I had my annual eye exam today. Remember when we only went to the eye doctor when we had a vision problem? My endocrinologist expects me to go annually to get my eyes checked because of a little thing called: Diabetic retinopathy (die-uh-BET-ik ret-ih-NOP-uh-thee).
This is a
complication of diabetes that affects the eyes and is caused by damage to
the blood vessels of the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye
(retina) and ultimately causes
blindness. ANY T1D or T2D can develop it. The longer you have diabetes AND the less controlled
your blood sugar is, the more likely you are to develop diabetic
retinopathy...SO...to the eye doctor I go! And good news it is. Not only do I NOT have any retinopathy, I do not have any changes in my vision. Thanks doc!
Below are pictures of my retinas so that you can see what they look like (photos coming soon)
Monday, February 24, 2014
Friday, February 21, 2014
The Month of Sugar...or Love...HELLO FEBRUARY
Before our Colorado trip, my BG average was around 190. Not great, I know but I've struggled with the ever-changing BG's due to steroids and other medications I have to take. My endocrinologist has been helping me adjust my numbers as these changes occur but during our trip, I had some SCARY lows.
Believe it or not, I woke my husband up in the middle of the night with a BG of 22. I could barely even prick my finger on my own. He had to help me. With a mouthful of sugar, I began to pass out. He raced upstairs and brought me back a jug of Simply Orange Juice. I drank 1/2 of the jug before we re-tested. BG = 20! WHAT?? How was it still dropping? I had no active units!! After drinking the rest of the jug, I finally stopped sweating and was able to see again. By now, I'd had an outrageous amount of sugar and an overly-full stomach of orange juice. I was so full, I was completely bloated and rolled around the rest of the night in pain. NO DOUBT, my BG was over 300 but we didn't care - high was better than low. In the morning, I was back down below 200 so we didn't worry about it. Think it's time to change the ratios??? Yeah, us too. Prior to and during to this trip, I was on 18 units of Lantus (9am) and a 1:5 ratio for Novolog.
Believe it or not, I woke my husband up in the middle of the night with a BG of 22. I could barely even prick my finger on my own. He had to help me. With a mouthful of sugar, I began to pass out. He raced upstairs and brought me back a jug of Simply Orange Juice. I drank 1/2 of the jug before we re-tested. BG = 20! WHAT?? How was it still dropping? I had no active units!! After drinking the rest of the jug, I finally stopped sweating and was able to see again. By now, I'd had an outrageous amount of sugar and an overly-full stomach of orange juice. I was so full, I was completely bloated and rolled around the rest of the night in pain. NO DOUBT, my BG was over 300 but we didn't care - high was better than low. In the morning, I was back down below 200 so we didn't worry about it. Think it's time to change the ratios??? Yeah, us too. Prior to and during to this trip, I was on 18 units of Lantus (9am) and a 1:5 ratio for Novolog.
We barely got back from Colorado and basically went straight to IVIG. I don't sleep well, but then again I haven't for months. Because I get IV Benedryl, it makes me drowsy during treatment so I usually get a 1 to 3 hour nap in during the day.
February 6 IVIG (10mg prednisone)
BG Pre-IVIG: 141
BG Post-IVIG: 148
February 21 (10mg prednisone)
BG Pre-IVIG: 141
BG Post-IVIG: 148
February 21 (10mg prednisone)
BG Pre-IVIG: 234
BG Post-IVIG: 246
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