The Journey of the Red Rider

Last Friday afternoon I had one of those life changing days, but at the time it didn't seem that life changing. Friday afternoon I had my first session with my insulin pump coach at which time we installed my first insulin pump.

From now on I will refer to my insulin pump as "Wilson" (that idea came from the Tom Hanks movie "Castaway" where he befriends a volleyball).

The week before Diabetes Training Camp I had decided I was going to get a pump. I still had to wait for the insurance papers to come through but while I was at camp I made a point to talk to as many people I could about living with the pump. In my mind these were the people who lived on the front lines of this battle. These were the people who knew all those little details of life that Medtronic could not tell me about.

Before camp was over I had made my decision to get the pump and about that same time I got an email from Medtronic that the insurance papers came through. I was going to be a "pumper".

As we all know life gets in the way of things sometimes so I had to wait for three weeks before I got my pump in the mail. I had a busy week at work and then had to go to Florida for two weeks on business. The day I got back I got a call from my pump coach to set up the first training day which was last Friday.

Because I had been using a Medtronic CGM I had already been familiar with the device operation so there was no real fear that the device would overwhelm me. I was looking forward to the challenge of the next step in the journey. And boy what a step it was.

The last thing we did was to install the pump and get it functional. So with that accomplished the new Wilson and I went back to work.

One of the problems I had run into was that Medtronic sent me the 1.8 ml reservoirs and not the 3.0 ml reservoirs. I decided to make do with the 1.8 ml and push on with the journey. Over the weekend I got to play with the information provided to me by the pump and learned a lot about how to live with the pump. There is still a lot to learn mostly because living with diabetes is a life long work in progress.

This morning I took out the first infusion set and put in the second one. The first on was the silhouette but this morning I tried th quick-set. Installation went great and Wilson is working fine at the moment. Tomorrow afternoon I meet my pump coach for the second session where we will look and the data downloaded to CareLink from the pump itself. This data will us determine if we need to make any adjustments to the basal rate or adjust other numbers and settings. I'm looking forward to learning more tomorrow about this new friend that will help me live on this island called diabetes. The only difference here is that I am not alone in this feeling I know, and am thankful for, the many others out there that I can call on anytime I have questions about those fine points.

In the next post I'll update you on the pump progress as well as start getting back to the exercising and getting back on the bike. My goal is to get ready for the 2012 cyclocross season and compete in the DCCX this October in Washington DC. So until next post let's all continue our journey and take the next step.

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Hi folks,

Last night I started the last four weeks of the Beachbody Insanity program. It does get tougher. I have been having some knee pain but it is not due to the workout. It is an old sports injury that has come back with the intensity of this workout program. But I am not quitting. I will not be stupid either.

The most amazing thing is the results I am getting with my blood sugar numbers as well as the better blood circulation in my feet. My blood sugar numbers have been continuously between 80 and 120 for the last 3 weeks and with the nutrition plan my carbs are down so my insulin usage is down also.

Last but not least I have lost about 6 pounds. We will see how many more pounds I loose in the next 4 weeks. I am happy with what I am seeing in the diabetes fight and the weight lose fight.

Well time for bed until tomorrow. Good night

Anthony


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Here is a list of the ten things I hate most about diabetes.

1. The money I have to spend for insulin and test strips and needles.


2. Haggling with the insurance company over the number of test strips and needles I use in a twenty four period.


3. Having to always be mindful of what I am eating and counting the carbs. Never being able to enjoy a meal without thinking about how many carbs I just ate.


4. Having to stick myself to test my blood sugar.


5. Having to take shots 3 to 5 times a day.


6. Having to spend the time every day babysitting diabetes to be sure I stay one step ahead.


7. Having to deal with the complications. For me it is neuropothy in the feet.


8. Having the threat of the other complications and doing what you need to do to keep them at bay.


9. loosing sleep over high and low blood sugar numbers.


10. Having to be mindful that I have everything with me like insulin, needles, test strips and energency carbs with me whenever I leave for work or an extended trip.

These are the ten things I hate about diabetes but it is these struggles these hardships that make us stronger. So I would not give any one of them up if in the long run it will make me a better person. Also it is these hardships that has drawn us all in this DBlog week togrther and I know we are all gladfor that.

