Insulin Pump Cozzy

   Hey everyone! This post is to show you the pump cozzy/case my sister crochet for me. I told her I want her to design me a case since I haven't really found one I really like. Some people who have been affected by diabetes have designed some really cool ones BUT I'm a college student who works part time and sadly many of the cool cases out there are out of my price range. I had in mind that she could sew me one but that's not what the first one turned out to be :) She sat down and was messing around with knitting and crocheting and came up with what we're calling a pump cozzy. Someone asked for the pattern and sadly there is none, however she is interested in selling them if people are interested! She would be selling them through Ebay but please let me know if your interested so she'll know if its worth making some and getting them posted! :) They will be very inexpensive.
   I really like mine so far and hope someone else is interested :)

Eye appointment and Shout out to Medtronic :)

   So today I had my yearly eye exam. While I know people with diabetes have to get them check yearly even if they don't have glasses, that's not the case with me. I've been very nearsighted for a long time and had glasses since I was 10 years old (over half my life now). My near nearsightedness has not gotten worse as fast over the last few years which is awesome. I was told when you hit your 20's it slows down, at least for awhile. Shortly after my diagnosis my eye doctor said that my blood vessels were a little ripply but wasn't surprised. The next visit I had, with a different doctor, I was told they were fine. Last year I had the doctor who had said they looked ripply again and she said they look great. No sign of diabetes! I have been doing so much better lately that I was excited that to know I should defiantly get a good report today. She was very pleased with my improved a1c's. After she dilated them and saw looking at them she looked in my left one for long enough it made me a little nervous. After finishing she said that my left I eye has a few ripply vessels and said that it no doubt is coming from the change in bg control. She said she knows it frustrating since I'm doing so much better but it can affect them the same way as running high would until they get used to it. She wants to see me back in the months to check it again. I'm glad to know she is being very careful and checking again even though its not unusual, cause my eye health is VERY important to me. Have any of you guys had the "problem" of your eyes having to get used to better control? if so, did it go back to normal quickly once it got used to the change?

   Also I want to say a big THANK YOU to Medtronic! My pump has had a few cracks for awhile that started out very small and just got worse over time due to the normal wear and tear of using even though I am VERY careful with my it. I mean, its a body part even if its on the outside unlike a normal pancreas! I really didn't know anything about how warranties at Medtronic because I have had no trouble with the pump I've had for 3.5 years (except concern about the cracks). I decided to see whats up and after tweeting my concerns to the general public, Medtronic themselves replied! That was last night and this morning they called due to the tweet :) my sister took the message and I called when I got home. They said they want to replace it because due to the cracks it could get moist inside and fail. As to my questions about what happens when my warranty is running out in like 6 months, the rep explained that I will get called to be given the chance to upgrade and when I upgrade my pump will have a new 4 year warranty. I was thrilled to be assured they have such great warranties! I expected it to be great but just never knew exactly what it was. My replacement for my current 722 will be here by tomorrow night :) Thanks again, Medtronic!

Love and hugs, Leanna

My road to better blood sugar control.

   Happy Friday friends! I'm not sure if I find this to be a very happy Friday or not. You ask why? It is officially my last friday and last weekend before school starts on Wednesday next week :( I know I have some people who will see this and say I should be glad I had such a long break and don't worry I am very glad I had such a long one. Here's to kicking off a great semester!

   I had an appointment with my Endo on Wednesday. I have really been working hard at getting my a1c where it needs to be. In the last years I've had multiple 8.3's and I think the lowest I'd had was a 7.8 or 7.9 and that wasn't any of the most recent ones. I saw my former doctor for the last time in May of last year and had an 8.3. Let me mention he is my former doctor only because of insurance issues and he moved. I really liked him and would not have switched if I would not have had to. Over the summer I didn't really have a doctor but was working at stepping up to the plate and controlling my bg's like I have not done well enough in the past. In October 2012 I had my first appointment with an endocrinologist. My first doctor as a family medicine doctor who I was with at the time of being diagnosed and who treated diabetes so I stayed there until I was able to start my pump. I then switched to the one I was with until May. He was also in family medicine but was licensed to do patients with pumps. He was a great doctor and a very nice man. The only problem with him was the fact that he wasn't hard enough on me but my lack of great control was my problem, not his. I saw my endo in October when the last blood work I'd had was my 8.3 in May. She made in very clear that she wanted a 7.0 and since I am young it is important to get in in control and keep in there to keep from having other problems. Even though I'm never going to blame a doctor who wasn't super hard on me for my lack of great control, it did give me the extra push I needed to have her be harder on me. I did tell her that over the the summer I had been doing better then the 8.3 and she could see by my pump downloads that was the truth. The blood work I had done after that appointment came back as a 7.4 :) I was super happy cause it proved that over the summer, doctor or not, I had improved!

