Miserable

So... I have had the worst blood sugars in the past week or so! I was doing fantastic, and now I don't know what is going on? I haven't seen the 300's with a good site in almost 6 months, but for some reason the past two days have seen 3 of them > 300mg/dl. I feel miserable... thus the title of this post. I just keep correcting and re-checking and correcting and re-checking. I really wish I had that CGM right now... it would make life so much easier! (Or it might just stress me out beyond belief!)

The thought has crossed my mind that this month could be the BFP month with all these crazy numbers, but I've had absolutely no other symptoms of pregnancy. I'm not sure when those start either!?

I got the lab results back from my doctors office and my TSH was a little low. It had been high my last appointment and he increased my synthroid. So he said that the low TSH would make it a little harder to get pregnant, but that it would be better for the baby for it to be a little low. I don't really feel like I know nearly as much about the hypothyroidism in pregnancy as I do diabetes and pregnancy, but my doctor is a lot more worried about the thyroid problems than he is diabetes. I don't know... I trust him, but I'm definitely going to have to look into it more myself. I can't stand not knowing all I can about something so important to me!

In other news, I've come up with two research topics I'm going to work on and try to get something published. I feel like I'm waiting so long for a nurse practitioner job to open up that I might as well use my degree to do something in the mean time. I'm going to meet with one of the doctors I work with on Monday to discuss my topics. I'm also going to talk to her a little bit about the diabetes and pregnancy stuff, since she is a type 1 and has had 2 healthy pregnancies. I will say that both of my topics have to do with insulin pump therapy in pediatrics. Hopefully, she will be willing to mentor me through the whole publication process. I've done it once before, but that has been years ago!

Well... I'm going to go take a nap. This high is wiping me out... I feel just terrible! Y'all have a good one!

D-Feast Friday!

Alright... so I hear it is D-Feast Friday!

My recipe is for some truly southern-style cuisine...

Lo-Country Shrimp n Grits

You take some grits (I use Quaker) and get them to cookin on the stove (just use the instructions on the box).

Take about a pound of de-veined, peeled shrimp and put them aside.

Cut up 1 small onion.

Cube up some bacon or ham.

Grate 2-3 cloves of garlic.

Now... you open up a beer, and pour about 1/2 - 3/4 of it in a pan. (The rest is for the cook!) You'll also want to put a good bit of butter or margarine in the pan too. (In the south we refer to this as a butter beer sauce.) Then add your onion, bacon or ham, and garlic. Let all that cook down until the onion is soft and you have that good marriage aroma coming from your seasonings. Now your gonna add in your shrimp. You also want to add in a bit of pepper- some Cayenne pepper and a few red pepper flakes if you got em. Cook all this together until your shrimp are done and you have a nice little sauce that is cooking down.

Now... your grits are cooked and they are soft (I know most people don't know how to cook grits, but they shouldn't be hard!) Your gonna want to add some type of sharp white cheese to your grits... I usually use Havarti or white cheddar. You also need to add some salt and pepper to the grits... more pepper than salt. Once your grits are ready you can set them aside.

Now back to the shrimp... you need to take everything out of the pan but the sauce. Set the shrimp and stuff aside and turn up the heat on that sauce... Cook it down until you have a nice little reduction to serve.

Now to serve it all up... Get some big bowls...

Put a little sauce in the bottom of the bowl and then add your cheesy grits so that it looks like the grits are swimming in a pool of sauce. Next you pile on the toppings (shrimp, garlic, onion, and ham or bacon). Finally you garnish it with some nice parsley.

Serve it up with some beer or some good ole sweet tea, and you've got yourself one damn fine meal! :o)

Only a Southerner knows instinctively that the best gesture of solace for a neighbor who's got trouble is a plate of hot fried chicken and a big bowl of cold potato salad. If the neighbor's trouble is a real crisis, they also know to add a large banana puddin!

I think I can... I think I can... I think I can....

So today was the much anticipated Endocrinology appointment... So, without further ado, I give you an a1c... 6.0%! Come on... be excited!!!

Ok.... so I wasn't excited. I can't help but feel like every time I see my doctor it is like I'm sitting on the stand and the jury is all of my friends and family and of course... my doctor. So... things to celebrate: my blood pressure had been borderline on my last visit and there had been mention of starting BP meds if it was still high. Today is was 121/84! Yay! It was better = no more medicine, THANK YOU! My weight was also a little better. Down to 187 from 194. I'll take it! (Although... I've been working my hinney off at the gym for THAT!?! There is Nothing fair about working out!)

I also feel like to my doctor I am the patient that he dreads seeing... I'm the one that he knows is going to talk and talk and ask questions and give him homework! :o) I am... I freely admit it, but the way I see it, if I have to spend my time with him every 3 months, he can spend his time with me every 3 months.

So the question list:
1- Pump upgrade
2- CGMS appeal
3- Increasing strips
4- Why does my OB want my a1c <6% and should I worry?
5- Is Baptist Shelby really ok?
6- Should I find a UAB OB/GYN
7- How often do I have to get my thyroid checked?

BOOM!

Answers:
1- He will work on getting my pump prescription processed
2- He will write a letter to my insurance to help with processing the cgms, if it still doesn't work (doesn't look promising) I will just pay out of pocket for the transmitter and sensors (an estimated $2,000 of expenses just for the pregnancy).
3- He increased my strips to cover me testing 8x per day. AND he told me I have to decrease checking my blood sugar to 8x per day, as he says anything over that is excessive.
4- He feels like my OB is just more accustomed to working with type 2 and GD and that she doesn't know too much about type 1. He thinks that the perfect a1c is 6.0 - 6.5 as long as there aren't too many lows. He showed me several articles about the risks of severe hypoglycemia with a1c <6 in T1DM. He did say that it would be safe to have an a1c <6 if I had CGMS so that I could watch and prevent lows. I mentioned earlier that I wasn't excited about my a1c of 6.0, but I was really expecting more 5.6 or so. I thought that all the extra finger pricks and work would bring my a1c down. After all- don't all the blogs and forums have tons of T1DMs that have a1c's 5.5 and below? Oh well, I guess for me that won't be what is expected. I don't know if I could even do it... I gave it my best efforts this time and the a1c only budged from 6.3 to 6.0. Oh well...
5- Baptist Shelby is ok. He wants me to stay there- he is going to write a letter to my ob and send her my lab work as well. This should help out with their communication on what they expect of me. It helps me to feel a little bit more relaxed.
6- No. Stick with who I am comfortable with and he will work with her.
7- This is what he is mostly concerned with. He said that of all of his patients- controlled and not that he has never seen a complicated diabetic pregnancy, but that is not the case for thyroid problems. He wants to see me every couple weeks for thyroid labs.

So I left feeling good... Directions are to give him a call when I get that so desired and elusive BFP.

Will do!

(I think I can.... I think I can.... I think I can!)