dLife - Emotions

What Part of "Ruled Out" Don't You Understand?

Brenda Bell — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 15:10:35 +0000

My meter died Saturday night.

Some time during my shift, something caused my Freestyle Lite's clock to spring forward several hours, and to display that time on its "sleeping/off' screen.

The date/time screen is a normal feature of the glucometer. Keeping it in my pocket sometimes causes contact with coins, cards, or flesh that can accidentally cause it to shift its timestamp. Fixing the issue is straightforward: depress the "M" button for several seconds, until the setup screen appears. Scroll through the options and correct.

Except that it didn't bring me to the reset screen. It brought me an "Er4" message.

As everyone who's used a Freestyle meter knows, a single Er4 message does not a dead meter indicate — but repeated Er4 errors are the frequent hallmark of a nonfunctional meter.

The Feeling of Home

Lindsey Guerin — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 17:14:39 +0000

Happy Labor Day! I hope everyone has restful plans for the day. I know I'm enjoying my time off from work. With the combination of my sick days last week for my Fraxel treatment and the holiday, I've had a (semi) relaxing five day rest at home. I wish I could say that I've gotten more accomplished than I did, but it seems that vegging out, reading, and sleeping were my priorities.

Today, I started packing and getting things organized for my move in October. Due to the need for more square footage and some pesky neighbors here, I'm moving to a new complex in October. And due to my advanced planning skills (we won't call it obsession), I've already made a list of the things to pack first, gathered boxes, and got the first one filled today.

Fraxel: Third Time Around

Lindsey Guerin — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 22:35:02 +0000

As many of you know, I struggled with severe acne just a few years ago due to PCOS and a hormone that I was on for awhile. As a teenager, I didn't deal with it much but college was a different story. At the end of it all, I went on Accutane to control the acne and saw tremendous improvement. I still do, except for a hormonal outbreak every few weeks.

But severe acne (at least, mine) left long lasting scars that really bothered me. I'd gone from fairly clear skin to terrible breakouts to deep scars. It was something that I wanted fixed. Soon.

So last year, I started a treatment process through my dermatologist using Fraxel re:store. I was set for three treatments and completed two last year. Yesterday, I completed my third and final treatment. Recovery is going slowly. I'm very impatient to be past it and seeing the end of my results.

Looking for New Solutions

Lindsey Guerin — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 00:16:43 +0000

Life has been stressful lately. In good and bad ways. Over the past several months, I've taken on a new addition to my job that I absolutely love but that is also absolutely draining at times. Actually, draining is not the right word- that's negative. And this position is wonderful.

It's just that work is different. There's more responsibility, more to do. There's less free time, down time, and everything in between. My days are spent in meetings with volunteer committee members, website creators, and educational and medical specialists. Most days, 8 hours is not enough to do everything that I need to do.

The Start of an MBA

Lindsey Guerin — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 00:22:41 +0000

This post should be about how I've been diving into the books and getting involved with my new MBA adventure. Instead, it's about how I've been doing the exact opposite. Not to say I haven't tried. Or spent many hours working on school issues over the past two days. But for some reason, this Tuesday evening feels more like a Thursday night. And it makes me antsy.

My first class of my MBA program officially began yesterday. I only registered for said class yesterday though and my brain hasn't quite computed. My acceptance was quick, but still only a week or two ago. I had as many ducks lined up as possible waiting for the "green light," but there were a few things that had to wait.

A Call to Action

Lindsey Guerin — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 21:46:57 +0000

It always amazes me how many cases we see at work with diabetic kids. I know the percentages are increasing so it makes sense that we would see a decent number of diabetics on CPS cases. But every time I hear about it, my ears perk up and my heart aches for them.

The kids that we work with every day are facing severe traumas. They come from families racked with drug use, criminal history, and painful abuse. Some cases are more extreme than others, but all of them are working through trauma. On top of the abuse or neglect they've endured, they've been removed from their homes.

The Wrong Script

Brenda Bell — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 12:39:56 +0000

Because things were as up-in-the-air as they were, I managed to forget to have my doctor write a prescription for test strips. When my insurance doesn't cover them completely (no out-of-pocket cost), it's usually a non-issue: they are cheaper through Internet pharmacies, and I don't have to worry about my medical insurance approving the amount I need. That said, the Freestyle Promise program does subsidize the Freestyle Lite test strips, and I switched from the Flash to the Lite a few years ago specifically to take advantage of that coverage.

In Defense, I...

Brenda Bell — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 11:14:17 +0000

After more than a year's delay, I was able to see my doctor this past Tuesday. My current health insurance is extremely limited, so instead of the usual initial-visit-for-bloodwork followed by second-visit-for-follow-up, my doctor and I chose to set my therapy up with a number of contingencies: if getting back on the losartan didn't get my blood pressure back in range, we would add in a low dose of ramipril, and if my HbA1c was as high as I expected it to be (my last at-home test read 6.7), we would start a low dose of extended-release metformin to bring things to normal, since my current situation makes it difficult for me to follow anything roughly resembling a proper diet.

Half Empty or Half Full

Lindsey Guerin — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 16:12:19 +0000

Several years ago, my mom shared a newspaper article with me about diabetes. It wasn't your usual informational; instead, it was a candid column from the dad of a diabetic about how he viewed diabetes. Was the glass half full? Was it half empty? Where did diabetes fall on the pessimist/optimist scale?

To me, it just depends on the day. Some days are worse than others, while some days are better than most. What's happening in the diabetes world to make it shift back and forth? Are blood sugars running stable? Am I having a lot of lows or highs? How easy is my management for that moment?

Having a Career with Diabetes

Lindsey Guerin — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 22:10:01 +0000

I am just a couple of weeks shy from my one year anniversary at my job. I still can't believe it's been this long and how quickly it's flown by. It seems like I was just starting yesterday. Really, it seems like I was just graduating college yesterday.

Sometimes I can't believe it's been two years since I was a full time student and not a full time career woman. Sometimes I miss it like nothing else. The flexible schedule, the "more play, less work" attitude, and everything that goes into balancing young adulthood with diabetes. But I know that a career has completely changed my management style with diabetes and helped it in a lot of ways.