   Wednesday of this week was my 3 month follow up. I had been doing great for the most part but was, as my twitter friends know, a little nervous for my appointment. I had had my blood work done a week earlier so it would be back and we could go over the results at my appointment. My endo's office is amazing when it comes to wait time! I arrived early due to having been at another appointment before that and I was back in my room by my appointment time :) After going through the normal nurse stuff and having her take my pump to download the records and then bring it back, my nervous wait for the doctor started! A few mins later she knocked, then as she opened the door and started to come in, the first thing she said was "You are doing great!". My reaction was "I am?" To which she responded "How do you think you are doing?". I told her I'd been doing great until I was fighting being sick. She saw what I meant on my pumps charts and then said "Well you A1c is a 7.1 so that is great. Now all you have to do is smooth out the rough parts and you'll be under a 7 which is what we want". Those were some of the most rewarding words I've heard!

  Needless to say I am very happy with my D control right now :) Yes, I am aware like my wonderful #doc friends have been reminding me, that I am so much more then a number (shout out to Jamie of @InkStain_D for the pep talk tuesday), but it is great to know that I am doing what I need to to have the best health possible now and in the future. Also I want to finish with a HUGE THANK YOU to the #doc for being such a wonderful support system. I have known you guys for a little over a year and it has been the best diabetes year of my life. I really don't think I would be doing anywhere near as well as I am now without you guys so I want to give you guys a great deal of the credit. Thank you for all being sooo amazing!!!! Love you guys more then you know!! :)

Until next time, love and hugs, Leanna

My new Diabetes supply case.

    Hey everyone! This post is to review the small Vera Bradley Cosmetic bag I got today. I got a great deal on it on Ebay. I only gave $12.59 for it and they retail at $22.00 so I was thrilled with the deal I got! It is brand new for that price, not used. Most people who read this review will have come here knowing I'm diabetic as they know me on Twitter but for those of you who randomly find this be advised that I'll be reviewing it as in how it will work for carrying all the things we diabetics carry all the time, not how it works for makeup and etc.

   I am not a person who uses the black cases that blood testers come in for two reasons. 1: They don't hold everything we need and 2 they are really ugly and plain. I'm a girly girl who likes pretty things and my most common type of case is small makeup/cosmetic cases. If you look at another recent post on here you'll see that a few months ago I bought a polka dot case to add to my collection and I have used it a lot. Its big enough for my testing supplies and a quick sugar source. I do, however, like the idea of having a case that is big enough to hold all the supplies I need to carry in one place so it can be moved from bag to bag and keep it easier to keep track of everything. I think it is a very good idea to carry an extra pump site and reservoir (for pump users) but I have not regularly done it in the past.
   I have already different times eyed the Vera Bradley cosmetic bags. Not only are they cute but they have a plastic lining which for some like me who tosses used test strips in is a pretty cool feature. My cosmetic cases usually get dotted with blood on the inside! Another cool feature is the loop they have on the end of the case to carry it by. I often go to my brother's (who's my next door neighbor) basement to workout and usually just take a small case with my supplies instead of a big bag and this case will be easy to grab and go with.
   I opened the package when it came today and it didn't look as big as I'd pictured it. I was afraid for a bit that next it wouldn't hold as much as I'd hoped it would. Turns out I was wrong cause it will! Thought it would be good to give a list of what its holding and some pictures as the main part of my review so you other girly diabetics can know if this type of bag would work for you! Here is the list of things I have in it and they fit nicely.
 
My Glucagon Emergency shot
A 4 pack of peanut butter crackers
A pump Reservoir
A pump site
Some lancets
A pump battery
A few alcohol wipes
2 Glucose quick sticks
My tester (accucheck aviva)
A can of test strips
My lancet (accucheck softclix)

So yeah, for a little bag that measures 7x4 inches thats a nice amount of stuff and really everything a diabetic needs to have along regularly or at least everything I feel I need with me. Below are some pictures I took of it. I'm excited to use it and hope some fellow diabetics find this helpful!

