[ShintoBean]

Hi all, I've been lurking the past few days and finally decided to say hello! I must say I have been quite discouraged about my diabetes as of late, and this forum has given me the motivation to get well. I was diagnosed T1 9 years ago at the age of seventeen (just a few months before high school graduation . . . bummer!) and it definitely runs in my family (mom, aunt, and a cousin are all T1, and my grandfather is at T2).

I'll post later with my questions/concerns, must get back to American Idol!

[xMenace]

Welcome Mr. Bean

[mzteacher]

welcome!!! you have found a great place...glad you said hello...lots of great people and information here....
susan

[ShintoBean]

ahem, that's MS. Bean to you! :P

[davef]

Ms Bean,

Welcome aboard, glad you found the forums, it is a great place for information and certainly helps me stay motivated. Lots of great people ready to help and support.

Fire away with your questions, I'm sure you will get the answers you need to get things under control.

How was your last A1c and how are your numbers at the moment.

[kgm0612]

Welcome to the forum, Ms. Bean. Friendly people and valuable information to be found here!

Karen

[ShintoBean]

Well, to put it bluntly, my recent blood sugars have been horrendous! I've been pumping (with humalog, on a minimed paradigm 522) since 2003, and my most recent A1C this February was 10.8, the highest it has ever been! Now granted, it was probably my first A1C in about a year due to a very busy time: grad school long distance from my family and my regular docs, getting married, moving to Chicago from east coast, starting a new, very busy job, etc. I know my own health has been on the back burner the past couple of years with school, and I'm also a stress/depression eater, which has been a BIG problem, the only reason I haven't gained weight is the high blood sugar. I'll always start the day with good intentions, but then be half-way through lunch when I realize i forgot to check my sugar first, or I didn't really check the amount of carbs, then it becomes a guessing game, which I am obviously losing.
So I've been tracking my numbers the past couple of days and I feel like both my basal rates and correction boluses are completely off. I was chugging along pretty nicely with a basal of 1 unit/hr most of the day with 1.2/hour pre-dawn, but I think its just not enough, fasting blood sugars have been over 200, even with a correction at night. That's the other thing, my correction was 1 unit for every 30 mg above target, but 2 hours later, it will still be too high, I didn't eat dinner until 9 pm tonight because i wanted to see if a correction would work with out the added bolus for food. (it did, after taking a few units extra than the "bolus wizard" on my pump said) Maybe I'm just severely undercounting carbs. . . I've just got to completely overhaul my settings I think, the problem is having the time to do it!
I found this forum looking for some support/other people with the same issues, and I think I've found it. I've really decided to take charge and fix myself before it is too late.
Sorry for the long, somewhat rambling post, I think that's enough for now.
Oh, and ShintoBean is just a nonsense nickname, I just thought it was funny someone called me Mr. Bean, especially since I am nearly as clumsy!
- Shannon

[darsie9]

Some Of My Fondest Memories

Christmas time...
My brothers, sisters and I would go to bed Christmas Eve, too excited to sleep!
We would wake mom and dad up, usually around 6 or 7 in the morning ( they had probably just gotten to sleep.) lol
The whole family would go down stairs in our robes. A huge (it seemed that way @ that time) Christmas Tree was in the corner of our Living room that Santa had brought and decorated just for my family!
My brothers, sisters and I got "One" present each. Stockings were hang on the "cardboard fireplace" with a thumb tack. The fireplace was painted to make it look like it was made of bricks.
Mom had filled the stockings with oranges, apples, and oh yes, home made chocolate fudge, wrapped in foil!
Dad had painted the living room windows with colored "Glass Wax" making the scene of Santa & his Reindeers flying over roof tops! He also made snowflakes on the window too! My dad was quite an artist!
When we all had opened our presents, mom would go to the kitchen and make hot chocolate with a marsh mellows for all of us to drink while she made breakfast.
I remember one Christmas, we all had gotten what was called a "Go Devil"! It
Was...I'll try to explain it...like one short metal ski with a metal brace (like an upside down triangle) attached to the ski and then a wooden seat was attached to the brace on the top!
This would never be allowed to be sold in today's times! Lol We would take waxed paper and rub it on the ski so we could go really fast!
Anyhow...we would climb the hill next to our house, sit on this contraption, hold on to the wooden seat and ski down the hill!
Talk about excitement! We never wanted to come in doors no matter how cold we were!

