200 is the new 100.

Nothing like seeing numbers over 200 every day for the past 4 days to make me feel like a perfect patient.

2 of those were in response to crazy lows - I know I should eat 15 grams of carbs, wait 15 minutes, yada yada. And I do that when I'm in the 60s. (mostly) But at 39, and home alone, I am eating until I feel better. Screw the high.

And then 2 of those were before I went to bed. I guess pepperidge farm cookie carbs require more insulin than the package dictates. (4 cookies is 22 grams - WHATEVER). Also, I was feeling pretty good from the knowledge that I was honeymooning.

Conversation with self: Hey, still honeymooning doesn't mean you can eat whatever you want. Your c-peptide levels are lower, and honeymooning diabetics still need to manage, you know. Self (replying): Duh. I knew that. Don't know what YOU were thinking.

Last night - no cookies, but apparently panda express sneaks more sugar than I thought. 210 before bed. Eh, wait a while, see what happens. Oh, hello an hour later, let's see what sitting here reading and not moving at all has done to my sugars. 245. Crap.

Conversation with self: DUDE. CHECK nutritional info on-line when you can. You would have dosed more, and avoided this. Self (replying): I KNOW that. I don't know what YOU were thinking - you seem to be losing brain cells at a rapid pace lately.

And so it goes.

As Promised ....NUMBERS! YEAY!!

A1c - 6. Awesome. I was really surprised at this. I thought for sure it would be at least 6.5. So I was thrilled.

C-peptide levels -- started out low again, and then at the 30 minute mark it kicked in and by the 180 minute mark it went up to 2.1, which is in the normal range. NORMAL. (6 months ago it was highter, but hey). It's consistent with what it's been doing up till now, starting out low and then my pancreas wakes up and starts squirting out the good stuff. If only we could get it to squirt out the good stuff EARLIER and CONSISTENTLY.

So my original thought that I wasn't honeymooning anymore couldn't be more wrong, and I am thrilled about that. They told me that obviously the onglyza wasn't doing anything for my c-peptide levels, and I could go off it, at which point I told them I had taken myself off it anyway, and gone back to 10 units of Lantus, since it really did seem to be messing with me.

And then, yesterday my fasting sugar was 43. Bad News Bears. Fortunately I had some toffee, plus some other Easter candy leftover. I had too much, and swung up into the 200s, but still, it was tasty. I thought it was just an anomaly, and then today I started getting really dizzy shortly after I woke up only to find myself at 39. I truly thought I would pass out - and who knows if I would wake up? It's scary to be very low and all alone. (Yes, I wake up after my kids go to school. I'm VERY lazy. Did you not know this about me?)

At least I still have hypo awareness. That's good. And lows like that might make getting approved for a CGM much easier. Still, I hate them. I think I might lower my Lantus again, which would be kind of awesome actually. We'll see what the doctor says.

So there you have it! Fairly good a1c, and still honeymooning! What was I whining about again?

I've Got a Theory...

...it could be demons. Wait, no that's not it. Just had to throw in a little Buffy magic there.

No, my theory is this: onglyza was what was messing with my sugars. Let me explain. No, too much. Let me sum up.

I couldn't figure out why my sugars were so great for my diary. I happened to mention to my husband that I was being a horrible patient when it came to my pills. (Insulin, I don't forget - pills, yes. If I'm not home at dinner, that's it. Pills stay untaken.) He pointed out that I wasn't taking those pills a couple of days before I was doing my diary. I mostly dismissed the thought, because really, there's no reason that would be it.

Far be it from medication and diabetes to be reasonable.

I started to be a good patient again and taking all my pills the day before I went in, and the next night the sugars were a little wacky again. So I decided to do an experiment (I mean, hey the pills were experimental anyway...) and went off them. Fabulous sugars in the house. I have even dropped my Lantus back to 10, and will see how that goes. (I've seen a few lows with no pills and at 12. I fought to get down to 100 with the pills and at 12.)

I never thought that would be it because my sugars were crazy before I went on it. It didn't start the day after I took them or something. No obvious linkage. But now I think I was probably mildly sick, and then the onglyza messed with me. Who knows?

I've got a theory - it could be bunnies.

Silly pancreas, tricks for are.....NOBODY. STOP.

In the diabetic version of "everything went to hell until I called the doctor" my sugars have been wacky until I had to document them for my last trip to Utah for the study. And then, they decide to behave. Not only behave, but behave BEAUTIFULLY.

91. 87. 109. etc, etc. (The highest I saw during the 3 day diary period was 126. OOOOH SOOOO HIGH!!!!) (Not really).

And so they looked at my sugars and couldn't tell me what to do to adjust, because obviously, I'm doing everything perfectly. And while I am, of course, practically perfect in every way, it made me sigh and laugh at the same time.

I will get the official results in a few days, but the test went as follows: No Lantus, No Novolog. Fasting sugar: 112. Drink given (ah, vanilla Boost, how I long for thee...) 2 hours into the test - 281. Yeah, bad. 281 is the highest sugar I've seen since diagnosis. (6 months ago MMTT 2 hours into it was 245.) It really confirmed to me that my pancreas is dead in the water. One hour later - 219. Huh. Something brought it down. One hour after that - 165, and a half hour later, I was at 134. So it would appear I have some pancreatic function after all. Or I did that day, anyway. This makes me HAPPY. VERY HAPPY. If only we could get that function to kick in a little EARLIER, that would be fabulous. It would also be "non-diabetic" so, you know....


Then I had a "physical exam" which basically consisted of the doctor telling me how much better I looked than when I first began, "so much more color in your face!" and he takes full credit for that, and seriously, he's said this every time he's poked his head in when I've been there (exams aren't standard every time I go). "Doesn't she look better? Do you remember how she looked a year ago?" which kind of translates to "you looked like a steaming pile of dog poo when I met you. I congratulate myself that you no longer do so."

I left, ate lunch and dinner (with appropriate boluses) and my sugars didn't come down at all, and I fell asleep in the 160's. SEE how my pancreas knows when I'm in the office? It's kind of a smart little organ, but instead of focusing its efforts on messing with me, it needs to focus its efforts on producing beta cells, although I'm sure messing with me is far more fun.

So no more study for me. All done. I can't believe I started this 2 years ago. Wait, yes I can. The results will be published in June, and then they will unblind everybody, and they can tell me whether or not I got the drug, and in what dosage. I was not aware of this, but apparently of the 3 "arms" that got the drug (1 placebo "arm") there were 3 different dosages. So that'll be interesting. I wonder if I'd gotten more drug, if I would have gone off insulin as they had 5 of 14 patients did. And yet it was stopped because it was "ineffective". Whatever. It was pulled because it was expensive. Period.

But that way lies craziness. I got what I got, and unless I have a time machine and a way to break into the randomization process of drug studies, I can't change it.

I'll have a new a1c soon, and official C-peptide levels, which will result in another boring numbers post. I'll bet you're all looking forward to that with baited breath. I know I am. (The thing is, I really am. This is my body we're talking about, you know.)

Eh.

Upped my Lantus to 12. Novolog went from 1:20 to 1:15. We'll see how this goes. I was tired of seeing 180s pre-meal. I was tired of seeing 180s - period. More insulin has really helped - go figure. What a concept.

Of course, yesterday I was 200 for no reason I could tell. Whatever. And today after the same breakfast I eat every day and always see good post meals, I was in the 170s at lunch. Again - whatever. Who knows anymore?

I want a pump and a CGM. I'm going to ask for them in June at my next endo appointment. I'm pretty sure I will obsess over the CGM constantly. I'm looking forward to it. :)