah, sorry to all the parents after us!!!

the big FOUR

Bryce turned 4 years old on February 17th.  We celebrated at Bullwinkle's with pizza and cake, followed by lots of running and climbing around the play structure.  I can't believe how big my little guy has gotten!

stomach bug

Our house had a visit from a not so friendly stomach bug this weekend.  It started Thursday night with Drew throwing up all over me....multiple times.  A couple hours later, Jaden came running into our room saying he didn't feel too good and subsequently threw up on the floor by our bed.  I was dreading the fact that Bryce was inevitably going to get sick too.  We just had an appointment with our endo that said to call right away if he throws up because diabetes management gets tricky at that point.  I figured it was because the risk of going low due to not eating or keeping anything down.  Not the case really.  Well sure enough, 3:30am and Bryce was joining the other two throwing up.  I called the on-call doctor (I could tell I woke him up!) who basically said to check for ketones often and then call before breakfast.  We were up all night long, ended up just watching movies and tv shows with the boys. Not a fun night at all! In the morning, there was no way Bryce was going to be eating but he still needed to have his insulin...this is where it gets tricky.  Apparently the body produces excess sugars when it is stressed, like with an illness, so even though he was throwing up and not eating, his bs levels were high.  He only got half his usual dose in the morning.  I had to check his levels often to make sure he didn't go low and check his ketones also.  Normally ketones only form if blood sugars are high over a period of time but when sick, they can form with normal bs levels.  So when I tested him around lunch time, he had moderate to large ketones (ketones are the byproducts of the body burning fat for energy instead of sugars and they make a person very sick)  Apparently the only way to get rid of ketones is with insulin so Bryce needed another shot.  I was able to get him to drink some apple juice (though it took a couple hours!) and this kept him from going low.  We spent most of Friday sleeping on the couch and watching endless tv.  It is no fun having three sick boys to take care of....especially once I started feeling queasy too!!!  Everyone (except me) was feeling much better by the time John got home from work.   I am bummed that we missed the boys' school Valentine parties...especially after all the hard work we did making Valentines for everyone.  But I am so glad everyone was doing better for the actual Valentine's Day....well, that is except for John.