New Blog

Hey guys, I started a new blog over here:

reality.bethany-chamberlin.com

you same me! New look, and new blog. :)

Infected Sites and RC Cars

First, the Great parts of the weekend, then the Ugly.

This weekend was a total exhausting whirlwind. - Not because I went on vacation, it was more of a working weekend. 

Friday I got to photograph one of my dear friends' weddings. We haven't really gotten to see each other since Highschool but have kept in touch thanks to Facebook.

The wedding was absolutely fabulous. They were SO cute, and SO much fun! She wore hot-pink heels -

The whole wedding was a Photographers Dream. 

Got home late Friday night and 5am Saturday morning my husband was up and heading out to a huge area-wide RC car race, I followed a few hours later - taking pictures for my Husband and a Family Friend.

E.X.H.A.U.S.T.E.D.

Pretty awesome watching all the guys race their trucks, though. They were all great, good-natured people, helping each other out when a part would break. Kenny didn't get to finish 2 races due to broken parts - but it was still fun. 

The Ugly:   

Sunday night I was changing out my infusion site. Didn't even look at the old one (cause it was around my lowerback/ upperbutt area, and I rarely find a need to actually look at the site when you can just feel for the adhesive and rip it off.). 

I noticed it was a bit sore that night, but that is pretty normal for an hour or two after the site change (well, for me it is). 

The next morning I realized it was hurting much worse, so I looked at it while getting into the shower - HOLY CRAP IT WAS RED AND HUGE AND PUFFY AND HOT AND HARD. 

....crap... I've heard of this from other Diabetic Pumpers, but have yet to experience it myself in 5 years of pumping.

Drug myself into the doctor yesterday. Yep. Staph infection. Antibiotics, Hot Pad and lots of water - hopefully I won't have to go back and have it drained. 

Yeesh, I had no idea an infected site could hurt so bad! Just to have anything touching or rubbing or push against it is like torture. ...okay, maybe that's a little dramatic - but it's awful. 

Consequently the infection plus the antibiotics I'm not at my greatest. 

My baby sister is graduating on Friday, and a full weekend ahead, and pictures to deliver. Best get back to it!

My Diabetes Soap Box

I've said recently that I've been back on shots since December. For the most part it has gone okay. The daily swings, figuring out which way to adjust the Lantus shot, figuring out what time of day to take that shot, or if it should be split into two doses. Then figuring out when it peaks in your body (because contrary to what they say, Lantus does have a peak and I always go low).

Theeeeeeen, for me, there is that fragile balance of - too much of my long acting Lantus, and too little. A unit or two too little and I wind up with consistent 200+ averages. A unit or two too much - I wind up with lows all day. Then, if I add exercise, or work more than usual, or run around with Rylee more than I have been - I'll have lows all day anyway.

I added a new exercise routine AND have been working every day with my dad, very long hours the last couple weeks. Even decreasing my dosage hasn't keep the lows away and I've been low in the middle of the night (anywhere from 1am to 5am) every day for the last 2 weeks.

Then I had a couple times where I over estimated the amount of insulin I needed for food (that NEVER happens! ...no, that's a total lie. Haha), I came home and wound up with nasty lows twice this week. Lows wipe me out. I'd rather have high blood sugars than low blood sugars. Then I get told I'm going to kill myself if I don't get a handle on my lows. ...noooooooo. Long-term - high blood sugars are so much worse than the one or two lows a day. I'm not going to get into all the medical details regarding that statement. I also don't need (or want) to hear them - so don't bother. :)

I know, it's stupid and trivial. But - dang it! - it bothers me! People just don't understand how much freaking work goes into getting "only" 1 low a day, or sometimes no lows and sort of steady blood sugars the rest of the day. ...I miss my pump. I'll be back on it soon. Very soon.

10 Years with Type Diabetes!

As of Today I have spent the last 10 years of my life with Type 1 Diabetes. Actually, I thought it was at the earliest next year that I'd be 'celebrating' this day. I had completely forgotten and didn't realize that it had been this long already.

Seriously time flies when you're... um.... giving shots, checking blood sugars, measuring and counting your food, obsessively reading food labels, dating and marrying, shots, working, living life, blood sugars, getting pregnant, chasing after a toddler, dealing with insurance companies......

Yeah, time flies. 10 years means I've given myself a minimum of 10,000 shots and of 16,000 blood sugar checks.

So, how did I celebrate? Well, by keeping things normal, of course!

My husband is enjoying his week of of school before he goes back to a new set of classes on Monday. We took care of some phone-type stuff at AT&T, then to save on gas (because, seriously, how is it really possible for gas to jump so high so quickly!?) he decided to tag-along with me to help my dad out at work. Family day out, got Arby's (their new Jr.Turkey sandwhich was SO great and nice on the blood sugars!), worked, got home and have continued the night just like any other. ...oh yeah, except for the part where we stopped at the library and there is a $45 lost book charge on my card!? What the heck!? ...but that's not what this post is about.

I've been on a pump break. Scar tissue build up caused me to need to go back to Lantus and Apidra 4+ daily shots. It actually has worked pretty well. But, I'm ready for my pump now. I also just found out that Minimed's Mio infusion sets are now available on my prescription plan. So, hopefully I'll actually be able to get affordable sets that hopefully will work for me. We all know the quickset drama I've had and how much I abhor using them.

