Our New Normal

This cartoon is for all my teacher friends:

For the last week, we have finally begun seeing normal BG numbers for Seth.  The NP would like to see his numbers range from 80-175 right now with the ultimate goal being 70-150.  We experienced our first "low" this week, which for now would be a number below 80.  Seth has been running sweet (above 175) for so long that his body is not used what we would consider normal.  So it was important for us to help him:

1. Understand the difference in how his body feels when it is low vs. high.  We have learned that when Seth is low his hands shake and his legs feel weak and he gets extremely irritable, that was a fun lesson learned.
2. Work through lows in the 70-90's without glucose or sugar to stabilize him so that his body will get used to that as a normal number for him and send a signal to him that he is low when he falls below 70, which is normal for you and I.
3. Learn the important of treating a low with a quick acting sugar (glucose tablets, juice) and follow that with a fat (Almond Butter, Peanut Butter & Crackers) that will help sustain his BG so that he doesn't rollercoaster with his BG. For example:  His BG was 70 one day after swimming, so he drank some grape juice, which elevated his BG to 111 so he got on the bus.  30 minutes later, I called him just as he walked in the door and had him test, he was 60.  The next time that happened we gave him juice and some peanut butter crackers and his number stayed over 100...lesson learned, and thank you Tonya for reminding us of that information.  :)

I thought it might be interesting for you to see what our daily schedule looks like now:

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3:00 am BG check

6:00 am BG Check followed by 60 carb breakfast.  If Seth is high then give 1 unit of Humalog (rapid acting insulin) for every 50 points he registers above 150 to cover AND give 2 units of Humalog per 15 Carbs (CHO's) for breakfast).

8:30 am BG check (two hours after meal) 0 carb snack if hungry

12:00 pm BG check followed by 60 carb lunch.  If Seth is high then give 1 unit of Humalog for every 50 points he registers above 150 to cover AND give 1 unit of Humalog per 15 CHO's for lunch.  If this happens to be the one day a week that Seth has a long swim, then we calculate all of this and give one unit less of insulin to counteract the exercise.  Exercise decreases Seth's blood sugar.  We also keep a can of juice over at the pool in case he feels low while swimming and then he tests after swimming to make sure he has not fallen.  2x now he has and has needed juice and peanut butter crackers to help raise his BG to within normal range.

2:15 pm BG check (two hours after meal) 0 carb snack if hungry

4:00 pm BG check

6:00 pm BG check followed by 60 carb dinner.  If Seth is high then give 1 unit of Humalog for every 50 points he registers above 150 to cover AND give 1 unit of Humalog per 15 CHO's for dinner.

9:00 pm BG check.  11 units of Lantus (long lasting insulin)

9:30 Bedtime
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Today was our first Sunday at church since the diagnosis.  It has been so cold that church has been impacted.  It was so nice to go back today and partake of the spirit and be mindful of our blessings.  Friends and acquaintances asked me how we were doing and expressed sympathy for this, which was nice.  But I also felt a little weird, because we are past the shock phase and are moving forward. 

Since my post: Our Terms, I really have felt such peace about this.  I am so thankful for the treatment we are receiving, I am thankful for the knowledge that is out there, I am thankful that I have been able to coordinate benefits between our two insurance so that we have generous coverage until Seth is 26 years old (as long as we both keep these jobs), which is in our career plans.  Hopefully our employers feel the same way.  :) 

We are moving forward and beginning to investigate pump options in the hopes of charming our doctor into letting Seth get one prior to the one year mark that has been mentioned, ideally this summer while I am off work so we can learn how to use it.  We are trying to educate and inform ourselves so that we can be the best advocates for our son.

On another note, only 46 days until we head to Walt Disney World.  We are seriously so excited we can hardly stand it.  Woo to the Hoo.  I just bought the boys their Legoland tickets, Seth is super excited about that and so is hubby.  I guess they never really grow up do they?