Hi everyone on ADI. My name is Cheryl. I live in Russellville, AL with
my dear husband, Bill, our Chihuahuas and 3 cats. I have been a type
1 diabetic since April 1969. My husband has been a type 2 for about
8 years.
I became diabetic at a time when the only home testing we had was a
urine sugar test. I was on 1 shot a day and slowly progressed to
multiple injections (about 6 a day) then on to using an insulin pump. I
was always considered a very brittle diabetic. I love being on a pump
and wish I would have started using one sooner.
My road with diabetes began with an Easter party our church had.
Like most kids I ate everything I could, especially the sweet stuff. On
the way home I felt really bad and got sick before I could get into the
house. My parents got worried when I was drinking almost non-stop &
immediately getting sick so they took me to the emergency room.
They said I had the flu, gave me a shot of antibiotics and sent me
home. That night when I went to change clothes, I screamed when I
lifted my arms up my stomach hurt so bad. Again my parent rushed
me to the Emergency Room. I remember on the drive there that I told
my parents I was going to die and I kept seeing spiders everywhere.
When we got to the Emergency Room there was a different doctor
working and he checked my blood sugar. He said it was over 1200. I
felt like I was awake but could not talk for some reason or they were
not listening to me. My mother told me later that I went into a coma
shortly after we had gotten there and that they were told I might not
live through the night.
Being in a coma was a lot like dreaming to me. I knew what was
going on around me but could not communicate with anyone. I was in
a coma for 5 days. They had me on a constant IV drip of insulin trying
to get my blood sugars down. When I woke up they kept me in ICU for
a couple more days & then moved me to a regular ward.
They gave me lots of things to read so I could learn about diabetes. I
was also given a grapefruit & a syringe to learn how to do the
injection that they had told me I would need every day for the rest of
my life. I was also given a bleak forecast of the future. I was told of
future dialysis, heart problems, neuropathy, blindness, amputations
and a shorter life span than a 'normal' person.
I was told at different times I would not live to see 18, 21 and then 30.
I lived my life on the edge, seldom checking my urine for high sugars
or acetone. The faster my horse or car would run the happier I was. I
went to all the teen parties I could find. I tried to enjoy life every way I
could. I barrel raced horses in my teens and later started drag racing
at a local track. I pushed life to the maximum.
I was previously married 3 times. Two of my ex-husbands were
alcoholics; one of them was physically abusive. The third one was
verbally abusive. None of them took any interest in my diabetes, what
I ate or if I took my insulin. I had to have several laser treatments on
my eyes and eventually a vitrectomy on my right eye.
In July 1992, I married the most wonderful husband anyone could ask
for. We did everything together and enjoyed life. We started going to
dog shows & raising Chihuahuas. I tried to take a little better care of
my diabetes but I had already started having some complications.
In December 1995, I started have circulation problems and had to
have a femoral artery bypass in my left leg. It healed good and I did
not have any trouble until end of January 1997. My leg started hurting
really bad & I went to the doctor & they sent me for a dopler study. I
had another clot so they admitted me and started trying to dissolve
the clot. While they were doing something with a tube in my femoral
artery, the doctor said the clotting was getting worse & I would have
to go to surgery. I then went into a coma.
I woke up about 10 days later in a different hospital with both legs
amputated above the knee and on dialysis. I was moved to a regular
room about 2 days after I woke up & my wonderful husband stayed
with me 24/7 for over a month, then I went to rehab for 2 weeks. I
found out from my husband later that I had been in very bad shape &
they had told him I had a less than 2% chance of living. He said that I
had been on a respirator and had 8 to 10 IVs going into me along
with my kidneys failing. After getting moved to a regular room my
kidneys slowly started to function again. I got out of the hospital &
rehab April 15, 1997.
Being a double above the knee amputee did not slow me down much.
We have good insurance so I got an electric wheelchair since I also
have Rheumatoid Arthritis. We had a lift put in out motor home and
continued to travel on weekends going to dog shows. All of our
Chihuahuas went with us & we had a lot of fun. Things went along
pretty good for a while except for having to have my appendix and
later my gall bladder taken out. My blood sugars were still all over
the place & no one was giving me any ideas on how to control them
other that the 2 shots a day I was taking. I kept hearing that I was just
a very brittle diabetic.
In April 2005 my blood sugar went very low without warning & my
husband had to call 911. They said my blood sugar was 23. I woke up
on the ride to the hospital. After a couple hours in the ER I was
allowed to go home and was told to see my regular doctor within 2
days.
My doctor was so mad because my blood sugars were so out of
control and nothing we had been trying was working. My A1C would
vary anywhere from 8.5 to over 13. He said I would have to find
another doctor to treat my diabetes and he referred me to an Endo. I
really like my doctor but he was at just as much of a loss as I was on
what to do about my blood sugars.
I started to see what I could find on the internet about controlling
diabetes while I waited for the day I would go to the Endo. I also
searched for online groups to join. I read about counting carbs,
something I have never heard of before since I grew up with the old
ADA diets which are very high carb. I also learned about insulin
pumps.
Since I had a couple of months before I would see the Endo; I started
keeping detailed log books of my blood sugars, the amount of insulin
I was taking and at what times and a complete list of everything I ate.
I started figuring out how much insulin I need to cover each carb I ate
and began experimenting with taking multiple injections of insulin
throughout the day instead of just taking a shot in the morning and at
bedtime.
I read everything I could find about insulin pumps and their use. I
called the pump companies & got information from them about the
different pumps. One pump company even sent me a loaner pump so
I could actually hold it & push button, look at the menus and really
see how it operated. I was not hooked up to the pump; it was only to
see what it was like and how it operated. I was so excited about
going to the Endo.
When the day came for my appointment, I took all the records I had
been keeping and the information about the pump I wanted. The
doctor looked over everything and said I would be a good person to
have a pump but he preferred a different brand. I had studied all the
features from the different companies so I explained my reasons for
wanting a certain one. He finally agreed & we started the paperwork
to get me one that very day. I was so excited when I went home. I
also found out that day that I had gotten my A1C down to 8 which was
an all time low for me.
My pump was ordered on July 5, 2005, I received my pump & the
necessary supplies on July 8th. I called the doctors office & they set
up my training/hook-up day for July 13, 2005. Three hours after I got
to the doctors office I was on the way home hooked up to my new
pump and felt very comfortable with its operation and use. I had
phone numbers for my doctor, his CDE and the pump trainer so I
could reach them anytime of the day or night if I had a problem. I
could also call the pump company day or night if I had any problems
with the pump.
Using a pump has been a wonderful experience. My pump has given
me so much freedom and wonderful control over my diabetes. For the
first time in my life, that I remember, I am able to eat only when I am
hungry instead of having to eat to feed my insulin injections. It has
helped me lose weight since I am no longer eating high carb. I am
able to skip meals and snacks without having to worry about going
low. I only have to take one injection every 3 or 4 day when I insert a
new infusion set. My pump does all the calculation so I get the exact
amount of insulin I need when I eat; all I do is enter the number of
carbs I am eating. When it comes time to go to the doctor, I can print
out all the information from my pump and it shows him how many
carbs I have consumed, my insulin amounts, and many more things.
My pump keeps much more detailed records than I ever could. Best
of all, I am no longer considered a 'brittle' diabetic since my blood
sugars are very stable.
I love my Deltec Cozmo Insulin pump made by Smiths Medical. With
my pump, being diabetic is not bad at all. To learn more about the
Deltec Cozmo Insulin pump visit their web site at: Deltec Cozmo.
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________