The handy loop on the end. 

Everything I carry and everything that fits in the bag.

All my supplies :)

Let me know what bag you use to carry your supplies :)

Leanna

             

         

Recitals, finals and life.

   Wow is it seriously the 4th of DECEMBER?! Where is November go and where is December going?! For me its going into long hours of studying and stressing! On the bright side, in a week and a half the semester of school is over and I get to have more then a month of a break :)

   In addition to lots of school I also have had a lot of piano stuff going on. Since my teacher switch this summer I am very much enjoying working with my current teacher. She has helped me technically a lot and has helped me make WAY more progress then I expected to have made by now. I think she will be able to really take my playing to the level I want to be at but now the question is this. Can I measure up to the standards she sets? I hope so! My previous teacher did not have her students do any kind of memorization so starting that with my current teacher was a very new experience. I learned 2 pieces in about 7 weeks and had them ready for my first memorization recital in November which went great. Now I am 12 day from my Christmas recital which I am very excited for. This one is not being played from memory. I love Christmas and what better way to kick of the break from school then with a Christmas recital?

   I can't believe the semester is almost over! but mind you its a welcome thought to me :) This semester has been very stressful and I'm excited for it to be over so I can start fresh in the spring semester. 1 more quiz, 3 more exams, and one more chapter and discussion post and the semester is over! I already know that my Sociology grade will be like a 99.67%. My geography class will sadly be a B and I'm really hoping to finish math with an A but intermediate Algebra isn't really my thing!

   Please continue to pray for my sisters baby. Things are still the same the time for his birth and without a miracle his death seems to be coming close. God still works miracles and can for this little angel! It is heartbreaking to think I will have a nephew I will never get to know. He is sooo loved already and will always be. 

   Healthwise I'm doing great. New Endo, much improved a1c and an even better one on the way! I want to write a more in depth post about all that during break and will also have had another appointment by then so am gonna hold off for now.

   Well its 11:30pm and I still need to practice piano a bit and have to get to bed so I'm gonna say goodnight. I wanted to right a little up date and am glad I did :)

Love and Hugs, Leanna

God's comfort for me

   Hey all. Just taking a few minutes from my math homework to share something that gave me great encouragement last night. Before going to sleep I picked up a small book I keep on my headboard called Bedside Blessings by Charles Swindoll. It has a small section to read each day of the year and while I frequently read from it, I had not for quite awhile until I did last night. The part for last night was this:

   October 7: Has a friend betrayed you?...Has a disaster dropped on your life that's almost too great to bear? If so,don't fight back. Unjust suffering can be a dizzying experience. To keep your balance in those times when things are swirling around you, it's important to find a fixed reference point and focus on it. Return to the protection and guardianship of the Good Shepherd who endured the cross and laid down His life...for you.
          I am the good shepherd;
       the good shepherd lays down
            His life for the sheep.
             John 10:11

 I thought maybe someone out there who sees this might need it. It brought me to tears and brought such a calm over my soul. After something I went through awhile ago and something my family is going through now and in the next few months, I had no doubt why God led me to picking up that book last night.

  Well back to math and everyone have a GREAT day!! :)

Love and Hugs, Leanna

Diabetes at school and etc.

   With summer almost over my mind has been on blood sugar control while living a busy school schedule and on dealing with it while in class. Anyway most of this blog is gonna be pictures!

I got this really cute makeup case at Kmart. I love using makeup bags for my D supplies cause other cases are boring!

Might be small but holds alot! See the next pic...

I'm a big purse kind of girl. So I usually have no trouble having room to carry all my stuff. But when it comes to going to school I don't want to carry a purse and a book bag. I found this cute little Rosetti purse on clearance at Kohl's and last semester used it ALOT. Its perfect for putting all my diabetic stuff and my wallet etc in and I can just toss it in my bookbag. 

And yes, everything does fit in.......

and yes the zipper does close!!

Where theres a will, there's a way! :)

  Anyway thats just my ramblings about home to carry all my stuff. Hope you like it and maybe I'll give you an idea :)

Leanna