2007 Year In Review – November

January 3, 2008 at 7:45 pm | In Cystic Fibrosis Related Diabetes, Life in General, Support, Year In Review | Leave a Comment
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I ended up giving up on my online search for love. Hoping I would have more luck in “real”life rather than “cyber”life. Happily my friends had discovered the fun of dinner/game parties. Stuffing ourselves until our bellies ached then mentally suffered through rounds of Trivial Pursuit. So much fun, it took up a large part of my free time.

jambalaya

Some how I ended up feeling fairly bored and stuck with my life. Not sure why, but I thought about what I could change in my life and not really do much long term damage…. so I cut my hair! Not a huge life change, but enough to spice it up for a while.

Here’s the new cut, shorter and darker.

me new haircut

Kind of messy from partying and dancing all night long at my friend’s photography art show.

Bad health news this month. Looks like my diabetes is doing a number on my kidneys. The doctor thinks the damage will reverse it’s self once I get my sugar levels under control, but that is not what have read on the web. Yet my doc still did not want to get me an insulin pump. So frustrating. Why does everything seem so complicated? Seems like my friends are having a hard time understanding all of my health issues and don’t understand why I am so tired all the time. Sometimes I have had to cancel plans at the last minute because I realize I have absolutely no energy left to leave the house. I hope I don’t lose my friends because of my health. It really isn’t ME that is the problem, it is my poor weak body.

kidney painting

2007 Year In Review – July

January 2, 2008 at 10:48 pm | In Challenges, Cystic Fibrosis Related Diabetes, Year In Review | Leave a Comment
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BBQs, music, family, friends and SUNSHINE!!! I love summer! Sunshine, walks in the park with Brodie, it feels like heaven!

A friend of mine has a service dog, Sunny. She is a lifesaver, quite literally. It got me thinking. I wondered if there was such a thing as a Diabetic Alert Dog. Sure would be a good idea for me. My biggest fear of my diabetes is that my glucose levels will drop to low and I will pass out. With no one at home but me, that is a very scary thought. Which is why I suffer from constantly high sugar levels. These dogs will alert a diabetic if their sugars become to high or to low. Then the person knows to check their blood glucose levels and act accordingly. How handy!

diabetic alert dog

After a little Google-stalking I found that there IS!! Shoot, there even is a program where you could train your OWN dog. It requires a three week training stay in Missouri. I thought about it for a split second before I realized that my company only gives 88 hours of leave, and I use that up doing my yearly tune-up, doctor’s appointments, and such. Well, including the charge of $6,000 for the training… scratch that idea off the list. I’ll have to figure something else out.

piggy bank

2007 Year In Review – June

January 2, 2008 at 10:19 pm | In Cystic Fibrosis Related Diabetes, Dating, Year In Review | Leave a Comment
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Concentrating on my career was the focus of this month. Lots of training courses. Seems like this year was all about learning! Met a couple new men as well. Unfortunately, I was looking to relax and have fun, but most of them were looking to get married and didn’t care to who. Just not what I was looking for. My family were regulars at the free weekly concert in the park. Saw some really fun bands play. What a great little town this is! We all had a great time.

Still dealing with high blood sugars. I just can’t figure out this insulin vs. carbohydrate thing.

insulin and needles

What Does “Salty and Sweet” Mean?

December 28, 2007 at 1:25 am | In Cystic Fibrosis, Cystic Fibrosis Related Diabetes, Invisible Disease | Leave a Comment
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Salty:
The major sign of Cystic Fibrosis is excess salt. In fact, this is how CF is diagnosed. The Sweat Test, is a simple, painless test and the best way to diagnose CF. The test measures the concentration of salt in a person’s sweat. A high salt level indicates CF. It is actually very complicated to explain and even harder to understand the details of this disease. Basically, CF affects how salt and water moves through the cells of the body which causes very salty sweat and very dehydrated mucus (No one has ever said this is a “pretty” disease!).

salt pretzel

I was diagnosed with CF at the age of 18 months old. As a baby I had a lot of digestive problems which lead doctors to test me for CF. The doctor who diagnosed me only gave me one year to live. Luckily my parents found a specialist who was able to give me the best treatment. As I got older research progressed and therapies improved, the average lifespan has increased and increased, which now is 36.5 years old! But still… there is no cure for CF.

Sweet:
As people with CF live longer, thanks to advanced research studies and new treatments, they are having more and more complications stemming from the CF. One of these complications is diabetes. Diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis Related Diabetes in 2000, I only now in 2007, am really realizing what a problem diabetes is and how difficult it is to manage.

sugar cupcakes

I was tested for CFRD after a lung CAT-scan which showed that my pancreas had partially autodigested (I thought that was fascinating!). My doctor ordered a glucose test which showed I had CFRD. I was relieved to have an explanation as to why I craved Noodles night and day, my many trips to the restroom even though I didn’t have that much to drink, why my lung function tests were on a steep decline and why I was always tired. Finally an answer… but I had no idea what I had in store. Diabetes is a very complicated disease to control. I now take six shots a day and I still my blood sugars are out of control. Trying to control my sugar levels is now my second full time job. Also, there is no cure for diabetes.

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