Great Description

of diabetes! So cute. Of course, us CFRD'ers and post-tx diabetes'ers aren't really a 1 or a 2. I was once told I was kind of a 1.5!

http://www.tudiabetes.org/video/what-is-type-1-diabetes

Natalia

UPDATE
Natalia's surgery is a GO!

You can follow Natalia's brother, John, on Twitter here

got the call for her lungs!!!

Pray this is not a dry run and she will do well during the surgery.

You can read updates here

Now I am excited

about getting my insulin pump! I met with a wonderful rep from Animas yesterday. She is a Type-1 diabetic herself and uses the pump, so I got a lot of personal opinions along with professional opinions. I have decided to go with her company's pump, the Ping in PINK. I am excited. I won't receive the pump until next week so probably won't start training until the week after Thanksgiving, but that is OK. I am ready to get this beast called diabetes under control, and learn more about what causes my highs and lows.

One of the reasons I originally looked at this pump, was because it has the new technology of continuous blood glucose monitoring integrated. There are other separate CBGMs on the market, but I liked the idea of it being one receiver. But, this pump does not give a low enough basal rate for me. And, i've heard that the CBGM on this device is not very accurate.

So, in addition to the Ping pump, I am also getting approved for the Dexcom 7+. So, I will have the access to the CBGM, but it will just be one extra receiver, which is a fair trade off for accuracy.

I was hoping that the Dexcom fairy would call today and I would magically have the device BEFORE Thanksgiving so I can start wearing it and watch my trends before we determine my insulin pump needs. But, we'll see if that happens. The pump happened fast. I met with the rep yesterday at Starbucks at 10 am; learned about the pump and signed the papers. Got a call at 1 pm that my paperwork had been received, then another call at 5:30 saying they were ready to rock and roll! Wow, that was fast.

Why the rush, you ask? Well, with Matt's job change, our insurance will also change. We are currently on COBRA and as many of you know, we have spent a ton on medical expenses this year. I was $167.67 away from my out-of-pocket max. And, the anesthesia bill from my previous sinus surgery is still "pending." Well, I may as well go on with the pump, pay the rest of the out-of-pocket, then get everything else covered at 100%! I guess my co-pay for the pump would have been 20% of like $5000! So, 167.67 isn't bad! And, it will include 3 months of supplies! WOOHOO

The Dexcom will cost me....wait for it...wait for it...NOTHING! I don't know when the last time I could say that was! SWEET!

So, I hope to be pumping and CBGMing soon!

8 years ago...

I married my best friend! Happy Anniversary Matty! I love you.

Our ceremony. I begged our priest, Father Craig, to let us do our ceremony by candlelight!
Our Honeymoon in Napa. This was Thanksgiving day.

Good Times

So Roxy and I headed to Bakersfield, my home town, for a baby shower. I left town Thursday morning and arrived in time to take a much-needed nap, and then head to dinner with my dad, sis, aunt, uncle, and my sis's BFF. It was so fun! I was able to meet up with my own BFF, Wendy, for coffee on Friday morning, and another very close friend of mine, Susanne, for lunch! What a fantastic day! There is nothing like sharing your deepest thoughts with your BFF's. It is hard for me to be so far away from them, but it was good for me to get to hang with them and catch up!

My sister's BFF is having a baby boy and sis was throwing the shower, which I didn't want to miss! What a beautiful job she did with the shower. My sis is SUPER creative, and the theme was adorable. The shower went off without a hitch and was just beautiful.

I was also able to catch up with an old friend who has been through the adoption process! What a wonderful chat we had. She herself has had some a great deal of health issues and decided it was not in their best interest to carry a child. We have always hit it off wonderfully, not only because she is a great person, but because we always had a good amount in common due to her her own health issues. She shared with me about her own adoption journey, and I so appreciated it!

Though it is incredibly difficult to be around those who are pregnant, or love to complain about how difficult it is to be a pregnant, a parent, or how hard their very healthy/normal life might be, she gave me a renewed sense of hope about what might be....

Our situation has been difficult the past few months...

But, I feel in a way that I cannot continue to worry about "what if's." I spoke with my friend, who has been through this adoption process, about concerns regarding the future...we chatted about the "what if something happens to me in 5 years...in 10 years..." She very directly said "something could happen to anyone in this room who is a mother." It is the way life is. I know this is true. Another friend of mine from Vegas told me the same thing...she has 2 little girls...she said something could easily happen to her tomorrow.

So true.

So, I think that I have decided that I WANT to be a mother....and I feel that we will be good enough parents to make it work. We can deal with things as they come....we can roll with the punches...we can do this.

Of course, this will not happen tomorrow, or maybe not next year...or in the next 2. It can be a long process, but I am wanting to pursue it.