School...
We lived deep in the country...just so you'll understand what I'm going to say next...
I remember going to a one room school...it actually was in our church, since a new school was being built. Ok...don't laugh...but we had a wooden pot belly stove to keep the room warm in the winter. There were two out houses! One for the girls and one for the boys! I'm not kidding!
Mom would pack our lunch boxes ( I had a Howdy Doody one) when we would get to school, we were told to put them on the shelf by the stove! We didn't get sick from our warm Jumbo (Bologna) sandwiches!
We would pay a quarter each week for a carton of milk that was kept cool in a metal washtub with dry ice!
In this one room school was one teacher and four grades of children! Looking at the class room, from left to right...the first grade was on the left side of the room...then on the right side of the room, was the second grade. It gets better! Lol There was a curtain behind the first and second grade....then the third grade was behind the first grade and finally the fourth grade was behind the second grade!
Phew! Lol......... But let me tell you....we were very disciplined, we all listened and paid our respect to the teacher!

Summer fun...
I remember that mom had a metal washtub too and it acted as a swimming pool in the summer!

Washing Clothes...
I remember mom getting her first washer...a wringer washer! I remember getting my tongue stuck in it too!...I was always in to things! Lol The country doctor came to our house and stitched up my tongue!
Winter time...
I remember making Igloos with snow...we'd play for hours in it!
I remember making snowmen and snow women...we'd dress them with hats and gloves...we'd take some coal from our furnace and use them for buttons...
We sure had some awesome snowball fights! Mom and dad would join in the battle!
Television...
I remember when my dad brought home our first television set! It was in a huge wooden cabinet and the screen was so small...there was a magnifying glass in front of it to make everything look larger! Of course...it was black & white!
I can remember it wasn't until the early 70's before we got our first colored TV! Oh...and you had to get up to turn the stations....I think there were only four channels to choose from!
TV went off the air at midnight and there were test patterns on with color so you could adjust the color!
I can remember "rabbit ears" for reception and roof antennas...dad would have to get out on the roof to adjust the picture!
Stereo....
I remember when my dad brought home the first record player with stereo sound!
It came with a 35rpm record with the sound of someone playing ping pong! You could hear the ball go back and forth!
I can remember getting a small 45rpm record machine in my teens that was in a suitcase like container! You could close it up and carry it around from room to room or to a friend's house!
I remember a "spindle also a plastic disc to put inside of the 45 record so you could play in on the record player...also 35rpm records!
I remember Gram had a wind up record player that played slate 75rpm records!
Clothes
I remember mom had a Singer sewing machine with a treadle! Mom had made so many of our clothes on the machine!
I remember poodle skirts...oxford shoes...bobby socks...

Down on the Farm...
I can remember fresh milk from the cows...not pasteurized! Fresh made butter, fresh eggs from the hens & oh yes....this made me ill...when we would have chicken ...yes...dad would go out and cut off their heads! You could see the bodies fly up in the air and the mouths moving...detached!
Mom would have to pluck them and then either fry or bake them!
Thank goodnes...I never saw him butcher the cows! Phew!
Lots and Lots of fresh veggies! I loved going out in the fields, picking tomotoes and eating one while picking others!
I can remember "stringing beans" with mom...
I miss the farm life!
Stores...
I can remember walking to the store, which was pretty far! It was a family outing! Lol
The store was only open a few hours in the afternoon, Monday through Saturday! No store was ever open on a Sunday....that just didn't happen! There were "Blue Laws" against that!
I can remember our big outting...going to "town" ! Believe this or not...we actually had a class on the etiquette of going to shop down town!
You had to be on your very best behavior and you were to be dressed like you were going to church...with gloves and hats on...your hair had to be done up nicely and you had to shine your "patten leather shoes" !!!
Oh...I could go on & on! Maybe another day...I will write more of my memories!
It's almost 2 in the morning and my eyes are getting blurry!
If you want to hear more....let me know! I could go on forever!
Dar

[jacobsam622]

welcome to the df

[The_QUIET_one]

Welcome to DF Bean! Good to here you are feeling well. Cheers from one former lurker to another

[xMenace]

Originally Posted by ShintoBean

my most recent A1C this February was 10.8, the highest it has ever been!

I've just got to completely overhaul my settings I think, the problem is having the time to do it!

Spend some serious time on your rates and ratios. How to do Basal Testing Once you find the sweet spot, you can sit back and cruise, but not always. Say every quarter pick a week to intensely test.