Anyway. Happy 10 Years to me!!!! Doubly happy 10 years and complication free! ...now... to get my 8-something a1c down in the 7's... Heehee.

Happy day/evening to all the rest of you lovely people!!!

Multiple Daily Injections

I've been on that regimen since shortly before Christmas. I had a lot of scar tissue build up and my pump sites were going bad after less than a day - my blood sugars would rise and I'd have to bring my basal rates up like crazy just to compensate and force the sites to last a little while longer - cause we weren't able to afford more sites. ....diabetes sucks worse when money is involved. Haha.

So, I have been back on the good 'ol Lantus and the new Apidra regimen.

After being on my pump for 3 years it was so weird going back to shots. It's gone pretty smoothly, surprisingly to myself.

I end up forgetting my Lantus shot in the evening (or morning) until the next morning (or that evening) when I've been fighting sugars THEN realize what I forgot to do. So sometimes things get all crazy, oh well. Life goes on, one day at a time. I'm ready for my pump to be back on, and I think some of my preferred infusion sets are actually covered with the new medical year having rolled over.

Tomorrow is my ******10th******* year with diabetes. It's crazy, I know. I actually thought it had only been 8 or 9 years and my sister recently said something that made me sit back and think about the math. Yep, it's been 10 years. Time flies when you're.... ....having fun? Haha. Yep! Diabetes is apart of my life, it's apart of me and has helped shape me into who I am - so, taking everything in stride (cause that how I like to live) I just didn't even realize.

I'll have a rad post some time tomorrow about 10 years with Type 1 diabetes.

P.S. Yes, that is 50 units of Lantus you see in the needle. I have never had to take so much basal in my normal life! I did when I was pregnant, but that is not 'normal' life. I have no idea what the deal is, I want my pump back! 

New Life....

Today is supposed to be the first day of Spring. It certainly does not feel very spring like, there is a cold icy wind outside and it's cloudy, no buds on our trees and we got an inch of snow yesterday morning (it's all melted now).

Spring signifies new life, but I can't help be sad today - a dear friend of mine said goodbye to her baby girl yesterday. She delivered at about 24 weeks, the little one was diagnosed with Anencephaly and the little one was going to make it past birth if even to full term.

They chose to induce labor, she was born yesterday morning, and went to be with Jesus at the same time. They got to hold her and spend some time with her and their families.

Any mom/parent can instantly feel that pang in their heart at the thought of losing their baby. Having lost my own, I know how heartbreaking the whole process can be.

So thankful for my little Rylee girl. It's actually been a bit of a rough weekend for me, not sure why. Rylee almost certainly being our only child hit me (again) this weekend. I'm totally enjoying her development. Yesterday it became apparent that she has hit a new stage - being genuinely scared of things.

She's growing up. Playing. Talking. Choosing to "Play with toys" over her dinner. Requesting that we play with her. Laughing when the rest of us laugh to be 'apart of the group.'  My baby is rapidly running away from me. I really do enjoy every moment. She is my entertainment, I prefer to watch her for hours on end over TV. She's so funny to watch. I've said it before - but I LOVE to watch the way her brain thinks about things.

I'm sick of not being in Church. It's been over 2 years since we've been there consistently.  I was so frustrated this morning because I wanted to go to church, was getting up to get ready and realized I had forgotten that we have to get up at about 7 just to be able to get in the shower as there are 5 of us that take them on Sunday mornings - and the hot water just doesn't last that long. I know it sounds so trivial... but we are a family of obsessive people that all need a shower to function in the morning, so there isn't much of a way around that.


Kenny's got 2 quarters of school down and [hopefully] only 6 more!  It's 2 more years of school, but thinking of it as 6 quarters feels more attainable/shorter. I'm pretty sure he's got a 4.0 or close in all his classes. I'm so proud of him. I also can't wait to be living in our own house again.

I just miss it, ya know? Every time I see our storage pile of stuff I wonder why I'm even keeping it - oh yeah, I love it and would really like to use it again. ...but maybe we should sell it and just get new stuff... ....no.... that would cost so much more... but.... yeah. I'm a downer on this Sunday.

Colds colds go away!

Rylee has never been as sick as she has this week. Took her back to the doctor last night because I knew there was something more going on than just a cold. We found an ear infection this time, a new development from last week. So, we've finally got a prescription that'll take care of her ear-infection and most likely her chest problem too. Didn't sound like Pneumonia, but if it was something bacterial it should be taken care of with the the antibiotic.

So, while we were waiting for her prescription to be filled yesterday I took her across the street and shot these delightful photos! I love having a dress-up-doll (toddler)!

 

 

 

 

And today my awesome husband took us on an impromptu  drive up to Mt.Spokane and after doing my share of picture taking my husband made me get In-Front of the camera!

 

Heaven-forbid I'd actually be in-front of the camera.  Heehee. No, I spend life looking through a lens. I love it. I love having our daughters life documented and I love helping to document other people's children as they grow too.

 She's 2 years and almost 3 months, now. Kenny's Birthday is in a few days. I am in no way ready for his birthday. I always have plans, I always have his gift purchased weeks-months in advance... not this year. It's been a little nuts, though, between school-work-work-kid-life. I'm hoping that I'll have it figured out later tonight, or by Monday at least. Haha.