My friend told me today that she really felt that God brought that baby to her...it was meant to be. I feel like, and have always felt like, things happen for a reason...and that things are meant to be. But, I cannot expect a baby or toddler to show up in my lap. It is something I have to initiate. She said the hardest thing is to get the ball rolling...

so...

once we are able...we will get the ball rolling.

Natalia

Please join me in prayers for my CF friend, Natalia.

You can view her blog here, if you haven't already.

Excited

I never thought I'd say I was excited about the possibility of getting an insulin pump. Strangely enough, during all my weekend research about the pump, I had an extremely low blood sugar episode yesterday. It was 54. It literally wiped me out for the rest of the day. It is such a horrible feeling. I have got to get control over this diabetes! I have read over on CF2CHAT about other CF'ers who use this fancy pump. They seem to be quite happy with it, and feel that it has helped them control their diabetes considerably.

As mentioned in my last post, I have flat out refused fought the idea of a pump because I just didn't want to have something attached to me all the time. But, is better diabetes control worth it? I think it is.

I spoke with a rep from the Minimed company this morning and he gathered my info, including insurance info. He said that a "insurance specialist" will call me within the next few days to tell me what my insurance will cover. Interestingly enough, after my pricy sinus surgery, I am about $167 away from my out-of-pocket max. Nice. From what the rep told me, if I have reached my max, my insurance should pick up the entire tab. that'd be nice!

So, the ball is rolling. I guess I have to sign something then they will help me talk to my doc/get an rx for it. I haven't even talked to my doc about it, but I might try to put in a call just to see if this pump is one he thinks would be good for me. We haven't talked much about the pump, because we've been so focused on my thyroid. I know he will be on board. He's cool like that.

We are on COBRA due to Matt's job switch. We will have benefits with his new insurance DEC 1...but I might have to pay (might be worth it) to continue my COBRA for December if the pump isn't here/charged to insurance in time.

In other news, my sinuses are still draining, I have a sore neck lymph node, and I am STILL coughing stuff up. It takes a lot of energy for me (WARNING...SKIP THE NEXT LINE IF YOU HAVE A WEAK STOMACH) to hack up a tiny bit of white mucus. I don't know what is up with that. It is frustrating though...I can feel it, but it takes a large amount of coughing to get it up. Then the next day, it happens again. It sort of causes a wheeze. Maybe it's the "so-called" asthma. Hmmm. I could try the Pulmicort again....too bad it makes me feel as if I want to hurl.

Thinking...

about getting an insulin pump. I am really struggling with my diabetes. I use Novolog and seem to have issues with after-meal highs. My A1C had been pretty good...around 6. Well, my last A1C was 7! NOT HAPPY.

For a long time I refused to even think about a pump. I was hooked up to IVs so much in my earlier years, I really didn't want to be "tied down." But, with my sugars getting more and more difficult to control, I think I might get one.

There are new ones, like THIS. I really like the idea of having continuous blood glucose monitoring and alarms that alert you of highs/lows.

Any of my pals out there use a pump that has the blood glucose monitoring?? Use a pump at all?

I hope that the insurance will pay for it, or at least most of it. And, the components (insulin, infusion sets, transmitters etc)

No News is Good News

I have been slowly feeling better! Yeah for that.

I seem to still be coughing a fair amount, and the cough is productive. I have been on TOBI for almost 2 weeks. I am not sure why the cough. But, I have a feeling that since my nose was all blocked up because of the polyp, so everything that they didn't get out during surgery is draining into my lungs. This is my theory. I hope the TOBI continues to clean it out and the draining stops.

My adult CF doc also commented when she listened to me that it sounded an awful lot like I have asthma. I have been told that I probably have asthma. My transplant doctor thinks that my donor lungs probably had undiagnosed asthma...or was going to develop asthma. Many transplant docs disagree and say that asthma is not possible post-transplant. But, after steady PFTs and even bronchs, there is no evidence of rejection, which is what many transplant docs say is the only reason for wheezing.

I have always had wheezing. It gets worse at times.

What I didn't know is that asthma can cause a productive cough. Interesting.

Whatever the cause of this continued productive cough, I am doing my best to keep it at bay.

Do You Want To Know...

Why organ donation is so important?

Check this out. My friend Natalia was featured in this article this week. She is a CF friend of mine who, like many others, including Piper, are waiting for new lungs. I think most of you have heard me talk about how important organ donation is. For Natalia, who lives in Canada, you can register to be an organ donor here. For those of us in the US, you can check out this website where, according to your state, you can find out more information and possibly enter an official registry. Some states, like California, have official registries that cannot be contested in the event of something happening to you. Other states, like Nevada, use the "pink dot" system.

Either way, no matter where you live, it is very important to talk to your family about your decisions. Let them know what you do and do not want! Let them know if you wish to become an organ donor.

Please keep my friends in your thoughts and prayers. I was given my second chance and there are lots of other people waiting for their second chance.