Halloween and Diabetes

It's that time of year again when the kids go from house to house dressed up in many different costumes and get a ton of Carbs, aka Candy! If you are new to diabetes or just wondering how Halloween and diabetes work, let me do my best to explain it to you. Halloween and diabetes is really not that different from Halloween and NO Diabetes. We get dressed up in our favorite super hero or other costume just like everyone else. We get our treat bags ready for our school parties, sometimes we even have a parade. The only difference is that when it's done and over with, after we check the Carbs, aka candy, we have to make sure that whatever candy is chosen by our T1 to count each and every single carb and dose correctly with insulin. Now in our case and being on MDI's we have to make sure that this candy and insulin dose is at least 2 hours from the last insulin dose. So I guess you can say there are 2 differences, carb counting and strategic planning :). The planning involves making sure we eat at least 2 hours prior to the time of return from Trick or treating. Halloween can be very scary especially to those just starting out, but it's important to remember to let our kids still be kids. Just plan and dose properly with love of course. If you are curious there are a few lists of carb counts in the normal Halloween candy put out each year that you may want as reference for those small pieces that may not have the carbs listed.

Halloween Candy Carb Count #1
Halloween Candy Carb Count #2

You will make it through Halloween and it will be a fun and memorable experience. Stay tuned for a "How to handle Thanksgiving" post and my vent from last years experience.......

The changing moods of D.

Just give insulin to cover the carbs and their numbers will be fine... Um yeah no. That is how it is in a world with unicorns, rainbows, and oh yes glitter. I can give Clifford the same meal every single time, he can have the same blood sugar #, and get the same amount of insulin and guess what his number will most likely never match each other. There are those great things that affect his blood sugar that we cannot control. Stress (rises it) exercise (lowers it), illness ( just plays a wacky roller coaster game for fun). I heard something last year that really just strikes you as WOW there are 99 different things that can affect a blood sugar # and only 3 you can control. So with those numbers it looks like D has the winning odds. It's been a little ridiculous lately with #'s. A treat the other night of a cupcake, (okay fine cover the carbs right) yeah no we dropped low right at bed time. Dosed him with a good amount of carbs, he was high at 20 min check, and guess what woke up normal. Then another snack the night after not nearly as many carbs as the cupcake, bg# was beautiful, and guess what the waking # was, oh yes 303! I really don't understand how the way it works, and frankly I never will. My brain is on overdrive all the time, and when I get down time, I honestly don't know how to function. Since Clifford was diagnosed I've done so much research on every aspect of T1 diabetes, and more. Heck, I'm still researching pretty much daily, and jotting down notes. The truth of the matter is that I will never be done researching, D always changes and nothing will ever be the same with it. It's like having a friend that lives with you 24/7 who has mood swings that are over the top every single day. You would get sick of this friend after a few days would you not? I just wish it was as easy to kick out D as it would be to kick out that friend.

The business of Diabetes

Wow it's been quite awhile since I've actually posted. We are obviously still fighting the fight with D, and doing our best to kick it's butt. Unfortunately we have had some high numbers with the start of school and it's been taking it's toll on Clifford. The bright side is that his numbers are finally starting to get back within range. Look for an increased A1c at his next endo appointment in November, but that is to be expected with school starting. On another bright note I've been so no busy, but productive :), because I got a new writing job working with a diabetes blog in the UK! It is very exciting to me because I can write about the truth about diabetes, and the difference between the types of diabetes. This is another step in awareness and getting the correct word out to others. In case you are curious and want to check it out the blog is located at:Diabetes UK. I will still be keeping everyone updated on Clifford's battle with D and how everything is going, just maybe not as frequent as before!