My Dream Come True? Or Totally WTF?

A buddy I work with found these in a vending machine at a bowling alley. He just HAD to buy them for me.

No, I haven't tried them yet... If they were Cheesy Tots in a bag I'd be all over them. Maybe. :-)

Someone's Idea of Torture?

I recently found a picture I took late last summer with my craptacular camera phone.

In this picture you can't make out what I was seeing with my eyes, but let me tell you, it sent a shiver of fear up and down my spine. The picture first, then I'll explain...

I know, I know. You can't see a damn thing. Honest, it's not even worth investigating.

Allow me to set the scene for you.

I was shopping for a cheap suit. I went to one of the local department stores (which will remain nameless), and started picking things off the "budget" rack. I took the clothes into the fitting room to try them on.

I slipped off one of my shoes and glanced down at the floor. As the light bounced off the back of my eyes and my brain registered the data that was coming in, my heart nearly stopped cold in my chest.

Needles (well, actually pins) everywhere. Every damn where. For every square inch of carpeted floor there were between 3-5 pins laying there. Almost so bad that I didn't have anywhere to safely put my diabetic feet without risking an accidental stabbing.

I slipped my foot back in my shoe (after snapping a quick camera phone picture for all of you!) and left the fitting room without trying on a single thing. It just was not worth the exposure.

The clothes were too expensive anyway.

A New Variable and Mixed Feelings

Have you ever been excited about something and dreading it at the same time?

I recently had my endo appointment. A1C is up, which caught me off guard. But considering we've just made it through the holiday season and all that jazz I guess I can't be too surprised. Still bums me out a bit. There's always something to work on isn't there?

At my last appointment back in November I pitched the idea to my endo about Symlin, and he blew it off and started rambling on about Byetta. I didn't push it too hard because the Symlin Pen was not yet available.

Well, that has changed, and the pen is now available.

I got my doc to write a prescription for the pen (and pen needles - don't forget those!). It took a few days for my pharmacy to get their hands on the pen form, and another day or so for me to get back to the pharmacy to pick it up - but I have it now.

Once I actually had the pen in my hands, I had some very mixed feelings about it. Honestly, I was very scared to add yet another variable into the mix. There was some hope that it would eventually help things, but I was almost overwhelmed by the notion of all of the "trial and error" it would take to get to that point!

Bernard did an excellent write up on how he uses Symlin. There is also a TON of information in the Symlin Users Forum (thanks Scott S.!) on TuDiabetes.com

After a few days of reading, researching, and internal waffling about what to do, I decided there was only one way to figure it out! So I took my first dose.

After about a week I have seen some very promising (incredible!) results, but also a lot more high BG's.

The highs are because I'm starting slow and being very cautious with my insulin doses. Given some more time I will figure out the right balance and timing.

This is going to sound funny from a veteran diabetic - but I am really hating the shots. I've been spoiled by insulin pumps for over ten years, and doing these shots again really bites. Boohoo me, right?

It has also been hard to remember to take the pen with me. I usually have everything I need right in my pump case. There have already been a few times where I intended to use it, but either forgot the pen at home or left it on my desk when out at lunch.

I'm actually playing around with the idea of wearing one of my old pumps and pumping my Symlin (thanks Sarah!).

The physical logistics are a bit intimidating to me though. I'm not yet completely sure I want to deal with a second infusion set and device on my belt. Add some sort of CGM technology to that assortment in the relatively near future, and I'm wearing a LOT of stuff (both on my belt and sticking into my subq tissue).

I'm just not sure I'm ready for all that yet. I have to weigh the pros and cons, and have more dialogue with the little guys on my shoulders.

I'll keep you all posted as my adventure unfolds!

Scott Has Been Here (dot com)

Are any of you familiar with "Where's George" ? Maybe you've gotten a one dollar bill with that website stamped on it? It is basically a fun website where people can go to see where their paper currency has been. The bills can be tracked by their serial number, and if many people register the same bill you can literally see a map detailing where that bill has been.

A coworker of mine was recently talking with me about how she found a test strip in the inside of her sock one day. She said it was not even a "recent model" strip - but one from a meter she used long ago! "Must have gotten in the laundry somehow" she explained.

We chatted about the crazy places these test strips end up, and the little nod of recognition when you see a test strip out in the wild. An acknowledgement of another living with diabetes somewhere out there, not too far away.

We joked about a "Where's George" type of thing with test strips rather than paper currency. Somehow microscopically printing a website address and identifier on each test strip, then people that find them can go to the website and record a sighting. Picture a Google map with little red dots where people have found one of your test strips.

Don't think too hard about the logistics of something like this, the fact that these discarded test strips are bloody, and technically litter, and that we don't leave them all over on purpose.

Just let your imagination run with the idea of what your map would look like after a couple months, or a year, or a couple of years.