Keep going
Tony DiPalma

Well at the moment I can only think of two that crack me up to this day. First is it was about two years ago and I had just got my new CGM. Being a gadget kind of guy I found it interesting that I could set alarms for high and low blood sugar warnings. Well one night I had the CGM night from hell. First of all before I went to bed it beeped at me saying a low was coming. I took my correction dose and went up to bed. Then about an hour and a half after lights out it was beeping and vibrating. I had rolled over the meter in bed and it was saying lost sensor, my body mass was blocking the signal. So I corrected that problem. Then about 2 hours later it was beeping again, this time I had kicked it out of the bed and it was under the bed beeping saying lost sensor again. So I corrected that problem and went back to sleep. Then about two hours later it went off again telling me I was having a low so I checked my blood sugar and sure enough it was right. so I went to the kitchen to feed the low. I know by now you might be thinking this does not sound very funny but here it comes. At the time I was beginning to get attached to this thing so I wanted to give it a name and up until that night I had not come up with one. Well as I was lying in bed trying to go back to sleep before my wake up alarm went off the only thing I could think of was "NAG". Good name for it don't you think.

The second blooper was about two months ago. My family and I went to Colonial Williamsberg for a few days. One morning I had gotten up and went to have a great low carb high protein breakfast. It was a great meal to have before you go out to spend the day walking and site seeing. Well (I say that a lot don't I) long about lunch time we came to a nice outdoor cafe' and sat down to eat. I got out my meter to check my blood sugar and got the surprise of my life. I put the test strip in and fed it the blood it wanted and waited for what I thought was going to be a great number but to my surprise it said 511. My eyes got big in amazement as my family sat there in total shock thinking if Tony passed out at over 600 how much time do we have to get him to the hospital? As I sat there thinking this could not be and in closer inspection of the meter I realized I was looking at the meter upside down and the true reading was 115.

Life goes on doesn't it. I can't wait for the rest of it.

Keep going,
Tony

Dear Diabetes,

Welcome, I think. Since you have come into my life you have forced me to make many changes. Some of these changes I am glad you have brought to my attention. Changes like eating a healthier diet and getting more exercise. Other changes like getting out and meeting other people you have visited. This one I will be forever greatful for.

On the other hand you have brought those changes that I will forever rezent you for. Most of all is the hard earned money I now have to put out for all those test strips and pills and insulins and alcohal pads. The other thing you have brought into my life is the constant nagging of having to think about counting everything I put into my mouth. You know I was never very good at math, is this your idea of a joke. And last but not least is the time I have to take out of my life to properly keep my eye on you. I feel like a baby sitter.

But with all that said, we are here together and until someone comes up with an idea of how to make you disapear I WILL make the best of it. Oh that reminds me of one other change you have brought into my life, my will to keep going. You have helped me to see that I am strong and that I can move on with life, a healthier more productive life and yes maybe even a life where I can help others living with you.

So in conclusion I wanted to say thank you for bringing adversity into my life and and teaching how to deal with it. Here is a story I think best says how I feel about a life with you.

An old indian man asked a young indian man how many steps do you think it would take you to walk to that hill over there? The young man said I don't know. The old man asked which step is the most important the first or the last? The young man said well, if I never take the first step I will not get anywhere. The old man asked what about the next step? Son, he said. I think it is important that just keep taking the next step. Wheather it is a small step or a big step does not matter, it matters that we just take the next step and keep going.

I will keep going.
Tony DiPalma
T1 since May of 2008

We are always learning. Our journey through this life takes us down many roads where we cross paths with many people from all walks of life and many different cultures. That to me is what makes life so interesting.

Example, the DOC. In the DOC we read blogs from people from all over the world. Each one is an amazing individual in my mind. Each one of us lives our lives the best way we know how and does it while dealing with diabetes. To me it does not matter what flavor of diabetes you have or that you even have diabetes but live and love those that do.

I admire those that wake up every morning and take adversity head-on. Everyone of us touched by diabetes has a story to tell and it is in telling those stories that we all can learn from each other.

It is my hope that we can all continue blogging and sharing our stories with each other and the world.

So to answer today's question, I admire everyone of you out there in the DOC that shares your stories and your lives with the rest of us. It is through these stories the we all find the energy to keep going.

Tony DiPalma


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